Finding this set at a great antique shop in Pennsylvania made me super happy--including for the fact that unlike most everything else I came across on this trip, it was not as highly valued by the seller as I thought it would be! Short just a couple of cards, though with a few extras mixed in from a later deck, it's a much used early Gypsy Witch fortune telling deck (c. 1903 I believe), with annotations--letters, numbers, and notes like "DO NOT"--written on pretty much every card. Sold as found, packed into an old Crystallized Ginger tin, which seems just right, with a photo of a woman and several pages of notes--all indications are that it was the deck of a professional card reader/fortune teller, and I must say you can feel her presence in the cards! A scarce early deck to begin with--but for me the specialness of these cards is all the personalization and clear active use, and their contextualization in the whole package, feeling like a time capsule and also a portrait of a life. With one of the notes written on the back of a typed letter relating to astrological training, too.
All pictured inclided. Tin: 6" x 4". Cards: 3 1/2" x 2 7/16". All contents documented. No major tears, folds or losses, just plenty of wear from handling, and excellent handwritten annotation all over.
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