Tarot of Jost Amman

Jost Amman was an artist and illustrator working in Nuremburg in the mid 16th century. His "Charta Lusoria" (playing cards) were published in book form in 1588. It was a fully illustrated 52 card deck and two trumps, using unusual suit symbols of printers stamps, books, goblets and tankards.

At a time when the newly invented printing press was bringing books and learning to a wider audience, and literacy was on the rise to a level not seen since Roman times, Jost Amman's cards were a commentary on the virtues of education. Each card was accompainied by didactic verses in Latin and German, the first cards of any type to include such "meanings".

The original court cards put the queen in the ten position followed by two knights and a mounted king. To bring this in line with regular tarot decks, the queen has been moved to her usual position, and a new set of tens has been created using images from Jost Amman's "Book of Trades", to create a standard 56 card minor arcana.

As a prolific artist, there are plenty of extant images from Jost Amman to form a major arcana for this deck. This follows in the footsteps of card artist Catelin Geofroy who, some 30 years previously, added his suit of trumps to the cards of Virgil Solis, a deck recreated by this designer in the "Tarot of Geofroy & Solis". As per the designer's usual style, the images have been carefully traced and hand coloured in watercolour pencil in a modern style.