Page 1 of 1

Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 22 Jul 2017, 08:54
by Joan Marie
This is something I have never had the nerve to do but I know that many collectors have no fear at all to do this to a “perfectly good deck” in order to personalize it or to improve it for various reasons.

As a deck creator, how would you feel about someone doing that to your deck?

As a collector, what makes you decide a deck needs to be edged or (shudder) trimmed?

Re: Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 22 Jul 2017, 14:20
by Nemia
Aaaaah, don't worry, your deck is untouched and I wouldn't trim it! I'm only a lowly tarot user, not even a serious collector, but your question is a good one for a half-baked collector like me.

I wouldn't trim an independent deck. And you know I trim freely, I have proofs for that. But when I know that an independent artist produced a deck, then I relate to it differently than when I know it's a mass produced object.

Let me explain why.

First of all, obviously a deck like yours is more expensive, more rare and if I trim it, I spoil it as "investment" should I ever wish to part with it (which I don't). A Lo Scarabeo or Urania Königsfurt deck can be replaced if I want to own an untrimmed version again.

But it's more than that. When I buy a deck like the Fey or Lo Scarabeo or Universal, I know that this is a deck that was made by a lot of people. Author A wrote the concept, the publishing house looked for an artist, the two worked together (the Fey Tarot book shows it's a fascinating process), and the result is the work of many people. A publishing house takes the deck from the artist's hands, decides about fonts, size, proportion, frames etc. They're most often not part of the artist's vision. (That's at least what I understood from reading accounts of people who published decks). The publisher has a whole team of people.

I'm certain that the people who put the atrocious border on the Lo Scarabeo were neither the author nor the artist. It's a totally un-connected piece of blandness. I relate to it like to a committee decision.

I can go against the committee because as buyer and user, I feel part of it. I will not go against the vision of an artist who dreamed this deck from A to Z and had sleepless nights over every decision.

I'm sure that Kat Black had a say in the borders around her decks, and I don't trim them. I wouldn't dream of trimming decks where I feel the border bears the handwriting of the artist, or the artist was at least consulted, or his/her vision played a role. I didn't trim the Shadowscapes, Anna K. or any Robert Place deck. The borders look good, they belong there.

But the Haindl? Who decided to pair his earthy art with sickly grey-greenish huge borders?

So it's not disrespect of the artist but a wish to see the artist's work without irritating additons that lead me to trim.

In the case of the Thoth - I don't know whether Frieda Harris sanctioned the borders or Crowley. And I don't really care to be honest. If they wanted the information printed on the card, well, I have the information in my head. And the art looks glorious when the cards touch each other. I showed an example some days ago in the Thoth thread.

Image

And the Lo Scarabeo, the best example imho for the difference a trim can make:

Image

Untrimmed, trimmed, rounded corners.

Image

The Night Sun BEGGED for a trim. The white borders neutralized the harshness of the images.

Image

Obviously, it needed a black edge, too.

Image

This looks also much better.

Image

And the Haindl.

But no, don't worry, I won't do any harm to your deck! It sleeps right now in a cozy bag with its friends, to be taken out regularly.

Re: Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 25 Jul 2017, 12:51
by Jo Ann
I don't like to trim them. I trimmed one because i couldn't shuffle it. it made me dislike the deck after that. Its like mutilating someone and dumping them. Haven't done it since. even it looks really bad i am not trimming. but i may trim just enough off so i can shuffle it. sooo

Re: Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 02:59
by Cenozoic
I don't like some boarders I have, but I've never trimmed them yet. I only get irked with the boarders and card backs from Lo Scarabeo, since are crammed with words, and they distract me while I'm reading. Also the card backs are very bad looking too. Both the boarders and card backs just don't match the artwork in the decks at all.

Here's my Tarot of the Magical Forest by Lo Scarabeo. It would have looked better if the creator designed the boarders and card backs, because anything that the publishing company has added to it just became an eye sore.

ImageImage

Re: Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 04:13
by Joan Marie
Cenozoic wrote: 26 Jul 2017, 02:59 I only get irked with the boarders and card backs from Lo Scarabeo, since are crammed with words, and they distract me while I'm reading.
What strikes me as odd about the 6 of Pentacles you posted as an example is the words, if you translate them, are all different. What I mean is those symbols on the card are clearly Pentacles, which in most languages probably translates to something very close.

(I just did a quick google translate and found Pentakly (Czech) Pentacoli (Italian) Pentáculos (Spanish) and in many languages it simply remains Pentacles.)

What the publishers have done here is not translate Pentacles but rather use words for some of the other denotations of that suit, for example Coins or Discs. Which to me is just confusing since the artist chooses which symbol they want for the suit they are depicting.

For example, in the deck I created, I chose to use Coins because the deck is based on 1920's Berlin and money was something very defining of that time and place (post war hyper-inflation etc) and I used an actual 3 Mark coin from 1922. It would make no sense to translate that to Pentacles or Discs or Shields.

ImageImageImage

So I totally agree with you that the extra words are a distraction and a dis-service to the artist's intentions.

Re: Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 06:00
by Nemia
Tarotists protested so much on AT and elsewhere against these absurd, often asymmetrical multilingual titles that Lo Scarabeo stopped that idea. Newer decks are without them.

Re: Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 15:34
by Cenozoic
Joan Marie wrote: 26 Jul 2017, 04:13 What the publishers have done here is not translate Pentacles but rather use words for some of the other denotations of that suit, for example Coins or Discs. Which to me is just confusing since the artist chooses which symbol they want for the suit they are depicting.
It's regrettable that in the process of translation that the artists original intention is lost. Makes me very sad :trans3:

Your deck looks lovely btw :trans1:
Nemia wrote: 26 Jul 2017, 06:00 Tarotists protested so much on AT and elsewhere against these absurd, often asymmetrical multilingual titles that Lo Scarabeo stopped that idea. Newer decks are without them.
I'm glad that Lo Scarabeo made that change! :trans5:

Re: Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 15:41
by Nemia
Oh yes, especially since their other production values are high.

Concerning edging - there are some gilded decks and some with silver edging but if you want to have a colourful or black edge, you need to do it on your own. I confess I love dark edges on borderless and dark-bordered decks. With a sharpie, a well-lit desk and a bit of patience, you can edge a deck. It's easy and it really looks so good.

I don't have pictures, but I have edged my Etruscan tarot in the same warm terracotta/orange tone of the edges, and it looks great. My Inner Child cards are edged in purple, and the Pagan Cats, too. The Harmonious in a soft yellow colour.

I have edged Anna K., Universal Fantasy and some more decks in black without trimming them beforehand.

And the trimmed and edged decks turned out just great.

I can't promise that I won't give the Cult of Weimar deck a brown/black edge :-) Why should the fact that the paper is white within (and thus the cards show a white edge) determine how my decks look? All the decks I edged look great!

Re: Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 16:47
by CharlotteK
I've black edged a few, including 'premium' decks and it looks fantastic on black bordered decks that can be more prone to show shuffling wear as seems to protect them. I did try it on a borderless and the black bled under the lamination :(

I confess that I have edged Cult of Weimar - did it with a dark grey and it looks really great. I hope this doesn't offend, and I wasnt at all tempted to trim it.

My trimming experiments have been variable. I'm part way through Crystal Visions and edging this with pink as I go. It us going OK and looks nice.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk


Re: Edging and Trimming decks

Posted: 16 Sep 2017, 18:20
by tarotbear
I was going to add that on the last deck I published that I used a colored border instead of that stark white one - and I liked it! I believe that the last AT collaborative Tarot had colored borders, and I liked the look of that, too - probably the inspiration for it. You could have a different colored border for each suit and another for the Majors, or just decide on something that will work for all - such as the border color ties into the colors on the box.