V. F. Solesio Tarot
V. F. Solesio Tarot, Genoa, mid-late 19th century.
North Italian Piedmont tarot deck published by Solesio of Genoa c.1860. The Solesio family was a dynasty of card-makers first recorded in the early 17th century, with branches in Italy and Spain. Factories were operated by successive descendents of the family but it is not clear who V.F. Solesio was, possibly Vittorio Filippo Solesio (1846-1893), Faustino's son, as the original inscription on the two of cups woodblock appears to have been altered, and V.F. Solesio overprinted onto blank space on the four aces. The Italian branch of the business survived into the 1980s, exporting extensively and developing cheaper production methods, putting many competitors out of business.
A (probably) slightly earlier edition of this pack, without the overprinted name "V. F. Solesio", can be viewed at the British Museum website • Museum number 1896,0501.1 and also at the Bibliothèque nationale de France website • Jeu de tarot piemontais F. F. Solesio (Genova)►
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
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