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Fortune Telling Deck, c.1818

Published April 28, 2011 Updated April 17, 2024

Fortune Telling Deck by Industrie Comptoir, Leipzig c.1818.

1818 GermanyCartomancyOracleIndustrie Comptoir
Detail from Fortune Telling Deck by Industrie Comptoir, Leipzig c.1818

German-suited Fortune Telling deck by Industrie Comptoir, Leipzig c.1818, 36 cards. Inscriptions in German and Polish.

These are an interesting alternative to the more common ‘Madame Lenormand’ or ‘Book of Fate’ cartomancy cards, with a different repertoire of emblemmatic images. They differ from the typical French ones, of course, in that there are no miniature playing cards inside the design, but instead the German suit symbols.

Fortune Telling Deck by Industrie Comptoir, Leipzig c.1818

Above: Fortune Telling deck by Industrie Comptoir, Leipzig c.1818. Saxonian tax stamp (1819 - 1834) on the Seven of Bells. Printed by lithography 36 cards. Similar decks were made by Backofen in Nürnberg and Knaut in Weimar. See also: Cartomany deck by Johann Ernst Backofen

Further References

British Museum: number 1896,0501.28

O’Donoghue, Freeman M: Catalogue of the collection of playing cards bequeathed by Lady Charlotte Schreiber (German 19), Trustees of the British Museum, London, 1901 [digital version here]

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By Klaus-Juergen Schultz (1948-2025)

Germany • Member since February 03, 2024

From the collection of Klaus-Jürgen Schultz.

Activity for Fortune Telling Deck, c.1818

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