Nathaniel wrote, And as it has the Chariot in the same position as Croce's list, it definitely strengthens the case for dating the Pedini manuscript to no earlier than that mid-17th century revival. Where do you see that? Chariot is between Amore and Tempra, the standard position before the virtues...

Thanks for drawing our attention to Vitali's article! Definitely a very interesting addition to the Bolognese evidence. Vitali says that the original date of the work is unknown—the edition from 1648 is the third printing (the book itself actually says this on the title page : "Terza impressione") a...

Thanks for your comments of reassurance, Nathaniel. I had it in mind to go back to Cuppi, so I did. Re-reading him I see the following: Il manoscritto segnala un abuso finora ignoto: alcuni giocatori giocavano Amore e Carro allo stesso modo dei Papi: se le due carte venivano giocatenello stesso gir...

Thanks for bringing the Croce text to my attention! I had overlooked that one. And I think you're absolutely right about its significance. With this and your observation about the Beaux-Arts/Rothschild sheets, plus the fact that every other Type A order puts the Chariot immediately below the Wheel, ...

In case anyone was planning a special trip to Paris for this exhibition: It has unfortunately been postponed for a year (for obvious reasons). https://www.facebook.com/museefrancaiscarteajouer/photos/a.166660213395639/3929735363754753/?type=3&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCDVlq_GDuHuVMfa4mXDn6RF08RVQtSvGXmRIF...

Some people in the early centuries definitely did associate the Old Man card with prudence after it lost the attributes of Time. The clearest example is Francesco Piscina's Discorso sopra l'ordine delle figure de Tarocchi , from Piedmont in 1565: il Vecchio Gobbo vien poi carco d' affanni e pensieri...

Thanks Steve, great work!

It seems to me that the tarot spread to Rome from Florence, whether as triumphs and or minchiate, and did not influence Bologna, or Perugia either, at least by the time of the Rosenwald (a little after 1500). The Sicilians adopted the game at a very late date, comparatively speaking: 1663-1664, acc...

Great post, Mike. I really like your idea about the Beaux-Arts/Rothschild (BAR) sheets, that they indicate an earlier Bolognese order in which Chariot was above the three virtues. I don't think I had noticed that before. I have long thought that the Chariot must have been in that position in Bologna...

Thanks for the Tower page! It's great to see you continuing the series. Your earlier pages in that series, on the other trumps, were very useful to me when I was first exploring the field earlier this year.