Dear Huck, As you discerned in your research, François de Poilly (1623-1693) apparently drew extensively for the design of the first Minchiate deck (ca. 1658) from the fantasy pack by Stefano della Bella (ca. 1644). Thus, I thought it might be interesting to start by comparing the court cards of the...

Hi Huck, I’ve been reading your research in re the Poilly decks with great interest. I’ve summarized the three Poilly packs, below. For the 42-card, Poilly Minchiate, version 2 (ca. 1712-41), I went off your summary. However, it was unclear to me how to order/number the astrological signs of Libra a...

Fascinating...Thank you, both, for the illustrations and reading material.

A bit off-subject, perhaps, but I just noticed that this fool has goiter. Interesting ...Found this article on the subject ...

http://thyroiddoctortampa.com/Articles/goiter.pdf

Greetings, I read recently (albeit I cannot attest to the veracity of the source) that the practice of utilizing “shame paintings” for financial crimes/debts had fallen into disuse by the time Trionfi cards were introduced to Italy. Can anyone tell me if research supports this contention? And if thi...

Greetings, Phaeded: I hope you enjoyed your stay in Italy. A few weeks is always too short though, isn’t it? I also apologize for the delay in my response. My schedule does not always allow me to keep up with my correspondence as much as I would like. Kate wrote: In truth, I’m more inclined to belie...

Greetings, I still place the CVI hanged man in the context of that deck being produced as one of the numerous species of Medicean propaganda in response to the papacy-involved Pazzi conspiracy. As the financial supporters of not just the anti-pope John XII . . . but ‘regular’ popes such as Eugene VI...

Dear Phaeded, Thank you for your very thoughtful response. I apologize for the delay in my own. It’s been a tough week. Moreover, I have not had the opportunity to fully consider both of your posts, and I am just dog-tired. Thus, please consider this a partial response. Ultimately what is of the mos...

Hi Mike, Appealing to my vanity, huh? You devil . . . I am not sure which vase is the one you posted. If it is a famous one in the British Museum, dated 1465-92, due to the arms of either Piero or his son Lorenzo, then Thornton has this interesting, although to me confusing, thing to say: “The use o...

Hi Huck, In truth, I couldn’t say. I’ve never had occasion to take an interest in Medici heraldry before now. Thus, I was forced to rely on the net. It was my impression that Lorenzo used the seven-palli model until his death and that the change to six palli was a 16th Century innovation. However, l...