German Version of the Grand Etteilla

Tarot’s origins go back to the Italian carte di trionfi in the 15th century. A deck consists of 78 cards. Up to the late 18th century it served primarily as a card game before gradually being used for occult purposes. All the cards were laid out in rows that stand for soul, spirit, body, and life. The position and order of the cards govern their interpretation. The cards of J. F. Alleitte (Etteilla spelled backwards) are one of the earliest fortune-telling decks. Their inventor, a barber and wig-maker in Paris in 1789, was known across Europe as a card-reader. This extremely rare deck of cards shows the precise transfer of the motifs and designations of Etteila’s cards into German.