The printed proof of the cards and LWB are in -- and here are pictures. I can see a couple of issues that need to be dealt with: mainly the corners of the cards are rounded off 'WAY too much. Really, they're rounded about twice as much as the Majors deck was... I will have a word with the printer, and I'm sure we can deal with this. I can also see a couple of cards that I might want to brighten (or darken). No matter what I decide, I really doubt that it will slow the process down much (if at all) at this point.
'Ja like the look of it so far? I like this picture because with just a hint of fanning you can really see how substantial the thing is. The deck has girth and weight... and yet it's very shuffle-able. It gives off a good vibe!
It looks nice laid out, too... but you'd better have some significant free tabletop space if you want to lay them all out at once!
You can really see how the cirners are rounded too much in this shot. On some of the cards, it even comes dangerously close to chopping off text. The other thing that's a little weird is that they came to me stacked up in exactly the opposite order that they should have been. Oh, well. I think this can be fixed with a word, but even if it can't -- you're going to want to go through the cards anyway the minute you open it up, right?
Without the slight riffling in my hand, it looks a little less formidable... but no less substantial.
Here's a view from the back.
This next sequence of pictures, shows all of the Minors laid out in sequence. I apologixe for the blurriness of some of these pictures. I'm using an iPhone to take photos, and it's sometimes hard to see what you've got before you move on... I do, however, really like the contrasting colors for the wand and cup court cards.
These images are also very dark. The earlier ones I shot outdoors in natural light came out much more accurately.
And now hare are three views of the Little White Book, which turned out exactly right. Well, with years of newspaper advertising behind me, if I can't get something like the LWB right, what CAN I get right?
Next, as I did with the Majors deck, I wanted to get shots of this side-by-side with some other decks that may be right in your home, so that you have something to stack it up against. First, the Zirkus side-by-side with Crazy Uncle Aleister's THOTH deck....
Okay, Unkie's deck is more substantial looking from head-on, but watch what happens when you look from the side!
Next, the special 100th annual-versity edition of Waite-Smith:
Next to the Zirkus, the Swiss IJJ deck looks like it could use some Viagra...
Hans and Franz took one look and said, "De GAIRLEY deck can LEAF de WOOM!"
Cosmic Tarot, anyone?
I guess it needs its Consciousness Expanded...
And finally, The Victorian Romantic.
Now onto the box: I'm a little disappointed that I'm only going to get a proof of that in PDF form. Risky; but I can see how the cards came out, so I have that for reference. They did completely re-wicker the die-cut line, but I pretty much knew that had to happen. Boxes are not something I have a lot of experience with:
In Closing...
I'm about 99 percent happy with the proof, and the other 1% is easily addressed. I'll give them the OK with changes, and I see no reason why production ought not to begin the first part of next week. And because these guys work fast, it is my Deep Suspicion that I will be picking up the decks at their plant somewhere around the 3rd or 4th of September! I don't think it will be much later than that...
Then the WORK starts -- getting the decks and other items out to you! Have you filled out your survey yet?
Thank you all for making this happen!
-- Freder
www.ducksoup.me
