The Creative Process

Antiquarian Lenormand w/ borders removed.

I set out to create the Antiquarian Lenormand because I wanted to have a personal reading deck of my own design that had a hand-made antiqued aesthetic. My focus at first was the late 19th & early 20th centuries but I strayed from this at times.  All of the key images were gathered from various places and are in the public domain.

I began by looking for an antique playing card deck that I could use as the playing card inserts you see in historic Lenormand decks.  I was searching specifically for a deck from the late 1800s or early 1900s.  My search ended with a late 19th century Les Modes Godey Nasco Playing Card Co deck that I found at a flea market for $5.00! 

Each of the original cards are handmade 8.5” X 12” collages upon which I applied various techniques to create its distressed appearance. Some of the elements didn't need to be aged, like the letter from the schoolgirl in the Letter card & the circa 1890's playing card inserts themselves! It took seven months to assemble the 36 cards, plus the extra Fox card. I love both & so included both in the pack. Pick the Fox you prefer to use in your readings & leave the other out.

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