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DECK COLOR SCHEMES
The categories of Marseilles Tarots are further subdivided into coloring schemes. Over the years of printing Marseilles Tarots, various color schemes have been used. Some tarot scholars believe the color schemes were arbitrary, more for the convenience of the printer or due to the limited ink palettes of the time. Other authors have attached tremendous esoteric importance to the particular color choices.
The differentiation of color schemes we offer here is our own, and it is simplified for the purposes of choosing a deck suiting one’s taste. Obviously, tarot scholars may differ from our simplified scheme below, when analyzing the TdM’s as an artistic artifact.
  C1 Color Scheme 1 in our nomenclature refers to the 1760 Conver prototype, as seen in the facsimile decks by Heron and Lo Scarabeo or the hard-to-find Dusserre Dodal, as well as the reconstruction decks of Camoin/Jodorowsky deck and Rodés/Sánchez.
We differentiate it here by noting that II-La Papesse’s outer robe is red (whereas the C2 decks show a blue outer robe). There is also the color green in these decks. 
The Camoin/Jodorowsky reconstruction deck is quite faithful to the C1 scheme. This is understandable considering that the House of Conver later became the House of Camoin. This deck and reportedly played a large role in the Camoin/Jodorowsky reconstruction deck. The Rodés/Sánchez reconstruction deck uses a color scheme very close to Camoin/Jodorowsky’s (not pictured here for copyright purposes).
 C2 Color Scheme 2 refers to the popular Grimaud scheme (our term). This scheme was actually informed by the 1880 Conver House printing color scheme, which predated the Grimaud company’s printing.
 Perhaps due to printing efficiency trumping the desire to preserve a tradition, this 1880 Conver printing used only 4-colors (red, yellow, blue, and black) and very little green. This became a new prototype for Marseilles Tarots, whether published by Dusserre, Fournier, or other manufacturers.
We differentiate it here by noting how the color scheme is often the opposite of C1: For example, II-La Papesse’s outer robe is now blue in the C2 scheme. The Fournier deck retained the C2 Color Scheme, with an enhanced color palette. The House of Conver, which as mentioned actually started this color scheme in 1880, later became the House of Camoin. M. Philippe Camoin claims that this color scheme, although popular and ubiquitous, was fundamentally error, and thus shaped decades of imprecise Tarot analyses.
 C3 Color Scheme 3 refers to all other color schemes not fitting C 1 and C2. For example, pictured here is a miscellaneous Tarot de Marseille, which appears to be a hodge-podge of colors. We use C 3 as a catchall for the colorings that do not fit neatly into the prior color schemes.
M. Kris Hadar’s reconstruction deck (not pictured) appears to be informed by both C1 and C2 color schemes, but stylistically follows S3 (Style 3), as well as others.
We focus on 3 color schemes, because these 3 seem to encompass much of the Tarot de Marseille decks available on the market today. The reconstruction decks all claim that they have restored the true colors. The classical decks offer time-worn acceptance by the European tarot community. The other decks of Color Scheme 3 (C3) offer a variety, much like a new grape variety yields new and interesting wines.
Thoroughly confused? Let’s break it down.
 First, ask yourself if you want a more antique-looking deck, as if you are reading with an original tarot deck. The aged-in-an-oak-barrel look of the facsimile decks may satisfy.
If you are concerned about authentic coloring, the facsimile decks of the Conver House are purported by M. Philippe Camoin and Alejandro Jodorowsky to be very close to the Tradition and still available in the marketplace.
If you want a deck that retains conventional TdM imagery, but uses modern printing, perhaps the classical or reconstructions decks are befitting.
Like a stalwart castle, the classical decks offer time-worn establishment. As well, they are well-analyzed in many TdM books. Long before the reconstructionists, the classical TdM decks were considered the royal road to understanding the Tarot de Marseille. The simple 4-color schematic with occasional green color offers an optically-vitalizing tableau as the red and blue and yellow and black and occasional green colors clamor together. Although yielding a Cacophony of Color, they produce an Optical Melody to the discerning tarot reader. At the very least, they are visually smashing when spread on the table.
The reconstruction decks claim scholarly superiority. They argue that they have purified past contaminations that occurred through years of design flaws, color compromises, and obfuscations of key symbols, either deliberately or by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, so to speak. The Camoin and Jodorowsky TdM deck was the first major reconstruction project, then M. Kris Hadar’s tarot, then the Rodés/Sánchez deck from their company LE MAT Communicaciones.
Distinctly, M. Jean Claude Flornoy offers restoration decks of the Dodal and Noblet bar none for elegance and clarity. He and his wife recently published a 78-card Noblet restoration deck.
Finally, modern rendition decks offer an individual image- and color-scheme. We do not comment heavily on these decks, because we believe that the aforementioned categories offer everything a TdM reader requires, while the modern rendition decks may obscure learning.
As you may have imagined, the authors of this website have a recommendation: We recommend the Tarot de Marseille by Philippe Camoin and Alejandro Jodorwosky. This deck offers the timeless aesthetic of the Conver style, while enhancing the color palette—and that it claims to be an accurate reconstruction of the purified Tarot isn’t bad, either.
Copyright by Paul B. Williams ©.
Do not reproduce without permission.
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Tarot Divination