78 card Tarot Deck of Vlad Dracula by Travis McHenry Original Kickstarter Rare

Description: 78 card Tarot Deck of Vlad Dracula by Travis McHenry Original Kickstarter Rare Bram Stoker Inspired This is the original deck from his kickstarter campaign. Brand new and still sealed with booklet and green velvet pouch. Outside dimensions of the still sealed box the cards are in measures 4 x 5.25 x 1.5 inches. Booklet is 3.5 x 5. The velvet pouch is 6x8. The photos of the box, booklet and pouch are the photos of the actual items you will receive. The photos of the cards and sketches are from Travis' Kickstarter Campaign page. I can't give you any actual photos of the cards as the box is still factory sealed. "In the year of Our Lord 1456, Dracula did many dreadful and curious things..." The Tarot of Vlad Dracula is a 78-card Tarot deck based on the life of Vlad the Impaler, the infamous medieval ruler of Romania who inspired Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire. The highlight of this deck is 78 original woodcuts depicting scenes of cruelty and cunning as masterfully drawn by Russian artist Nikita Vuimin from instructions provided by me, Travis McHenry, creator of The Demon-Possessed Tarot. Why Dracula? When I was a kid, I was obsessed with vampires, and as a teenager, I read Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler by Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally at my school library. Reading through the first few chapters of Vlad the Impaler's life turned out to be much scarier than any blood-sucker in a black cape from the movies. The Nailing of the Turbans on the heads of the Ottoman envoys really stuck with me as an act of unwarranted brutality. Needless to say, I did not finish the book. When I later read the biography as an adult, so many of the short scenes from his life felt like little lessons that we can learn from still today. A few of the scenes seemed to align perfectly with traditional depictions of the Tarot, so I decided to combine my two loves into one awesome creation! The Cards Each image portrays a moment in Dracula’s life that is paired perfectly with a Tarot card to reveal its astrological and occult meaning. This combination of design and esoteric knowledge results in a historically accurate deck that can be used as a divination tool or simply cherished as a macabre work of art. The cards are 3.5in x 5in, which makes them slightly larger than typical Tarot cards, and this design choice was made in an effort to maintain the aspect ratio of historical woodcuts and to give the artist as much space as possible to create his art. The cardstock is 330gsm blue core cardstock with a smooth (non-glossy) finish. The same thickness as my previous decks, which makes it ideal for shuffling and handling. This will be my first deck without gilded / metallic edging because the printing company doesn't have the capacity to gild the edges for this specific card size. The Creative Process The process of creating the cards began with my research into the history of Vlad Dracula's life. I did an extremely deep dive into modern biographies and historical sources to find the most factually accurate information possible. My sources included books and pamphlets in Romanian, French, Latin, German, Russian, and Old Church Slavonic. Some of these languages I was able to translate myself, but the Old Church Slavonic required the assistance of Antoaneta Granberg, associate professor of Slavic Languages at Göteborgs University in Germany. After deciding what incidents from Vlad's life and individual people could best be paired with specific Tarot cards, I sent my sketches to Nikita who artfully turned my crappy scrawls into woodcut masterpieces. Journey to Romania In an effort to separate some of the legend of Bram Stoker's Dracula from the real Vlad Tepes, I traveled to Romania during the summer of 2019 and visited the sites where Vlad lived, ruled, and killed. My trip to Romania ended up being incredibly insightful, and the trip itself is being turned into a documentary film called In the Footsteps of Vlad Dracula. As a backer, you'll get a free digital copy if we hit our stretch goals! Additionally, I was able to incorporate some of my journey into the cards themselves. For example, the tomb of Vlad Dracula at Snagov Monastery found its way onto the Four of Swords, a card that traditionally depicts the effigy tomb of a knight.

Price: 119 USD

Location: Eagle Lake, Minnesota

End Time: 2024-12-15T01:22:53.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD