The New York Lenormand

This is the playing card version, and it could have been a great deck. The images are great: crisp and clear and easy to read, and I was really looking forward to using them. The "cards", however, are not finished like similar cards, but are literally just squares of what appears to be a stiff inkjet photo paper, printed on one side only, with no finishing or coating on either side. Nor are the corners rounded, so between that and the lack of any coating or waterproofing I don't see them holding up to normal use in any way. The edges will fray in no time at all, and I suspect they will also pick up dirt very easily. Many thanks to TarotGarden for wrapping them so well in bubble wrap for shipping. As they come loose in a stiff fabric drawstring bag and are not secured in any other way, without so much as a rubber band or inner plastic wrap, had you not done that they would not have made the trip. But they did, and what a disappointment. It's a shame because I was really looking forward to using this deck. I guess I'll stick with my Piatnik and Lo Scarabeo "French Cartomancy" decks for now. As a comparison, those decks both come in a tuck box with inner wrapping and a booklet; this deck is literally just the "cards" and the fabric bag. As inexpensive as the Piatnik deck is (less than half what this deck cost me, $8 or so) they're finished like actual playing cards, with rounded corners, printed backs, finish coating on both sides, and hold up well to normal use. The "French Cartomancy" deck from Lo Scarabeo is a little more expensive than that, $15 maybe, but they too are well finished and hold up well over time. None of that can be said for this deck. These, sadly, will stay in the bag until/unless I can figure out how to make them a bit more durable. If all you want are display pieces or cards to look at, these are great, and I mean that sincerely. It really is a great reproduction/update and the designs are very easy to visually sort at a glance. But if you want finished, usable cards that you can shuffle easily, ones with printed backs and corners that won't snag, actual cards that you can lay out repeatedly and trust they will hold up over time, find something from a different publisher. Thanks again to TarotGarden for the great packing and fast shipping; will definitely buy from you again! Just not these, sorry.