A Black and White Soprafino Deck

In 1998, Il Meneghello printed 300 of these lovely decks. Arnell Ando has purchasing information on her website for the few remaining decks (link below).

The soprafino deck engraved by Carlo Della Rocca @1835 appears to be draw in pencil, creating images that are soft, delicate and refined. According to Cristina Dorsini, Il Meneghello’s art director, these cards are reprints of Della Rocca’s original engravings.

The women, and many of the beardless men, have rather sweet, bland expressions; while the mature men have stronger, and more varied facial expressions.The titles on the trump and court cards are in a very similar font to the soprafino deck published by Il Meneghello in 1992. But the titles are in French! This seems very strange for a Milanese deck published in Milan by a native of Milan.

The cards are printed on sturdy, cream-colored card stock. Tan splotches on the paper are probably meant to make the cards look aged. The effect is very subtle and adds a bit of texture without being distracting. The deck comes in a handmade box collaged with postage stamps, a card from the deck, old papers and a wax seal.

Purchasing information can be found at arnellart.com.

Click here for an article on Carlo Della Rocca and his soprafino deck.