Sneak Peak: Henri Bordeaux

Hello all! This is Neil, the Archivist-in-Residence here at the Luscinia Historical Society with a little sneak peak of what we’ve been working on this whole time.

Just under a year ago, LHS received a gigantic anonymous donation of artwork, papers, and other media that completely derailed our plans to open to the public — in a good way! While the resulting documentation, filing, and organization put a bit of a damper on our plans, it also means we will have more to show when you do come to visit later this year.

Among the collection is the life’s work of Henri Bordeaux (1899 - 1973), a French-born American painter who lived and worked in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. In addition to being a self taught painter and professional butcher, Bordeaux designed and created an oracle deck, complete with reading guide. I’ve been working on scanning the original deck designs as well as translating card descriptions and meanings with the help of my research assistant, Emma. Bordeaux’s guidebook is an amalgamation of Euskara, French, and English, so it’s been slowly coming together. In the mean time, here are a few images of the cards. Each are made of watercolor and ink on paper and measure a bit larger than standard Tarot, around 4.25 x 7.25 in.

Henri Bordeaux, Untitled (Anchor), watercolor and ink on paper, 4.25 × 7.25 in., 1945

Henri Bordeaux, Untitled (Flamboyance), watercolor and ink on paper, 4.25 × 7.25 in., 1945

Henri Bordeaux, Untitled (Clématite), watercolor and ink on paper, 4.25 × 7.25 in., 1945

Emma and I are working hard on the deck to hopefully translate Bordeaux’s original notes as well as flesh it out through testing to hopefully reproduce and offer this fascinating form of cartomancy to anyone interested in exploring it. More news coming soon!

Neil Daigle Orians • Archivist-in-Residence

I look forward to speaking with you all, as well.