Happy 100th birthday Rider-Waite Tarot Deck! Hmmmm.how do you celebrate the 100th birthday of such an important piece of occult history? Could I suggest with the purchase of the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set?
This massive set pays homage to Pamela Colman Smith, the artist behind the Rider-Waitedeck. First, this set includes the Smith-Waite Centennial Edition Tarot Deckreproduced directly from the original 1909 Rider-Waitedeck. Since the Riderpart of the name was merely there because they were the publishers of the original deck, U.S. Games Systems (the current publisher) dropped the Riderand added Smith, now giving credit to the two people behind the creation of the deck, Pamela Colman Smith and Arthur Edward Waite.
Another part of the Smith tribute is the book The Artwork and Times of Pamela Colman Smithby noted tarot expert and all around bad ass Stuart R. Kaplan. This book is a fascinating look at the life and works of Smith. For someone like myself, who only is familiar with Smith through her contribution to the tarot world, this book gave me an eye-opening look at not only a talented artist, but also a gifted writer and storyteller.
Just to make the set complete, The Pictorial Key to the Tarotby Arthur Edward Waite is included in an updated format. To round out the tarot side of things there’s also a tarot spread sheet guide and an organza bag to hold the tarot deck in.
In case that wasn’t enough to dazzle, you’ll also get a 5x7photo of Pamela Coleman Smith (who is adorable), three more 5x7reproductions of Smith’s art, and six postcards featuring even more of her artwork!
All of this comes in a beautiful, double-sided display case that carries the heft of a serious collection of stuff.
This impressive set is an absolute must for anyone who is serious about tarot, but would also make an interesting gift for an art lover.
To learn more, click here.