Artwork & Times of Pamela Colman Smith: Artist of the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck

by Stuart R. Kaplan

Features insights into Pamela Colman Smith's inspirations, friendships, and collaborations, as well as an extensive selection of her artwork beyond the area of tarot.

Genres: Tarot, Art, Spirituality, History

Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

In 1968 while traveling for business in Europe, Stuart Kaplan attended the Nuremberg Toy Fair in search of game ideas and gifts for his children. He discovered an intriguing deck of cards unlike anything he had ever seen before. He brought the pack of Swiss 1JJ tarot back to New York and started selling it to bookstores. The deck began to sell well but there was no instruction book available, so Stuart wrote Tarot Cards for Fun and Fortune Telling. With these products Stuart launched U.S. Games Systems, Inc. the first company to publish tarot decks in the U.S. He chose the Fool card from the Rider-Waite deck as the company logo because it represents the willingness to take a leap of faith and follow an unchartered path (And his birthday is April 1, April Fool’s Day). The Rider-Waite deck, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, would become the most iconic and beloved tarot deck in the world. Stuart made it his personal mission to bring Pamela Colman Smith the recognition she richly deserved. He spent years researching Smith and collecting her original art and publications, which would be showcased in his book Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story.

Stuart’s dedication to education also led him to write one of the most extensive bodies of work on the tarot, the four-volume Encyclopedia of the Tarot, which describes and illustrates more than 1,000 different tarot decks from the 15th century to the present. The Encyclopedia of the Tarot has become the most influential collection of books for tarot history and research.

Stuart believes that tarot cards are an unbound book, by shuffling the cards a new story is revealed. The person reading the cards brings their own, unique interpretation to each reading of an individual card and the cards in combination. There is an aura of mysticism coupled with fascination that surrounds the images on the cards, and the fact that they have been in existence for over five centuries adds to the allure. In his experience tarot is a catalyst. In some ways, it is also a creativity tool to allow people to think differently and experience thoughts and ideas they might not otherwise have considered. For some people, tarot allows for serious meditation, others find it fun. It is all in the eyes of the beholder.

Stuart was also an avid collector of antiquarian books, ephemera, historical items, and vintage playing cards and games, particularly Authors Card Games. His impressive collections have been displayed in major museums around the world. His last major research and writing project was The Game of Authors Compendium. Stuart’s passion for work never waned, and it inspired everyone around him.

Stuart Kaplan passed away at the age of 88 on February 9, 2021. He is remembered for his kindness, humor, and generosity.

Reviews

[Nóra Ugron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pamela Colman Smith, such a fascinating artist!! It was intriguing to read about her art and life, as well as to see her works and get to know more about the contexts of creating the Waite-Smith tarot deck. However this is a way too short and dry biography, which completely omits to mention the possible queer aspect ofSmith's sexual life (see more: https://enchantedlivingmagazine.com/d...). I want to know more about her... but so little information is available sadly.

[Rajita P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

หนังสือเกี่ยวกับชีวประวัติ และบอกเล่ารวมถึงรวบรวมผลงานของคุณ Pamela Colman Smith ผู้วาดภาพบนหน้าไพ่ทาโร่ Rider-Waite tarot เล่มนี้มาพร้อมชุดไพ่ต้นตำรับ box set

[Pixelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a little short history of the woman behind the art on the most famous and spread tarot deck.
Pamela Colman Smith aka Pixie had quite a hard life. Motherless, unmarried, struggling to support herself by her art. Must have been tough being a single woman and of mixed raced back in that time.

Looking at her art that is shown here I see a lot of similarities to the art of Swedish painter Carl Larsson.

This book came as part in the Pamela Colman Smith commemorative set.

[Jessamyn Duckwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a nice primer! i loved seeing examples of the art she did outside the tarot.

now i just need to find a more dense biography. does it exist?

specifically, i want to know more about her relationship to the Golden Dawn, Yeats, and the occult, as well as about what prompted her eventual conversion to catholicism.

i’d also like to know more about her female relationships, particularly the girl she wrote letters to signed “Constance” and then her later-life companion Nora Lake.

[Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting woman! Quick little book that was about a fascinating woman. Read a bit dry and there is so much more I want to know but in the quick 101 pages you get a sense of the amazing woman who illustrated the Smith- Waite tarot deck!

[Ashely Scheller · Rating 3 out of 5]

As soon as I saw her portrait, I instantly got queer vibes. Reading further into the life of Pamela, it seems those feelings may be correct.
What a fascinating person. And how completely unfair that she isn't recognized more. I would've loved to have met her in person.

[Tarot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book honoring Smith's life and work is included in the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set (RWS Centennial Tarot) by U.S. Games.

[Michael Schill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little book.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork reproductions and selections are amazing ! However the writing is lackluster.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this little volume so much. I'm so pleased I picked it up as a forever book. It is the history and art of the woman who illustrated the most famous tarot deck ever and the first to have illustrations for every card. I adored learning about her, and it is clear that the author adored writing about her. I fully intend to add her to my growing collection of heroic ancestors.

[Oliver Ho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, brief biography, with a lot of illustrations. It makes me want to find more books about her--she would make a compelling character for a novel, too.