A E WAITE KEY TO THE TAROT FIRST Edition 1910

1910 first edition of A E Waite's seminal THE KEY TO THE TAROT, published by William Rider & Son Limited.

This is a very rare item indeed and very very few first eds, appear on the open market.

It is an unassuming little book 83mm x 125mm, bound in blue with gilt blocking and gilt top edge. Very slight browning to the edges of the pages. Otherwise in excellent condition.

The cover is in excellent condition having been covered by its original tissue paper and if it were not for the slight browning of the pages this would look as new instead of a 1910 book.

The book comes with a boxed deck of tarot cards, obviously of the same date. The cards conform with Pamela Coleman Smith's requirements as described in K Frank Jensen's article "The early Waite-Smith tarot editions".

The cards are in excellent condition, with no signs of rough handling.

Comes in its original box for book and deck.

In 1909, Waite commissioned Smith to produce a tarot deck with appeal to the world of art, and the result was the unique Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck (Rider being the name of the publisher), which has endured as the world's most popular 78-card tarot deck. The innovative cards depict full scenes with figures and symbols on all of the cards including the pips, and with Smith's distinctive designs they have become the basis for the designs of many subsequent packs.

The Rider-Waite tarot deck is the most popular Tarot deck in use today in the English-speaking world (the Tarot de Marseille being the most popular deck in the Latin countries). Over the years it has also been known as the Rider-Waite-Smith, Waite-Smith, Waite-Colman Smith or simply the Rider deck.

The images were drawn by artist Pamela Colman Smith, to the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and published by the Rider Company. While the images are deceptively simple, almost child-like, the details and backgrounds hold a wealth of symbolism. The subjects remain close to the earliest decks, but usually have added details. Significantly, Waite had the Christian imagery of older tarot decks' cards toned down—the "Pope" card became the "Hierophant," the "Popess" became the "High Priestess." The minor arcana are also, like the earlier Sola Busca Tarot, fully illustrated with designs created by Pamela Colman Smith. The chief aesthetic objection to this deck is the crude printing of colours in the original: several decks, such as the Universal Waite deck, simply copy the Smith line drawings, but with more sophisticated coloring.

The cards were originally published in December 1909, and the symbols used were influenced by the 19th century magician and occultist Eliphas Levi. In 1910, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite was published, providing an overview of the traditions and history behind the cards, criticism of various interpretations, and extensive descriptions of their symbols, along with 78 black and white plates of each card in the deck.




Final sale price £1029.00