Tarot: A Graphic History

Tarot: A Graphic History by Valentina Grande delves into the life of Pamela Colman-Smith: artist, occultist, and true bohemian. Although her illustrations have defined the iconography of the classic tarot deck, she is all too often forgotten.

Born in London in 1878, Colman-Smith moved to Jamaica with her parents at the age of eleven and then to New York to study art. She dropped out of college following her mother's death in 1896, and after her father died in 1899, she found herself back in London. There, she joined the infamous Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society dedicated to the study of occultism. It was within this circle that she met Arthur Edward Waite, with whom she created the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck, a deck that remains in print today.

This beautifully illustrated graphic history tells Colman-Smith's tale and relates it to the iconic cards she helped to create. From the Fool, representing the beginning of every new adventure, to the Magician, who focuses energy, and the Hanged Man, who helps us see things from a different angle, until finally we embrace the World and fulfil our destinies.

A unique take on a perennially popular subject, Tarot: A Graphic History ensures you'll never look at a tarot deck in the same way again.