Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story

I thought the book was a normal hardcover but what a surprise! Was BIG Hardcover book beautifuly done, with great quality pages and printing. The images of Pamela Colman Smith's art look Great. Stunning colors ...all the art or images looks clear and detailed. A gifted English artist from the late 19th century and early 20th century on a time were women hadn't much rights as men, but pushed strongly for her art to be recognized as artist,painter and author and editor. For those we know about the now classic Rider-Waite tarot but not knew anything or much of the gifted artist who realized the art, is a JEWEL this book. I knew of her later after years of knowing of that famous tarot deck. Too bad in the medium of mystic/holistic/esoteric culture (where I frequented) when people tell you or recommend the Raider-Waite never the topic of the artist come around. And when I researched by myself and asked or told about her, people didn't knew about her...maybe of Arthur Edward Waite ..but even little or not much too. Just a minority of those I met on those early years of my learning of tarot knew who She was. This book is a MUST for people who are in the path of esoteric or tarot (as of course the Raider-Waite deck always is one of the most used) , are artist or studying art history or love History only for the learning as I do love history too. Great redacting the information about Pamela Colman Smith, and the other art apart from the tarot deck. The only downside but wasn't amazon's fault ...the ups service threw the box above the front iron fence of 6 ft. into the front porch but Good it was well protected packaged (Good service on packaging) . Sometimes things like that get one mad. But all is well and undamaged.

It was 1971 when Stuart Kaplan took Donald Weiser’s advice and acquired the rights to what is now commonly known as the Rider-Waite tarot deck. It was the beginning of Kaplan’s tarot empire. By the end of 1971, the deck was selling internationally. It was a time when no one thought to question whether or not Smith’s role in creating the deck was represented accurately.Like most people, I dismissed her input into the project, thinking that she was a technician following Waite’s instructions. The truth is that she was a respected professional artist, entrepreneur, occultist, and suffragette when Waite tapped her to create the visual imagery for his tarot project.Kaplan has stepped to the forefront once again, publishing over 400 pages documenting Colman’s skill, experience, and her major contribution to the most famous tarot deck in the world.This book firmly establishes that Colman brought her own extensive occult background to the project, and the drawings/reference materials in this timely book demonstrate that the foundations of some of the most notable tarot images were well established in her repertoire for years before she applied them to the tarot cards. It has been clear to me for decades that Waite was an initiate of the highest order. This book has convinced me that Smith was his peer not his handmaid.The time is right for this woman to be elevated to her rightful place in tarot history. Kaplan, along with Greer, O’Connor, Parsons, and the very capable U S. Games staff, have made this scholarly work a page turner.

What a book! What a wide-ranging talent! For those familiar only with Pamela’s R-W Tarot creations, this is a beautiful and fascinating eye-opener. A huge book, packed with exceptional reproductions of all sorts: her paintings, sketches, full-color broadsheets, correspondence, children’s books, pages from her salon guestbook, poetry, photos, etc.! There’s a lot of information on the London theatre as related to Pamela’s involvement, and that of her close friends (one of whom was Bram “Dracula” Stoker!). The text is first-rate, too; although mysteries remain concerning this artist, it seems as if everything known has been included here, in a professional and affectionate manner. And the layout is utterly charming; many pages have her little figures or designs, in color or silhouette, gracing the margins. It is so easy to become happily “lost” in this book, in the world of Pamela’s imagination and multi-faceted talents. The tragedy of her declining career, post WWI, has been redressed to a great extent with this book, thanks to the decades-long efforts of Stuart Kaplan who strove to rediscover the artist behind R-W Tarot.

This book is about ALL of Smith’s work. I bought it mostly to learn about her work with Tarot. I just thought this would be the focus. Recommended and well done just not what I expected.

I have taught tarot for over 40 years and for the first years I fought with the "Waite Smith" deck. I always used it when teaching but not in doing readings. It was not the prettiest deck on the market, just the smartest and most knowledgeable. Eventually I got it. No other artist has captured the meaning and story of each card in such a simpl way. No other artist has demonstrated the ability tocommunicate the meaning and depth of a card with such uncluttered illustrations. Why is this the best-selling tarot deck? It's not Waite's book nor is it Ryder's publishing.I often comment that as an artist her workk may have been seen by more people than almost anh other artist. Surely she is in the top echelon. Her life has been largely unknown to us but she has deserved better than this. And who etter than Stuart at US Games? What a feast of a book. Oh Pamela, if only you could see how wonderful we think you are. Thank you Stuart. This is a genuine gift to the Tarot World.

A big thank you to the authors of this book for doing the research to bring this treasure of a book into print. I bought my first Tarot Deck (Waite/Rider) in 1979. It was a significant step along the path of self awareness and personal healing. Knowing more about the life of Pamela Colman Smith gives me an added understanding of the magic and depth of meaning she brings to her illustrations. This book will also be of interest to people who are interested in theater, historical dress, and practical spirituality.

Quem procura este livro já sabe o conteúdo. O que é importante ressaltar, então?O livro vem com uma capa dura de luxo, linda.Vem dentro de um case/box muito bem feito e acompanhando a arte.O contéudo interno do livro é idêntico ao da versão mais simples e barata (e também esgotada)o que muda? Somente a página em que estão as assinaturas/autógrafos dos autores, entre eleso lendário Stuart Kaplan (falecido há poucos meses) portanto, quem tem o livro assinado, tem, quem não tem, não terá mais porque além de limitado a 500 cópias, o "homem" morreu.Vale a pena investir e comprar esta versão? Totalmente. Se dinheiro não for problema, se considerar como um investimento e melhor ainda, se conseguir pegar uma promoção da Amazon em que consiga um bom desconto, que foi o meu caso.Existe atualmente no Brasil (junho/2022) uma campanha de financiamento coletivo da editora Palimpsestus no catarse para tradução e lançamento da obra de Pamela Colman, pela primeira vez em português, com tudo o que tem direito. Vale a pena conferir e prestigiar, será um marco. Pergunta: Trata-se deste mesmo livro aqui? Resposta Importante: Não. Não é o mesmo livro. Então, aproveite e fique de olho nos dois.

A wealth of information and illustrations compiled by Stuart Kaplan, founder of US Games and pretty much single handedly kept the work of PCs alive.

Perfect Christmas gift for the tarot enthusiasts in your crowd. It's an art book and history of Pamela Colman Smith, the illustrator of the original Rider Waite tarot deck and her fascinating story. Lots of gorgeous color reproductions and art work. Highly recommended. Beautiful.

2018年初版。ライダー・ウェイト版タロットカードの作画を手がけたパメラ・コールマン・スミスに関する研究書として最高峰のものであるだけでなく、美術書としても圧巻であり、彼女の手がけた（タロット以外の）あらゆる作品、自筆書簡、果てはパスポートの写真まで、あらゆる記録がカラー印刷で収録されている贅沢な内容。おそらく今後これを越える仕事は出現しないであろう。

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