the truth about Tarot history

I'm facilitating a tarot workshop in a few weeks and would like to get some solid information about the history of the tarot. Does anyone know an up-to-date academic-type resource for finding out the fascinating history of tarot cards? I hear so many different things, I don't know what to believe. Also- any advice on creating a tarot workbook? thanks!

Our own Huck's http://www.trionfi.com/ is the definitive resource.

For a summarised overview see:

http://www.tarotpedia.com/wiki/Tarot_History

Well, it may be getting on in years a bit now but I think Michael Dummett's The Game of Tarot (Duckworth 1980) remains a popular choice for an all round history of the cards. It can be a little expensive to buy but you shouldn't have any trouble getting use of a copy through a library.

There are then two volumes that focus on the history of the occult tarot:

A Wicked Pack of Cards by Ronald Decker, Thierry Depaulis, & Michael Dummett (St Martin's Press 1996)

A History of the Occult Tarot 1870-1970 by Ronald Decker and Michael Dummett (Duckworth 2002)

Although not clear from their titles, these are best considered a 2 volume work, the second picking up where the first leaves off. Both books are fairly easy to obtain still.

*Apparently a pirate copy - deleted reference*

Without reservation of any kind I highly recommend Robert Place's "Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination."

philebus said:

A Wicked Pack of Cards by Ronald Decker, Thierry Depaulis, & Michael Dummett (St Martin's Press 1996)

A History of the Occult Tarot 1870-1970 by Ronald Decker and Michael Dummett (Duckworth 2002)

Although not clear from their titles, these are best considered a 2 volume work, the second picking up where the first leaves off. Both books are fairly easy to obtain still.

Click to expand...

IMO, these are where one should begin.

I'm not sure that I would begin with these two. They only tell half the story, picking up 350 years into the cards' history. The Game of Tarot goes into some depth for the early years and into extra-ordinary detail for the games, with a little overview of the occult history.