Jonathan Dee Tarot?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Mar 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Lee	02 Mar 2004
Today I saw two books in the bookstore, both of which are illustrated with what is identified on the copyright page as "the Jonathan Dee Tarot." They're black and white illustrations of a deck which has Majors which resemble, variously, the Marseille, the Oswald Wirth and the Visconti. The pip cards don't have scenes, just simple arrangements of suit symbols with no decoration or greenery. The first book is "Tarot Mysteries" by Jonathan Dee. The second book is "Fortune Telling by Tarot Cards" by Sasha Fenton. This is a reprint of the book which accompanied the Prediction Tarot, but in this edition illustrations from and references to the Prediction Tarot are replaced by the Jonathan Dee Tarot. Both books are published by Sterling/Zambezi. My question is, is anyone aware of an actual Jonathan Dee Tarot deck? Or does this deck exist solely as book illustrations? -- Lee

Centaur	02 Mar 2004
As far as I am aware there is a Jonathan Dee Tarot. I have heard it mentioned on numerous occasions. If you visit here (http://www.tarotgarden.com/library/tqtest.html), and look at Question 4, you will see a scan of one of the cards... Apparently:- 'Also known as the "Jonathan Dee" tarot, this deck is also called the "Barnes and Noble" tarot because of its inclusion in a special boxed book-and-deck version that was distributed through the Barnes and Noble bookstores.' So I guess it is a deck which is called different names at different times. Haha. C

Lee	02 Mar 2004
Oh, actually that's a different deck, believe it or not! That's a cheapie set published by Barnes & Noble a few years ago, and the book was written by Jonathan Dee. But this deck that I mean is actually different, it must have been drawn fairly recently. -- Lee

Centaur	02 Mar 2004
Oh, I see. How confusing... LOL. The mystery thickens! C

lionette	02 Mar 2004
Hi Lee - my curiousity about seeing another black and white deck encouraged me to do a quick search. Found this, is that the Fenton book you saw? <http://www.zampub.com/Words/Books/Zambezi/Coming_soon___/FTT/ftt.html> The website is a couple years old and I didn't see any images about the deck. Maybe out of print?

Cerulean	02 Mar 2004
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/radiowales/presenters/jondee.shtml It doesn't say he ever published his own deck. Maybe someone from the United Kingdom has seen something? Mari H.

Lee	03 Mar 2004
Thanks for the link, Mari! There was a "contact Jonathan Dee" e-mail function at that link, so I asked him if his tarot deck is available as a deck. I'll post here if he answers. Interesting to see that he is a direct descendant of John Dee! -- Lee

Lee	03 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by lionette Hi Lee - my curiousity about seeing another black and white deck encouraged me to do a quick search. Found this, is that the Fenton book you saw? < http://www.zampub.com/Words/Books/Zambezi/Coming_soon___/FTT/ftt.html > The website is a couple years old and I didn't see any images about the deck. Maybe out of print? Hi lionette, that book has been republished under the imprint Sterling/Zambezi with a different cover and is currently available in bookstores. It looks to me like Zambezi is Fenton's own publishing company, and she then made a deal with Sterling, a commercial publisher, to distribute her book. I think Dee is an ex-student of Fenton's, so that explains that connection. -- Lee

The Jonathan Dee Tarot? thread was originally posted on 02 Mar 2004 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.