HudsonGray
These books are absolutely great, if you haven't heard of them before, try to find some, most are available used or can be ordered yet through Barnes & Noble.
The first I believe was mostly about the really old decks, Marseilles & such up to about 1920. The book covered a lot of the history & printing of the older ones.
Volume two covered the decks after the Marseilles, mostly. There's tons of illustrations in each book, and they're well worth the money.
Volume 3 a friend of mine was able to get into, with her self published deck, they had a few cards shown of hers. This volume had a number of newer decks from 1960 on up, both self published & commercially produced. It continued where volume #2 left off.
I don't have any of the volumes yet (I keep getting outbid on eBay) but have heard a lot about each. If you get the hardcover version, I know vol. #3 is a huge coffeetable size book probably weighing 6 pounds. They're well worth the money. Volume four has been anticipated for over a year & I'm ordering a copy as soon as it's available.
The books cover the history of the decks rather than the use of tarot cards, they're not a how to book, in other words. You get a lot of pictures & descriptions, facts and figures.
Edited to add: I found this for the series----
Publisher's Note
The history behind the luminous art, the esoteric meanings, and the rich symbolism of tarot is a valuable resource for collectors An outstanding archive of the tarot in three volumes that brings together the major theories of occultists and scholars, and reproductions of cards from more than 1,000 different tarot decks. Kaplan also explores symbolism, origins, iconography, and interpretations of tarot cards. The set is illustrated with both black and white and color illustrations, totaling more than 15,000 cards from over 1,000 tarot and tarock decks dating from the 15th century to the present. Each volume builds on the last with different cards and decks, and the combined annotated bibliography contains more than 3,300 titles from the 14th century to the present. Discussions and photographs of 3,600 cards and 300 tarot and tarock decks. Traces the development of various styles, focuses on Renaissance and medieval symbolism, closely analyzes the Major Arcana, and provides information about dating tarot decks.
The first I believe was mostly about the really old decks, Marseilles & such up to about 1920. The book covered a lot of the history & printing of the older ones.
Volume two covered the decks after the Marseilles, mostly. There's tons of illustrations in each book, and they're well worth the money.
Volume 3 a friend of mine was able to get into, with her self published deck, they had a few cards shown of hers. This volume had a number of newer decks from 1960 on up, both self published & commercially produced. It continued where volume #2 left off.
I don't have any of the volumes yet (I keep getting outbid on eBay) but have heard a lot about each. If you get the hardcover version, I know vol. #3 is a huge coffeetable size book probably weighing 6 pounds. They're well worth the money. Volume four has been anticipated for over a year & I'm ordering a copy as soon as it's available.
The books cover the history of the decks rather than the use of tarot cards, they're not a how to book, in other words. You get a lot of pictures & descriptions, facts and figures.
Edited to add: I found this for the series----
Publisher's Note
The history behind the luminous art, the esoteric meanings, and the rich symbolism of tarot is a valuable resource for collectors An outstanding archive of the tarot in three volumes that brings together the major theories of occultists and scholars, and reproductions of cards from more than 1,000 different tarot decks. Kaplan also explores symbolism, origins, iconography, and interpretations of tarot cards. The set is illustrated with both black and white and color illustrations, totaling more than 15,000 cards from over 1,000 tarot and tarock decks dating from the 15th century to the present. Each volume builds on the last with different cards and decks, and the combined annotated bibliography contains more than 3,300 titles from the 14th century to the present. Discussions and photographs of 3,600 cards and 300 tarot and tarock decks. Traces the development of various styles, focuses on Renaissance and medieval symbolism, closely analyzes the Major Arcana, and provides information about dating tarot decks.
It is very addicting.
