Sheridan-Douglas Tarot: new printing

Alfred Douglas said:

One of my own longtime favourites is 'The Painted Caravan'
by Basil Ivan Rakoczi, published in 1954. Brilliant text, and
illustrations drawn by the author.

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Basil Ivan Rákóczi (1908-1979)

The Painted Caravan. A Penetration into the Secrets of the Tarot Cards

L. J. C. Boucher, The Hague, 1954.

Profusely illustrated in colour and monochrome by the author.
A study of gypsy lore and arcana, largely as related to the author
by his Hungarian mother. Quarto, green cloth covered boards.

With numerous designs by the author, based upon ancient
Gypsy tarot packs.

Rákóczi was also the co-founder of the White Stag Group,
which revolutionised the arts in Dublin during WWII.


*

From a review:

Curiously, twenty-two 'mason-marks' are to be found on the stonework of Rosslyn Chapel, and twenty-two is also the number of the Greater Arcana (the Great Secrets) of the Tarot, which in turn may relate to the twenty-two letters of the Phoenician alphabet. Could this suggest twenty-two steps of initiation? This notion is supported by Basil Ivan Rakoczi, who states: "The Gypsy Master teaches that the Greater Arcana or Trumps Major of the Tarot represent the twenty-two steps upon the way of Initiation." (The Painted Caravan: Penetration into the Secrets of the Tarot Cards, 1954).


In The Painted Caravan, Rakoczi further relates: "But what is this word, Tarot? Is its root to be found in the name of the Tinker's secret language, the Shelta Thari, which was discovered by Charles Godfrey Leland and was, after much scholarly research by George Sampson, proved to be a Q-Celtic language; for, though the Tinker is decried by his brother Gypsy, he is, it is now thought, a descendent of ancient dispossessed land owners, the Picts, who, in turn, had inter-married with Phoenicians and had equally their roots (perhaps intertwined with those of the Gypsies) in the Orient?"

Alfred Douglas said:

The Thomson/Leng remains the most powerful deck for me, because I pored over every detail while studying Madeline's articles in the late '50s when I should have been doing my homework. Evidence of a mis-spent youth perhaps, but it seemed to work out OK in the long term : ).

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I'm glad you mentioned this, because I had been meaning to ask whether you use your own deck presently or some other (and which one!). There's an interesting thread on the subject of whether and to what extent deck creators use their own decks, here.

Also, can you tell us a bit about David with regards to tarot? Was he interested in tarot before the deck project? After the project, did he use his own deck for readings? Did he do other professional work later on?

I've long wished I had a Thomson/Leng, but it goes for a small fortune nowadays. Oh well, at least I'll have a Sheridan-Douglas!

-- Lee

Regarding the Sheridan-Douglas and the Thomson-Leng, I had never noticed how the Six of Swords in the Sheridan-Douglas is more reminiscent of the Thomson-Leng than the RWS. Very interesting!

-- Lee

I know the feeling...

Alfred Douglas said:

It was a thrill for me to find myself in correspondence with
someone whose work I so admired.

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Hello Alfred Douglas!

I found a copy of "The Painted Caravan" for under £50
(I paid $21.00 actually) and I also ordered this one:

Fortune Telling: A Guide to Foreseeing the Future

ISBN's 0356034658 & 1199251836 & 0608703974

Could you say how the two might compare in content?

Thanks!
~Fulgour

Alfred Douglas said:

It was a thrill for me to find myself in correspondence with someone whose work I so admired.

Click to expand...

I know what you mean!
I feel a lot like that talking to you here on AT.
Cool, isn't it?

It's here...

The Painted Caravan:
A Penetration into the Secrets of the Tarot Cards

by Basil Ivan Rákóczi (1908-1979)
L. J. C. Boucher, The Hague 1954

Profusely illustrated in colour and monochrome art by the author.
A study of gypsy lore and arcana, largely as related to the author
by his Hungarian mother. Green cloth cvrd boards, in dust-jacket.

Hello Alfred Douglas!
Thank You! ~Fulgour

Catching up

Apologies for the delay in responding. I've been suffering for a few days from a trapped nerve in my wrist (carpel tunnel syndrome?), so was unable to type.

First, Fulgour. Glad your copy of "The Painted Caravan" arrived. I am sure you'll enjoy it. The other book, "Fortune Telling: a Guide to Foreseeing the Future", is one I am not familiar with, so I can't comment. But anything by Rakoczi must be worth reading, I think.

Now, Lee. I've never used the Thomson-Leng for divination because by the time it came into my hands it had been through the paws of Tanith and Lilith, so wasn't useable. I used the Rider/Waite deck prior to our own becoming available, then I used that. When the book and cards were published I was invited on to British TV on numerous occasions in the '70s, generally on afternoon magazine programmes aimed at women. I appeared regularly on Anglia TV broadcasting from Norwich, Thames TV in London, ATV in Birmingham, and Harlech TV in Bristol. The Tarot combined fortune-telling with visual appeal, which the producers liked. I used to give mini-readings live on air to members of the audience and the presenters.

Of course, I was also asked to give readings off-air to members of the crew, makeup girls, etc. Many of these specialists also worked on feature films being made at Elstree and Pinewood Studios, and would tell visiting actors about me. So I started to receive phone calls from actors asking for private readings. It was interesting to meet face-to-face with stars I'd seen on television or the cinema screen.

Of course I can't mention anyone who is still alive, but I'll tell you an amusing story about the late Peter Sellers when my wrist has stopped aching.

David Sheridan grew up steeped in the occult arts, as his mother is Jo Sheridan, my wife. When I met Jo in 1967 she had been assistant editor of "Prediction" magazine for some years and was the author of a classic book on palmistry, "What Your Hands Reveal". She was also a well-known astrologer who contributed to many womens' magazines. I was introduced to Jo by Madeline Montalban, who contributed a monthly Tarot feature to "Prediction" as well as writing all their astrology forecasts.

So David knew a lot about astrology and palmistry, but not the I Ching or Tarot until I came along. Although happy to demonstrate the Tarot on TV, I was never comfortable doing serious personal readings for individuals, so gradually David took that over and was very successful.

Better stop here before my hand drops off. I'll continue to respond to queries, but it might take a few days sometimes.

Thank you Alfred! I hope the wrist feels better.

-- Lee

Wow Alfred!
I'm so looking forward to hearing your Peter Sellers story!
Hope your wrist improves enough to tell us soon!
Best Wishes,
Tinkerbell x

Progress!

We're getting there with the new edition of the Sheridan Douglas Tarot...

Last Thursday I went up to London to observe the first press and sign off the proofs at the printing works. I was there for over six hours while the QA manager and printing technician went to extraordinary lengths to get everything right. I took our art director Paul with me as he talks their language, and I just watched as the three of them pored over a freshly-printed proof with a jeweller's loup and a hand-held device that displayed the technical details of a tiny area of colour, then made adjustments to the computer and ran off another proof, then went through the whole process again, and again, and again...

Frankly I couldn't tell the difference between one proof and the next, they all looked good, but to their trained eyes there was obviously room for improvement. Eventually they produced a proof that they all found perfect and they ran off four copies that I had to sign (literally 'signed proofs'). The final computer settings will be used for the full print run, and also for any future reprints. I was amazed by their attention to detail and determination to get it exactly right, although many of the minute corrections they were making were not visible to the naked eye.

For anyone who is technically minded, the cards are being printed on 400 gsm card, with an added UV layer and high gloss varnish. The reverse sides will be printed in purple patterned in gold. They will be printed on Heidelberg presses, which are not more than eighteen months old.

I took some photos, and attach a few. Tarot cards in the making!