The David Bowie Tarot by David Bowie

Mycroft

It's 1975, Christmas is approaching and you're a soon-to-be 'Rock Legend'. What do you give your friends for Xmas presents? That's right - you hand serigraph onto rice paper 50 sets of five tarot-themed cards, and give them snappy titles like; 'Lovers' 'Death' 'Star' 'Moon' and 'Fluorescent Cheese Football Bouncing On My Heart' - oh alright I made the last one up, he actually went for 'Earth'. Set No. 24 of the 50 numbered sets was auctioned at Christie's in 1994 for a mere £4,800 (£7,500 GBP or $11,940 USD today.) However, there is another option, because in 1996 an 'official' large 5 postcard set was published by 'bowieart' with each card sized 8" x 6" approx, and there is probably more chance of these coming up for sale on auction sites etc.

So, what are the cards like? Well take a look, here are pictures of the postcard repros;

About as impressive as his acting aren't they - good job he can write songs (although he was okay in 'Labyrinth' and did a good job as Tesla in 'The Prestige'). You can read all about one guy trying to value another set here - WARNING - The comments section at the bottom features a whack-job using bad language;
 

theboomz

Wow, thank you for this mycroft, I'm a big fan.
 

Briar Rose

I love David Bowe. I wish his deck was afforable and was a standard 78 card deck.
 

Oni

Not too creative!

I am a huge fan of him, have been since i was 5yo. But these cards look like something i drew when i was 5! I would think as creative as he is with his music and movies the card would be better!
 

Sar

Loved him since Scary Monsters.
 

Mycroft

"I'm closer to the Golden Dawn,
Immersed in Crowley's uniform,
Of imagery."

When I first heard that David gave some Tarot cards to friends in the early 70s, I felt sure that given his well-documented interest in Aleister and the occult, they would be surrealist and 'Thoth' based. I must confess to being at a bit of a loss when I first saw them, and we can only wonder at his state of mind when he created them, I suppose the boat-loads of cocaine he was hoovering up his nose in those days didn't help either.
 

gregory

How - odd.... Maybe I will....
 

Mycroft

I've been thinking about this, and I really do feel that somebody or something should have stepped in at that moment back in 1975 when the boy from Brixton decided to start work on his five 'artistic' cards. In an alternate universe somewhere, the following must have happened - a flash of blinding light, a large 'poof' of smoke, and a little blue fairy appears beseeching the heterochromiac (google it) one;

"Dave, what on Earth are you doing???!!! In the future there will be people connected together on giant networks of computers talking to each other about your work. You have a duty to them to create a proper legacy in the Tarot. Chuck out all this hand-painted stuff and start work on a proper 22 card major arcana. Use your songs (many of which you haven't written yet) as the titles for the cards, and have them embossed in Venetian tempera on Egyptian papyrus suffused through with crushed gold leaf. Knock up an extremely attractive presentation box covered in French vellum and do a limited run of 500, calling it the 'Thin White Duke Tarot'. Oh, and don't forget to autograph one and send it to Mycroft."

So, by the magic of inter-trans-time-dimensional teleportation, I can actually show you the cover and inlay card for this Tarot. For some reason the cards themselves won't seem to scan properly, can't think why.
 

upawell

Mycroft said:
So, what are the cards like? Well take a look, here are pictures of the postcard repros;

About as impressive as his acting aren't they - good job he can write songs (although he was okay in 'Labyrinth' and did a good job as Tesla in 'The Prestige'). You can read all about one guy trying to value another set here - WARNING - The comments section at the bottom features a whack-job using bad language;
Click to expand...

His Moon looks like a banana.

Okay, and Bowie's acting isn't much, but he was good in that Roeg film. No?

nisaba said:
<impressed> Wow. That Star card is quite magnificent!

For a brain-damaged quadriplegic termite.
Click to expand...

LOL!!

But wouldn't a termite eat the paper after completing its painting?
 
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