"The Tarot" by Richard Cavendish (split from Tarot Books & Media)

callistoluna

I brought this book really cheaply as an ex-library book. Has anyone read this one?
 

Lillie

It has a full colour picture of the Thoth aeon.

Only it is not the same as the Aeon in my BoT.

It's complicated.

In the BoT there are the pictures of the cards as drawn by Harris, all wearing the borders as drawn by Harris which are distinct from any borders ever published.

In my BoT, a relatively old one, it shows the an Aeon that is different to all published cards, it does not have the ghost child standing in front of the seated figure.

I believe that in later BoT's they changed this picture for the card as we know it (with the ghost child) but the borders do not match Harris's borders and it is clearly from a published deck.

The Cavendish book shows the card with the ghost child and with the Harris borders.
In full colour.

I have never seen this picture anywhere else before and I was most surprised by it.
 

callistoluna

Lillie said:
The Cavendish book shows the card with the ghost child and with the Harris borders.
In full colour.

I have never seen this picture anywhere else before and I was most surprised by it.


Did you mean without the ghost child?...I'm going to have to have a look in my book now too.....
 

rwcarter

The picture of the Aeon on page 139 of the hardcover edition? It looks exactly the same as the Aeon in various Thoths (from vintage to recent printings) that I have. Only difference I can see is that in the book the cards have ragged edges.

The Illustrations Acknowledgements says
Cards designed by Aleister Crowley, English, early 20th c. Warburg Inst. By permission of Gerald Yorke, Esq. (top left) Photo: Michael Holford.

I guess that means the images come from a collection housed in the Warburg Institute?
 

gregory

Does anyone know how to get in touch with Cavendish ????
 

The crowned one

gregory said:
Does anyone know how to get in touch with Cavendish ????

He writes regularly for "history today" I would not be surprised if you could get in touch with him through that publication.
 

Lillie

rwcarter said:
The picture of the Aeon on page 139 of the hardcover edition? It looks exactly the same as the Aeon in various Thoths (from vintage to recent printings) that I have. Only difference I can see is that in the book the cards have ragged edges.

The Illustrations Acknowledgements says

I guess that means the images come from a collection housed in the Warburg Institute?

That's the point.

The picture is the same as the cards we all have.
seated figure, ghost child.

The borders are the Harris borders that only appear in the BoT.

Look where the number is. At the top. It's in a circle, not an oval.
The title is hand written, not typeset.

Unless my memory has totally gone.

This isn't my book, it's Gregory's.

It's a while since I saw it.

Anyhow, I know this was too technical and I wouldn't be able to explain it, but there has been thread of the aeon card as pictured in the BoT, and the fact that in early versions of the book there is no child on the card, just the seated figure.
And how in later books it was changed and the picture of the card don't match the others...

I'm going to go and try to find one of them threads...

Bet I can't :(

Oh Wow!!!!

I did :)

Here is where it all got discussed
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=72435

The point about the picture in the Cavendish books is that it shows the card with the fat ghost kid (Harpo), in the borders as drawn by Harris.

To the best of my knowledge this is the only place I have seen that picture.
The BoT either seems to show a card without Harpo, but with Harris's borders, or a replacement card with Harpo, but with printed borders.

Nowhere else have I seen the image in the Cavendish book.
It struck me, it made me wonder.

Because if that picture exists, like that, then why didn't they use that when they fixed the 'error' in the BoT?
Why did they use a mismatched card instead?

I'm sorry, I'm not good at explaining these things...

Gregory, you couldn't scan it in could you????
 

gregory

Lillie said:
Gregory, you couldn't scan it in could you????
I could, and I will. Just not this minute; I am BUSY ! :D

ETA OK - and interestingly - note that the credits for that page say (my bold)

Cards designed by Aleister Crowley... Warburg Inst. By permission of Gerald Yorke Esq (top left) Photo: Michael Holford.

Now - what's with the top left - the card we are discussing is bottom right....

Curiouser and etc.

I have the whole page scanned but for now - the card in question.
 

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Lillie

Cheers Gregory!

There, the card has Fat Kid on it, and it is in the Harris borders.

So, why wasn't it used in the BoT originally, and then, when they realised their error, why didn't they put this one in rather than one that didn't match?

Weird, isn't it?

But anyway, I have never seen this picture in this border, except in the Cavendish book.
 

gregory

HEY:
From a Lashtal flyer from 2008 (WHY did I not NOTICE this at the time ????? I could have GONE !)

Ordo Templi Orientis has been working with the Centre Pompidou, the Warburg and the Palais du Tokyo to assist, in a minor way, with two truly important art shows, both featuring works by Aleister Crowley.

CENTRE POMPIDOU -- TRACES DU SACRÉ
May 8 - August 11

The Centre Pompidou in Paris is mounting a show commemorating the anniversary of its founding as the most prominent state-owned museum of modern art in France, titled "Traces du Sacré." The Warburg Institute has kindly loaned four newly-restored Thoth Tarot paintings by Aleister Crowley and Frieda, Lady Harris: The High Priestess, The Hermit, The Moon and The Aeon. One important, previously unknown Aleister Crowley oil painting will be included in the "Great Initiates" section of the show. That Crowley should be included with these artists in a retrospective -- one that takes into account the incredibly influential spiritual and artistic undergrounds -- is groundbreaking.

Not the Aeon - a PAINTING - by Frieda - was exhibited. Not the other three on the Cavendish page which are, for the record, Fool, Star and Knight of Cups... all with those borders, though the first two APPEAR to have much LIGHTER borders....

ETA and I just realised he also edited Man Myth and Magic (that 24 volume thing). Must see what he has to say about all this in there :)