Why did Waite produce his deck when he did?

mac22

Why did Waite produce his deck when he did? The GD had a good deck if he wanted a Tarot deck.. Oswald Wirth's deck was out and a "restored TdM deck."

I've always felt that Waite probably needed funds .... and so produced the deck. It obviously wasn't a "big deal" to either Waite or Pixie Smith at the time. Moakley said as much in her introduction to the PKT.

Yet the RWS has stood the test of time.... it has many, many clones...It's perhaps Waite's most enduring legacy.

It was my first deck and for those of my generation the most readily available deck of its day.... it was ubiquitous. It was at least 5 yrs before I saw a different deck that wasn't a picture in some book.

Mac22

Rosanne

Hi Mac22!
Well I think he may have wanted to make money- Yes indeed; there were other considerations for 1909 though.
Phillip Welby was a publisher and friend of Waite, and Waite's other publisher had gone out of business. Welby amalgamated with William Rider and was publishing Waite's book The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail I think The RWS Tarot was like a companion to go with the Book. They came out in the same year- even though the book was printed as 1910.
Apparently over the years Welby published many books of Waite's.
~Rosanne

mac22

Rosanne said:
Hi Mac22!
Well I think he may have wanted to make money- Yes indeed; there were other considerations for 1909 though.
Phillip Welby was a publisher and friend of Waite, and Waite's other publisher had gone out of business. Welby amalgamated with William Rider and was publishing Waite's book The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail I think The RWS Tarot was like a companion to go with the Book. They came out in the same year- even though the book was printed as 1910.
Apparently over the years Welby published many books of Waite's.
~Rosanne

I find it interesting that what Waite felt was a minor project of only moderate consequence is one of the ones for which he is best remembered.

Mac22

Rosanne

Me too Mac

I bet it surprised his mate Welby Too!
~Rosanne

mac22

Rosanne said:
Me too Mac
I bet it surprised his mate Welby Too!
~Rosanne

Just imagine what ol Arthur could have done if he had been serious about the project.... hehe

Then again his IRR GD fizzled. :laugh:

Mac22

Abrac

At that point in time, all of the popular Tarots used by occultists were created by occultists and weren't very good artistically. From what I've read, he was interested in making a deck for divination that was both esoterically sound and artistically compelling. Also, at that time, there were no other decks with illustrated scenes on all the cards.

The crowned one

Enthusiasm for the subject, the want of accolades or fame within his peers, perhaps the hopes of some money.. but I doubt money was key, he must have been aware of the limitations of his "market" I think it was a work of love that may have petered out a bit...So we are lucky we had Pamela Colman Smith to pick up the slack. If the idea was his alone it was a very good one.

mac22

Abrac said:
At that point in time, all of the popular Tarots used by occultists were created by occultists and weren't very good artistically. From what I've read, he was interested in making a deck for divination that was both esoterically sound and artistically compelling. Also, at that time, there were no other decks with illustrated scenes on all the cards.

Agreed. RWS was the first deck with illustrated pips. But WHY did the public buy THIS deck?

Mac22

mac22

The crowned one said:
Enthusiasm for the subject, the want of accolades or fame within his peers, perhaps the hopes of some money.. but I doubt money was key, he must have been aware of the limitations of his "market" I think it was a work of love that may have petered out a bit...So we are lucky we had Pamela Colman Smith to pick up the slack. If the idea was his alone it was a very good one.

I agree Pixie Smith was the hero of moment.

I just ordered "The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail: It's Legends and Symbolism" -- ok shoot me - I had a Waite moment

Mac22

Rosanne

mac22 said:
I just ordered "The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail: It's Legends and Symbolism" -- ok shoot me - I had a Waite moment

Mac22

Everyone is allowed a Waite moment! It's an odd read- will be interested in what you think of it once read

Oh and by the way RWS was the first popular or mass bought deck with illustrated pips- certainly not the first. For Tarot that would have been the Sola Busca cards. Some of Pamela's art looks directly snaffled from the Sola Busca illustrations. Of course many playing cards were illustrated as well.
~Rosanne