The Numbers Are Staggering,

over 100 million copies in more than 20 countries,

 meet Pixie, her real name Pamela Colman Smith and what did she do to receive the amazing numbers above? She designed the Rider-Waite-Smith Deck of tarot cards, photograph Pamela Colman Smith (c.1912), photographer, unknown courtesy Pratt Institute Libraries, 

her story is remarkable, as is her art above, “Sea Creatures” (undated), watercolor on paper, Alfred Stieglitz / Georgia O’Keeffe Archive, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (courtesy Yale University), 

Pamela Colman Smith (16 February 1878 – 18 September 1951), was a British artist, illustrator, writer and occultist of extraordinary talent, above “The Blue Cat” (1907), watercolor on paper board, Alfred Stieglitz / Georgia O’Keeffe Archive, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library,

it seems amazing that with the circulation numbers so high so few of us have actually heard of their creator, her life story is too long to post here but if you are interested in this remarkable lady please have a look here, above, “Queen of Pentacles, from the Lesser Arcana, Rider-Waite-Smith Deck” (undated), © 1971 U.S. Games Systems, all rights reserved (courtesy U.S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, Connecticut).