Kaplan Stuart R. The Encyclopedia of Tarot. Volume 1

United States Games Systems, Inc., 1978. — 387, xvi p.The first volume of a major and comprehensive reference work in 4 volumes on Tarot history and origins, Tarot cards art and symbolism, Tarot game, and Tarot divination. This book is very suitable to the name of Encyclopedia. Unfortunately, the other 3 volumes, published during thirty years (1978-2005), are inaccessible to me in electronic format and I would be grateful to anyone who would publish the other volumes here.This particular volume tells the story of the Tarot, illustrating it with some of Stuart Kaplan's immense collection of Tarot cards, with styles ranging from Renaissance minchiate cards to more modern works like Crowley's Thoth Tarot. The Tarot's origins are covered, beginning with a discussion of the earliest extant hand-painted "tarocchi" cards, moving through to the earliest extant playing cards, Sforza-like decks, early printed decks, and on to Eastern Europe "Tarock" and more. Discusses some 100 historical references to the origins of tarot and playing cards. Written with authority, and sharing a wealth of information, with an impressive amount of detail, Kaplan's chronological presentation surveys the development of the tarot decks until the twentieth-century tarot interests.Recommended to anyone interested in the history of tarot and in the beautiful variations, the tarot deck has taken throughout the ages and around the world.Included are discussions and photographs of 3,200 cards from decks dating from the 15th to the 20th century, from museums and from private collections all over the world including the authors. Unfortunately, most of them are in black and white, and the decks are comprehensive, but not completely illustrated.Provides invaluable information on every important theory and interpretation and on every recognized deck, illustrating and commenting on the symbolism of the early Renaissance Tarocchi decks and the major later decks.The book finishes off with sections on how to interpret the cards and do spreads, but this is not its strong point.An annotated bibliography has over 1,700 entries.