Early Advertisements

 

I found this notice in the Occult Review, of June 1920:

 

 

 

The interesting part of this advertisement is that both versions of the book are offered. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot AND The Key to the Tarot. What was being sold here - overstocks from the 1909/1910 printing of the Key? When faced with the choice of "do you want the nice pictures in your book or do you want the plain text version?" most people choose the pictures. I am still confused on this issue, especially because a 1931 boxed set has the non-pictorial Key to the Tarot in it, 1931 date and all.

What is the "Continental Pack of Tarot Cards" in this notice? More than likely a Marseilles deck.

 

In a 1938 de Laurence catalogue:

 

I found this notice:

Because of the date, I'm assuming that the deck in question is the yellow version:

 

- EVEN THOUGH the catalogue text states "The Tarot Cards are Double-Headed, . . . Twenty-two Symbolic Numbered Trumps printed in Five Oriental Colors." Unless someone knows of another de Laurence deck out there in FIVE COLORS, this yellow version has to be the one. I imagine it all depends on how you count to five ("there's white, gray, black, yellow, and ochre").

The bottom of the advertisement mentions The Key to the Tarot notice on the previous page:

Of course, with anything de Laurence, nothing is simple or as it seems. Move on to the next page for the snarky story of this book and why I have four copies of it. Next