Le Tarot Des Imagiers Du Moyen Age. Wirth, Oswald.

First edition, first printing, of Wirth's landmark work of tarot, here with the scarce fascicle of plates issued in 1926. The work is dedicated to Wirth's mentor and collaborator in the project, the poet and occultist Stanislas de Guaita. Wirth originally created the Major Arcana of this deck in the late 1880s while both men were members of L'Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose-Croix. For this 1926 edition, Wirth (1860-1943) slightly revised some of the images, particularly La Papesse, but retained the striking gilt backgrounds and the Hebrew lettering. His designs largely follows the iconic Tarot de Marseille, while introducing some contemporary symbolism drawn from alchemy, Rosicrucianism, and ancient Egyptian and Chaldean iconography. The deck was influential throughout the 20th century, inspiring artists such as Leonora Carrington in their own designs, with Wirth's exploration of the concept of colour being particularly pertinent. In his accompanying text Wirth stresses the Kabbalistic interpretations of the Major Arcana, alongside an academic argument that the knowledge of the tarot was transmitted by the medieval artist guilds. The plates were issued in two printings, one in portfolio measuring 241 x 185 mm, as here, and another in portfolio measuring 250 x 189 mm. Two volumes, quarto. Original cream paper wrappers, spine and front cover lettered in red and black. Portfolio: Original brown marbled paper folder, front cover lettered in red and black. Text in French. Illustrations in the text and 11 coloured plates showing the Major Arcana loose in the portfolio. Mild creasing to spine and corners, shallow scuff to front cover, binding square, contents clean; a near fine copy. Short closed tear to head of single fold of portfolio; plates in fine condition.