The Tarot of Marsilio (deluxe edition) by Christophe Poncet
Description
Here is the first of a meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated three volume work, The Tarot of Marsilio by Christophe Poncet; a landmark inquiry into the origins of the Tarot de Marseille. Against the prevalent view in the academy – that the tarot was never used, before the 18th century, for anything other than card games – Poncet argues that the Tarot de Marseille is a work of esoteric philosophy hidden in plain sight.
Through a careful analysis of artworks, philosophical texts, and the imagery and symbolism of the cards, Poncet places and dates the deck to Florence in the 1470s. Marsilio Ficino, translator of the Corpus Hermeticum and the complete works of Plato, is identified as the likely mastermind behind this tarot. In this first volume, the imagery and meaning of the Chariot, the Devil, the Lovers, Strength, the Hermit, the House of God, Arcanum XIII and the Fool are explored.
As readers of Two Esoteric Tarots will know, Poncet’s investigation is comparable to that of Peter Mark Adams in The Game of Saturn, shedding new light on heterodox thought in the Renaissance.
Christophe Poncet has been on a decades long quest to discover the truth about the Tarot de Marseille and the esoteric ideas encoded in the cards. The Tarot of Marsilio takes us on an extraordinary journey of discovery, from a lost masterpiece of Botticelli in a ruined castle, through the stacks of the Vatican library, artist’s sketchbooks, and works in the collections of the Louvre, the British Museum, and the National Gallery. Poncet brings us into the hermetic thought-world of the circle around the brilliant polymath Marsilio Ficino.
For the tarot reader and occultist, this work opens up a profound understanding of the cards, their history and the context of their creation. With these keys we can read the visual language of the trumps as they were intended, and play the game of Western esotericism at a deeper level. Whether enhancing our divinations or stimulating the practice of talismanic and image magic, Poncet changes forever our understanding of the most archetypal and iconic tarot deck.
Info & condition: Scarlet Imprint 2025. Deluxe Edition, Full Leather Binding, Hand Numbered and Limited to 40 Copies.
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Telesmatic edition, limited to 33 copies.
Two colour foil block to front and back of cover, with single foil block to spine.
Goat leather cover. Munken Smooth paper. Marbled Endpapers. Ribbon bookmark.
Head and Tail Bands. Solander box with marbled cover and leather spine.
Blind embossed AP logo on inside of Solander Box.
Each deluxe will come with a unique original piece of artwork by Carolyn Hamilton-Giles which will be dedicated to each copy, consequently each copy through her art will imbue an aspect of the Baron Citadel.
All in all, this edition is simply a work of art and an excellent display of superior craftmanship!
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Deluxe edition, limited to Comes in a solander box in marbled quarter Moroccan presentation and foil blocking, the same as the previous deluxes from Atramentous Press. On the inside of the solander there will be a blind embossed AP logo placed in the velvet. The book itself will be swathed in black goat leather, while the book block will consist of a higher quality paper than that which the standard was printed on.
Also, the deluxe edition will comprise of two foil block colours, marbled endpapers, book ribbon, head and tail bands, foil blocking on the inside casement front and back. Comes with an original piece of art by Carolyn Hamilton-Giles (the illustrator).
All in all, this edition is simply a work of art and an excellent display of superior craftmanship!
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