Page "Pamela Colman Smith" Paragraph 17

Smith and Waite drew on a number of sources as inspirations for the deck's designs.

In particular, it appears that Waite took his inspiration for the trumps mainly from the French Tarot of Marseilles ( although the oldest date from the 16th century, his model was possibly a Marseilles deck from the 18th century ).

It is not unlikely that other Marseilles-type Italian tarot decks from the 18th or 19th century were used as additional models.

For the pips, it appears that Smith drew mainly on the 15th Italian Sola Busca Tarot ; the 3 of Swords, for example, clearly shows the congruity between the two decks.

In addition, there is evidence that some figures in the deck are portraits of Smith's friends, notably actresses Ellen Terry ( the Queen of Wands ) and Florence Farr ( the World ).