Publisher: Thomson Leng Publications

Date Published:1935

Artist: Unknown

                                                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we are taking a close look at the Thomson Leng Tarot, it is over 80 years old and definitely out of print. This is less a review than – shall we say – a historical  consideration.

Thomson Leng is a publishing company based in London, England, which is still in existence. In the 1930s they were a major publisher of women’s magazines, and the deck – which was actually billed as Tarot Fortune Cards – was a promotional item  which appears to have been given away with them. At the time, the Thomson Leng company published 7                    magazines:  Weekly Welcome, Red Star Weekly, My Weekly, Secrets, Red Letter, Woman’s Way, and Family Star. (The magazine titles are listed both on the tuck box and in the back of the included LWB.) The deck itself is very interesting. In some ways it’s very similar to Rider Waite, but in others it differs significantly, and appears to be an amalgamation of Tarot traditions.

The cards themselves are small  -2.25”x3.5”.  The card stock is more durable than one would expect from paper manufactured well before World War II.  Colors are vivid, and consist of yellow, red, blue, and green. The back of the deck is blue and white, and the pattern appears to be reversible. It’s a shame the name of the artist wasn’t included, because the images on the deck are quite charming. Of note is the deck’s overall modesty. There are few – if any – nude figures.

 

The four suits are: Cups, Swords, Rods, & Pence. Titles for the court cards are the usual Page, Knight, Queen, King.​​

Major Arcana are numbered 1 – 22. The Fool is #21, and placed between Judgment and World. Names are standard, with the exception of the Great Priestess and the Great Priest (Hierophant). 

The Major Arcana are mostly clones of Pamela Coleman Smith’s figures, with some notable exceptions. The Magician wears a hat identical to the one seen on the Bateleur in Tarot de Marseilles. (We see the same hat later, on the Strength card.) 

The Empress here has wings. 

The Lovers card is another TdM throwback, with 3 figures on the card, leaning it closer to ‘choice’ as a definition than ‘romance’. 

The Sun shows two children – a boy and a girl. The Fool at #21 is less about being carefree than it is about consequence. In the minors, Cups and Pence (Pentacles) are identical to – and obviously stolen from – the Rider Waite. Swords are mostly the same as Rider, and Rods (Wands) are completely different.

 

The suit of Rods is where the Thomson Leng really steps away from Rider Waite and TdM, and moves elsewhere. While they do not resemble Rider Waite, they do look like other decks – the Wirth deck, and El Gran Tarot Esoterico spring to mind. And these decks indeed do share a common lineage.

 

In 1909, while Arthur Edward Waite was publishing Key To The Tarot in London, there was another book being published in Paris: Manuel Synthétique et Pratique du Tarot, by Eudes Picard. The book was not translated into English until 1932, when portions of it were included in The Book of Fate & Fortune (author unknown). This of course predates the Thomson Leng deck by three years. Picard’s card definitions were re-published in English again in 1939 and 1945.

 

The black and white Four of Wands shown here is from Picard’s deck, which he apparently drew himself. 

The plant in the middle of the squared rods is a sheaf of corn. Picard however, is a bit of a mystery. 

After some searching, I discovered he was born in Grenoble, France in 1867, and was known more as an astrologer than cartomancer. He is not mentioned in either A Wicked Pack of Cards or History of the Occult Tarot.

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A 32 page booklet is included along with the deck. There are card definitions and five different spreads, which I have not seen elsewhere. The definitions for the Rods appear to match Picardy’s. 

The remainder are of unknown origin, and differ significantly from Rider Waite meanings. 

Another item of note – which may or may not be due to the influence of Picardy – in this deck, Cups are Air & Swords are Water. The Cups are all empty, and many of the Cups cards have a butterfly on them.

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Aside from it's really charming aesthetic, the Thomson Leng deck is interesting for its amalgamation of Tarot thought, and its shared heritage with other decks like the Wirth and Gran Esoterico.
 

Richard Avila

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