Death

A skeletal rider in black armour advances on a white horse, a black banner of the white rose above him, a bishop and a child in his path. Pamela Colman Smith drew him in 1909 as the card of ending and passage — transformation, not the literal grave. Behind, the sun rises between two towers. Smith gave the scene its procession and its dawn working quickly for a flat fee, and the deck was credited to others for a century. Look for the rising sun, the fallen king, and the 'PCS' monogram low in the corner. This house prints her name.

Maker

Pamela Colman Smith, for A. E. Waite

Date

1909

Medium of the original

Plate

Original held by

Published London, 1909 · scan: Wikimedia Commons

Credit

Published London, 1909 · scan: Wikimedia Commons

Rights

Public domain, verified

Catalogue number

PA-00440