The Hermit

An old man stands alone on a height, a lantern lifted in one hand, a six-pointed star of light held within it. Pamela Colman Smith drew him in 1909 as the card of withdrawal and inner search — the light carried outward from a solitary place. Smith, a folklorist as well as an illustrator, gave the figure his stillness and his snow in a matter of months, for a flat fee that left her without royalties or, for a century, credit. Look for the staff, the grey wilderness, and the 'PCS' monogram tucked at the lower edge where she signed every plate.

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-00436