The Star

The kneeling figure pours two vessels beneath a great star — one to the water, one to the land. Pamela Colman Smith drew it in 1909, one of seventy-eight images she completed in a matter of months for a flat fee, and for the better part of a century the deck was credited to everyone but her. Look for the ibis in the tree, the seven smaller stars around the great one, and the small 'PCS' monogram tucked into the corner — the signature the story left out. This house prints her name on 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-00444