Penn in Hand: Selected Manuscripts

Court de Gébelin, Antoine, 1725-1784.

An enquiry into the origin of the game of tharot [manuscript].

[England, circa 1794]

4 v. (188, 180, 130, 196) leaves: paper ; mm. bound to mm. + 2 notes.

English translation by Charles Rainsford of French text on the history and use of tarot cards for divination by Antoine Court de Gébelin.

Ms. codex.

Title from title page (V. 1, p. v).

Pagination: V:1: Paper, 188 leaves; [vi], 1-290, 201-278, [ii]. V.2: Paper, 180 leaves; [ii], 1-174, [i], 1-55, 55-182. V.3: Paper, 130 leaves; [iv], 1-246, [x]. V.4: Paper, 196 leaves; [x], 1-76, 72-87, 87-110, 1-4, 4-141, [cxxiv]. Contemporary pagination in ink, upper outer corners.

Script: Written in a cursive script.

Decoration: Several pen and ink diagrams throughout (for example, V. 3, p. 212); pencil drawings of tarot figures (V. 2, p. 175; V. 3, p. 150).

Binding: Contemporary parchment. Moderate to severe moisture damage has made the paper very fragile and the text illegible in many places. Volume 4 has severe moisture damage to paper and many leaves are stuck together.

Origin: Written in Lymington, 2 September 1793 (V. 2, p. 174) and Gibraltar, 28 February 1794 (V. 3, p. 346) and 25 July 1795 (V. 4, p. 110, 141).

UPenn Ms. Codex 1692.

Rare Book & Manuscript Library University of Pennsylvania Ms. Codex 1692