It was on this date, February 16, in 1878 that Pamela Colman Smith was born, in London, though her parents were American. She studied art and became an accomplished illustrator. She had a taste for the exotic: she illustrated Jamaican folk tales, and also a book of folklore, In chimney corners: Merry tales of Irish folk-lore, (1904) by Seumas MacManus. In this book one story especially is relevant to cats: "The Black Bull and The Castle of Blood". Remember in those days children were not considered so feeble that they could not distinguish stories from reality, and so the fairy tales here are tougher stuff than those read today.
In this story, many women cannot resist doing something forbidden them. In this case, unlocking a certain closet to find out what it contained (dead women similarly curious and murdered for it), and as a result of the blood on their foot from stepping into the closet, they too wind up hung up by their hair. In every instance the woman could have saved herself, had she shared her milk with a hungry cat. Which we learn because one woman finally is sorry for the cat and after sharing her milk, the cat licks the blood off her foot, and thus this time, the prince cannot tell she disobeyed him, since she alone is lacking the telltale stain. The prince thinks he has finally found a woman who can resist her curiosity and will do what he tells her. The complex point of the story though, is that her good heart is why she evaded discovery.
Pamela Colman Smith is most remembered for being the illustrator of A. E. Waite's tarot cards, known as the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck.(1910) It is said that most subsequent decks are indebted to her illustrations. She inherited money, and went to live in Cornwall, among other artists.
In this story, many women cannot resist doing something forbidden them. In this case, unlocking a certain closet to find out what it contained (dead women similarly curious and murdered for it), and as a result of the blood on their foot from stepping into the closet, they too wind up hung up by their hair. In every instance the woman could have saved herself, had she shared her milk with a hungry cat. Which we learn because one woman finally is sorry for the cat and after sharing her milk, the cat licks the blood off her foot, and thus this time, the prince cannot tell she disobeyed him, since she alone is lacking the telltale stain. The prince thinks he has finally found a woman who can resist her curiosity and will do what he tells her. The complex point of the story though, is that her good heart is why she evaded discovery.
Pamela Colman Smith is most remembered for being the illustrator of A. E. Waite's tarot cards, known as the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck.(1910) It is said that most subsequent decks are indebted to her illustrations. She inherited money, and went to live in Cornwall, among other artists.
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