Morgan-Greer Tarot

The Morgan-Greer Tarot was first published in 1979 by Morgan & Morgan, Inc., and has been a popular favourite ever since. As stated on the box, the deck is "Based on the continued knowledge, wisdom and interpretation of Paul Foster Case and Arther Edward Waite." Therefore it follows the Golden Dawn order for the trumps, with Strength at VIII and Justice at XI. But it is William Greer's bold and colourful artwork that has endeared the deck to so many, and kept the deck in print to this day. Although the images echo those of the Rider Waite Smith deck, it is as though the artist has zoomed in on the subject matter, making it more intimate and arresting.

This effect is enhanced by the fact that the cards are borderless, and it was possibly the first tarot to ever be borderless. (Having said that, there was one very early printing which had a narrow black border, but copies of that version are extremely rare.) See the box►

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The Court Cards

Above: the Morgan-Greer Tarot was first published in 1979 by Morgan & Morgan, Inc., and has been a popular favourite ever since.

Another interesting feature of this deck is that there are 7 different back designs, all of which look the same at a glance, but in fact have several subtle differences. The basic design is of white stars on a blue background, but it is the number and size of the stars that differs. Also the first printing had a very pale wishy-washy blue background, which became darker and more solid with each successive printing, to the point where the backs of currently available decks don't even have a different number of stars anymore! The boxes have also changed over time (see the chart kindly provided by John Choma), and the deck is now even available as a mini deck in a tin. Images shown here are from a first edition example, with cards measuring 120 x 70mm.

The name of the company changed from Morgan Press Inc., for the Aquarian Tarot Deck, to Morgan & Morgan Inc., for the Morgan-Greer deck. Both have the address of Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522, which is on the back of both boxes. These are the only two tarots they ever produced that I am aware of.