Morgan & Morgan decks

Morgan & Morgan was a publisher of photographic art and technological books, with a catalog of well over 200 titles. Owned by Douglas and Lloyd Morgan, this is the company responsible for the Aquarian tarot decks. This part of the Morgan empire was run by Doug, while Lloyd focused on the print house that was Morgan Press, which manufactured the tarot decks we are concerned with, as well as being a full-service print shop with a robust legacy in its own right. What we are focusing on here are the Aquarian and Morgan Greer tarot decks these companies created, sold directly, and distributed to retailers. These two decks have a special place in the Waite-Smith lineage, as they inherited their pedigree directly from this historical decks, and the creators were main players in the world of creative arts themselves.

The Aquarian deck was the brain-child of David Palladini, the artist who illustrated them after designing a series of astrological posters a few years before, also printed and distributed by Morgan & Morgan, and printed by the Morgan Press. This “Aquarian” (age) deck was released to the world in 1971, an integral part of genesis of the tarot explosion that was created by the Morgans, Rider of London, U.S. Games Systems of New York (now Connecticut), and what remained of the second wave tarot progenitors who were University Books, Inc. (now Citadel Press, carol Publishing, Merrimack Publishing, and B. Shackman, with Causeway Press printing the UB PKtT). The Aquarian Deck was a smash hit, and took on many forms (notably the many changes in card back designs) and was adapted by Karin Koal and Pacific Games before its eventual takeover by USGS many years later.

Much, much more information on the Morgans and their antics, these decks, and their history can be found on this site should you be interested in a little historical adventure. This page makes a good starting point.