Clef absolue de la science occulte : Le tarot des Bohémiens : Le plus ancien livre du monde : à l'usage exclusif des initiés

First Edition. 372 pages. [8] leaves of plates : many text illustrations, including one folding leaf (pp. 257-260) ; 26 cm, small 4to. Includes inxed and bibliographies ("Notice sur les auteurs qui se sont occupés du tarot": p. [305]-308; "Table alphabétique des auteurs et des principaux ouvrages cités": p. [369]-372. Excellent condition. Recent green cloth with gilt spine title, original front and rear orange publisher's wrappers bound in. [2834]

An unusually attractive copy of 'The Tarot of the Bohemians' by Papus in the original French, as it was first published. Copies of the 1889 edition in good condition are exceedingly scarce: as of June 2026, we can locate only four holdings in North America using OCLC. Later printings abound, as do translations. The author, Gérard Encausse (b. 1865 d. 1916), aka "Papus" was a notorious and influential figure of the occult in Paris at the turn of the century. Le Tarot des Bohémiens remains a cardinal work of esoteric literature in cartomancy. Very scarce and essential work for academic research collections focusing on tarot, Kabbalah, and fortune telling.