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I have noticed that, what one might call 'classic' tarots, that is, those produced from the 1960s to the end of the 20th century, do not seem to be so enthusiastically sought after by the new generation of collectors.
When I was building my collection, I wanted to possess as many of the decks from this period as possible, but I'm not sure that collectors nowadays are so enamoured of this period of tarot production.
In the last five or so years, there has been an explosion of new tarots. This is probably due to the improvement in methods of production. I do admire those tarot artists in the 80s and 90s who tried to find ways of printing tarot. Most of their efforts were idiosyncratic but endearing.
Nowadays, everything seems so well printed and packaged. I like the individuality of self-published handmade tarots. My own publications fall under that description.
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I think a big driver in the proliferation of new tarots has also been Kickstarter. It has largely removed the financial risk involved in self-publishing. Artists can now know in advance if there will be enough buyers to pay for a production run.
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I've certainly bought a few through Kickstarter, and currently hanging out for the Austin Osman Spare deck, which thankfully reached target.
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If you mean people aren't seeking the actual ones from the 60s to the turn of the century - I think that's cost. I was as obsessed as you, Adam ! They do show up for sale occasionally, and the prices are terrifying. I am occasionally alarmed when people email me and offer silly money for mine. And annoyed when they offer to buy them for what I paid for them !
(I'm holding out for Osman Spare, too !)
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I bought the Osman Spare book when it came out in 2016.
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Oh so did I - but I VERY much want the deck - which is now available.
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I’m still collecting 20th century tarots- just got a copy of the 1977 A Thelemic Tarot. But I am being very selective about which new tarots I add. Of course I did back the Austin Spare.
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I haven’t been paying much attention for quite a while (although I did jump on the Leonora Carrington and the Osman Spare), but when I do, I’m pretty stupefied by what I see. For some reason, relatively recent decks like the Slow Holler and the Collective tarots often sell for close to $1000. There’s a Slow Holler offered on FB at the moment for $1500. It may or may not sell at that price, but it's not that far off from what they have actually sold for.
On the other hand, someone on the Tarot Marketplace group recently sold a copy of Michael's Tarot second edition for $200. It was a handmade edition of 17 copies that originally sold from the artist for $1000. The same person also sold a Minotarot for $150.
What’s it all mean?
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OMG why didn't you buy that Michael's and sell it on to me for a small profit....
