The Sola Busca Tarot holds a singular place in tarot history as the earliest known deck in which all 78 cards are fully illustrated, created in late fifteenth-century Italy by an unknown artist. Long held by the Sola-Busca family of Milan, the deck gained wider recognition after photographs entered the British Museum in 1907, where they are believed to have directly influenced Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith in the creation of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot.
 
This limited edition from Lo Scarabeo, one of only 2,999 copies, is based on a highly accurate nineteenth-century facsimile of the original cards. The 22 Major Arcana depict named figures from Roman history and biblical tradition, while the fully illustrated 56 Minor Arcana are divided into Cups, Coins, Batons, and Swords. Because the original divinatory system has not survived, modern readers typically apply contemporary interpretive frameworks.
 
Production quality is exceptional: cards measure 77 x 145 mm and are printed on durable, unvarnished cardstock that preserves the authentic texture of the historical engravings. The high-resolution reproduction faithfully captures the fine engraved lines and tempera coloring of the source material, with a palette of subdued blues, ochres, reds, and greys. The deck is housed in a sturdy linen-textured box with a lift-off lid and includes a numbered title card and a 32-page multilingual booklet providing historical context.
 
An essential acquisition for collectors, researchers, and practitioners drawn to the origins of tarot, the Sola Busca is a piece of living art history.