Gertrude Charlotte Moakley | |
|---|---|
 1925 Yearbook Photo (age 20) | |
| Born | February 18, 1905 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | March 28, 1998 St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Librarian |
| Education | Barnard College, Columbia University |
| Subject | Library Science; the history and iconography of Tarot cards |
| Notable works | The Tarot Cards Painted by Bonifacio Bembo |
Gertrude Charlotte Moakley (February 18, 1905 – March 28, 1998) was an American librarian and a Tarot scholar.[1] Moakley is notable for having written the earliest and most significant account of the iconography of Tarot, a card game which originated in the Italian Renaissance.[2] She had worked at the New York Public Library.
Today, Tarot is both a popular game, and an object of fascination for occultists, fortune-tellers, and New Age enthusiasts around the world. Although Moakley wrote and spoke on these latter subjects (in Moakley, 1954; Papus, 1958; Waite, 1959), she is remembered for having written one of the few scholarly books about the history of Tarot and the meaning of the allegorical trump cards. Her 1956 article on the subject and her 1966 book were both praised by Erwin Panofsky,[3] the foremost art historian of the Warburg School, as well as by Michael Dummett,[2] the preeminent scholar of playing-card and Tarot history.
- ^ Giles, Cynthia (October 1994). The Tarot: History, Mystery and Lore. Simon and Schuster. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-671-89101-5.
- ^ a b Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot: From Ferrara to Salt Lake City. London, England: Duckworth. ISBN 9780715610145.
- ^ "Erwin Panofsky papers, 1904-1990, bulk 1920-1968". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Box 8, Folder 31. 1956. Retrieved September 24, 2021.