The question I have gotten most often over the last few years from fans of the Urban Tarot is “Where can I get my hands on a copy of the original ‘indie’ edition?” I’ve heard from lots of people who have been trying to track down a copy of the deck with my original 9/11-based “Towers” card instead of the new Tower I created for the revised mass-market edition. Other people just really wanted to get a copy of the deck that wasn’t so physically large, so they could more comfortably hold the deck in their hands and shuffle. For the most part, my response has had to be “I’m sorry, they’re not available anymore.”
I only had 1000 copies of that original deck made, which was itself a pretty massive expense for me, as I was publishing it entirely on my own. About half of them were shipped out immediately to backers of the Kickstarter. The rest I sold either personally or through a couple of small retailers. And then they were all gone. Except. I hung onto a few last copies, as gifts. I did give several of those copies away to friends and family over the years, but not quite all of them.
I recently went through and brought out all of the unopened copies I still have, and it stands at a grand total of eight decks. Eight sealed decks from the original Urban Tarot KS run, half of them still with the accompanying velvet embroidered bag and the spreadcloth that we made as stretch rewards (Actually my wife, her mother, and her grandmother worked together to make all the spreadcloths, using my design, so full credit to them). Anyway, I think it’s time I divested myself of these last few decks, and hopefully get them into the hands of eight people out there who will be very happy to finally get them.
At the same time, I thought this would be a great opportunity to do something with the original drawings I still have from designing the deck. They aren’t doing me much use sitting around in my flat file at this point, and I’m hoping that some of you out there might enjoy getting to own a little, unique piece of my process.
Look, this is a scary time, and none of us knows what the year ahead will bring, much less the next four. I have been incredibly lucky in my life, but I don’t think there’s a trans person alive today that isn’t justifiably afraid. Making art has never been a good way to make a living, but a little extra support would mean a whole lot to me and my household right now.
I plan to put one deck up for sale on eBay at a time, one per week, over the next 8 weeks or so, until they’re all really and truly gone. You can find the first one up for auction right now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/296991392474
I’ll also be putting up a number of my original sketches for the cards in groups, a few at a time. You can find everything I currently have up for auction here: https://www.ebay.com/usr/rscott-212
Last thing: I’m also finally deciding to launch my own Patreon: patreon.com/RobinScottArt
I’m coming into 2025 with the intention to keep making art, to make more art in fact, as if that was a good idea, and to share it with you all as much as I can. If you’re more excited about where I’m going next than where I’ve already been, consider joining me on Patreon. I’m going to be drawing and painting and making other things here on my little queer farm, and I’d love to have your involvement, and your support.
Love & Gratitude,
Robin