Trzes’ Mamluk Deck (2nd Edition) offers a rare and profound window into the roots of tarot and European playing cards. This deck is a meticulously researched and beautifully produced recreation of the famed Topkapı Type I Mamluk cards—believed to be the direct ancestors of all European card traditions, including tarot. By preserving the visual language, structure, and poetic inscriptions of these 15th-century Islamic cards, Trzes has created not just a historical artifact, but a vital bridge between the past and present of cartomantic practice. For tarot collectors, historians, and spiritual seekers, this deck represents the origin point of the 4-suit system and court card structure that shaped the tarot we use today. More than a conversation piece or scholarly curiosity, the Mamluk Deck is an opportunity to trace the evolution of tarot back to its earliest known roots—before esoteric symbolism, before European stylization.
