The Cary Sheet
The Cary Sheet also called the Cary-Yale Sheet is a collection of three sheets of Tarot cards.
Origin
The sheets are believed to have been printed in Milan, Italy in the 1500s, although there is no conclusive evidence to date the cards. They were distinctly different from other contemporary Tarot decks, specifically the Visconti-Sforza Tarot decks, which were luxury items illustrated and illuminated by hand for use in the households of wealthy nobles.
It is possible the Cary Sheet predated the more elaborate decks, or were intended for larger print runs with a price point affordable to less affluent consumers.
Composition
Each sheet is approximately 304mm x 217mm (12in x 8.5in) and the individual cards are 98 x 57 mm (3.85in x 2.24in) making them significantly smaller than modern Tarot cards. Two of the sheets no trumps, only the suited cards with "pip" style decoration. A third sheet contains six full trump cards and fragments of 14 others.
Although incomplete, the deck uses an Italian suit system of batons, coins, swords, and cups. The backs of the cards are plain, with no decoration. It is believed to be an ancestral deck of the Tarot of Marseilles.
The cards of the Major Arcana are unnumbered, but the position of the cards on the sheet might suggest their intended order.
Ownership
The sheets are part of the Cary Collection housed in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.