Rider-Waite, Smith-Waite, Rider-Smith_Waite. Which one is right?? Rider is the name of the publishing company that printed the deck. Waite is the last name of the deck author, Arthur Edward Waite. Smith is the last name of the artist, Pamela Coleman Smith. Smith had a lot more to do with the deck than Rider, but since women were not seen as equals, the deck was named Rider Waite and it wasn’t until 100 years later that the Smith-Waite Centennial edition was released and her name was properly put in the title.

Ever wondered why some decks come with a few extra cards?

It’s a by product of the printing process! The cards would otherwise be wasted, so it lets the artist add their own flair to their decks and avoiding unnecessary waste in the process.