All Hallow's

Robyn Tisch Hollister's handmade All Hallow's deck takes Halloween seriously as an adult holiday: twenty-two majors of grown-up gothic imagery, sized, as the archive review appreciates, for real hands and actual shuffling, a Halloween journey rather than a costume. The catalog consolidated its edition records here, this original alongside the later complete-deck expansion, one work in its stages. Handmade holiday decks occupy a particular niche: seasonal instruments, brought out when the veil thins, and the majors-only format suits that use, twenty-two big archetypes for the year's most archetypal night. Hollister's register is October-gothic rather than horror, pumpkin-flame warmth on the darkness. It suits Halloween people, whose identity needs no explanation, seasonal readers who rotate decks with the wheel of the year, handmade-deck collectors, and anyone whose October practice deserves its own instrument. Year-round readers should note the deck knows exactly which month it belongs to, and spends the others waiting happily.