The Live and Let Die Tarot

Producer Albert Broccoli commissioned Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dali (1904-1989) to design his own set of tarot cards to be used in the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973). Despite the fact that the cards didn’t make it as props in the film (Broccoli balked due to Dalí’s high fee), the artist continued working on the set on his own for 10 years.

The limited edition Dalí tarot cards were first published in 1984 and re-released in 2019. The cards feature Dalí himself as the Magician, his wife Gala as the Empress, and the death of Julius Caesar for the Ten of Swords—a card that represents backstabbing betrayal by Albert Broccoli. This 1996 MaxRacks freecard shows Dali's Ace of Cups, which at the time was on display at the Gallery Gertrude Stein in New York City.