The Rider–Waite tarot deck is a widely popular deck for tarot card reading, also known as the Waite–Smith, or Rider–Waite–Smith, or Rider tarot deck. Illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, based on the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite, the cards were originally published by the Rider Company in 1909. The deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired a wide array of variants and imitations. It is estimated that more than 100 million copies of the deck exist in more than 20 countries.