Different editions of the 'Thoth' deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 21 Oct 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Greenman	21 Oct 2001
does anybody have any early editions of this deck? i would love to find one. when it was first released in the late sixties, it was a terrible reproduction of the original paintings. bland and fuzzy. it got a little better in the early seventies, but the colors were still muddy, and the borders were plain. U.S Games finally released it in a fairly palatable edition, but the colors of this version are still not true. the current Swiss and Belgian editions are the best so far. these can be told apart from the U.S versions by their border on the reverse (the rosey cross). these two foriegn editions are far superior, but i still find myself wanting one of the early, 'muddy' looking decks (i'm a hopeless collector!).

Jane	22 Oct 2001
Quote: Greenman (22 Oct, 2001 12:24): [snip] i still find myself wanting one of the early, 'muddy' looking decks (i'm a hopeless collector!). Hi Greenman, I too am a hopeless collector and found an old copy on e-bay. As bad as it is I'm afraid I'm not willing to part with it (at least for now). I also have the US Games version with the ugly green tinge to it. I didn't realize there was 2 large size versions when I bought it, and got the swiss one soon after. I check ebay often, and if I see one again I'll let you know. Jane

Greenman	22 Oct 2001
thank you Jane. i'll keep my eyes open at ebay too. it's funny, the U.S version doesn't look that bad until you lay it down next to the Swiss, and then the difference is vivid!

truthsayer	22 Oct 2001
well, you guys have opened my eyes! i didn't realize that there were so many different editions of the thoth deck. i bought mine in 1985. what era would that put my deck? i remember my deck as being tinged green but i haven't looked at any other editions since i bought mine. i simply assumed that it couldn't be improved upon and/or all editions are alike. what are the names of the different editions so i can check those out?

MeeWah	22 Oct 2001
How many different editions are there? I have a "green" deck published by Samuel Weiser, copyright dates of 1978 & 1983.

Jane	23 Oct 2001
Quote: MeeWah (23 Oct, 2001 07:53): How many different editions are there? Hi, Here are the ones I've heard about or have. There was an orginal 200 copies made, possibly for the orignal art exhibition of the paintings. I'm not sure about that, I've also read somewhere that these where monochrome. Next was the late 60's early 70's, the one I got on ebay was published by Llewellyn and printed in Hong Kong. This is not a good reproduction. I knew that when I bought it, but I was curious to see it. The US Games version of the large size has green borders and the colors are a bit off if you compare it to the swiss. AG Muller pringed in Switzerland has a large and a pocket size. These have grey borders and is considered the best printing. US Games has also done the small card size, it's about the size of a regular deck of playing cards. The one I have comes in a white box with a picture of The Universe on it. It was printed in Switzerland. I've heard the coloring can vary on these, luckily the one I have is very good. I've also seen a small card size by US Games in a lavender box with a picture of the 2 of disks on it. It is printed in Belgium, but has the same IBSN as the one I have. It had grey borders and looked just as good as the one I have. Well there's more than you ever wanted to know about Thoth versions. :D Jane

The Different editions of the 'Thoth' deck thread was originally posted on 21 Oct 2001 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.