The most unlikely Rider-Waite clone you'll ever see...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Aug 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

fyreflye	02 Aug 2004
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=19271&item=5511674299

Cerulean	02 Aug 2004
Did you see that it says pen and ink circa 1900 to 1949? If anyone wants the green-tinted fantasy circa 1978 Llewellyn printing, I may frame and sell likewise as vintage fantasies.... Regards, Cerulean

Fulgour	02 Aug 2004
I'm seeing The Star by Frieda Harris... maybe they'll figure it out? But did you know "Arthur Waite" did actually commission a second deck, by J.B.Trinnick around 1921-22: The Great Symbols of the Tarot.

HudsonGray	02 Aug 2004
It says it's a 'European' deck also--is that true? How can a pen and ink with color be a 'reproduction'? Do you think someone should email them that it's a Thoth deck? It'd be interesting to see if the images are from an actual first printing, faded as they look.

Alta	02 Aug 2004
There are no curly thingys along the borders of the cards. My 1969 Thoth also has no (I don't know the actual name, the curved lines inside the border areas) curly-lined borders and the cards are very large, like the ones shown. I was thinking maybe it could be a framed 1st or 2nd edition.

jlbvt	02 Aug 2004
Marion, what year was the first edition printed, and do you know what kind of box it came in? I've got a really old Thoth deck without the line work in the borders.

HudsonGray	02 Aug 2004
I found this online: " ...I also recently acquired this version of the Crowley/Harris Thoth deck on eBay. Per Kaplan's Encyclopedia of Tarot vol. III, this gold slipcase boxed version of the Thoth deck was printed in 1969. It appears to be the first full-color version of the deck that was printed, and the second edition ever printed. The first edition of the Thoth deck was a limited edition of about 250 decks, printed in the early 1960's. It is also known as the Sangreal One-Color Tarot, as it was printed in blue inks on the front and red ink on the backs, with the illustrations taken from photographs from Crowley's Book of Thoth. The cards from the gold slipcase 1969 edition have a plain border on the fronts, not like the patterned border on subsequent editions. The colors and images on the 1969 edition are a bit diluted and fuzzy on some cards, but nonetheless this edition is one of the prizes in my collection because of its packaging and significance. " And this site talks about the original work done by Frieda Harris on the cards in the 1940's during WWII. http://www.occultartgallery.com/occultartgallery/harris/harris.html The various US Games deck publishings are listed here (AGMueller had the publishing prior to that, apparently): http://www.geocities.com/Paris/2110/books.html The actual deck was supposedly first published in 1969 or just before, after Crowley & Harris were both dead, by either AGMueller or US Games. I wonder if Jeannette knows?

fyreflye	02 Aug 2004
As Cerulean points out there was also a Llewellyn edition. I've also seen a no-squiggly-border set on eBay with the card titles in four languages.

jlbvt	02 Aug 2004
Thanks for the info Hudson Gray and FyreFlye. I know this is off-topic again, but more questions about the early editions. I have a plain border Thoth that looks like those cards, in a gold slip case box, but published by U.S. Games. I am pretty sure it is only in english. Any idea which year/edition it could be? The box doesn't give me any clues. Thanks! Joan

HudsonGray	02 Aug 2004
Does it look like this? http://groups.msn.com/JBsTarotforBeginners/tarotdeckinfo.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=16882&LastModified=4675478676328681325 If it does, give Jeannette an email with the link, she would know.

Satori	02 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by HudsonGray Does it look like this? http://groups.msn.com/JBsTarotforBeginners/tarotdeckinfo.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=16882&LastModified=4675478676328681325 If it does, give Jeannette an email with the link, she would know. Oh, Hudson Gray, this link is now going to be a thorn in my side. WARNING:Off Topic, but somehow pertinent. I have been thinking about going round to local used bookstores and doing a Tarot deck search just to see what I could shake up. I stopped by the Goodwill the other day to look around for any interesting old leather purses and on the way out asked the folks at the counter (who are all speaking Polish, I know because my Dad is fluent) if they ever get any old Tarot decks. They all look at me blankly and then say "What is that? A kind of old jewelry?" Uh, yeah right. I start to leave, and this guy says -is this what you mean...and points to an old RWS deck sitting on the counter!!! It was very pulpy, looked like it had been damaged by water or something, but I just couldn't believe it. They actually had a Tarot deck! Now after seeing this link in this post, I'm sure a deck, a gem, is out there waiting for me! Let the search begin!

jlbvt	02 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by HudsonGray Does it look like this? http://groups.msn.com/JBsTarotforBeginners/tarotdeckinfo.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=16882&LastModified=4675478676328681325 If it does, give Jeannette an email with the link, she would know. Almost exactly, but I just went to take a good look at mine, which is significantly more beat up than the one in the picture here, and mine was published by Llewellyn. Other than that, all the printing on the box is the same. The box is the right style too. I am so curious now to find out which edition it is!

The The most unlikely Rider-Waite clone you'll ever see... thread was originally posted on 02 Aug 2004 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.