Original RWS Deck on eBay?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 31 Jan 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

fyreflye	31 Jan 2005
Judging from the scans, but moreso from the scan of one of the card backs, it appears that someone has just posted an A,B,C or D version of the RWS on eBay. He has no idea what it is. You can see the card backs at Holly's: http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/Cardbacks.html The auction title is LOT-1..................VERY OLD TAROT CARDS, NO-RESERVE Anyone think they can identify which edition?

tarotbear	31 Jan 2005
Today on eBay I got outbid at the very last second on a mustache cup I despirately wanted to add to my colection ... don't send me back there looking for an old RWS Deck! LOL!!! Oh, the pressure! the pressure!

Cerulean	31 Jan 2005
Looking at the samples on Holly's site and on e-bay, the image doesn't seem 'centered' the same on all the cards, judging from the bottom border and space between the border and the sides of the cards. The colors look pretty clear, the gray very nice, like my accurate color tones printing around 1971. There's a slightly faded yellowing that maybe just my screen. I hope the Aecletic.net member that is the high bidder gets it for a good price! Cerulean

fyreflye	01 Feb 2005
Here's K Frank Jensen's essay on the distinctions among early RWS editions: http://tinyurl.com/6urtp Scroll down to page 21. This archived html. page has degraded since I first picked it up with the Wayback Machine but you can see the detail in the Sun cards mentioned by Jensen if you download the pdf. version linked in the header.

HudsonGray	01 Feb 2005
If they really are that old they look in fantastic shape! Nine bucks? Geez!

tarotbear	05 Feb 2005
According to the seller, there are 78 cards including the blank card, so one of the cards must be missing. The seller admits he knows nothing about Tarot. Anyone want to guess it's the Devil or the Tower card?

Fulgour	05 Feb 2005
tarotbear wrote: According to the seller, there are 78 cards the blank card, so one of the cards must be missing. My uncle Fred had a deck like that, where one card was blank. It wasn't a problem, he couldn't remember which one it was! :)

fyreflye	05 Feb 2005
tarotbear wrote: According to the seller, there are 78 cards including the blank card, so one of the cards must be missing. The seller admits he knows nothing about Tarot. eBay sellers are notoriously poor at counting as well as at everything else. They may not even understand the difference between "including" and "plus." In such cases I always contact the seller and suggest that the deck may be worth scads of money if all 78 cards are there but almost nothing if they aren't. This insures an accurate recount.

tarotbear	05 Feb 2005
fyreflye wrote: eBay sellers are notoriously poor at counting as well as at everything else. They may not even understand the difference between "including" and "plus." In such cases I always contact the seller and suggest that the deck may be worth scads of money if all 78 cards are there but almost nothing if they aren't. This insures an accurate recount. OOOOOOOOOOOOO! Sneaky! I like that! The difference between a poor sale and an excelent selling price rests on such things! Don't you love it when someone lists a deck that is available everywhere- including Wal*Mart - as 'Rare' ??? LOL!!! ("Caring Psychic Family")

Calliope	05 Feb 2005
tarotbear wrote: According to the seller, there are 78 cards including the blank card, so one of the cards must be missing. The seller admits he knows nothing about Tarot. Anyone want to guess it's the Devil or the Tower card? My bet is on the Tower since the seller shows the Devil card. Such a shame. Who knows? May still bid. :)

fyreflye	06 Feb 2005
I've queried the seller and he still says after three counts that there are 77 picture cards and one blank. Oh, well... The seller also was good enough to send me a scan of The Sun card to check for what Holly Voley calls the http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/SunComparison/OSLine.html line. The line is there plus Pam's little extra upright line found only on the "C" card: http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/SunComparison/main-Sun.html Therefore the eBay deck is the 1931 "C" deck with an (unknown) missing card. Our ATF rep in the bidding, new at this game as he is, seems to have taken a somewhat conservative view of what his maximum bid should have been :rolleyes:

HudsonGray	07 Feb 2005
I wonder if you emailed him a list of the cards in sequence if he'd be able to tell which one was missing, or wouldn't he take the time to do that?

fyreflye	07 Feb 2005
HudsonGray wrote: I wonder if you emailed him a list of the cards in sequence if he'd be able to tell which one was missing, or wouldn't he take the time to do that? What makes you think I'd want to take the time?

tarotbear	07 Feb 2005
Monday's selling price is now up to $36 for an incomplete deck. Sellers are willing to answer questions, but dislike being pestered! If the seller says they have no knowledge of Tarot, and have now checked the count three times - they don't care which card is missing, even though they might now have a clue this is still a highly collectable deck and should have started the price off higher. People sell anything on eBay - including old jockstraps! (try it and see ... I am not making this up!) People who are selling stuff (read:junk) they pulled out of an attic somewhere are not going to spend hours reseaching something. This seller is not holding this deck as though it's the Holy Grail - they just want to sell it for a profit.

fyreflye	07 Feb 2005
Notice that the high bidder has a genuine -1 feedback rating, the first I've ever seen on eBay. His deadly rival for the prize has a 2. Our own contender has a 2. The seller must be wondering if he'll even get the $36.

Waterdancer	07 Feb 2005
I got a University Press RWS deck on ebay that was missing one of the cards. The Emperor. I didn't pay much because I really wanted the other decks that came with it. It still makes me sad that I don't have the complete deck since the colors are stunning.

fyreflye	07 Feb 2005
Waterdancer wrote: I got a University Press RWS deck on ebay that was missing one of the cards. The Emperor. I didn't pay much because I really wanted the other decks that came with it. It still makes me sad that I don't have the complete deck since the colors are stunning. If you want stunning RWS colors keep an eye out for the original 1968 Tarot Productions, Inc. printing of the Albano-Waite deck. The current garish recolorings of the RWS are junk next to Albano's "Accurate COLOR Tone" version.

Lillie	07 Feb 2005
I got a university books RWS on ebay. But I've waited ages and it hasn't arrived. I think it might be lost in the post. :( :( :( :( Lot's of sad faces. *************************** I was wrong. It arrived this morning! :) :) :) :) Lots of happy faces instead!

Rusty Neon	10 Feb 2005
And the winner was a denizen of TarotL and CompTarot at $152.51 USD. Congrats Rachel.

fyreflye	10 Feb 2005
Rachel was also interested in the original Marteau Grimaud deck; I wonder if she's too broke now to mount a challenge to the current high bidder for that one :)

Rusty Neon	10 Feb 2005
A lot of action in the last few minutes of the auction.

Lillie	11 Feb 2005
Another 30s, dried mud backed, 77 card RWS deck came onto Ebay UK today. Someone has already enquired about the sun card. The seller has offered to send them pics. I am not the person who asked, so I am none the wiser. Someone has already bid, but there are days to go yet. What I am wondering is this. Is it the same card missing in both decks? I will probably never know.

fyreflye	11 Feb 2005
I am the person who inquired about "The Sun" card and received the jpg. This deck is a "Pamela B."

Lillie	11 Feb 2005
Thanks for letting me know. I had been wondering. Did they tell you which card was the missing one? (if they know, of course) Good luck with it if you are thinking of bidding, fyreflye. I'm sure it will go far too high for me!

fyreflye	11 Feb 2005
Lillie wrote: Did they tell you which card was the missing one? (if they know, of course) I didn't see any point in asking someone who couldn't even identify an RWS deck what the missing card was.

Lillie	11 Feb 2005
So true, so sadly true. :D

The Original RWS Deck on eBay? thread was originally posted on 31 Jan 2005 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.