Good quality RWS deck?

I erased the copyright on an unplasticized deck using using ordinary ink and graphite erasers. It worked quite well but was more trouble than it was worth. Anyhow I like my Smith-Waite Centennial better, copyright and all.

Rhinemaiden said:

......for example, the Empress card. 1971 the pillow behind her is faintly striped, 2009 the pillow is solid. 1971 face is smooth, 2009 face is pixelated......

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Surely you don't mean pixellation as in low resolution computer graphics, do you? There is no trace of that in my Smith-Waite Empress or any other card.

Oddity said:

Just want to say, for those who really, really hate the copyright notice in the front:
if the deck has no lamination or only a thin matte finish, it's possible to gently scrape off small parts of the print with a very sharp knife (ideally a scalpel). There will be marks on the cards however careful you are, but they will be less obvious than the text was.
This won't work with cards that have that shiny plastic finish, sorry.

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I tried to remove the copyright on my PCS Centennial, luckily it was just the title card and not one of the cards proper. It looked so obvious I decided that I would leave the rest of the cards alone. I'm glad I did now, I hardly notice the copyright.

LRichard said:

Surely you don't mean pixellation as in low resolution computer graphics, do you? There is no trace of that in my Smith-Waite Empress or any other card.

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That's exactly what I mean, however I'm correcting it to fine diagonal lines rather than dots. It's not the "measles" effect of the 1993 printing, but there is a definite pattern on the Empress' face. Get out your magnifying glass and have a look, although you don't need a magnifying glass to see it if you look at the 1993 and 2009 cards side by side.

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edit to correct 1991 to 1993 in the last line

Rhinemaiden said:

That's exactly what I mean, however I'm correcting it to fine diagonal lines rather than dots. It's not the "measles" effect of the 1993 printing, but there is a definite pattern on the Empress' face. Get out your magnifying glass and have a look, although you don't need a magnifying glass to see it if you look at the 1991 and 2009 cards side by side.

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Thanks for clearing up the terminology. In computerese, pixellation generally refers to a certain type of image distortion due to low computer resolution. It is often caused by excessive image compression. The components of pixellation are little 1 pixel x 1 pixel squares whose sides are strictly vertical and horizontal, not diagonal. It can, for example, make a diagonal line look like a staircase.

Emily said:

I tried to remove the copyright on my PCS Centennial, luckily it was just the title card and not one of the cards proper. It looked so obvious I decided that I would leave the rest of the cards alone. I'm glad I did now, I hardly notice the copyright.

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Great if you don't feel the need to get rid of it
For me there's so much about the modern USGames RWS that rubs me the wrong way, so the copyright notice is only a very small part of it...
I have a Swedish edition where the printing is detailed and sharp, colours nuanced not garish, cardstock nice, lamination not overdone and it even has pretty backs featuring a rose cross on blue - not the weird plaid pattern. It's really a pretty decent edition of the deck.

The only thing "wrong" with it is that the (Swedish) titles are in that same awful machine font as on the modern RWS.
And those can't be scraped off, they are too large and also on a coloured background.

Siochanai, maybe you can try to get a vintage deck? I've heard they are nicer.
Or, if you don't absolutely need the titles to be in English, maybe an edition from a different publisher than USGames would work?
(I have one deck with titles in Russian - not RWS though - and I love that I don't understand the letters, I think it adds to a feeling of mystery )

I hope this question isn't out of place in this thread. I have a University Books edition of the RWS. Would it be pointless to also obtain a regular RWS, either the current issue or one of the vintage 1971 versions? I've been looking for a 1971 deck at a price point I'm comfortable with, but wondered if the color variation is enough to make it worth it, since I have the Uni Books deck.

Thanks for any input!

swedishfish612 said:

I hope this question isn't out of place in this thread. I have a University Books edition of the RWS. Would it be pointless to also obtain a regular RWS, either the current issue or one of the vintage 1971 versions? I've been looking for a 1971 deck at a price point I'm comfortable with, but wondered if the color variation is enough to make it worth it, since I have the Uni Books deck.

Thanks for any input!

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The coloring is different in the university Books edition. If you want to get a standard rider waite go for an older version, not the new printing. I found one on ebay. I will PM you the link

Ebay Deck Not 1971

I received my ebay deck today... sold as a 1971 RWS. It was printed in Switzerland but no idea what year as it just says copyright US Games 1971 on the box and in the LWB.

The cards are beautiful colour wise and the feel is fantastic. It does say on the bottom of the box:

Complete, Authentic, Accurate Color Tones.

It has tiny US Games copyright on the face of every card. Hardly noticeable though unless you are looking for it.

Whatever it is, I love it already, it feels like my comfiest pyjamas... oh how I wish they make them like this these days!!!

I would still love to know which one I have though!

ETA: Just checked the .pdf file from here:

http://thatstotallytarot.com/wp-cont...age-vs-New.pdf

(thanks Toj), and my box and cards all match the vintage versions except the front of the box, and a very tiny copyright on the cards themselves. The front of my box is like the new version they show though, how odd the rest is identical to the vintage box!! My LWB has the Magician on and the backs of the cards match the vintage.

Had another look and I am wondering if the scan of the Vintage box is over saturated... I note my leaves and magicians robe (with the fold markings on the front rather than clean white) look like the vintage version and I guess my wand could be described as greenish....

I eally do feel like *The Tarot Tribe* have taken over the asylum.........

Wow totally forgot this thread. I did receive my commemorative set and I am in love the card quality is phenomenal. I even like the old style printing effect with the dots reminds me of old school dot matrix printers. The tea staining is rather unique and gives a rustic look to it but it may dull the colors out a tad too much but over all I am in love with this deck. Just beautiful. Oh and it does not smell like turpentine which makes me very happy and less nausious.