Just received my Giant Rider-Waite...

MareSaturni

Welcome Atlantean!

The RW deck i own is the Original Rider Waite deck - the one with the 'muted' colors many don't like. WELL...what can i say...i like it. And the quality is FANTASTIC. It's printed in Belgium, so it has a very silky finish, nothing like the horrible glossy one US. Games use.

US Games is a weird publisher. They have so many great decks, with both great finish and printing quality, such as the Hanson-Roberts, The Halloween Tarot and the Celestial Tarot...yet sometimes they just...destroy the decks. Remember the Crowley deck by US Games? The 'green' one? Exactly!

I don't know what happens to them, seriously....

~Yuko
 

lark

Buying tarot decks is getting as hard as buying groceries..they should start putting ingredient labels on them like food has so we know what the heck we're buying.
 

Emily

I have the Giant RWS, the one printed in Italy, I've never seen the other versions so I can't compare but I've always liked my GRWS.

I bought it for study but found myself doing readings with it, I like the colours and the fonts not being handwritten don't bother me. The lamination is thick but US Games seem to be using this kind of lamination now, I don't like it but it won't put me off a deck. By flexing the deck first then shuffling it breaks the hold of the lamination.

I think its a shame when decks get re-printed and they don't seem as good quality as the original decks but US Games seem to think they are a law unto themselves. But saying that I'm happy with my GRWS and wouldn't go seeking out an earlier edition.
 

Marchal

Where to keep the GRWS cards in...

Quite another aspect, but have any of you found a good box to keep the GRWS cards in? They do not fit in the wooden boxes I usually use...
 

GreenMoonBeam

Marchal, Welcome.
WalesWoman who is a member here on the forum makes wooden boxes for decks. Not sure what sizes but her work is outstandingly beautiful. Why not
send her a pm? She is based in Alaska but since this is such a deck,it may be
of interest to consider.


eta: if anyone else makes boxes I am sorry not to mention you:love:
 

Marchal

Thank you for the suggestion!
 

Logiatrix

Box or Bag?

Boxes aren't my preference, because I like to carry my decks with me out in the world. My Giant Rider fits perfectly in a tapestry bag with a flap/velcro closure. The tapestry material is very resilient and looks to be aging very well. I happened upon it at a yarn shop and splurged, but little purses like that can also be found at thrift shops. It's possible to find them in styles that aren't too flowery or feminine, too.

However, if boxes are still the way you want to go, you might also check out tobacco shops for their spare cigar boxes. They sell them here for $5 to $20. The nicer boxes are made of cedar, which is protective, purifying, and generally healing.
:)
 

Marchal

Marchal said:
Thank you for the suggestion!
I did indeed ask WalesWoman - and in the meantime I have received from her a beautiful suitable box made from Alaska cedar wood and laser-engraved according to my own suggestions. And the GRWS deck fits in just beautifully.
 

Greg Stanton

A RANT:

The lettering on the cards should be drawn, not typed. Tarot is art, after all. I cannot stand cards with computer-set type on them, period. The letters should be drawn by hand, just like the cards were painted by hand.

No matter how fancy the typeface (and fancy typefaces are generally hideous anyways), ready-made lettering always looks out of place on tarot cards.
 

Le Fanu

... I take it that the lettering on the Giant RWS is of the typeset variety...

Interesting that you should bump this thread as I was only this morning researching this deck and wondering about it... They have it in my local shop and it´s a Made in Italy one which made me a bit reluctant, but I did observe that the Magician card on the box had the handwritten lettering. Or could I have been mistaken?

Im in two minds about this deck, but... Made in Italy, death by lamination and all that...

By the way, Greg Im completely with you on this issue...Totally in agreement..... Ive just had this same annoyance with the Cosmic Tarot I bought recently. Typeset font imitating handwritten.. urgh...I mean, why, if handwritten titles already exist? Do they think we won´t be able to understand someone else´s handwriting?