Original Rider Waite Tarot Pack?

Abrac

Personally, I wouldn't order this set from Amazon unless it's a marketplace seller who can answer questions like where it was printed. If you ask Amazon they'll go by the description in the ad, but that's not always what's sent. On the upside, if you order from Amazon and it's not as described you can return it, if you don't mind the hassle.

I've seen both Belgium printings and they looked almost the same to me but not exactly. The printing looks a little rough in places but that's because it's a reproduction of a printing that wasn't that great to start with. I've not seen the China one but from what I've read it's quite a bit different. Don't bother with the Italy one.
 

Asbestos Mango

I'm also thinking of going the whole hog and ordering the PCS Commemorative box set. I've heard good things about that. What say, peoples?
 

Asbestos Mango

I can't even make out the words "Printed In". But it is too long to be either China or Italy.

I've gone ahead and ordered it, along with Mystic Dreamer. I figure it can't be any worse than the Yellow Box edition.
 

Richard

Obviously, I don't understand why this "original" stuff is of such interest. The earliest Rider-Waite I have is rather yucky. Concern about the original somewhat crude printings seems more antiquarian than Tarot related. Is that the thrust of this thread?
 

Luna-Ocean

rwcarter- I'm shopping Amazon, and there is no info on where the deck was printed. Here's the image on the site

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0880796863/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Don't know if that's enough to go by.

That's the deck i've been reading with for almost 8yrs, its a nice deck the images have a nice feel as well, the card stock is abit flimsy which i prefer unless you like a glossy hard lamination you get on most decks.
 

rwcarter

Obviously, I don't understand why this "original" stuff is of such interest. The earliest Rider-Waite I have is rather yucky. Concern about the original somewhat crude printings seems more antiquarian than Tarot related. Is that the thrust of this thread?
The "original" in the title is based on the fact that the deck is a copy of a Pam B where the USG yellow-box is based on the Pam A. There is a school of belief that the B is actually the first printing of the deck (while the A is the first release of the deck), which would make it the "original" even though it was released after the A.
 

Debra

LRichard

New information (based on photos and a letter from a recent e-bay sale) leads me to believe that the "original" title is mistaken, and the Pam A crackleback came right after the very first Roses & Lillies copies. http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=3031958&postcount=59

But for this thread, that's neither here nor there.

LRichard, it's all about the colors. My own much-loved first deck is the old RWS pre-copyright--bright but not too bright. When I was reading at a local shop, the owner's daughter several times left her deck sitting on the counter, and each time I was drawn to it immediately--for the colors. It was the "Original" and finally I decided to find one. I was with rwcarter and Cerulean when Tall Rodney, that Completionist (pack)Rat, found one of the "good" original ones on the top shelf of a bookstore. Waaa, I wanted it, and he'd snagged the last one! But when he opened it, we all saw immediately that it lacked the beautiful green-gold tones of other "originals." And we were able to compare the lot of them to Rodney's Pam B (on my wish list). So Rodney knows exactly what to look for as a good "original" deck, printer and box-wise. And helped me get the one I wanted :heart:

The upshot is this: if you are looking for lovely colors on a RWS, in my view the original is prettier than the Commemorative, although the latter is really really nice too. If you want the symbolic impact of the colors, neither is right.
 

Asbestos Mango

Obviously, I don't understand why this "original" stuff is of such interest. The earliest Rider-Waite I have is rather yucky. Concern about the original somewhat crude printings seems more antiquarian than Tarot related. Is that the thrust of this thread?

Well, for me, I've just found that the yellow box edition is of poor quality print wise, and the colors sort of scream at you. I've used it for readings with no problems, but I would prefer an RWS that had more muted colors, and also the hand lettering rather than the cold typeface, as well as a general better quality of print.

If the scans on Amazon's website are anything to go by, the deck should be what I'm looking for.
 

Richard

Points well taken. Thanks!