The Pamela Colman Smith Centennial Deck review thread

truelighth

Ok, I finally got round to comparing this deck to the Roses&Lilies deck. And yes, it is, 100% a copy of the Roses&Lilies Pam-A. No doubt about it. All the little details are the same. You see the same dot pattern in the colours, as I described in the other thread. (there is a colour difference between the Roses&Lilies and crackled back Pam-A. The Roses&Lilies has more dot patterns, is more grainy and the colours are deeper).

So all in all it is a true and faithfull reproduction of the deck Stuart Kaplan owns. But... while comparing, I also have to agree with Coredil about the colouring. The colours are actually off. The colours of the Roses&Lilies deck are more subdued, even a bit washed out. But clearer then on this new Smith-Waite deck. You are quite right to call it the greeny RWS. All the cards are more greenish. On some of them, this actually gives the right effect and the cards look very similar to the original, like on the Moon card:


(the scan still shows a difference, but if you hold the cards next to eachother, you don't see this)

On other cards, especially the cards with a more yellow or grey background, it doesn't work so well at all and makes the colours more green all over, as can be seen in the Fool and the Hanged Man:

F
or reference, the pictures show the Rose&Lilies on the left and the Smith-Waite on the right.

As to the why of this greenish tint, we can only guess. I don't know if this is due to the artificial aging of the deck. Or if it is an effect of the lamination. Or maybe they did it on purpose to make the colours brighter and more similar to the normal RWS (the Fool for instance is more like the normal RWS). All of those could be reasons, but it is a pity they made this adjustment and didn't print it with the original colours. Because it does make the deck darker then it needs to be and indeed, more greenish.

Other than that, it is a very good reproduction and I am still very pleased with the deck. And it is a LOT better then the "Original" RWS.

Oh yes, when looking at the scans I posted, you can see that some of the cards of the Roses&Lilies are indeed off center, quite of center in case of the Moon card. I did notice this in the Smith-Waite as well, but the smaller border is on the right of the card and not so extreme. It looks to me like they have been trying to correct the centering, but sometimes went a bit the other way.
 

Parzival

pamela colman smith centennial

Thank you for the side-by-side cards, Truelighth. I like the set for all its examples of Pamela Colman Smith's graceful, charming, simple yet deep Art. I wonder about the dark clouds in the Wheel of Fortune. Are these about as dark as the Pamela A? They give a mysterious tone to the image.
 

coredil

Thanks a lot truelighth, after your explanations I have now the feeling as if I my off center centennial copy would be almost an original Roses&Lilies Pam A :D
I add some scans to show how much off-center somes cards are.
But I really doubt that this off-centering was intended ;)

@ Frank Hall
Here is also a scan with a C a D and a Centennial Wheel of Fortune.
Indeed the clouds are quite dark on the centennial!

Best regards
 

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Aerin

starlightexp said:
Side two pops open with the deck and a pale blue organza bag to keep it in. (Does anyone REALLY use those?)

I think they should be banned forever in favour of a useful tuck-box.

Whenever has pale baby blue gone with an 'aged' RWS greenish deck anyway?

Gah.

Aerin
 

cardlady22

If anyone hates their blue organza bags, I'd like them! :grin:
 

inanna_tarot

thanks everyone for posting your reviews and pics of the deck. i think ive actually found a copy of the rw i can actually like! lol

ETA Ive just ordered it! Cant wait till it arrives and open up all the goodies!
 

Marcia959

Greenie Fan

Am I the only one who likes the greenie tint? I wanted the deck to be unique and I think this does that. I am reminded of antique postcards and greeting cards from the same era when I see the coloring. OK, and I just think it's a cool set to have, too.

Of course, I just scored as "Incredibly Annoying" on Facebook, too. Sigh.
 

inanna_tarot

I agree with you Marcia! I love the olde tint as my fave Thoth is my greenie.
Theres something that just adds more to the PCS being all tea stained.
 

karen0205

Marcia959 said:
Am I the only one who likes the greenie tint? I wanted the deck to be unique and I think this does that. I am reminded of antique postcards and greeting cards from the same era when I see the coloring. OK, and I just think it's a cool set to have, too.
Of course, I just scored as "Incredibly Annoying" on Facebook, too. Sigh.
No, I like the green tint too. Those bright yellow backgrounds are really loud.
I wish they would have followed the more pale versions of the colors.
Why is it so hard to just reprint the original, exactly as it was?
I would even be ok with them brightening up the figures, just leave the background
colors alone.
 

Trump Lloyd

karen0205 said:
Why is it so hard to just reprint the original, exactly as it was?
Wouldn't be able to copyright it.