What's the best edition of the Bohemian Gothic Tarot and why?

I finally got to see and touch the silver 1ed, pewter edged 2ed, and mini 3ed.

From what I can see, the silver looks and feel as if the images are printed on silver based card stock. If that makes sense. I know nothing of printing. But this is the feeling that I have looking at it. So it doesn't feel silver 'highlighted' but rather 'silver based'. Where the silver back overlaps with colours printed on it and peeks through the negative spaces in the art work. The cards felt surprisingly flexible and thin-ish.

The pewter edged 2nd ed is very nice I can see now why it is called 'crispy' or 'crunchy'. I like it a lot But I think I had paid too much for it because it is OOP now, and this may interfere with my perception of its quality. The more I continued to be outraged at myself for paying the amount for it, the lower my subjective perception of its quality.

The 3rd ed has card back design that I prefer compared to previous editions. This newest back feels more in line with the period of the deck's design. The skulls are cool, but they feel as if they are a bit too contemporary for the gothic themed deck (feels more like the more recent 'goth' than Victorian gothic). It feels as if the back of the 3rd ed is now finally in sync with the front.

Well. Two months on, and now I guess I can say: The 3ed mini is my favourite. I was seriously underwhelmed by the pewter edged (silver gilding basically) 2ed and the silver 1ed. Please don't throw your shoes as me. Selling them both as we speak. Sadly.

I only very recently acquired a Bohemian Gothic, having not been interested in it at all previously. But thanks to my favourite AT enabler, I now have a perfect condition plain 2nd ed. And it's gorgeous! I love the cardstock too. In fact, it may be my favourite deck for cardstock! I'm contemplating getting a 3rd ed., but worry I won't like the cardstock of that as much!

journeyinghome said:

I only very recently acquired a Bohemian Gothic, having not been interested in it at all previously. But thanks to my favourite AT enabler, I now have a perfect condition plain 2nd ed. And it's gorgeous! I love the cardstock too. In fact, it may be my favourite deck for cardstock! I'm contemplating getting a 3rd ed., but worry I won't like the cardstock of that as much!

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I have both the 2nd and 3rd edition and much prefer the 2nd edition cardstock to be honest...in fact I prefer the 2nd edition all round. ☺

pickled pixie said:

I have both the 2nd and 3rd edition and much prefer the 2nd edition cardstock to be honest...in fact I prefer the 2nd edition all round. ☺

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Good to know! Thank you!!!

Just this evening a friend was over, and I showed her the tarot room.

By candlelight, I showed her the Bohemian Gothic silver edition.

It was magical.

So, yeah . . . my vote for best edition of the Boho Gothic is the Silver.

I finally managed to hold the regular size 3rd ed and finally understand what MG was saying here.

The cardstock of the 3rd ed is not "special". That is to say, typical of Baba's older decks, that has a crisp crunchy feeling to them even when thinner in some older edition. I wonder if this is that carbon layer or middle or something that is part of those cardstocks.

The 3rd edition BG on the other hand, feels (even smells) very much like my edition of the White Rabbit Oracle, and the Tarot of Sidney Sime (majors only). Which is to say, not premium, not so much, even though not shabby either.

I actually like this more "common" waxy cardstock, but they do chip easier after only a few shuffling. And I do not believe that this cardstock (3rd ed) is as good a quality as their older ones. Although it is one of my favourite cardstock, I somehow just expect more from Baba I am not sure why.

MoonGypsy said:

1st Edition--best cardstock and my very favorite BG images

Silver LE -- Best ever effects for moonlit eery ambiance
and outstanding cardstock. Nica is right--it is museum quality, there has never ever
been one to compare to it, IMHO.

All the first editions shuffle just like butter.

And contrary to what some of my dear friends have said--the 3rd edition cardstock is by far
my least favorite, as it is a bit slick to my touch and doesn't have that early Baba "silkiness" and "whippi-ness" that we
early Baba deck aficionados came to love so much. That was/is the special cardstock of the first edition decks...
The 2nd edition does have a "crunchiness" or stiffer feel...but still is more matte without the 3rd's slick feeling.

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I'm fairly new to tarot and don't have a lot of decks, but I have the 3rd edition of Bohemian Gothic and I love the feel of the cards compared to my other decks.
I use this deck for shadow work so I don't use it all the time, and I get excited when I decide to work with this deck, anticipating the beautiful feel of this deck in my hands compared to my other deck.

Sleek. Cool to touch. Heavy in the hand... The deck just feels amazing!

And recently I've started pulling my cards not from the top of the shuffle, but fanning the cards in my right hand and choosing my spread cards with my left hand. This takes longer but seems to work for me at the moment. Especially with this deck as the cards fan absolutely perfectly in my hand, which is far different to other decks which are plain awkward to do this with and make me rethink this method!

I also love this deck for shadow work, and I find I read the card images themselves (intuitively I guess) rather than take much notice of the card names, or the LWB, which I'll look at but find it doesn't help me much with readings. I get far better results from the my interpretation or first impression of the images.

But yeah, I really look forward to putting this deck in my hands!

I use this deck. The best edition is the one with the pewter edges. The cardstock feels the best and the images are rendered better than in the other editions. Just my opinion.

It's some deck, isn't it?

It's interesting to see so many different perspectives here. I see people complain about the murkiness of the first edition, and while I completely see why --the second and third ads are increasingly sharper, with more popping reds--, that very "murkiness" lends the first edition a sort of dreamy quality that works best for me. Add the strategically placed metallic highlights of the Silver, and it's just... magical, moonlit eery ambiance, moonlight and daguerrotypes, all those things and more.

They still added interesting touches to the other two editions, though: the quicksilver edges of the Pewter, which look liquid, and the metallic backs of the mini --like handling silver coins.