Look! Brand new Greenie! Still sealed!

Lillie, thanks for sharing those pictures. Nice score.

I think the NY phone book idea is excellent. That would be one way to put the question to bed once and for all.

Another way would be to find a US Games deck that was published in say, 1987 for example. Then check the reprint numbers in the LWB and try to find a first printing, i.e. it has a series of numbers that starts with 1 (6 5 4 3 2 1 for example). If it's a first printing and was published in 1987 then the address on the box or booklet would accurately reflect where the company was in that year. If there's more than one address, the newest one would be the correct one. I've check all mine and I don't have any of the right combinations. But out of all the people who read this forum, maybe someone has something that could shed some light.

Edit to Add: A book would also work. Vol.2 of Kaplan's Encyclopedia was published in 1986. If a person had a first printing of that it would tell where they were. Any book published by US Games between say, 1983 and 1990 would work though.

Lillie! So it was you! I know exactly what deck this is as I had my eye on it!

Then I read that thread here about someone who had been sold a shrink-wrapped Greenie and when they received it, it was a normal deck inside a Greenie box. Very naughty.

So I ran a mile and didn't bid! Good for you though!

.. but if you do think of selling it...

Samuel Weiser and the OTO--your deck might be an edition...

...I keep wanting to find the Weiser Occult Bookstore older zip codes in New York because the older Book of Thoths and editions of the Thoth deck (according to Frank Jensen) were published/printed there.

I am hoping that the Weiser logo or something identifying the printer is indicated in a deck coming to me soon, although the seller listed both the the Weiser name and NY 10016 address. I don't know if it's a greenie, and that mixes me up, as the light blue Weiser edition pictured on the Tarot Garden website, is White Box A.

If it was a greenie, then it would be a light gray green, the White Box C on the Tarot Garden table link below with U.S. Games as the distributor, printed in Belgium and NY zip for U.S. Games as 100016.

Anyway, not to muddy the waters, but just giving an alternative.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weiser_Antiquarian_Books


Weiser edition box (White Box A)

http://www.tarotgarden.com/library/decks/thothtable.php

Le Fanu said:

Lillie! So it was you! I know exactly what deck this is as I had my eye on it!

Then I read that thread here about someone who had been sold a shrink-wrapped Greenie and when they received it, it was a normal deck inside a Greenie box. Very naughty.

So I ran a mile and didn't bid! Good for you though!

.. but if you do think of selling it...

Click to expand...

I wondered if anyone else was watching it. I only decided to bid about half an hour before it ended.

And I too thought a lot about that other thread, but that one was in Australia, this one was in Essex...
Also the seller had put some significant info into the listing, like printed in Belgium, AC78, and 'green borders'.

So I thought I'd take a punt on it. and for £15 any brand new, unwrapped Thoth is a fairly good deal.

The funny thing is the seller is a great person.
I paid with a postal order cos I don't do paypal (another reason I bid, a lot only do paypal) and I had to wait till Monday to send it to him.
I got the deck today. And I checked the post mark. He posted it on Monday.
In face looking at the times he posted it shortly before I posted the payment!
How's that for trust???
I'm just some random ebay buyer and he trusts me to do what I have promised.

You may remember the listing mentioned some damage to the LWB. Even that's nothing, a little creasing and a tiny tear where someone had had trouble closing the box flap and its mangled the LWB a bit.

So, well cool.

It's still in it's plastic wrap...
I'm a right sad case, half of me don't want to open it!

You should have bid!
A penny more than the start price and you'd have got it!

Cerulean.

My Book of Thoth is old, printed by Weiser in 1974 (the poor thing! All the pages are falling out!)

The address on it is Samuel Weiser Inc. 734 Broadway, New York, NY 10003

I don't know if that helps you in any way...

This is also the address on the side of the vintage Weiser Thoths in the 2 part boxes.
However, I suppose that although it is certainly on some, it might not be on all.

Abrac said:

Lillie, thanks for sharing those pictures. Nice score.

I think the NY phone book idea is excellent. That would be one way to put the question to bed once and for all.

Another way would be to find a US Games deck that was published in say, 1987 for example. Then check the reprint numbers in the LWB and try to find a first printing, i.e. it has a series of numbers that starts with 1 (6 5 4 3 2 1 for example). If it's a first printing and was published in 1987 then the address on the box or booklet would accurately reflect where the company was in that year. If there's more than one address, the newest one would be the correct one. I've check all mine and I don't have any of the right combinations. But out of all the people who read this forum, maybe someone has something that could shed some light.

Edit to Add: A book would also work. Vol.2 of Kaplan's Encyclopedia was published in 1986. If a person had a first printing of that it would tell where they were. Any book published by US Games between say, 1983 and 1990 would work though.

Click to expand...

Books are better than decks for this because they have a more detailed printing history in the front.
I love that about books

U.S. Games 1984 and 1985 and 1988 notes

Hanson Roberts Tarot, Stamford CT 06902 copyright 1985 little white book.

Tarot Unveiled, Illustrations of Hanson Roberts copyright 1984 U.S. Games Stamford CT 06902.

Tarot Unveiled book copyright 1988 U.S. Games 179 Ludlow Street, Stamford CT 06902...

Hope that helps.

Cerulean

Cerulean, if your Tarot Unveiled book is a first printing that would indeed be a great clue. The publication date alone doesn't really help for this purpose. The reprint number is the key. I also have a Hanson Roberts LWB that's copyrighted 1985, but it's a first printing and the address is New York. I also have Vol.1 of Kaplan's Encyclopedia published 1978. If it was a first printing the address would indeed be New York but it's an eighth printing 2001 so the address is Stamford, CT.


I was thinking over Lillie's phone book idea and got the idea to look up the Stamford, CT Chamber of Commerce on the Web. US Games doesn't seem to be registered but they had some contact links so I shot off an email to ask if they might know anything. Hopefully I'll hear back with good news.

Abrac said:

Edit to Add: A book would also work. Vol.2 of Kaplan's Encyclopedia was published in 1986. If a person had a first printing of that it would tell where they were.

Click to expand...

That I do have. A moment, please.....

First printing 1986. - New York 10016.....

Couldn't you just kill them ?

Maybe they did decks and books in different places ?

Maybe they just can't count.

Lillie said:

'green borders'

Click to expand...

I know! I saw this and thought "Oh they're being coy and modestly pretending they don't know what a greenie is...I shalln't rise to it!"

Lillie said:

You should have bid! A penny more than the start price and you'd have got it!

Click to expand...

I'm so glad you got it. Nobody deserves a shrink-wrapped vintage Thoth windfall more than you do!