Pamela A B C and D

Does anybody have any information on the early editions of the RWS, referred to as the Pamela A B C and D? They were printed sometime between 1910 and 1930 I think, and had a whitish mosaic-like card back design. Were these the first editions of the RWS or are there even earlier ones? Are they impossible to find these days? Are there any threads on this subject? Grateful for all the input I can get...

Your best bet for a starter is Holly Voley's site - and e-mail her if you need to know more. I'd say she is THE fount of info on this one !.

Thanks for that link Gregory! I will contact her.

Holly's Site

Holly's site has a wealth of information for those interested in RWS details!
Kaplan has a roses-and-lilies-back 1910 version that went for about $8k on Ebay, and I've never seen another one like it. The backs are like the bcks on the Original RWS. Most of the A-D versions I've seen have that whitish brown crackle back. I have a Pam B and a Pam C; still skulking around for an A and a D. The variations between versions are fascinating - see Holly's site for background on the "Oh Sh*t" line on The Sun card. There's also one tiny little tree missing from the hillside in the 6 of Swords in either the B or C...which mysteriously reappears in the later USG versions.

This is discussed thoroughly in the upcoming book by K. Frank Jensen The Story of the Waite-Smith Tarot.

http://association.tarotstudies.org/WaiteSmithBook.html

It's fascinating.

KFJ's Book

I ordered it a few days ago....can't wait to get it!!!!

Kimber said:

Kaplan has a roses-and-lilies-back 1910 version that went for about $8k on Ebay, and I've never seen another one like it.

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Nor have I.
But I know someone who has!

Finally! A Pam D!

Now that I've got versions B, C, and D, it was interesting reading through Frank's book and poring over various cards. I have to agree with both Frank and Holly that the D appears to be a very poorly produced iteration of the A. Since I don't have an A yet, I had to use the D for comparison purposes to the C and D, and I think I lost at least a couple of hours I got so absorbed in what I was doing!

Kimber

Kimber said:

Kaplan has a roses-and-lilies-back 1910 version that went for about $8k on Ebay, and I've never seen another one like it.

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I have seen another one of these on Ebay and it is now in my own collection. So Kaplan is not the only one with this particular deck anymore. (mind you, I didn't pay $8K for it though!!!)

Roses and Lilies Envy

truelighth said:

I have seen another one of these on Ebay and it is now in my own collection. So Kaplan is not the only one with this particular deck anymore. (mind you, I didn't pay $8K for it though!!!)

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I knew that, truelighth....I watched that auction, too!! I guess it just slipped my mind. It was definitely a better deal than $8k! And if you ever get tired of it, I promise to take very, very good care of it.