Pam B vs A & C ?

photokat

I've finally won a "Pam B" (after having lost numerous auctions) and when it arrived, I was quite surprised by the outstanding print quality of the deck.

Not only is it hard to believe how old it really is, but the printing is far superior to any of the subsequent printings!

It seems only natural to be wanting to compare my B to the other versions ...

I've looked through many threads here but couldn't find any comparison scans (probably copyright issue perhaps?) between A B and C aside from the sun cards and some others.

There's a lovely thread about the Thoth Editions here on AT, I miss one like that for the Pam versions. I don't find the number of scans or available imagery satisfactory in any way, though.

Did I miss a thread?

Would also like to add the story of the previous owner, I just LOVE these!

"I acquired the cards about 10 years ago at a antique shop in the town of Rugby (Midlands). The shop specialized in house clearances so I used to pop in every now and again to see if there were any unusual objects. I was interested in the occult at the time and the box of Tarot cards caught my eye. The shop was called Seaman's of Rugby if I recall, so they might have a bill of sale or a record of the house they came from but it is unlikely. I was told by the shop assistant that the cards had belonged to an old clairvoyant which all sounded rather wonderful and mysterious so naturally I bought them. I became increasingly interested in the Tarot and taught myself the basics of how to read them and a neighbor of mine walked me through some of the spreads. I was about 19 at the time and used to carry them around in my jacket pocket offering readings in exchange for a few free drinks."
 

Le Fanu

There is a thread somewhere which has pics of the A, B and C (and D, I think). I seem to remember pics posted by truelight in the Netherlands (is that the member's name?) and it was the first time we all got to compare them.

Like you, I recently aquired a Pam B. I'd love to have any of the others, but it seems to me - from here at least - that the Pam B is one of the easiest to come by. I have to say that after all my griping, the Original RWS with its blotchy High Priestess and King of Pentacles etc is actually a quite good reproduction.

Wouldn't it be a wonderful idea to post the story of how all our Pam B's were found? I always find it fascinating to know a deck's provenance, especially if it is an old one. Let me see if I can find my emails from the seller in which she told me where she found them...

ETA; no, I deleted the email but I remember she told me that she was trawling round a junk shop years ago and found them. She had never been into the occult particularly but was struck with what good condition they were in and so bought them, not even knowing if it was a complete deck or not (it is). They were bought round the area where I was brought up in the UK in the north, which made them doubly special for me...
 

photokat

Le Fanu, do you have photos of your set? Did yours come with a red box?

I like the idea about the stories thread, I am sure that it would be very interesting.

If you could find the thread with the comparison photos, please let me know, because I just couldn't (not even after looking for 5+ hrs).

I think you are right, the Pam B's seem to be the most common ones. I cannot recall having seen a Pam C lately, Pam A's I have seen. I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to be able to compare the Pam B editions for instance, they seem to have come in different type of boxes, maybe this would help dating the decks better?
 

Le Fanu

I wonder where I saw it then? Was it a thread started by roppo? Or is my memory hazy? I distinctly remember there is a thread with people saying "why haven't we done this sooner?" I don't have much time now but I can try a search later, but I guess you've exhausted possibilites, Pam/Pamela/editions/ etc as keywords!

I don't have images of my deck, but the seller actually put a short film of it on youtube with her going through all the cards!! I shall send it to you by PM! My deck is famous!
 

Asher

There are some comparison photos in Frank Jensen's book _The Story of the Waite-Smith Tarot_ . Additional information is given in a 2005 article "The Early Waite-Smith Editions", written for the 'The Playing Card', the magazine of the International Playing Card Society.

This article says of the Pam-B: "The pack is known existing in a two part red or maroon cardboard box packed with a hard-bound copy of "Key to the Tarot" (212 pages), New Edition 1920 (Rider & Co., Paternoster House, E. C. 4. London. Printed in Great Britain by Fisher, Knight & Co. Ltd., Gainsborough Press, St. Albans)...Another pack has a "Key..." dated 1931 along with it".

My copy follows this exactly, EXCEPT my book has no copyright date at all. Those of you who have a Pam-B, does your copy of the book have a date?

Asher
 

Asher

Debra said:

Thanks, Debra. I am familiar with all of these. No mention of a book without a date. Holly Voley's article "The Early Editions of the Waite-Smith Tarot" in 'Tarosophist International' vol. 1, issue 5, Winter 2009 is a bit more helpful. She says, "How many books were printed in each of the three versions? Unknown. Only a vague date can be assigned to the B, C and D variants" (page 49). All the sources seem to point to a range from 1920 -1931, but none mention books without a date. Odd...

Asher
 

Le Fanu

My book doesn't have a date, but part of the frontispiece is missing. I don't think - from the looks of it - that it would be a page that had a date on it. A page was partly snipped out (maybe to save a dedication? Signature?) and only the upper half of the page is left.