First Impressions: Pamela Colman Smith's RWS Tarot Deck

US Games snuck this deck onto the market Thanksgiving Week 2020. It's based on a 1909 Roses and Lilies deck, but the colors have been desaturated. If you're a person who doesn't care for the bright yellows and blues of a traditional Pamela Colman Smith deck, this could be the RWS for you.

[@instagamrr]

Wow, excellent, excellent comparison. I thoroughly appreciate your commentary, that was quite educational!

[@SoulfulSerenity-888]

I just got this deck and I LOVE everything about it, the muted colors, the cardstock, the shuffling....BUT the backs ugh 😩 I hate the backs.

[@mareeabee8293]

I LOVE IT and had not heard about this release! Thank you for sharing!

[@melissazupan6026]

Aw, thank YOU for watching!

[@wellnesswitch7977]

I have been eagerly anticipating a flip through of this deck! So exciting! Like you, I adore the muted blue-green of the backs and the box, and I absolutely love the desaturation of the cards...however, I am not too thrilled by the changes that they made to gain the deck's uniformity; I can't help but miss the organic borders that Pamela Colman Smith created! A lovely little copy of the RWS, though, and one that I may not be able to resist. Thank you for this video!

[@melissazupan6026]

Yeah, the borders and the aspect ratio skew bug me. I get why they're done...but I really appreciate it when deck creators honor Pamela Colman Smith's art.

[@BBK96]

I love muted colors im definetely getting this deck

[@SunshineDawn7]

Thank you :-) I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

[@Beanmachine91]

It has an old time feel

[@LucyLu_meztli]

Hi Melissa, thank you so much for this video and the insightful remarks. Pros and cons in this deck as with everything I guess. I’m with you in loving the teal grayish blue and painting entire rooms with this color, the backs however are bit dreadful to me. Plus on being reversible, minus on having the copyright, plus on having removed the copyright from the fronts, plus on being true to the 1909, stains and all included, deep minus on the resizing, I cannot get past the oval in the Wheel of Fortune 😅 Thanks again, you are my #1 go to for RWS comparisons with historic remarks, love that!

[@Letsphotographthat]

Thank you for putting isbn in the description! :D

[@12dcconn]

a thorough review, thank You

[@toadstooltarot]

Thanks for explaining why the characters look skinnier. I wondered about that.

[@beingdoingtarot7261]

Really like the depth and detail of your review. I do really like this new deck and I have a couple of copies on order from Book Depository - the desaturation caters to my 'antiqued' taste. My personal opinion is that the best mass market RWS is still the premium edition Tarot of A.E. Waite published by AGM Urania. Yes, this deck does not have the original hand written font but in all other regards it is a great version of the Pam A. I had a look at the Tarot of A.E. Waite Magician and it has the blue flowers and lack of solid line. My gut feeling with the new deck here is that US Games is trying to create a deck that ticks all the current trendy flavours: -No copyright on the front? Tick (copyright is on the back; premium Tarot of A.E. Waite doesn't have copyright anywhere) -Muted colours? Tick -Hand written font? Tick 2021 is the year that the RWS finally enters the public domain so I suppose US Games is creating an easy to obtain mass market RWS with wide appeal. I note the standard plaid back Rider (yellow box) deck now has the original font restored - I guess another tick on the trendy list (+ plus looking ahead to 2021). The plaid back deck is also not quite as bright as it was a few years ago and is now on nice matte card stock - I don't feel the need to use my vintage decks that often because of this. Looking forward to someone coming out with a fully authentic mass market Pam A reproduction - it is surely only a matter of time now the RWS is coming out of copyright.

[@pixelking_871]

I love the green in this deck

[@mysticbeardcartomancy4728]

Picked this up because I wanted to get an RWS to study with that didn't make my eyes bleed like my 90s Yellow Box RWS with the plaid backs.

[@melissazupan6026]

I think that's exactly what this deck is for! For everyone who has ever wanted a traditional deck but can't take the intensity of the yellows and blues.

[@DebraDarkandTwisty]

Loved your video, I love listening to you, Brant, Simon - people who know about RWS. Could you tell me - is there a new-ish release that has pale colours like this one & age marked card stock? You know what I mean, tea stains etc. I feel sure I saw one when this one came out but have no memory of where or what. Old age is a wonderful thing HA

[@instagamrr]

Lo Scarabeo is coming out with a Tarot Vintage that is exactly what you’re asking for. Hope that helps!

[@appleoak3589]

I just received my copy today. I personally think this version is of poor quality compared to the centennial. A lot of the cards are stretched. They also appear like they are behind a mist making it difficult to see the detail. The card stock is nothing like the centennial - its rather cheap plasticky feel. I will be returning my copy. Hope this helps :)

[@DanTheElevator]

Why can’t US Games just release an unfutzed with replica of the R&L and Pam A? Who on earth was clamoring for an RWS with dull, dull, dull colors? So disappointing. I just ordered the MPC Study Deck yesterday because I can’t trust USG or any of the other major manufacturers to do a proper release.

[@melissazupan6026]

Clean replicas of these decks are the dream, aren't they?

[@DanTheElevator]

@@melissazupan6026 Sometimes I wonder if USG and the other big manufacturers think that if they release a proper replica of the R&L or a Pam A, then that's all people would buy and they couldn't keep releasing edition after edition after edition with minor tweaks.

[@Beanmachine91]

@@melissazupan6026 check out the Weiser tarot deck, it's colors are bright I think

[@AnnieDusk]

I love the soft desaturated hues, but that oval Wheel of Fortune... I don't like the aspect ratio. Btw, have you seen the 2021 Lo Scarabeo clones to come? The "Tarot Vintage" and "Tarot: Original 1909" - I'm looking forward to seeing how those look in person!!

[@simonfernandes6809]

I've seen those Lo Scarabeo decks in their 2021 catalogue. Unfortunately, they look like reprints of the terrible Pam C - they are not using Pam A linework. You can tell by looking at the Magician in the catalogue. The RWS closest to the Pam A 1910 deck is still the Tarot of A.E. Waite Premium edition by AGM (or Konigsfurt for the German edition) Urania. I have been using this new muted RWS. I have to say, even given the oval Wheel of Fortune, I do like this deck. I'm not sure I like it better or worse than the Centennial RWS. If I want an 'old' looking deck then this one is certainly right up there.

[@tamipie]

I now have 4 RWS decks, someone gave me one last month, my blushing fool yellow box, and my 80's perfect shuffle RWS, and of course the yellow box from a couple years ago, that I modded to be a square deck...it is always interesting, nee fascinating to hear RWS collectors talk about the deck. Thank you!

[@melissazupan6026]

I think I've seen pictures of your square deck! It is so fun. I'm glad you enjoyed this. :) Sometimes I think I could talk about RWS all day.

[@WaterChildTarot]

KZbin auto-captions Stuart Kaplan to "Stupid Kaplan" lol. (Not that I think he's stupid.) Thanks for sharing this deck!

[@queenria7]

OMG, the change of the aspect ratio COMPLETELY destroys this deck for me! 😱 What a sacrilege!

[@melissazupan6026]

Yeah, I get annoyed at that, too. But other people can't abide borders that aren't uniform, so I guess unless USG changes their card dimensions, it's a bit of a lose-lose. No one will be happy.

[@queenria7]

@@melissazupan6026 Ah you're right, I hadn't considered that. In the current standard Rider Waite they solved that by cutting off the images themselves (I noticed that when I trimmed it). In my opinion that's still better than having oval-shaped pentacles...

[@sage7056]

Hi, I brought the tarot deck..The color is too dull and dark so not good...I like smith waite tarot cards better. But I'm adjusting.(and I'm sorry for weird English.)

[@KenBarberGeek]

The original darker green deck, I have a question for you all ... the part that strikes me as special is the artwork on front of the box of the original green deck of cards. Its a similar style, but the symbology is not the same as in the deck, and it doesn't seem to appear in the deck at all when I look through it. What is the story behind that card/artwork?

[@melissazupan6026]

I’m not sure I am following. The artwork is the Temperance card, which should be in the deck.

[@StellarLunar]

which deck is the third WOF card in the comparison from at 16:39? I can't make out what's being said there. "my pmd"?

[@carmmen1384]

I wanr this deck too. Have been away for a while but I'm still looking for a second copy of the Pamela Colman Smith RWS. I had the opportunity to get another but I was at work and totally lost it on eBay. I was super pissed.

[@melissazupan6026]

You don’t need to buy it on eBay, it’s still in print and can be purchased for new on Amazon for under $20 USD.

[@carmmen1384]

@@melissazupan6026 Are you able to send me a link because honestly I cannot find it.

[@melissazupan6026]

@@carmmen1384 www.amazon.com/Pamela-Colman-Smiths-Tarot-Deck/dp/1646710266/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=pamela+colman+smith&qid=1659400298&sr=8-8#

[@carmmen1384]

@@melissazupan6026 Thank you

[@t0rna.s0l]

me molesta que se la pase casi todo el video comparando el centennial con este, vine a ver la review de este tarot, no a ver una comparación donde se la pasan despreciando al centennial.

[@essianmavex7549]

From an Albano-Waite user perspective, this deck is blasphemous.

[@albinnibla]

You GO!

[@cance7984]

Nope, I'm giving this tarot deck a miss. It's too desaturated for my liking, almost colorless.

[@pauljonesesquire]

Not a fan of this deck I prefer the loscarabeo, also why the obsession with it being Pam's deck when A E Waite came up with it? No Waite no deck!