ETA. Does it really matter anyhow, except to historians?
Sure it matters, and not just to historians. RWS is
the iconic deck to the vast majority of users in North America. Whether or not one actually cares about the history, for many collectors a modern facsimile or a clean reproduction of the first printed version of the biggest deck would be a treasure. Ask Marseille collectors why some prefer blemished facsimiles to clean repros.
I can understand that a person might even find the Centennial's unique tint
better than the oldest deck that lacks it completely. Maybe it's a calming colour, maybe it puts them in the reading mood better. They may even like the blue monogrambacks better than the Rose or Crackle backs. That's more subjective.
Finally, I can't relate to this, but on here I've seen a few claims that earlier versions of the RWS, such as the Blue Box, "read better" than a modern Yellow Box with a bar code, website, plain font, and copyright dates. Now
that's a far more subjective reason than the accuracy of the designs. By that logic, the oldest surviving decks are the most readable versions ever, but nobody can get their hands on them so we settle for readings from inferior editions or clones published by US Games. A head scratcher to me. An accurate reproduction of the oldest surviving deck would likely be, for them, more readable than Centennial, or anything that came before it.
The Pam-A "Rose &Lily" back was produced quickly for the December 1909 Christmas Fair. When the card-stock proved faulty (it separated) - a new edition was printed early in 1910 on superior card stock (Pam-A "crackle back") and purchasers of the Rose & Lily edition were offered a replacement. Thus, only a couple of Rose & Lily decks have survived. The two editions are almost identical except for the back and the fact that an additional sliver of image appears on some of the R&L cards.
Ah I see. But given today's technology, I doubt it would be difficult to produce a Pam-A Rose. The scans I've seen, I believe from that Japanese collector, are of one of the oldest surviving decks. It's not difficult to reproduce those on new cardstock, add a Rose back, and cut to order.
The question is who would do it and market it first: small deck designers or larger companies. But after the expiration, it's just a question of choosing who you believe deserves your money.