The Knight of Cups drawing

Marlo

As i said in another post, i recently bought the Original Rider Waite Tarot Deck, a blue and salmon pink box, with the symbol of a snake "eating" its tail.

I have read this deck is common, so i would like to know if it is really close to the real original one because the Knight of Cups card seems special here.

When i laid out all the cards on my table, i noticed the Knight of Cups is the only one with a perfect white sky. Pretty uncommon for a card of the Cups suit.

Moreover, technically the way this card has been made contrasts with the others. Whereas on the other cards traits can be a bit coarse, the contours of the Knight of Cups and of his horse are almost perfectly regular and delicate.

It gives a shiny side, dry and clean.

Is there a purpose or it is just a coincidence ? I would like your opinion about this :)
 

rwcarter

Welcome to Aeclectic, Marlo!

The Original Rider Waite (ORW) is based off the Pam B (or C), while most Rider Waite versions are based off the Pam A. Like Pam A-based versions, the ORW also has the "oops" line on the Sun (which doesn't appear in the B). I believe it's generally accepted that the B was the first printing of the deck in 1909 that was warehoused until the 30s when it was sold while the A is the second printing of the deck that was sold first in 1909/1910.

When I first got my Pam B, I commented on the differences in the Knight Cups here.

HTH,
Rodney
 

KariRoad

Bonjour Marlo :)

Generally speaking, the "Original" is not the original 1909 version, which was generally more like the regular version (not readily available in some countries). Click on link to view side-by-side comparison.

KofC_Orig_USG.jpg


Also, Rodney, I'd love to see your Pamela B Knight of Cups!
 

rwcarter

I'll see if I can do a compare/contrast scan today or tomorrow of the Pam B, ORW and yellow-box USG RW.
 

rwcarter

Here's a comparison of the Knight Cups. From left to right we have the yellow-box USG, Original RW and Pam B.

Rodney

ETA: The colors are slightly overcorrected. The yellow-box has a paler blue sky, the ORW has a whiter sky and the Pam B has more of a dark cream color sky.
 

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Marlo

What about the drawing itself ? Only me can see how different the traits of this card are different from the rest of the deck ? :s

Or it is simply too subjective....
 

Sulis

I have to say that I can't see that this card is drawn any differently to any of the other cards.
One interesting thing though that you may not have noticed: Have you noticed how similar this card is to Death?
 

Marlo

I did yes. The position of the both knights and their horse, the fact they are both about to cross water or corpses...

I guess there are many things to say about this comparison and i noticed there is a post about it with some interesting ideas.

Well, i think if no one else sees that difference of drawing, it is just something without importance ^^
 

KariRoad

Marlo said:
I guess there are many things to say about this comparison and i noticed there is a post about it with some interesting ideas.

Well, i think if no one else sees that difference of drawing, it is just something without importance ^^
Looking at the shading on the Cup, and the grains of Sand on the land, one may see subtle differences, and that (along with the coloring) does tend to suggest that the art is slightly different on the "original" and Pam B.

Overall, there is a huge difference in the "feeling" from the blue sky version, and of course the LETTERING for "The Knight of Cups" differs. So really, if we were looking at 3 cats instead of 3 cards, I'd say there are distinct and significant differences, especially if one was my own dear sweet kitty!