University Press RWS deck

karen0205

Hi, I just got the University Press Rider Waite deck with the pink backs and the Ankh symbol. It is mint condition. This was definitely not used. It has the title card but no box. It was kept in a bag so there's no marks on it at all. Looks like it was looked through but not used. It also came with a hardcover book called A Complete Guide to the Tarot by Eden Gray published in 1970.

According to Holly's RWS Page it's the Version A which is 121mm x 70mm. It has the same extra line by the card number and the 'love' at the bottom by Smith's signature. Anyone know if it could be the first version but printed by University Press?

I know very little about the different versions of this deck. I just saw it and remembered another member talking about seeing the pink back with the Ankh symbol and that was a good one to get.

Any idea about the value or where I could find out the value?

Thanks!
 

Cerulean

Age of deck without box can be hard to trace

But here's a stab at dating in the thread below--the first color printing that I know of the RWS in book form from University Books/Press at Hyde Park, New York and a few of the boxed decks (no booklet was enclosed in any of them as far as I remember).

But the pink-backed deck was hardly considered a collectible as far as I know until collectors noticed all the different editions in the 1990s and started categorizing them by different colors, etc...so unfortunately, the box has been the only identifying means that I know of so far.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=40208&highlight=university+press

In terms of value, because I didn't know how plentiful they were about four or five years ago, I paid about $15-18 for one pink-backed deck...since then, I've come across some Albano Waites and University Books/Press decks that were printed before U.S. Games editions, which I only paid about $8.00. One or two were nice...some were just okay or aged. I've already passed on the ones I don't use, so it's okay that I'm using a funky, slightly off-color or imperfectly cut versions.

It is nice you got an Eden Gray book--I've seen many reprints of the same text and the price varies from $5 on up...I don't know if people who collect these things now put higher values because what they have might be hard to replace...sorry if I'm not current on what people might pay for such things.

Best wishes and I'm glad you got something oldish that you will enjoy using!

Cerulean
 

karen0205

Thanks for the info to that thread, I hope it helps me identify it. Just so I know what I have. I don't care if it's valuable, I just find it fun to find the odd decks at really cheap prices! It would be nice if it was unusual but then I would never sell it or trade it!

Karen
 

Abrac

Congrats on your new deck!

I honestly never paid much attention to this one until one day I happened to run across it in an antique mall for US$10. I see them on eBay a lot but I never watch the auctions to see what they end up going for. You might be able to get some idea from there. My Sun card has the same features as yours. I think all the University Press Suns are the same, but I could be wrong. Maybe if someone has one that is different they will post. It will be interesting to find out. I'm pretty sure they all have the same back. As Cerulean said, without a box it might be impossible to truly know its age.
 

The 78th Fool

I have two copies of this deck in excellent condition that I bought off ebay. The first appears to be the older of the two - it has thicker card stock and a silk lamination. However, the strength card suffered from out of line printing (The magenta printing was out of line with the yellow, cyan and black resulting in a ghosting effect).

Because of this I bid on another copy some months later. When it arrived it was a real eye opener. The early copy, like most of the scans you see on the web is printed with three colours plus black (as the original deck would have been). The use of standard cyan, yellow and magenta results in a much gawdier effect that that we see on original editions of the deck. My second copy however employs standard yellow, cyan and black but in it the printers have substituted a much subtler red pigment for the magenta. The deck looks so much better for it and the overall print quality is far superior. Although the cardstock is thinner it has a glossier finish and appears to be carbon laminated, unlike my previous copy.

I'll post scans later (When my new print/scan facilities get delivered later today !!!!). In the meantime I'd be interested to know if anyone else can shed any light on this in relation to their own copies of the deck.

I've just noticed, the first deck, on the thick card stock has the following address for University Books on the back:
120 Enterprise Avenue, Secaucus, NJ 07094

The second better printed copy carries this address:
New Hyde Park, New York 11041

PS. Karen - could you scan your title card? neither of my decks came with one.

Chris. xx
 

karen0205

Hi Chris,
Here is the scan of the title card and back.
 

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Lillie

I'm not an expert, but as far as I am aware all the university books RWS decks are copied from a Pamela A, so that they all contain the love word and the extra line on the sun and all that.

The fools sleve is a bit odd though and I think it is characteristc of these decks only, as is the weird thing with the islands in the 2 of Swords.

Anyhow,, it's only acopy of a Pamela A, not an actual Pamela A itself.
For it to be a Pamela A it would need to have the cracked mud backs.

I also have a USG RWS, and that also is a copy of a pamela A, and contains all the identifying features of a pamela A.

I believe that the University books decks came in two different boxes, a red two part box, and later an ordinary cardboard box with the fool on the front.

As the company seemsto have moved through a few addresses parhaps that would be the best way of assessing the date of your particular copy.

They arn't usually worth very much from what I have seen, but some of the ones in the old red boxes can get a fair bit on Ebay.

But I think the backs are the nicest of any RWS I have seen.
And I like the rather bright colours on the pictures, it makes a change.

It's a nicedeck, well done for getting it.
 

Abrac

Ah, the title card. I forgot about that. Zip codes became mandatory in the US in 1963, so the zip code in the address indicates a date sometime after that. Some of the early University Press editions from before 1963 don't have a zip code. Also, I believe University Press did business and different locations so you might be able to narrow it down from the address used. The link Cerulean posted has all that good information if I remember right.
 

karen0205

Well, I got both the deck and the Complete Guide to the Tarot by Eden Gray published in 1970 so I thought that was a good deal. Something different. Good for trades too I thought. Interesting to look at and learn about the different RWS decks. I had no idea there were so many different versions, etc. Its fun to find out about all the decks out there. Its a huge subculture that I never knew existed until I saw tarot decks on e-bay and found this forum through google. Gotta love google.com and ebay! I have gotten most of my decks off ebay or this trading/buying forum. Its a great place for information. Thank you!
 

The 78th Fool

Thanks for the scan Karen. neither of my decks had the title card. Here's a scan comparing cards from my two copies. the earlier deck is much more lurid in its colouring.

Chris. xx
 

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