Which RWS deck?

Nemia

The Centennial is the only RWS I own and I love it. I trimmed it and edged it in black, and it's great for readings. I couldn't find my way into RWS before (though I read well with some of its so-called clones). But the Centennial's colours are great and IMO suit Smith's linear, flat style better.
 

foolMoon

For a colorful version, which has authentic GD color symbolism, Albano-Waite is the way to go, in my opinion. Unlike the Radiant and Universal, the line drawings are Pamela's, precisely reproduced. It was my favorite version before the Centennial came out. Stuck on a desert island with only one deck, either version would be equally satisfactory.

Once I had an Albano Waite, but didnt like it. Eventually traded it for other deck. Maybe it was a bad print copy from press, the images and writings had blurred look and feel, colour not true.
 

Richard

Once I had an Albano Waite, but didnt like it. Eventually traded it for other deck. Maybe it was a bad print copy from press, the images and writings had blurred look and feel, colour not true.

Sounds like a defective printing. The 1987(?) Albano printed in Belgium is not too bad but can be hard to find. I have a decent Belgian printing which has German titles. My recent Italian printing is acceptable, but the colors are a bit exaggerated. The original Albano by Tarot Productions (or something like that) is no better than the more recent printings, and certainly not worth the usual prices except for collectors. I have a first edition mini Albano which I bought new, and it is a piece of trash.
 

foolMoon

Sounds like a defective printing. The 1987(?) Albano printed in Belgium is not too bad but can be hard to find. I have a decent Belgian printing which has German titles. My recent Italian printing is acceptable, but the colors are a bit exaggerated. The original Albano by Tarot Productions (or something like that) is no better than the more recent printings, and certainly not worth the usual prices except for collectors. I have a first edition mini Albano which I bought new, and it is a piece of trash.

Cannot recall where it was printed. It is defintely either Belgium or Italy, and was a brand new deck. The card stock was shiny and plasticky.
 

Richard

Cannot recall where it was printed. It is defintely either Belgium or Italy, and was a brand new deck. The card stock was shiny and plasticky.

Then it was almost certainly Italian.
 

Barleywine

Then it was almost certainly Italian.

I went and looked at my shiny, plasticky one. It says "Printed in Italy" and "Facsimile of the Frankie Albana Edition" on one of the packed-in advertising cards. That "facsimile" part means it must be a photo-reproduction or scan, possibly accounting for the very slight blurriness of the lines. That doesn't bother me at all, since I like it for its bold colors.
 

Abrac

The vintage Albano-Waite is the best, it's crisp and clear. I tried the US Games Italy and Belgium printings and they're both inferior to the original, imo. The '68 Albano is published by Tarot Productions, Inc.
 

Darkmage

I went and looked at my shiny, plasticky one. It says "Printed in Italy" and "Facsimile of the Frankie Albana Edition" on one of the packed-in advertising cards. That "facsimile" part means it must be a photo-reproduction or scan, possibly accounting for the very slight blurriness of the lines. That doesn't bother me at all, since I like it for its bold colors.

^This. I've had mine for about a year now and I'm happy with it. I wasn't happy when the box arrived damaged, but oh well--the cards were intact and shipping tape is my friend. ;)

It's a popular deck amongst my friends, too. I do a lot of readings in low light conditions and it's easily read in places like clubs. The images are clear and bright on mine, the colours are bold, and I actually like the plastic feel of the cards. I love plastic playing cards and I know a lot of people don't. These feel like that and I think it's great.
 

Abrac

I found a full set of pics of the '68 version at the British Museum. Unfortunately they're not very good but some are better than others. A person can probably get sense for how they compare with the US Games versions. The pictures shouldn't have all the ghost-like texture patterns that are in most of them, and some look a little dark. It's a shame, this could've been a great resource but for whatever reason they didn't turn out that great. Someone might post some new and improved ones in the future, I hope so anyway. :)

There are 6 fairly long links near the top of the page. Those are the ones.
 

Philippe

Here is a scan I've just made to compare the 1968 original to the 1987 belgian reprint :

Albano 68&87 by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr