The Pamela Colman Smith Centennial Deck review thread

LRichard said:

My PCS Commemorative came today. The PKT book is missing The World, but I think this weird defect has curiosity-value. (I have a hard-bound edition, full of bookmarks, which I would rather use anyhow.) The PCS material is great, and I'll probably end up framing some of the pictures, including the beautiful photo of my favorite Tarot artist. It's really nice to have a present-day printing which does justice to the RWS deck. (Even my AGM Belgian-French edition from the 1990s leaves a lot to be desired.) Moreover, the card stock is just right for my non-riffle shuffle. All my other RWS editions will have to take a back seat to this one. From this day forth, my go-to decks will be this RWS edition and my German Albano.

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My PKT book was missing the World too - I emailed them and had a reply from Stuart Kaplan saying that some of the sets had been sent out with rogue books, he sent me a replacement book. But a few months later, I bought a backup Centennial set and that book was also missing the World. So I scanned the page from the complete book I had and stuck it into the defective book. So now I have three of these books but just one complete and one sort of fixed.

Emily said:

My PKT book was missing the World too - I emailed them and had a reply from Stuart Kaplan saying that some of the sets had been sent out with rogue books, he sent me a replacement book. But a few months later, I bought a backup Centennial set and that book was also missing the World. So I scanned the page from the complete book I had and stuck it into the defective book. So now I have three of these books but just one complete and one sort of fixed.

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I did this as well...and Richard, so should you - in case you ever decide to sell it. You won't have to send the defective book back, they will just send you a new one.

The cards seem to have a satin smoothe feel in my hands. The colours are from the cooler end of the spectrum so the deck feels wintery. Very nice to shuffle, cards glide and dont stick at all. I really like this deck :.)))

Earlier today I received a personal note and copy of this commemorative set from Mr Kaplan himself.... In the past I always had rather a negative opinion of the folks at US Games, founded I must admit on hearsay and other peoples comments. But on a direct level I have found them to be the most cordial team of people and far removed from the cold corporation I had assumed them to me. So I've learned.... or rather reinforced a lesson that ultimately you have to make judgements based your own reference rather than on third parties.
Any way back to the topic,
I'm not great lover of Pixies illustrations so I hadn't bothered to obtain this deck when it was released, but now that I have a copy, I am very very impressed by the whole package. The copy I received is sturdy, well finished, and the cards trimmed accurately. I can't comment on the comparative nuances of color between this and other editions, but the overall print quality seems very good. They seem to have gone the extra mile in many small ways and it gave me the impression of a product that I would normally have associated with a self published special edition rather than being released by a major publisher.
And while I didn't actually pay for mine, I consider it absolutely worth the sales price.
Once again....I'm impressed, its a product thats worthy of its title.

Colours

My set arrived today.... it is delightful and very heavy!! My PKT is complete with The World too... a bonus!

I have to say I am spoiled by my old late 70's or early 80's RWS deck as far as texture, weight and colour goes, but I do like this edition. The colours are muddied, reda are orange/browny and the whites are kind of beigey.... whereas the old deck I have has much clearer brighter colouring.

But..yes definitely worth the spend...... great box, all the items are high quality. The book may fall to bits after a lot of wear as it appears to be perfect bound, (which is as imperfect as bookbinding gets imho!) but I guess it's kind of a freebie so no complaints.....!

Winterchild said:

My set arrived today.... it is delightful and very heavy!! My PKT is complete with The World too... a bonus!

I have to say I am spoiled by my old late 70's or early 80's RWS deck as far as texture, weight and colour goes, but I do like this edition. The colours are muddied, reda are orange/browny and the whites are kind of beigey.... whereas the old deck I have has much clearer brighter colouring.

But..yes definitely worth the spend...... great box, all the items are high quality. The book may fall to bits after a lot of wear as it appears to be perfect bound, (which is as imperfect as bookbinding gets imho!) but I guess it's kind of a freebie so no complaints.....!

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glad to hear you like it, it IS a gorgeous deck. I have a few of the older RW decks too, but found that they differ from year to year. I have one from the early 70's, before 75, and its nice and thick, great lamination - then I have one that is maybe 5 or 6 years older, printed in Switzerland, and the cards are very thin....
The PCS is superior to most of what is printed today!

cirom said:

Earlier today I received a personal note and copy of this commemorative set from Mr Kaplan himself.... In the past I always had rather a negative opinion of the folks at US Games, founded I must admit on hearsay and other peoples comments. But on a direct level I have found them to be the most cordial team of people and far removed from the cold corporation I had assumed them to me. So I've learned.... or rather reinforced a lesson that ultimately you have to make judgements based your own reference rather than on third parties.

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All my dealings with US Games and Mr Kaplan have also been very cordial. I have always found their service very prompt and attentive.

I have come back to this decks again recently. I find its sturdiness and sharp lines very comforting when I feel that "novelty-deck-overload" coming on.

RWS 1980's & PCS

Ok here is a photo I took so those of you who dont have the decks can see the difference. The colours are failry true to life on my Mac, although I am not sure what the web will do to them!

cirom said:

Earlier today I received a personal note and copy of this commemorative set from Mr Kaplan himself....

... And while I didn't actually pay for mine, I consider it absolutely worth the sales price.
Once again....I'm impressed, its a product thats worthy of its title.

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How did you do that!? More importantly, how do *I* arrange for a lil' package like that from Stuart Kaplan??

I'm mystified by the mud slung at Kaplan and US Games. US Games has published a lot of really nice high-quality decks. The company name is impersonal and innocuous, but I think it's basically a family business started 40-something years ago by a guy with a hobby he loved so much he wrote a four volume encyclopedia and decided there should be Tarot Decks for All

I think the "tarot world" today exists largely because US Games published and promoted the Rider Waite, Crowley Thoth, IJJ Swiss and Tarot Classic--we owe Uncle Stu a whole lot of thanks.


eta: From what I've seen here, when there's a problem with a US Games product, they simply fix it--find a better printer, replace what's broken, professional, no excuses.

Debra said:

How did you do that!? More importantly, how do *I* arrange for a lil' package like that from Stuart Kaplan??

I'm mystified by the mud slung at Kaplan and US Games. US Games has published a lot of really nice high-quality decks. The company name is impersonal and innocuous, but I think it's basically a family business started 40-something years ago by a guy with a hobby he loved so much he wrote a four volume encyclopedia and decided there should be Tarot Decks for All

I think the "tarot world" today exists largely because US Games published and promoted the Rider Waite, Crowley Thoth, IJJ Swiss and Tarot Classic--we owe Uncle Stu a whole lot of thanks.


eta: From what I've seen here, when there's a problem with a US Games product, they simply fix it--find a better printer, replace what's broken, professional, no excuses.

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yeah, really. How nice of Mr Kaplan!

I stand by USGames as well. I think that they have some great quality cards. I am not a huge fan of their Italian printed decks, but I still buy them occasionally, and I think that in general, they do a great job and they stand by their products.
When I got the defective book in the PCS set, I emailed them and he sent me a new one right away. In fact, any time I have contacted the company, it was Mr Kaplan who got back to me. I get the impression he really cares about customer service.