Medieval Scapini arrived today

Morwenna

kittiann said:
So the consensus is that 1984 US Games decks with the Popess in the window are the good printings, correct? They seem fairly plentiful on ebay US. I just got one for $14, and there's others for $15-$20. So maybe I'm looking at the wrong edition? I guess I'll see in a few days :D

Yep. Mine is nice and clear, good detail, good color. I suppose you could call the background yellowish, though I'd rather call it cream, kind of like parchment only not mottled. The gold and silver are pictures of gold and silver, but they reproduce as well as can be expected. In fact if you hold a card to the light sideways, to produce glare, the silver pops out. It's particularly cool with the Popess, where a few details of the picture done in silver get accented.

I paid $20 for mine in a store, which is the blanket price of most of the single decks there, I think.
 

kittiann

I guess I'm a bit confused. The good edition has little bits of gold; and the bad edition has that gold reproduced in brown ink with orange highlights, is that right? It sounds like it's not gold foil like some LS decks, but instead a metallic ink? Either way, I'm excited to see it! I've been on the fence about this one for awhile; so here's hoping I get a good printing :)

Morwenna said:
Yep. Mine is nice and clear, good detail, good color. I suppose you could call the background yellowish, though I'd rather call it cream, kind of like parchment only not mottled. The gold and silver are pictures of gold and silver, but they reproduce as well as can be expected. In fact if you hold a card to the light sideways, to produce glare, the silver pops out. It's particularly cool with the Popess, where a few details of the picture done in silver get accented.

Okay! I think I've got it now :). It sounds like the good version is just lovely!
 

Dusk Till Dawn

Debra said:
Hi kittian, to clarify, it's not a "gold" and "not gold" edition. (Or is that a typo? Did you mean "good"? LOL)

Anyway, so far as we can tell, the ones printed in Italy come in a box that does not have a window.

Abrac, they don't say "Thorstons" and I suspect that's an error in the AT listing.

The Italy printings are horrible.

I hope that the ones on e-bay are the Swiss printings, which so far as we know come in the box with the window cut into it. Sometimes e-bay sellers just grab photos off the web without realizing that there's a difference in what they're showing.

There's also the chance that one of these days they'll run out of one kind of box and start putting the other decks in the boxes that are left.

If you've got the icky printing, you'll know it when you see it.
I am slightly confused, I have a swiss printing, windowless Box.
Printing excellent.
 

Sulis

I have a US Games edition in a box with a window. It says it was printed in Switzerland by AG Muller for US Games systems inc.
The gold on the Majors is very dull - it's not shiny and blingy but it does look vaguely metallic.
The printing seems good.
I take it that this is a 'good' version????
 

Morwenna

Sounds right. The gold only looks metallic if you look at the sort of mottled effect, which shows it to be a flat reproduction of gold. It doesn't pop out under glare the way the silver does.

I suspect what they might have done is photograph the deck, gold and all, then treated the photos with the silver highlights and reproduced them that way. But I'm no technician; that's just a wild guess.
 

Rob

I have the Swiss version - it's an antique gold color, not as shiny as even the VR Gold, but very faintly metallic. It's beautiful and unique.

Sulis, yours is definitely the "good" version.

From what I understand, window in box = good version. Swiss = good version. Italy = bad version. I might actually have to find an Italy printing just to see how bad it is.
 

gregory

May one suggest bookdepository..... Mine from there was the crap one. I wanted, even though I knew, because of the book. (I didn't fully realise HOW crad till I opened it, though - WOW !)

Which is another pointer - sadly, in my experience the Swiss one doesn't come with the book.

I see bookdepository has one called premier.... cards only.... published just last year.... new ISBN... Interesting. Anyone know anything ?

Oddly there is also one up there that APPEARS to have a window.... ISBN 9780880790314.... This is worrying.... That one SAYS 1991.... the ghastly set up there says 2004..... so for a mere $27 CAD you can be sure of getting the nasty one - with free postage !
 

Abrac

Mine's the deck & book set. The outer box says: "Deck Printed in Belgium, Book Printed in Canada." But my deck says "Box Printed in Switzerland" on the back and "Printed in Switzerland by AGMuller" on one end. It's one with the cutout on the front. I'm guessing this is another case of leftover stock (the deck) being used up first. Later sets probably have decks printed in Belgium.

Is the Belgium printing one of the crappy ones? Can anyone confirm or deny?
 

quintessence

I was lucky to get the 1985 Swiss version in an Ebay deal along with the Tarot of St. Petersburg and Tarot of a Moon Garden. Including shipping, the whole lot was $30, so I guess you could say I got the Scapini for $10.
Ashamed to admit it, but at the time I was so enamored of the Thoth that I didn't give any of these decks their due. But I do remember the eerie 3D quality of the Majors which captivated me. It held me in such a spell that I could only stare at them, overwhelmed by these familiar characters that I recognised only in 2D seeming to step out from the cards and float in mid-air.
Hah! I just pulled them out to give them another look, drew a card, and got the Page of Swords who is demonstrating with one of his fingers just what he thinks of getting the shaft for so long. Amazing. Thanks for this thread, I will now attempt to make amends.
 

gregory

Abrac said:
Mine's the deck & book set. The outer box says: "Deck Printed in Belgium, Book Printed in Canada." But my deck says "Box Printed in Switzerland" on the back and "Printed in Switzerland by AGMuller" on one end. It's one with the cutout on the front. I'm guessing this is another case of leftover stock (the deck) being used up first. Later sets probably have decks printed in Belgium.

Is the Belgium printing one of the crappy ones? Can anyone confirm or deny?
Honestly Abrac - I think if you had the crappy one you would know.... (I am not at home and can't check my two...)

There seems to be a cut out with HP (good) and magician (probably not good....

Tarotgarden has it in stock and it says 1985; you could ask them which they have.... the scans look good.