Hoping to find the right Universal Waite deck

[Marlotty]

Hi!  Someone i know has a Universal Waite deck that is so much more beautiful than my deck. Both are Universal Waite decks. It is unpossible for me to find a deck like she has. I will show you a picture, with both decks. My question is: does somebody has a deck with the colors like nr 2 on the picture? I hope to find the more darker coloring like in nr 2. I already bought a bluebox and a brown box on the internet, but both decks have the lighter coloring like in nr 1 unfortunally. I hope to find this beautiful deck! Thanks in advance, kind regards

[RunningWild]

Can you find an image of the back of the cards of the deck you're looking for?  That might help others to discern which version of the deck your friend has.  There's quite the color saturation in that deck but I don't see anything like it when I do a search.

[Teemu]

Both decks do not contain the original art of Pamela Smith. There are many versions and reprints of RWS around, due to the immense poularity, even counterfeit decks.

 

You can be pretty sure the original design ist in the "Smith-Waite-Tarot, Centennial Edition Deck", ISBN-13: 9781572816398. I admit the set is a bit more pricey, a collector's item. It seems the "Smith-Waite Centennial Edition Tarot" contains the same cards.

 

But I am afraid your are in for a bit of disappointment. The colouring is not bright or flashy, but rather subdued and very subtle. You can tell by the pale blue back with three symbols and the almost granular coloration. Another good card for ID is "Justice". In the original card, the person wears a red robe, but the tapestry is more purple. Almost the same, but distinguishable.

Have a look here: https://hermitspiritus.com/blog/smith-waite-tarot-centennial-edition.html

 

The Two of Swords in your decks are very wrong. In the original, there are no clouds in the back, the mountans are yellow-green, and sea and sky are almost the same colour of blue-gray. Same principle goes for the other cards.

Edited August 28 by Teemu
typos

[tag Jorrit]

You are interested in the "Universal Waite" version of the original Waite-Smith cards. #1 is the later Universal Waite version re-colored by Mary Hanson-Roberts, with small details changed from the originals -- mostly facial expressions, I think.  The #2 looks closer to the original Waite-Smith version with the deep, rich colors.

 

If rich, saturated colors and like the original art, you don't want a "Universal Waite" version. Get the original, older version. Find them with a plaid backs on eBay. Lots to be seen on eBay.

 

Edited August 28 by tag Jorrit

[Marlotty]

I have a photo showing the backs of both decks—numbers 1 and 2. Deck 2 also included these two extra cards, you can see on the other picture.  Both decks are supposed to be Universal Waite decks recolored by Mary Hanson Roberts, but I find the colors between the two decks so different. I find the colors of deck 2 so much prettier and hope to find it someday.

[Rose Lalonde]

For Universal Waite editions -  the mini in a tin isn't more vibrant than the standard, but what about the deck and book (Pictorial Key) set edition? Maybe it has a different coloring? I say that because of this ebay listing. There's true black on the sky in the 10 of Swords they show, although it's difficult to tell from their last image if the card back is right - honestly looks more like #1 to me.  (EDIT: I wonder if the images for this sealed deck were just taken from elsewhere, in which case it wouldn't be accurate anyway.)

Edited August 28 by Rose Lalonde

[DanielJUK]

I found some threads discussing the different colour saturation of the Universal Waite from our old tarot forum.....

 

https://www.tarotforum.net/threads/universal-waite-tarot-1990-vs-2004-print-edition.45863/

https://www.tarotforum.net/threads/universal-waite-editions-question.216715/

 

It seems like the 2004 reprinting is much more colourful. But it's supposed to be fairly pale in the Mary Hanson-Roberts artwork. That was the original 1990 printing.