RWS - Copies and Clones

The vast popularity of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck has, to a certain extent, lead to a major factor in its own vulnerability! This factor is the propensity for (some scrupulous and some unscrupulous) producers to make clones and copies of the original, maybe to feather their own nests or as a true desire to bring the RWS to the masses in cheaper, often inferior quality editions. And this beside the other situation where the deck is the basis for many its own Tradition, from which many other decks have been developed.

On this page, I’m going to expound on my personal theories of what makes up a clone and what makes up a copy, as well as cast some light on what a deck based on the RWS Tradition would look like. And I’ll provide plenty examples of all three types!

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