The Expert at the Card Table

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The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation
Expert at the card table.png
Cover of the 1995 edition.
Author S. W. Erdnase
IllustratorSmith, M. D.
Cover artistEd Smith Design
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
Subject Sleight of hand
GenreNon-Fiction
PublisherOriginal Unknown
Publication date
1902 (first edition)
ISBN 978-0-486-28597-9

The Expert at the Card Table, is an extensive book on the art of sleight of hand published in 1902 by S. W. Erdnase, a pseudonymous author whose identity has remained a mystery for over a century. [1] As a detailed manual of card sharps, the book is considered to be one of the most influential works on magic or conjuring with cards.

Contents

Description of the book

The Expert at the Card Table covers the art of card manipulation and sleight of hand at gambling tables. It was written, according to its author, because "if it sells it will accomplish the primary motive of the author, as he needs the money". [2] Martin Gardner described the book as "the most famous, the most carefully studied book ever published on the art of manipulating cards at gaming tables". [2] : vii  Similarly, David Copperfield described it as "a detailed description of the sleight of hand used by crooked gamblers and card magicians. With discussion of everything from false shuffles to fake cuts, dodgy dealing to secret palming, it was the ultimate instructional manual on how to cheat". [3]

Despite his widespread influence on the magician community, the author's identity remains an unsolved mystery. The book may have been published under an assumed name given that it was illegal to distribute books on crooked gambling in the early 1900s. [3] Many believe Erdnase's real name was E.S. Andrews (S.W. Erdnase spelled backwards). (See Gardner's Foreword, pp. vii-ix.) [2] Another theory is that the author is Wilbur E. Sanders, son of Senator Wilbur F. Sanders. W.E. Sanders is an anagram of S. W. Erdnase, and Sanders had the education, knowledge of magic, and familiarity with gambling necessary to write the book. [4] According to David Copperfield, "[t]he pursuit of Erdnase has dominated the lives of many magicians and has led them to spend thousands of hours searching public records, newspaper articles, genealogical archives, bankruptcy files, image banks, magic books, yearbooks, census documents, and local libraries". [3]

Originally the author started selling the book for $2.00 in 1902 and the next year it dropped to $1.00. Although the author did not renew the copyright, the book has remained in print since 1902, albeit small private printings on occasion. [5] First editions are "highly sought after by collectors", and David Copperfield has a copy in his private museum. [3]

Legacy

Dai Vernon is credited with popularizing this influential text in the community of professional magicians. Well past ninety years of age, Vernon was fond of quoting from it, with page numbers, when discussing card techniques with his colleagues at the Magic Castle. [6] In Expert Card Technique, Jean Hugard said of it, "... perhaps no other book in all the list of conjuring books has been so avidly read, so affectionately regarded." [7] Erdnase's glossary of terms was in itself extremely influential, and has been reproduced more or less directly by numerous authors, including Hugard, [7] and Henry Hay.

The influence of this book is such that it has been issued in annotated form; [8] [9] translated into Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, [5] and korean; and issued as a series of DVDs by a professional magician, demonstrating and explaining Erdnase's techniques and methods. [3] A featured show of the story of Expert of the Card Table is also performed regularly by UK magician Guy Hollingworth. [10]

Adaptations

In 2008, a one-man play inspired by The Expert at the Card Table, starring Guy Hollingworth and directed by Neil Patrick Harris, was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. [11] The play was successful and in subsequent years was performed in London and the United States. [12] [13]

A film based on the life of the mysterious author, adapted by German director Hans-Joachim Brucherseifer, is currently in production. The magician Yann Yuro (a.k.a. Florian Beyer) plays the lead role of S.W. Erdnase. It is scheduled to be released in late 2022.

Related Research Articles

Sleight of hand refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card flourishing and stealing. Because of its heavy use and practice by magicians, sleight of hand is often confused as a branch of magic; however, it is a separate genre of entertainment and many artists practice sleight of hand as an independent skill. Sleight of hand pioneers with worldwide acclaim include Dan and Dave, Ricky Jay, Derek DelGaudio, David Copperfield, Yann Frisch, Norbert Ferré, Dai Vernon, Cardini, Tony Slydini, Helder Guimarães and Tom Mullica.

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Richard Jay Potash, was an American stage magician, actor and writer. In a 1993 profile for The New Yorker, Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive". In addition to sleight of hand, he was known for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter. He also wrote extensively on magic and its history. His acting credits included the films The Prestige, The Spanish Prisoner, Mystery Men, Heist, Boogie Nights, Tomorrow Never Dies, Heartbreakers, State and Main, House of Games and Magnolia, and the HBO series Deadwood. In 2015 he was the subject of an episode of PBS's American Masters, the only magician ever profiled in the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Card manipulation</span> Branch of magical illusion that deals with sleight of hand involving playing cards

Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some of the most recognized names in this field include Dai Vernon, Tony Slydini, Ed Marlo, S.W. Erdnase, Richard Turner, John Scarne, Ricky Jay and René Lavand. Before becoming world-famous for his escapes, Houdini billed himself as "The King of Cards". Among the more well-known card tricks relying on card manipulation are Ambitious Card, and Three-card Monte, a common street hustle also known as Find the Lady.

Darwin Ortiz (1948-2023) was a magician, who was an authority on gambling and card manipulation.

The Ambitious Card, or Elevator Card, is a magic effect in which a playing card seems to return to the top of the deck after being placed elsewhere in the middle of the deck. This is a classic effect in card magic and serves as a study subject for students of magic. Most performing card magicians will have developed their own personal Ambitious Card routine.

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Bottom dealing or base dealing is a sleight of hand technique in which the bottom card from a deck of playing cards is dealt instead of the top card. It is used by magicians as a type of card illusion, and by card sharps and mechanics, and as a method of cheating in poker or other card games.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chink-a-chink</span> Magic trick involving coins

Chink-a-chink is a simple close-up magic coin trick in which a variety of small objects, usually four, appear to magically transport themselves from location to location when covered by the performer's hands, until the items end up gathered together in the same place. Variations, especially the Sympathetic Coins also known as Coins-n-Cards, have been performed since the 1800s. Popular modern variations are Shadow Coins and Matrix. A variation using playing cards as the objects is known as Sympathetic Aces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Hugard</span> Australian magician

Jean Hugard was an Australian professional magician.

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S. W. Erdnase is a pseudonym used by the author of The Expert at the Card Table, a book detailing sleight of hand, cheating and legerdemain using playing cards. Still considered essential reading for any card magician, the book has been in publication since 1902. Erdnase's true identity is one of the enduring mysteries of the magic community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic (illusion)</span> Performing art involving the use of illusion

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Walter Irving Scott was an American musician, cardsharp and amateur magician. His glowing reputation among magicians and card men revolves around his time as a card cheat and a single demonstration of sleight-of-hand to some of the era's best magicians in New York in 1930. He lived out his last years in Rhode Island as a music teacher. Scott spent his formative years perfecting several difficult sleights of card manipulation in order to work as a cardsharp in card games throughout America. He participated in several different types of swindles and hustles. Eventually turning to a music career he was asked to perform one more demonstration. This single event created a legend within the magic community that continues to this day.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of cardistry</span> Aspect of history surrounding cardistry

The art form of card flourishing, commonly referred to as cardistry, grew out of simple flourishes used in close-up magic by magicians in the 1990s to early 2000s. Chris Kenner's notable two-handed Sybil cut from his 1992 publication Totally Out of Control has carried great influence and gave birth to a series of advanced flourishes which today represents the foundation of the performance art. Sleight of hand pioneers Dan and Dave Buck popularized cardistry on the world stage with their instructional DVD releases from 2004 and 2007. Journalist Kevin Pang of Vanity Fair characterized the art of card flourishing as, "It's yo-yo tricks performed by cardsharps with the street cred of a Parkour video. There's a name for it: cardistry."

References

  1. ↑ Silverman, Rachel Emma. "Fresh Clues Could Reveal Magic-Trick Writer Who Pulled a Disappearing Act a Century Ago", The Wall Street Journal , August 16, 2000. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 Erdnase, S. W (1995) [1902]. The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation (1st Ed. reprint ed.). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN   978-0-486-28597-9.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Copperfield, David; Wiseman, Richard; Britland, David (2021). David Copperfield's history of magic. New York, NY. ISBN   978-1-9821-1291-2. OCLC   1236259508.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ↑ Demarest, Marty (Winter 2013). "Montana's Conjurers, Con Men, and Card Cheats: Wilbur E. Sanders, S. W. Erdnase, and "The Expert at the Card Table"". Montana The Magazine of Western History. 63 (4): 3–93. JSTOR   24419968 . Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  5. 1 2 England, Jason (2007). "The Expert at the Card Table Editions" . Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Karl (2005). The Magician and the Cardsharp: The Search for America's Greatest Sleight-of-Hand Artist (Adapted ed.). New York: Henry Holt and Co. pp. 368 pages. ISBN   978-0-8050-7406-2.
  7. 1 2 Hugard, Jean (1940). Expert Card Technique: Close-Up Table Magic (Second ed.). New York: Dover Publications, Inc. pp. 448 pages. ISBN   0-486-21755-8.
  8. ↑ Ortiz, Darwin (1991). The annotated Erdnase. Magical Publications. ISBN   978-0-915181-21-6.
  9. ↑ Vernon, Dai (2013). Revelation (Second ed.). Mike Caveney's Magic Words. ISBN   978-0-915181-44-5.
  10. ↑ James, Wesley (2007). "Expert at the Card Table by Wesley James" (7 volume DVD). Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Neil Patrick Harris". LA Phil. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  12. ↑ Sierra, Gabrielle. "Guy Hollingworth Performs His Show At Menier Chocolate 4/2-4". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  13. ↑ Stanley, T. L.; Times, Special to the Los Angeles (July 15, 2011). "Magic, mystery and double-crosses in 'The Expert at the Card Table'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
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