I haven't noticed. Did I miss something?

The value of what Erdanse offers and delivers is, as with everything else, in the eye of the beholder.

My personal exposure in my early twenties with Erdanse was indirect. When I started out in the late 1970's, the owner of Yogi's Magic Mart, NW of Baltimore, had a very limited book selection. He had Expert, Tarbell and a few specialized pamphlets.

I told him that I wanted to do some card magic, but also wanted to do other illusions. He said I had two choices. Erdanse or Tarbell. As a newly married man, I had a very limited budget. Ironically, the title "Expert at the Card Table", actually put me off. The magic shop owner did not explain anything to me about
it's history or why it was an important starting point.

The title itself invoked cheating while playing cards, which actually turned me off. At that point in my life, I had played Poker and Black Jack for money since I was 9 years old, along with pitching nickles. In all that time, I never cheated, not once.

The Tarbell index indicated that the bulk of the card handling and card tricks were contained in the 2nd Volume. To the ire of the magic shop owner, that is the book I purchased. Many of the methods laid out in the Tarbell were directly traceable to Erdanse.

In hindsight, the magic shop owner was correct, but at the time, he did not explain why. My since of honor and justice created a false image of just what Expert at the Card Table was all about.

Maskelyne does mention manipulation and has an entire chapter on it. However, he simply considers it a lower order of cheating methodology albeit with certain exceptions.

Over the past 115 years since "Expert" was written, no doubt millions of dollars have been taken by manipulative cheating methods throughout the entire world although the statement in and of itself is meaningless and proves nothing. Manipulation is a cheating technique but there are other methods which do not involve manipulation that have made tremendous amount of money and are more likely to "fly" against sharper players and casino operations.

After all, how much has been taken from casinos over the last several decades with little or no manipulation involved?