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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Title: The Expert At The Card Table….the CARC version
Medium: Book in a brilliant form Arena: Gambling, Card Magic Available: Any shop, distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies Right now I wish two new things and re-wish another. First and second I wish that Erdnase and Vernon were alive to see how Erdnase’ work on card handling has developed into what can only be the most appropriate format possible. The old wish, knowing who the heck Erdnase was. First I think we better take a quick look at what The Expert At The Card Table is. Written at the start of the last century under the wonderful title of Artifice Ruse and Subterfuge at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase. Containing information for the card gambler about the game and cheats as well as a section on magic with cards it became, almost immediately, the ‘bible’ to the card magician. It is one of the few text that should be in every library of every magician or card player and now, thanks to this new edition, it can be in your shirt pocket, back pocket, briefcase, you name it. Dai Vernon was a devote to the book as were many others and it changed card magic. Now for the fun part….no one knows who S.W. Erdnase is! This has been researched by some greats in magic and while suspects have been lined up no one knows for certain who wrote the book. There is no S.W. Erdnase and it is often thought it was written by a man named Andrews but again no one knows who. If you want to really learn about the search for Erdnase go to the genii board and one of the longest and most read threads is about this fascinating subject. Part of me wants the hunt to be completed, to find the man behind this book, the other part of me wants the mystery to remain. Either way Erdnase wrote this book for the money and he changed an art form, not many can claim that. What is unique about this version? Well, with all due respect to those who are deeply religious, this version is very similar to those little copies of the New Testiment you will find on occasion, much more often when I was a child, but you still see them today. Bill Kalush and the Conjuring Arts Research Center have printed up these little copies of the book using that great paper used in printing the bible, the gold trim on the pages, the little slash of cloth to mark the pages, and have even marked the sentences by number so you can share the word with others believers. My wife was shocked to see me reading it as she thought it was a small bible! The package is beautiful in format and print and I think the perfect format for this book to be printed in. I read some comments prior to the release of this version that the individual making the statements felt that it wouldn’t be as good as other versions because the page numbering should match the original and the quality versions released since then. That would mean the book ends on page 206. Guess what? They kept the book at 206 pages. I mean who expected people who loved this book so much they would put it out in this format and NOT keep it to the originals page count? I think this is great and every magician should have one and at the price it is worth getting today. Thank you CARC and Erdnase, who ever you are! |
silverking Inner circle 4574 Posts |
A couple of other notes.
One is that this is a very close facsimile to a first edition in terms of content. For example, the heart shape on the back of the hand on Figure #69 is there!.....this little element (which apparently Gazzo feels has some significance) is missing from many of the Drake, Powner, Gamblers, KC Card Co., and Dover editions. If you're interested in what a first edition looked like, this is closer than most any of the above. Also, some business has been injected into the book, likely only to be found funny by the hard core "Expert" nutters, but the book has been, according to its copyright page "entered according to the act of government, in the year two thousand and seven, by CARC, in the Offiucrs of the Minister of Produce". (all spelling mistakes are original to the book) Besides having some obvious collectable appeal, this book should be bought and used as per its design. It's easy to carry in a shirt pocket, and would likely help pass the time in an airport or hospital waiting room...waiting for a bus out of Vegas, or any other occasion where you find yourself waiting for "something" else to happen. This book is a must have for any Erdnase edition collector simply because it's so unique. In the end, this edition is just plain cool. |
Magiguy Inner circle Seattle, WA 5467 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-03-22 21:43, silverking wrote: I completely agree! You can also purchase this directly from the Conjuring Arts Research Center ( http://www.conjuringarts.org/publishing/index.shtml ) for $16.50, postpaid. |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Correct about the illustration with the heart. With Kalush involved the accuracy is very important to him. I've had this dang thing with me since getting it!
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ClouDsss Inner circle 1799 Posts |
I am using the dover edition thus so far which suits me well.
I am gg blind soon, so would this book be difficult to read? even fr the dover edition, the wordings are just about right. any smaller and it would really be a pain to read wouldnt it?
Think outside the box, cos people are all thinking inside now!! - ClouDsss
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Ben Train Inner circle Erdnase never had 4639 Posts |
The bible edition is about a third the size of the dover printing.
If you're reading this you're my favourite magician.
Check out www.TorontoMagicCompany.com for upcoming shows, and instagram.com/train.ben for god knows what! |
Louis.P.M Loyal user Montreal, Canada 218 Posts |
About the size of the writing. If you your sight is deteriorating, I doubt you'll be able to read it for long. Even I had to readjust to the small size of the writing.
But the book is so small... I can carry it anywhere. With some practice I'm sure I'll even be able to palm it :-P One negative, the pages tend to stick together. I still don't know if it's because it's new. |
Bedford Special user Louisville, KY 672 Posts |
It's a beautiful little book, but some of us will need to keep magnifying glasses handy. . .
My pages also stuck together in the beginning, but they are fine now. I think it had something to do with the gold edges.
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Andy the cardician Inner circle A street named after my dad 3362 Posts |
It is simply great.
Cards never lie
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crdshark86 Loyal user Los Angeles 238 Posts |
Yes it is
Ask me about Dan Harlan's Jam Sessions!
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bugjack Inner circle New York, New York 1624 Posts |
It's a cool thing to have, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it as your only copy of this book. I'm in my mid 40s and have never had to wear glasses... but the font here is so small that I find it painful to read.
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