|
|
|
|||
gregg webb Inner circle 1564 Posts 
|
I wanted to share a quick story of how amazed many of us were when Bicycle brand, and also Tally-Ho brand gaffs first started being seen. Up until that time, trick cards were in bridge-sized Aviator design...and all magicians were used to seeing those...and even guessed correctly that if a trick was done with bridge-sized Aviator cards, that it was a trick deck or packet trick.
And so, Derek Dingle, being a great card magician in all ways, was one of the first using Poker sized cards that matched his regular decks. So, no one knew when a gaff was being used or not. On top of that, he used to make them for others. He had mastered the art of 'splitting' cards and then gluing 2 backs, or 2 faces, etc. He used to make the gaffs for MacDonald's Aces for Tannen's and a few other tricks too. The factory printed Bicycle double-facers and double-backs, and all the rest, came later. Also, Poker sized forcing decks came along. I guess the lasting image is that there was a time that a lot of tricks were done with Aviator Bridge decks and cards (packets) and even ESP cards had Aviator Bridge back design. These were all from Haines House of Cards, who made up everything with the Aviator bridge design. Thank you, Derek, for bringing us up to the present. Gamblers and Monte tossers used Poker Bee back cards. |
|
huangja New user 74 Posts
|
Yup, I still have a full drawer of Aviator gaffed decks.Saving them as collector items.
|
|
gregg webb Inner circle 1564 Posts
|
Oh, good. It brings back memories of old Ring Meetings. I noticed on Meir's E-Bay site that they also called them Fox Lake (by Haines House of Cards)
|
|
Merc Man Inner circle NUNEATON, Warwickshire 2536 Posts
|
Bicycle Gaffs were more or less unheard of in the UK - until (I'd guess) at least the early 1990's?
It reminds me of an incident at The Magic Circle, many years back. A good friend, who wasn't exactly a 'card guy', had obtained a superbly-manufactured Bicycle Svengali Deck; and was showing off his apparent newly-practiced 'Pass' during an Ambitious Card Routine. A certain well-known member at the Circle walked away red-faced and in abject disgust when he was shown that he'd been 'had' with a Sven. Sadly, that was the mindset of many of the so-called luminaries at that godforesaken club. Prior to Bicycle gaffs appearing on the UK Magic scene, our most popular gaffs were Piatnik - in my honest opinion, the best quality gaffs ever manufactured. I've not seen many Tally-Ho gaffs this side of the pond - although there is a Tally-Ho deck of these. However, many of the designs within seem pretty pointless - unless you are a Hofzinser fan. Preferring Bridge-sized cards, Fox Lake cards are my favourite card to use - even to this day. If only they were still available. By comparison, Aviator Bridge often appeared to be cheap (often poorly aligned) tat.
Barry Allen
Over 14 years have passed - and still missing Abra Magazine arriving every Saturday morning. |
|
Tom G Inner circle 2895 Posts
|
Meir Yedid used to have a number of DD gaffs, I imagine long since sold out.
|
|
Kurtis Chin Regular user 131 Posts
|
Quote:
On Dec 17, 2021, gregg webb wrote: Yes, thanks for posting this Gregg. I recall these handmade gimmicks from Mr. Dingle. I remember seeing his wares advertised in the Tannen's ad on the back cover of Genii magazine (the one with him on the front cover)...This was sometime in the 70's. I bought his Universal Card trick, which included his Tally Ho backed gimmicks. These were meticulously made. Unfortunately, thru the years the cards became brittle, cellotape yellowed/cracked (this held the flap), cards became discolored...as expected. These cards after all were 40-50 years old! Thank you for reminding us of his contribution. |
Ray J Inner circle St. Louis, MO 1503 Posts
|
Let's not forget the Enardoe brand cards which were used to create many gaffed decks. My first "trick" deck was Enardoe, marked and stripped.
Click here to view attached image.
It's never crowded on the extra mile....
|
|
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27300 Posts
|
To supplement the Poor Charlie story about cards falling apart in Bob Elliot's shirt pocket on a humid hot summer day... here's a tip for card makers:
The secret back then was not to use glue but instead use dry mounting tissue and apply just enough heat to melt the stuff. That's why the gaffs had that nice snap. Ancient history: Charles Kalish worked for Kodak and experimented with their products for magic use. The mounting dots are one of his findings. One day back in 1980 he showed me a blank card he made decades earlier. Rather than erase a playing card he had Linen finish photographic paper run through the commercial print making process with no image to created perfect blank material for card faces or backs (or both). From there it's no great leap to making any image you want printed to size and then assembled into a playing card. This gift courtesy of Charles Kalish. Thanks Charlie!
...to all the coins I've dropped here
|
| The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Gaffed & Funky » » Derek Dingle and gaffed cards (1 Likes) | |
Posted: Dec 17, 2021 02:26 pm 
| [ Top of Page ] |
|
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
|
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < 
|