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The top card men in the world disagree on many things. One thing they all agree on is that no other book in the history of card manipulation deserves careful study more than The Expert at the Card Table. After one hundred years, it is still considered the foundation upon which modern card magic is based. It contains some of the most perfectly constructed sleights in all of card magic. Even more important are the profound lessons in the real secrets of magic: naturalness, attention to detail, uniformity of action and the psychology of deception. For a century, the methods of S.W. Erdnase have been studied, practiced and written about by countless card experts. One person who spent a lifetime studying every detail of this landmark book is Darwin Ortiz.

Card expert, Arthur Buckley, demonstrates tricks that have left theater audiences amazed, and that card-playing professionals have used profitably. It is not a book for beginners. But these shifts, palms, glides, false shuffles, cuts, fans, steals, and spectacular deceptions will help those with basic card expertise reach new levels of performance.

Hands down, one of our favorite books on card magic is Effective Card Magic by Bill Simon (republished as Card Magic For Amateurs and Professionals by Dover). The book is full of wonderful card magic tricks and sleights. And like the title suggest, it’s perfect for anyone interested in the subject.

It will prove to be a great start if you’re just getting into card magic.

When one enters card magic, the books are endless. Coming across By Forces Unseen is a special moment in any card magician's growth. It is a pleasure to read. Beautifully written and researched by Stephen Minch, you will find many other books mentioned in the references that will advance your pasteboard path. Ernest Earick is a genius. Simply put when you learn the routines in this book your appreciation for sleight of hand will captivate your imagination.The construction of effects and sleights stand the test of time. It is a must have.

Widely considered to be the greatest collection of Vernon's brilliant and influential card magic, the original three volumes have been combined into one sensational book with 240 pages of exceptional effects. Complete with over 190 photographs of the Professor's hands, you'll find such Vernon classics as The Notis Stop Trick, Twisting The Aces, McDonald's $100 Routine, Cards To Pocket, The Trick That Cannot Be Explained, Blindfold Poker Deal, Three Card Monte and lots more.

Larry Jennings remarked that Aaron Fisher was the most promising young card magician he had seen in the past twenty years.

Johnny Thompson says, "The material in this book is top notch, and I guarantee it will enhance the repertoire of any serious student of card magic immensely."

Eric Mason was not only a brilliant inventor and magician; he was a creative and talented illustrator. In this beautifully designed book, Mason showcases these qualities and offers a collection of original magic that has received acclaim from such legendary magicians as Roy Walton, Fred Robinson, Gordon Bruce, and Peter Duffie, to name just a few.

One of our favorite books on card magic. It features a very well thought out method for the Convincing Control, one of card magic's most ingenious techniques, and looks at variations and applications in a degree that is truly rare in the field. In addition to learning the elegant technique and the numerous variations, you will also encounter one of the best sources for card magic effects on the planet.

Popular Mechanics brought vintage boyhood into the 21st century. The Boy Magician is a collection of 156 marvelous magic tricks from Popular Mechanics issues of long ago. Featuring everything from sleight-of-hand to disappearing coins, mysterious spinning eggs to optical illusions, capturing all the appeal of American ingenuity at the start of the last century. 

So for the child in all of us who always wanted to know the secrets behind astounding feats of illusion, The Boy Magician reveals all!

Howard Hamburg was the highlight of the 2009 GGG convention in San Francisco. These notes were printed in a very limited edition for that convention and immediately sold out. They have been positively reviewed and highly sought after.

His stories and rich history with Dai Vernon and others have been recorded in this beautiful full-color booklet. Also included are 5 of Howard's favorite effects complete with illustrations.

A treatise on the body's role in deception. Juan Tamariz teaches magicians that it is not the hands alone that deceive, but also the feet, the body, the eyes and the voice. It is only through a full understanding of all five of these tools of nature and communication that the conjurer can spin a complete web of illusion that traps and then transports his audiences into the astonishing realm he has prepared for them.

Jim Steinmeyer’s latest book is a collection of 13 surprising effects, many suitable as “interactive” effects, through the medium of a page, radio, videotape or phone. It starts with his famous mathematical “Nine Card Problem” with his variations, and even includes a “3-Card Monte” and a card transposition which takes place completely in the spectator’s hands.

Optical illusion art, created by such innovative artists as M.C. Escher and Salvador Dali, confuses the eye with visual paradoxes, from vibrating effects to moire patterns. Bring together a remarkable tapestry of words and illustrations, Masters of Deception celebrates more than 400 years of the art form that defies expectation. Some of the finest and most prominent optical illusion work in a range of genres can be seen together for the first time in this unique retrospective.

This beautiful program includes an introduction from Max Maven and over 100 pages of presenter bio's, portraits, articles, tricks and lined pages for taking notes.

In this first major book by one of the United States' most respected professionals, Eric Mead covers a wide range of magic and mentalism, drawn completely from his professional repertoire and fine-tuned by performance after performance to its present form.

Williamson's Wonders is the only book ever published on the magic of award-winning magician David Williamson (written by Richard Kaufman) and includes many tricks that have since been featured on national television by David Blaine. If you're looking for visual walk around street magic using cards and coins than this will prove to be a worthwhile read.

The most respected course in magic! The classic volumes cover every aspect and interest in the art of magic performance. A must have for every magic library!

From the author of Card College, the world's most acclaimed course on sleight-of-hand card magic, comes Card College Light, Roberto Giobbi's first text focused entirely on professional caliber card tricks requiring no manipulative skill.

The Experts Journal is a beautiful reproduction of the original 1902 publication of The Expert at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase. On the outside, it's a perfect facsimile, however, leaf through the pages and you'll discover an empty canvas for new ideas. This isn't just another edition, but a journal in which to coalesce your card-centric thoughts.

Pit Hartling is internationally known for his innovations in card magic. He is a FISM award winner and member of the hilarious Flicking Fingers. In this book are "Seven performance pieces with an ordinary deck" including Finger Flicker, a trick recently seen performed by David Blaine on his TV special, Dive of Death.

Drawing Room Deceptions was one of the first magic books added to our library. With many pages now tattered, it still remains on our top shelf. The discoveries found within represent cunning variations of classical concepts. Guy's ingenious design in constructing effects brings mystery and prestige back to the conjuror.

Fred Robinson was a private man but his skill at sleight-of-hand with cards and coins was legendary. He could be found at the Magic Circle on Monday evenings and many well-known names from around the world paid homage to Fred and traveled countless miles to witness for themselves his legendary skills.

I state without fear of exaggerating that Fred was one of the all-time greats; especially with cards. - Dai Vernon

A virtual encyclopedia on the subject of memorized-deck magic, by the world's leading exponent and one of magic's acknowledged masters. It is a book crammed with magic from the working repertoire of Juan Tamariz, magic that leaves everyone, public and magicians, utterly astounded. It is a book capable of changing the reader's entire approach to card magic, and a work that supports Juan Tamariz's reputation as one of the most important and creative thinkers in magic today.

Welcome to Dai Vernon's legendary annotations for The Expert at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase. This new over-size book was triggered by the discovery of more than 160 long-lost photographs of Dai Vernon's hands that were taken in 1961 specifically to illustrate this manuscript. It is as close as you will ever get to a personal session with The Professor.

One of our favorite books on card magic growing up. Steranko on Cards, as well as Totally Out of Control, were the first books to introduce us to the visual style of magic we have pursued.

This book offers many fantastic sleights and tricks you'll have a lot of fun with.

A modern classic of close-up magic. Earl Nelson has compiled a beautiful collection of card, coin and finger-ring magic into this extraordinary volume.

Containing over one hundred and fifty of Herb's most cherished secrets, sleights and routines, most of which appear here in print for the first time. The book, a distillation of one humble man's journey to the essence of his art, is destined to join a short list of true classics of magic.

Perhaps the greatest contemporary book featuring the magic of one individual, Carneycopia is a true delight. John Carney's thoughts and methods are superbly detailed in this excellent book by one of magic's greatest writers, Stephen Minch.

This is an informal history of sensational, scientific, silly, satisfying and startling attractions based on seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth century broadsides from Ricky Jay's extraordinary collection.

Jim Steinmeyer’s sequel to Impuzzibilities contains ten new “interactive” effects, including the amazing “King’s Coronation,” an interactive effect suitable for television, video or radio. One effect uses no apparatus, just the spectators’ hands! “The Five Fiends Blackjack” deal is a completely self-working Blackjack effect; the “Thirteen Card Dilemma” is a surprising routine in which cards simply can’t be counted - they multiply and then disappear.

In a delectably deadpan and winning style, Jay conveys his admiration and affection for the offbeat that characterized his bestselling Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women. He explains how wags since the sixteenth century have cheated at bowling; he explores the ancient relationship between conjuring and dentistry; and he chronicles the exploits of ceiling walkers and human flies. Crammed full of illustrations drawn from the author's massive personal archive, Jay's Journal of Anomalies will baffle, instruct, and, above all, delight.

This is the first book-length study of this fascinating branch of recreational mathematics. Written by one of the foremost experts on mathematical magic, it summarizes, with considerable historical data and bibliography, all previous work in this field; it is also a creative examination of laws and their exemplification, with scores of new tricks, new insights and new demonstrations. In this volume, for the first time, dozens of topological tricks are explained and dozens of manipulation tricks are aligned with mathematical law.

It has often been said that mastering the magic in this book will make you an accomplished close-up and sleight-of-hand artist. In many ways it contains all the magic you need to build a professional caliber repertoire. Many have earned a living performing these routines and now you can too. If you have not read and learned the magic contained in this book you have no business calling yourself a close-up magician. The magic by John Scarne, Dai Vernon, Bert Allerton, S. Leo Horowitz, Emil Jarrow, Francis Carlyle, Dr. Jacob Daley, Tony Slydini, Ross Bertram, Nate Leipzig, and Max Malini helped shape the art of close-up magic as we know it.

Prepare to be amazed! Inside the covers of this incredible, colorful collection are hundreds of the world's most powerful optical illusions. They're beautiful to behold, and stunning in their trickery.

Some of the mind-boggling images seem to spring into action, vibrating, pulsing, and spinning like a hula hoop. Other ambiguous illusions feature two subjects in one: the fun is in finding them both in the single picture - including a mouse playing hide and seek in a cat's face and a strange desert mirage where palm trees imperceptibly morph into camels. And still more, like The Impossible Terrace, which couldn't exist off the page - just try to figure out if you're viewing the space from above or below. Every one is astonishing.

If you're just a curious fan of magic or a full time pro, the Art of Astonishment is a magical treasure. This three-volume set spans a history of time and creativity that can't be missed. Famous and full-time professionals use the material within these pages on a daily basis to make a living.

Roberto Giobbi's remarkable Card College books have become the groundbreaking course in the subject - an analysis of the art, science, technique and philosophy of card magic. Card College has changed the way a generation of magicians have learned card magic, and changed the way they think about it.

Imagine this, you're holding a lousy hand of poker spread at the fingertips. In a subtle action of riffling the edges of the cards, they seem to magically morph into a royal flush. The cards are visible the whole time and can immediately be handed out for examination.

A cost-effective and proven book for beginners, Royal Road to Card Magic will teach a variety of techniques, flourishes, and effects, while setting up the beginner with a thorough grounding in the theory of the art.

Introducing the card magic and flourishes of Kevin Ho, Smooth Operations is a 60 page book explaining an array of new material for both the curious student and seasoned pro with over a hundred photo illustrations for an enjoyable learning experience.

Step into a world of visual madness and experience the unexpected. Tools, Inventions and Applications for the Modern Card Magician.

A joyful exploration of one-handed cuts created or documented by Msgr. Vincent Foy, a pioneer of the modern movement of card flourishes. His contributions on this subject that appeared initially in The Linking Ring and in Bertram on Sleight of Hand, inspired a new generation of finger-flingers.

Msgr. Foy, who is 95-years young, revisits his notes to give us 100 one-handed glorious cuts, most of his own invention.

Over twenty years in the making, Tom Gagnon is proud to release the beautifully hardbound, oversized format AVANT-CARDS: Tom's first and only large collection of original, baffling, close-up card magic. 

Written by Wesley James, edited by Matthew Field, includes 568 illustrations by Tom, over sixty tricks, techniques, and routines packed into over two hundred pages.

An excellent assortment of clever and original card magic by one of Germany's finest close-up magicians.

Volume 2 is currentlly out of print. Please email us to be notified when it's avaialble again.

This waterproof and tear resistant edition of The Expert at the Card Table b S.W. Erdnase is small enough to fit in your pocket and durable enough to last you a lifetime. Take it everywhere, even read it in the shower.

Dan and Dave's first book reveals over a dozen conceptual palming techniques designed to inspire new ways of thinking about the age-old practice of holding out. Highlights include a method for replacing a bottom palmed card to the top of the deck, a switch loading a palmed card beneath the top card in the action of turning it over, a variation of the Miller Cascade Control that allows for the card to be palmed and a streamlined approach for executing the Diagonal Palm Shift from a peek. Limited availability. Includes a commemorative deck of playing cards.

We're pleased to announce that the latest issue of Genii, the conjurers magazine contains a full 18 page article on our creative process along with several original tricks and flourishes. Order your signed copy here!

Experience a complete course in magic with Mysterio's Encyclopedia of Magic and Conjuring - a giant compilation of more than 300 tricks and variations. 

Here are illustrated step-by-step instructions for rope tricks, money magic, mind-reading effects, stage illusions, everyday magic, and plenty of all-new card tricks. Readers will learn how to bend spoons, stretch handkerchiefs, levitate glassware, make small children disappear, shuffle playing cards with aplomb, and much more-everything from simple street-magic effects to epic on-stage illusions. Mysterio's Encyclopedia of Magic and Conjuring is a beautifully designed reference for magicians of all ages and abilities. 

Adapted from his popular radio series “Jay’s Journal of the Air,” Celebrations of Curious Characters features one-page anecdotes of mind-bending performers (limbless jugglers, banjo-picking birds, Anglo-Texan saxophone-playing siamese twins) paired with engravings, mezzotints, and broadsheets from the author’s remarkable collection. You’ll find engaging vignettes on a daunting variety of topics: musical prodigies, cannon-ball catchers, conmen, card cheats, and performing politicians. Plus, a man who made a model of Lincoln Cathedral out of 1,000,800 bottle corks; a woman continuously pregnant for six-and-a-half years; a theatrical strong man who became the world’s leading Egyptologist; and a healthy number of digressions on time, money, and the argot of thieves.

Simple tricks are often the very best, and the most entertaining. But whether you are a child or an adult, it is important that you get off to a good start, establishing the fundamental principles that will make for a great magician. This book delivers that, and more.

For over a hundred years, the identity of the author of Artifice, Ruse and Subterfuge at the Card Table, known colloquially as The Expert at the Card Table, has perplexed practitioners of magic and historians alike. For many, it is the last great, unresolved mystery of twentieth century magic. That is, until now.

Magicana is pleased to publish the findings of Richard Hatch, the world's pre-eminent authority on the subject, along with sleight-of-hand artist David Ben's profile of the author drawn from the content of the book. Together, they make a compelling case that one man - E. S. Andrews - was the author of this seminal text.

Magical Mathematics reveals the secrets of amazing, fun-to-perform card tricks--and the profound mathematical ideas behind them--that will astound even the most accomplished magician. Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham provide easy, step-by-step instructions for each trick, explaining how to set up the effect and offering tips on what to say and do while performing it. Each card trick introduces a new mathematical idea, and varying the tricks in turn takes readers to the very threshold of today's mathematical knowledge. For example, the Gilbreath Principle--a fantastic effect where the cards remain in control despite being shuffled--is found to share an intimate connection with the Mandelbrot set. Other card tricks link to the mathematical secrets of combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, topology, the Riemann hypothesis, and even Fermat's last theorem.

An exclusive collection of items from Dan and Dave's 2012 Southeast Asia tour. Unless you'll be seeing them live, this is your only chance to own a signed copy of their special edition lecture notes and tour T-shirt. The bundle also includes both the Year of The Dragon and Game of Death editions of Fulton's Chinatown playing cards, which have already become collectors' items.

As a bonus, you'll receive a limited edition self-adhering patch made just for the tour.

Limited to 88 autographed sets.

We are very pleased to announce that The Complete Walton is back in print.

These new volumes have been re-edited, printed and bound to an exceptional standard using the original diagrams. They are beautiful.

Dai Vernon once described Roy Walton as "Truly Brilliant". Read these books and you'll know why. The Complete Walton includes literally hundreds of effects using an ordinary deck of playing cards. The body of work clearly reveals how obsessed with playing cards Roy is, and is a collection you'll be coming back to for years to come.

Both volumes are included. That's over 600 pages covering well over 200 effects with playing cards.

In The Art of Switching Decks, Roberto Giobbi, the world-renowned author of Card College and other modern classics of card magic, teaches dozens of methods for imperceptibly switching decks. More important, he shows that it isn't difficult manipulation that makes these switches totally deceptive--rather, it's psychological principles: principles that allow the reader to apply and modify deck switching techniques to suit any circumstance.

All this is accomplished without the use of special gimmicks or apparatus. The only things required to do these professional switches are decks of cards and your pockets. And along the way, Giobbi explains some very strong card magic.

In this definitive work on card technique, step-by-step instructions teach you the correct methods for the basic manipulations and the more advanced flourishes, and only then allow you to learn tricks.

Offering the most foolproof methods available, Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue explain such basic manipulation as the palm, the shuffle, the lift, the side slip, the pass, the glimpse, the jog and the reverse. They detail various false deals, crimps and changes and the more advanced execution needed for forces, fans and the use of the prearranged deck.

If you were to epitomize the sleight of hand of Ross Bertram in one word, it would be natural. No phony moves, no jerky motions, no changes in hands, eyes, or voice.

In this, Bertram's second book, you will learn the true art of sleight of hand magic from one who can only be called an artist.