CARDOPOLIS 39

LEARNING FROM THE PAST, LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Welcome to Cardopolis 39, a newsletter dedicated to the history and craft of card magic. This issue we look at tricks and techniques by Peter Kane, Henry Christ and Dr. Georg Schitzkowki. We revamp an old trick and give it a surprise finish, and take a Dunninger observation and find that it works even better in the world of AI. It’s a new way of predicting a choice made on a smartphone or computer.

GLASS

Last issue I mentioned that Cardopolis has an instagram account. You can subscribe to CardopolisMagic here. The latest post is titled Glass.

Glass is part of a Snap Change Trilogy. Two more effects will be published on Instagram in the coming months.

THE INCREDIBLE EXPANDING DECK

I met Peter Kane in the 70s when he came along to Cousins Corner, a cafe in Liverpool. He was there to meet his pals Bob Ostin and Joe Dignam. They were mentors of mine, which is how I came to be there too. I’d read Peter’s Card Sessions books, and if you haven’t then that’s a treat you still have to enjoy. They are packed with wonderful magic. They are out of print, but you can still find them on second-hand lists, and on sites like Ebay and Abebooks.com at very reasonable prices.

One trick that isn’t in these books, but is in a later collection, Kane (1982), is The Expanding Deck. This is the trick Peter brought to Liverpool. The title spoils the surprise, so I won’t say more other than it looked great. It still looks great.

I haven’t changed the lighting in the video to accommodate the method. In performance, you’d only have the deck in your hand for a few seconds before the change. Peter Kane was sat opposite me, across the café table, when he performed the trick, and it was a genuine surprise. I’ve made some technical adjustments to the construction which mean you can finish with a regular deck and card case.