I also presented my lecture for Marc De Souza and his community of magicians in Philadelphia. My last stop on my three city visit was at Denny & Lee’s Magic Shop in Baltimore. I am happy to say that my lecture was well received and featured a heartfelt standing ovation on my final stop.
Today, I received a wonderful e-mail newsletter from Denny featuring his evaluation on my lecture and the correct attitude and approach to learning card magic and magic in general for that matter. With his kind permission, Denny has allowed me to reproduce a portion of his newsletter for the benefit of my community. I hope you enjoy Denny’s thoughts about learning magic and what you can do to take your magic to the next level.
Are You Serious About Your Card Magic? by Denny Haney
It seems that today, many of the card tricks being released and performed are quick, flourishy effects that entertain only for a brief moment and are quickly forgotten. Yes, these tricks are fun to do and many times quick to learn but most of the time, their impact is fleeting.
If you are really serious about becoming a good card magician, take some advice from Michael Vincent. Spend the time to learn the classics, learn them well, and you will rewarded for the rest of your life.
Below I have listed the latest release of Michael Vincent, THE ULTIMATE TRAVELERS, as well as some books and effects that I consider meets Michael’s criteria for becoming a good card magician.
These effects, books, and DVDs are not usually found on other magic sites. It’s the kind of magic that we stock here at the Denny and Lee studio and also featured on Michael’s website.
WARNING: This list is intended for serious card magicians. If you haven’t studied “Royal Road to Card Magic” and “Expert Card Technique” by Hugard and Braue or perhaps the “Giobbi Card College” series, you may not be ready for this material”.
Denny’s List
THE ULTIMATE TRAVELERS by Michael Vincent – £35.00
The Ultimate Travelers is the culmination of a 3 year journey. Michael went back to his roots when he decided to revisit one of the classic effects in card magic, Dai Vernon’s “The Travelers”. This book reveals the secrets that has fooled some of the very best names in contemporary card magic. The only place you could learn this sensational routine was at Michael’s privately held Seminar “Mastering Magic”.
This routine was taught to only a select few and it has remained an exclusive secret until now. Michael has finally decided to share this wonderful piece of card magic with you. It is not hyperbole when we say that this routine features the cleanest, the most impossible looking, the most magical cards to pocket routine ever created. Why and how can such a bold statement be made? Easy, Michael visualised in his mind the perfect picture of four Aces being removed from four different pockets with empty hands. He never lost sight of the perfect effect he wanted to create. In his own words:
“I wanted to create a routine which perfectly matched my mental picture, I knew in my heart that the perfect solution could and would be found” .
That perfect solution is explained within the pages of this book. This routine is world class magic by one of the finest exponents of the craft in the modern era. You will need to be fully conversant with the technical requirements of intermediate and advanced card handling. This document assumes that you have been in card magic for a number of years, we would hate for you to miss out on the valuable lessons contained within. Give this routine the time and study it deserves and it will repay you much more than your investment.
TAPESTRY OF DECEPTION DVD & BOOKLET by Michael Vincent – £30.00
This booklet is Michael’s written interpretation of his groundbreaking lecture. The booklet contains his thoughts and analysis on Misdirection, Audience Attention Control, The Ebb and Flow of Tension and Relaxation plus many other useful concepts, which can help amplify the effectiveness and deceptiveness of your magic.In 1983, Michael spent time with the legendary Slydini. Over a four-day period, Michael received personal tuition from the master. This booklet contains Michael’s evaluation on what Slydini taught him. It is written in an easy to follow style with diagrams and Mind Maps, which will help you to visualise and understand the concepts at work.This has been written for all magicians, regardless of your current skill level. Michael believes that these concepts should be learnt NOW. Why wait, the sooner you can grasp these important elements and start applying them, the sooner your magic will reach a level of true astonishment.The booklet comes with the DVD-The Tapestry of Deception “The Introduction”.If you haven’t seen Michael’s lecture then this booklet and DVD presentation will prepare you for the full impact of Michael’s Magic. You don’t have to wait until Michael comes to your area, you can purchase Michael’s Booklet/DVD package. This combination of DVD and written notes will most certainly give you a wonderful representation of Michael’s magic and these fascinating concepts.All you will need to do is think in terms of how you can apply these principles to the magic you all ready do.The Tapestry of DeceptionTable of Contents
Introduction-A Personal Tribute, The Myth of Mis-Direction, A New Definition, The Philosophy of Fred Kaps, Principle Component, The Four Modalities, The World Greatest Computer/Video recorder, The filtering Process,The Smoke Screen, The Ebb and Flow of Tension and Relaxation, Mind Maps, The Tapestry of Deception, Strong Magic, The Ebb and Flow of Tension and Relaxation, The Smoke Screen, Emotional Belief Vs Intellectual Belief, An EssayThe Path Way to Excellence, Conclusion, Further Study
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OTHER RECOMMENDED WORKS FOR SERIOUS CARD MAGICIANS
STARS OF MAGIC by Assorted Artists
THE ORIGINAL STARS OF MAGIC – NEW EDITION!
The best and most influential book on Close-Up Magic is back.
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.
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.
The finest edition of the Stars Of Magic ever offered. 41 incredible routines, 11 incredible artists, 378 professionally enhanced photographs, 176 pages, hardcover. Features a new historical introduction and a bonus section with private correspondence related to the Stars Of Magic.
Most of the routines were originally sold as separate manuscripts. Purchased separately they would have cost you $98
CARD MAGIC OF LEPAUL by Paul LePaul
A true classic. One of the finest books on card magic ever written. This is the 1987 5th edition of this great book. Paul LePaul, a true legend in card magic, teaches the sleights and routines that made him famous. 31 chapters, 220 pages. Pass, Side-Steal, Palming, Double-Lift, Changes, False Deals, Controls, False Shuffles, and Flourishes. All this plus over 20 of Paul LePaul’s favorite routines and effects, including his Cards in Sealed Envelopes. If you are serious about your card magic, this book must be in your library.EXPERT AT THE CARD TABLE by S.W.Erdnase-
The Classic Treatise On Card Manipulation
For almost a century, this book has been considered indispensable to attaining the highest level of card mastery. In it, S.W. Erdnase, a supreme master of card manipulation, teaches card enthusiasts how to perform the dazzling tricks and sleights-many of them how own creations-that made him famous.
The first section of the book deals with card table artifice, or, to put it more bluntly, cheating at cards. Step by step, Mr. Erdnase demonstrates his own systems of false shuffling, false riffling and cutting, dealing from the bottom and such slick moves as palming cards, “skinning the hand,” even three-card monte.
The second section covers legerdemain: the art of forcing a card, one- and two-hand transformations, the devious “slide” and more. Card handlers will love Erdnase’s selection of dazzling card tricks, including The Acrobatic Jacks, The Exclusive Coterie, The Divining Rod, The Invisible Flight, a Mind Reading Tick and many others.
In an informative foreword to this edition, Martin Gardner relates the unhappy details of the author’s personal life, and recounts the history of this famous book, whose methods, Mr. Gardner asserts, “are as useful today by magicians and card hustlers as they were in 1902. This book is still the bible of card ‘mechanics,’ and as much a delight to read as it was in the early years of this century.”
“The Expert at the Card Table is the most famous, carefully studied book ever published on the art of manipulating cards at gaming tables.” -from the Foreword by Martin Gardner
Pages 130 - Soft Bound
ANNOTATED ERDNASE by Darwin Ortiz-$45.00
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. The copious notes he kept while meticulously dissecting each move and every sentence of The Expert form the basis for The Annotated Erdnase. Darwin’s 273 annotations shed new light on the history of the various moves and effects, provide technical insight into their proper execution, give cross references for further reading and include hundreds of obscure bits of information. This is not the first time we have produced an annotated version of The Expert at the Card Table. For the publication of Revelations, we used a first edition Erdnase book to create a facsimile copy of each page which was printed adjacent to Dai Vernon’s valuable comments. For The Annotated Erdnase we went the extra mile and completely re-typeset The Expert at the Card Table resulting in the most readable copy ever offered. Below, we have reproduced two pages from The Annotated Erdnase to illustrate how the book has been laid out. The inside column of each page (nearest the spine and surrounded by a rectangular box) is the original text from The Expert at the Card Table. The number of each annotation appears in bold type. The outside columns contain Darwin’s annotations which more than double the size of the original book. Whether you’re a skilled professional looking to increase your already considerable knowledge, or just a beginner hoping to learn the basics of card magic, The Annotated Erdnase will provide you with years of pleasure. There has been a lot of speculation lately about the true identity of the man who wrote The Expert at the Card Table. Was S.W. Erdnase actually Milton Franklin Andrews, a gambler and murderer who took his own life? The evidence is truly fascinating and reads like a Hollywood script. The final chapter of The Annotated Erdnase is an article called he Mystery of Erdnase written by Martin Gardner wherein Gardner recounts his search for the man behind the book. Regardless of your level of expertise or specific area of interest, The Annotated Erdnase is without doubt the definitive study of the greatest book ever written on sleight of hand with cards. $45.00″. . .maybe the first truly academic work on practical conjuring that has ever been produced. It’s a joy to read, easy to follow, an excellent reference work and truly inspirational. I haven’t read anything like it in magical literature.”–David Britland – OPUS Magazine ” . . . Ortiz has produced an important book. For the experienced card specialist, THE ANNOTATED ERDNASE is an indispensable reference work and the novice could not ask for a better introduction to a classic in its field.”–T.A. Waters – Genii Magazine “Highly recommended for the student of card magic, the card magic historian and fans of The Expert At The Card Table.”–Michael Weber – Inside Magic
STERANKO ON CARDS by Steranko-$40.00
Excerpt from the book:”During the preparation of this book careful thought was given as to which routines should be included. The tricks are entertaining, the sleights are latent means to an end result. The articulate manner of text and illustration was due to our enthusiasm to thoroughly acclimate the reader with every minute characteristic of each move. If then, you utilize only a few of these items, the purpose of this book will have been fulfilled.” – Jim SterankoTable of ContentsChapter One – FundamentalsChapter Two – Action Center ReverseChapter Three – Positive Card ControlChapter Four – Lateral PalmChapter Five – Multiple ShiftChapter Six – Card MiscellaneaChapter Seven – Cues on CardsChapter Eight – Quick TrixChapter Nine – TrioChapter Ten – Aces in AbstractionChapter Eleven – Card EclipseChapter Twelve – Dead Man’s Hand FinaleChapter Thirteen – Fantasy Card RoutineBonus Section: Chapter Fourteen – Concerning Steranko Annotations by Terrence FranciscoPages 114 – Hardbound