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Ambitious Card
The Ambitious Card, or Elevator Card, is a magic effect in which a playing card seems to return to the top of the deck after being placed elsewhere in the middle of the deck. One of many versions of the Ambitious Card Routine available on internet video. The Elevator card, p. 85 This is a classic effect in card magic and serves as a study subject for students of magic. It is also known as the "Trick that Fooled Houdini", as Harry Houdini was unable to determine how a variation of the trick was done when it was performed for him, multiple times, by Dai Vernon. Most performing card magicians will have developed their own personal Ambitious Card routine. The effect is often credited to French magician Gustav Alberti, in the mid-19th century. However, there is a related idea in Jean Nicholas Ponsin's ''Nouvelle Magie Blanche Devoilée'', published in 1854, that might precede that. Many magicians base their routine on Darryl Martinez's version, as he issued a comprehensive VHS tape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magic (illusion)
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of close-up magic, parlor magic, and stage magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from Magic (supernatural), paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world. Modern entertainment magic, as pioneered by 19th-century magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, has become a popular theatrical art form. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magicians such as John Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini achieved widespread commercial success during what has become known as "the Golden Age of Magic", a period in which performance magic became a staple of Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and music halls. Meanwhile, magicians such as Georges Méliès, Gaston Velle, Walter R. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Playing Card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a finish to make handling easier. They are most commonly used for playing card games, and are also used in magic tricks, cardistry, card throwing, and card houses; cards may also be collected. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling, and usually are sold together in a set as a deck of cards or pack of cards. The most common type of playing card in the West is the French-suited, standard 52-card pack, of which the most widespread design is the English pattern, followed by the Belgian-Genoese pattern. However, many countries use other, traditional types of playing card, including those that are German, Italian, Spanish and Swiss-suited. Tarot cards (also known locally as ''Tarocks'' or ''tarocchi'') are an ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Houdini
Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as Harry "Handcuff" Houdini on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904, thousands watched as Houdini tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's ''Daily Mirror'', keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists, pursuing a persona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dai Vernon
David Frederick Wingfield Verner (June 11, 1894August 21, 1992), better known by his stage names Dai Vernon (pronounced alternatively as "DIE" or as "DAY" as in David) or The Professor, was a Canadian magician. Vernon's sleight of hand technique and knowledge, particularly with card tricks and close-up magic, garnered him respect among fellow magicians, and he was a mentor to them. From 1963, he worked at and lived out his last decades at the Magic Castle, an exclusive specialty nightclub in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Vernon retired officially from performing in 1990 at the age of 96. Early life Vernon was born in Ottawa, Canada, as David Frederick Wingfield Verner. While performing, he often mentioned that he had learned his first trick from his father at age seven, adding wryly that he had "wasted the first six years" of his life. His father was a government worker and an amateur magician. Vernon studied mechanical engineering at the Royal Military College ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gustav Alberti
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cartoons * Gustav (''Zoids''), a transportation mecha in the ''Zoids'' fictional universe *Gustav, a character in ''Sesamstraße'' *Monsieur Gustav H., a leading character in ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' * Gustaf, an American art punk band from Brooklyn, New York. Weapons *Carl Gustav recoilless rifle, dubbed "the Gustav" by US soldiers *Schwerer Gustav, 800-mm German siege cannon used during World War II Other uses *Gustav (pigeon), a pigeon of the RAF pigeon service in WWII *Gustave (crocodile), a large male Nile crocodile in Burundi *Gustave, South Dakota *Hurricane Gustav (other), a name used for several tropical cyclones and storms *Gustav, a streetwear clothing brand See also *Gustav of Sweden (other) *Gustav Adolf (d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VHS Tape
VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Magnetic tape video recording was adopted by the television industry in the 1950s in the form of the first commercialized video tape recorders (VTRs), but the devices were expensive and used only in professional environments. In the 1970s, videotape technology became affordable for home use, and widespread adoption of videocassette recorders (VCRs) began; the VHS became the most popular media format for VCRs as it would win the "format war" against Betamax (backed by Sony) and a number of other competing tape standards. The cassettes themselves use a 0.5-inch magnetic tape between two spools and typically offer a capacity of at least two hours. The popularity of VHS was intertwined with the rise of the video rental market, when films were re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sleight Of Hand
Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' () comprises fine motor skills used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card flourishing and stealing. Because of its heavy use and practice by magicians, sleight of hand is often confused as a branch of magic; however, it is a separate genre of entertainment and many artists practice sleight of hand as an independent skill. Sleight of hand pioneers with worldwide acclaim include Dan and Dave, Ricky Jay, Derek DelGaudio, David Copperfield, Yann Frisch, Norbert Ferré, Dai Vernon, Jerry Sadowitz, Cardini, Tony Slydini, Helder Guimarães and Tom Mullica. Etymology and history The word ''sleight'', meaning "the use of dexterity or cunning, especially so as to deceive", comes from the Old Norse. The phrase ''sleight of hand'' means "quick fingers" or " trickster fingers". Common synonyms of Latin and Frenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Lift
A double lift is a sleight of hand maneuver used by magicians in card magic. It is a method by which the identity of the top card may be kept secret by lifting the top two cards as one, making it seem as if only the top card is picked up, often used as a switch. Similar techniques may be applied to more than two cards to perform a triple or even quadruple lift. The term was coined by Theo Annemann. When the card is shown to the audience, the audience is tricked into believing that they are shown the top card in the deck where in fact they are shown the second card. When the cards are displayed, the maneuver is sometimes called the "double turnover". Some versions of the Ambitious Card routine rely almost entirely upon this sleight. In combination with a few other mechanics and good showmanship, entire routines can be made out of this single move. Origins The first recorded publishing of the double lift is in Richard Neve's book ''The Merry Companion'' in 1776. It can be seen on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stripper Deck
A trick deck is a deck of playing cards that has been altered in some way to allow magicians to perform certain card tricks where sleight of hand would be too difficult or impractical. Trick decks Brainwave deck The Brainwave deck is a lesser-known deck which is gaining in popularity, it operates on a principle similar to that of the Invisible Deck, but has vastly improved on it. With the cards still in their box, the magician asks a spectator to name a card. The magician pulls the deck out and fans the cards face down, then spreads through the deck until a single face-up card is discovered, which turns out to be the spectator's card. For the grand finale the magician explains that he or she actually knew ahead of time which card the spectator would select, rather than having secretly turned it over during the performance. He or she then proceeds to prove this by turning the spectator's card over and revealing that the card in question features a different backing pattern than ever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Royal Road To Card Magic
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Expert At The Card Table
''The Expert at the Card Table'', is an extensive book on the art of sleight of hand published in 1902 by S. W. Erdnase, a pseudonymous author whose identity has remained a mystery for over a century. As a detailed manual of card sharps, the book is considered to be one of the most influential works on magic or conjuring with cards. Description of the book ''The Expert at the Card Table'' covers the art of card manipulation and sleight of hand at gambling tables. It was written, according to its author, because "if it sells it will accomplish the primary motive of the author, as he needs the money". Martin Gardner described the book as "the most famous, the most carefully studied book ever published on the art of manipulating cards at gaming tables". Similarly, David Copperfield described it as "a detailed description of the sleight of hand used by crooked gamblers and card magicians. With discussion of everything from false shuffles to fake cuts, dodgy dealing to secret palmin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Card College
Card or The Card may refer to: Common uses * Plastic cards of various types: **Bank card ** Credit card **Debit card **Payment card * Playing card, used in games * Printed circuit board, or card * Greeting card, given on special occasions Arts and entertainment * ''The Card'', a 1911 novel by Arnold Bennett ** ''The Card'' (1922 film), based on the novel ** ''The Card'' (1952 film), based on the novel ** ''The Card'' (musical), 1973, based on the novel * ''The Card'', a 2012 novel by Graham Rawle * "The Card" (''The Twilight Zone''), a TV episode * "The Card", an episode of ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (season 6) Businesses and organisations * American Committee for Devastated France (''Comité Américain pour les Régions Dévastées de France''), a group of American women in France after * Campaign Against Racial Discrimination, a British organization, founded in 1964–67 * Center for Autism and Related Disorders, an American applied behavior analysis provider * Wolfso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
