Ellis Stanyon's Best Card Tricks

by Ellis Stanyon, Karl Fulves (Editor)

Early in the twentieth century, the venerable British magician Ellis Stanyon set himself the formidable task of recording "every trick yet published in any book or magical magazine." He called this compendium A Dictionary of Magical Effects , and published it in monthly installments in his Magic newsletter, which billed itself as "the Oldest paper in the World devoted solely to the interests of Magicians, Jugglers, Hand Shadowists, Ventriloquists, Lighting Cartoonists, and Specialty Entertainers" Karl Fulves, the prolific and accomplished scholar of magic, has culled the issues of this rare periodical to bring to the reader over 600 of the very best of Ellis Stanyon's card tricks and techniques, as fresh and pertinent today as they were at their inception.
Appealing equally to amateurs and experts and all levels in between, Mr. Stanyon begins with clear and concise variations on simple methods of discovering and revealing a chosen card; he moves on to the more challenging and brilliantly conceived card tricks utilizing mathematical calculation, as well as card tricks via arrangement, confederates, card reading, and special prepared cards; principles of sleight of hand, various methods of palming, changing and forcing cards; false shuffles and cuts; and finally, the book's finale details ornamental sleights and flourishes.
Ellis Stanyon's original text consists of step-by-step instructions for each and every trick discussed; interspersed throughout is Mr. Fulves' commentary and updates, accompanied by easy-to-follow diagrams. All these elements combine to enable you to successfully perform a host of mystifying manipulations that will baffle laypersons and professional magicians alike.

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 1998

About the author

William Ellis Stanyon (1870-1951) was a professional magician and magic dealer in London.

Reviews

[Roger Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given that this book is based on Ellis Stanyon's writings from his "Magic" magazine from 1912 to 1920 the card magic described is surprisingly advanced. Karl Fulves's supplementary notes from 1999 add a great deal to the text as well. Some items are only described very briefly, which is not the contemporary style with technical magic books (particularly on the subject of card magic), but I was amazed by how much is presented in this volume. Having read the book it needs now to be studied in more detail with cards in hand. This book is definitely up there with Erdnase, Expert Card Technique and the Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (and others) which are listed in the bibliography. What a good find!