The Expert At The Card Table - The Classic Treatise On Ca...
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This early works on The Expert at the Card Table is a must have for any card playing enthusiast. To all lovers of card games it should prove interesting, and as a basis of card entertainment it is practically inexhaustible, with much of the information still useful and practical today. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the famous first book on card magic. It makes no excuses for being originally written as a way to cheat at cards for money. A few of the sleights have been updated since, you wouldn't want to deal from bottom as described within, and you wouldn't want to deal seconds as described here either, but the rest is pure magic. This only deals with 'PURE' card manipulation, no dodgy decks for erdnase. If you are prepared to put in the practise, and you want to be more impressive than David Blane, buy this book, if you want quick easy magic, but only being able to do one trick, buy a svengali deck. by the way, S.W. Erdnase is actually E.S. Andrews backwards. A professional gambler and cardsharp of the early 1900's.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is an excellent piece of history. The first complete course on card manipulation, it is fair to say it changed the course of card magic in the 20th century. Dai Vernon, the father of modern magic knew the book by heart by the age of 12.
It is less detailed than some parts of Royal Road to Card Magic (which is my view is still the place to start as a beginner) and some of the descriptions require intense concentration. However it does have some gems within it's pages including a good description on how to perform the classic 3 card monte effect.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After reading the previous reviews on this book I feel compelled to clarify. The Expert At The Card Table is the first advanced instructional text ever released for card mechanics and card magicians. This is the reason why it is of such importance but it is also the reason why it's not for everyone. As it was written over a hundred years ago, many of the techniques explained have been superseded but there is still a wealth of useful information for the serious card worker (the palming techniques, for example, are still extremely practical and were tens of years before their time when the book was written). Most people who are serious about cards have studied this text - not just read it, studied it. This is a book for the student of card work and it's history, it's not a book for someone with a casual interest who wants to learn a few basic tricks. If you fall into the latter category then The Royal Road to Card Magic or something similar is more suited to your requirements.
A review of this book would not be complete without mentioning The Annotated Erdnase by Darwin Ortiz. This book offers the reader an expert's insight into this classic text. Darwin Ortiz is the world's foremost expert on cards (in respect of the fields of "magic" and crooked gambling) so his opinions have to be respected. It's sadly out of print but is still available from some dealers and a used copy may be available on this site.
In summary, for the beginner or someone with a passing interest, The Expert At The Card Table really isn't worth buying but for the individual aspiring to become a serious card worker knowledge of this text is essential.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
OK, but a "teach-yourself" DVD would be better for beginners
This is not a book for beginners - it assumes you know the basics of card manipulations.
The illustrations and descriptions are OK, but anyone seriously interested in... Read more
The illustrations and descriptions are OK, but anyone seriously interested in... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Al
Expert at the Card Table
this is a very good book for learning all the basics, and even later on much more complex sleights ect. Read more
Published 21 months ago by ElliotTur
a great addition to anyones library
this book is over 100 years old and is still a gem. I wouldn't reccomend it as a book to get if you're only beginning to learn card manipulation... Read more
Published on 20 May 2010 by Barry O' Leary
Pretty good
This book's pretty good but only if you have a vague idea what you're doing to start with. Some of the descriptions and diagrams are pretty bad (and some are actually impossible to... Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2003 by Ben
Know one better!
For the price this is a good book, though there are few pictures to explain a inticate technique. This book is great for ideas and certain skills. Read more
Published on 14 July 2003 by Kooner
Erdnase - Definitive Card Conjuring
Though the true identity of S.W.Erdnase is much debated, magicians agree on one thing - The Expert at the Card Table is the definitive guide to sleight of hand. Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2002 by A reader
Good
This is a good book, and to be honest there aren't many similar books to choose from. My only real critisim is that you often have to reread sections before you fully understand... Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2001
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
