Lying in a dark undisturbed drawer for decades lay Harry Houdini's copy of The Discoverie of Witchcraft, a book written by Reginald Scot in 1584. It is the first book in the English language to describe sleight of hand tricks, and Houdini's copy was very special because it held the key to a mystery which fascinated magicians for centuries. Just who did Reginald Scot obtain all his information from - who was the magician who gave away some of the greatest and most closely guarded secrets of conjuring? The answer lay in the barely legible notes Houdini had scribbled in the margins. 'Shakespeare's copy, see in rear cover,' read Houdini's less than cryptic message. Inside the back of the book were William Shakespeare's handwritten notes of about fifty tricks and sleights, some of which appeared in THE DISCOVERIE OF WITCHCRAFT.
The secret is now fully revealed for the very first time: the young Will Shakespeare, while having just fathered a child, needed money, so he took the job.
In a story as exciting as any detective novel, author Richard Kaufman deciphered Shakespeare's ridiculous scribbling...and has written this book, which includes forty-five effects by Shakespeare (some lousy ones, too - he wasn't always clever), and another twenty contributions from some of the world's greatest cardmen, including: Derek Dingle, Edward Marlo, Jon Racherbaumer, Harry Lorayne, Gene Maze, Darwin Ortiz, Ken Krenzel, Bill Simon, Phil Goldstein, and Russell Barnhart....
Even while Shakespeare is spinning in his grave, over seven-hundred animated illustrations that seem to move combined with Richard Kaufman's superb text will clearly teach you many fine card routines you will be proud to add to your repertoire.
Contents of CardMagic by Richard Kaufman
- Ham and Cheese
- Karate Card
- Strange Harmony
- Triumph Handling
- Number Nine Blue
- Make Mine Dunbury Well
- A Maze ing
- A Card in Bill Switch: Standing
- Another Card in Bill Switch: Still Standing
- One More: This Time Sitting
- A Dream Deck Switch, too
- Swivelleroo Plus
- Fantasy Cull
- The World's Fastest Reverse
- The W.S. Card Switch
- Packet Switch
- Cover Switch
- Flourish False Cut
- A Double and Triple Lift
- The Semi-Circular Switch
- The S.D.L. Change
- Taps
- Shooting Star
- Fifty One Below
- The Sideswipe Shift
- One-Hand Mechanical Change
- How to deliver out four aces, and convert them into four knaves.
- Another way to do the same, having yourself indeed never seen the card.
- How to tell what card he sees on the bottom, when the same card is shuffled into the stock.
- how to make one draw the same or any card you like
- How to tell what card any man thinks of, how to convey it into the kernel of a nut or cherrystone, and the same again into another's pocket
- To tell one without confederacy what card he thinks of.
- Of private confederacy.
- Look Ma, Just One Hand!
- 4-5-6 Aces
- Progress Report
- Inertial Load
- The Real Gone Aces Take Cover
- HaLo Changes Color Again
- A Radical Change
- The Arcadio Collectors
- The SecondFromTheTop Change
- Pickin' Up The Pieces
- Mass Transit
- S.P.L.I.T.
- Turnover Coverpass
- Predicted Collectors
- Hofzinser Predicts the Collectors
- Mackintosh
- On The BMT - An Advanced Packet Handling
- Quick: Which Way?
- Monte for the Maladjusted
- Cassette (Side A)
- Cassette (Side B)
- Flotation Stab
- Through Thick And Thin
- Palms For The Poor
- Envelope
- Cutting Remarks
- In Case You're Passing Through
- Snapshot
- A Vanishing Deck
- Phoenix Reborn
- A Phoenix of a Different Color
- Blues Caught on a Windy Day
- "It Shrinks!"
- Travel
- The Proverbial Hole
- Slot Machine
- The Polaroid Change
- The Crystal Ball
- Fantastamazing Aces
- Salamander
Approximatley: 184 pages with 727 black and white illustrations