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.^[1] 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.

The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation

Cover of the 1995 edition.
Author	S. W. Erdnase
Illustrator	Smith, M. D.
Cover artist	Ed Smith Design
Language	English
Subject	Sleight of hand
Genre	Non-Fiction
Publisher	Original Unknown
Publication date	1902 (first edition)
Publication place	USA
ISBN	978-0-486-28597-9

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".^[2] 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".^[2]: vii 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 palming, it was the ultimate instructional manual on how to cheat".^[3]

Despite his widespread influence on the magician community, the author's identity remains an unsolved mystery. The book may have been published under an assumed name given that it was illegal to distribute books on crooked gambling in the early 1900s.^[3] Many believe Erdnase's real name was E.S. Andrews (S.W. Erdnase spelled backwards). (See Gardner's Foreword, pp. vii-ix.)^[2] Another theory is that the author is Wilbur E. Sanders, son of Senator Wilbur F. Sanders. W.E. Sanders is an anagram of S. W. Erdnase, and Sanders had the education, knowledge of magic, and familiarity with gambling necessary to write the book.^[4] According to David Copperfield, "[t]he pursuit of Erdnase has dominated the lives of many magicians and has led them to spend thousands of hours searching public records, newspaper articles, genealogical archives, bankruptcy files, image banks, magic books, yearbooks, census documents, and local libraries".^[3]

Originally the author started selling the book for $2.00 in 1902 and the next year it dropped to $1.00. Although the author did not renew the copyright, the book has remained in print since 1902, albeit small private printings on occasion.^[5] First editions are "highly sought after by collectors", and David Copperfield has a copy in his private museum.^[3]

Legacy

Dai Vernon is credited with popularizing this influential text in the community of professional magicians. Well past ninety years of age, Vernon was fond of quoting from it, with page numbers, when discussing card techniques with his colleagues at the Magic Castle.^[6] In Expert Card Technique, Jean Hugard said of it, "... perhaps no other book in all the list of conjuring books has been so avidly read, so affectionately regarded."^[7] Erdnase's glossary of terms was in itself extremely influential, and has been reproduced more or less directly by numerous authors, including Hugard,^[7] and Henry Hay.

The influence of this book is such that it has been issued in annotated form;^[8][9] translated into Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian,^[5] and Korean; and issued as a series of DVDs by a professional magician, demonstrating and explaining Erdnase's techniques and methods.^[3] A featured show of the story of Expert of the Card Table is also performed regularly by UK magician Guy Hollingworth.^[10]

Adaptations

In 2008, a one-man play inspired by The Expert at the Card Table, starring Guy Hollingworth and directed by Neil Patrick Harris, was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.^[11] The play was successful and in subsequent years was performed in London and the United States.^[12][13]

References

1. Silverman, Rachel Emma. "Fresh Clues Could Reveal Magic-Trick Writer Who Pulled a Disappearing Act a Century Ago", The Wall Street Journal, August 16, 2000. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
2. Erdnase, S. W (1995) [1902]. The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation (1st Ed. reprint ed.). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-28597-9.
3. Copperfield, David; Wiseman, Richard; Britland, David (2021). David Copperfield's history of magic. New York, NY. ISBN 978-1-9821-1291-2. OCLC 1236259508.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. Demarest, Marty (Winter 2013). "Montana's Conjurers, Con Men, and Card Cheats: Wilbur E. Sanders, S. W. Erdnase, and "The Expert at the Card Table"". Montana The Magazine of Western History. 63 (4): 3–93. JSTOR 24419968. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
5. England, Jason (2007). "The Expert at the Card Table Editions". Retrieved January 8, 2008.
6. Johnson, Karl (2005). The Magician and the Cardsharp: The Search for America's Greatest Sleight-of-Hand Artist (Adapted ed.). New York: Henry Holt and Co. pp. 368 pages. ISBN 978-0-8050-7406-2.
7. Hugard, Jean (1940). Expert Card Technique: Close-Up Table Magic (Second ed.). New York: Dover Publications, Inc. pp. 448 pages. ISBN 0-486-21755-8.
8. Ortiz, Darwin (1991). The annotated Erdnase. Magical Publications. ISBN 978-0-915181-21-6.
9. Vernon, Dai (2013). Revelation (Second ed.). Mike Caveney's Magic Words. ISBN 978-0-915181-44-5.
10. James, Wesley (2007). "Expert at the Card Table by Wesley James" (7 volume DVD). Retrieved January 8, 2008.
11. "Neil Patrick Harris". LA Phil. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
12. Sierra, Gabrielle. "Guy Hollingworth Performs His Show At Menier Chocolate 4/2-4". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
13. Stanley, T. L.; Times, Special to the Los Angeles (July 15, 2011). "Magic, mystery and double-crosses in 'The Expert at the Card Table'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

External links

• The Expert at the Card Table at the Internet Archive
• Artifice, ruse and subterfuge at the card table : a treatise on the science and art of manipulating cards at the HathiTrust Digital Library
• Artifice, ruse, and subterfuge at the card table : a treatise on the science and art of manipulating cards From the Collections at the Library of Congress
• Erdnase Film Official Movie Site