It is believed to have originated in the 18th century courtesy of an Italian magician named Giovanni Giuseppe Pinetti.
Owing to his charismatic personality, he was the first entertainer who was allowed to display his card magic tricks in a theatre much to the delight of the audience.
The impact was so profound that card magic came to acquire its own unique identity and was accorded a distinct status of its own.
Since then there have been many famous magicians who have followed in the pioneer’s footsteps and Robert Houdini enjoys the honor of being regarded as the first modern magician during the nineteenth century.
Amongst all the renowned names of that era like Dai Vernon, Harry Houdini and Charles Bertram, it was Howard Thurston who was the first to be regarded as the master card manipulator.
Many of the tricks he invented were due to his adroitness with cards, and are executed even today by present day magicians like David Copperfield and David Blaine. Each have added to the history of card magic.
Magic tricks involving cards are definitely fascinating and since every household has at least one deck of cards the temptation to try out some of the tricks at some point in time is sure to arise.
However, it is only while attempting these tricks that their difficulty level becomes evident and the need of a few imperative requisites like hand-eye coordination and expert handling is strongly felt.
But proper learning always starts with theory and consulting books pertaining to card magic is the best course of action.
As is shown in the history of card magic, when magic was practiced for the first time in ancient Egypt, the intention of the magicians was to convince the audience that they had been blessed with magical powers which they used to create illusions.
Gradually people began to feel threatened by this art to the effect that whoever was even remotely suspected of being blessed with this talent was hunted down and killed.
Obviously as a reaction to this attitude, magicians kept their talents a closely guarded secret.
Re-emergence occurred during the 16th century and this time the magicians decided to call themselves entertainers whose sole purpose was to entertain the audience and earn renown as well as making a living.
Different varieties of magic were thus invented and card magic was one of them – such was the fascination of people with this form of magic that it has endured until this date and is tried by everyone.
The History of Card Magic was formed.
Trying card magic requires a bit of guidance and tutorial commences by teaching the learner the different ways of gripping the cards.
The first sleight of hand which is taught is the overhand or the false shuffle in which the emphasis is on controlling the cards.
This is followed by other sleights like blind cuts, glimpse and forcing cards wherein the spectator selects a card which the magician wants them to select even if it appears to be a free choice.
When an expert magician performs a false cut he cuts the deck but leaves all the cards in the same position so although to an onlooker it appears as though the deck has been shuffled in reality its order has not changed at all.
In this way he is able to exactly pinpoint the card selected by the spectator and everyone is convinced that it is indeed magic. Then there is the double lift which as a fundamental sleight comes in very handy if performed in moderation and in the natural flow.
This requires plenty of practice and entails stealthily lifting two cards as one and turning them downwards again as naturally as possible so that they appear as one instead of a brick.
It is one of the most impressive tricks performed by expert magicians as they retrieve the card from the middle of the pack but beginners are advised to use it sparingly unless they become experts at it.
History of Card Magic continues to write itself..
In the magical jargon palming card means to take a card and conceal its presence so that no-one is aware of its existence.
It is not very difficult to palm cards but this card magic trick takes plenty of practice and patience if it is to be executed really well.
So next time when you see a magician make a card vanish into thin air and make it reappear again you know that he has just perfectly executed the palm trick by successfully concealing the card in his palm.
At the time of concealment the card is held between the index and middle finger at one end and the ring and little finger at the other end and when it is to be revealed the middle and ring fingers are bent to retrieve the card.
Pass is one of the most difficult sleights of card magic and its purpose is to secretly insert the chosen card from the middle to the top of the pack and vice versa.
It was accepted as being the first requisite of card magic when dictum’s pertaining to this branch of magic were laid down by the French writer Guyot in 1769.
One of the best ways of distracting the audience with cards is to practice the top change sleight wherein cards are exchanged right under the noses of the audience without being detected and hence draw a lot of laughter and appreciation.
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