Image courtesy The Guardian
Many magicians are addicted to their playing cards. Love ‘em, love ‘em, love ‘em. A big part of why flourishing and card manipulation is so popular is simply because learning to handle a deck is an incredible joy. David Blaine summed it up best in his book, “Mysterious Stranger”:
“To most magicians, cards themselves are marvels…For one thing, they feel special in your hand. Touching them, holding them, shuffling — the whole process is almost poetic. If you’re in a room full of magicians and someone just mentions the word cards, within seconds, everyone is digging into their pockets and pulling out a deck of cards. It’s one of the most amazing feelings ever.”
That’s why we were pleased to see The Guardian’s recent coverage of games. They give a brief, yet thorough, history of our precious pasteboards. And casino columnist Mark Pilarski refreshed our memory with a little history about the face cards.
When you’re done, check out Ellusionist’s contribution to playing card history.
