Another random mystery deck from Merchant of Magic

Awk these are nice. A lovely nod to retro notions of what the future looks like. If only they knew. I mean, where are the flying cars? Where’s my hover board? Why are we working harder than ever amidst all the work saving technology? Sorry folks. Would a 2 year global pandemic and the threat of world war 3 do instead?

Designed by Marc Ventosa

This is one of my favourite decks

The design is fabulous. I like the letterboxing of the courts and the aces are lovely. Spot cards are as spot cards do but they are blue and turquoise.

Not sure if its the type of cardboard or whatever but they feel different. They feel great and are fun to practise with. They are USPCC so maybe its in my head.

https://www.ukplayingcardcompany.co.uk/product/sinis-turquoise-playing-cards-by-marc-ventosa/

My first super fancy deck.

If you have three decks they can come together to show the whole skull.

They are VERY nice although I think there may have been a bit of a falling out between Ramsay and Murphy’s.

Chris has brought out a few decks since. Called 1st there are a few iterations.

You can do yourself a favour and check him out. His cardistry is beautiful.

https://youtube.com/c/ChrisRamsay52

These are a lovely lovely deck and spot on if you’re fed up with Bicycle. A nice, distinctive ace of Spades. Spread nicely fresh out of the box. Nice feel. Classic

I really love Penn and Teller

This is the second version of there perfectly ordinary deck of cards. They are not perfectly ordinary

They handle very well like a perfectly ordinary deck. There is a gaff card and a few instructions on the less ordinary aspects of the deck and tricks that can be performed.

There are quite a few not ordinary aspects to this deck which I won’t go into. Buy a deck yourself. 🙂

Where do I even begin.

Long standing “bad boys” of magic”

I’ve always been a fan of these two. I’m not a fan of libertarianism though but we’ll get to that.

Constantly challenging the establishment, breaking rules and upsetting peers, they are kinda punk about their approach.

Teller, previously a Latin and Greek teacher is easily the most intelligent magician out there and one of the best sleight of hand guys. The silence was developed early on in his career when he was performing frat houses. He found he could control the audience better. “you look stupid heckling a silent act”

Penn is the louder, more abrasive half. Do not let that fool you though. He is very astute.

One of the things I love about them is the irreverence. They clearly love and respect their art but are honest about it.

Penn has written 4 books as far as I know. I have started reading Sock. I don’t have an opinion yet.

They use magic, misdirection, trickery, legerdemain etc in a search for truth. Penn has rejected libertarianism and came under criticism (from, pretty much exclusively, libertarians) for doing so. He is an empiricist first. Gotta respect anyone who can reject an idea they were following when the evidence calls for it.

The classic cups and balls, widely touted as the oldest magic trick and the routine used by many to prove themselves

There are countless variations and different artists bring different things to the table. Figuratively and literally.

These are my favourites.

Gotta love Penn and Teller

I quit smoking about 7/8 months ago and to help I decided to get into magic. Again. I loved it as a wee fella.

It may well be the most frustrating thing I’ve ever done.

Magic sets are a thing of wonder, literally and figuratively. I’ve discovered old classics like the cups and balls.

One of the things I found when I started is that sometimes when you find out how a trick is done it can be disappointing. “Oh, was that it”? However a change occurs.

You find that magic, like all art (and it is art) is a performance. The trick is only a part of it. For example the aforementioned cups and balls. I’ve seen quite a few versions. Penn and Teller, Dai Vernon, Ricky Jay and although the same principles apply all three are very different performances.

There are three stages: Knowing how a trick is done, being able to do the trick and performing the trick.

Genuinely a beautiful deck, but then it would be. Designed to look like an old leather book in an old fashioned personal library.

I usually keep the lower portion of cellophane on the nicer boxes

Given the designer there is very likely to be a great deal more to these cards but based on pure aesthetics these are one of the nicest decks I own. They handle beautifully and feel amazing.

These are ADORABLE

Can palm two decks.

These are a gorgeous wee novelty. Not sure of the practical use outside an absurdist routine maybe?