The Itinerant Pasteboards discrepancy

Discuss your favorite close-up tricks and methods.
User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4762
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

The Itinerant Pasteboards discrepancy

Postby erdnasephile » September 28th, 2017, 9:51 am

In "The Itinerant Pasteboards" (Dr. Jacob Daley) in Stars of Magic, there is a huge discrepancy after the triple lift at the end of the trick when the second red deuce is face up on the top of the deck. I suppose that might go unnoticed by the spectator, but is there a way to eliminate that discrepancy?

Also, I think it was interesting that Daley put in a fake "glide" that occurs just before the discrepancy occurs. Was this to justify the seemingly redundant showing of the Queen of Clubs that occurs at this point? Does it help hide the discrepancy by raising suspicion about whether the queen is still there--thus focusing attention away from the fact the second deuce appears face up?

User avatar
Richard Kaufman
Posts: 27047
Joined: July 18th, 2001, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Theodore DeLand
Location: Washington DC
Contact:

Re: The Itinerant Pasteboards discrepancy

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 28th, 2017, 10:51 am

Dr. Daley liked discrepancies, this we know.
He is also dead, so we cannot answer questions that only he could definitively answer.
Subscribe today to Genii Magazine

performer
Posts: 3508
Joined: August 7th, 2015, 10:35 pm

Re: The Itinerant Pasteboards discrepancy

Postby performer » September 28th, 2017, 12:26 pm

I could contact him if you like. I will have to do it after this weekend though since I have a psychic fair to do.

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4762
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: The Itinerant Pasteboards discrepancy

Postby erdnasephile » September 29th, 2017, 10:36 am

My understanding is that the "Stars of Magic" series was conceptualized as presenting professional quality routines that were sometimes simplified to bring them within the reach of the average practitioner; however, the pieces were not always the preferred methods of the authors (e.g., Dai Vernon's "Triumph" was not the way he usually did the trick). Was this trick in that category as well?

Along with the discrepancy, the trick construction just seems to invite tinkering to remove or take advantage of some rough edges. For example, it'd be real easy to arrange things to make the transposition clearer by ensuring 2 easily remembered contrasting cards were used as the selections. IMHO, not showing the card after the false glide would make the subsequent show less redundant. Not making use of the left over stranger card seems like a bit of a waste, etc.

Therefore, I was wondering if Dr. Daley had perhaps published a preferred handling of this routine? (I don't have access to the Daley Notebooks).

Rick Franceschin
Posts: 46
Joined: February 3rd, 2009, 9:17 pm

Re: The Itinerant Pasteboards discrepancy

Postby Rick Franceschin » November 5th, 2017, 12:21 am

He had a transposition between a reversed card in the deck and one in the pocket in More Card Manipulations - 3 (Hugard, 1940.) It resembles the second one in "Stars," but with less detail. Same effect is referenced in his notebook as Reverso - Transpaso, the description is terse, though he does reference the side steal / fan combo (no detail.)

I think the show after the glide feint emphasizes the singularity of the card, is the second of the three different context in which the second selection is shown (aid spectators in remembering the card,) and helps to motivate the final showing of all the cards.

Daley was held in high esteem by his peers, no doubt in part for his ability to fool them. If the no get ready double lifts fooled (not well known at the time) and the discrepancy went unnoticed, magicians likely found trying to reconstruct an otherwise straight-forward process maddening.

Daley's presentation: "This is a psychological experiment and proves that no one can remember two objects in two different places..." This sets a challenge situation where the spectators are more likely to remember cards and their positions, even if they are hard to remember. While the line lends an early clue that a transposition may be forthcoming, he uses a clever timing gambit to spring the transpo as a surprise.

As Kaufman points out, one can only conjecture, but these points have been helpful to me in using those routines over the years.

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4762
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: The Itinerant Pasteboards discrepancy

Postby erdnasephile » November 8th, 2017, 12:17 pm

Thanks, Mr. Franceschin--appreciate your giving me lots to think about here.


Return to “Close-Up Magic”