Take a stroll down memory lane for a moment. Back in the day, oh I don't know about 18 years ago, I
decided to stop doing the 21 card trick to everyone and start becoming a serious student of sleight
of hand.
The very first book that I ever read on the subject was none other than The
Professor's Bible, The Expert At The Card Table by S.W. Erdnase. From that book, I learned color
changes, false shuffles, the diagonal shift palm, false cuts, fancy cuts, the pass (the shift) and a
ton of other stuff.
I was actually quite obsessed with the book myself. It became the
foundation of much of the magic I performed and created. Over time, I began fine tuning my
performance and presentational character and spent less time on "moves."
Through the years
I would take on magic students, and I always insisted that they read Erdnase. I would usually give
them my copy, then later buy another copy. This continued until I've now owned and given away at
least a dozen copies of the book.
I haven't read it now for about 10 years, and I haven't
owned a copy for about 5 years. Well the August 2008 issue of Genii Magazine had an article about
Dai Vernon's book "Revelation" which is Vernon's notes and thoughts, etc on Erdnase. The article
also spent a great deal of time discussing who Erdnase was and those known as "Erdnase Hunters" and
the influence that He and His Book had on Vernon and therefore the modern world of card magic as we
know it. If you haven't read that article, you must. It's excellent and very inspiring.
After reading this article, I was inspired to again study Erdnase. So I went online to buy yet
another copy of the book, and I stumbled across a Seven DVD set by Wesley James, and I bought it. I
mean, it IS Wesley James, hello! This is one of THE BEST purchases I've made in a looooooooooong
time.
First, Wesley and Simon Lovell spend a bit of time in between sessions talking and
discussing various parts of the book opinions, etc. The first DVD of the set is devoted entirely to
the history of the book and various theories about who Erdnase is, etc... Very, very cool. I was
sucked in by this part.
Then in the remaining six DVDs, every single move, trick, effect,
shuffle, thought, everything that's in the book is on these DVDs. There's stuff on there that I'd
completely forgotten about. The best part is that Wesley clearly has spent the time mastering
Erdnase and performing the material in the book.
For those who've read Erdnase, you know
that it's a tough read and a tough study. Some of the stuff in the book, I gave up on because I
couldn't quite see what the effect was supposed to look like. Well now you can see it as Wesley
performs it. There are some beautiful moves and effects. On top of that, Wesley and Simon share some
of their variations on some of the material.
All I can tell you is that if you want to be
serious about improving your sleight of hand, do NOT hesitate... buy this DVD set. As the subtitle
of the DVD set states, Wesley James truly is "The Man Who Knows Erdnase."
