NEW Erdnase 216s with Erdnase Finish! As low as $3.99 a deck for members!

Conjuring Arts is very pleased to introduce the culmination of years of research and development.

The Erdnase 216 deck.

Relatively recently one of our board members found what might be the only existing example of the Bee 216 deck. This was printed by the New York Consolidated Card Company for a period of time around the year 1900, and although the back design appears in catalogs and illustrations, no other complete deck is known. What is even more exciting is that our deck is in mint condition. What this means is that for the first time we can determine exactly what the cards that Erdnase used felt like! For example, the deck is very thin (52 cards is 14.50 mm!) and very smooth (Cambric finish wouldn’t be used until 1910!). Fittingly, Erdnase wrote, “For superior work the cards should be new, thin, flexible and of best quality.”

As many know, Conjuring Arts has produced more than a dozen decks over the last couple of years and each deck has had variations as to production methods, materials and finishing. This is an ongoing effort to create an amazing deck of cards. Most of our previous releases used the Casino grade of paper that is quite a bit thicker than the retail stock. This allowed us to create an amazingly sturdy and durable deck that quickly became favorites of many of the world’s top card men.

Last fall Conjuring Arts started some new experimentation, taking our research in a completely new direction. We did three major test runs at great expense which allowed us to successfully create what we proudly call our Erdnase Finish. This new finish is the thinnest and smoothest card that can be produced at US Playing Card Company. When measured by caliper a 52 card deck is merely 14.5 mm. This combined with a smooth finish (just as all the cards were in Erdnase’s time) creates a deck that feels as close to the 1902 Bee as is possible to make today. The only real difference is that our new reproduction is a bit slipperier than it’s 1902 predecessor. Today the manufacturing process uses a plastic material in coating the paper and 100 or so years ago this was more of a varnish that can no longer be used for cards.

The back design of the Bee 216 is another very interesting thing. Anyone who has studied Erdnase sufficiently has noticed that the illustrations clearly indicate that he was using Bees. This can be seen by the Ace of Spades in Figure (101). On even closer examination of the illustrations, you can see in Figures (see Fig. 75, for example) that the back design is not redrawn but just a squiggle is used. This is very possibly just a shortcut by the illustrator, and this has been our opinion for many many years. But two years ago, on discovering the Bee 216 deck, a new theory arose. What if this design, which matches M. D. Smith’s “squiggles”, was actually the type of card Erdnase used at the time the book was illustrated? We found it intriguing enough to warrant our latest release of the Erdnase 216 deck. A faithful reproduction in both design and feel of what New York Consolidated’s Bees looked and felt like in 1902.

A very limited edition has been produced, evenly split between a tan and green back color.

 

 

Member pricing (includes shipping!)(Members must log in for discounted pricing):

Domestic:

1 deck = $6.99 ($4.99 + $2 shipping)
12 decks = $54.99 (Postpaid! Just $4.58/deck!)
144 decks = $574.99 (Postpaid! Just $3.99/deck!)

Canada:

1 deck = $12.99 ($4.99 + $8 shipping)
12 decks = $75.99 ($54.99 + $21 shipping; $6.33/deck)
144 decks = $704.99 ($574.99 + $130 shipping; only $4.90/deck!)

International:

1 deck = $14.99 ($4.99 + $10 shipping)
12 decks = $79.99 ($54.99 + $25 shipping; $6.67/deck)
144 decks= $754.99 ($574.99 + $180 shipping, only $5.24/deck!)

Non-member pricing (includes shipping!):

Domestic:

1 deck = $7.95 ($5.95 + $2 shipping)
12 decks = $64.99 (Postpaid! Just $5.42/deck!)
144 decks = $699 (Postpaid! Just $4.85/deck!)

Canada:

1 deck = $13.95 ($5.95 + $8 shipping)
12 decks = $85.99 ($64.99 + $21 shipping; $7.17/deck)
144 decks = $829 ($699 + $130 shipping; only $5.76/deck!)

International:

1 deck = $15.95 ($5.95 + $10 shipping)
12 decks = $89.99 ($64.99 + $25 shipping; $8.75/deck)
144 decks= $879 ($699 + $180 shipping, only $6.10/deck!)

 

Discovered! Bee 216…Erdnase?

Recently one of our board members found what might be the only existing example of the Bee 216 deck. This was printed by the New York Consolidated Card Company for a very limited time around the year 1900, and although the back design appears in catalogs and illustrations, no other complete deck is known. What is even more exciting is that our deck is in mint condition. What this means is that for the first time we can determine exactly what the cards that Erdnase used felt like! For example, the deck is very thin (52 cards is 14.50 mm!) and very smooth (Cambric finish wouldn’t be used until 1910!). Fittingly, Erdnase wrote, “For superior work the cards should be new, thin, flexible and of best quality.”

The back design of the Bee 216 is another very interesting thing. Anyone who has studied Erdnase sufficiently has noticed that the illustrations clearly indicate that he was using Bees. This can be seen by the Ace of Spades in Figure (101). On even closer examination of the illustrations, you can see in many of the Figures (see Fig. 75, for example) that the back design is not redrawn but just a squiggle is used. This is very possibly just a shortcut by the illustrator, and this has been our opinion for many, many years. But, on discovering the Bee 216 deck, a new theory arose. What if this design, which matches M. D. Smith’s “squiggles”, was actually the type of card Erdnase used at the time the book was illustrated?

This discovery was first revealed on February 26, 2013, the 111th anniversary of the copyright registration for The Expert at the Card Table, on our erdnase.com website.

 

NEW! Legends…One of the Most Beautiful Decks Ever!

Introducing Legends, one of the most beautiful decks ever printed.

Conjuring Arts is very proud to be helping to introduce a new era in quality playing cards.

For the last few years we have produced a great number of different decks and, in addition to creating new designs, we have consistently tweaked all aspects of the production. This has allowed us to produce some amazing decks and served to educate us on how cards are made. This has then taught us how we can make them better for magicians, sleight of hand artists and all others who rely on quality and consistency.

Our education has been greatly enhanced by our diligence in trying to locate factories around the world and to test their manufacturing skills and their ability to produce quality cards consistently.

A few months ago we partnered up with Lawrence Sullivan, a fine magician from Hong Kong, to produce a marvelous new deck. Lawrence commissioned Mark Stutzman, the brilliant illustrator and artist famous, in part, for his amazing work with David Blaine’s posters and decks of cards, to produce the new design we call Legends. With Stutzman’s brilliant design and a new card factory in Taipei, Conjuring Arts is extremely excited to be able to offer Legends and to honestly say they are the beginning of the revolution on playing card quality.

These cards have a slip factor and snap factor that makes them perfect for flourishes, shuffle work, deals and more or less all types of sleight of hand. They are different from any other decks we’ve felt – neither like current USPCC products nor like old Jerry’s. They are really amazing. The factory we found produces primarily ultra high quality cards for far east casinos and hasn’t produced much previously in our sleight of hand sector. They are quite thin as well but strong and don’t feel “spongy” like many thin backs do. You will also notice that the white border is much narrower than “normal” cards from the US. This is due to extreme precision printing and finishing and due to this perfect registration the deck has an amazingly balanced appearance. These cards also have a glass like edge, like nothing anyone else has ever released (see image in comparison with a Bicycle deck).

The Legends run was quite short and split over 3 colors. Conjuring Arts is the exclusive sales agent for this deck in the US and we have only about 1,000 decks of each color as our allotment. They are available for sale individually or in sets of 3 (one of each color), 36 (12 of each color), and 144 (4 dozen of each color).

Order now as these are going to go extremely fast.

 

 

New photos from Alex Pandrea!:

 

 

 

 

 

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More images and Pricing:

 

Most photos courtesy of Lawrence Sullivan and 52cartes.
***Legends are trade Marked by Lawrence Sullivan***

Scarce and Beautiful! Silver Metallic Bicycle Rider Backs

We are pleased to bring you our latest discovery! At Conjuring Arts, we are often designing new cards, scouring the Earth for innovative manufacturers, or recreating long forgotten and fascinating designs, but it is very rare for us (or for anyone) to unearth a trove of pristine older cards. As such, we are very pleased to have come across a small caché of a beautiful deck that somehow slipped through the cracks.

These 2009 Bicycle Rider Back decks feature a striking silver-metallic back design and eye-catching border. They are quite hard to find and  may be one of the first Rider Back decks to feature metallic ink.  It was  lucky of us to encounter the small quantity we did, as they will probably never be available again. In addition to the attractive back design, they handle wonderfully and offer many presentational opportunities.

They are priced as reasonably as we could manage, considering their vintage, at only $4.50 per deck ($4 for members!). Act quickly in order to secure one of these treasures before they are gone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Member pricing (includes shipping!)(Members must log in for discounted pricing):

Domestic:
1 deck = $6 ($4 + $2 shipping)
12 decks = $48 (Postpaid! Just $4/deck!)

Canada and Mexico:
1 deck = $8 ($4 + $4 shipping)
12 decks = $62 ($48 + $14 shipping, only $5.17/deck!)

International:
1 deck = $9 ($4 + $5 shipping)
12 decks = $66 ($48 + $18 shipping, only $5.50/deck!)

Non-member pricing (includes shipping!):

Domestic:
1 deck = $6.50 ($4.50 + $2 shipping)
12 decks = $54 (Postpaid! Just $4.50/deck!)

Canada and Mexico:
1 deck = $8.50 ($4.50 + $4 shipping)
12 decks = $68 ($54 + $14 shipping, only $5.67/deck!)

International:
1 deck = $9.50 ($4.50 + $5 shipping)
12 decks = $72 ($54 + $18 shipping, only $6/deck!)

U.S. Exclusive: Brand New Sketch Deck!

Conjuring Arts and Tannen’s have teamed up to offer a brand new original and VERY limited edition deck from Pr1me of Rome, Italy.
The new Sketch deck uses the original drawings used in designing the Pr1me series 001 deck, and the result is a totally original and exciting work of art.
This deck is strictly limited and hand-numbered; we have imported only 1,000 decks (with only 1,000 decks being retained in Italy for their market).
The quality is very much like the Pr1me deck, which has a coating that is most similar to the celebrated Jerry’s Nugget cards. They handle beautifully, and their durability allows them to last and last and last. We have noticed that they are slightly softer than the original Pr1me decks, but this should please cardists who prefer cards that aren’t overly firm. We also notice that these cards handle changes in humidity extremely well.

We love this deck – its quality, along with its limited availability, makes it a great collectible.

Each deck is only $9.99 plus shipping.

Free domestic Shipping on 12 decks. See below for details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Prices (including shipping!)

Domestic:

1 Deck = $12.99
6 Decks = $64.99 ($10.83/deck)
12 Decks = $119.88 ($9.99/deck, Free Shipping!)

Canada and Mexico:

1 Deck = $13.99
6 Decks = $72.99 ($12.17/deck)
12 Decks = $132.99 ($11.08/deck!)

Overseas:

1 Deck = $19.99
6 Decks = $76.99 ($12.83/deck)
12 Decks = $146.99 ($12.25/deck!)

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Images courtesy 52cartes and Tannen’s. Thanks!

NEW Skull and Bones Professional Bicycles!

Conjuring Arts is quite pleased to finally be able to release our newest design the Skull and Bones deck! As might be expected we didn’t create this deck out of whole cloth but in fact found an amazing single card dating more than 100 years ago. To our knowledge this is the only card like this that is known to exist and we don’t think any other collector has another single card, let alone a whole deck of them! We found the subject matter fun and up to date for today’s tastes so we had the art redrawn by hand and printed at USPCC. Imagine all of the additional presentations and drama added to your routines with a deck or even a couple of these cards for a surprise finish!

As per our custom we used their larger press and their thicker Casino stock to print this deck. We have done a few things differently though. We have printed two colors, Black and Blood Red simultaneously and we also managed to do a very interesting hybrid of these colors which is boxed in a special all black tuck case and is not for sale. This special deck is extremely limited and only 700 decks will be circulated. To get one you must buy a solid brick of either Red Air-Cushion, Red Ivory, Black Air-Cushion or Black Ivory. As with our last promotion if you buy a brick you will get one special deck as our gift to you.

Act now as these will sell out very quickly. They are offered at a special discounted rate for members!

Special Dozen Pricing:

$86 Priority postpaid in the US ($76 for members!)
$94 Priority postpaid in Canada and Mexico ($84 for members!)
$98 Priority postpaid everywhere else ($88 for members!)

Singles are $5.95 per deck with various postage rates, see below for more detailed pricing information.

 

Member pricing (includes shipping!)(Members must log in for discounted pricing):

Domestic:
1 deck = $8.95 ($6.95 + $2 shipping)
6 decks = $45.99 ($39.99 + $6 shipping; $7.67/deck)
12 decks = $76 ($70 + $6 shipping; $6.33/deck)
36 decks = $221 ($210 + $11 shipping; $6.14/deck)
48 decks = $291 ($280 + $11 shipping; $6.06/deck)
72 decks = $431 (Postpaid! Just $5.99/deck!)
144 decks = $862 (Postpaid! Just $5.99/deck!)

Canada and Mexico:
1 deck = $10.95 ($6.95 + $4 shipping)
6 decks = $53.99 ($39.99 + $14 shipping; $9.00/deck)
12 decks = $84 ($70 + $14 shipping; $7.00/deck)
36 decks = $244 ($210 + $34 shipping; $6.78/deck)
48 decks = $314 ($280 + $34 shipping; $6.54/deck)
72 decks = $457 ($405 + $52 shipping; only $6.35/deck!)
144 decks = $914 ($810 + $104 shipping; only $6.35/deck!)

International:
1 deck = $11.95 ($6.95 + $5 shipping)
6 decks = $57.99 ($39.99 + $18 shipping; $9.67/deck)
12 decks = $88 ($70 + $18 shipping; $7.33/deck)
36 decks = $260 ($210 + $50 shipping; $7.22/deck)
48 decks = $330 ($280 + $50 shipping; $6.88/deck)
72 decks= $477 ($405 + $72 shipping, only $6.63/deck!)
144 decks= $954 ($810 + $144 shipping, only $6.63/deck!)

Non-member pricing (includes shipping!):

Domestic:
1 deck = $8.95 ($6.95 + $2 shipping)
6 decks = $45.99 ($39.99 + $6 shipping; $7.67/deck)
12 decks = $86 ($80 + $6 shipping; $7.17/deck)
36 decks = $251 ($240 + $11 shipping; $6.97/deck)
48 decks = $331 ($320 + $11 shipping; $6.90/deck)
72 decks = $491 (Postpaid! Just $6.82/deck!)
144 decks = $982 (Postpaid! Just $6.82/deck!)

Canada and Mexico:
1 deck = $10.95 ($6.95 + $4 shipping)
6 decks = $53.99 ($39.99 + $14 shipping; $9/deck)
12 decks = $94 ($80 + $14 shipping; $7.83/deck)
36 decks = $274 ($240 + $34 shipping; $7.61/deck)
48 decks = $354 ($320 + $34 shipping; $7.38/deck)
72 decks = $517 ($465 + $52 shipping; only $7.18/deck!)
144 decks = $1034 ($930 + $104 shipping; only $7.18/deck!)

International:
1 deck = $11.95 ($6.95 + $5 shipping)
6 decks = $57.99  ($39.99 + $18 shipping; $9.67/deck)
12 decks = $98 ($80 + $18 shipping; $8.17/deck)
36 decks = $290 ($240 + $50 shipping; $8.06/deck)
48 decks = $370 ($320 + $50 shipping; $7.71/deck)
72 decks= $537 ($465 + $72 shipping, only $7.46/deck!)
144 decks= $1074 ($930 + $144 shipping, only $7.46/deck!)

SPECIAL BONUS: Unique Skull and Bones Deck!

SPECIAL, ULTRA LIMITED BONUS!

This special gift deck is another innovation by Conjuring Arts. We had USPCC print all the varying colors between blood red and black and the cards that came out have been turned into our special gift to you. The deck you receive will be a unique color, no two should be exactly alike, and might even have variations in color among the cards! We think it’s very cool and certainly unique. To make it even more special we have had it put in a special all Black tuck case (designed by Asi Wind) with the Skull and Bones logo stamped in foil on it. Enjoy it!

Skull and Bones Deck Sold Out

Order Page Sold Out

Look at the uncut sheet photos below to see the kind of variation you might expect from each unique deck!

Mixed Brick Special Offer (Sold Out)

We have decided to make a special offer for those of you that are interested in trying out a variety of our playing cards! Each Mixed Brick contains:

• 2 Professional Bicycle, Air-Cushion
• 2 Professional Bicycle, Ivory
• 2 Erdnase 1902 Black Acorn, Cambric
• 2 Erdnase 1902 Black Acorn, Ivory
• 2 Ask Alexander, Cambric
• 2 Ask Alexander, Ivory

That’s 12 decks! Two of each deck gives you the opportunity to use one and keep the other for your collection! Remember the Ask Alexander deck has many built in secret features for you to locate and the Professional Bicycle comes with THREE built in reveals. All this for only:

• Members: $44.99 (US); $58.99 (Canada & Mexico); $71.99 (Overseas)
• Non-Members: $54.99 (US); $68.99 (Canada & Mexico); $81.99 (Overseas)

Sold Out

 

New! Uncut Sheets of Professional Bicycles® Now Available!

We are very proud to be able to offer uncut sheets of our Professional Bicycle® playing cards for sale! Each sheet has a complete deck of cards on it completely finished except for the cutting process. They are great as display pieces, for collecting signatures, and, also, an almost limitless number of magical purposes, as they can be cut to suit your needs! Plus, just like the cards, the uncut sheets are available in both Air-Cushion and Ivory finishes. (Regular decks of the Professional Bicycles® are still available as well!)

Only available in limited quantities, these sheets are just $39.99 postpaid in the US (elsewhere shipping is $18*)!

 

 

 

 

 

*Save on shipping by contacting us at orders@conjuringarts.org when ordering multiple sheets (Remember in addition to the Professional Bicycle®, we have uncut sheets of Erdnaseum, Green Acorn, and Ask Alexander available as well!)

Pr1me Playing Cards from Italy! Now Available! ***Sold Out***

Greetings from Conjuring Arts! We are very happy to be able to supply a new and exciting deck from a new and exciting producer of playing cards. These Pr1me cards were brought to our attention by Jared Molton and we are very enthusiastic. They are imported from Italy and feature an elegant classical design. More importantly, however, is the excellent feel, handling, and production value of these superb cards.

You will notice right away that they are quite thin while being exceptionally strong and springy. In fact, they are reminiscent of the legendary Jerry’s Nugget playing cards and other cards from the 1970s, having an almost varnished feel. They stay very flat and have an extraordinary spring to them despite being thin. [You might notice that some of the blue decks are a bit softer than the reds, but not all, so go with the red if you are looking for the most spring]

Additionally you will be surprised at the precision registration. As you can see in the photo, the borders are quite slim but perfectly centered. They look fantastic! The great, classical design on the back also features a subtle one-way aspect that can be utilized for magic related purposes.

We will point out, in advance, that the tuck cases are nothing extraordinary and are, in fact, quite disappointing, but the cards more than make up for it! Definitely get a deck or two to try out (or more before they sell out!), we think you will be very happy, and please let us know what you think of these excellent new cards!

We only have 200 decks and do not plan to get any more so order quickly to avoid disappointment. We imported them for you to try out and to see if you are as excited as we are by the extraordinary handling and feel of this new deck.

Price: only $7.99 plus shipping! Or as little as $7.49 a deck if you buy a dozen!

Buy Now ***Sold Out***

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