Difference between revisions of "Think of a Card"

Revision as of 21:13, 22 November 2010

The Think of a Card is a mentalism effect in which a spectator merely thinks of a card and the performer locates it.

The magician allows the spectator to think of a card by:

Displaying the faces of a small packet of cards
Dispalying all the cards in the deck or apparently all the cards
Allowing the spectator to just think of the value and suit of any card in the deck.

The magician reveals the thought of card in one of two ways:

A card is identified (i.e. placed down on the table or sticking up out of a fan) and then displayed after the spectator announces the thought of card.
The spectator announces the card and then the card is revealed in a unique way. For example, it's the only red backed card in the blue deck.

Early examples of this plot are:

"To tell one without confederacie what card he thinketh" in The Discoverie of Witchcraft by Reginald Scot (1584) which was most likely contributed by John Cautares.
"The Card Thought on per Force" from Volume 4 of Rational Recreations by W. Hooper (1774)
"The Card Thought Of" in The Secrets of Conjuring and Magic by Robert-Houdin (1877). Translated by Professor Hoffmann from the French edition (1868)

Bob Hummer's "Mind Reader's Dream" (1952)
Out of Sight - Out of Mind by Dai Vernon in Dai Vernon's More Inner Secrets of Card Magic (1960)
Ed Marlo's "Mental Topper" in New Tops, Vol. 6, no. 4, April 1966.
Think of a Card by Paul Harris in The Magic of Paul Harris (1976) and Book 1 of Art of Astonishment (1996).
Invisible Rising Card by Paul Harris in Las Vegas Close Up (1978) and Book 1 of Art of Astonishment
Derek Dingle has some work on it in The Complete Works of Derek Dingle (1982).
Bob Farmer's "Tsunami" (1987)
"Topping Mental Topper" in Jon Racherbaumer's Cardfixes (1990)
Ray Kosby's Deep Thought also in Book 1 of Art of Astonishment (1996)
Think A Card by Roger Crosthwaite in Arcadia (1999) (Anthony Brahams' Cairn Press.)
Kolossal Killer by Kenton Knepper (2004)
"Double Duty" in MonkeyShines, Vol. One by Doc Dixon (2009).
Armando Lucero's "Empanada" routine (2009)

Roger Crosthwaite's book Roger's Thesaraus has an entire chapter on think a card.
"A Card Merely Thought of" ebook by Tom Baxter.

From Witchcraft to Warlock: The Evolution of Think-a-Card (A lecture given by Fr. Roger Crosthwaite at the Magic Circle Collector's Day (May 25, 1996) [Reprinted in Arcadia by Crosthwaite (1999) ]
The Collected Wisdom of Magictalk - Think of a Card

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 * Kolossal Killer by [[Kenton Knepper]] (2004)
 * "Double Duty" in MonkeyShines, Vol. One by [[Doc Dixon]] (2009).
+* [[Armando Lucero]]'s "Empanada" routine (2009)
-* [[Armando Lucero]]'s "Empanada" routine