Erdnase Ephemera

There isn’t much in the way of Erdnasian ephemera, but it does exist.

In 1947, the Society of American Magicians honoured Marshall D. Smith at the national convention.

Magicol, 1951 also ran an article, entitled "Editions of Erdnase," by Martin Gardner outlining the footsteps of The Expert from the first edition to the Powner era. We have reproduced a larger version of the article for reading here.

In Argentina, a series of postcards depicting famous magicians was produced in the mid-1990s. Dai Vernon, Juan Tamariz, Arturo de Ascanio, Rene Levand and others are all depicted in caricature form and are easily recognized. In keeping with his “secret” identity, the Erdnase postcard only has a blank silhouette where the face should be.

Later in the new millennium, a variety of Erdnasian ephemera came to light including DVD teach-in video clips discussing the text, the sleights and the magic contained in The Expert. Some sets included reprints of The Expert at the Card Table, still using the King of Hearts theme for its cover.

As a new generation discovers Erdnase, an even greater range of collectables have surfaced – primarily with playing cards.

Erdnasiana