The magic series has become more adventuresome with Jorn Weisbrodt as the Artistic Director of the Festival. Jorn loves magic, and gets not only what it is but also, more importantly, what it could be.

The Expert at the Card Table may have been published privately by the author in 1902 and distributed primarily in the United States but its reach is truly global.

For me, Erdnase has been a constant companion, and each reading triggers some new insight.

Erdnase wrote, “Our education then progressed through close application and constant study of the game.” So did mine.

My interpretation of an Erdnasian passage.

(Need video sequence from http://www.magicana.com/cta-an-erdnasian-allusion/)

My interpretation of an Erdnasian passage.

“Learn as many sleights at as you possibly can and then improvise,” was Ross Bertram’s advice.

As Erdnase was a cornerstone of his craft, we spent time moving through the book page-by-page – really paragraph-by-paragraph – discussing the philosophy and technique disclosed in this masterwork.

It would be Ross who educated me about Erdnase, the system and the musicality of magic.