This collection of tricks focuses on a similar motif because they fit the precise definition of that word and, in each case, the goal is to show what unifies and specifically defines each one. I'm also using the term "curate," because I sifted through lots of material so readers can compare and analyze everything. I consider this to be a contextualizing exercise that reveals the motif's history and pinpoints its rightful place in the Creative Continuum.
The two motifs compiled here are the Smith Myth and what's popularly known as the Rashomon Concept. (It should be noted and emphasized that most versions of the Smith Myth incorporate the Rashomon Concept.)
As a stand-alone trick, the original Smith Myth first appeared in a small booklet titled The Five O' Fetsch: A Quintette of Card Miracles in 1956. It was a collaborative effort by Fred Smith and Hen Fetsch. It's also where I first read Sydney Lawrence's ingenious way to force the same card on two spectators.
Introduction
The Lawrence two-card forcing procedure
The Rashomon Concept
Trio / Sydney Lawrence
Smyth Bliss / Edward Marlo
Two Mental Selections, never named, play unexpected roles / Jon Racherbaumer
Do You See Your Card? / Scott Guinn
Smith Turns Over / Larry Jennings
Convincing Smith Myth / Jon Racherbaumer
Smith without the myth / Dave Solomon
Smythled / Thomas Baxter
Smyth Myth selected Bibliography
1st edition 2022, PDF 33 pages.
word count: 8336 which is equivalent to 33 standard pages of text
The two motifs compiled here are the Smith Myth and what's popularly known as the Rashomon Concept. (It should be noted and emphasized that most versions of the Smith Myth incorporate the Rashomon Concept.)
As a stand-alone trick, the original Smith Myth first appeared in a small booklet titled The Five O' Fetsch: A Quintette of Card Miracles in 1956. It was a collaborative effort by Fred Smith and Hen Fetsch. It's also where I first read Sydney Lawrence's ingenious way to force the same card on two spectators.
Introduction
The Lawrence two-card forcing procedure
The Rashomon Concept
Trio / Sydney Lawrence
Smyth Bliss / Edward Marlo
Two Mental Selections, never named, play unexpected roles / Jon Racherbaumer
Do You See Your Card? / Scott Guinn
Smith Turns Over / Larry Jennings
Convincing Smith Myth / Jon Racherbaumer
Smith without the myth / Dave Solomon
Smythled / Thomas Baxter
Smyth Myth selected Bibliography
1st edition 2022, PDF 33 pages.
word count: 8336 which is equivalent to 33 standard pages of text