The Svengali Deck

Usually credited to Burling Hull, who was selling it by about 1909, though the principle it rests on is older and several dealers claimed it at once — a common pattern in magic, where a good idea tends to have four fathers and no paperwork.

The name comes from Trilby, George du Maurier's 1894 novel, and its hypnotist Svengali, who bends a young woman entirely to his will. The deck was marketed on that association: the cards do what you tell them.

It became the demonstrator's deck. Boardwalk pitchmen, fairground stalls, department-store counters and, later, late-night television all sold it by the crate, which is why it is simultaneously the most famous trick deck in the world and the one experienced magicians are most reluctant to admit owning.

Easier than any sleight you will ever learn, and that is the trap.

The handling takes an evening. What takes longer is restraint: the deck will do several different tricks and the temptation is to do all of them to the same person, at which point an intelligent spectator works out that the deck is the common factor. Pick one revelation, do it once, and put the deck away.

The other discipline is letting them handle it at the right moment and not the wrong one. Knowing which moments those are is the whole skill, and it is worth more than any flourish.