|
|
Close.Up.Dave Inner circle Behind you! 2956 Posts |
Has anyone else seen these? I think (aside from the 125th edition logo on the court cards) these are beautiful, old fashion looking cards. Does anyone know if they plan to continue making them? I sure hope they do. They definitely fit my performance style and everything.
|
Nerdini Loyal user Little Rock, Arkansas 223 Posts |
They are good looking--however--
I bought a couple of packs since I thought I could use them for an "Old West" themed poker trick built around the "Dead Man's Hand" trick by Henry Christ. I wanted an old timey looking deck, but one that still handled well. The idea that I wanted to present was that the particular deck I was using had actually survived from the 1880's. Unfortunately, since these decks have the 1885-2010 dates stamped under the index on every card and a banner with "125th anniversary" printed along the end borders of every court card, in my mind--they simply screamed "reproduction". They are still nice looking cards--just not right for my purpose. As to your last question--think about it. As of 2011, it will no longer be 125th anniverary of Bicycle--consequently, I doubt they would continue to produce these decks, so you might want to stock up. Of course USPCC is constantly releasing "boutique" edition decks, so I'm sure there will be something else eventually. Cheers
"I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink; that's the one thing I'm indebted to her for"
|
panlives Inner circle 2087 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-12-12 13:17, Nerdini wrote: Good points. For an 1880's routine, try the Bicycle "Vintage" 1880 Bicycle Deck by Ellusionist, or the Texan Deck (not the Palmetto back), which has "yellowing" card faces. The Bicycle 125th Anniversary cards are underwhelming.
"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." "The dog did nothing in the night-time." "That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes. |
Close.Up.Dave Inner circle Behind you! 2956 Posts |
Yeah I don't plan to do something themed as old. I just like their general vintage look. I think I will stock up
|
Loopback Veteran user Lincoln, Nebraska 359 Posts |
I actually like everything about the deck except the small dates under the index. Im hoping to get a few extra decks in my stocking from ole santa this year.
|
Nerdini Loyal user Little Rock, Arkansas 223 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-12-12 15:30, panlives wrote: Thanks for the suggestions: I bought a couple of the Bike 1800 decks when Illusionist first released them---with the "Old West" routine in mind. Unfortunately, the problem with these deck is that they are so yellowed that it's hard for anybody over 10 feet away to even tell what color the faces are. Rather than looking like an 1880's style deck, they simply look like a modern bike deck that has be soaking in coffee or something worse for a few weeks. However, I looked up the Texans you mentioned, and they look absolutely perfect for what I have in mind. They even have a cowboy on a horse for the joker--can't get much more "old west" than that. Here's a link to a picture of the box, the A of S, and the joker. http://www.doobybrain.com/2009/06/17/tex......company/ Kardwell.com has them for sale, and here is a link if anyone else is interested. http://www.kardwell.com/texan-playing-cards.htm --again Panlives, thanks so much for the turning me on to these. Cheers P.S. Of course there is still one minor issue that only an old west buff like myself would notice. The Texan box has a date of 1889 on it, and the "Dead Man's Hand" became part of legend when Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back by Jack McCall in 1876 in Deadwood, SD. However, I'm sure I can overcome this one minor anachronism.
"I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink; that's the one thing I'm indebted to her for"
|
bicycle66 Regular user 108 Posts |
The deck looks good and the idea of using it in the dead mans hand is great as above I would sugest to look at ellusionist and see what they have I hear they have a ton of different decks some good some bad and some....well you know the rest. As of getting over the issue well good luck on that you know everytime you see this deck that will be the first thing you will look at....sean.
|
Jonathan C Regular user 117 Posts |
@nerdini
If you want a cheap way of making a deck look old, try rubbing some fine grade on the faces and backs of a standard bicycle deck. The result is a authentic vintage look, for half the price of a 1800 deck. The downside however is the sand paper ruins the finish of the cards and makes them difficult to fan. |
panlives Inner circle 2087 Posts |
Quote:
Kardwell.com has them for sale, and here is a link if anyone else is interested. My pleasure! It is nice to see someone treating playing cards with the gravity they deserve.
"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." "The dog did nothing in the night-time." "That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes. |
Steven Keyl Inner circle Washington, D.C. 2630 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-12-12 23:51, Nerdini wrote: If your spectators are over 10 feet away from you during performance then my suspicion is that they won't be able to detect any amount of aging--subtle or otherwise. Any provenance that the cards possess will likely be enjoyed by you alone.
Steven Keyl - The Human Whisperer!
B2B Magazine Test! Best impromptu progressive Ace Assembly ever! "If you ever find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause, and reflect." --Mark Twain |
Nerdini Loyal user Little Rock, Arkansas 223 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-12-18 14:43, Steven Keyl wrote: I should have explained this better. When I received the 1800 decks, they simply did not look like what I wanted to present as an "old west" style deck of cards. Rather than looking like an 1880's vintage style, they just looked like a yellow stained, faded, and scratched up deck of standard bikes. This idea was for close-up and although the cards were still readable for such a venue--they just didn't fit my conception for the trick. My next idea was to use them for a possible color changing deck routine--not blue to red, but back or forward in time. However, that didn't work because the edges of these cards are so dark that they really stand out when put in a regular bike deck or vice-versa. My last idea was to convert one of these decks to an "Invisible" deck and use a presentation built around a story of finding an old deck in a old trunk in the attic--a trunk that had belonged to a dead uncle who had been a magician early in the 20th century. The idea was that this ancestor had also left a letter in the trunk stating that they were going to try to perform one last trick from the grave, and had reversed one card in the deck prior to packing it away all those years ago. Of course at this point I would have a spectator name any card in the deck and--well, I'm sure you can guess the rest. The problem was that this was intended for a stand-up parlor or platform style presentation and at such distances, the aging was so over done on these decks that the spectators could not distinguish a reversed card in the deck--much less even tell one card from the other. I generally do not like to use the invisible deck in close-up presentations. I think somebody mentioned that in subsequent printings of these decks, the aging may have been toned down a bit, but I've just never gotten back to working on the idea. On a side note, I just received the Texan decks that I ordered from Kardwell, and they are perfect for a period "old west" presentation I have in mind. They have the USPCC air-cushion finish and are printed on an ivory colored stock. However, they are still easily read because the printing is sharp, and besides this will be for a close up presentation. Cheers
"I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink; that's the one thing I'm indebted to her for"
|
Nerdini Loyal user Little Rock, Arkansas 223 Posts |
I just thought I would add that what I stated about the 1800's decks were my perceptions of the two decks I got from Illusionist when they came out-- back in 2008 I think. I stored them away for quite a while and eventually traded them off.
"I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink; that's the one thing I'm indebted to her for"
|
Leo-Kim Veteran user 359 Posts |
I have been using this deck for the Dead man´s hand trick. http://www.areyougame.com/interact/item.asp?itemno=USPK1864
The problem with this deck is that it does not have corner indices so it's a bit tricky to distinguish the eights from, say the nines or sevens (for me only a problem when I set up the trick...) and the corners are not rounded wich some times have hurt my fingers (a minor problem but...) Otherwise it is a beautiful deck. Sorry OT! Mikael Johansson sweden
If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well (Donald Duck)
|
Nerdini Loyal user Little Rock, Arkansas 223 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-12-20 04:38, Leo-Kim wrote: Not too off topic. Although the OP asked about specifically about the 125th Anniverary decks, is seems natural that the discussion could expand to other vintage styles. Anyway---- I handled one of the Mogul decks some time back and I agree that they really do look the part of a vintage (US Civil War) item. However, I had two other issues with them besides the corners and lack of indices. The example I saw appeared to have no coating on the card stock making them hard to handle and spread. The overall back design also prohibits the usefulness of reversing a card in the deck. Here is another deck I have seen discussed at the Café that is also reproduced from this time period which appears to eliminate some of the issues the Mogul deck. They are supposed to have round corners, a card coating, and the the backs have a border. They still have no indices, but the real problem is that they tend to be pricey at most on-line stores. Amazon had them listed at $10.80, but one of their associate sellers had them as low a $8 a deck, which is a bit better. Gentlemans Emporium From what I have read, cards with printed indices did not start to appear until the late 1870's, but were pretty much the norm by the 1880's. I would rather have the indices, just so the cards are easier to read for both the spectators and me--especially me since I have a tendency to fall prey to Murphy's law whenever possible. Cheers
"I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink; that's the one thing I'm indebted to her for"
|
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The workers » » Bicycle 125th Anniversary Deck (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.05 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |