"You see the my great-grandfather had items I quite didn't understand. He kept them hidden away in the basement rafters. It has been said in our family that Grampa Leonard fled Lithuania with his mother and uncle in an effort to escape being sent away for using dark magic on poor souls. He came to the States, so that his work could continue with an endless supply of fresh souls. After generations of silence, our family's surviving elders have revealed many truths about our orgins and the tools of Grampa Leonard. The practices he carried-out behind closed doors were witnessed by only a few. It has become my time to be taught the ways of my grandfather. Those special tools will now be used by my hands. I am the keeper of this dreadful box, but I am beginning to enjoy its power. What is happening to me? I did not ask for it, why did grampa choose me? I will allow you to see something special that is now mine, but do not speak of it . . . or I will have to find you!"

Click here to view/download attached file.

I have some great photos that I have taken today of the last creation Mr. Gould has made. I apologize for not knowing how to post photos of them here. I have looked in the FAQ's area of the Café about the method, but can't really figure it out. Any links or directions to specifics would be appreciated. I think my previous view/download file is not going to work. I'd like to attach my images as Intrepid did. Please direct me.

Respectfully CHRIS

Anyone?

Greetings Chris, congratulations, these are the instructions to place images:

You need to host the image on a web page (for example http://photobucket.com/) and then place the URL of the image as shown in this link http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/faq.php#smilies, in the section "Adding Images"

Hope this helps.

Gandalf

Yes, photobucket is the way to go!

Chris, is there any chance of you posting those pictures for us. Curious minds want to know.

I guess it should be done. Ladies and Gentlemen, the very last Set of Cuss Cards.

I have put these up as a final farewell to the Cuss Cards Elite Edition.
Also, the last few sets were something of a personal pinnacle of achievement for me.

The third reason is that I am still going to be making the boxes for serious collectors.
However, none of these are your cheap ebay sourced boxes. They boxes are all hand made from the bottom up, all in solid oak. The designs are all hand coloured, carved and burnt. All in all a typical box will take me a week to make. So if you are interested please do contact me, but these babies are not cheap!

Also, I will not be taking any orders until next month for two reasons. I do have quite a few commissions on at the moment. Also,I have two new big projects coming out before the 31st October. And I do mean massive. Look to the sig, as in a week or so I will be giving sneak previews on the blog.

Look here in the coming days too, as I will be making a couple of important statements.

....you all know that I do not spend my time here hyping my azz, so when I say they are important, I kinda mean it.

Stay tuned......

Is it wrong to covet the elite cuss cars of others?

Well, everyone got a set of cuss cards at some point in it's evolution. Which was reflected in the price. The first set were stupidly cheap and went out in cardboard boxes! The whole box making thing was a surprise side career for me as I was thrown out of woodwork at school for making a fish which looked like a peniz (apparently). The whole idea of making boxes was originally just to protect the cards in transit, as the US customs had a habit of sitting on the cardboard boxes, then opening them to see just what it was that they had damaged! So the early boxes were just cheap things from eBay with a lick of varnish on. Then I thought 'why not make the boxes part of the performance?' and the rest is, as they say, history. So the boxes have evolved as I have. My own set is a mid range box, and I covert the last few boxes myself! One day, I keep telling myself, I will put a week aside for myself and make one. Still, there is not a box that I have sent out that I am not proud of. Even the very first crude boxes still retain a certain charm.
One thing that has been consistent throughout is the contents of the boxes, only the boxes have changes. The cuss cards themselves arrived in the form they were meant to be. And the price people paid throughout just reflects the amount of time that went into making the set.
So if anyone has an early box, and wants to upgrade, I can do this for you. This is why I am making this declaration that although I have stopped making the sets, the boxes will still be available. But, as I said, these last solid oak boxes are not cheap to make and are also VERY heavy, so postage is high too. They are works of art and as such, they are labours of love (albeit a cruel sado/masochistic love). However, for Elite customers I will work out a discount and ensure you go to the top of the cue.
Or, like me, you can gaze a the photos and think, well the Cuss Cards I have are exactly the same!

I would not "DARE", change the home of my,ECC!

There is that!

Chris, my elite cards are one of my prize collections. I'm not sure how I feel that I was given the responsibility to be their caretaker. I guess my grandfather thought I was the best suited one in the family to keep them in my safe keeping.

The box that houses my cards are such a special treasure. All of the references (some hidden) to some of my family pagan Lithuanian roots makes this way beyond cool. One can marvel for great lenghs before they even have a chance to see its contents.

Again Mr. Gould I applaud you!

You do have a rather special box it is true!

That reminds me of the beautiful and talented circus magician I once fancied! She always received a standing ovation.

Greetings Chris, I'm glad to have news from you.
My Cuss Cards are also a treasure for me. The box I have, not have colors and designs as latest boxes, but the engravings that you put into it, make it look very old. I do not change anything in my box, then matches perfectly with the story I created for the cards. I must say I love the magic that can be created with these cards, I may keep the public at the tip of their seats. They are a masterpiece.

I'm right with you on that.

Never, thought I would do this!
I will be listing my ECC & ECC Box on Café,later today!
Wanted to give the guys in 'Spooky', a heads up!
A picture front of box,is in this thread ! This was Chris's only second box,with color ! What,a piece of art!
One of the first, ECC!

Heads Up!
They, are now listed in the 'Let's Make a Magic Deal'.