Judy Dawson awarded Lifetime Achievement Award by 52 Plus Joker

From the October 25th Instagram post by 52 Plus Joker:

🥰Judy Dawson shares heartfelt reflections as she accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award for her and Tom, presented by Craig Townsend, President of the United States Playing Card Company. Join us in celebrating Judy’s incredible journey at her final convention, Niagara Falls 2024. Don’t miss this memorable tribute to a lifetime of collecting!

🗣️ Join 52 Plus Joker! We’re the world’s largest playing card collectors club, fostering a community for antique, vintage, and modern collectible playing cards & ephemera. Whether you’re a seasoned expert or a curious beginner, 52 Plus Joker welcomes you. 

 

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From the October 25th Instagram post by 52 Plus Joker:

Watch till the end 😭😭😭! Our 2024 Niagara Falls convention truly showcased the best of our community.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to the best club members in the world! 🙏 It’s a big deal to make the time and space in your life to participate in our convention, and we appreciate you. You all are the reason our volunteers feel inspired to help create beautiful moments and memories.

🗣️To our convention volunteers: none of this would be possible without your hours of work behind and in front of the scenes! 🙏Thank you Chris Mayhew, Alain Benoit, Steve Bowling, Larry Herold Judy Dawson, Jennifer Dawson, Harry Wastrack, Doug Rickenback, Paul Miller, Tony Mach, Dave Hoffmeister, Rosemary Reid, Keith Brown, Christina Asher, and the Diamond Awards Committee.
@thesurrealmayhew @cartomancercards @magicwithrosemary @sisterhoodplayingcards @keithhbrown @christinagalonska @judith.dawson22

And if you haven’t yet, take reading this entire post as a sign to DM/Email/Owlpost a message of appreciation 💌 to the person responsible for our biggest and BEST 52 Plus Joker convention ever: ⭐️Lee Asher, @leeashermagic.⭐️ Internationally recognized for his work in playing cards and playing card history, we get to call him our faithful Club President. Aren’t we lucky? 🤩

🔔THANK YOU FOR A FANTASTIC 2024 NIAGARA FALLS CONVENTION! 🔔

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Niagara Falls (NY): Judy Dawson's Farewell convention [Oct 4]

Register for the 2024 52 Plus Joker Playing Card Convention. 

From the September 8th Instagram post by 52 Plus Joker:

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards 🙌😮😍

If you want to meet Judy Dawson in person, and show your appreciation for her and Tom’s significant contributions to shaping our community and club, our Niagara Falls convention is your chance. It’s the last convention Judy plans to attend, which means we’re hard at work making it absolutely, one hundred percent, UNFORGETTABLE.

Don’t miss out, register now, 52PlusJoker.org. 

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Broken wand: Tom Dawson

Updated February 2, 2020 to add:

• Read the obituary at Dignity Memorial.
• Link to Lee Asher's Instagram tribute.

From the 52 Plus Joker Facebook page: A note to subscribers: the content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.

Rhonda Trichter Hawes to 52+Joker43 mins · Truro, MA, United States · I am devastated to pass along the news that...
Posted by 52 Plus Joker on Tuesday, 22 March 2016

Review: Sankey lecture, Card collectors and Bobby Motta

From the Browser's Den:

Since most of us are talking as much about the weather as we are about our latest sleight of hand moves I am pleased to report that I will make a prediction.

As popular is mentalism these days it was never of much interest to me for most of my formative years studying magic.  Though I do appreciate it more now than then...I still enjoy scarves changing colour and canes changes to candles, linking rings and coins and cups and balls, etc.etc.

That being said, I have decided that I will make a prediction regarding our weather. The cold will disappear by the time I write my next Blog!

Read more.

Jeff, about your prediction, I hope you're right!  (And write soon!)

World-renowned Playing Card Expert Buys Largest Internet Playing Card Forum - Match Made in Heaven

For Immediate Release:

Toronto, Ontario. - December 17th, 2013 - In a surprise announcement, world-renowned playing card expert Tom Dawson stated that he has purchased "the Discourse at playingcardforum.com," the world's largest playing card Internet forum from previous owner and playing card designer, Alexander Yusupov.

The inspiration for selling The Discourse recalled twenty-two year old Alexander Yusupov, original founder of the forum "Tom and Judy Dawson are THE experts," Yusupov said. "It was time to pass the forum along to people that could take my work into unprecedented territory."

As the author, with Judy, his wife, of the definitive work "The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards," as well the current president of the 52 Plus Joker Club, the preeminent North American card collecting organization, Mr. Dawson has lots to offer the large and growing roster of playing card collectors online.

Don Boyer, administrator of the Discourse and 52 Plus Joker member, agrees.  "I knew that Alex Yusupov had for some time been considering a sale of the forum, but the right opportunity hadn't presented itself.  When Tom Dawson and Lee Asher approached me recently to discuss future plans for 52 Plus Joker, it seems like a natural fit to unite these two organizations in some way, creating a synergy between them that makes them greater together than they are individually.  I suggested the idea to both parties and this is the happy result."

The idea of hunting for vintage pasteboards has always intrigued Mr. Dawson since he began his obsession almost forty years ago. The kind of passion that drove him back then to seek out the beauty and history those decks of cards possess still leads him today to help other fellow collectors, no matter their age or experience. After updating the 52 Plus Joker's Constitution and Mission Statement to expand the membership to include more modern custom playing card collectors and designers, Mr. Dawson saw the purchase of a sizable forum with over ten thousand members worldwide as a rare opportunity, one he couldn't pass up.

"When the United States Playing Card Company needs their collection evaluated, they call Tom and Judy Dawson. Imagine the kind of rich history and fascinating information they are going to share with anyone interested," said 52 Plus Joker's Director of Publicity, Lee Asher.

Asher adds, "It looks like 2014 is going to be pretty spectacular for card enthusiasts. I can't remember a time when everyone was so excited about playing card culture!"

According to Discourse statistics, the forum's membership is already growing exponentially with a high rate of regular visitors and posters. With luck, and if Tom Dawson 'plays his cards right,' he will end up achieving his ultimate goal of inspiring a new generation of playing card aficionados.

Interested in collecting playing cards? You aren't alone! Membership in the Discourse is free of charge to the public. Visit Tom Dawson's Discourse now, and get started today.

http://playingcardforum.com

For more information, go to the official announcement by Tom at The Discourse.