How to date a deck of (USPC) playing cards

ICYMI Lee Asher Tweeted: Oct 14th -17th @52PlusJokerClub will hold their annual playingcard collecting convention virtually- free to all. YOU ARE INVITED! 

 

From Lee Asher's blog:

How Old Is Your Deck?

The following material, designed to assist collectors in dating their U.S. decks, is produced here courtesy of the 52 Plus Joker Organization. It appeared originally in an article by Margery Griffith, then curator of the United States Playing Card Co. Museum in Cincinnati, in their quarterly bulletin 'CLEAR THE DECKS' in April 1991.


Find Your Ace of Spades

Like knowing the grade of your cards, a dating aid can be very useful. For decks manufactured by United States Playing Card Co., a dating code was placed on the Ace of Spades at time of manufacture. The code first came into use in 1904 and it applies only to Aces of Spades that bear a letter plus a four digit number. Combinations with fewer numbers have no meaning for collectors.

Right from the beginning in 1904, the same codes were used by National Playing Card Co. and New York Consolidated Card Co., subsidiaries by then of USPC. Andrew Dougherty and Russell Playing Card Co. also used these codes, as they became part of USPC in 1907 and 1929 respectively.

Read more.

Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)

From the Government of Canada website:

The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) gives income support to employed and self-employed individuals who are directly affected by COVID-19 and are not entitled to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. The CRB is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

If you are eligible for the CRB, you can receive $1,000 ($900 after taxes withheld) for a 2-week period.

If your situation continues past 2 weeks, you will need to apply again. You may apply up to a total of 13 eligibility periods (26 weeks) between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.

CRB application is not yet open

Details about how you can apply will be available on October 12, 2020.

Read more.

[with thanks to Peter Mennie]

Carisa Hendrix in the Globe and Mail, 12th Night, and a Neil Gaiman shout out

From the October 6th article "How Canadian magic star Lucy Darling pivoted online – and found new fans (like Neil Gaiman)" by J. Kelly Nestruck in The Globe and Mail:

While Lucy Darling has a quick wit, her hands are even quicker: her legerdemain surprised and startled me time and time again. Table magic doesn’t have quite the same impact over livestream that it does in person (I kept wondering what was happening outside the visual frame), but a card trick she performed at the end wowed me and is still enjoyably tying my brain up in knots.

On the whole, An Exceptional Night In was one of the most polished and professional Zoom performances that I’ve tuned into to date – which is not a huge surprise, given that it is directed by Jim Millan, the former Crow’s Theatre artistic director who works with comedy and magic supergroups The Kids in the Hall and The Illusionists.

An Exceptional Night In is “at” The Citadel until October 17 – and information for all of Lucy Darling’s upcoming performances can be found on her website.

Read more.

[With thanks to Keith Tomasek for letting us know!]

From the October 5th article "An Exceptional Night In With Lucy Darling: get Zoomed on magic and mixology" by Liz Nicholls in 12th Night:

Henrix is also, incidentally, the Guinness record-holder for how long she can hold a lit torch in her mouth (witness the documentary Girl On Fire). Which would seem to have only a peripheral connection with her expertise in card tricks or cup-and-ball games. And none at all with Lucy’s uncanny ability, having asked an audience member for the name of their favourite book, to produce that very volume. Right then and there.

It’s a startling array of skills, to say the least, that Hendrix brings to the table (hers, as it happens in these COVIDian times). And one of them, you’ll discover, in a live Zoom “meeting” that brings 36 of us together, along with Lucy’s assistants, is an uncanny knack for making magic “real,” which is to say convincing, online.

Read more.

ICYMI, Neil Gaiman agrees:

Huge plug for Lucy Darling's Virtual Show. I just saw it, and it was an absolute delight. Funny and smart and the magic was magical. https://t.co/E3Cx54htVg

Thank you @CarisaHendrix & glorious team (and thank you @RealMaxMaven for telling me I had to watch it).

— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) October 4, 2020

Thank you to our October 2020 sponsors!

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• Michael Close, author of the new Paradigm Shift ebooks, the Workers series and others,
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Our Compliments with The Sentimentalists (Virtual show FREE)

From Chris Mysterion's October 2nd Facebook post:

OK Who is in? Free online show Thursday at 2:30 with Steffi Kay The Sentimentalists. DM me (Mysterion) for the Zoom access code.

 

Toronto: Audition for Jamie Allan's "Magic Maze Live"

From Jamie Allan's October 2nd Facebook post:

Tommy Bond and I have been working on this for well over a year and really excited in these challenging times to have the chance to provide opportunities for magicians and actors in Toronto.

Please see below and get in touch!

 

 

 

 

 

Michel Huot on "Trick or Treat"

From Michel Huot's October 2nd Facebook post:

Mike Maione from New-York is hosting a very good show. Come check it out this monday

From the Parlor of Mystery mailing list:

Monday, October 5 - 11AM EDT
Michel Huot
Trick or Treat
Quebec’s favorite corporate magician is my guest this week. Michel Huot is a funny, innovative, and inventive magician who has produced some of the most popular effects used by magicians worldwide.

Monday’s show will be packed with lots of goodies. You’ll see funny stuff from Monty and Walker, a visit from the dead mentalist Alexander, some Brain Candy from Scott Franz and Geoff Williams, a bit of magic from me, and what promises to be a great chat with Michel.

Trick or Treat streams, Monday, at 11AM on the Parlor of Mystery Facebook page. Join us on Facebook and be part of the fun or watch it later on the Parlor of Mystery Facebook page or the Mike Maione channel on YouTube.