Card Trick Manipulators
and Flourishers

Card trick manipulators, Cardists and Flourishers have been roaming the globe for centuries; astonishing perplexing and fascinating audiences in a multitude of countries.

The first written accounts of actual performers of card tricks are: a 15th century unpublished manuscript co-authored by Leonardo da Vinci, describing a card effect performed by Giovanni de Jasone de Ferara,

and a 16th century piece by Cardanus detailing a performance by a spanish magician Dalmau, who entertained for Emperor Charles V, in Milan, Italy.

Today, Card manipulators, such as Jeff McBride, Aaron Fisher and Lee Asher have preserved the art; taking it's form to new heights, and creating the most ingenious of card effects.

More recently, card flourishers are ushering in a new era of card manipulation called Cardistry.

Cardistry is the non-magical manipulation of playing cards with intent to display creativity, performance art and skill. Cardists such Daniel Madison, and the Buck twins have popularized the art, further increasing it's subcultural growth.

Listed below are the top movers and shakers in the field of card magic. Feel free to browse these popular card trick manipulators from around the world.

Card Magicians

• Cardini

• Robert-Houdin

• Jean Hugard

• Johann Hofzinser

• Ed Marlo

• Juan Tamariz

• Ricky Jay

• Bill Malone

• Aaron Fisher

• Lee Asher

• Jeff McBride

• Lennart Green

• Darwin Ortiz

• Bill Goodwin

• Stephane Vanel

• Nestor Hato

• Juliana Chen

• Guy Hollingworth

• Daryl Martinez

• Josh Sadowsky

• Roy Walton

• Allen Ackerman

• S.W. Erdnase (?-?) Author of "The Expert At The Card Table" (published in 1902), a book on pure sleight-of hand with cards which still stands among the very best works on the subject. Erdnase's true identity is one of the enduring mysteries of the magic community.

Cardists/Flourishers

• Virtuoso

• Bone Ho

• Dan and Dave Buck

• Daniel Madison

• Brian Tudor

• De'vo

• Andrei Jikh

• Claudio Merlini (b.?) aka CIAPPI. Italian Magician and master card manipulator who gained notoriety for competing in the Ulmen Trials in 2005. He is the only Italian manipulator and "Superhandz" member to ever take part of the trials. He is also a multi-winner of the X.C.M. (Xtreme Card Manipulation) competition. View CIAPPI'S video.

• Jonas Haglund (b.1988 ) Swedish manipulator who made a name for himself in the underground card flourishing community. View Jonas Haglund's video.

• Jaspas Deck (b.1988) Singaporean Card Flourishing expert, and champion flourisher who started manipulating at the age of 13. Over the years he has gained international recognition and received accolades from his peers alike. View Jaspas' video.

• Scott and Sean (b.?) - England's the Watters brothers first surfaced in the cardistry community in 2004 with a flourish montage video known as "Fast Paste," posted on the Dan and Dave forums. They have since grown in skill and popularity. View Scott and Sean's video.

• Alejandro Portela (b. 1987) aka "TheCuso" from Vigo, Spain, is one of the more commonly known names through the world of flourishing. He has gained notoriety through his popular website "The Cuso.info," focusing on cardistry and flourishing. View Alejandro Portela's video.

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