Conjuring Credits

The Origins of Wonder

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Double-Backed Card

A double-backed card from 1623 has been preserved in the Augsburg Stadtarchiv in Augsburg, Germany. Information on this card was discovered by Reinhard Müller in 2017, who recognized its importance; see Minch and Müller in “The Augsburg All-Backs”, Gibecière, Vol. 14 No. 2, Summer 2019, p. 123. To judge from the historical record, the double-backed card was generally unknown until it began to be used in tricks during the mid-1800s.

A use of a double-backed card appeared in R.P's Ein Spiel Karten, 1853, p. 68 of the Pieper translation. It was used as a gag, rather than a magic trick. However, Johann Hofzinser was known to employ this gaffed card for magical uses in the mid-1800s (see Domination of Thought: Second Method in Ottokar Fischer's Kartenkünste , 1910, p. 85 of the Sharpe translation).

See also: All Backs, Double-Faced Card