The idea of adhering a deck of cards together into one solid piece was described in the anonymous Asti Manuscript, c. 1700, p. 97 of the Pieper translation. This manuscript was translated in Gibecière, Vol. 8 No. 1, Winter 2013, p. 29-234. The centers of the cards were cut out, and then the deck sewn together. A cover card was then glued on top to make the deck seem normal. The internal cavity was used to hide loads that the magician could produce.

The solid deck without the center cavity was described by Harry Hanaoka as “Frozen Cold Deck” in The Sphinx, Vol. 25 No. 6, Aug. 1926, p. 171. It was later popularized by Paul Harris as “Solid Deception” in Paul Harris Reveals Some of His Most Intimate Secrets, 1976, p. 1.