Conjuring Credits

The Origins of Wonder

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Solid Deck

As a Method

A precursor to an actual solid deck can be seen in a Deck Shell (first recordings date back to ca. 1700), which is a hollow block.

Solid blocks without a center cavity was described by H. F. C. Suhr in Der Amateurzauberer, 1900, p. 88, in an effect called “Die Anziehungskraft der Erde” by Martignoni. In that effect, two halves are glued together to blocks. A selection is replaced between those two blocks (after the deck has been switched for them) and when held loosely, the selection drops out of the deck when held upright.

As an Effect

The solid deck as a gag 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.