Samuel Cox Hooker and his Rising Cards

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Dr. Samuel Cox Hooker's Rising Cards have been an unexplainable fascination for nearly a century. Hooker first showed his effect in 1914, and in 1993 and 2007 John Gaughan gave abbreviated performances. Nobody who has seen the Hooker Rising Cards performed has ever been able to explain how such effects can be accomplished. This includes the most notable and most knowledgeable magicians from past and present. How can, from a borrowed and shuffled deck, any card called for rise in the fairest possible manner on a well lit stage only a few feet from the spectators?

This work is not just about how I think Hooker achieved these incredible effects, but about a fascinating man and the fascinating history of rising card apparatus. Samuel Cox Hooker and his Rising Cards will first examine three famous card rising apparatus: the Hofzinser card automaton, the Neyhart houlette, and Joseffy's rising cards. It then examines Hooker the person covering his private, scientific, and magic achievements.

This is followed by two theories of how the Hooker Rising Cards could be done. The first theory was purely based on my conclusions studying the historical record and is most likely not how it is done. The second theory arose from observations brought to me by individuals who have seen one of the 2007 reenactments and it can exactly replicate a core set of effects. I built a Lego prototype to prove that this mechanism works, is practical and indeed replicates the effects precisely. You will be able to see photos of the prototype and read a detailed description of it.

I have studied the historical records, I have extensively communicated with people who have seen Gaughan's reenactments in 1993 and 2007 and I have thought for countless of hours, pieced together clues, and applied my own understanding of magic methods and technology. However, it is not possible for me to say that one of my methods is 'the' method used by Hooker, but I have proven it is at least 'a' method. Potentially it is even a more practical method than the original method.

Samuel Hooker created his rising cards to stimulate magicians to think and come up with their own solutions and explanations and through that process of inquiry, to develop new methods and techniques. As a scientist this is a very natural way of learning. Nature exposes us to all kinds of mysteries, questions, and puzzles and scientists try to explain them. They conduct experiments and think logically about them to advance their understanding of nature. Fundamentally scientists are driven by nature’s secrets and want to understand and explain them. In the same way Hooker is presenting magicians with a mystery and he is asking us to think about ways how it could be done. Hooker himself solicited explanations from his spectators. This work is my answer to Hooker's solicitation.

This publication was written with this very spirit in mind. Perhaps it stimulates others to also think hard about new ways to achieve such effects. I have communicated with other magicians, some of them notable and recognized, who have developed their own theories about how Hooker did it. This lead to exciting and stimulating exchanges of ideas and critiques – exactly the kind of effect Hooker wanted to achieve with his “Impossibilities”.

At the end of the book you will find a chronological record and reproductions of many articles and letters, including unpublished records, related to Samuel Hooker. This makes for fascinating reading regardless of if you agree with my theories or not.

[Please keep in mind that the book and ebook differ in the following way: All photos and illustrations which are color in the ebook are in b/w in the book. The book has been reformatted to a smaller form factor 6'' x 9''. Should I have the time to release a video of my prototype, then such a video will only be part of the ebook, not the book.]

Table of Contents

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Contents Acknowledgment Introduction Other Famous Any Card Rises - Hofzinser - Neyhart - Joseffy Hooker the Person How Could it be Done? (theory #1 - probably not) - Hooker’s idea - Boundary conditions - Fundamental method - Multiple methods for the same effect - Afterthoughts Card March How Could it be Done? (theory #2 - much better) People in the Know Chronological Source Documents 1913, July 1914, April 1915, June 1915, August 1916, January 1916, March 1917, July 6th 1917, September 25th 1918, January 1918, February 1918, February 16th 1918, March 16 1918, March 23 1918, April 20th 1918, May 11th 1918, September 1927 1929, April 10th 1929, April 20th 1929, April 1929, April 1929, June 1929, June 10th		1929, November Undated 1934 1935, January 1935, October 14th 1935, November 1936 1936, June 19th 1936, September 1936, November 1937, June 1937, July 1937, August 1939, January 1944 Undated 1945, July 1947, June 1949, April 1949, April 1949, June 1951, August 1955, February 1966, July 5th 1966, June 1966, October 1967, April (John Mulholland in Pallbearers Review and Magic Circular) 1970, July 1976 1993 1993, November, 6th (Gene Matsuura's personal notes) 1994, January 1994, January (Bill Miesel in Precursor) 1994, April 1994, May 9th 1995 (John Booth in Fine Art of Hocus Pocus) 2007 2007, November 9th 2007, December 2008, January About the Author About the Publisher

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