Alex Elmsley

Alex Elmsley (2 March 1929 – 8 January 2006) was a Scottish magician and computer programmer. He was notable for his invention of the Ghost Count or Elmsley Count, creating mathematical card tricks, and for publishing on the mathematics of playing card shuffling.[3][4][lower-alpha 1]

For the fictional magician, see Walker Elmsley.

Alex Elmsley
Born(1929-03-02)2 March 1929[1]
St Andrews, Scotland
Died8 January 2006(2006-01-08) (aged 76)[2]
OccupationMagician, Computer Programmer

He began practising magic in 1946, as a teenager. He studied physics and mathematics at Cambridge University; whilst there he was also secretary of the Pentacle Club. He was a patent agent, and later a computer expert, in his day job.[2] Otherwise, he was an amateur card and close-up magician. He was awarded an Academy of Magical Arts Creative Fellowship in 1972.

He created a number of well-known magic tricks, including The Four Card Trick,[5] Between Your Palms,[6] Point Of Departure[7] and Diamond Cut Diamond.[8]

In 1975 he briefly toured the US giving a highly praised lecture known as the "Dazzle Card Act", which consisted of a magic act followed by a detailed discussion of routining.[9] Notes on the lecture were released under the title Cardwork.[10] Elmsley was the subject of The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley (vol. 1 1991, vol. 2 1994).

He named the special count used in The Four Card Trick the ghost count, though it would later become known as the Elmsley Count.[11]

References
  1. "Magic Directory: Alex Elmsley". 18 April 2006. Archived from the original on 18 April 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  2. "Article - Alex Elmsley, An appreciation by John Derris". Magicweek.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  3. Stewart, Ian (2006). How to Cut a Cake: And other mathematical conundrums (Paperback). OUP Oxford. p. 114.
  4. Morris, S. Brent (1998). Magic Tricks, Card Shuffling and Dynamic Computer Memories. The Mathematical Association of America. pp. 12–69.
  5. Minch, Stephen (1991). The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley, Volume 1. L & L Publishing. p. 21.
  6. "Abracadabra". Vol. 13 no. 335. 28 June 1952. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  7. Warlock, Peter (1953). Come a Little Closer. Penshaw Press.
  8. "Genii". Vol. 19 no. 3. November 1954. p. 85. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  9. Minch, Stephen (1994). The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley, Volume 2. L & L Publishing. p. 425.
  10. Minch, Stephen (1994). The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley, Volume 2. L & L Publishing. p. 492.
  11. Minch, Stephen (1991). The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley, Volume 1. L & L Publishing. p. 21.

Notes
  1. Both Stewart and Morris refer to Elmsley's articles published in The Mathematics of the Weave Shuffle (Faro Shuffle) in The Pentagram, Vol. 11, No. 9-10-11 from June, July, August 1957.


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