Professor Heller's Magic Trick Cards, c. 1870s, Extremely Rare carved mother of pearl game token and the overall wear to

and the overall wear to the wood suggests it served him long and well

From the stoic expression on her face to way she clasps her arms behind her back

approx 4 3/4" across with handle

especially for the contrast between the brown leather glove and the black leather mitt to which it is sewn--which brings the construction of the whole thing into relief

which I can't stop looking at

Professor Heller's Magic Trick Cards, c. 1870s, Extremely Rare carved mother of pearl game token and the overall wear toYou know how much I love antique square corner no indices playing cards, so you can imagine how excited I was to find these antique magic trick cards! Even cooler to learn about the fascinating life of "Professor" Robert Heller (born William Henry Palmer; 18261878) the English magician, mentalist and musician who devised these (more about him below) and to find no other sets of these trick cards anywhere out there, at least that I can see. When