The Diminishing Cards was one of my favorite effects, and one of the first for which I created a dedicated file where I collected variations and history on a specific routine. I am not sure exactly when I fell in love with the effect, but it was likely when I first saw Cardini perform his masterpiece of an act.
Cardini, as we know, used the classic method first described in Robert-Houdin’s Secrets of Conjuring and Magic (1978). Being the first published description is far from its only virtue; Robert-Houdin’s version is exquisite and features a wonderful ending from the standpoint of what Arturo de Ascanio defined as “construction and composition.”
Another extraordinary version of this effect comes from Charles Bertram. Unlike Robert-Houdin, Bertram used fewer cards and, with each diminution, used a card of a different size to reinforce the visual reduction.
The version I studied, and eventually adapted for the manipulation act I performed for years, is a blend of the two approaches that I read in Lewis Ganson’s book Unconventional Magic (1956). In it, Ganson writes:
With these ideas as a base, I created a routine wherein the smaller cards were placed in pockets affixed to the back of one of the fanned cards.
In my act, the card segment opened with Tommy Wonder’s Recalcitrant (the tuck case that keeps returning to the deck), followed by his Squeeze, where the deck visibly enters a miniature case. Next, I held a magnifying glass in front of the miniature case, so it appeared full-sized; passing the magnifying glass in front of the case a second time restored the deck to its normal size. I then removed the deck from the case and went straight into this version of the Diminishing Cards.