The Art and Pleasures of Playing Cards

About the Book

About the Author

Rod Starling traces his interest in playing cards back to his childhood in England when his grandmother taught him how to play solitaire as a way to keep him busy. That and his visits to the live theater where he witnessed magicians perform card tricks plus the learning of just two card tricks from his father all combined to awaken a curiosity as to the origins of playing cards as well as a life long interest in performing card magic. Arriving in the United States of America as a teenager, that curiosity eventually lead to a thirty-year search of antique shops, shows and flea markets for playing cards of all countries and from all periods in history. He is a founding member of the playing card collectors club, 52 Plus Joker and a contributing editor to its quarterly magazine. His name also is listed in the credits of The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards.