Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge

The Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge honors the memory of Maine's foremost card manipulator. When exhibiting before the public, Elliott wore a handsome gold, diamond-studded Howard watch, attached to which was a fob of unique and (for a card manipulator) most appropriate design. This fob consisted of four gold frames which held, under glass, the four Aces of a Junior-sized deck. This beautiful fob was presented to Elliott in 1894 by the card manipulators of Boston; attached to its upper and lower ends by miniature gold rings were gold plates upon which were engraved his name and title-firmly linked together for over twenty-two years - "James William Elliott, Champion Card Manipulator of the World."

The Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge shall be held according to the following rules.

Date of Contest: The Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge shall be held at a Ring meeting in the month of April, to mark the anniversary of Dr. Elliott's birth on April 27, 1874.

Contest Officials: There shall be at least one Contest Official who is a Ring member. This Contest Official shall not be a contestant. It shall be the responsibility of the Contest Official(s) to see that the rules of the Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge are correctly followed. A single Contest Official shall be responsible for security. Contest Official(s) shall be appointed by the President.

Contestants: Those wishing to attempt the Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge shall be Ring members or guests; in either case, they must be members in good standing of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. There shall be at least two contestants.

Judging: The winner of the Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge shall be determined by a secret ballot of the members witnessing the performances of the contestants. Contestants are entitled to vote. "Members," in this case, refers to members of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, who need not be members of I.B.M. Ring 362. Contestants are entitled to vote.

Official Decks: The Contest Official in charge of security shall acquire a suitable supply of quality decks of standard playing cards in either poker or bridge size. This Contest Official shall not communicate to any Ring member the exact card design until the beginning of the contest, and shall strive to avoid designs commonly used by magicians (e.g. Bicycle), in order to foil attempts to introduce extraneous cards during performance.

Rules: The order of performance of the contestants shall be determined by chance. Contestants shall be given a new deck of cards at the beginning of their performance and given up to ten minutes to perform. The deck shall have the plastic wrapper removed and the seal broken or removed. The deck shall be placed on the table provided for performers prior to the beginning of each performance. At the conclusion of each performance, the cards and card case may be collected and secured at the option of the Contest Official. Judges shall determine the winner, and in the event of disqualification, a new winner.

Disqualification: The Contest Official may, at his or her option, verify the integrity of each deck collected at the conclusion of the contest by, minimally, examining and counting the cards in each deck. Any evidence that foreign cards have been added to the deck shall result in immediate disqualification of the contestant. Removal of cards from the deck, for example the removal of advertising cards or Jokers, or the destruction of cards by signing, tearing, burning, or other means is permissible.

Award: The winner of the Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge shall be noted in the Ring report to be published in The Linking Ring, and recognized in the Ring newsletter and web site. A list of the winners of the award shall be maintained on the Ring's web site, and shall be published annually in the Ring's newsletter. If there are sufficient funds in the Dr. James William Elliott Endowment, a trophy shall be awarded to the winner on a suitable occasion as determined by the Board.

The trophy shall be a traditional trophy not less than 12 inches in total height, topped with a Winged Victory and bearing an engraved message giving the I.B.M. Ring Number, the year, and the words "Elliott Card Champion."

Who was Dr. James William Elliott?
by Scot Grassette

In our quest for a name of the new Ring I would like to suggest the "Dr. James William Elliott Ring." The good doctor hailed from Rumford Maine, and while attending college in Boston he befriended Harry Houdini. Elliott is most well known for creating and perfecting the front-back palm.

Elliott died in Boston of diabetes, and on his deathbed he asked Houdini and Clinton Burgess if they could go to his father's house in Rumford to gather his notes and publish them in a book later titled "Elliott's Last Legacy". Elliott's grave site is several miles from where I live.

Here is some information on Elliott that I found at Lybrary.com...

Elliott was a very popular magician. Particularly some of his card effects were considered best of its kind. Nobody knew the secrets to some of Elliott's tricks. People waited impatiently for the release of this book. But it was met with some disappointment that not all of Elliott's tricks were described. We do not know which tricks these critics mean. The reason might well be that Elliott died before he could finish his book. Burgess and Houdini had to collect Elliott's notes and fill in some of the missing explanations. However, Elliott and Houdini believed that all the material in this book was new and has never before been published.

1st edition, 1923, Adams; reprint, 1980, Coles, Canada; 324 pages.

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