The "Other" Carter and his 10,000 Cards

When I first obtained this charming card sporting art deco graphics from a contact in Europe, I harbored some hope that it represented an artifact from the illustrious career of Charles Carter "The Great" of "Carter Beats the Devil" fame.  One suspects, however, that if Carter the Great had produced a throwout card (and I believe he hadn't), it would have showcased some colorful graphics produced by the artisans at Otis Litho.  Also, the numberless four on the reverse seemed puzzling.   The European purveyor of this card told me that it either belongs to Carter the Great or a German magician he called "Herr Carter," born in 1880, which wasn't much to go on.


But I found him.  Scattered references in periodicals throughout the 1930s identify this gentleman as a performer billed at various European venues as the "Magician with 10,000 Cards," and sometimes "100,000 Cards."  His act, consistently described as spectacular, revolved around skilled manipulations with the front and back palm, as well as a torn and restored card effect using a giant paper card.   One correspondent noted that Carter could produce as many as 27 cards simultaneously from his fingertips. Showgirls assisted as he performed a fine color changing plume and handkerchief routine.   Most notably, for our purposes, Carter gave a remarkable demonstration of card throwing, presumably scaling cards such as the one featured here, out into the audience.  But his finale was most memorable: thousands of cards dropped from the ceiling of the theater, while a curtain dropped with hundreds more sewn to it.

Magicians criticized Herr Carter, though, for his

exposures.  Apparently, after providing a deft demonstration, he revealed the workings of the front and back palms to his audience.  He also exposed the secrets behind his color changing plumes and handkerchiefs.  Several reporters, over a period of years, decried this practice, claiming that is undermined the performer's fine act.  At one point, a magic magazine reported on charges of "exposure" lodged against him by a German magic organization.

Interestingly, I wasn't the only one who thought there could be some confusion between Herr Carter and his more illustrious namesake.  In 1931, for example, the Sphinx identified this performer as "Carter (not the American)."  Sources suggest that Charles Carter, a magician AND a lawyer, got into a dispute with the German conjurer over use of the name, but was persuaded that Herr Carter's use of the name predated his own and dropped the matter.

And before we leave Charles Carter "The Great", in May 2018, I had the pleasure of attending a gathering at the home of magician/historian Richard Cohn.  This writer and fellow contributor Tom Ewing posed in front of one of Carter's fabulous 8-sheet posters which adorns a wall in Richard's fine home:

Tom's the one on the left.  Over his right shoulder is a black-and-white photo of a very young and unbearded Richard performing as "Riccardo the Great."