"Resigned to Miracles" by Peter Gröning is one of the most exciting card magic books I've read in a long time. I'll never understand how he stumbled upon the brilliant method for obtaining duplicate signed cards - as you know, one of the Holy Grails of card magic. He explores many ways to exploit this concept, which makes new miracles possible, and can improve effects you already do. There are many interesting tricks on offer here, but I particularly liked "Fade In" in which a blank card is signed on the back. Then, bit by bit, the face of a chosen card appears on this card, until a full image appears - and the card is still signed on the back. Gröning has even explored ways to use the duplicate signature with other items, such as coins. If you're serious about card magic, you will want this book."
- John Lovick
"Pure genius."
- Jack Carpenter
"This is another beautiful Hermetic Press book where the author proposes a new system to achieve miracles. If the reader uses these techniques in a magic session, they can perform impossible effects with cards signed by the spectators. This book opens new horizons for card magic."
- Marcelo Insua, Tango Magic
"You can live without this book. But if you study and use the commercial effect described in it, you will have added a gem to your repertoire."
- Roberto Giobbi
"Perhaps the real miracle here is that Gröning has managed to keep such a brilliant idea secret for almost forty years."
- Stephen Hobbs
If you were handed a playing card that bore the genuine signature of someone in your audience—without a soul knowing or even suspecting it existed—would you find a use for it? We thought so. And what if the method for snagging this signed card happened to be a ridiculously strong, 100% practical card effect? And what if the only props you needed were a handful of playing cards and a regular marker (no pricey gadgets that’ll be obsolete next week)? And what if this nifty principle came bundled with a treasure trove of other astonishing card tricks using spectators' signed cards, just to rev your creative engine? If all this sounds like your cup of tea, then "Resigned to Miracles" is the book for you.
Resigned to Miracles unveils a method for sneakily obtaining genuine signatures from one or two spectators on the backs of playing cards. No one suspects these signed cards are lurking around, not even the folks who signed them! The signatures are acquired live, without any backstage wizardry or copying shenanigans. They’re original, not copies. Armed with these signed cards, you’ll have the tools for extraordinary effects that’ll leave your audience gobsmacked and scratching their heads.
The method behind this has been kept under wraps for over thirty-five years. Peter Gröning, the mastermind, used it to snag first prize in close-up magic at the 1999 Swedish Championships and has shared it with only a select few card magicians—each of whom appreciated its worth and guarded its secret fiercely.
After all this time, Peter has decided to let the wider magic community in on his concept and the incredibly strong effect that enables it. He also shares a dozen highly original, jaw-dropping effects using cards—and even one with coins—signed by spectators. With these ideas in your repertoire, you’ll leave your audiences in awe and possess a method that offers limitless uses. Get ready to be very happily Resigned.
Peter Gröning was born in 1966 in Stockholm, Sweden, where he still resides with his wife, Anki, and their two children, Gustaf and Ellen. Since 1983, he has performed professionally in numerous theatrical productions, musicals, operas, films, contemporary dance companies, and on television. Additionally, he performs as a mentalist for major corporations and other clients.
Pages 113 - Hardbound, Illustrated
