"Dice: Deception, Fate & Rotten Luck" 2003 JAY, Ricky (INSCRIBED)
$225
JAY, Ricky
INSCRIBED on title page
[63] pp.
The Quantuck Lane Press
2003
8 1/4" x 7 7/8"
Fine/ Fine
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"Ricky Jay asked his friend Rosamond Purcell to photograph and commemorate his crumbing collection of dice. The result is a series of remarkable photographs that inspired Mr. Jay's composition on decomposing dice. These dice made from celluloid, the first commercially manufactured plastic, remain stable for decades, and then in a flash begin to crack, crystallize, and implode. He traces gambling with dice from the ancient use of astragali, the heel bones of hoofed quadrupeds, to their use in the casinos of Las Vegas. Along the way we discover numerous ways in which shaved, misspotted, and loaded dice were used by colorful and unscrupulous hustlers to gain advantage over their less enlightened brethren."
Richard Jay Potash (June 26, 1946 – November 24, 2018) was an American stage magician, actor, and writer. In a 1993 profile for The New Yorker, Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive". In addition to sleight of hand, he was known for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter. He also wrote extensively on magic and its history. His acting credits include The Prestige, The Spanish Prisoner, Mystery Men, Heist, Boogie Nights, Tomorrow Never Dies, Heartbreakers, State and Main, House of Games, Magnolia, and Deadwood. In 2015, he was the subject of an episode of PBS's American Masters, the only magician ever profiled in the series.