{"id":511,"date":"2013-12-01T08:12:43","date_gmt":"2013-12-01T00:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/?post_type=product&p=511"},"modified":"2026-03-23T09:17:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T01:17:54","slug":"whispering-imps","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/product\/whispering-imps\/","title":{"rendered":"Whispering Imps\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"

Description by\u00a0Chris Chelko on KickStarter<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Story:\u00a0<\/b>My fascination with playing cards began over 15 years ago as a young magician. I discovered there was more than just Bicycle Rider Back playing cards, and since then I\u2019ve collected and studied hundreds of designs, styles and brands. In early 2012, I decided to design and develop a deck of my own.With your help and the Kickstarter community, this can be achieved.<\/p>\n

My goal is to create something that preserves the art and history of magic into a deck of beautifully hand-crafted playing cards. I designed this deck to be something magicians, playing card enthusiasts, collectors and the art community can appreciate.<\/p>\n

What would this deck be? One word immediately came to mind–Imps.<\/p>\n

Imps<\/a>\u00a0are tiny mythological beings that were often seen as mischievous and playful rather than evil or harmful and are commonly associated with magicians.<\/p>\n

The Cards:<\/b>\u00a0The idea behind the Whispering Imps\u2122 Playing Cards is to combine two very iconic brands, Harry Kellar\u2019s Whispering Imps and the Bicycle Rider Backs, into one classic and elegant deck (see “History” below).<\/p>\n

I spent months working with illustrator Mark Stutzman on many concepts, designs and sketches. Late last year I flew from Los Angeles to his studio in Maryland to meet with him, see his process and finalize the concept and overall design.<\/p>\n

BACK:\u00a0<\/b>The back design is intricate and detailed and will be a printed on Bicycle stock with an Embossed Magic finish using Pantone color inks.<\/p>\n

You’ll notice the design (in red) below is near complete. \u00a0Once the artwork is completely finished, it will become vectorized on a computer. \u00a0This process is very labor-intensive, and I wanted it to be the very last thing we do before sending it to print. \u00a0I welcome any thoughts or ideas that you, as a backer of this project, can contribute to the development of the back design.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

FACES:<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>I’ve been fortunate enough to obtain original artwork from face cards found in the early 1900’s. This older artwork fits well with the history and design of the Whispering Imps\u2122\u00a0playing cards.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

ACE OF SPADES:\u00a0<\/b>This deck will feature a custom “Imp”-themed Ace of Spades.\u00a0I’ve included the concept below.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

JOKERS:\u00a0<\/b>“Imps” will be used to replace the jokers, and are completely custom. I’ve included the concept below.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

GAFFED CARD:\u00a0<\/b>Additionally, a gaff card will be included and is designed for many secret card reveals. (image of gaffed back and face to be revealed soon)<\/p>\n

AD CARD:<\/b>\u00a0One card will feature the Kellar “Whispering Imps” poster, complete with the story behind the Whispering Imps\u2122 playing cards.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

TUCK BOX:<\/b>\u00a0Much thought has gone into the design of the tuck box. It’s intended to look clean, simple and mysterious while keeping the “secrets” of the Whispering Imps locked inside.\u00a0The tuck box will be fashioned from Intense Black Premium Vellum paper and does not contain any printed inks; the text, design & logo is created entirely from Red Hot Stamped Foil.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Artist:<\/b>\u2028 I called up my friend and illustrator Mark Stutzman to discuss the project. He agreed the Imp theme would make for a beautiful deck of playing cards, and so we began exploring different concepts. Mark\u2019s talent is rare; he\u2019s a true artist, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be working with him on this project. Everything from his initial sketches, to the final design, is all drawn by hand. Every detail, scratch, tick, and line is meticulously created with pen and ink on paper.<\/p>\n

Mark\u2019s artwork has appeared on the covers of Stephen King novels, Mad Magazine, Billboard Magazine, Broadway posters, The New Yorker and most famously the \u201cElvis Presley\u201d Postage Stamp for the U.S. Postal Service. Also, Mark is no stranger to designing playing cards. His work includes: the David Blaine \u201cSplit Spades\u201d & \u201cWhite Lions\u201d Series and recently Lawrence Sullivan\u2019s \u201cLegend\u201d Playing Cards.<\/p>\n

THE GAFFED BONUS CARD<\/b><\/p>\n

I’ve designed one gaff card that would have 3 different card reveals\u00a0(See Image 4 – Shows Full Front & Back). \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The first reveal would be the King of Diamonds “Whispered” between the two imps on the back of the card\u00a0(See Image 1 – Close Up).<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0Of course, you can flip the card around to reveal that it is indeed the King of Diamonds…AND the only card in the deck with a reveal whispered between the two Imps.<\/p>\n

The second and third reveals are the Imps whispering the selected card(s) to the King\u00a0(See Images 2 & 3 – Close Up).<\/b><\/p>\n

The benefit of using the court cards is that it allows for two completely separate reveals. \u00a0You will be able to tell the two ends apart from the extra Imp peeking out of the Diamond pip in the top left\u00a0(See Image 2)<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Example:\u00a0<\/b>A spectator selects the 7 of Clubs, remembers the card and places it back into the deck. \u00a0The Magician appears to have found the card. \u00a0Magicians tells spectator “Was your card the King of Diamonds?” \u00a0Spectator says “No.” \u00a0The Magician then says “Ah, but if you notice there is an Imp on the shoulder of the King and it’s whispering a secret. \u00a0Take a look.” You may then show the Imp whispering the 7 of Clubs to the King. “You have chosen the 7 of Clubs.”<\/p>\n

There are many different presentations you can create with this card and I’m excited for you to all have the opportunity to invent new tricks using the gaffed Whispering Imps\u2122 card.<\/p>\n

    \n
      \n
    • \"Image-270127-full\"<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      A deck of playing cards inspired by Harry Kellar’s famous Whispering Imps, hand drawn by illustrator Mark Stutzman, printed by USPCC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_cat":[35,23,327],"product_tag":[464],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/511"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=511"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bombmagic.tw\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}