Alex Elmsley

Alex Elmsley (2 March 1929 – 8 January 2006) was a British Magician and Computer programmer. He was notable for his invention of the "Ghost Count" or "Elmsley Count".

He began practicing magic in 1946, as a teenager. He studied physics and mathematics at Cambridge University; whilst there he was also secretary of the Pentacle Club.

His day job was as a patent agent, and later computer expert. Otherwise, he was an amateur card and close-up magician. He was awarded an AMA Creative Fellowship in 1972.

He created a number of magic tricks, including the "Ghost Count", "Between Your Palms", "Point Of Departure" and "Diamond Cut Diamond".

He wrote "Elmsley's 4 Card Trick" (1967) and "Cardwork" (1975), and was the subject of "The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley" (vol. 1 1991, vol. 2 1994).

The special count used in "Elmsley's 4 Card Trick" was a great invention to the magical world and was renamed after him as the "Elmsley Count"

External links

* [http://www.magicdirectory.com/elmsley/ Elmsley on Magicdirectory.com]
* [http://www.magicweek.co.uk/magic_articles/article_alex_elmsley.htm Elmsley from Magicweek.co.uk]
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006PHN72 Amazon.com: The collected works of Alex Elmsley: Books: Stephen Minch]