NYC: Quabtuck Lane, 2003. 1st edition, F/NF. Book has very little wear. DJ has some light edge wear. Jay's dice collection was made from celluloid, the commercially manufactured plastic. After decade of a stable condition, they began to decompose at a remarkable rate. With the help of Purcell, they captured this process of disintegration and tragic beauty. Wonderful book, 64 pp. BP.

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Dice: Deception, Fate, and Rotten Luck
Publisher: The Quantuck Lane Press, New York. NY
Publication Date: 2003
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0971454817
ISBN 13: 9780971454811
Binding: Hardcover
Illustrator: Rosamond Purcell (photography)
Edition: 1st Edition
Condition: Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Plato said God invented dice. This we learn from one of Ricky Jay's fascinating essays in a delightful small volume that takes us from the earliest forms (astragalithe heel bones of hoofed quadrupeds, four of whose six sides were used for gaming) to the myriad types of "loading" and other means of cheating with dice in the modern era. Along the way we discover that Augustus, Caligula, and Nero were all inveterate players, that Queen Elizabeth issued a search and seizure order against the manufacture of false dice in 1598, and that dice made from celluloid, invented in 1869, remained stable for decades, and thenin a flashbegan to decompose. These are the dice of Rosamond Purcell's luminous and seductive photographs, images which transform entropy to an art form. Jay and Purcell give us a dual meditation on dice that will educate us and amuse us at the same time. 13 color photographs.

About the Authors

Ricky Jay is one of the world's great sleight-of-hand artists and an expert on the world of fantastic entertainment. His award-winning one-man shows were directed by David Mamet, in whose many films Mr. Jay has appeared. He is author of New York Times Notable Books Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women, Jay's Journal of Anomalies, Extraordinary Exhibitions, and Dice: Deception, Fate & Rotten Luck with Rosamond Purcell. He lives in Los Angeles.

Rosamond Purcell is the author of Bookworm and Owls Head. She lives in Medford, Massachusetts.

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Blue Skye Books
CA, U.S.A.

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