Alex Elmsley

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

He began practising 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