(Thank you to MAX MAVEN for his thorough reviews of citations, and additional knowledge provided to me regarding the history of the Svengali principle).
The Svengali idea was based on the use of long and short cards and this concept actually go back to the year 1450. The Svengali idea appears to be based on an old principle found in “The Discoverie of Witchcraft” and “Clever and Pleasant Inventions” (both from 1584), based on the original ideas more commonly known as “The Blow Books.”
The Svengali Pad is a late descendant of the Svengali Deck, which was invented by inventor Burling Hull (also known as ‘Volta the Great’) in 1905 at the age of 16 as a forcing deck for magicians. He attempted to copyright his invention in 1909. Hull named his long & short card creation "The Improved Cards Mysterious."
Here is an exact quote from Hull’s 1909 manuscript:
“The absolute perfection of the principle known to the magical fraternity
as "forcing," has been conceded to be the forcing of cards from
a pack which may be shown to have no duplicates and operated while
actually in the hands of the audience. With this pack, this dream
of magicians is now realized. The introduction of this pack to the
world of magic marks the dawn of a new era in card magic and opens
new possibilities in mind-reading and card effects dependent upon
card forcing. PRINCIPLE:—Examination will reveal that every other card is
alike. Still closer inspection will show that these cards are slightly
shorter than the others.”
A forerunner to the Svengali deck was suggested in 1888 using Corner Shorted cards. It is of interest that a clear forerunner of the Svengali deck was suggested using alternating corner-shorted cards.
Hull’s was the world's first copyrighted card trick, according to the book The Edison of Magic and his Incredible Creations Unfortunately Hull’s copyright didn’t hold since copyright applied only to graphics, written words, audio, music, movie and videos. It did not apply to techniques, systems or methods as used in the Svengali deck.
In between the initial advertisement and Hull’s subsequent claims, a description of the long/short card idea appeared in Ellis Stanyon’s New Card Tricks, 4th Series in 1910 as the “Third Arrangement” of The “Fin de Siecle” Magic Pack of Cards. That was the name Stanyon gave to all decks using the long-and-short principle of the Blow Book from the late 1500’s. Stanyon described the Menetekel Deck, for example, as the “First Arrangement” of the fin de Siecle pack.
The actual Svengali name was coined by Herman Hanson, who was employed by W. D. Leroy, a Boston magic dealer. LeRoy appears to have been the first to have sold the deck with the name “Svengali”, which sourced from George du Maurier’s 1894 novel “Trilby” where Svengali was a fictional hypnotist mentioned in the story. Millions of Svengali decks have been sold throughout the years since. In Europe the Svengali deck was also known as the “Radio Deck.”
Several magicians started out with a Svengali deck from a group of fast talking pitchmen, among them Channing Pollock and Mike Rogers.
The first time the Svengali deck showed up as a pitched product for "lay" people was the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
A 1977 biography about magical inventor Burling Hull, "The Edison of Magic and His Incredible Creations" contains a copy of his attempted copyright for "Improved Cards Mysterious" as well as a flyer produced by Hull showing the now familiar arrangement as what we know as the modern Svengali Deck.
A later Svengali variation included Joe Stuthard’s Trilby deck. Instead of alternate cards being long and short, cards were bevel cut to the left and to the right.
The Trilby Deck was an End Stripper Deck with 24 key identical key cards which were beveled the opposite way. The Bi-Co Trilby Deck was essentially the Trilby Deck plus an extra 24 cards with different color backs and beveled the opposite way.
In the late 1960’s and 1970’s television pitchman Marshall Brodien sold millions of Svengali decks, better known as “TV Magic Cards”.
Over the years there were a wide array of decks that descended from the Svengali deck including the Mirage deck and Menetekel. The popular tossed out deck by David Hoy (and many others after) also popularized a rubber- banded method similar to the Svengali concept to force multiple cards.
The history of the Svengali principle being in a pad used appears to source back to the beginnings of magic itself around the year 1450! By no means does this list definitively cover every release using Svengali:
• THE BLOW BOOKS – Estimated creation around 1450. The blow books are some of the oldest known magic tricks. The magician presents a book and riffles through it, showing a number of images in black and white. The book is then closed and a flourish is performed, normally involving audience participation, originally having an audience member blow on the outside of the book. The magician picks up the book and riffles it again, revealing that the images are now colored, or have changed completely. The Svengali concept seems to be a direct descendant of the Blow Books.
• GEROLAMO CARDANO- In 1550, described a trick book with long & short pages by mentioning "conjurors show different and always unlike pictures in one and the same book.”
• REGINALD SCOTT- In his book The Discoverie of Witchcraft, published in 1584 examined witchcraft and as part of the discussion mentions the use of blow books with varied pages. He then describes how to prepare a book that the magician would then "whew you everie leafe to be painted with birds, then with beasts, then with serpents, then with angels, etc.”
• BURLING HULL – Originator of the Svengali idea in 1905 as a forcing deck for magicians, which he attempted to copyright in 1909. Hull called his creation "The Improved Cards Mysterious.”
• Dr. FORD B ROGERS- Marketed a forcing deck with pairs of long and short cards glued together as “The 'Ever-Ready' Forcing Pack” in 1912.
• EVANS BROWN- In 1919 Brown marketed his “The Wonder Triple Force Deck” which later became known as a “Tele-Matic” deck. This gimmicked deck had 26 pairs, glued together on one end, of which 13 consisted of an indifferent card on the front and a force card on the back. The remaining 13 cards had two other force cards on the front and back. The Tele-Matic deck was followed by The “Psychomatic Deck” in 1946, which moved the glued seams to the centers of the pairs, so that the peek could be made from either end.
• ORVILLE MEYER- In 1956 he contributed his idea of a tossed out deck, using the Tele-Matic deck. This is almost certainly where David Hoy got the idea, but who decided to use a one way forcing deck in his Bold and Subtle Methods of Dr. Faust, 1963.
• RICHARD MARK – In 1979 Richard Mark released "Symbolysis" in MindBending Magic, which was later re-printed within his book "MindWarp." His effect cleverly used the Svengali principle utilizing multiple layered sheets of paper with ESP symbols.
• BULLDOG DECK – Bob Cassidy’s clever “Bulldog Deck” and “Scary Movie Routine” appeared in his popular books “Art of Mentalism” in the early 1980’s and “The Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy” (volume 2) and demonstrated a Svengali type pad made using index cards attached to a bulldog clip.
• TON ONOSAKA – Marketed a forcing type pad using the images of giant paying cards – early 1980’s.
• EZ MAGIC – Their kids “Magic Pad” and related kids coloring books are related to the Blow Books mentioned earlier dating from the year 1450. The kids magic pad was a small note pad using the long and short pages to show all blank or all printed pages.
• JULE L. MILLER – In 1986 Described the idea of a Svengali pad in his book “Three Dozen Tricks With the Dock Haley Svengali Deck.”
• MAX MAVEN– His 1999 VideoMind DVD release included his “Minds Eye Deck” which utilized the Svengali principal combined with a series of 40 simple drawings.
• THE BIP BOOK– A small and popular Svengali style pad/book from 2003 by talented mentalist Scott Creasey and released by Alakazam
• PADGALI – A Svengali style A6 size set of pads, released in 2006 by creator Chris Jones
• THIS WAY UP– Paul Brook & Colin McLeod’s limited release of 200 books described a signature effect utilizing a do it yourself Sven Pad within the structure of their routine. Release date 2010/2011. http://www.heknows.co.uk/
• RUNE KLAN- Mentions the use of a Svengali pad in his “Rune’s World” book
• RICK LAX– Rick described the creation of a homemade pad for his “Thought Plucker” download release with Penguin Magic – 2015.
A full description of attributions and crediting are included with purchase of the SvenPad®.