The Development of the Telepatha Decks

Harry Price (1881-1948) was a British psychical researcher and author who is best known for his work in investigating and debunking claims of paranormal and supernatural phenomena.

He was a prominent figure in the early 20th century in the field of parapsychology and was considered a skeptic when it came to spiritualism and other supernatural claims.

Since Price was well-versed in the field of conjuring, he identified several flaws in J.B. Rhine's ESP decks that could be exploited by fraudulent psychics, enabling them to deceptively showcase their supposed psychic abilities.

In 1939, he developed his set of Telepatha cards as a means of subjecting psychic abilities to a more rigorous scientific examination. Price provides the following insights about his Telepatha cards in his work, Fifty Years Of Psychical Research: A Critical Survey:

“I determined to produce a card which could not easily be read from the back except by a hyperaesthete, and the back of which was the same whichever way one held it. The result is illustrated on page 186. I named them the ‘Telepatha’ cards, and they are made by Messrs. Waddington and marketed by Messrs. George Newnes, Ltd., London. The pattern of the backs was specially designed to dazzle the eyes of any subject who attempted to obtain visual clues or indicia from the backs of the cards. The symbols on the faces of the cards are X-sign,= sign, triangle, spot, and crescent. The ‘Telepatha’ card set comprises two packs each of twenty-five cards, with both plain and coloured symbols, an instruction book, and scoring pad.”

If you want to learn more about the ESP and Telepatha decks, we highly recommend reading “The Story of E.S.P. “ from Fifty Years Of Psychical Research: A Critical Survey. This chapter begins on page 166.

Click here to download the book which is in the public domain.

We hope you will enjoy our latest decks.

William Rader
Krisztin Kondor