According to the best information I have, the story begins with an article by Martin Gardner in his 'Mathematical Games' column in Scientific American. Gustavus J. Simmons, an engineer at Rolamite Inc., Albuquerque, sent Gardner a curious topological problem faced and solved by his engineering group. I do not have a date for this column. Bob Neale, a magician and topologist, was the first to take the principle involved and play with it.

In 1983, Karl Fulves published 'Robert Neale's Trapdoor Card'. This manuscript contained the index card with a door model, 'Streamlined Trapdoor', and the "Trapdoor" model of an impossible-looking playing card. Bob Neale now calls the latter item 'Framed', as a small frame frames the large frame. You can see a simple Trapdoor Card here.

British ventriloquist and magician Terri Rogers used the same 'Trapdoor' principle for her effect 'StarGate', which featured in her book 'Top Secrets' published by Martin Breese. Martin Gardner also used the principle in his effect 'Parallax'.

Meanwhile the 'Hypercard' has featured in the writings of Martin Gardner, among others, and is very familiar to puzzlers all over the world.

In the early 1990s Finnish puzzle enthusiast Matti Linkola showed the 'Trapdoor' card to British puzzle expert Tim Rowett. Rowett, in turn, showed it to Angus Lavery, another very creative puzzle enthusiast. Rowett also showed Angus a different but related construction called the 'Hypercard' by Harry Eng (quite different from the 'hypercard' referred to above). Angus was thus inspired to explore the theme of "impossible" playing cards made by slitting and folding. He devised several variations, although many relied on well-concealed joins. It was Angus who introduced me to this subject.

I have tried to build on the work of all these pioneers in several significant ways.

First of all, I have refined the process of making the cards so that I can achieve richer detail, greater accuracy or greater consistency than was previously possible.

Secondly, I have tried to create new designs which are are more complex than anything that has gone before, or which embrace more advanced ideas. I often use my favourite computer graphics software (the mighty Corel Draw) to help me plan and prepare new ReFlexions. The software allows me to experiment with angles, rotations, reflections, symmetry and precise curves, so I can plan how the new ReFlexion will (or should) work. I find this process is one third purposeful endeavour, one third making room for happy accidents to occur, and one third utterly fruitless. I don't use the computer all the time. Sometimes I spend far too many hours just 'doodling' with pieces of paper!

Thirdly, I make a clear distinction between cards which just involve slit-and-fold (Card ReFlexions) and those which involve... a little more work (FLinks). The FLink process for creating impossible links is original with me, and the result of many hours experimentation.