Arthur Otto - The Beginner's Guide to Conjuring (1910)

The Beginner’s Guide

By ARTHUR OTT.O

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Dresdin House, Nether Street* North Finchley ' London

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WILL ALMA M.I.M. .M.C. (LON DO N)

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WILL ALMA M.I.M. .M.C. (LON DO N)

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THE

B e g i n n e r ’ s

G u id e

t o

C o n j u r i n g

l i Y

ARTHUR ARTH UR OTTO TTO.

The

Tfbrar fbrary y 0f Victoria Victoria

“ALMA CONJURING COLLi'CHON”

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DRESDIN

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I *r.! *r .!HE HE R STKF.FT. ' 'RTH RTH F INCH LEY .

CONTENTS. PAGE

PAGE

Introduction

..........................

3

Magical Photography...................32 Curious Transformation, A ..

..

34

Mysterious Paper Bands, The . .

35

CHAPTER IV. Card T r i c k s ...........................

37

Pass, The

3 8

Palm, T h e ...........................

39

F or cin g a C a r d ..................

40

Predestination of Thought..

42

Pockets, &c................................. i o

Inexplicable Card Trick, An

44

T a b l e s ........................................ i t

Flying Card, Th e ..................

45

Servante ................................ iz Magic Wand, The........................13 Finger F c k e ................................14

Hypnotised Cards, The

46

Simple Card Trick, A .. Mechanical Cards and Fekes

47

CHAPTER I. Elementary Principles............... 4 Misdirection .................................. P a t t e r .......................................... Secrets, Apparatus, &c................ “ Kno w all," Th e ..................

5

6 7

8

CHAPTER II. D r e s i ..........................................

Pull F£ke

9

................................ 15

CHAPTER V.

' CHAPTER III. Palm ing, &c. Coin Palming

.« .................. .........................

16 17

Tourniquet Palm, T h e .. .. .. Finger, Palm and Coin Passes, The Melting Coin, Th e....................... 20

18 19

Effective Coin Pass, An

21

..

..

Invisible Fligh t of Coins, The . . Wa nd produc ed from the Purse

22 23

Magic Sugar Bag , T he ............... 24

Model Entertain ment with Patt er

49

Wand from the Purse, T h e ..

50

..

Dresdin's Flag Dyeing Trick .. 51 Hildyard’ s Jug, Tub, and Dove Illusion— Smashed Wa tch ». 52 Nailed Card on Door, Card Frame, and Hildyard’s Dis co ve ry o f C a r d .................. 53 Hildyard's Burnt and Flying Handkerchief ...................54 Billiard Ba ll Trick ................... 55 Table Lifting, Hildyard’s Indian Plant Illusion ...................56

Magic Matchbox, T h e ............... 25 Balanced Cone, T h e ............... 26 Travelling Ball, T h e ............... 27 Mysterious Candle and Postal Order, Th e . - ................. Wa tch Bend ing Extr ao rd in ar y..

48

Rice B o w ls ...................................57 Tambourine Trick 29 31

...................58

Category of Easily Worked Tricks Arrangement of Programme

..

60 6 x

THE

B E G I N N E R ’S G U I D E T O G O N J U R I N G

INTRODUCTION. N presenting '_this little bo ok to th e reader

I

I wish it to be distinctly understood that it is not intended for the magical expert or

even the advanced amateur, but solely as a guide for beginners. It will be my aim to simplify matters as much as po ss ible ;

and, although

several tricks

are

explained, it is my intention to give the reader an insight into the principles ol the magic art, rather than an expose of tricks. W ith th is understan ding I will le av e it in your hands, trusting that my effort will not be in vain.

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CHAPTER I. T H IN K I am right when I say that there are

1

m any who would take up conjuring as a hob by

were th ey n ot de terred b y the very gen eral im 

pression that months, if not years, of practice are required for its successful acquisition. is not strictly true.

N ow this

W hile I adm it th at sleight

of hand in its more advanced form, such as the modern manipulation of cards and coins, requires long and assiduous practice (far more, in fact, than the average person is prepared to give), it is equally true that the elementary principles of sleight of hand and hundreds of effective tricks can be mastered by any intelligent person who has the time and inclination to give them a little practice. Next to a glib tongue, confidence, blended with a little tact, is perhaps

the most valuab le asset

for a conjurer, and, l et us no t mince m atters, b luff takes a hand in the game. The re is an old sa yin g wh ich runs : “ It is not w hat you do, bu t how you do it,” a nd it is certa in ly true w ith regard to co nju ring ; the effect of a trick is exac tly w ha t you make it, nothing more nor less. Conjuring is one thing, showmanship is another, and it is the la tter th at makes or mars a trick. Y ou m ay have mastered w hat is term ed the mechanical part of a trick, but this in itself is


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not sufficient to produce the necessary illusion. Magic is a pla y on the senses of yo ur audience, if I m ay so explain myself. To illustrate m y mean ing : suppose yo u app ear to place a coin in the left hand, when, as a matter of fact, you retain it in the right, you direct attention to the left hand both w ith your eyes and gestures str iv in g to convey the impression that the coin is really there, in fact tr y and think so yo u rs el f; this is called misdirec tion, and you cannot pay too much attention to it. Anyone w ill te ll you that i't is th e qu ickn ess of the hand tha t deceives the e y e ; not so, it is rather a m atter of doing the right thing at the right mom ent. Here is an instance :— Suppose you have a pigeon in your breast pocket which you wish to introduce in to a borrowed hat un ob ser ved ; yo u m ight conceal a small orange in your hand, th en dip into th e hat an d produce it and let it fall on the flo o r; attentio n is thus for the moment drawn away from the hat, and in goes the pigeon ex a m p le:

with im punity.

perhaps

you

Y e t another

h ave something

con

cealed in your hand w hich you wish to p o c k e t; the beginner will be on thorns till he has go t rid of i t ; he need not be.

The re is no need to

hurry; wait till you turn aside to pick up some thing from a chair or table, and then qu ietly dispose of it in the pocket; in the same manner you may get possession of anything. Endeavour to be natural in your movements; don’t be too quick, and on the o ther hand, d on’t be too slow ; but tr y to strike the ha pp y medium.

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In the initial stages of practice it is well to wo rk in front of a mirror, and when yo u can deceive yo urself you m ay consider yourself perfect; but before attem pting a public performance, it would be well to ask a few personal friends to witness and comment on your work, for more failures occur through attempting to give an entertainment before you are really proficient th an from an y o th er cause. Passing on to

the

all-important qu estion of

patter, I would say that the learner should culti vate

a sty le

w hic h su its him

bes t.

For th e

benefit of those who do not know what patter is, I may say it is the technical term for the running fire of small talk that the conjurer directs at his audience during his show, which serves to cover many a slip, and makes the performance more entertaining.

La ter on an examp le is given of

p a tt e r ; but, as I have said, it is best for the learner to fix up his own.

If yo u are na tura lly

w it ty, it should be of th e humorous order ; if no t, on the lines of your ordinary conversation— for please do not attempt to be funny if you are not. Y o u must neve r adm it you have mad e a m istake if a trick goes wrong— and it will do in the best hands occasionally.

Y ou must endeavour, by the

exercise of a little ingenuity, to conclude the trick in some other way from that you originally intended, or with a little tact switch off to the ne xt it e m ; but never acknowledge failure. Conjuring tricks, roughly speaking, might be divided into three classes— viz., tricks tha t require

7

b e g i n n e r ’ s g u i d e TO CONJURING.

no apparatus, those that require simple accessories which you can easily m ake you rself, and others that involve the use of more elaborate apparatus too complicated for home construction, and which I should advise the reader to procure from a reliable dealer in ma gical app aratus .

T he cheapest

is not always best, for badly made apparatus is dear at an y price, and far too likely to go wrong at a critical moment. to be careful

I wou ld advise the amateur

in his

selection, and

to

become

acquainted with the secret of a trick before he invests in the apparatus ,as he may otherwise purchase a trick th at does not take his fan cy, or find it too difficult for his manipulation. Secrets of the latest tricks may be purchased from

lists issued

from

time to

time, and b y

following these you ma y keep up to date obta in secrets of

and

m any new and subtle tricks

th at require neither skill nor app aratus.

It does

not always follow that the most elaborate or complicated trick has the best effect, as in good hands a simple trick often produces a brilliant effect. If there is one difficulty more than another the beginner has to contend with, it is th e know all. This is a young gentleman, usually in his teens, who does his le vel best to trip you up if he has a chance, and pretends to know how everything is done, and is not slow to air his kn ow led ge ; and, not content with this, he will handle your appara tus— in fact,

in

himself obnoxious.

every

possible manner

make

An individual of this typ e, as

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a rule, knows as much about conjuring as the proverbial cow of a new shilling, and is actuated b y a desire to appear exceptionally sm art at your expense. There are many ways to deal with such a p e rs o n ; one is to ignore him altogether, another is to turn the tables on him, as he is usua lly so persistent that you are bound to give him your attention. One trick to play on him is an old one known as the

“ Magic W hist le,”

wh ich yo u can blow

w ith im punity yo urself, but when he attem pts to follow your example, he is decorated with a so oty mou stache for his pains.

Th e trick can be

purchased at a conjuring re p o sito ry ; but do not play it on a man who is an athlete, or there may be trouble.

The follo wing w ill be fo und better

st ill:— Addressing him, you sa y: “ Yo u seem to understand ma gic, sir.

I am alw ays pleased to

find a smart young man to help me during my entertainment.

Now, sir, m ay I ask you to take

charge of this piece of paper ? ” (tear off a small portion and hand it to him).

“ H old it in one

hand, so, at arm ’s length.

Y ou are quite sure you

have it ?

then 1 will proceed.”

Here

you

Th at’s righ t; introduce

another

trick,

but

keep

requesting him from time to time to see that he has the paper still— “ Hold it a little higher, sir .” Thus you play with your victim till his arm aches, when the audience w ill begin to tu mble to th e jo ke.'

When you th in k proper, relieve him of th e

paper, saying, “ Do n’ t tell you r friends how it ’s


done, sir.”

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.

Y ou can usually rely o n 'his keeping

quiet for the rest of your sh o w ; you ha ve kept his fingers out of mischief, and at the same time effectually

crushed

him.

You

w ill

find

you r

audience, as a rule, have no sympathy with such a person, and are ready and willing to assist you in you r efforts to amuse them.

Pe rsev era nc e is

the keynote of success in conjuring as in every other art.

Y ou meet w ith little difficulties, bu t

they are soon overcome, and your confidence will increase in proportion to your skill, till entertain ment-giving will be a real pleasure to you. Y o u w ill find magic a fa scin ating pursuit, and it m ay be made

a profitable one, as b y giving

entertainments in your spare time you might considerably augment your income. The amateur magician is an ever-welcome guest at

a ny social function he

ma y

a tte n d ;

and

when th e co m pany have had a surfeit of singing and the dram atic recitation has

fallen fiat, his

efforts are usually much appreciated.

CHAPTER II. E will now deal with the dress, tables, wand, and oth er pa raphernalia of th e magician’s outfit.

Th e costumes worn

by the modern conj urer are m any and varied. Some appear in Egyptian, Hindoo, or Chinese costumes, the latter being the most popular of the three '>

10

BEGINNER’ S GUIDE TO CONJURING.

others don Cou rt costume, w hile a few appea r as “ Mephisto,” which is a t once appr opriate and picturesque.

B u t the orthod ox dress suit is easily

first favourite by reason of its adaptability to the requirements of the conjurer.

Still, if y o u are

working w hat is te chnically ca lled a “ silent act ”— that is, giving a show unaccompanied b y patter— a Chinese robe is ve ry e ffe ct iv e ; bu t it is only necessary for me to deal with the dress suit. W hen you mention a conjurer’s co at, pockets are intimately associated with it even in the lay mind, and these pockets I will briefly describe. There are two pockets in the breast of the coat; each of them should be large enough to contain a small rabbit.

Th e opening of

the

pock ets is

outward towards the edge of the coat (about one and a ha lf inches aw ay from it).

These pock ets

are used for the production of bulky objects. There are also two pockets in your coat-tails, one on each s id e ; “ profondes.”

these are techn ically known as

Th e mouth of each pocke t should

be le vel w it h your knuck les when th e arms fa ll naturally to the side, and slope a little on one s id e ; th ey are usually lined with some suitable stiffening material such as buckram, and as they are sewn on rather slackly, this serves to keep them open and read y for the reception of any thing y ou m ay drop into them.

Besides

these there are

two small pockets, known as “ pochettes," sewn on the thighs, one on each thigh ; the coa t-tails hide them.

T he y are just large enough to contain a

billiard ba ll, a pack of cards, or any similar small

b e g i n n e r 's g u i d e t o c o n j u r i n g .

i t

article which you may desire to get at quickly during the show.

These are all the necessary

pockets for a magician, and the amateur is not likely to require more.

A ltho ug h some conjurers

have a complete battery of pockets all over them, those described are sufficient for any ordinary purpose. I m ay say here, tha t a ve ry good enter tainment may be given in an ordinary lounge coat, using the two outside pockets. T h e T a b l

e s .—

Tim e was when the conjurer used

a large and elaborate table fitted with traps, pistons, and even electric appliances for working mechanical tricks, but it has long since become a thing of the past.

Th e only tables now used by

magicians are small round or square tables (except side or back table for storing apparatus)— little more than stands, in fact— wh ich fix on telescopic metal legs, somewhat on the principle of a musicstand .

The se tables are usu ally used in pairs,

one for each side of the stage, and

if

ne atly

upholstered in black or blue cloth with gilt or silver fringe the y are an ornament to the stage. Fig. I gives an idea of their appearance. who

is

anyth in g

of

an

One

amateur

carpenter could probably turn out a pair for his own u s e ; bu t as they can be purchased quite as cheaply at a magical repository, it is a question as to whether it is worth the trouble. These tables are usually fitted with a “ se rva nte ,” wh ich is the technical term for a detachable arrangement of wire and

12


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network forming a sort of bag into which you can drop an y article at will.

T h ey are of various p at 

terns. Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate tw o of them . Fig . 2 is a table servante, and Fig. 3 is designed for attach ment to the back of a chair.

For

the

benefit

of those who are working where th e use of th eir own table is impossible, a good make shift for one m ay be provided Use

an

as

follo w s:—

ordinary

table

which has a dra wer in it. Turn the side with the drawer in it towards yo u rself;

and ,

pulling

out th e

drawer

some

five or six inches, throw a tablecloth over the table. Anoth er

Th e and

drawer even

forms a

ha nd y

simpler w ay,

servante.

where

you

canno t obtain a table w ith a drawer in it, is to cover the front portion of an ordinary table w it h books, &c., to the heig ht of about th re e or four inches, leaving about four inches at the rear of the table uncovered.

Now throw a thick table

cloth over the whole, and yo u ha ve a good servante. I have found this an excellent device when giving an impromptu performance.

A ve ry useful acces

sory is what is termed the “ vest servan te ”— tha t is, a miniature servante attached to a belt worn around the waist.

Th e servante itself is in front

of the body, hence any articles dropped in the breast of th e vest are ca ught in th e servan te.

In

the improved pattern, pressure ol the elbow on the


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side causes the servante to open for the reception of articles, while if you cease the pressure it again closes f l a t ; this prevents an y un sightly bulge in the vest that might otherwise exist. W hile on th is subject, I m ay sa y th at th ere are also detachable pockets to fasten on the thigh w it h pin-ho oks for those who do not ca re to have them sewn on the hip of the ir trousers.

A ll these

accessories are obtainable at a magical depot. T h e W a n d .— Th is is nothing more nor less than

a light wooden rod, three-eighths to half an inch in diameter, and twelve or fifteen inches in length. It is usually made of fancy wood, or painted in imitation thereof.

A couple of m etal mounts one

and a half inches from each end adds to its appear ance.

Fig. 4 shows the wand.

Th ere are m any

trick wands— one for the production of coins, others

t := a s = ^ .

,

for producing balls, sweets, and even cigars and ca rd s; but they are of ve ry doubtful utility from a beginner’s point of view. There are other sundry properties in a magical outfit I mu st not pass over.

First, spring flowers.

These are ve ry useful in a va riety of ways.

Th ey

can be produced from a paper cone or hat, tam bo urine, &c., &c., an d m ay be made up into bouqu ets.

T h ey are mad e in paper of va rio us

colours and sizes, and are mounted on a V-shaped spring, so that a hundred or so folded up and held together take up little or no room, and can be readily concealed in the hand.

T h ey

can be

purchased very cheaply, and a couple of hundred

14


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Silk handkerchiefs will be

required ; th ey should be of the finest silk obtain able, and about fourteen or eighteen inches square. The conjuring repositories stock them in several sizes and colours.

T h ey ma y be obtained so fine

that they may be concealed (when rolled up) in the bowl of a pipe.

Cards w ill be used, and the

best cards fo r co njuring are th e Am er ican cards (Squeezers or Steamboats), which are pliant, and lend themselves more read ily to the manipulations of the conjurer than English cards, which are far too stiff.

Good and reliable ap para tus for the

production and evanescence of silk handkerchiefs may be required, and I will describe what I consider is the best for each. For the production of a hand kerchief, “ Th e False Fin ger .” Th is finger feke is mad e of m etal or celluloid, and is generally painted flesh-colour in imitation of a na tura l finger ; it is hollow, and loaded with a fine silk handkerchief, and is worn betw een the first and second fingers of th e le ft hand.

Th e hands m ay be shown em pty, and, if

kept slowly moving, the feke is absolutely in visible.

T he hands are th en bro ught together,

and the silk handke rchief is w ork ed out of the feke

and

shown.

The

handkerchief

may

be

va nished b y workin g it back into the feke, which is then left in its former position between the fing ers ; bu t I do not recommend you t o do so. Some scores of fekes have been designed for the

production

of

a

silk

handkerchief,

some

practical, some worse than useless ; bu t none, so


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far, in m y opinion, are superior to the “ Fin ger Feke.” For vanishing a

handkerchief

you

should

obtain what is known as a “ Pull Feke,” which is a small black metal cup to which is attached a length of black thread elastic term inating in a loop. The loop is attached to one of your brace buttons at the back, and the black cup is allowed to hang out at the armhole of the vest.

W hen required

for use, the cup is pulled down and placed in the w ais tc oat pocket.

Y o u show th e handkerchief,

then tuck one end in the waistcoat pocket, hence into the cup of the feke, while you bare your arms. Now take the handkerchief, and with it the feke, and,

waving

the

handkerchief

gradu ally wo rk it into the feke.

up

and

down,

W he n it is secu rely

inside, release it, and the feke flies under your coat.

Continue to rub your hands together for a

little while, then open them and show they are em pty.

Th is vanisher, thoug h old as the hills,

cannot be improved upon, although many pieces of apparatus have been designed for the purpose. Before I close this chap ter I wou ld ad vise the student to acquire a natural use of the wand. A nyth in g m ay be held unnotice d in th e hand that grasps the wand, attention being drawn to the other hand, and in the act of placing the wand on the table the article concealed in the hand m ay be dropped in to the se rv ante .

Again , you turn

aside for a moment to pick up the wand from the table, which gives the disengaged hand an oppor tunity to gain possession of anything you may

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require from the vest or pockets, or pick up a small article with the wand.

In the ne xt chapter

I will deal with the elementary principles of sleight of hand, and describe some novel tricks.

CHAPTER III. KNOWLEDGE of palming is essential to

A

anyone who would make a successful magician, although, as I have said else

where, there are tricks t h at in volv e little or no skill, but an acquain ta nce w it h th e principles of sleight of hand w ill enable yo u to give'_an improm ptu performance with cards, coins, balls and similar accessories, wherever you may be, which the per former who depends on apparatus alone cannot possibly do.

First, let us tak e palming, which

may be termed the foundation of sleight of hand. W H A T

IS

P A L M IN G ?

It is the art of concealing a coin, coins, or any other article or articles in the palm of the hand, which, when held w ith its back spectators,

appears

empty

and

towards the quite

natural.

To do this n ea tly some practice is essential, b ut it can be mastered by any intelligent person. ..

TO

PALM

A

COIN.

The best coin to use is a half-crown, florin, or a specially made 'palming coin sold by dealers, as a coin with a milled edge is easily palmed, whereas


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a penny, being less readily gripped by the palm, is liable to slip from the hands of a beginner. In the initial stages of practice, lay the coin on your palm flat, th en grip it in the palm b y pressure against the edge (nearest thumb) with the fleshy „ part of the ball of the th u m b ; then turn the

' Nhand over with its back upwards without letting O I the coin fall. A fter practice you will be able to a i T r Ctransfer the coin from the tips of your fingers o t E c Lto the palm. I t is done in the following manner :— i V L OThe coin is held between the tips of the middle f o C

fingers and thumb of the right hand, as in Fig. 5 ;

y r Gthe thum b is then qu ickly removed, and the middle a r N b fingers press the coin into the palm, as in Fig. 6, i I L R U J where it remains, as in Fig. 7. e t N a t Omastered the mechanical part S C

of the sleight, and you will be

c . r T Aable to present it in a finished

M Lmanner as follows :— Ta ke A '

the

- coin betw een the middle fingers > and thumb of the right hand,

^

make an upw ard throw, palming the

coin

during

the

process

(from a spectato r’s p oint of view it has vanished into thin air); follow the imaginary flight of the coin round the room with your eyes, th en w ith the han d con taining

the

palmed

coin

reach down and produce it from behind your knee or the heel of you r boot.

Now , holding the coin

in the right hand, seem to place it in the l e f t ;

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but as th e right hand moves towards th e le ft the coin is palmed in the right, the left closes as if containing the coin, and moves slightly upward, followed by your eyes, while the right hand slowly and nat ura lly drops to the side ; a rubbing motion is made with the left, which is ultimately opened and shown empty, while the right plucks the coin from a sp ectato r’s

hair

or

elsewhere//^A. still

simpler form of palming is the tourniquet. THE TOURNIQUET. The Tourniquet, or “ French Drop,” is a simple but elusive pass, and is presented as follows :— The coin is held by its opposite edges between the tips of the fingers and thumb of the left hand, as in Fig. 8. Th e right hand then approaches, and its

thum b is

passed u nder and

fingers over the coin, seeming to clutc h it, as in Fig . 9.

It is really,

however, allowed to drop in the left hand, which falls to your side, while the right hand, which is closed, moves away, and is supposed to contain the coin.

W he n open, it is,

of course, empty, and the left hand produces it elsewhere.

Tho ugh

I

ha ve

described the coin as held in the left hand, it may be held in the right, as either hand should exec ute the pass w ith equal facility .

I t is

not at all essential to actually palm the coin p a ss ;

in the hand th at retains it in this

it israther a m atter of concealing

the


coin in

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conjuring

.

ig

palming, althoug h the

following palm is useful here. THE FINGER PALM. Strictly speaking this is not a palm, but it is ve ry deceptive an d easily acq uired .

The coin is

laid flat on the second and third fingers of right hand, in the act of seeming to transfer it to the left hand. Th e first and little finger are raised, and the coin is nipped betw een

. ,,. .

them, as in Fig. 10; the usual business is gone th ro ugh and th e coin produced w it h th e right.

I t is a use fu l sleight, as I will

endeavour to show later on. N .B .— These passes are also suitable for balls, or any similar small object. A D E C E P T I V E CO IN P A SS . Secretly palm a half-crown in the right hand. Now borrow two half-crowns, requesting a specta tor to hand them to you one a t a time.

T a k e the

first coin and actually transfer it to the left hand. Now ask for the second coin, which you take with the right hand and appear to throw it in the left, which

presum ably

co nta in s

tw o

coins.

As

a

m atter of fact the second coin is palmed in the right h a n d ; as it is palmed it strikes the coin already in the right p a lm ; the click is supposed to be caused by it striking the coin in the left hand, which is at once closed, as the fact that the left hand contains but one coin must not be

20


revealed yet.

guide

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conjuring

.

A fte r a little “ business,” open the

left hand and show the single coin.

Now , with

the same hand, make an upward movement, seeming to throw the coin into the air, but really palming i t ; then with the right hand produce the two coins from behind the knee. T H E M ELTIN G COIN. Pr

e p a r a t i o n .—

: ’

Yo u require some tin foil (such

as sweets and cigarettes are wrapped in ) ; cu t from this a disc just a fraction larger than a halfcrown.

No w press the foil disc we ll over the

half-crown and ru b it w ith you r fingers, and the foil will receive an exact impression of the coin. Peel it ve ry carefully from the coin and do not crush i t ; now push open a matchb ox abou t half w ay an d carefu lly place th e feked coin in the open end of the case, and stand this box of matches beside an unlighted cand le on the table.

Now

take the real half-crown and mark it by scratching thereon a cross ; ne xt tak e a lemon and cu t a slit in it and insert the marked half-crown.

Place the

lemon on a plate, together with a fruit-knife, and you are re ady. Pe r

f o r ma n c e

.— Borrow a half-crown, request

ing the owner to mark i t ; place it on the table, Now pick up the matchbox, and, taking out a match, strike it and ligh t the candle ; then close the box, and the fo il “ co in ” will be pushed out, and into your hand.

T ak e care not to crush it-

Now pick up the real coin with the other hand and seem to transfer it. to the hand in which the


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.

21

foil coin is concealed, really palming it, and showing the foil coin the hand.

lyin g

on

the

palm

No w hold it in the flame

of

of the

candle, and the coin will be seen to visibly melt aw ay. Meantime, the other hand is engaged in transferring the coin from the ordinary to the finger palm.

Now the em pty hand takes the

candle from its socket and transfers it to the hand concealing the coin, and you w ill find tha t you can hold the hand in almost an y position withou t revealing the presence of the coin.

Ag ain take

aw ay the candle w ith the other h a n d ; then, with the hand containing the finger-palmed coin, you produce it from the flame of the candle.

Now

pick up the lemon and impale it on the point of the knife, which is inserted in the slit already made, and ask a spectator (not the owner of the coin) to hold it on the point of the knife.

Now

take the borrowed coin and vanish it by palming ; ask the spectator to cut open the fruit, and he finds the coin inside it. on i t ;

A sk if he sees the mark

he sees a mark (yours), and naturally

replies, “ Y e s. ”

N ow tak e the coin from him,

and exchange it for the original borrowed and marked coin, which you return to the owner. This trick is most effective, either for the drawing room or the stage, and is certainly not difficult, but requires ca refu l attention to detail. A N E F F E C T IV E CO IN PASS. This effective sleight can only be performed when wearing a lounge coat w it h an outside

22

BEGINNER BEGINNER’’ S GUIDE TO CONJURING.

br b r e a st p o ck e t (han (h an dk erch er chie ieff p o cket ck et). ). and decepti deceptive. ve.

I t is sim si m p le

Y ou appea r to place a coin coin in the

left hand, hand, really palming palming it in the r ig h t; the right hand then grasps the left sleeve above the elbow and draws draws it back a little little w ay.

Th is brings brings the

palm of the right hand in close proximity to the pocket in the breast of the coat, into which the coin is dropped. dropped.

A du plicate coin coin migh t then be

produced with the right hand from the trousers pocket. THE INVISIBLE FLIGHT OF COINS. Pr


Finger-palm Finger-palm a half-c half-crown rown be

tween the first and second fingers of the right hand , as alre ad y explained in this chapter.

On

the table are two china basins or rice bowls. Pe r

f o r ma n c e

.— Show the bowls, taking care

not to expose the coin. coin. and a penny.

No w borrow a half-crown half-crown

Ta ke the penny between between the tips

of the middle fingers and thumb of the right hand, seemin se eming g to drop it into one bo wl.

R ea lly you

deftly palm the penny and drop the half-crown hitherto concealed between the fingers (fingers must be lowered well into bowl while making the change). change).

Now , with the em pty hand, place a

plate on top of the bowl, while the other hand transfers the coin from its palm to the finger-palm: Now pick up the visible half-crown, seeming to drop it in the second bowl, really, however, palming it and dropping the penny as above descri described. bed.

Y ou also cover this this bowl.

N ow it

only remains for you to conclude the trick and

b e g i n n e r

’s g u i d e t o c o n j u r i n g .

show the coins coins ha ve changed places. places.

23

I t is is ad

visa vi sab b le, le , w h en re tu rn in g th e coin co ins, s, t o e x ch a n g e the th e half-crown turned out from the bowl for the palmed one (the (the borrowed one) one)..

Y o u then then run no

risk of the owner noticing a difference in the coin. THE WAND PRODUCED FROM A PURSE. I shall now describe a trick that is most effective for opening opening an evening’s entertainment— entertainment— viz., the production of an ordinary solid wa nd from from a purse purse.. Pr


Procure Procure

an

purse purse of the clasp clasp varie ty.

ordinary ordinary

leat leather her

Now , taking a very

sharp knife, cut a slit lengthways in the bottom of the p u rs e ; the cu t must be a clean clean one, one, right ' throu gh the leather.

T h e purse is is closed, closed, and

placed, with the slit upwards, upwards, in your left trousers pocket.

Now ,

taking

you r

ordinary conjuring

wa w a n d , p u sh i t up the th e le f t slee sl eeve ve..

T i l l requ re quire ired, d, its it s

lower end may rest in a tiny pocket of cloth sewn on the inside cuff. To Per f

o r m .—

Y ou secretly fre freee the end end of the

wa w a n d fro fr o m the th e litt li tt le p o c k e t ins in s ide id e th e slee sl eeve ve,, th en plunge the lefth an d into into the trousers trousers pocket.

T he

act of lowering the arm causes the wand to drop down a bit, and you insert the end in the slit in the bottom of the purse. purse.

Q uick ly bring ou t the

purse, and turn with your left side well towards the audience ; then open the purse and draw o ut the wand with your right hand, remarking that it is the only thing thing you r purse purse contains. contains.

Th en

quietly snap the purse, returning it to your pocket, and pass pass the wand for for examination,

Perform the

24


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conjuring

.

trick in an easy, matter-of-fact sort of way, as though it was the most natural thing in the world to take a wa nd fifteen fifteen inches inches in length from a purse tw o inches in depth. THE

T h e effect is astonishing.

MAGIC

SUGAR-BAG.

This is a very useful device for the evanescence of sundry articles, such as a watch, silk handker chief, chief, or an yth ing similar similar..

T he paper used in

making the ba g is feked as follows follows :— It consis consists ts of two separate sheets of paper, gummed together round the edges, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. Fig. i i .

Th e cor corner ner of one of

the pieces is cut off, leaving an opening opening at A . ready.

It is advisable to make

several of f ig

.it,

When dry it is

these for future use.

T ak e care, care, in making the bag (whic (which h

is conical in shape), that the open space A is near the top. When made, the bag appears like Fig. 12. It is used used in the the foll following owing m an ne r:— r:— Place your hand inside the bag, and pull ba b a c k the th e to p o f th e inn in n er p a p e r to the th e opposite side of the bag .

T h e ba g is

now presented to a spectator with a request to drop the watch inside, which, of course, falls between the double sheets of paper.

Th e top of the cone is no w folded

over, and is given in the custody of a spectator, wh w h o is a sk e d if h e can ca n h ea r the th e w a tc h tic ti c k in g . “ It It is still still going, going, s ir ? ” it w ill be gone.”

"Y e s .”

“ W ell, ell, in a moment

Th en take the ba g from from him

25

b e g i n n e r ’ s g u i d e t o c o n j u r i n g .

and open the paper flat, and the w atch has to all appearances) vanished. To regain possession of it you simp ly crush the paper into a ball, tearing out the watch as you do so, which is retained in the hand while the paper is carelessly

thrown

aside.

The

w atch

is re

produced in any wa y your fancy dictates.

In the

case of a silk handkerchief it is not necessary to regain possession of it, as a duplicate can be produced elsewhere.

T h e use of this cone in a

han dkerc hief or flag tr ick is described in Cha pter V. T H E M A GIC M A T C H B O X Th is is a splendid pock et trick.

.

Y ou require

an ordinary safety matchbox of the kind that has a similar label on either side.

No w slide ou t the

box and em pty out the m a tch es; then push the bottom in a little , but so th at you do not bre ak it, and leaving a sufficiently deep space on which to gum a row of matches.

T o all appearance the

box is now quite fu ll of matches.

Slide th e box

into its case, and pu t it in you r pocket. say w ha t you are about to do. to light a cigarette.

Do not

Y ou m ay require

Y ou should have a match

concealed in your hand, and, taking out your trick box, open it and seem to take a match from it.

Strike it on the box, w hich you hold open

with the prepared side upward s, an d light your cigarette, drawing attention to the fact that the box is full of matches.

Now close it and tu rn it

comp letely o v e r ; then again open it and show the em pty box.

Yo u m ay slide the box out of

26


guide

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conjuring

.

the case, there being no doub t tha t it is em p ty ; b u t do not sh ow th e bottom of th e box, or you w ill giv e th e tric k aw ay. If you desire to give the box for examination, you place it back in your pocket, and, in response to a spectator’s request to allow him to examine the box, you take from your pocket an ord in ary em pty m atc hbox similar in appearance to the trick box. THE BALANCED CONE. This is a trick of the juggling order rather than a conjuring trick.

T o the spectators it appears

to be a difficult feat, but is in reality simple enough, on ly requiring a little practice.

Use an oblong

piece of fairly stout paper about 18 in. by 12 in. From this you construct a cone or sugar-bag, and you can then balance it on your nose, narrow end downwards, with comparative ease. W hen su fficiently expert, a ve ry pretty effect may be produced by setting fire to the open end of the cone, and it will burn down to within an inch and a half of your nose, the ashes retaining the form of the cone T H E T R A V E L L I N G B A LL . Ef

f e ct

.— Performer produces a ping-pong ball,

which he causes to appea r and disapp ear in a variety of places.

It is ta ken in th e le ft han d,

from which it vanishes, and is found in the right. As th e performer would like every one to see “ h ow it is done,” he holds his hands some distance apart, and the ball slowly and visibly passes from one


hand to the other.

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27

Th is m ay be repeated at will,

and at any moment the ball may be examined. Pr


For this effective little trick you

require an o rdinary ping-pong b all and a loop of very fine silk thre ad or “ co nju ring th read,” about twelve or fourteen inches in length, as Fig. 13. Slip the loop over the top button of your coat, and palm the ball in your right hand. T o P e r f o r m .— W ith the right hand held with its back to the spectators, draw attention to the em pty left hand.

Now make a quick turn

, t

to the right, and, as the right hand passes

^

the palm o f the left, the ba ll is secured in

^

the palm of the left hand, wh ich hand then

“■

demonstrates the right to be em pty.

Th is

is called b y magicians the “ change over

”

palm,” and, if properly executed, is both simple and deceptive.

T h e left hand now produces the

palmed ball from behind the k n e e ; now seem to place it in the right hand, palming it in the left, which th en reproduces th e ball from under your waistc oat.

Now ta ke th e ball in the fingers of

the right hand, seem to place it in your mouth, really palming it, pushing out your cheek with your to ngue.

Go th ro ugh a studied pre tence of

swallowing the ball, and produce it from the back of your head.

Seem to tak e the ba ll in the left

hand (the tourniquet), palming it in the right, close both ha nd s, ult im ately open them, and show the ball has ch anged hand s.

T a k e it in th e left hand

and thro w it in the air once, twice, thrice ; a t the third throw you r eally palm the ball, which appears

28


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.

to vanish into space, and the left hand produces the ball from behind the knee, while the right thumb is slipped through the loop of the thread, disengaging it from the button.

Y o u then remark

that you fear the audience do not exactly see " how it is done,” and you w ill endeavour to enlighten them by making the transit of the ball from one hand to the other visible to all.

Now

the left hand places the ball between the fingers of the right hand.

As you do so, the left thum b is

also slipped through the thread-loop.

T h e hands

are then held upright some distance apar t till the loop is tau t, as in Fig. 14.

A track is thus formed,

and the fingers of the right hand carefully place the ba ll on the thread.

Now , b y slightly and quite

imperceptibly lowering the left hand, the ball will slowly run on the u l\

___ (Q I

ft /

double threads over to

the lef t hand ,

the fingers of which then receive it. course,

it

Of

desired,

the ball will run back again to the right hand, or may be caused to stop halfway at command by bringing th e th read to a level, and then go back or resume its journey by lowering the right or the left han d as the occasion demands.

T h e slower

the movem ent o f the ball the more effective the trick, as then, at a short distance, the ball simply appears to float from one hand to the other.

Now ,

w ith th e left han d, vanish th e ball b y palm ing jt w hile seem ing to th ro w jt jn the air, the rig ht hand


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.

29

meantime quietly dropping the thread, remarking, “ Now I am left with nothing as at first.” Y o u will find a ping-pong ball is easily pa lm ed , and numerous passes will suggest themselves to you. THE

MYSTERIOUS

CANDLE

AND

TORN

A N D R E S T O R E D P O S T A L O R D E R . Ef

fect

.— Performer produces a lighted candle

from his pocket, which he places in a candlestick. He now shows a postal order, remarking that it is impossible to duplicate it, as each order has a numbered counterfoil, which he tears off and asks a spe ctato r to retain.

H e then burns the order,

scattering the ashes over the candle, which he breaks in half, and inside is fo und th e posta l order, which the spectator is asked to examine, and finds it to correspond with the counterfoil he has retained, both in number and amount.

Th e

spectator may break the candle himself if desired. Pr


Procure a wa x candle.

Ho llow

it out nearly to the top, leaving nothing, practi cally, but a thick wax tube, just leaving a little solid w ax and the w ick at the top.

Now draw

out the wick, and insert in its place an easystriking wax vesta, which you secure with a little melted wa x.

No w purchase two postal orders of

the same value , and conse cutive numbers.

(The

smallest amount for which a postal order is issued is 6d.)

T ea r off the counterfoil of one, and, rolling

up the order, insert it in the hollow candle, filling up the open end of same w ith melted w ax .

Now

30


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conjuring

.

place the other order on the table, with the counter foil torn off the order in the candle, concealed under it.

Now place the feked wa x candle in

your breast-pocket.

Just ove r the pocket se w on

your coat a piece of rath er fine sandpaper or emery-cloth. To

Pe

r f o r m .—

Y ou

show

the postal

order,

tearing off the counterfoil, saying, “ I will ask you to retain this, as you are well aware it is impossible to duplicate it.”

As a m atter of fa ct the counter

foil just torn off the order is exchanged for the duplicate counterfoil torn off the order in the candle, which hitherto has been concealed beneath the order (this is an easy matter under cover oi the postal order), and it is this duplicate counter foil tha t is handed to the spectator. order,

with

its

original

Th e postal

counterfoil

concealed

behind it, is now held up for all to see, b u t so th at the number is hidden.

Y ou now find th at you

require a candle, which you state you always carry about with you, already lighted, in your p o ck e t;

so, placing your hand in your inside

breast-pocket, you ta ke out the candle.

As you

do so, bring the vesta in contact with the sand paper, producing the candle alight.

No w hold the

order, w ith its counterfoil still concealed behind it, in the candle flame, and of course both are des troyed .

No w load the ashes in a pistol and fire

at the candle, or scatter them over i t ;

then,

taking the candle, break it in half, or let a specta tor do so (it is best to ask the person who has the coun terfoil to do this), and the po stal order is


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.

31

discovered inside, and is found to correspond with the counterfoil in eve ry particular.

Th e trick has

a brilliant effect if well led up to with appropriate patter and business. W A T C H -B E N D IN G Ef

f e c t .— T he

E X T R A O R D IN A R Y .

magician borrows a watch, and,

taking it between his fingers, he bends it backwards and forwards, till the owner trembles lot the fate of his wa tch ; ye t it is returned to him uninjured.

To P e r f

o r m .—

The astute reader will guess th at

the w atch is not really bent, of course. borrow a w atch .

You

It must be a gold or silver one ;

those with the black oxidised cases are of no use. Now hold it between the fingers and thumb of both han ds w ith its b ack to th e audience, and go through the motions with your fingers of bending it backwa rds and forwards.

A t a ve ry short

distance it will appear as though the watch is actually bent, the illusion being simply perfect, as a trial w ill show.

A similar effect m ay be produced

w ith a brig ht silver coin, prefe rably a five -shilling piece. I am aware tha t this is not a new e ff e c t; but, as it is an easy tric k for beginners, and as it forms an admirable introduction to an y wa tch trick, this description may not be out of place. MAGICAL PHOTOGRAPHY. Ef

f e c t .—

An ordinary postcard, quite

plain

and free from preparation, is sealed in an envelope

32


b y a sp ecta to r.

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conjuring

.

T he perform er th en distrib ute s

tw en ty or more slips of paper, w ith a request th at each person who has one shall write the name of some celebrity, statesman, author, actor, or mon arch on his slip.

Th is done, all the slips are

collected in a paper bag and are well mixed together.

N ow anyone is requested to dip his

hand in the bag and tak e one slip ; he is then requested to call ou t the na me written on it. Suppose, for example, it is Mr. Joseph Chamberlain ;

anyon e is then requested to open the

envelope, and on doing so a p erfe ctly finished photo of the celebrity in question is found on the card. P r


Y ou require a photo-postcard

of the required celebrity and a blank postcard of the same size.

Seal the photo-card in an envelope

and place it in you r breast-po cket.

The ordinary

card and a second envelope is placed on the table. Now you also require an oblong paper bag, such as used b y confectioners. This is feked by pasting a single sheet of paper in an upright position in the centre of the bag, thus dividing it into two separate compartments.

Now ha ve forty little

slips of notepaper ; on twe n ty of them write the name of the celebrity whose photo is on the postcard ; place the slips in one com partm ent of the paper bag, then place the bag and the remain ing twenty papers on the table. T o P e r

f o r m .— Y

ou pass the blank postcard

and envelope for examination, request a spectato r to seal it in the envelope, which he then


hands ba ck to you.

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33

Now go to y our table to fetch

the slips, and while you r ba ck is m om entarily turned

towards

your

audience

exchange

the

envelope for the one in your pocket, which you place in a prominent position on the table (it is best stood upright again st so mething).

N ow pa ss

round the twenty blank slips, requesting each person to write the name of a celebrity on their slip.

No w take the bag, and, holding it so th at

the empty compartment is open, collect the slips one at a time ; then m ix them up.

A s yo u do so

you fo ld th e extra paper sh eet over again st the other side of the bag, so that when a spectator plunges his hand in the bag he is bound to take one of your own slips.

Y ou then sa y that, to

avoid any suspicion of confederacy, you will ask anyone to dip their hand in the bag at random and take out ju st one slip.

Th is done, you

announce that you propose to introduce your new process of photography, which eclipses anything y et att em pted in th e same lin e. Y o u th en proceed to discourse on the usual photographic processes and the time it takes to produce a finished picture, bu t w ith you r m agic process you can get lightn in g results.

Y ou will give them an illus tra tion ; but

first you will introduce a little experiment in thought-reading.

The gentleman who has the

slip will, after looking at it, place it in his pocket ; this done, you take the envelope from the table, and, holding it with the right hand against his head, w ith the other you seize his wrist.

You

then announce that the name of the celebrity is D

34


b e g i n n e r

So-and-So, and that if your instantaneous process of “ thought-photography ” has been successful, a finished photo of the celebrity will be found on the po stcard. “ W ill the gentlem an open the envelope and see if you have been successful ? ” He does so, when you inform your audience that you propose a t so me fu tu re tim e to m ake your secret public property, but

n o t y e t .

This is a splendid trick, and simple withal, and is equally effective for the drawing-room or stage ; but, if perform ed in a drawin g-room, it should only be before a large audience, or the unpleasant act may leak out that the name of the celebrity whose photo appea rs on the card w as not w ritten b y one of th e audience, in whic h case th e result w ould be a frost. A C U R IO U S T R A N S F O R M A T IO N . Ef

f e c t .—

Performer brings forward an orange,

w hich m ay be exa m in ed ; he th en borrows a h and  kerchief, w ith which he covers this fruit.

A b oy

is asked to hold a basin or plate under the hand kerchief, and you will count “ One— two— three ” ; a t “ three ” you w ill drop the orange, w hich yo u promise to the boy if he is quick enough to obtain it before it disappears, the only conditions being that he does not smash the plate, and will agree to eat it— the orange, not the plate— on the spot. A ll th is is don e, when the b o y finds he has a large onion in place of the luscious fruit, and you remind him of his part of the agreement. Pr

e p a r a t io n

.— Ta ke a fairly large and round

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO CONJURING.

35

onion ; now wind orange-coloured woo l around it till the onion is completely hidden, and it has the appearance of an orange. P e r f o r ma n c e .— If it is desired to ha ve

the

orange examined, it is a real one that is given for exam ination, wh ich is exchan ged for the feke one ; ’ N O I T C E L L U C

bu t it is not a t all essentia l. Y o u introduce th e alleged fruit and obta in th e loan of a handkerchief, with which you cover it. Now you work off the wool through the handker chief, which is not a difficult m atter.

N ex t you

obtain the assistance of a boy, and request him to hold a basin under the handkerchief, pattering

u \ r meantime as described in the effect. No w drop u i u the onion, but retain the wool by grasping it j > throu gh the hand kerchief, and the onion, of course, i w ^ drops into the basin. Before returning the

borrowed handkerchief you m ust secretly obta in j

possession of th e wool and pocket it.

I t is as

«.

w ell to secure a rea l ora nge from you r ves t, wh ich you co nce al in your hand, and pro duce it from th e b o y ’s c o a t ; you m ay th en g iv e it to him b y w a y of compensation for the disappointment— a happ y conclusion, from his point of view. Th is trick is more suitab le for a juvenile audience than one composed of adu lts ;

and w ith the

former it always has a good reception, as there is plenty of room for genuine fun. T H E M Y S T E RIO U S P A P E R B A N D S. Ef

f e c t .—

Th e conjuror introduces three endless

ba nds or la rg e rings of paper .

N ow , takin g a

36


guide

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c o n j u r i n g

.

pair of scissors, he proceeds to cut one of them through the centre of its width, and, as a natural result, gets tw o separa te rings. H e then cuts the second ring in precisely the same m anner ; bu t instead of having two separate rings, he has two linked together.

H e repeats the operation with

the third ring, with the result that he gets one ve ry la rg e ring tw ice th e circu mference of th e origina l one. Pr

T he effect is ve ry fine.

e p a r a t io n .—

H ave

three strips

of paper,

each about twenty-six inches in length, and an inch or an inch and a qua rter in w idth.

Th e first

ring is made by simply pasting the opposite ends of the paper together.

In constructing the second

ring, you give the strip of paper two twists before you paste th e ends to geth er ; while in m akin g the third, only one twist is essential prior to join in g the ends. understood,

The construction of th e rings

there

is

little

left

as the trick practically works itself.

to

explain,

Proceed as

follows :— T o P e r f o r m .— Y ou come on with the three rings looped over your left arm.

Now , remarking th at

the rings are quite unprepared, ask, if you cut one of them through the centre of its width, what will be th e resu lt. “ Qu ite rig ht .”

“ T w o rin gs.”

Y o u reply ,

Here yo u cu t the first ring to

show th ey are quite unprepared. “ Here t h ey are Now watch me very c ar efu lly;

I will cut the

second ring in the same manner, and I get rather a different resu lt.” linked together.

Do so, and you ge t two rings

“ I w ill now proceed to cut the


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.

37

third ring in precisely the same w a y ”— do so— “ and the result is more surprising still.” Th is is a splendid trick. A n exp lana tion of it has already appeared in p r in t; bu t, as it is such a simple and effective trick, I am sure my readers w ill apprecia te it, and I need not apologise fo r describing it. W ith th is tric k I w ill bring th e ch apte r to a conclusion.

CHAPTER IV. O book on conjuring m ay be considered complete unless a po rtion of it is devo ted

N

to card tricks.

The lady or gentleman who cannot play, recite,

or sing may learn a few card tricks and become the “ lion of the evening ” a t a pa rty.

In this, as

in other branches o f the m agic art, there are m an y tricks that require no skill or sleight of hand for their performance, and often produce an effect equal to the most elaborate sleight-of-hand trick—this, of course, largely depending on how the trick is introduced.

B u t still,

I

would adv ise

the

reader who may desire to be anything of a cardconjurer to master the elementary sleights ex plained hereafter, as he will find that, having attained proficiency in them, he can arrange tricks of his own. I shall not go into the more difficult and most

38


guide

t o

c o n j u r i n g

.

intricate moves, but simply deal with the rudi ments of sleight of hand as applied to cards. First, I will take the sleights, after which I will explain a few tricks as an illustration of their application. THE PASS. This sleight is considered one of the most imp ortan t of the numerous sleights w ith cards.

I

shall presume that a spectator has drawn a card and noted its suit and value.

Y ou hold the pack

in the left hand, saying, “ Replace you r card in the

pack,

sir,

please.”

The

right

hand

then

approaches and opens the pack like a book for the spec tator to replace his card.

Th is he does,

which leaves the ca rd on to p of the lower half.

T he pa ck is then

closed, but the little finger of the left hand is slipped between the upper and

lower halves of the

pack, as in Fig. 15, marking the position of the card.

T he right

hand is then brought over the pack, grasping the lower half between the thumb and second and third fingers, pressing the inner edge of the cards into the fork of the thumb, as shown b y Fig . 16.

Now, under cover

of the righ t hand, y ou raise the top

half

slightly, and at the

same moment the outer edge of the lower h alf is also raised un til it clears the top half,\when, b y simp ly closing the left hand,


guide

the pass is complete.

t o

c o n j u r i n g

.

39

Th us the card w hich was

placed in the middle of the pack is now on the top. Ta ke a pack of cards and practice i t ; it is not rea lly so difficult as it m ay appear, and in tim e you w ill find you can execu te it w ith ligh tninglike rapidity.

In

fact,

in

pass is pr ac tically invisible.

expert hands

the

B u t in the initial

stages of practice, neatness, rather than speed, should be aimed at. There are many other methods of making the pass, all with one end, but the one I have ex plained is the best for all practical purposes; so we w ill pass on to a sle ig ht which comes n ext in importance— viz., the palm. THE

PALM.

The palm with cards is entirely different to that w ith coins.

A card , or seve ra l of them , can be

neatly concealed in your hand, which is apparently em pty, and it is not a t all a difficult matter.

I

w ill endeavo ur to expla in th e palm , togeth er w ith a practical application of it. Suppose that a card has been selected and returned to the pack, and that you have brought it to the top of the pack b y means of the pass.

T h e pack is held in the

left hand, the top card (the one to be palmed) is pushed by the left thumb about half its width off the remainder of the p a c k ; the right hand then approaches, and is brought over the pack, and the card is gripped between the first joints of the fingers and fleshy portion of the thumb, as in Fig. 17.

The right hand m ay then move aw ay with

40


it, and the card may be disposed of in any way the conjurer may think fit, though the usual procedure is to take the pack in the hand containing the palmed card, and hand it to be shuffled. This can be done with impunity, w ithout

fear

of

betr ayin g

th e

presence of the palmed card— in fact, it serves to disarm suspicion.

An d here I would say , when

you have a ca rd pa lm ed , do not hesitate to bend your hand, as the more it is bent th e less likely is anyone to suspect that there is anything con cealed in it.

When you take the pa ck back, the

card may be again left on it or disposed of as you please.

I t forms a p re tty introdu ction to a series

of card tricks to palm off five or six cards and produce them from your elbow or behind your knee. FORCING A CARD. This is the art of causing a spectator to draw the particular card you wish, and yet make him believe he has had a free choice.

Of course, there

are “ forcing packs ” to be obtained a t a m agical dealer’s.

Th ese consist of on ly two kinds of cards.

For example, half the pack is Three of Hearts and the other half Queen of Clubs, and although these are most useful to the beginner, it is far better to be able to pro perly force a ca rd from an ord inary pack.

Genuine

forcing

is

performed

in

the

following manner :— T he card (or cards) to be forced should be placed in the centre of the pack. Now place the little finger of the left hand beneath


guide

t o

c o n j u r i n g

.

4T

this card at the end of the pack nearest yourself, which keeps the pack slightly open (the other end, nearest

the

audience,

is

closed).

Now

step

forward ; spread out the cards like a fan, holding them

with

both

hands,

fingers

beneath

and

thumbs above, still keeping the little finger of the left hand against the card in question.

W ith the

two thumbs keep the cards moving sideways, from left to right, sliding one over the other as you offer them to a spe ctator to select a card.

A s the

spectator’s hand approaches to take a card, still keep the cards on the move, sliding one against the other.

Now , as his open han d gets near, and

ju st at the mom ent his fingers close, th e ca rd is pushed forward from beneath by the little finger of your left hand, and the remainder of the pack grasped tightly and suddenly withdrawn, which leaves the card desired within his hand. Of course, this requires some careful practice; but it is of no use practisin g w ith a person after he is acquainted with the secret, as it is almost impossible, even for an expert, to force a card on such a person.

Th e correct w ay is to w alk down

am ong the audience an d sa y, someone to take a card."

“ I sh ould like

W alk towards a certain

person, your eyes fixed on h im ; bu t before you reach him, suddenly turn aside to another spectator and say, “ Please take a card.”

He, being taken

b y surprise, has drawn your card before he re ally had time to think much about it, and yet he will afterwards declare that he had a free choice. Perhaps the best way to practice forcing is to

42


guide

t o

conjuring

.

have ready some simple trick which you can perform when a spectator takes any card— not your desired card.

Y ou ca n then have a pack

always in your pocket, and ask everyone you meet to select a card.

Y ou , of course, tr y to force

one, but if you fail, he does not know it, and you complete your simple tr ic k ; succeed,

you

A fter a tim e

know

that

you w ill

whereas,

you

are

if you

improving.

be surprised

at

yo ur

cap acity to force a card, and w ill find th at you succeed nine hundred and ninety-nine times in a thousand. If, by any chance, in an entertainment, you should fail to force your card, appear to take no notice, b u t say , “ Th an k you, sir ; w ill someone else tak e a card ? ” and so g et you r desired card forced.

Then,

of

course,

also

perform

some

simple trick which does not require any particular card to be taken. Having explained the pass, palm, and force, I w ill now describe a simple trick havin g these three sleights combined:— PREDESTINATION OF THOUGHT. Ef

f e c t .—

Th e magician writes something on a

slip of paper, which he asks a spectator to place in his pocke t or purse for safety.

H e then intro

duces a pa ck of cards, wh ich is shuffled.

The

spectator is now asked to look at his card, then to remove the paper from his pocket and see what is w ritte n on it. card

he

He does so, and the nam e of the

chose is written.

Th e

card

is

then


guide

t o

c o n j u r i n g

.

43

returned to the pack, from which it disappears, and the performer takes it from his pocket. Pr

e pa r a t io n .—

On the table place a slip of

paper and a pencil.

Y ou are also provided w ith

an ordin ary pa ck of cards ; take note of the top card.

Suppose it is the “ queen of hearts.”

In

your bre ast-pock et you have a duplica te of this card. To Pe r f

o r m .—

W rite on the slip of paper the

name of the card, then fold it and request a spectator to place it in his pocket.

No w take

the pack, and, palming the top card, let the spectator shuffle the pack.

No w again take the

pa ck and leave the palmed card on the top ; then make the pass, bringing it to the middle of the pack, and force it on the spectator.

No w ask

him to see what is written on the paper in his p o ck et; then say, “ W ill you return you r card to the pack, sir ? ”

Make the pass, bringing it to the

top, and, palming the card, let him shuffle the pack.

As k him if he is convinced th at he has

shuffled the card w ith the pack.

“ Y ou are sure

you h ave not mad e a mistake , sir ?

W ell, ju st

put your hand in m y breast-pocket, an d see what you can find.”

T he specta to r removes the card.

He can then search the pack, only to find it missing.

Y ou ha ve meantime disposed of the

palmed card. This trick is merely given as an example of the three sleights, as alre ad y explained ; it is, how ever, very

effective

and simple to

have mastered the three sleights.

work after

you

\

44

b e g i n n e r

’ s G U I D E 't o c o n j u r i n g .

A N IN E X P L IC A B L E C A R D T R I C K . Ef

f e ct

.— Y ou show two cards (which may be

sele cte d );

a specta tor then returns them to the

pack, which he shuffles, the performer not going near him.

T h e cards then disappear from the

pack, and the performer produces them from his trousers po cket— previously shown em pty. Pr


T ak e a “ nine of spades ” an d a

“ ten of clubs ” and place them in you r right trousers pocket; push them in the top of the pocket (to ward s th e abdomen), and you w ill find you can pull out the lining of the pocket without revealing the presence of the cards, the pocket being appar ently e m p ty ; the pack is placed on the table, on top of which you have a “ nine of clubs ” and a “ ten of spades.” T o P e r f o r m .— Palm the two cards from the top of the pack, then replace them after the pack has been shu ffled; now force the “ nine of du bs ” and the “ ten of spades ” on one person ; before he has time to look very closely at his cards hand him the pack, requesting him to return his two cards and shuffle to his he ar t’s conten t.

Le t

another spectator shuffle as well. No w show your pocket empty, and pull out the lining, then push it back ag a in ; touch the pack with your wand, then show your hand empty, and take from your pocket the “ nine of spades” and “ ten of clubs” and show them, and these will be taken for the “ ten of spades ” and “ nine of clubs.”

The n chal

lenge anyone to search the pack for dup licate cards.

b e g i n n e r


45

Strange as it may seem, this subtle ruse never fails, as the drawer always gets confused about the cards. Strange

but true.

If

the performer

lacks the necessary skill to force the cards he may simply show them in the first instance, but it adds to the effect if they are forced. THE FLYING CARD. Ef

f e c t .— A

card is selected by a spectator

and returned to the p a c k ;

the conjurer takes

the pa ck and places his foot upon it.

Now the

gentleman who selected the card is requested to name it.

On the name of the card being called

it is seen to fly from the pack some distance towards the person who selected it. P r e p a r a t i o n .— For this old bu t effective trick you prepare as fo llo w s:— Cut a little slit in the centre of two c ar d s; now connect them with a short piece of elastic or a split guttaperch a r in g ; then glue three or four more cards on the back of each, and your apparatus when dry is ready. T o P e r f o r m .— Yo u introduce this feke in the middle of the ordinary pack . No w allow a spectator to freely select any card, force any one of the others.

No w open the pa ck so tha t when the

gentleman replaces his card it will be between the feke ; let him jus t insert the card, b ut push it down y ourself, for, feeling the resistance of the elastic, the gentleman may tumble to the secret. Now, grasping the pack as tightly as you are able place it under your foot in a position that the card will spring towards the gentleman who drew

46 it.


Coun t “ one, two, three ” ; a t three yo u raise

your fo ot slightly, and the elastic w ill cause th e card to spring from the pa ck for some distance.

Th is

has a very good effect if performed well. THE HYPNOTISED CARDS. Ef

fect

.— Th e conjurer shows the bare palm of

his hand, which he places flat on the table, now he takes several cards, and one at a time he pushes them under his hand (between hand and table) till he has a circle formed quite a foot in diameter. He then raises his hand, and to the amazement of every one the cards rise w ith it. H e now commands them to disperse, and th ey fall from his hand, w hich together with the cards are free for examination. Pr


Ta ke a rather fine and long

needle, and push it through the thick skin at the base of the middle finger.

T h a t is all th e pre 

paration required. T o P e r f o r m .— Yo u place the first card between the point of the needle and fingers, the second betw een the eye and palm of hand (the needle should point upwards in a line with finger), the third and fourth cards are then placed between the hand and the first two ca rd s; the remainder are then arranged in a similar manner, so that they bear on one another, the two first cards being the foundation.

Y o u proceed in this w a y

until you have formed quite a large circle.

When

you raise your hand the cards will rise w ith it, and you can pass them right under the eyes of your aud ience without an y

risk of detection.


g u i d e

t o

c o n j u r i n g

.

47

Finally, when you wish the cards to fall, you merely press on them with yo ur finger tips.

I am aware

this trick has been explained before, but it is included in this little book, as it is one that can be easily performed and is very effective. A SIM P L E C A R D T R I C K . Ef

f e c t .— T wo

cards

are

shown

or

may

be

selected; one is placed on the table and one in the trousers poc ket o f the perform er ; now, a t com mand, the two cards change places. Pr


pocke t place

a

In

you r

“ king

right

hand

of d iamonds.”

trouser If

you

push it in the top of the po cket (as explained in connection w ith the “ Inex plicable Card T ric k ”) it will add to the effect. T o P e r f o r m .— Y o u sh ow a “ k in g of d ia m o n d s ” and a “ five of spades;” if sufficiently expert yo u will force them.

Show

the trousers pock et e m pty.

No w takin g the “ five of spades,” place it in you r po ck et ; on second thoughts you seem to change your mind and ta ke it out aga in , reall y ta kin g ou t the duplicate “ king of diamonds,” and, withou t exposing the face of the card, place it on the table ; now take the visible “ king ” and place it in the p o c k e t; after a little patter turn up the card on the table and show it to be the “ king,” then remo ve the “ ten ” from you r pocket.

If desired,

though not essential, you can again show the pocket apparently empty, by pushing the duplicate “ k in g ” it contains in the top of the pocket when pulling out the lining.

48


guide

t cT c o n j u r i n g

.

MECHANICAL CARDS AND FEKES. Before concluding this chapter I might briefly say there are many inexpensive tricks and mechan ical cards designed with the intention of enabling the beginner to im itate the expert— some are good, some are worse than useless.

Ther e are

numerous changing cards, cards that appear torn and restore themselves, cards that change from one suit to another, and, in fact, so many kinds are there that space will not allow me to detail them h e re ; the y may be found fu lly described in the catalogue of the m agical dealer. piece

of

apparatus, b y the w ay , is the

servante, for another.

A v er y usefu\

changing one pa ck

of

card

cards for

It is usu ally made to attac h to the ba ck

of a chair.

A trick known as the “ Diminishing

Pa ck of Cards ” is very good indeed, bu t the beginner must carefu lly pra ctice before he can exhibit it in a proficient manner.

CHAPTER V.

I

NOW propose to give a general description of an entertainmen t.

A model programm e

w ill be giv en, accompanied b y appro pria te

patter as a guide for the amateur in the arrange men t of others. the

preliminary

properties, &c.

B u t, first, let us briefly deal w ith arrangements

of

your

stage,


guide

t o

conjuring

.

49

It is best, whe re po ssible, to ha ve a pair of tables, one on each side of the stage; also a table nearly at the back of the platform, on which may stand your apparatu s, a co uple of ch airs, one on each side and sligh tly in front of the tables.

B oth

tables and chairs might be fitted with servantes (see Cha pter II.), and a chair cover or antimacassar should be thrown over the back of each chair. See ;

there

are

no

lights

behind

you,

and,

£jvhere possible, ha ve a d ar k back grou nd , it is § p re fer a b le to any other.

Y ou should have a

1 > —(list of the tricks y ou intend to wo rk, and in the "u Cjorder of presentation, accompanied by a note of o

every prop erty or item used in the perform ance.

i] •-
It serves as an aid to the m em ory,

> for in a long programme there is much to remem• /’"s i > (j ber, an d an experienced performer, if givin g a J) ^

lengthy show, does not disdain such an inve ntory.

<

If possible, arrange for a pianist to accom pany you, it adds g re a tly to th e eff ect of m an y trick s. Slow dreamy waltz music is appropriate for most items, while a patriotic air should be played during the presentation of a flag trick.

E ve ry

single item should be carefully rehearsed, and the patter comm itted to mem ory.

Th e following

tricks are very effective, and require, compara tively, but a small amount of practice :— “ T he W an d Produced from Purse ” (see Chapter III.). L “ Dresdin’s Flag Dyeing T rick.” “ Hildyard’s Jug, Tub, and Dove Illusion.”

50

b e g i n n e r ’ s g u id e t o c o n ju r in g .

“ The Smashed Watch.” “ Th e Card Nailed to the D oor, Card Fram e and H ildy ar d’s D iscov ery of a Chosen Card ” (pre sented in combination). Hildyard’s “ Burnt and Flying Handkerchief.” “ The Billiard Ball Trick.” “ Table Lifting.” Hildyard’s “ Indian Plant Illusion.” “ The Rice Bowls.” “ The Tambourine Trick.” The above programme may be presented in about one and a half hours, or may be made to last two hours, according to how you time your patter. Open w ith “ Th e W and Produced from the Purse ” and a little introductory patter something like the following :— “ Ladies and gentlemen, w ith your kin d perm ission I w ill introduce a series o f experim ents in legerdem ai ny»-or- natura l m ag ic. First, I will do the tricks, and after, I will show you how th ey are done (aside), a long time after, though .

Before I

proceed I shall require m y

magic wand, which I always carry about with me in my purse (take out purse, open it, and produce wand — see Chap. III.).

Quite a solid piece of

wood, is it not, sir ? (handing it to a gentleman). But, honestly, it is not as ordinary as it appears ; in fact, without its aid it would be impossible for me to present the tricks I propose to show you.” Now introduce D resdin’s “ Flag Dyeing T ric k ,” pattering

as

follows :— “ W ill

someone

kin d ly

examine this white handkerchief and small glass ?

b e g i n n e r ' s

T ha nk you, sir. no t ?

guide

t o

conjuring

.

51

Quite ordinary articles, are the y

Th e han dkerch ief cost ex ac tly three-three

farthings, the glass fourpence ; the extra va ga nt prices are, I think, a sufficient guarantee that there is no deception.

The glass is transparent—

you ca n see th ro ugh i t ; so you will th ro ugh the trick, if you look long enough.

I shall place the

hand kerchief in the glass and pour a little ordinary w et w ater on it from th is ju g.

W hat 1am about

to do is to subject it to my magic dyeing process, which, fo r rapid it y and finish, is unequalled. Observe I add a little red ink from this bottle. T he contents of the glass are now natura lly— or, rather, artificially— red ; bu t I w ant combination \ colours.

Ho w am

simp ler !

I to ge t them ?

Noth ing

I will add a little blue ink from this

other bottle, and cover the glass with a hand kerch ief.

Presto, chang e ! L et us see if I ha ve

been su ccessful.

I w ill rem ove th e handkerchief

and you will find, sir, that the handkerchief we placed in the glass is transformed to our national flag— the Union ja c k {pianist plays ‘ The Red, White, and Blue ’ ), dy ed w ith the grand old combination colours that never run." W e now pass on to H ildyard’s “ Jug, Tu b, and Do ve Illusion,” in which the flag plays an important pa rt.

Th e following pa tter is effective :— “ Ob

serve that I have here an ordinary sheet of paper. From it I construct a cone, or sugar-bag (the trick-cone described in Chap. III.).

Now, madam,

I w ill place the flag in the paper bag ; take charge of it for me, if you please ; than k you.

We w ill

52

BEGINNERS GUIDE TO CONJURING.

close the top of the bag. ha ve it, mad am ? else is satisfied.

Y ou are sure th at you

Qu ite righ t ? the n everyon e

No w, sir, w ill yo u examine this

small tu b— just a small, common tub, sir, I think ? I don’t know if you are an authority on tubs, sir ? A nd this ju g is fu ll of wate r, I thin k— pure w ater— the kind supplied by the town council— always supposing you have paid the water-rate. right ?

Quite

Then I will place the tub on the table

and pour water into it.

(Here the birds fly out,

spreading out a duplicate flag between them.

Go to

the lady, take paper bag, open it out, and show it empty, remarking,— ' Tru ly, the Union Jack will go an yw he re! ’ ”)

We

will now

introduce

“ Th e

Smashed W atc h ,” the pa tter for wh ich m ay run on the following lines :— “ Fo r m y ne xt experiment I shall require the loan of a small lady’s or gentle man ’s watch , or a lady ’s or gentlem an’s small w atc h.

T h a n k you, sir.

L u ckil y, the gentleman

doesn’t know me, or he would not have lent me the wa tch.

Yo u would recognise your property

in the eve nt of ever seeing it again, sir ? goo d time-keeper ?

No ?

Is it a

I t g ains som ew hat ?

Then I will endeavour to regulate it for you, sir ; so, with your permission, I will wrap it in this piece of paper and place it in the jar.

N ow , I

propose to regulate it by the aid of the kitchen poker (seem to smash watch); it is an infallible method .

R ath er a strik ing process, sir, is it no t ?

It would be safe to wager that a watch won’t either gain or lose afte r this.

( Look in the jar.)

I

am afraid I have been a little too severe, sir—


quite

a

nasty

guide

jar.

t o

conjuring

a

53

(Turn out pieces.)

graciou s ! w ha t ha ve I done ! time w ith

.

ven ge an ce!

Good

I ’v e been killing

Well, sir, to avoid

further trouble, I think I will wrap the pieces up for you.

The watch will go again yet— wherever

you m ay carry it. the damage ? loaf.)

Y o u hold me responsible fo r

T h a t’s unlucky.

(Bring forward

W ha t is this to do w ith it ?

Oh, a lot.

I

w ill show you th at a w atch and a loaf are in ti m ate ly associated.

Y ou see, a w atch is an inv en 

tion, bread is a necessity, and necessity is the m other of invention ; so the loaf is the mother of the wa tch.

( Here the remains vanish, and the

watch is found restored in the loaf.)

I don ’t think

your w atc h is any th e worse for its str ange e x  perience, sir, do you ? flies ! ”

It is wo nderfu l ho w time

N e xt follows “ Th e Card N ailed to th e

Door,” “ Card Frame,” and Hildyard’s “ Discovery of a Ca rd,” presented in combination, w ith the following p atter :— “ For m y n ext swindle I shall use this pa ck of cards.

T h ey are quite an ordinary

pac k— anyone is free to examine them.

Now I

w ant someone who is a good shuffler to shuffle them .

T h a t’s right, sir, shuffle to your he art’s

co n te n t; I don’t mind. card, sir ?

Now will you select a

Th an ks ; and you, ma dam ; and you ?

Now I will take the cards in rotation— or suppose I tak e tw o first.

Return yours, sir, and you rs,

ma dam ; now shuffle the pa ck. us ua lly fair ly good shufflers. the cards are in the pa ck ? frame.

A h ! ladies are

Y o u are convinced Now , note this little

It is qu ite em pty ; I will cover it so, and

54


place it down.

guide

t o

conjuring

.

Y ou r card was the ------ (snap

cards) ; th at was your card leaving the pa ck, sir. ( Uncover frame.) ne xt card.

Here it is.

I will throw the pa ck a t the door (on

which a card appears). mad am.

An d now for the

It is ?

Th at should be you r card,

The n I am successful so far.

Th ere is one more card, I think. self. it.

R etu rn it yo ur

See, it is sim ply impossible for me to remove No w shuffle the pac k, sir.

you how it ’s done.

No w I w ill tell

I t is done

by

a

h ig h ly

developed sense of touch, enabling me almost insta ntly to find an y card.

I will show you what

I mean (hold pack behind you. and produce card.) T h a t is yours, I think ; don’ t tell your friends how

it ’s

done,

w ill you,

sir ? ”

Our

ne xt

- item is H ildyard ’s “ Bu rnt and Fly ing H an d kerchief,” for which

this p atter goes w e ll :—

“ Here I h^Vj& three ha nd ke rch iefs ; one is red , - the other gseeaj, wh ile the third is blue.

I make

this interesting remark in case anyone here is colour-blind, as it would be a pity to miss the jrffg c t.

T h e blue an d red are tie d togeth er, th e

■ fffeea one is sepa rate from the oth ers— all th is in case you don ’t see it.

Now , sir, I will hold one

end of the two tied handkerch iefs ; w ill yo u hold the other end ?

Or yo u hold one end and I w ill

hold the other.

Or perhaps it is be tter to roll

them up into a compact little bundle. I do not exchange them.

No te that

K in d ly take charge of

them, if you please. / Now I propose to burn the tA.-» '~ •green ha nd ke rch ief; and as I find tha t if I set fire to it it usually burns better I will do so.

t JiA .

t c ^ ' - /

u n X '.t

? c' u

55

beginner’s guide to conjuring.

(Catch ashes.)

I w ill scatter the

ashes in the

air, sir, if you have no ob jection^ Now, just grasp the red projecting corner of tKe bundle, sir, and I w ill hold the blue ; when I count one— two — three, give a sharp pull.

One— two— two-and-a- - ___

ha lf— don’t be too precipitate, sir !— three ; and

-/ J f ! ( £

the green one is restored, and has found its w a y

if . .,

betw een th e red and blue handkerch iefs. not cross, are yo u ? ”

. ./ //

Y o u ’re

J •

N ow present the “ Billia rd

B all Trick ” :— “ Ladies and gentlemen, for m y next experiment I propose to evolve something from nothing, proving the fallacy of the theory th at of nothing nothing comes.

Observe th at m y

hands contain nothing but what soap and water w il l re m ove, and th at I have noth in g up m y sleeves but m y arms— I can’t help having them ; they were a birthd ay present.

B y this simple act

of placing them together I produce a silk hand kerchief.

Ag ain observe m y hands are em pty ;

y et, takin g th e handkerc hief betw een m y fin gers, it takes the form of a billiard ball.

I swallow it

(a matter of palming), and here it is under my vest.

Now, w atch me ve ry closely, or I am afraid

I shall deceive you — and I do hate to deceive people.

It mu ltiplies to two, then three, now

four balls.

Now they grad ually dissolve, one at a

time, till I am left w ith one.

A pass, and the red

ball has ch an ged to bla ck, you see. again it is red.

Now once

I tak e it so, and I am left with

no thing, as at first.”

W e now pass on to “ Tab le-

Liftin g ” :— “ K ind ly examine this small table.

It

appears to be an ordina ry one ; bu t I w ill be

„

56

b e g i n n e r ' s

to c o n j u r i n g .

guide

frank with you— it is not. Y o u don’t believe ? you.

Th is table is haunted.

F ortu n ately I can prove it to

I rub m y han ds to geth er, so ; th is is to

generate animal magnetism, without which com mu nication w ith the spirits is impossible. place m y hand on the table.

Spirits, come ! A n d ,

you see, it rises w ith m y hand. when you get home.

N ow I

Y ou try it, sir ,

Sim ply pla ce your hand

on the tab le and say ‘ Spirits, come ! ’

If the y

don’t come at once, keep on calling till they do. I once knew a man who tried this experiment as follows :— He saw a b ill in a tailor’s window which read : ‘ Han ds wa nted on trouse rs.’

H e placed

his hands on a pair at the door, he walked aw ay , and the trousers followed his hands.

A policeman

placed his hands on his shoulder, he followed the policeman, and it was three months before he again tried spirits of an y kind.

Perhap s someone

w ould like to ta ke this ta ble ho me w ith th em and pra ctise?

Y ou m ay have it for fifty pounds.

It

is easy enough to get in touch with the spirits.

It

will only ta ke you tw en ty years, more or less, to m ake a good medium.

The re is a medium in

everything, you know, even in dealing with spirits — especially special Sco tch.”

Now for H ildya rd’s

“ Indian P lant Illusion ”— an astounding no velty, y et easy to perform .

T he p atter should be aft er

this style :— “ Allow me to draw your attention to this oriental flower-pot.

W ill an y lad y or gen tle

man please examine it for them selves ?

Q uite

free from prepara tion ; in fac t, as guileless as I_ am myself, to all appearance.

But

I

wo n’t


guide

t o

conjuring

.

57

^deceive you — there is more in it th an meets the eye.

It was given me by an Indian fakir, and has

a charm peculiar to itself.

I w ill fill the pot with

mould ; now, with my magic wand, I w ill mak e a little pit in the mould in which I will place 'some seeds.

W ill you examine them, sir ?

Th an k you.

No w for a little w arm th to force their grow th. strike a match and drop it in the pot. red flash ?

Notice tha t

T h a t is the seed bursting into life.

little growing music, please.

I A

Now for some w ater.

See, the buds are grad ually a ppearing ; w atch it carefulfy.

No w the growth is very rapid ; we

shall'soon have a fine plant.

W hat would ho rti

culturists give to learn this se c re t! con trast to rose culture, is it not ?

Ra ther a Y o u think

perhaps the pla nt is an artificial one ? assure you .

No , I

I will cut it to pieces and throw it

a b o u t; some m ay like to take them home as souvenirs.

If you place it in the ground there

is no doubt in a few days you will have a forest. No thing is impossible to a magician ; you h a v e had ample proof, I thin k.”

W e will now take the

“ Rice Bow ls ” :— “ Here are two ordinary em pty bowls and a bag full of rice.

I w ill fill one of th e

bo wls w it h rice — observe it really is full.

I w ill

level the rice off flush with the top of the bowl, and place the second one upside down upon it. No w a little music, please.

I remove the top

bo wl, and th e rice has dou bled in qu an tit y— in fa ct, sufficient to fill bo th bowls. place the bowls together.

Once again I

Presto, ch a n g e!

I

remove the top bowl, and pure water has taken

58

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO CONJURING.

the place of the rice.

T he wa ter is quite genuine

— ii anyone doubts it, I will be pleased to throw a little

over

them— the

rice

I have in m y

p o ck e t; and another m ystery remains unsolved.” W e now pre se nt our co nclu din g item ,

“ The

Tam bourine T ric k ,” wh ich is ve ry effective :— “ Ladies and gentlemen, here are two nickel-plated rings.

T he y were gold, but, m y natu ral m odesty

forbidding me to use such co stly properties, I had them plated.

T he y appear ordinary enough, bu t

th ey possess some extra or di na ry properties. .The re __ _are different kinds of rings— prize rings, po li tical and party rings, engagement rings (which some times come off rather easily), and wedding rings (which are, or ough t to be, a fixture)— and these rings— one hard ly knows w hat to call them. are like overgrown serv iette rings.

Th ey

One is sligh tly

larger than the other ; so, according to Eu clid, one must be sligh tly smaller than the other.

Now.

observe, I place them together with a piece of paper between them— to be correct, the cover of Answers, which answers my purpose admirably. Now , I should like to borrow a little m usic ; I w ill retu rn it la te r on— oh ! kee p your seats ! I am not going to sing to y o u ; I ’m m erely going to give you a solo on m y tambourine. I am a born musician.

I m ay s a y ,

I came into the world

w ith an ear fo r music (so does a donkey) ; b u t, not having had the advantage of a musical edu cation, I’ve had to confine my efforts to the tambourine. No w for the solo. (Rap it with your knuckles.) Isn’t that love ly ? Th e applause

b e g i n n e r ’s

guide

to

c o n ju r i n g

.

59

ha ving subsided, I will do it again ; in fact, 1 will repeat it little

W h a t ! no applause !

I fear you have

app reciation of good music.

( Here you

again beat the tambourine, and with studied careless ness push your finger through the centre of the paper.)

Th is is u n fo rtu n ate ; however, perhaps it

is ju st as well.

( Produce the silk handkerchiefs.)

W h at are these ?— silk handkerc hiefs— all colours, v you see— a red, a yellow, a green, and a blu e one. : Here is a wh ite one— you are lau gh ing; ■ unkind of you.

it is

It was w hite once ; now the

• white is subdued a bit— someone at the back said ; d irty, I thin k ?

Ra the r a rude remark, as the y

are ‘ L ibe rty ’ s ilk squa res.

There must be a

silkworm concealed somewhere in the tambourine. (Now produce flowers.)

I hear the lad y a t the

piano is playing ‘ The Flowers that Bloom in the Sp ring ’ ; bu t these bloom with a spring, if you on ly knew it.

On ly one more ; this is ‘ T he L ast

Rose of Sum mer.’

I ’m not sorry— (pulling out

end of ribbon)— w ha t is this ?— the spring of the tambourine, perhaps.

(Here pitll the ribbon out

slowly at first, then faster, pianist playing lively music.)

Th is is interesting ; m y arm is beginning

to ache.

(Now spin it out on your wand.) That’s

bett er !

I th in k someone must have cut off the

other end of it.

A t last— what a re lief!

(Pick up

the bundle of paper ribbon, producing from it a rabbit, which is obtained from breast pocket.) What ha ve

we

here ?— a

rabbit,

I

d e cla re !

Well,

madam, I think I had better rabbit (wrap it) up in paper for you, and yo u can take it home

60

BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO CONJURING.

w ith

you.

Ladies

and

gentlemen,

conclude m y entertainment.

th is

w ill

Allow me to thank

you fo r your kin d att ention, and also to thank those who have assisted me ; and I will ask you one favo ur before you go, and th at is, don ’t tell you r friend s how it ’s d on e.” My readers will understand I give the above as an example of the lines on which you should run your show ; it can be mod ified and altered to su it all requirements. I

would like to say here th at there are several

novel tricks which are good enough to find a place in any programme, and I don’t think it needs an apology if I mention a few.

I w ill divide them

into two classes— first, tricks t h at require little or no apparatus ; and, secondly, tricks that require more or less elabora te ap para tus.

In the first

class 1 m ay include : H ildyard ’s “ Pape r Tu be , Ribbon,

Flowers, and F lag Trick ,"

H ildyar d’ s

“ Thum b T ie,” “ The Tw entieth Century H and  kerchief Illusio n,” “ Cards, H at, and Pa per Cone Illusion ,” H ildya rd’s “ Bo ok and Flags Illusion ,” “ Japanese Fans and Bo uq ue t,” “ E gg and C on fett i Sh ow er,” H ildya rd ’s “ Card M iracle,” “ Th e Card in the Cigarette,” and many others too numerous to mention.

Th e abo ve tricks require

but th e sim plest accessories, and where anyth in g is required to be made, it is such that you can make yourself or have made for a small outlay. In the second category we might mention such effective tricks

as:

“ Th e G old-Fish Angling

Illusion,” “ The W andering Bottle and Glass,”

b e g i n n e r ’s

guide

t o

61

’ c o n ju r i n g .

H ildyard ’s “ Birdcage and Flag Illusion,” “ Th e Gu inea-P ig Sau cepa n,” “ Th e A ir B alloons from the H a t,” “ Th e Magical Su pp er,” &c., &c.

These

and similar tricks I would advise the reader to purchase from a reliable dealer in apparatus. In conclusion, let me warn you not to make the fatal mistake of attempting to crowd too many tricks into one programme.

If you have an

extensive repertoire, arrange into sep arate pro  grammes ; thus, if y.. j

are called on to

give

an entertainment again at the same place, you ha ve something fresh to show them.

W ith a

little thought you can arrange a programme to suit almost a n y class of audience.

As it is ha rdly

likely that a programme of tricks suitable for a juvenile au dience would find fa vour w it h adults, and vice-versa, you should arrange your programme accord ingly.

W ith these remarks I will leave

you, w it h m y best wishes for your success as a conjurer.

T1— Sfatc Library o£ Victoria “ A L M A CONJURING COLLECTION

62

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Arthur Otto - The Beginner's Guide to Conjuring (1910)

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