THE CARD IN THE BANANA

The main purpose of this bit of magic is to create amusement. Of course, all magic is designed, or should be designed, to amuse audiences but this trick, although mystifying, puts more stress on comedy. The amount of comedy which a magician is able to get from the trick depends upon his acting ability. Things seemingly go wrong and it is up to the performer to convince his audience that those things actually have gone wrong.

The effect of the trick is that the magician walks over to a table as be shuffles a pack of cards. I have used this trick only in night club shows. He puts the cards on the table and asks a gentleman to choose one card. The choice actually is free. The magician patters and the card is shuffled into the pack by the gentleman after be has autographed the face of the card.

The magician asks that the man choose a number and count down to that number. He does so but contrary to the magician's promise the card is not found. The gentleman is asked to count off more cards from the pack until the number is reached again. Still the card is not found. He is asked to count a third time but still the card is missing.

The magician gives up and goes into the next trick in which be brings from his pocket a banana. He peels the banana half way down and bites off a piece and eats it. When he bites off the second piece a folded card is exposed. It is taken out of the banana, unfolded, and shown to be the signed card. That is the way the audiences remember the trick--but there is a little more to it.

Once the card is in the hand of the magician, it is easy to get it in the banana. All that he has to do is to bold the card in the ordinary palming position and close his hand as this will fold the card in half. If the card is given a quarter turn on the palm and the hand closed again, the card will have been folded in quarters.

Before the show the banana has been prepared by cutting through the skin (along one of the "seams") a slit a little longer than half the length of the card. As a banana is very soft it will be found both quick and easy to push the card into the banana. The slit should be made starting at the center of the fruit and cutting up toward the end. How does the magician get his hands on the card without touching the pack? This, too, depends upon his acting ability to make convincing, for he does not touch the cards once be has given the pack to have the card selected.

There is a special card used in the trick. This card is made special by being split in two and glued together after a safety razor blade (or similarly sized piece of thin steel or iron) has been placed in the middle of one side. When this card has been made it looks like an ordinary card but has a core of steel. Glued inside the card case, and at the lower end, is a magnet.

The reason for having the magnet at the lower end of the case is that the deck may be put half way into the case--I am, of course, assuming that a case is used which opens at one end. If the case is put on top of the card with the metal insides, even though there be an ordinary card above this prepared card, the cards will stick to the case when it is picked up again.

This is the basis for the trick. This is the routine and the patter for the trick. "Sir," (laying the pack on the table) "will you be kind enough to take any card in the pack? Please don't take the top or bottom card for there is a possibility that I might have learned which cards those are. Would you mind writing your name on the face of the card." (Here I hand him one of those giant fountain pens.) "Will you, sir, kindly hold the card up so that others may see it. Now just drop the card face down on top of the deck."

Time should be taken at this point in the explanation to mention that when the magician was walking over to the table, seemingly shuffling the cards, actually he was so shuffling that the card with the hidden piece of metal was kept on top of the pack. We have now reached the point in the trick where the freely chosen and marked card is on top of the card with the metal core. "Funny thing about cards you can always draw the Queens if you have the Jack."

On the laugh, the magician drops the case directly on top of the pack. He had taken the case out of the pocket where he had put it when the cards were first introduced as the gentleman had been signing the card. "Now, sir, will you shuffle the pack please. I won't touch it." The case is picked up by the magician and replaced in his pocket.

With the case and into the pocket goes the card with the metal core and the selected and signed card. During the time the man shuffles the deck and later on hopelessly hunts for his card the magician has plenty of time to slide the card away from the magnet, to fold it, and put it in the banana. "We're going to count down in the pack to a number thought of by you.

Think of any number at all--from one to fifty-two. Remember, sir, you are going to do the counting, so don't make it too hard on yourself. Pardon me what was the number?--And the card thought of? All right count down to number ten--Remember I haven't touched the cards--and hand me the Four of Spades. (I am using that card and that number merely as examples.) Oh it isn't that card? What number did you think of, sir? Let's start over again--count ten more cards."

(Here the magician begins counting with him.) Hand me the Four of Spades. Wrong again? Well start counting again." (Then as an aside)--"Last night it took me two hours to do it--last week I couldn't do the trick at all. "Try it once more--count ten cards and hand me..." Here the magician walks around so that he can look over the shoulder of the gentleman and as the wrong card comes up again he shows by his expression that it is not the right card.

He reaches over and picks up all the cards from the table and throws them over his shoulder. "Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, the next trick is a little trick using an orange." He takes a banana out of his pocket. "Would you care to join me, sir?" Another banana is taken from the pocket and handed to the man who had just helped with the cards. Still another banana is silently handed to a second person.

The magician peels the banana half way and starts eating it to the point where the folded card is half exposed. He curiously looks at the card in the banana, takes it out, and unfolds it. "Ah, the missing Four of Spades. Your card, sir? And your signature-- known only to you and to God."

PRODUCTION OF TWO PIGEONS

By this method a magician can produce two pigeons, or but one, or if he would rather he can produce a small rabbit or a bundle of silk handkerchiefs. The effect is that the magician shows a large silk handkerchief. It is perhaps best that it be folded when first introduced. He shakes it out and spreads it between his two bands as be holds opposite corners. He shows both sides of the silk and one after another he picks up each corner and puts them into his right hand. When all four corners are held together the handkerchief hangs down in the form of a bag.

The magician then reaches into this bag and brings forth his pigeons one at a time. The production is made in just the same manner if the magician is using either a rabbit or handkerchiefs. With the rabbit, of course, but one production is made. The load is kept in a specially made bag to which there is a wire handle.

Perhaps it would be best to describe this bag and its construction before attempting to describe either where the bag is hidden or the sequence of the moves necessary for the production. The shape of the bag illustrated is for holding a pigeon, or made a little larger for holding two pigeons.

The bag was designed so that a pigeon could be put into the bag or taken out without, in any way, injuring the bird. Particular attention is called to the wire netting for air at the pigeon's head. The smallest size dress snaps hold the bag closed after the pigeon has been put into the bag. The handle is made of wire, doubled so as to make a loop at its outer end. The end of the handle attached to the bag has a hinge joint.

This joint is so made that when the handle is at right angles to the bag it hits a stop which keeps the handle from falling down. The joint, however, permits the handle to move up. Right at the top of the bag, and by the handle joint, is fixed a hook made of flat metal. This hook is about three-quarters of an inch wide.

There is a flat metal tube made with an opening of the size easily to take this hook. To this tube is soldered a safety pin. In order to hide the load, the safety pin on the tube is fastened to the seam of the seat of the trousers just above the crotch. The hook is put into the tube so that the handle of the bag points towards the magician's right.

Both the bag and handle are covered by the tails of the magician's dress coat. The large silk should be of quite thin material. The silk should he only heavy enough so that it is not transparent. To two corners of the silk should he sewn bone, or plastic, rings such as ladies use for drawstring bags. These are purchasable at any notions counter and are just a little larger than a finger ring.

When the handkerchief has been shaken out at the start of the trick, the magician immediately sticks the little finger of each hand through these rings. His right hand moves so that his first, second, and third fingers are behind the silk. The thumb is in front of the silk and shows to the audience as does the little finger. The bone rings are not noticed.

First the silk is shaken and then held out to show the one side. As this side is shown the magician has his arms straight down and a couple of inches in front of his legs. This is a most natural way of showing the silk because the magician draws everyone's attention to the silk by bowing his head and looking at it himself. After the silk has been shown on this side for a few seconds--the trick should not be hurried--he swings his left hand over to the right in order to show the other side.

As the swing is made the right hand moves back a few inches so that the fingers inside the silk can grasp the handle of the load. As the back of the silk is shown for the same length of time as was the front, ample opportunity is given for the magician to get a good grip of the loop of the handle. The moment the handle is grasped it is lifted enough to free the hook from the holder.

As the magician brings his left arm back so that the first side of the silk is again toward the audience, he steps to the right one step. As this step is made his hands are lifted and the handle is permitted to turn in the fingers so that it hangs perpendicularly and, because of the hinged joint, the bag hangs straight beneath the handle. The left hand drops the corner it was holding and in letting go swings the corner so that the silk wraps about the bag.

These moves have to be described in sequence, but in actual performance several are done at the same time. When properly done they so synchronize that it seems to the audience that all the magician possibly could have done was to show the back and front of the handkerchief. At this point the magician is holding the handkerchief, shoulder high, by one corner. The left hand then lifts one corner after another to the fingers of the right hand.

All the fingers are free to grasp these corners except the middle finger which goes through the loop of the handle. When all the corners are in the right hand the magician reaches in at the opening, caused by the slack of one of the sides hanging down, and quickly pulls open the snaps. He then lifts the pigeons out of the bag. Once the production is made, the handkerchief, and the concealed load bag, is put on a table or handed to an assistant.

It will be obvious that the silk from which the production is made should be of such a size that when it is gathered into a bag it still will be longer than the combined length of the load bag and handle. This production has proven to be appealing to audiences because it seems to them that the magician actually materializes the pigeons in a thin silk bag which was made before their eyes. It is a clean production and easily portable.

Because at the moment that the load is swung behind the handkerchief, and before it is wrapped in the silk, it can be seen from behind, the trick cannot be done with people all around the magician-but they may be on three sides.

FISHBOWL PRODUCTION

For a number of years this fishbowl Production was used as the openingeffect in my stage shows. It is quick and very astonishing because a verylarge howl is used and the production is made on an undraped table sofar down stage that it is almost against the footlights. The trick iscompletely mystifying to the lay audience and to magicians as well.

Although I believe that it is wrong to design shows to fool othermagicians, it is rather satisfying to find a trick which they don't catchand which at the same time is liked by the general public.

This is the effect of the trick to the audience. The curtain goes up andtwo assistants are standing on the stage. Both are wearing red uniformswith capes lined with gold. The capes are thrown back so that the liningsshow. One assistant is a girl and one a boy. They both stand in the sameway--with the right arms behind them and with the left arms bent at theelbow so that their left hands are over their hearts. The girl has a silkcloth of heavy material over her left arm. The girl stands a little to stageright of the center of the stage and the boy stands opposite her on stageleft.

The magician walks in rapidly and quickly pulls the cloth from thearm of the girl. He opens the cloth with a jerk and catching hold of onecorner tosses the cloth so that the boy catches it by the opposite corner.The magician, and the boy, rush down stage holding the cloth. It is heldover an undraped and empty table and jerked away by the magician. Onthe table now stands a large glass fishbowl three-quarters full of water.The cloth is tossed to the boy and the magician takes his bow.The fishbowl should be described because, while it is quite a usualdesign for fishbowls, it is not the design usually used by magicians. Itstands twelve inches high and is fourteen inches in diameter at itswidest part.

It has the usual small rimmed neck but the body of the bowlis tapered rather than being round as is probably more common adesign. This vase shaped bowl, I found, looked bigger to the audiencethan does a round bowl--of course, either looks infinitely bigger than aflat bowl. The boy assistant actually has the bowl behind his back andbrings it out with his right arm under cover of the cloth as he and themagician walk down stage. The point is that without a gimmick it isimpossible for the assistant to grip the bowl so as to hold it behind hisback and anyway it is far too heavy a bowl for him to hold merely by thestrength of his arm. The gimmick consists of two parts.

One part is awire twisted around the lip of the bowl and again twisted to make asmall wire loop at the side of the bowl. This wire when finished looks likea figure 8 with the lower loop big enough to go around the bowl and theupper loop about a half inch in diameter. The second part of thegimmick is a leather strap with a buckle.

This strap--I used a dog collar--is covered with the same red material that is used in the uniform. To this strap is fastened (and most securely) a harness hook from which the spring has been removed. This strap is fastened about the right arm of the assistant just above the biceps and so that the hook hangs down on the inside of the arm.

To get loaded the assistant bends over a tableupon which the bowl has been placed and hooks the wire loop on thebowl with the harness hook. He then stands and the bowl hangs down.He curls his arm around and his hand under the bowl and pushes thebowl behind his back. The weight of the bowl comes entirely on the strapon the arm. The only physical effort the assistant has to make is to pushthe bowl behind his back, which is very easy. The reason that the bowl isonly three-quarters filled with water is, first, because the water moreeasily may he seen than in the case of a full bowl and, second, becauseit does not make the bowl so heavy.

A bowl of this size will hold about anaverage pail of water.Under cover of the forward run with the magician, the assistant swingshis arm forward and the moment the bowl is above the table, he stoopsuntil the bowl rests on the table and the harness hook is out of the wireloop. He then steps back and stands a few feet away until the cloth istossed to him. The cloth and rubber top usual for such bowls is used,that is, sheet rubber on the inside and canvas on the outside with a roperun in the hem. The rope is made of such a size that it will fit tightly overthe lip of the bowl.

A corner is left of the cloth or an extra small loop ofrope is made so that one or other is available to catch hold of and morequickly and easily jerk off the cover. The cloth is essential, for the rubbercovers used with the smaller bowls will not hold the weight of the waterin so large a bowl.The table upon which the production is made should be quite heavy sothat it does not tip or collapse when the bowl lands on it.

I used a heavyKellar base with a five ply round board top ten inches in diameter. It isessential for the full effect of the trick that the table should be of thesimplest possible constructionIt has always seemed rather silly to me for a magician to producesomething for which he has no use and so immediately the bowl wasproduced I went into the "Winter in China" effect and used the water inthe bowl to wet the pieces of torn paper.

When that trick was over the bowl was removed by one of the assistants. But whether you wish a bowl production as a trick to lead into another or as an effect complete in itself is not the point at the moment. You will find this less bulky to carry about than the special table jobs and besides you will have a much larger production.

You will have to rehearse with your assistant but then what trick is there in which you can use an assistant without rehearsal?The main thing with this trick, or, for that matter, with any other, is the effect upon an audience. To an audience it is real magic, as years of performance have proven.

THE NEST OF BOXES

This method for performing the rings and nest of boxes is entirely original. It has saved me plenty of trouble and extra weight in my show. I have found the effect upon the audience of this method even more striking than the old method with the bottomless box and the special table, because it all seems so fair and is so free from fussing about.

The effect is the same as the old favorite. Several rings are borrowed from members of the audience and they are pounded up and pushed into a pistol. The pistol is fired at a box which has been in plain sight from the beginning of the performance. The box is tied with ribbon. It is an attractive lacquer box. The box is opened and another is found inside. That, too, is opened only to find a third box. The number of boxes in the nest may be left to the wishes of the magician.

The last box is opened and the magician reaches inside and picks up the end of a ribbon. He lifts this up and the rings are seen to be tied, one under another, to this ribbon. The ribbon is about two feet long and the rings are tied about four inches apart on the ribbon. This idea of the rings all being found tied on one ribbon is where the trick begins to be different.

The magician says to the audience that be is in a quandary for if he gives the ribbon to the first lady he also gives her the three other rings. He suddenly gets an idea and he calls for a pair of scissors. The assistant brings the scissors in a small basket. The magician takes the scissors and cuts the ribbon--about midway between the two lower rings--and the bottom ring falls into the basket.

He then cuts the ribbon twice more and lets each ring fall into the basket. He then hands the scissors to the assistant and takes the basket down to the audience so that each lender may take back her ring still tied to the little length of ribbon. It will be plain that except when the magician pounds the rings into the bullets to load the pistol, he never actually touches the rings.

That is the effect and this is the method I use. When I borrow the rings I collect them upon the end of my wand. I have four duplicates concealed at the other end of the wand by my hand. This is most natural a concealment for that hand seems merely to be holding the wand. The exchange is easily made on my way back to the stage and after I have slipped the four duplicates off the wand onto a plate, I drop the four
original rings into a small basket on my table, as I pick up a hammer which I use to pound the "rings" into bullets to fit the pistol.

As soon as the pistol is loaded the assistant has taken the originals off the stage. Once back stage, the assistant ties a short piece of ribbon--about four inches long--with a single knot on each ring. The rings and their ribbons then are placed in the side flaps of a changing basket--two rings on each side. A pair of scissors is now put in the basket and the assistant is ready to enter with the basket and scissors the moment he is called.

The nest of boxes has been in full view of the audience from the start of the performance. There is nothing at all out of the ordinary about the boxes except that I use, and suggest should be used, an exceedingly handsome set of decorated lacquer boxes. I feel that beautiful boxes add materially to the effect from the standpoint of the audience. In the innermost box is the two foot long piece of ribbon (need I mention of the same kind and color as those small pieces now hidden in the changing basket) and on this ribbon are tied four rings.

I use four good looking rings of the usual size and designs. Incidentally I overlook exceedinglylarge or odd looking rings when I originally borrow them. As soon as I take this ribbon from the box I swing it slowly back and forth. This keeps even the eagle eyed person from being certain of his identification. After the pistol has been discharged, I go over to the nest of boxes and open each in turn until I find the ribbon and the rings.

The scissors are then called for and are brought out in the basket by the assistant, which is proper. The assistant should always offer the magician on a tray or basket, whatever is called for, never with his hands. An assistant should follow the same rules as a waiter in handing anything to the magician. The scissors are taken and the ribbon cut. It is perfectly natural for the magician to hold the ribbon over the basket for otherwise the ring would drop on the floor.

The ribbon is cut again and again. Each ring goes into the basket. The scissors are then handed to the assistant and at the same time I take the basket by the handle. Taking the basket by the handle releases the flaps holding the borrowed rings and as those rings come into view, the flaps cover the duplicate set. I then step into the audience and let each person pick out her own ring.

It is unnecessary to describe the construction of the changing basket minutely for it is a stock item with the dealers. It is a tricky thing to make and besides the ones offered for sake are very well made and attractive looking. At times in performing this trick I find only three rings in the nest of boxes and finally discover the missing fourth ring in some unexpected place.

According to the show you do, this addition may or may not be worthwhile. With this method everything is so simple that it cannot fail to work. There are no mechanical traps nor heavy tables. The trick has been a great favorite of mine for years and largely because it has been such a favorite of my audiences.

BEER AND MILK

BEER AND MILK

Pouring several different drinks from one container is a feat of magic known to be several hundred years old. The first description of the effect tells about using a beer keg having several compartments each connected with the one spigot so that, in turn, one after another of the drinks could be drawn by the magician. Later a bottle was used instead of a beer keg and the mechanism was made much more simple to
operate. There were several air vents which could be covered or opened by the fingers of the hand in which the magician held the bottle, very much in the way a musician plays a flute.

This bottle trick was a feature in the programs of John Henry Anderson and Signor Blitz, as well as Alexander Herrmann and Harry Kellar. In fact most of the leading magicians of the past century and the early part of this one had the trick in their shows. I had always liked the idea of the trick and therefore based my entire act upon the idea, but with an entirely different set of principles and actually giving the audience a genuine choice of any drink they wished. In the time of Anderson, he seemed to give the same choice but a hundred years ago there were few mixed drinks and there were but a limited number of any kind for which a gentleman would ask.

Another change I made in the act was to announce that I would produce the chosen beverages if the various spectators each would "Think-a-Drink." In line with this think a drink idea, I modernized and perfected another old effect which I used in my act during a time when I wanted to make the act longer. The effect is that of drawing a picture on a paper and then producing the actual article from the drawing.

Pictures of rabbits and girls have been drawn on sheets of paper and the live rabbit or the living girl produced from the drawing. There was even an old effect of drawing a beer keg upon a piece of paper and drawing beer from the keg. This is the basis as far as idea goes of the effect I am about to describe. It has been modernized and elaborated as with the rest of my act. I know the effect upon the audience and the practicability of the apparatus. Naturally I presented it in line with the "Think-a-Drink" patter but other magicians will find it just as effective using patter fitting in with their own shows.

I suggested that some people had difficulty thinking of something unless they visualized it. I saw there was such a person in my audience and asked for paper and crayon. My assistant immediately brought forward a drawing board upon which there was a piece of drawing paper thumb tacked to the board at the four corners. I took the board and spun it around to show both back and front and handed it back to the assistant. She held it up against her chest and I took the crayon and started in to draw a picture. It was soon apparent that the picture was that of a beer keg.

I then took an ordinary beer spigot and pushed it into the head of the picture of the keg. Then one after another I filled four beer glasses by turning on the spigot. When the fourth glass was about half full, I pretended to hear the question, "What about milk?" "It is just as easy to visualize milk as beer," So saying I jerked the spigot from the picture and took the board from the girl and gave it a quarter turn. With a few strokes of the crayon the beer keg was transformed into a cow--a cartoonist's idea of a cow--but a cow.

I immediately started in to milk that cow and the milk went into the glass with the same strong, but intermittent, streams that it comes from the more genuine variety. The secret of the trick is the construction of the board. It looks like an ordinary drawing board of medium size. Actually the board is only a shell of very thin veneer. Inside this hollow board is a tank made of copper which has been chromium plated to make it easier to clean.

The tank is approximately ten by sixteen inches by one inch in thickness. Such a size tank will have the capacity to fill four beer glasses. At the top of the drawing board is a small thumb screw which will open the air vent in the tank, and which can be opened by the girl who holds the board during the trick. At the bottom of the tank is a valve held shut normally by a spring. When the spigot is pressed against that valve, it is opened. The valve diameter is exactly the same as that of the end of the spigot.

It will be seen essential that there be no fumbling when the magician pushes the spigot into the "beer keg" and into the valve hole. In order to find this hole immediately, the spot previously has been marked on the paper. As a matter of fact the entire picture of the barrel and the additional lines turning the barrel into a cow have been drawn on the paper with a fine pencil. The only other point to know about the beer compartment is that it is filled through the air vent by using a funnel.

The milk is held in a rubber tube with a bulbous end, which is put out by medical supply houses. It is made of quite light rubber. This rubber tube is fastened to one side of the beer tank, and in just the position that the bulb end will come at that spot in the cartoon of the cow where the udder has been drawn. There is a vent at the top of this tube such as for the beer tank and the milk is poured into the tube in that way. The tip of the bulb has a small hole cut in it--large enough to permit the milk to be forced out but too small for the milk to run out.

When the tube is being filled the bulb is squeezed shut and as the milk runs into the tube, the pressure on the bulb is released. This fills the bulb with milk. When the magician comes to the milking effect, he takes hold of this bulb and by squeezing it, he will squirt the milk out in a stream. Repeating this several times will give an exact copy of milking a real cow. It should be pointed out that both at the hole for the spigot and at the udder of the cow, the paper has been cut with a razor blade before the performance.

At the spigot hole, a cross is cut and the udder is outlined by the razor just inside the pencil line which is to be traced with the crayon. The first cut permits the spigot to go in easily without having to put on enough pressure to burst the paper. The second cut permits the bulbous end of the rubber to be taken in the hand as if it were the teat of the cow.

The trick is a comedy item and as such will be found very amusing; however it is also a good trick because it does not seem possible to have so much liquid hidden anywhere. The drawing board looks so fair and the five glasses of liquid look so much bigger than they are actually. It also adds immensely to the trick having the change in liquid not only because of the tricky change in the drawing in making a cow out of a barrel, but because beer is so entirely different from milk. I sincerely hope that you will like the trick as it is, but even if it will not fit in your show, I hope that it will lead you to think of ways to modernize and elaborate some tricks which you have always wanted to do but felt were pretty dated. Old ideas and modern methods make a wonderful combination.

DUOFLIGHT

DUOFLIGHT

Effect. A spectator counts ten cards from a red backed deck and they are sealed in a marked envelope. A second spectator counts ten cards from a blue backed deck. Two spectators each select one of these ten cards and after they are replaced with the other cards all ten cards are sealed in a second marked envelope. The two selected cards travel into the first envelope among the red cards, leaving only eight blue cards in the second envelope.

Special requirements. Two decks of cards are needed; one pack having red backs, one pack having blue backs. It is also necessary to have ten extra cards with backs matching the blue pack. Four of these cards are of one value and four of another. In other words there are two sets of four identical cards. The other two extra blue backed cards must be different but it does not matter what they are. The magician must also have a packet of envelopes, one of which has had the flap cut off, and a pencil. The best envelopes to use are those with long flaps. I suggest using a pencil which has red lead at one end and blue lead at the other.

Preparation. From the blue backed deck remove duplicates of the two indifferent extra cards mentioned above and any six other cards. These eight cards are all put in one envelope and the envelope without the flap is slipped under its flap. These two envelopes are held together as one envelope and placed at the bottom of the stack of envelopes. Also remove from the same deck the two cards to correspond to the extra forcing cards. These are placed face up between the two ordinary envelopes at the top of the stack. On top of the blue deck place the two sets of our identical cards, arranged alternately, and the two indifferent cards making the top and bottom card of the stack of ten. Put this blue back deck back into the case. The red deck remains unprepared.. If you have the pencil handy, you are
ready to perform.

Performance. With the stack of envelopes in the left hand, or nearby on a table, give the red backed deck to a spectator to remove from the case and shuffle. Have him count ten cards on your extended right hand. Have him repeat the count, one by one, so that there can be no mistake. Place these ten cards face up on top of the envelopes, and immediately over the two hidden red cards, while you pick up the pencil with which you mark his initials on the top envelope. As this envelope is to hold the red cards, you use the red end of the pencil.

Now draw this top envelope out from between the ten red cards on top of it and the two blue cards beneath it, thereby adding the two blue cards to the ten red cards. This is done as if showing everyone the initialled envelope. Then cut the cards to bring the two blue cards to the center of the pack of "ten" cards and put them into the marked envelope. The envelope is then sealed.

Having put the stack of envelopes aside for the moment, pick up the blue backed cards and remove them from the case. This deck is then shuffled by the magician. Actually a false shuffle is used which will retain the top ten cards in position. A second spectator is given the cards and asked to count ten cards, naturally from the top of the deck, face down upon your right hand. Square the cards and without in any way calling attention to the act, give the audience a flash of the bottom card which is one of the two indifferent cards.

Hand the cards back to the spectator and have the count repeated slowly, one by one, so that there can be no mistake in the count. Again give the audience a flash of the bottom card which will be the other ordinary card. The audience have now seen two of the cards, which is unspoken evidence that all ten are ordinary. Fan these ten blue cards and have a spectator select a card. As he goes to remove one tell him to select two cards, one for his neighbour.

Take care that the two cards are removed together, as this will insure, due to the arrangements of the cards, that he will select one each of the cards which have duplicates already sealed in the first envelope. After these cards are noted they are returned to the packet of cards. The pack of envelopes is, picked up, and in doing this the stack is reversed, bringing the loaded double envelope to the top. With the blue end of the pencil the initials of the second assistant are marked upon the flap of the top envelope. Of course, really this is the flap of the second envelope, which already is loaded with the eight blue cards. Now lift the flap and insert the ten blue cards into the top (flapless) envelope. By grasping the marked flap draw out the envelope to which it is attached and leave the flapless envelope on top of the stack.

As this is done the hand and wrist are bent so that the envelopes are on edge and the envelope with the marked flap is lifted up away from the rest. The flapless envelope is towards the performer and the extra envelopes of the stack are towards the audience. Thus the two packets of blue cards are subtly and simply exchanged--the forcing packet of ten cards is exchanged for the packet of eight indifferent cards, and yet the cards were "put" into a marked envelope. The second spectator seals and retains his marked envelope.

Finale. The work is now done and it only remains to have the spectators name the two chosen cards, command them to pass from the one envelope to the other, and to have the envelopes opened to prove that this has been accomplished. The details of showmanship are, after all, up to the individual magician.

However as each point of trickery is completely covered I suggest that too much emphasis cannot be given to the marking of the envelopes, the fairness of the counting of the cards, nor, after the two cards have been chosen, to the fairness of the selection of the cards. I also suggest emphasizing the fact that the one envelope has been in the possession of the one assistant before the blue pack was touched, and that both packs were held by the assistants before you were informed as to which cards had been chosen.

The trick has long been a favorite of mine and experience has shown me that it is both convincing and astounding to audiences. In closing let me call your attention to the fact that when the cards, held by the spectators at the finale, are returned to their respective decks, both decks are complete and "clean" for use in other tricks.

THE PIERCED CARDS

THE PIERCED CARDS

All that is needed for this trick is a deck of cards, a bodkin, a length of
ribbon and a paper bag. With that equipment you will have an effect
which may be performed impromptu and which I am sure that you will
like because it is so effective. There are so few card tricks which are big
in effect that I am certain that you will welcome this one.

The effect is not new but previous methods for performing the trick have
always needed special cards, or a prepared bag, and having the cards
forced. In this case you use any bag, any cards, and any ribbon, as well
as any bodkin.

Two cards are freely selected from the deck and returned and the cards
are shuffled. The cards are then dropped into an examined paper bag. A
ribbon is threaded through the bag with a sharp bodkin. The bodkin is
removed and the ends of the ribbon are handed to spectators to hold.
The bag is opened and the center of the ribbon is pulled up so that the
audience can see that it actually goes through the bag. The ribbon is
pulled back into the bag. The bag is shaken so that the cards further are
mixed inside the bag. The paper bag is torn away and the two chosen
cards are found to be threaded on the ribbon.

The pack is first shuffled and two cards are chosen. The choice is
entirely free for it does not make the least difference what the cards are.
The paper bag is passed for examination and left in the bands of the
spectator.

When the cards are returned to the deck they are both passed to the
top. The deck is shuffled so that the two selected cards are not
disturbed. Finally in the shuffle, slip one of the cards to the bottom of
the deck. At this moment, a chosen card will be found at both the top
and the bottom of the deck.

The paper bag is picked up with the left hand grasping one side of the
mouth of the bag. The cards, which have been held in the right hand,
are dropped into the bag. That is, all the cards are dropped into the bag
but the top and bottom cards which are retained between the fingers
and thumb. You have done this sleight before in other tricks. It depends
upon the friction of the fingers to hold the two outside cards as the grip
on the pack is loosened. This is shown in illustration number 1.

The two chosen cards are passed between the lingers of the left hand.
Illustration 2. The cards are shaken about. The bodkin is then pushed
through the bag and through the cards as is shown in illustration 3. The
ribbon is then drawn right through so that the bag is at the middle of the
ribbon. The center of the ribbon is pulled up out of the mouth of the bag.
Remember at this point that the left hand still grasps the chosen cards.

The ends of the ribbon are given to two spectators--one on either side of
the bag. By this time the cards have been released by the left hand. The
mouth of the bag is gathered together and the cards shaken again. Then
the bag is torn off the ribbon and the two chosen cards are found to be
strung on the ribbon.

Too much emphasis cannot be given to the fact that the cards finally
found on the ribbon actually are the cards which a moment before were
so freely chosen. You may wish to have the cards marked by those
choosing them. In order that the freedom of selection may better be
noted, you may wish to give the deck to each person to hold in his own
hands as he makes his selection.

At such times as you show the trick as an impromptu effect, you will find
it very easy to get the cards, ribbon, and paper bag. You may not find it
quite so easy to borrow a bodkin. On such occasions you will find it
perfectly possible to make a hole through bag and cards with the small
blade of a penknife and then use the point of the knife to push the
ribbon through the hole.

When you do the trick, having brought your own materials, you will find
it advisable to use a fairly strong ribbon, though not more than threequarters
of an inch wide, and a fair size paper bag. The bodkin, which
should have a sharp point the more easy to impale the cards, will, of
course, be threaded by the ribbon before the performance.

With proper presentation the effect can be built into magic which will
long be talked about. As everything which may be seen is so fair, the
patter should stress right up to the end that the magician "has done
nothing." When the bag has been threaded on the ribbon and the
spectators have hold of the ends and actually the trick is all over--then is
the time for the magician to say, as strongly as possible, just what he
plans to do. That, by the way, is the best time for a magician to make his
promises--after he has reached a point where it is impossible for
anything to go wrong.

SEVEN COINS

To start, it is not necessary to use seven coins in this trick. It is perfectly
possible to do the trick with either three coins or five. Seven coins are
most effective but sometimes I like to do the trick with borrowed coins
and it is not always easy to find seven half-dollars. Half-dollars, I hadn't
got around to mentioning, are the best size coins to use.

Here is the effect. The magician counts out seven coins--or five, or three,
at any rate an odd number of coins--on to the hand of a spectator. He
then puts out his left hand and asks that four coins be counted upon his
left palm. When that is done he puts out his right hand and has the
remaining three coins put, one at a time, on that palm. He then calls
attention to the fact that he has four coins on his left palm and three on
his right.

He takes one away from his left hand and drops it with the rest
in his right. He closes both hands into fists and calls attention once more
to the number of coins in each hand. Now he has the four in the right
and only the three in the left. He jingles the coins and asks the
spectators how many coins in each hand. No matter what they say, he
opens his right hand to show that he has all seven coins in that hand,
and then opens his left to show it empty. Then, if the coins are borrowed
he hands back the money.

The comedy in the trick depends upon the magician's trying seemingly
to get the audience confused as to which hand has the odd coin. Getting
them worried over the location of that one coin is the business which
gives the magician a chance to steal the three coins without their being
any the wiser.

There is nothing to get ready and all that you have to have is the
knowledge of the routine and the way to transfer the coins. Remember
you can borrow the money--anyway you can try. If you can't, you can
always use palming coins. As a trick by itself it is good, particularly
because you can do it any time--any where, and as a part of the miser's
dream, or some other coin routine, it is also good.

When you start in the first business of four coins on the left hand and
three on the right, it is just to get the people thinking about their being a
different number of coins in the two hands. When the thumb and first
finger of the right hand--the other three fingers are closed to hold the
three coins in that hand--go over to the left hand to pick up the coin,
everyone's eyes follow that coin.

The moment that the right hand moves away from the left, the left hand
is closed and turned over back up. On this turnover, and the closing and
turnover are one move, the fingertips slide the coins to the heel of the
palm, so that they extend down edgeways between the tips of the
fingers and the palm. In other words, the edges of the coins point
towards the floor and stick out of the closed fist.

The right hand is then turned palm up and the third, fourth, and little
fingers opened. The fourth coin is then dropped from between the
thumb and first finger so that it falls on the rest. This is a perfectly
natural move, even if it doesn't read like it. The right hand is then closed
and the fist turned over, as had been done with the left hand. Both
hands are now closed and are back up.

Then the magician goes on talking about where the coins are--how many
in each hand. His right hand moves toward the left in talking and he
points either with the first finger, which he opens, or with the thumb.
Sometimes I do it one way, sometimes the other. Then he announces
the number of coins in the right hand. In doing that his left hand moves
over to the right and it looks like the right hand moved at the same
speed away from the left. Actually the hands meet, and in a sort of
rolling motion, so that the coins sticking out of the left hand are caught
in the same grip by the fingers of the right hand.

The left hand then
points with the extended first finger, or the thumb, at the right hand, as
the magician tells the number of coins in the right hand. The changeover
is really easy to do when you get the timing down and the patter
timed to go with the moves. The sleight itself is easy.

At this point the coins stick down below the right hand; that is the extra
three coins do, the other four are still in the right fist. The magician then
starts to shake the coins and on the first shake the right hand opens
enough to get the outside coins in the hand with the others. Both hands
are shaken at the same time and the audience believe that they hear
coins in each hand.

Once again the hands are held still and the spectators asked to name the number of coins in each hand. When they have finished the magician says, "Chams cha la ta ax ba, which means I hope you like this trick. Come my boy hold out your hand. And here are seven coins--and here absolutely nothing." Of course, as has been suggested, the magician also talks during the rest of the trick. He says: "Listen to the money jingle," when he shakes the coins. He also tells the number of coins in each hand several times to build up the idea that he is going to have something happen to that odd coin. He never suggests that idea, but the audience don't need the suggestion for they will get the idea all by themselves.

I have a lot of bigger tricks which haven't made the impression that this one has made on audiences. It fools people and they like it and what more do you want in a trick.

THE GLASS TRICK

This trick has been titled by my audiences. It is as popular an effect with
them as anything I do. They always ask for "The Glass Trick." It will be
found equally effective as an opening trick close-up, on the night club
floor, or on the stage. In fact it can be shown under any, and all,
conditions. Basically the trick is not new but the changes made in it have
enhanced its audience appeal to an enormous extent.

The magician enters, holding in one hand two men's size silk
handkerchiefs by their corners. One of the handkerchiefs is red and the
other is white. Those colors are not essential, but the handkerchiefs
must be of different colors. He announces that he wants one of these
handkerchiefs chosen--the one selected will be the one used in the trick.

The handkerchief not chosen is pulled away from the other and thrown
over his arm. He picks up a highball glass with his empty hand and
pushes the chosen handkerchief down into the glass. It will fill about half
the glass. The magician then takes the other handkerchief and pushes it
into the glass, as he explains, to act as a stopper. He then calls attention
to the fact that the selected handkerchief is in the glass and cannot
come out the bottom because of the glass and the other handkerchief
closes the mouth of the glass. He takes the glass between the palms of
his two hands. One hand covers the bottom of the glass and the other
the mouth of the glass. The fingers of the hands are held straight out so
that every one plainly can see the glass and both handkerchiefs. He
waves the glass a very little and the chosen handkerchief instantly
disappears. Instantly the glass may be handed for examination. Not only
will it be found intact, but the second handkerchief will be wedged in the
mouth of the glass like a stopper.

To prepare for the trick, all that is needed is a length of braided silk
cord. It probably can be found in a store selling material for ladies'
dresses, but I know that such cord also is carried in upholsterers' shops.
It needs to be quite strong and mine is about an eighth inch in diameter.
Incidentally, this silk cord is much more flexible, and therefore better,
than fish line. A one inch loop is made at one end and the cords at the
end of the loop bound with thread. This fastening of the loop must be
most secure. That loop is for the handkerchief as will be explained later.

I also make the same size and kind of loop at the other end, for I slip it
on to the strap of my wrist watch. The length of the cord depends upon
the length of one's arms and the width of one's back. The cord must be
just long enough to go from the fingers of one hand to the opposite
wrist-up one sleeve across the back and down the other sleeve when the
arms are bent and the elbows held flat at the sides.

When the magician walks on the stage, the ends of both handkerchiefs
are through the loop of the cord. This not only makes it easy and natural
to hold the cord but it takes away the fumbling which would be required
to thread the loop with a handkerchief in front of an audience. When the
choice of handkerchief is made, the left hand (I hold the handkerchiefs
in my right) takes hold of the bottom corner of the other handkerchief.

The right hand is raised, seemingly the better to show the chosen
handkerchief, and the left band pulls the other handkerchief free. That
silk is immediately thrown over the right arm. The left band then takes
the top corner of the chosen handkerchief and the right hand--loop and
all--moves to the centre of the silk. Apparently, this is done merely
because it is easier to push the handkerchief into the glass when it is
held by the centre, and this is quite true, but at the same time the loop
is put in the position where it will do the most good.

The glass is picked up by the left band. In night clubs, I pick up a glass
from one of the tables. The ends of the handkerchief are dropped first
into the glass and the rest of the silk pushed down on top. The
handkerchief is pushed down until it is a bundle filling the bottom half of
the glass. The glass is then taken by the right hand while the left takes
the second handkerchief again. That silk is pushed down on top of the
first. There is nothing special to know about putting in the second
handkerchief. Do it just as you ordinarily would push a handkerchief into
a glass.

The glass is held between the two palms. The pressure is made with the
base of the fingers rather than the heel of the palms. A slight forward
movement of the arms and the chosen handkerchief will be jerked, past
the second handkerchief and up the right sleeve. In doing this move, the
heel of the right hand is lifted out about a quarter inch. Instead of jerking
the second handkerchief out, as would seem to be the natural thing to
happen, all that pulling the silk out by the cord does is to wedge the
other handkerchief into the mouth of the glass. When the glass is
handed out for examination the remaining handkerchief is a ball of silk
which stays in position corking the mouth of the glass.

It is perfectly possible to do the trick with a milk, or cream bottle, or with
a comparatively small necked glass vase. In either case the selected
handkerchief will slide out past the other handkerchief without the least
difficulty. Personally I have always preferred using a high ball glass,
because it seems to be more convincing to an audience. However, for
certain acts a bottle or vase may be found more effective.

The fact that the handkerchief vanishes instantly while the attention of
the audience is focused on it, and the added fact that a glass with both
ends closed surrounds the handkerchief, makes the effect particularly
appealing to audiences. That it is so striking a trick, and yet is a short
one, makes it an excellent trick with which to open a magic program.
The best patter to use with the trick is a mere explanation of what is
happening. The trick is strong enough so that the little fairy story plot is
not needed.

Card Tricks - All The Aces

Effect:
The spectator cuts the deck into four piles. From each pile three
random cards are dealt onto each of the other piles. The top card of each
pile is turned over to reveal all four Aces.
Preparation: Put all four aces onto the top of the deck.

Procedure:
1: Tell the spectator to cut the deck into two piles. Once he has done that, have them divide the two piles into four.

2: We will call the piles numbers one to four; four being the top pile with the Aces. (Don't tell the spectator these numbers. They are just for us to keep track of things.)

3: Have the spectator pick up pile one, put the top three cards onto the bottom, and deal the (now) top three cards onto the other piles (two, three, and four. One card to each pile.)

4: The spectator continues, in order, to do the same with the other piles. (You just point to each pile, when you want them to use it.)

5: There IS no 5, you're done! Just turn over the top cards to reveal the Aces!

Card Tricks - 4 Friendly Kings

Card Tricks

Do the first 3 steps away from your audience or pre-prepared.

1: Take the four Kings out of the deck, and also two other cards.
2: Fan the four Kings out, and place the two other cards you selected behind the second King. Line them up so your audience cannot see the two other cards.
3: Show the Kings to the spectators.
4: Place the Kings (and the two secret cards) face down on the top of the deck.
5: Tell the audience that the four kings are good friends, and they don't let anything get between them.
6: Place the top King on the bottom of the deck. You may show the audience this card.
7: Place the next card (not a King) into the centre of the deck.
8: Repeat step 7.
9: Leave the fourth card on the top. You may show the audience that it is a King.
10: Explain that the Kings are real good friends and will soon be back together.
11: Cut the deck in the middle, and put the bottom half on the top.
12: Search the deck for the four Kings. They have been magically moved next to each other.

Card Tricks - 2 of a Kind

Card Tricks

Effect:
The magician picks out two cards. He has a spectator cut the
deck. He flips over the cards that he picked, and then he flips over two
cards of the deck that was cut. The cards match.

Method:
Shuffle the deck so the spectator doesn't think you've rigged it.
Tell them you will pick two cards. Go through the deck making sure you
look at the bottom and the top cards of the deck. Pick out a card that
matches the bottom card. (If the bottom card is a Four of Hearts, you
would pick out the Four of Diamonds to match it.) Then pick out a card
that is the same as the top card. Ask the spectator to cut the deck. Take
the first card, the one on top of the original top of the deck, and flip it
over. Flip the bottom half of the deck over completely. Flip over the cards
you picked.

They all match!

Card Tricks - A Poker Player's Picnic

Card Tricks

You shuffle a deck of regular cards and hand them to the spectator. The spectator cuts the deck into 4 piles. He picks up the first pile and fools with the order of the cards, then repeats this action for the other 3 piles. When you turn over the top cards of each pile, the spectator sees that
they are all aces.

First say this or something like it to the spectator: "You know that cheating at poker is really very easy, don't you? You look like a good poker player. I'm sure you are able to cheat pretty good, right? Well, let's see if we can uncover your hidden talent."

1: Before you begin, place all 4 aces on top of the deck.
2: Shuffle the deck a few times, using a fake overhand shuffle or any other fake shuffle that will protect the top 4 cards.
3: Give the cards to the spectator and have him cut the deck into 4 piles (one of which contains all 4 aces).
4: Label the 4 packets A, B, C, and D (D containing the 4 aces).
5: Tell the spectator to pick up packet A, take 3 cards from the top and place them on the bottom, then deal a card from the packet he is holding onto each of the other three packets (B, C, D).
6: Repeat step 5 for the other 3 packets.
7: Remark that you have in no way manipulated the cards and the spectator cut the deck himself into 4 piles.
8: Finally, turn over the top card of each pile and to his astonishment, each card is an ace.
Tell him that you knew he was a good poker cheater all along and leave him in awe

Card Tricks - 49er Fools Gold

Card Tricks

Effect:
Spectator selects a card from among 49 lying on the table, and
the magician is able to find it, and even bet some fools gold on it.

Card Trick:
No preparation necessary. From an ordinary deck of cards (without the jokers) have a spectator select any three cards. Throw these aside while explaining "Those three cards we aren't going to use."

Then deal the remaining 49 cards face up in seven rows of seven cards. Overlap the cards in each column so that they're all visible and can be slid together without disarranging their order.

Deal quickly so the audience knows you can't memorize them. Have the spectator mentally select one of the cards and show you the column it's in. Scoop up the column it up, taking care
not to disturb the order of the cards.

Then scoop up the other columns, keeping the mystery column in the middle of the group (column, column, column, mystery-card column, column, column, column). Again do this quickly so that there is no time for memorization. Deal the cards again in seven rows of seven cards and again ask which column the mystery card is in.

No matter which column is selected, you will know that the mystery card is the middle (4th) card in that column. You can glance at the middle card of the picked column as you scoop it up, again being careful not to disturb the order of the cards and picking up the mystery-card column so that it is the middle column.

Fools Gold ending:
Start dealing the cards face up, scattering them on the table. The 25th card will be the mystery card, but continue past it for about four more cards. I make it look as though I've completely screwed up the trick.

I then challenge the spectator : "I'll bet you 500 pounds of fools gold that the next card I turn over is the one you chose." Since the mystery card is already lying face up on the table, most people will jump at the bet and may even bet real money. Then reach into the mess on the table and turn the mystery card face down. A guaranteed jaw dropper.

Card Tricks - Ace Party

Card Tricks

Effect:
With the spectator's help, you make four piles of cards. When this
is done you flip over all the piles and all four Aces are there.

Preparation:
Arrange the deck like so: three Aces on the bottom and
one on the top.

Presentation:
Ask the spectator to tell you when to stop putting down cards. Begin dealing cards face down on the table. Continue until they have you stop. After the first pile is down, stick the card deck, still in your hand, under the table and put the bottom card on top. This gives you an Ace on the top. Repeat the above steps until you have four piles. Then flip over all the piles to show an Ace on the bottom of each!

Card Tricks - After Drinks

Card Tricks

EFFECT:
The audience is given two random cards. They look at them, but
the magician doesn't see them. The audience inserts the cards into the
deck, and without shuffling; the magician throws the deck into a chair,
but somehow manages to pick up the two cards, holding them up in front
of the gaping audience members.

HOW IT'S DONE:
This is a trick of the mind. You prepare the deck this way:
pick two cards of different suits, but the same colour, such as the Eight of Spades, and the Three of Clubs. These are the cards you are going to give to the audience.
Next, pick the "opposites" of the cards: the Eight of Clubs, and the Three of Spades.

These are the cards you will fool your audience with. Put the opposite cards at the top and bottom of the deck - Eight of Clubs on top, Three of Spades on bottom. And the "real" cards both go on top. Without too much explanation, deal the two top cards out, face down, and let the audience look at them.

Next, let them insert the cards back into the deck. Make sure they can see that you're not doing ANYTHING to the deck. Hold the deck between your thumb on top, and your fingers on the bottom. Swing the deck back and forth a few times (make SURE they can't see the bottom card, though!)

Perhaps you count 1, 2, 3, and then throw the deck into a chair (or couch, or something, where it'll be easy to pick up.) As you throw the deck, hold onto the top and bottom card with your thumb and middle finger. IMMEDIATELY hold the cards up for all to see. It helps if you position yourself so that the audience doesn't turn their heads around to watch where you threw the cards.

You should be close to the chair you throw the deck into, so you can draw their attention back to the two cards you held onto. They picked the Eight of Spades, Three of Clubs - but you are holding the Eight of Clubs, Three of Spades. It's VERY rare that anybody notices. And if the audience is drunk, you get a lot of "Ohmygaaawd, how'd he DO that?" and gaping mouths...

Great trick!

Coin Tricks - Vanishing Quarter

Coin Tricks

Appear to vanish a quarter through a table

Effect:
A glass is covered with a paper tube. The glass and tube is then placed over a coin on the table.
When the paper tube is removed, the coin has vanished and has actually travelled through the table.

Preparation:
You will need an ordinary glass. Three sheets of white paper approx 8 inches by 12 inches. Glue, scissors and a coin. Place some glue round the rim of the glass and place the glass upside on a sheet of white paper and allow the glue to dry. When the glue is dry, cut round the rim of the glass with the scissors so a paper circle covers the mouth of the glass.

Turn the glass upside down and wrap a second sheet of paper round it to from a loose fitting tube and glue this and allow to dry. Place a coin on a third sheet of paper laid on the table and a second coin of the same value should be attached by tape or wax under the table.

Method:
Announce to a spectator that you are going to make a coin travel through a solid table. Take the paper tube and place it over the glass, which is already on the table upside down on top of the sheet of paper.

Lift the tube-covered glass and place it over the coin with the glass still being upside down.
Remove the tube from the glass and the coin appears to have
disappeared.

Give the tube to the spectator for inspection. The coin is actually under the paper rim of the glass, which is invisible as it is the same colour as the paper sheet on the table. If you wish to increase the effect you can reach under the table and remove the other coin and tell the spectator that the coin has actually travelled through the table.