(Raffles)
By Tom Burnett, L.M.S.
Props. required. One dollar bill tube, one Roterberg card box, two pay envelopes—one
with a slit cut across face to pass note through, the other containing a piece of paper folded as near to the note you borrow. On the paper you have written the following:
“Dear Friend, I am afraid you are not much use as a detective, I robbed the bank with per- fect ease. Please try some other kind of occupation. Yours ever, Raffles.”
This note is sealed in envelope and placed in the bottom portion of Roterberg box and cov- ered by the hinged flap, the other envelope with slit lies in the top portion of hinged flap, lid open.
Setting. Card box on left of table fixed as explained. Inner bill tube with screw cap and
loose bottom on right side, the tight-fitting inner lining stands inside the outer tube in cen- tre of table with lid just at side. Chairs at either side. Hats, noses, pistols, etc., on chair be- hind.
Working. Borrow a ten shilling or a pound note and have number taken down to verify
later. Now fold up note small enough to go through slit in envelope. Now state that for safety you will place it inside a small pay envelope. Take envelope from Roterberg box and place note inside, but push through slit. Hold note behind with fingers of left hand and seal up envelope. (Here is where you get note away.) Ask for a boy to assist, and while he is coming along, take envelope in right hand and prop it up against the outer tube in centre of table and let note drop inside. It will be, of course, in the tight inner lining which rests in- side the outer tube.
When the boy comes up, ask him to sit on the chair at the left and request him to imagine the said chair to be representing the Bank of England, and he a detective guarding the same. Tell him to imagine the envelope contains the wealth of the nation and, to make it more secure, you will place it inside one of the vaults. Pick up card box, place envelope in- side, and close lid. Open again and state that he may care to initial envelope. He does so, but of course it is the duplicate, the one that contains the written note.
Now give box to boy and ask him to put the envelope inside and close the door of the vault and not let you get at it any time.
Now ask for the assistance of another boy; he is asked to take the other chair and to imag- ine it to be the home of that well-known cracksman, Mr. Raffles. Explain that he also is a detective and that the tube on your table is a safe belonging to Raffles, which he is to take charge of and see that Mr. Raffles does not place anything inside. Pick up and show, screw- ing off cap and letting boy look inside. (Loose bottom will hold in position.) Screw cap back, and as you do so, pull away the bottom and let it drop into palm of hand. (This can be got away any time.) State you will make it even more secure by placing it inside another tube. This you proceed to do. Take the tube you are holding in right hand and place it in- side the tube in centre of table and pick both up with left hand. Slide out and you will find the inner lining which contains the note comes out with it and fits perfectly. Let boy put it back and put on the lid or cap.
When all this is done, turn to the boys and say: “Oh, by the way, it might be a good idea if you were to be disguised. Now let us see what we can do in that line.” Proceed to put on false noses and hats and give them the pistols. {This gets roars of laughter.) Explain you are going to play the part of Mr. Raffles. Now from here on it is just byplay on your part, pretending to try and get the note. Boy has been instructed to shoot any time you go near box. At the finish tell the boy that while he was off his guard for a second, you got in by the back door. Ask him to open the vault, take out the envelope and open it himself. When he takes out the note, ask him to read out what is written on it. Then turn to the other boy and ask him to open the safe he holds and he finds the missing ten-shilling note. Have number verified and give back to owner. Take off boys’ disguise and thank them for assisting.
Misdirection
By Arthur Sherwood, M.I.M.C.
THE author of this book having suggested that an article by me on the subject of Misdirec- tion would interest and possibly assist beginners or more advanced students of conjuring, I gladly comply because it entails the honour of association with the greatest Master of my day and bestows the privilege of adding a mite to the cause of Magic.
Misdirection may be described as a ruse to keep secret those conditions of a magical feat which, if suspected by an audience, would tend to dispel mystery by providing the true so- lution. It is like house-painting in this respect, that it is the amount of work put into prepa- ration of the under-surface which counts where finish mirrors the success. Therefore it pays to spend odd moments with a putty-knife in one hand and a piece of glass-paper in the other, hunting down the blemish in technique.
The best misdirection is not a spasmodic effort on the stage to gloss over some difficult piece of manipulation. Rather, it should be a sort of invisible medium created out of logi- cally conceived and perfectly constructed plots, in which a performer can act his part with- out the senses of the audience being able to discern the play of falseness.
Such an atmosphere is produced by various means. Harmony is one. Harmony existing be- tween each of the properties in use creates a background of suggestion from which a natu- ral theme emerges. This theme the performer skilfully develops by means of harmonious patter into an atmosphere of anticipation and certainty in which the false appears true and laboured design is mistaken for spontaneous idea and action.
Now, two examples of practice, the first showing the purely psychological effect of misdi- rection allied with showmanship, the second revealing its repercussive effect in the pres- ence of strategy with visible and tangible evidences.
(1) The act has started, the performer picks up two objects, one innocent, and one faked, he gives an impression that both are to be examined, but, whilst exhibiting some function of the first, he stages a hint that someone wants to handle it. This provides a perfectly natural opportunity for him to put down the second object, as though intending to return to it after the recent suggestion has been complied with. But, by deftly displaying the special feature in article Number 3, intentionally led up to in patter, he fades out interest in Number 2 so that when the time comes for it to be used the existence of a fake is not suspected.
(2) The performer wishing at a later stage in a show to use a faked envelope with a double side concealing a card, completes his fakes and then inserts in the envelope in the normal way three postage stamps having edging attached to two of them only. This he puts on the table covered by a handkerchief near a genuine envelope containing three similar stamps with three pieces of edging attached. As the programme proceeds it becomes necessary to
mark an object. The performer, therefore, hands the genuine envelope to some voluntary assistant, asking him to remove the stamps. The pre-arranged piece of edging is torn off by the performer, moistened and stuck on the object for use as a means of written identifica- tion. He then ostentatiously replaces the block of stamps and edging into the envelope which at a suitably chosen moment changes place with the hidden fake by the simple act of transferring the handkerchief screen from one hand to the other. Eventually the moment arrives when the card is to be sealed up in an envelope. The performer picks up the fake en- velope and after removing the eloquent testimony of three stamps with two bits of edging he inserts the card and seals it up. The climax comes when the envelope is cut open and a different card appears from within. I hope readers have noticed how attention is misdi- rected from the real intentions underlying the use of both envelope and stamps as well as from the possibility of substitutions, by assigning to each, obviously normal primary and pursuant functions. I leave you to trace the mental processes of the amateur Sherlock Hol- mes, who, if misdirection has been carried to subtlety in the third degree, remarks next day: “I know the envelope wasn’t faked, because I asked the chap who took out the stamps, and besides, I happened to find it on the table after the show.”
It is necessary here to issue warning and instruction. Remember that misdirection is not an end in itself, but only the means to an end. Do not exaggerate, but employ it as a lady uses delicate scent to enhance her charms by the potency of its elusiveness. Furthermore, never attempt to show off the strength of your misdirection or you may share Samson’s fate. Everyone knows that pillars keep up temple roofs, so leave them as well as envelopes and stamp-edging to stick to their jobs and speak for themselves.
This is a good recipe to try:
Take equal parts of idea and material. Measure out the value of the secret to be preserved, adding enough justification to melt into a homogeneous paste, then mix in mortar of prac- tice with pestle of imagination and a little commonsense, before putting in pan. Let sim- mer for hours and try out. After removing scum of failure, snags, etc., pour mixture through strainer and throw away sediment of despondency. Now add spirit of resolve, transfer quickly to retort of experience on fire of white hot enthusiasm and distil to a re- fined essence. Keep covered up or open according to taste, but on no account cast before swine, and beware of noxious fumes which cause swollen head, swank, jealousy, wife- boredom and other ailments.
The student should now enter the sphere of Relativity and examine misdirection in per- spective by comparing the following clear-cut effect as seen by the Evening News critic, who witnessed it, with the elaborate means of its production.
“We watched Mr. Arthur Sherwood pass a marked half-crown from a chocolate box into an envelope placed several feet away and back again. I suppose it is an old trick and simple, but it was done with such pleasant patter and finished skill that the distinguished amateur magician sitting beside me said he had watched for the trick of it in vain.”
In addition to three secret items of Preparation and the use of seven principles of manipu- lative magic, viz. Covering, Disposal, Retaining, Loading, Duplication, Substitution, and Securing, four other principles of Physical Magic, viz. Secret Cavity Concealed Access, Concealed Connection, and Invisible Suspension came into play.
Two personal reminiscences may not be out of place here. Firstly, I recall the thrill of pleas- ure when, after presenting the above effect on an important occasion, I discovered that my unknown assistant had been no less a person than the charming wife of the great David Devant. The other memory was when David said to me: “I don’t like that coin trick as much as your handkerchief one.” I was disappointed, but gratefully pocketed this gift from the store of his unerring taste.
Storm clouds of controversy are dimming the sky of Magic to-day, but on the horizon I seem to see a new generation meeting the challenge of exposure by resort to greater stan- dards of perfection and more agile brains. After all, it is not so many centuries ago since Ancient Men of Magic, forseeing an enlightened public rise with the tide of civilisation above the murk of Superstition, feared that their Art, deprived of such a serviceable cloak, was doomed to perish naked and exposed. The pathway to perfection is a toilsome one at times, but the journey may be lightened by romance as each true student seeks to trans- mute Humbug into Art, whilst all around him lie the priceless jewels of the past with every facet ready to reflect the personality of some new brilliant star.
The Career of Arthur Sherwood
1874. Born July 30th.
1880. Thrilled by first conjurer seen.
1886. Joined school conjuring club of three members. 1888. First public show.
1895. Style influenced and invention stimulated by seeing James Stuart. 1902-4. Discovered rudiments of handkerchief act and coin with box effect.
1921-35. Joined Magic Circle—-became semiprofessional. Further inventions. Royal Com- mand (Windsor).
1930-35. Elected Honorary Member of Magicians Club, London. Royal Command (Prince of Wales). Medal of Merit.