Advanced Magic

CONTENTS.

13 . S im p le F orce.

14 . N ovel Change f o r a deck.

15 . C ards and han d k erch iefs fro m anyw here. 16 . In k th ru H at. (S e v e ra l methods.) 17 . U sefu l exchanging bag.

1 8 . A D eceptive Dodge. 19 . S p ir it W a tch .

20. T w en tieth C en tury M agical T ran sform atio n . 2 1 . Im proved R isin g Rope and hoop.

22. M am m oth F lo w e r P ro ductio n. 23. The Dove o f Peace.

24. The Human Sm oke Stack . 25. O vettes M odern M iracles. 26. The hum an A iro p lan e. 27. H ot spots.

“ A L M A C O N JU R IN G C O L L E C T IO N ”

INTRODUCTION.

In ■writing this book, it is not my in tu itio n to trea t con ju rin g in a ll its techn ical d e ta ils; but m erely record some o f the resu lts o f m y life stu d y of the fascinating' urt o f M a g ic ;; and which I hope, w ill prove, i f not in s tru c t­ iv e , at le ast in te re stin g to the m any who e ith e r dabble in Mag'ic f o r a liv li- hood o r pi-stime.

W h en I w ro te “ T ric k y -T ric k s” I confidently intended it should be my la st book. B u t “ Circum stances A lte r O ases.” The great success o f m y two books: “ The M agicians New F ie ld ” and “ T ric k y -T ric k s ” w as a v e ry g ra t­ ify in g su rp rise to me, as the sales of these hooks ran f a r beyond m y fo n d ­ est expectation s. Since then I have been besieged w ith in q uiries, especial­ ly du ring the last tw o m onths, as to when I was going to w rite an oth er book.

O f course, it is encouraging (o know that y o u r w ork is ap p reciated , but m v tim e w as pre-occupied w ith my “ fin essing I n stitu te .” Besides m y a s­ p ira tio n s w ere soarin g w ithin the lo fty realm o f a New-M ore P e rfe c t and more w o n d erfu l typ e o f Magic than the w orld has e ver known b e fo re !

Now, since the b irth o f “ New Era M ag ic’ ’ we have a new condition — A condition which dem ands New M cgic L ite ra tu re ; and as a s ta r te r “ A d ­ vanced M ag ic ” is the first an sw er to the call.

A n tic ip a tin g y o u r in terro g atio n as to w hat “ Now E ra M ag ic” is, I w ill b r ie fly state th a t the d istin ctive prin ciple, and p rin cip le distinction betw een the old and the new class o r higher typ e o f Mitgic, is the obvious fa irn e s s and open-and-n.bove-board m anner o f p resentation o f the la tte r. In o th er w o rd s; in the New Magic, m a terializa tio n s are not ob viou sly smug­ gled in, n o r are the envan ish m ents obvious sm uggling out, as is g en e ra lly the case w ith our aged a rt. E specially is th is ,tru e w ith th e big tric k s — I l­ lusions.

li e who thin ks this p rin cip le is o f little im po rtan ce does not know' •whrit it is th a t re a lly makes an effect S u rp ris in g and S ta rtlin g . The de­ gree in which y o u r effect is S u rp ris in g o r S ta r tlin g depends upon liow p e r­ fe c tly you have adhered to and applied the said prin cip le.

W ith in the adven t o f “ New Era M agic” o u r beloved A r t now enters upon a New Epoch. A re- you, d e a r re a d e r, going to keep pace th erew ith , o r are you one o f those who think that an y old tiling is “ good eno u g h ” os

long as you can get, aw ay w ith it ? U nless you decide q u ickly, no choice w ill be le f t you. The M agic A r t is now in a sta te o f tra n sitio n and is r a p ­ id ly un dergoing a com plete revo lu tion . There w ill be on ly one typ e o f M agic in the fu tu r e ; th a t w ill be. the “ New E na.”

I have no axe to g rin d ; nor h ave T a n y apology to m ake fo r the a p p e a r­ ance o f th is book. “ A dvanced M ag ic ” is sim ply a re p ly to the num erous u rg en t requests o f m y frie n d s, m any o f whom I have met p erso n ally, be­ fo re and since leav in g the road, th a t 1 put in book form more o f the fru its o f m y experience and observations.

I f this w o rk should p rove h elp fu l to a t least one S tru g g lin g B ro th er, I ■will fs e l am ply rew ard ed fo r m y efforts.

S in c e re ly yours,

c

ADVANCED

M AGIC

ILLUSTRATED

PART ONE

lI lA l l l A l t f A t l t A f ir A t r A f y A m A m A f I? A w A f l r A n A t l f r

TABLES.

Tables A La Exquisite

Wooden Tables

Tropic Bamboo Stands

s A D V A N C E D M AGIC. T A B L E S A L A E X Q U ISIT E

Tables are an alm ost indispensible adjunct to a con ju rin g p e rfo rm e rs equipment. M an y C o n ju rers do not c a rry a table and w ill p erfo rm w ith the aid o f any old piece o f fu rn itu re that can be borrow ed. This m ay have an im prom pt effect. But to an “ New E ra M ag icia n ,” im provised or m ake­ s h ift ta b le s; as w ell as conventional sty le stands th a t are used by most ev­ e ry co n ju rer, seems incongruous.

The New E ra M agician w ill not be caught c a rry in g around 8-10 lb. stands, n o r tables th at consume much time in se ttin g up. The fo llo w in g tables which I am about to describe, and which I have used in my act fu lly 10 y ea rs, I can sincerely vouch fo r as being up to the m ark.

I t was in the y e a r o f 1010 w hile at W h ite C ity P a rk , Chicago, doing Magic and Illusions, th at 1 fo r the first tim e realized the tru e va lu e o f iry table, although I had used the same tables severa l y e a rs before.

D uring m y engagem ent at W h ite C ity , I had the p leasu re o f m eeting tnany o f the boys, and each and e v e ry one o f whom, pronounced m y tables the best th ey had e v e r seen, and ju s t the thing fo r a m agician. H ere are the main fe a tu re s o f my ta b le s :—P o rta b ility , N eatness, S ta b ility and L ig h t­ n ess—w eighing but two pounds. No screw ing or tigh ten in g o f base o r le^s. Only J/2 m inute to set up, and less to take a p a rt: and capable o f holding '26 lbs. B ut eve ry good thing has its im ita to rs, and Tables E xq uisite a>c no exception.

In fa ll, 1 9 1 0 , they w ere put upon the m arket by oth er p a rties one o f whom called upon me w hile I w as p layin g at the Olympi.i Thentre, B rook­ ly n ,—came back o f the stage to get-a good view o f my stan ds a t close ’ an^e; and la te r w rote me requ estin g that I brin g one o f m y stan ds to his residence so th at he could stu dy same a t his le isu re —N erve ( ? ) .

ADVANCED MAGIC.

9

A glance a t P la te 1 , w ill, I tru s t, help to m ake c lear the ex p lanation w hich I am about to un dertake.

G et a w o od -tu rn er to tu rn out a fo rm s im ila r in shape to a 3 -le a f C lov­ e r 2x2±l//2 in. as depicted in Fig. 1 , w hich we w ill call a “ S crew J o i n t .” A lso h ave him d rill a % in. hole in the cen ter o f each S c allo p o r le a f, and a % inch hole in the center. Now tak e th is m odel to a brass fo u n d ry and h ave as m any o f these “ S crew J o i n t s ” m ade as you w ish to use.

F o r the legs, get 3 pieces o f b rass tu b in g 2 1 inches long, % in. th ic k ; h ave them th readed and bent in shape o f the le tte r S —See F ig u re 2, and screw to “ S c re w J o i n t ” ; and you w ill find th a t th ey w ill fo ld flat tog eth er ae F ig . 3.

A lso get a piece o f tubing known as rope o r tw isted tubing 17 inches long and % inch th ick outside. Then get Va inch nipple w ith flange (m ay be bought a t an y plum ber shop) and sold er it to the end o f the 1 7 inch tube. N ext g et a piece o f tubing 2'/2 inch in length and w ith % inch bore, and sold er to “ Screw J o i n t .”. H ave S crew J o in t hole tapped.

TO SET U P T A B LE

Open out the leg s—In se rt tw isted ro d in sh o rt tube, screw top on and tab le is set. To tak e A p a r t : U nscrew top and l i f t out tw isted tu b e—and the legs w ith the S crew J o in t, you fo ld together.

I f you w ish the tab le to p resen t a lit t le m ore fa n c y ap p earan ce—g et 1/2 dozen Caps, or bulbs, such as the posts o f Bed S tead s are fre q u e n tly dec­ o ra ted w ith , and place one o f these globe-shaped nobs o v er each o f the holes in S crew J o in t, and one on fo o t end o f each leg.

P la te 2 : I llu s tra te s an o th er S tan d , q u ite no vel but a little h e a v ie r than th e one we have described above.

G et 3 legs fro m an old Coffee U rn (these have holes n e a r to p ). N ext get a w o od-tu rn er to tu rn you an 8 inch disc fro m any inch lum ber and bore 3 holes n e a r edge 'and at equal distance a p a rt. Now get th ree 2 inch bolts w ith w ing-nuts. P u t bolts through holes in c irc u la r wood and tighten nuts v e ry tig h t in to the wood. N ext a d ju st legs, allow in g bolts to pass through holes in legs and tighten w ing-nuts.

On top, fa s te n flange w ith 2 inch nipple and couple. P ad a ll around nipple w ith cotton b a ttin g and cover w ith v e lv e t o f a b rig h t color.

N ext gel a piece o f gas pipe threaded a t each end and screw one end to couple. Table top h avin g a flange you screw on to gas-pipe, and you h ave an o th er table.

I have not given an y size pipe f o r you can use an y size not o v e r % inch in diam eter.

1 0

ADVANCED MAGIC.

WOODEN T A B L E S

A g ain you mList go to a w ood-turner, though ii' you are handy w ith a »aw it m ay not be necessary.

G et some 3 p ly veneer wood and cut out tw o fo rm s as plate 3 Fig. 1. These w ill nest as Fig. 2 by m ortising out top cen ter o f one as “ A ” and bottom center o f the o th er as “ B ” Fig. 1 , so th at they w ill tit w ith in each other.

The p illa r shown Fig. 3 is v e ry sim ple but a more orn am en tal a rra n g e ­ ment can ea sily be designed, i f p referab le.

Top end o f p illa r m ust be m ortised leaving it square, so as to fit the top. T his is im po rtan t, fo r i f le ft a round table top would revo lv e.

Now you can have some nice scroll w ork as in Fig. 4. This w ill be fo und v e ry u sefu l doing aw ay w ith the need o f d ra p e ry ; and yet, you can conceal sm all objects such as coins, h ak fs., etc. etc. by h avin g space in S c ro ll fitted w ith tin tubes w ith springs. These tubes w ill not be noticed

a few fe e t aw ay as it w ill a ll look dark.

TROPIC BAMBOO STAND

H ere is a sim ple, yet u sefu l stan d fo r an o rie n tal w orker.

Get 3 Bamboo canes or a fishing pole and cut three 35 inch lengths. B oth ends o f each must be cut a little on the slan t. (See Fig. 1 l ’la te 3). In one end o f each glue a little plug—allow in g % inch stickin g out.

Now, w ith so ft brass w ire, tie tw o canes together 1 1 inches fro m top, then tie the third cane to one o f the tw o which are tied. (Note —Be sure not to tie ..ny low er than 1 1 inches fro m top. This, when spread, w ill give space f o r a 1 4 inch top ).

In settin g u p : A ll th a t is necessary is to open out legs and place on the top. Table top must have holes in exact place. B est w a y is to cut plugs on slan t a fte r top is on. Now a coat o f b ro n ze—and th ere you a re !

ADVANCED MAGIC.

11

F L A T T A B L E S.

A n o th e r stand th a t I h ave used in la te y e a rs in my o rie n tal A c t is the fo llo w in g : Cut out tw o fo rm s as in F ig. 1 & 2 —P la te 4. A n in cisio n is made in each fo r m —but in opposite d irectio n s, i. e., fro m top o f one and fro m bottom o f oth er, so th at th ey w ill fit w ith in each o th er as in F ig. 4. Then g ive it a coat o f dull p ain t and finish. D ecorate to suit. I glue the D ragons cut fro m colored tin sel p ap er f o r decorations.

L ittle fu r th e r in stru ctio n s a re necessary. The size is up to you. M ine a re 35 inches high, 1 5 inches w ide. A s lit is made in each co rn er o f top so as to fit snuggly over, p ro tu b eran ces le ft on the 4 corners o f stand.

I ■

» k * 0

CARDS.

K e y Card

Easy Picking

Superior A ce Effect

Matter of Force Deck

Unique Card Location

The Egyptian Devination

Simple Force

Novel Change for Pack of Cards

Cards and Handkerchief from

ADVANCED MAGIC.

13

CARD T R IC K S

Once again the w rite r lias the p leasu re o f presen tin g to the M agical F r a te r n ity a m odest a r r a y o f m iscellaneous id e a s: Som e are o rig in al, some m erely im p ro vem ents—but a t an y ra te a ll w orth tryin g .

I have endeavored to m ake the exp lan ation s as c lear as possible w ith ­ out useless re p e titio n o f g eneral p rin cip les, w ith which the re a d e r I fak e f o r g ran ted is a lre a d y fa m ilia r.

1 have thoroughly tested out these orig in al ideas, suggestions and im ­ provem ents, and can h e a rtily recom m end them to p e rfo rm e rs as applausc- g etters, when capably presented.

K E Y CAR D .

P r e p a r a tio n : —C ut out a p o rtion , the size o f thum b tip fro m the m id­ dle o f one end o f any card, and place th is “ K e y - C a r d ” som ewhere n ear the cen ter o f pack.

Now i f you ru ffle the cards at the end, y o u r finger w ill stop a t torn card. So locatin g chosen card, t r y th is : —Oct K e y -C a rd a t bottom , lay pack on table, have someone cut the cards. Note card at the cut, torn or k ey card is now ju s t above selected card. Now ru ffle cards and .your r u f ­ fle w ill “ h e s ita te ” at K ey-C ard . The card ju s t below it is the chosen one. (See G oldstons E xclusive M agical S e c re ts I’agc 54 gives s e v e ra l Novel M ethods).

E A S Y P IC K IN G

F o u r cards are selected, retu rn ed and shuffled in deck. C ard s a re d i­ vided into tw o equal portions, on e-h alf being placed in one pocket and the rem ain d er in tlie oth er pocket. Now p e rfo rm e r d raw s out selected cards.

The effect o f producing cords from the pocket is p re tty w ell k n o w n ; and as f a r as the public is concerned, it fo rm s a fittin g sequel to an y card tric k which can he concluded by the p e rfo rm e r takin g a chosen card fro m his pocket. To P e rfo rm : H ave fo u r cards selected and Returned. M ake the p ass; brin gin g the fo u r card s to the top. I f you cannot m ake the pass, use the “ K e y -C a rd as fo llo w s :

H ave torn card on bottom o f pack. H ave tw o o f the selected cards placed on top. Now h ave someone cut the c a rd s ; th is w ill brinpr the tw o cards to cen ter o r w h e re v e r cut was made. R uffle card s and hold p a rt, open at Ivey-C ard to receive the, o th e r tw o selected cards. S q u are cards up, and again ru ffle them to get location o f K e y -C a rd , w h ere you divide pack in to tw o po rtio n s and do the d o ve-tail sh u ffle le a v in g the fo u r select­ ed cards on top, and which you palm off. (N ote: — In palm ing selected cards it is not n ecessary to palm ju st the rig h t card s, i. e . : —Y ou can palm along a fe w more w ith them . This saves tim e and is much easier and enables you to w ork the moves sm oother.) A f t e r cards are shuffled, palm ed cards are replaced on top. U nder co ver o f d iv id in g pack, slip tw o o f the selected card s to bottom . Now place one portion o f pack in each o f tw o pockets. This is sim ple, f o r you get a glance o f bottom tw o cards as you place in y o u r pocket. O f course, you w ill know them as the, o th er tw o cards a re on top o f o th er p o rtio n s, so you can a t once pick them oul. A l the finish yon can include the B rookes “ A n y Card fro m the P o c k e t.”

T have a lw a y s thought that this tric k o f an y card taken fro m the pock­ et is m ost effective when it is p resen ted in the w a y I have described fo r, b efore they are a w are o f it, the tric k is on them , so to speak,

14

ADVANCED MAGIC.

AN OTH ER SU P E R IO R A C E EFFE C T.

“ F o u r A c e ” T ricks alw ays seem to have an a ttra c tio n fo r magicians as w ell as the la y man. W h y not add a good 4 ace tric k to yo u r re p e r­ toire ?

P r o c e d u r e H a v e the fo u r aces rem oved fro m the deck and cards ex­ amined. Now have 4 aces retu rn ed (“ A s in E asy P ic k in g ” ). A ces are brought to the top. P e rfo rm e r ask No. 1 to m ention num ber between 1 and 1 2 Number called does not m atter. P e rfo rm e r counts the requ ired num ber fro m the bottom and passes them to the top. C ards are then counted out on tab le u n til the requ ired num ber is reached, which proves to be the Ace.

Y ou now have someone in the audience to call a num ber. W e w ill say 15 is called. Now you proceed to count that num ber slow ly fro m the top o f pack, thro w in g the cards down on the table one on to]) o f the other. Now picking up the cards ju s t as they arc. you drop them in to yo u r le ft hand, then (su dden ly) as though you heard someone speak you look up s ay in g : “ W h a t is i t ” ? D uring this b rie f in terlu d e you slip the bottom A ce, which rests on y o u r palm —to the top. You can now tu rn it o v er and show an ace.

I t w ill be rem em bered th a t in the orig in al position, the 4 A ces w ere on top o f the pack. And it w ill be understood th a t the rem ain in g two cards a re at the bottom o f the 1 5 ju st counted from the top. These 1 5 cards a re now replaced on top o f the pack (little finger secretly m aking the d i­ v isio n ), and p e rfo rm e r forces the bottom card o f the u p per p ortion (3rd A ce) on someone, and have him call out the card, which is an Ace. In the m eantim e you b rin g to the top the last Ace, and slip an extra card over it, so ace is next to top.

Now a f t e r show ing top and bottom (c a re le ssly ), you place pack in a n y ­ o n e ’s pocket and call f o r another num ber, and pull cards out from pocket u n til num ber is rea d ied , when you pull out the A ce!

I have found the above A ce Effect v e ry m y stify in g and have been com­ plim ented by a ll who have seen me w ork it.

F o r a change, in the finish, you can have last A ce p e n e trate hand ker­ chief, etc.

M AT T E R O F FORCE.

(Im proved F o rcin g Deck.)

The fo llo w in g is another method o f “ F o rc in g ” 3 cards by using “ M at­ te r o f F orce D eck.”

Sh u ffle the pack and in v ite ■anyone to in se rt the blade o f a k n ife in deck, and you can allow him to choose one card above the k n ife blade and tw o below it, or two above tlie k n ife and one below, o r a ll three above, or all th ree below. It makes no difference to you which o f these he chooses ow­ ing to the clever arran gem en t o f deck.

M O D U S: O P E R A N D !

The pack is arran ged in groups o f th ree alike, and rep eated in d u p li­ cate throughout the pack.

I t w ill, th erefo re, be noted th a t w h ate v e r th e ir choice, th ey w ill alw ays be the th ree cards.

UNIQUE CAR D LOCATION L A V E L L M A .

E F F E C T :—A card is passed b efo re the eyes o f a sp ectator. This is repeated w ith a num ber o f cards, one at a time. S p e c ta to r is told to mem­ orize a card and to tell p e rfo rm e r when to stop dealing cards, a ft e r a fe w more are passed a f t e r selection is made. P e rfo rm e r then places cards be­ hind back and locates the card.

THE “ H O W ” . : —One card at a time is passed b efore the eyes'an d a f ­ te r a num ber is done in this w ay p e rfo rm e r replaces the cards on top o f deck. P lacing deck behind back, he deals o ff three, cards fro m the bottom o f deck and one card from the top.

S p e c ta to r is shown the fo u r cards draw n from behind back, fann ed, and asked i f his card is among those draw n .

P e rfo rm e r keeps tra ck o f card draw n fro m top o f pack. W h en the card is among those d raw n , sp e c ta to r says so and p e rfo rm e r know ing it was the card draw n fro m the top o f pack locates and nam es it in an y m anner desired.

A fa lse shuffle m ay be made a f t e r selection is made keeping tra ck o f the cards on top o f pack and not d isa rran g in g them.

THE E G Y P T IA N D IV IN A T IO N . (A n Old Lam p fo r a N ew One. L a V ellm a)

E F F E C T :—This is an old trick , even one o f the trick s o f our school d ays yet. in a som ewhat d ifferen t dress and when p ro p e rly w orked makes a dee]) im pression on the m a jo rity.

Som eone is handed a pack o f cards and requested to shuffle same. P e r­ fo rm e r takes back cards and tells sp e c ta to r to think o f an y num ber. V ic ­ tim is then told to in tu rn m u ltip ly num ber thought o f by tw o ; add a given num ber, divide resu lt by tw o and then sub tract the orig in al sum fro m the last resu lt and to bear this num ber in mind. C ards a re riffle d and victim is in stru cted to call stop at any time, l i e does and the card the pack is cut a t is taken by victim and to his su rp rise the pips on card correspond to the num ber he has in mind. Sim ple, y e t baffling.

H O W ’T IS A C C O M P L ISH E D :

-C ards are re a lly shuffled by s p e c ta to r; when handed back p e rfo rm e r g els a glimpse o f the bottom card. ( A ll cards equal num bers thereon and jac k , queen and king num ber resp ectively, 1 1 , 12 & 13.

S a y num ber on bottom o f pack is 5. V ictim selects say 20 fo r the num ber. 2 tim es 20 equals 40.

Bottom card is f>. P e rfo rm e r tells V ictim at all tim es to add double the num ber on the bottom card.

In this case 10 is added to 40 m aking 50.

“ D ivid e the re su lt by tw o ,” says p erfo rm er. V ictim divides 50 by 2, r e s u lt: 25.

“ Take orig inal amount, thought o f a w a y fro m final su m ,” o rd ers Ma­ gician. V ictim takes 20 (o rig in al num ber thought o f by victim ) fro m 25 leav in g 5.

B e fo re this the p e rfo rm e r has slipped the bottom card to the 1 op <f pack. W h en re su lt is finished, and victim know s the num ber o f same p er­

fo rm e r riffle s card s u n til told to stop, then slip s top card qu ickly on top of pile held in le ft hand and tells victim to tak e th e card on top. W h ich v ic ­

tim does and M r. V ictim finds th a t th a t card is the num ber he has.

Read o v er d irectio n s w ith a pack o f card s at y o u r side and a piece o f p ap er and pencil b efore you and dope it out. It m ay seem com plicated on p a p er but re a lly sim ple when tried out. This is suitab le f o r club or close w ork.

16 AD V A N C E D M AGIC, A DOUBLE PREDICTION

E ffe c t:—P e rfo rm e r borrow s a callin g card, envelope and a pack o f cards.

On tbe calling card, he p riv a te ly w rite s a “ p re d ic tio n ” seals same in an envelope which he gives to a sp ectator to hold.

P e rfo rm e r now picks up deck o f borrow ed cards and asks someone to blin d fold h im ; a fte r which some sp ecta to r is requested to select fro m the pack a card which is retu rn ed to deck and the cards tho roughly shuffled.

Now, the p e rfo rm e r asks that the envelope be opened, and the “ pred ic­ tio n ” re a d ; at the same tim e handing the cards to a spectator.

W e w ill say the “ p re d ic tio n ” read s “ You w ill select the K in g o f H e a rts ” which w ill be found the 1 2th card fro m the top.

S p e c ta to r counts down ]2 cards and to his amazement find tbe selected card as predicted.

E a s y —W h en you have borrowed the calling card, envelope and pack of c a rd s; se c re tly note the bottom card o f the pack and lay pack on the table. Y ou m ay now w rite yo u r “ P re d ic tio n ” using the nam e o f the card which you know to be on the bottom o f the pack. Now, a f t e r you are blind folded , pick up pack o f cards and force card on sp ectators. To accom plish this, we suggest the fo llo w in g m ethod: Take the pack in the le ft hand.

H olding it w ith the fingers on one side and the thumb on the other. S e ­ c re tly d raw down the bottom card about '3 in. L et the rig h t hand approach the pack, and w ith the first and second fingers draw down the cards, one by one, 1/2 in., beginning w ith the top card and so 011, in v itin g you r audience to stop you at any card they choose. This is d e a r ly show n in the illu s tr a ­ tion. The thumb o f the rig h t band has rem ained beneath the pack in con­ tact w ith the bottom card. The thumb should have been p re v io u sly m oist­ ened slig h tly so as to adhere to the bottom card. W hen y o u r audience has indicated the card at which they desire you to stop, d raw all the card s so f a r selected com pletely aw ay from the pack, d raw in g w ith them also, un­ known to the audience, the bottom card. 11’ this is done quickly it is im­ possible to detect th at the bottom card is draw n a w a y w ith the upper cards. Since, how ever, you know the bottom card, it is needless to say th a t the bottom card is re a lly supposed to be the la st card at which you stopped in going through flie pack.

Good, so fa r. Now to get the card as the 12th card fro m the top w ith ­ out counting and fu m b lin g : A little device is used which is know n as a “ card counting R in g ,” and which is w orn on the th ird finger o f the le ft hand and in the A c t o f shuffling slide eleven cards in to ring. See (Fig. 2 ). B rin g the “ chosen” card (the fo rced card) to the top and replace the elev­ en cards from ring.

The cards can now be false-shuffled and given to a sp ectator who is requested to read the “ P re d ic tio n ” and ascertain i f it is correct.

The card cou nter may be made by sold erin g a piece o f m etal to any rin g in the m anner shown in the cut.

This m etal piece is so adjusted as to allow eleven cards to slip into it w ith out crowding.

ADVANCED MAGIC.

SIM P L E FO RCE.

Remarking' th a t you a re p e c u lia rly sen sitive to an y th in g red, you hand a fo ld ed p ap er to someone. Shu ffle an o rd in a ry pack and hand i t to same p a rty , askin g him to g ive it an ad d itio n a l d o vetail shuffle. Then, w ith pack fa c e down, he deals oil one card a t a tim e, looking a t each and stop ­ p in g a t the first red card he comes to, w hich he notes and shuffles in to the pack. On opening p a p er you handed him he finds w ritte n thereon the nam e o f the card he chose. Two o r m ore card s m ay be forced .

The deck is arran g ed in a c e rtain color scheme which c a n ’t he detect­ ed a f t e r the shuffling. S a y you w ish to fo rc e th e queen o f h e a rts. D ivide p ack in to its red and black cards. P lace fa c e down six re d cards, on them 1 2 black cards, then seven m ore reds, the top one being the fo rc e card . On it place an y black card. A rra n g e balance o f pack fa ce dow n in an o th er heap as fo llo w s : F ir s t a black card, on it seven red s, then tw elve blacks, then the re s t o f the reds. B rid ge these tw o heaps in opposite d irectio ns and place them together, heap con tain in g fo rc e card becoming lo w e r h a lf o f pack. H and p a rty p a p er w ith “ Queen o f H e a rts ” w ritte n on it. Cut p ack a t bridge and d o vetail shuffle the tw o h a lv e s together, tak in g care th a t the top tw o cards o f low er h a lf (black card and fo rc e card) f a l l la s t —on top o f pack. I f only h a lf w ay c a re fu l w ith th is shuffle, e n tire cen ter —1 8 to 2-4 c a rd s —w ill be black. A sk p a rty to give pack an ad d itio n al d o ve-tail shuffle. I f you know lie shuffles th a t w a y, d o n ’t sp e c ify th e kind o f shuffle. Y ou w ill perceive th a t, as he c a n ’t cu t pack except in the m idst o f its a ll-b la c k center, no re d card s can p o ssib ly f a l l above the fo rc e card when he shuffles, and the tric k is done. Two o r m ore ca rd s o f same color can ju s t as re a d ily be fo rccd . They should lie d ire c tly un d er the first fo rc e card in o rig in al arran gem en t and m ust be allow ed to f a ll on top o f pack in y o u r shuffle. 1’a r ty then takes first tw o o r th ree reds he comes to. Y ou can a p p a re n tly leave choice o f color to chance by means o f this ru se w ith s tr a w s : B etw een thum b and fo re fin g e r o f rig h t hand show tw o straw s, one seem ingly longer than the oth er, th e ir uneven ends p ro ­ je c tin g tow ard you. P reten d to mix th e ir o rd er and have one d ra w n (h id ­ ing the in n er, uneven ends.) S h o rt s tra w stan ds f o r colo r yo u w ish to fo rc e , and is a lw ay s draw n . Three stra w s an inch long a re used. P lace tw o betw een thumb and fo refin g er, ou ter ends even .and p ro je c tin g tow ard com pany. T hird s tra w is also placed betw een thumb and fo refin g er, bu t p ro je c tin g tow ard you, it seem ing to be a p a rt o f one o f the fr o n t straw s. W h ic h e v e r s tra w is draw n you im m ediately show the tw o l e f t in con junc­ tion, when they ap p ear to be the long one and y o u r color is fo rced .

A N O VEL CH ANGE FOB, A P A C K OF C A R D S . The tric k is p e rfo rm e r w ith a long and sh o rt pack o f cards.

E m pty the rig h t hand tro u sers pocket and s e c re tly in tro d u ce the sho rt pack in to the upper p a rt o f the po cket, th a t is the p a rt th a t comes n ext to th e w aistco at. To keep the pack in place, catch the bottom o f the pocket and p u ll it up and tuck along side o f card s, the side a w a y fro m body. I t w ill now be fo u n d th a t the pocket m ay be pu lled in sid e out w ith ­ out revea lin g the presence o f the cards.

Thus p rep ared , you hand the long pack to the audience askin g six p erson s to each select a card , now tak e back the rem a in d er o f the pack holding it w ell above the head, so th at audience m ay see th a t you do n o t in an y w a y tam p er w ith it.

A s k one o f the persons who drew a card to tak e note o f its valu e and re tu rn it to the center o f the pack (m,ako the pass and b rin g it to the top.) G ive the pack a good shuffle but ta k in g good care not to m ove the top card. Y ou now u n dertake to show how e asily you can find the d raw n card

18

ADVANCED MAGIC.

by touch and in ord er th at you m ay not he 'accused o f looking a t the cards you w ill place them in y o u r pocket, which you p u ll out and show em pty. Place the pack in the pocket and ask at w hat num ber you shall produce the draw n c a rd ; suppose tiie .answer is fo u r. Take th ree cards fro m the bottom o f the p ack and the fo u rth fro m the top which you w ill rem em ber is the d raw n card. Now take w h at the audience supposes to be the same pack out o f the pocket, but you re a lly leave the long pack in the bottom p a rt and take out the short pack fro m the top, when, o f course, the change is effected w ith out exciting suspicion. The rem ain in g five cards a re now collected in the short pack to be produced in an y w a y you choose.

C A R D S AND H A N D K E R C H IE F S,

from A N Y W H E R E

This stunt, w ill give the wise acres a jo lt. W a tc h th is —E ffect: P e r­ fo rm e r rem oves his sleeves—shows his hands p e rfe c tly e m p ty —fingers wide a p a rt, etc. Then he gets one from bottom o f this fo o t, and one fro m back o f knee, and a fe w more fro m space, and so on he continues to get cards fro m an yw h ere and everyw h ere when suddenly he catches a larg e silk hand­ kerchief'—and then an oth er one or two. Then some more cards, one a t a tim e, m ysteriou sly m aterialize in his ou tstretch ed hand, and then m ore silks and so on he continues to produce a lte rn a te ly cards and silks u n til o v er a h a lf a. hundred is produced w hile all the tim e show ing his hand to be p e rfe c tly em pty and a ll fingers wide a p a rt. A nd hands a ll the tim e at arm s length fro m body. This is M agic!

This w o n derfu l effect is accomplished by the aid o f a new card and hand kerch ief “ S p id e r ” which we w ill now en deavor lo describe.

20

ADVANCED MAGIC.

CARD AND H A N D K E R C H IE F “ S P ID E R .”

You can make tliis spider fro m any tin can, as fo llo w s : — Cut a piece o f tin out o£ the side o f the can about inches. Now, allow the curve to rem ain and bend up edges fro m concaved side about % inch each to about 45 deg. —See Fig. 2. Now cut an oth er piece out o f the side o f the can 4 x 2 Vi inches. And out o f one end o f this piece cut a crescent about

Vi inches at the w id tst p a rt see B -Fig. G. Now place the concaved side o f th is piece to concaved side o f yo u r o th er piece and solder th e re to ; and you w ill h ave an apartm ent fo r silks and which we call the bottom o r belly o f the “ s p id e r” — (See Fig. 4 ).

Next bend tw o pieces o f w ire as in Fig. 7 and sold er them on to bottom edges o f fa k e , as in F ig. 1 and .'i—because a “ s p id e r” —not a fry in g p a n - must have “ leg s.” Now paint the w hole thing black.

7

Q

-P R E -P A R A T IO N AND M AN I-PU LAT IO N .

F ill “ S p id e r ” w ith a- fu ll pack o f ju n io r cards, and ap artm en t under­ neath is stuffed fu ll o f fine silk handkerchiefs. The cards a re produced one a t a tim e ju s t as you would i f you had 10 or 1‘2 cards back-palm ed.

The h an d kerch iefs are linked tog eth er the same as production fro m ball o r an egg, ete. To B ack-P alm S p id e r—Place thumb against the end and pu sh—a t the same tim e cu rl fingers under it like a fist, then, as you tu rn y o u r hand o v e r straig h ten out y o u r fingers. The first and fo u rth fingers a re on the sides o f sp id er and come against legs.

To b rin g S p id e r to fro n t o f H an d : —C url lingers in like a fist. P ress thum b against face o f the c a rd s—holding sp id e r again st fingers w h ile th e la tte r straig h ten s out. The first and fo u rth fingers n a tu ra lly come again st

PART THREE

MISCELLANEOUS

Ink Thru Hat (Several Methods)

Useful Exchanging Bag.

A Deceptive Dodge.

Spirit Watch.

Twentieth Century Magical

T ransfor mation.

Improved Rising Rope and Hoop.

Mammoth Flower Production.

22

ADVANCED MAGIC.

U SE F U L HINT.

How to p rep are candle w ick proper.

Cut off w ick flush, break off abou t an inch and h a lf length o f to o th ­ pick, (wooden) and fo rc e sh arp end into candle fo r fa k e w ick. S p lit top end o f fa k e w ick a little . Take fro m w a te r a tin y g rain o f phosphorous about size o f % g rain o f w heat. R oll it o v er on p a p e r to get w a te r off of it. Now w ith a p a ir o f pinchers or a k n ife blade, pick up phos. an d fo rc e it into s p lit at top o f fa k e w ick (but b e fo re doing la t t e r let a d ro p o f oil o f tu rp en tin e fa ll on to phos.) N ext m ix a little , m ake up black w ith g lycerine, and blacken tip o f “ w ic k '’ w ith it. ' Now when (phos. is touched w ith kerosene oil it w ill ignite.

A much b e tte r method th a t I have w orked out is as fo llo w s : imbed a sm all glass con tain er in to side o f candle. In to this glass fa k e , oil is fill­ ed. W ic k o f candle is treated as above, to light same candle rem oved from hold er w ith rig h t hand and tra n s fe rre d to le ft hand, du rin g which m iddle finger o f rig h t hand comes over glass fa k e and receives a drop o f oil on m iddle finger o f rig h t hand is now' touched to w ick which causes it to light.

Note. D rop o f oil is touched to phos. w ick and NOT THE FIN GE R as a burn fro m phos. is V E R Y undesirable.

E A ST M A N SL A T E TEST.

E F F E C T : Two slates are lieing 011 y o u r table, sm all slate pencil, sponge and a d ry rag. S itte r wiashes each sla te se p a rate d ryin g them w ith d ry ra g shown clean on all sides, sm all pencil p u t betw een the slates, held by medium and s itte r, w ritin g heard, opened by s itte r, he finds a message.

W O R K IN G : W rite a message 011 one o f the slates w hich we w ill call slate No. 1 or message slate. No. 2 slate is un prepared. L ay No. 1 on ta ­ ble, message side down and No. 2 slate on top o f th is. Now you are read y. P ick them up ju s t as they lay. S lid e the top sla te fo rw a rd a little , ad­ vancin g to sitte r. Take it off and te ll him to w ash i t w ith sponge, and d ry it good w ith the d ry rag'. Y ou in m eantim e hold No. 1 slate in yo u r hand. M essage side down, so he c a n ’t see it. Wtlien he Is through te ll him to pu t th e ra g on table. Now w atch h is eyes. Take sla te fro m him, preten d to look a t it to see i f it is good and d ry . Tell him to tak e slate

ADVANCED MAGIC.

23

pencil and put his in itia l up in corn er o f slate. A s lie drops his eyes to table, put (his No. 2 sla te un der No. 1, (he w ill th in k you placed it on top.) P oint w ith y o u r finger up in co rn er o f th is to,p slate No. 1 te llin g him to put his in itia l there. Then slide it right off and la y it on table (message side down) hand him the slate you s till have in y o u r hand tellin g him to wash this one also. Dry and pu t his in itia l up in co rn er when he is through. (In re a lity , the same one he did, wash the No. 2 slate.) Now he has his in itia ls on both slates and he th in k s lie has exam ined and w ashed both o f them. Now la y No. 2 slate on No. 1 which is on table and go through the fo llo w in g moves. Pick them both up. No. 2 is on top. No. 1 on bottom. (M essage side dow n), open them up. See fig. 2 (which shows inside o f slates) and slide No. 2 under No. 1. T urn them over on w rist. Fig. 3, (which shows bottom o f No. 2, turn them back again in band. No. 1 on top, No. 2 on bottom. Cut them (m eaning put No. 1 un der No. 2) which leaves No. 2 on top as at fiirst. Open them again as in fig. 2, show ing inside o f slates. Slid e No. 2 un der No. 1, etc. These moves have the effect o f show ing a ll sides o f both slates clean (in re a lity only 3 sides.) R epeat these moves a few tim es ending w ith No. 1 on top. S lid e No. 1 off w ith rig h t hand, toll s itte r to put sla te pencil on tg>p o f No. 2 slate. Pu t No. 1 o v er it. P u t a ru b b er band around both slates, w hich holds them tog eth er and gives you

11 o p p o rtu n ity to tu rn slates over so No. 1 comes on bottom . So then when large ru b ber band is rem oved and slates are opened by s itte r, w'riting ap p ears on top o f the un der slate, No. 1. Now a f t e r you have ru b b er band around, hold slates w ith s itte r lengthw ise like fig. 4. Y o u r fingers are u n ­ d er slates, thumbs on to)), palm o f hands fa c in g up. A . La. “ K e e le r .” Now' scratch un der sla te w ith first finger o f rig h t hand. It w o n ’t show on w rist as finger cards move on the back o f the hand. S a y “ H ere is some one n o w .” K eep scratch in g along m aking dots, etc. Then tell s itte r to re ­ move hand and open slates up (and he finds a message).

‘ ‘ R em em ber” :

1. — Hold slates lengthw ise so they c a n ’t see y o u r finger scratch in g un der slate.

2. — W o rk slow. A sla te test req u ires 20 to 30 min.

3. — A sla te w r i t e r ’s moves is v e ry bold. T h at is w h at makes it de­ ceiving.

4. — P ra c tic e the moveg 2 w eeks b efo re show ing the test to anyone.

S P IR IT F A C E S ON SLA T E .

S cratch a ll over in one corn er o f slate w ith pencil, then rub yo u r fing­ e rs a ll over it, and ’-on have a w h ite E V E N spot. Cut L yd ia Pinham s p ic ­ tu re o r some oth er out o f a paper. W e t the u n d er side o f it, la y on w h ite spot and tra c e lines o f fa c e w ith pencil, tak e p a p er oft’ fro m slate, and you h ave the ou tlin es in black. W ra p a toothpick in h an d k erch ief, w et the end and tra c e around or rub out a ll w h ite up to ou tlin es o f face. T ry th is in place o f ju s t a message, it looks like the re a l thing.

24

ADVANCED MAGIC.

JN K THRU THE HAT

Im proved M ethods

There are m any v e ry good tric k s th a t have some d ra w b ack s: “ Ink Thru The H a t” is one o f the finest effects out, but its draw b ack is in get­ ting' the fa k e in to the glass.

F o r the benefit o f those who are not fa m ilia r w ith the secret o f this tric k I w ill here offer a b rie f description o f accessories used.

G lass p itch er contains a celluloid fa k e — (See Fig. 1 ) —In k is poured in space between p itch er and celluloid fa k e. A ru b b er tube a t bottom o f fa k e connects in te rio r o f fa k e w ith the space betw een the fa k e and the p itch er. A plug attached to a thread fits into the tube and th read hangs o v er on ou t­ side o f the p itch er. A celluloid fa k e to back o f the table. The fa k e f o r the glass is filled w ith ink and placed on the servante.

I w ill first describe w hat I th in k a much b e tte r arran gem en t f o r the p itch er than the fa k e now in use. In stead o f the celluloid fa k e I have made a tin disc which snuggly fits the in te rio r circum ference o f the pitch er. A t ­ tached to disc we have tw o w ire legs. Our p itch er is p ainted black up to level o f disc, and disc has tw o holes thru it. W e also seal disc to pitch er b y m eans o f p la ste r o f p aris m ixed w ith ink. See Fig. 2.

W e plug up the holes in disc w ith w ax, th read attach ed , and pour a glass fu ll o f ink on the disc. Now when we pull the thread ink ru n s through holes to bottom com partm ent producing same effect as w ith the celluloid fa k e ; w ith the ad van tage th a t the amount o f ink which app ears to leave the p itch er is e x actly no more — no le ss—than the g la ssfu l which you put in the p itch er, and which you catch into the glass under the h a t, and which can be poured back in to the p itch er, as p ro o f—p ro vid in g on ly th a t the space un der the disc, can accom odate on ly the g la ssfu l th at run s th r u —which can e a sily be arran ged by p a r tly fillin g lo w er com partm ent w ith ink beforehand —leav in g room on ly fo r a glassfu l.

Now, reg ard in g the glass o f in k : In the old method, a celluloid fa k e which fits inside o f the glass is filled w ith ink and placed in position on the servan te. In presen tation the glass is placed on the table, and fa k e filled w ith ink, is placed in to the glass w h ile covering the la t t e r w ith a hand­ kerchief.

Not being in fa v o r o f this method o f g e ttin g the in k into the glass, I h a ve devised severa l m ethods which I have th orou g hly tested and fo und to be e n tire ly sa tis fa c to ry . I w ill explain m y m ethods in the ord er in which the im provem ents w ere made.

ADVANCED MAGIC.

25

In m y lir s t experim en t 1 made use o f tw o glasses. I w ould fill one w ith in k and lo w e r it in to a “ w e ll.” The em pty glass, I w ould cause to dro p in to a w ell w h ile s h iftin g the hat.

Now, instead o f liftin g the h at to show glass o f ink u n der it, I would reach u n d er h a t -and rem ove glass fu ll o f ink fro m w ell. O f course, I could have arran g ed an e le v a to r to ra ise glass o f in k fro m w ell, hut I d id n ’t care much f o r this m ethod, so I trie d an o th er m ethod as fo llo w s :

U sing tw o glasses, one fu ll o f in k and both w rapp ed in paper. The one con tain in g in k I placed on c h a ir S e rv a n te . In reach in g f o r the h at, I would exchange the glasses. B u t s till I w a s n ’t satisfied . So, since then I w orked out the fo llo w in g tw o m ethods which I fo u n d to be the best. In these m ethods 1 use goblets.

G et an 8 x 10 inch book o f about 100 pages. C u t cen ter ou t o f the pages and m ake a square box out o f tin to fit the cu t ou r space w ith in the book. O r, you m ay use “ m ake-up b o x ” o r Cold Cream B ox. These have screw tops. F o r m yself, I made one w ith sm all screw cap, ju s t larg e enough to hold the g lass o f ink. 1 d rilled tw o holes, one on eith er side o f this box, and to one hole I soldered a v e ry sm all piece o f tu b in g ; long enough to reach on ly 1/ 10 inch th ru book-cover when fa k e is in place in book. W a x , w ith thread attach ed is used to stop up holes in fa k e and the la tte r is then filled w ith in k and placed w ith in the box, le av in g th read ou tsid e w here i t is easy to get a hold of. B y pu llin g th re a d in k w ill ru n ou t through tubing in to glass below.

The book can be shown on both sides w ith o u t an y danger o f exposing the secret o r creatin g suspicion. A book is a v e ry commonplace a rtic le and as innocent looking as any accessory the m agician could u se; and passin g in k through a book app ears more e x tra o rd in a ry , p ro b ab ly, then p assin g th ru hat. P lace book on em pty glass, and pitch er on the book and pu ll the thread and th e tric k is done. No exchanges to be made.

S T IL L AN O TH ER METHOD

M ake a celluloid fa k e as fo llo w s: G rease inside o f tlip g lass you inten d using and fill h a lf w ay w ith p la ste r o f paris. S tic k in a clothespin o r some­ thin g sim ilar f o r a handle. W hen d ry , pull the fo rm ou t by th e hand le. Cut shape, o f this fo rm out o f a piece o f p a p e r—but h a v e it abou t % inches s h o rte r than inside o f glass. Now, using this p a p e r as a p a tte rn , cut out a shape fro m cellu lo id ; then w ith B an an n a oil, stick the cellu loid p a tte rn in ­

to shape and place it in to the glass, and cem ent i t a t the bottom w ith “ R ead y T ra n sp aren t C em ent.” N ext, cu t ou t a cellu loid disc and glue i t to inside o f celluloid fa k e flush w ith the top. W ith th is m ethod I use a. sm all double sau cer. I t req u ires but a sm all w h isk ey glass f u ll o f in k to till the fa k e d glass rig h t up.

U SE F U L E X C H A N G IN G B A G .

A tric k p a p e r sack can be made as fo llo w s : G et a sm all box, sa y 5 x 9 o r la rg e r according to the purpose fo r which you in ten d using it.

D ivid e lo w er p a rt o f sack in to tw o com p artm ents and, in o rd er to gain access to w hich, you should m ake some so rt o f an opening in sack on the side, fu rtlie re s t fro m the audience. Now p u t some c o n fette into the box. Now th e fo llo w in g fa k e w ill be n e c e ssa ry : P aste some c o n fette on a slip o f p a p e r and fo rm it around on the inside o f a tum bler. N ext, fill the glass w ith cand y and place in one o f the com p artm ents w ith in the sack.

To P e r f o r m S h o w em pty glass, and fill it fu ll o f c o n fette fro m the box. Now w h ile ta lk in g and stan d in g behind the tab le fa c in g the audience,

26

ADVANCED MAGIC.

we low er glass w ith con fette in com partm ent and brin g up fa k e d glass w ith candy.

C over glass w ith “ h a n k y ” and “ P r e s to ” . Rem ove h an k y tak in g aw ay w ith it, the shell and exposing glass o f Sw eets which we d istrib u te to the ju v e n ile portion o f the audience.

Remember this is only one o f m any uses to which this sack m ay be put — especially fo r exchange purposes.

A D E C E PT IVE DODGE

Get tw o pieces o f paper alike, about 4 x 7 inches in size. F old one edge o\'er, se v e ra l tim es and then w rap it up. P lace this in y o u r vest pocket.

Now have card torn up and pieces w rapped up in duplicate, and place in the same pocket, leav in g corn er or edge sticking out a little bit in sight, Now a f t e r card is restored , have someone fe e l th a t the pieces are s till in the paper. B ut when opened—the pieces have van ish ed !

I t is h a rd ly necessary to add th a t in rem oving slip fro m pocket you pull out duplicate and w h at w as taken fo r to rn pieces, w as o n ly the edge o f the p a p er which was fold ed o v er severa l tim es—and then rap ped up. T ry this n ext time you w ork the torn card trick .

Good gag would be the “ L ightless C a rd s.” See “ T ric k y -T ric k s.” S P IR IT W A T C H

Take a w atch, a hu nting case one, take off c ry s ta l and bend the hour hand (big hand) down a little so when you tu rn the hands around it w ill ketch ju s t a little on the sm aller hand, now i f w atch is closed, by turn in g ptem you can fe e l the hand ketch eve ry time. D on ’t bend it too much though. W o rk in g : H ave watch set about q u arte r to 12. Show it to sitte r. Close th e case up. T urn hands 4 o r 5 tim es (tu rn s) counting each click that you fe e l. 3 clicks would bo 1 5 min. a f t e r 4. T ell s itte r “ we w ill ju s t tet w atch w hile case is closed so we c a n ’t tell w hat tim e it i s .” G ive w atch to s itte r to put on 2 slates ju s t before a slate test, and when he opens slates up he has a message and dep arted frie n d has also w rote “ tim e by w atch is ju s t 1 5 a ft e r 4 . ” You can also use this as “ Mind R ead ing ” effeet f o r “ Second S ig h t A c t .” W ith a little practice you can turn hands and tell to the m inute w h at time you have* set w atch a t w hile w atch w as closed.

LIGHTED L A M P V S . R O SE B U SH & POT OR

T W E N T IE T H CEN TURY M A G IC A L T R A N SF O R M A T IO N On M agicians T A B L E is seen a rose bush in a larg e flow er pot. P e r­ fo rm e r passes his hdkf. in fro n t o f pot and bush when the la tte r is seen to have tra n sfo rm e d and is now a ligh ted L am p ! No tra c e o f pot and bush to be seen! N EXT p e rfo rm e r passes h d k f. in fro n t o f lam p and the la tte r also van ish es!

A P P A R A T U S and SE C R E T —The flow er pot has th ree sides which fa ll flat on the table (see fig.) the branches o f rose bush fo ld u - against main stalk o f bush. The la tte r is weighed And allow ed to slide down in to table le g —see Fig. The lam p, which is only a h a lf m odel is concealed by p ot and bush. The h aif-lam n is laid into a c a v ity in tab le top which is form ed to fit the lam p. F la t side o f lam p lies flush w ith table top and corresponds w ith i t in c o lo r; which ren d ers it invisib le.

So th ere you a r e —the whole thing.

ADVANCED MAGIC.

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IM PR O VE D R ISIN G ROPE AND HOOP.

E ffe c t: P e rfo rm e r shows a length o f s o ft rop e about 6 to 7 f t . in length which he curls up on floor he m akes passes, rope s ta rts to rise, when n e a rly a ll is up, he places a solid wooden hoop o v e r the top, th is even knocks the wise ones off th e ir guard th a t th read s ai-e used.

The p a rt th a t puzzles the wise ones is the passing o f th e solid hoop ovwr the top o f rop e, th ey w ill argue, i f a th read is used how in 1 can he place the solid hoop, ov er top o f rope. ? S tu d y out the d raw ings and you w ill notice th a t 2 th read s are used, l - l - l - l - l is fa ste n to end o f rope a ll th e tim e, it is first rufo up above stage through 2 screw eyes, end th a t goes down stag e is first ru n through the sm all wooden hoop on table, and now the end is fa sten ed to end o f the s o ft rope, the ro p e should be placed on floor, n e a r table so it w ill not tangle, end o f rope w h ere th read is fasten ed has sm all w ire hook. 2'-2-2-2-2 is an oth er thread which is rum across stage a little hig h er than y o u r head, so you can reach it w ith ease, th is th re a d is on sm all hooks a ssista n t stan ds re a d y and holds the oth er thread which runs above stage, the one th a t has rop e fasten ed to it.

28

ADVANCED MAGIC.

HOW TO PERFORM THE TRIC K ON THE STAGE.

P e rfo rm e r picks up rope fro m lloor (care m ust be taken so th a t there is enough slack on this thread so as to not detach the hoop on ta b le). C urls it up, but before he places it on lloor, he reaches up and gets thread num ber 2 and hooks end on this. Do not use weight. 1 use th read S L A C K and let m y a ssistan t w ork this so the effect is b e tte r i f w orked slow in ­ stead Q U IC K and SU D D E N ; when it is on a L E V E L p e rfo rm e r picks up hoop fro m table, at same time assistan t pulls in slack on th is thread so it i i tig h t—p e rfo rm e r now can release hook fro m cross thread so w eight o f rope is now on the thread above, now the hoop can be placed o v e r rop e (be­ cause it w as a lre a d y over the top th re a d ). HOOP is released fro m rope fro m o th er end (below) and given fo r inspection. Rope low ered, by assis­ tan t thread broken, rope coiled up and thro w n up in a ir, so it coines down loose, now a ll is clear.

MAMMOTH FLOW ER PRODUCTION.

E ffect: W h ile the p e rfo rm e r is busy w ith some tric k o r p a tte rin g to his audience — A large in verted sunshade o r umbrella filled to overflowing with beautiful flowers, suddenly appears into his hand.

W h en success attends ones efforts in in ven tin g o r w orking out an o r­ ig in al trick , the tendency to become over-en th usiastic, is, no doubt, quite strong. But the instantaneous appearance o f this enormous bulk, -without th e use o f foulard, flag or other such means o f cnciealment, sums, at least, to be another justification of our claim th at “ New E rie M agic’ ’ re a lly does represent a higher type o f .Magic than th at which has hitherto known to p re ­ vail.

True, such, or sim ilar effects have been possible in the past by m eans o f “ Black A r t ’ ’ reflection and the Moving Picture Film. B u t “ Black A r t ’ ’ is done under cover of darkness. R eflection might be classed w ith “ Motion P ictu re” Magic which is “ Machine M ade.”

Up to the presen t time the m agician lias not been able to du plicate the w o nd erfu l effects “ Machine Made M agic” ; and, although the la t t e r is ve ry p re tty and in terestin g , it can n ever s a tis fy the human in stin c t which loves real m ystery, no more than can the hand-organ take the place o f the human virtuose.

The w ay in which the w orld is progressing these d a y s ; the M agician, i f he would save his a r t from extinction, m ust move up a fe w notehes occasion­ ally , and be able to create rea l mystery. M ost o f present d ay “ M ag ic” is re a lly not magic a t all. A t least it is o f a very poor q u a lity ; in th a t the ad­ van tag e the p e rfo rm e r takes o f his audience is too bold to obvious. I t is this condition th a t is p rim a rily responsible f o r the r e f r a i n : “ Magic is D ead .”

O f course the M agiciun must have the advantage; b u t his advantage m ust not be obvious to his audience. A t least, not so obvious as th at o f “ Machine made magic.”

The p o in t which I wish to emphasize here is th at, it is the “ Obvious­ ness” o f the m agicians advantage th at discounts his “ m ystery” and dis­ qualifies his “ M agic” w h ether “ Machine-made” or “ Hand-made.”

MAMMOTH PRODUCTION OF FLOW ERS. Construction: Secret.

( 1 ) —P ro c u re a larg e Self-Opening Sunshade or Umbrella. ( 2 j — Cut out a Disc fro m a V era-colored, figured piece o f silk. ( 3 ) —Open urab. and in ­ v e rt it. (4) S titc h edge o f disc to inside o f umb. A ll around o r a! in te rv a ls so th a t it w ill fo rm a false bottom to Umbra. A bout two inches below edge of Um bra.—See F ig . 1 — (5) — Cut fro m 3 inch ribbon several pieces as long as *4 o f diam eter o f false-Bottom. (6 ) P a rtly close Umb. and find lowest point o f fo ld in false-bottom (See Fig-. 2 ), and sew one end o f each of the ribbon cuts at in te rv a ls a ll around. ( 7 ) —Punch holes through stems of