Quality Magic BY
OKITO
Copyright 2007 by José Antonio González Campos
Originally published by WILL GOLDSTON LIMITED, ALADDIN HOUSE, 14 Green Street, Leicester Square, London, W.C. 2.
Dedication Foreword The Bambergs Thimble Sleights: A Vanish and Recovery of Thimble No. 2 Another Method No. 3 Another Method No. 1 Coin Sleights: A Vanish No. 2 Another Method No. 3 Another Method No. 4 A Single Handed Vanish To Vanish a Billiard Ball Production of One Ball A New Colour Change for a Billiard Ball An Instantaneous Change The Triple Pass with Both Hands Simultaneously A Deceptive Change of a Card Cigar Manipulation: First Method Second Method Cigar Sleight Card Tricks: Okito’s Card Mystery The Envelope Mystery Okito’s Thought-Reading Cards Small Effects: The Hindoo Talisman The Lemon and the Bank Note Vanishing “Cloths” Coin Tricks: The Flying Coins The Improved Coin Ladder Big Effects: The Sympathetic Colours The Bewitched Blocks The Japanese Glass Shades The Mysterious Casket The Bowls of “Gobi”—A Chinese Fairy Story Okito’s New Handkerchief Tray The Siamese Cylinders The Enchanted Rice Multum in Parvo
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I dedicate this Book to my Friends DAVID DEVANT, England’s Greatest Conjurer, and HOWARD THURSTON, America’s Greatest. Two men greatly admired by all their brother professionals, and beloved by all who know them.
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FOREWORD. GREETINGS to all my friends, pupils and brother magicians. This is my first book on Magic, and it will probably be my last, because its contents are the result of my life’s work. All the sleights and tricks explained in this book have been worked by me; therefore I know they are practical. One often hears of tricks which seem to be very good theoretically but which turn out to anything but good when one tests them by a private rehearsal. I have taken all these tricks from my own repertoire, the collection which I have accumulated during my 28 years of work as a performer. I distribute them now for the benefit of my brother magicians, amateur conjurers and collectors. Some of the effects have been already explained by me in the Sphinx, but the explanations were not accompanied by illustrations, which are so necessary if one is to explain everything quite clearly. It is difficult to explain “Sleights” on paper, even with the aid of illustrations, because it is almost impossible to show by words or pictures exactly what one means. A demonstration would be the best way of explaining a good “sleight” to a learner who wished to get the utmost value out of the effect and to master the part which misdirects the attention of the audience at the critical moment I have tried to explain my “Sleights” with coins, balls, cigars and thimbles to the best of my ability, and I know that the artist has also done his best to assist me. If any point is not quite clear at the first reading I ask you not to be hasty with your criticisms; perhaps with a little patience and perseverance you will realise the possibilities of each effect I have tried to explain. I wish to give credit to my friends Carl Rosini and Adolphe Blind, of Geneva, for suggestions for two of the tricks; to the former I am indebted for the suggestion of the “Inexhaustible Bowl,” and to the latter for the idea of the “Bewitched Blocks.” Thanking you for your kind interest in me and my work and wishing you every success. Yours for quality magic, OKITO. London, November, 1921.
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THE BAMBERGS. SIX GENERATIONS OF MAGICIANS. Theo “Okito” Bamberg, born in 1875, comes from a famous family of magicians. His great great grandfather, Eliaser Bamberg (born 1760, died 1833) was a famous magician, and the same may be said of Eliaser’s son, David Leendert Bamberg (born 1812, died 1870) and of Tobias’s son, David Tobias Bamberg, born 1843, the father of Theo Okito Bamberg, whose son, David Bamberg, was born in 1904. Thus it will be seen that the family can boast of six generations of magicians. It will be understood that in this brief history of the family it is only possible to deal with the eldest son of the six generations. There where other sons in each generation, and Theo Okito Bamberg has two brothers, Emile and Edward, both in the magical profession. The first of this famour family, Eliaser Bamberg, was born at Leyden, in Holland. He won fame as a performer in pure sleight of hand, his favourite tricks being those with cards, coins, the cups and balls, etc. In 1807 he was injured by an explosion on board a ship; his leg was broken and had to be amputated. After he had fitted himself out with a wooden leg he continued his professional work and used the wooden leg to good advantage as a secret servante, by means of which some very wonderful appearances and disappearances were effected. He acquired a large collection of automata, including the vaulting figure made by Opre, which is referred to in “The Unmasking of Robert Houdin” by Harry Houdini; his collection of automata, including all those made by Opre, have been handed down from generation to generation. Eliaser’s son, David, became his father’s assistant when he was nine years old, and, following his father example, took up the study of pure sleight of hand and quickly became a very expert performer. He was the inventor of the original type of egg bag. His performances enabled him to add to his father’s fame, and he became a great favourite at court. David’s eldest son, Tobias Bamberg, was born in 1812. He upheld the family tradition and, being a very accomplished linguist, was able to “patter” equally well in French, German, English and Dutch. He was appointed “court mechanician,” but survived his father for only fifteen months. His only son, David Tobias Bamberg (the father of “Okito”) was appointed and brevetted “court mechanician” in 1870, and, being a very accomplished elocutionist and mimic as well as a very skilful magician, he soon added lustre to the family name. He commenced his stage career as an actor, but in 1866 (at the age of 23) he made his debut in Rotterdam as a magician with great success. He was appointed royal conjurer to the court of Holland, and in 1886, gave two royal performances, one of which was specially prolonged for two hours. On both these occasions he was assisted by his son, “Okito.” In 1907, David Tobias Bamberg, together with his son" Okito," made a long tour, playing in Batavia, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Guinea, Colombo, Ceylon, and other places. During this tour he offered a large reward to any fakir who would produce the famous Indian rope trick, but no one came for-
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ward to claim the prize. Like his father, grand father, and great-grandfather, David Tobias Bamberg achieved great fame as a sleight of hand expert. Theo “Okito” Bamberg continued to assist his father until he decided to strike out for himself and appear as a Chinese magician. With this act he has toured nearly the whole of Europe, performing in nearly all the principal theatres with brilliant success. Like his ancestors he is an expert sleight of hand performer, but he is also a brilliant all-round magician and a very beautiful shadowgraphist. One of the red-letter days in his career was April 13th, 1907, when he appeared before His Majesty the Prince of Solo, the most influential Prince of Java, with great success. “Okito” is a member of the Masonic fraternity and an active member of the Society of American Magicians. His son, David, now seventeen years of age, appeared in magical acts before he was five years old, thus carrying on the tradition of his family and preparing himself to emulate the example of his illustrious ancestors. This brief chronicle of the Bambergs shows that theirs is the oldest and largest family succession of which the history of magic can boast.
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SLEIGHTS. THIMBLE SLEIGHTS.
A VANISH AND RECOVERY OF THIMBLE. EFFECT. The thimble is placed on the first finger of the right hand. The left hand is held horizontally, with the palm towards the audience. (See Fig. A.) The right first finger is laid on the left palm and the left fingers close over the thimble. (See Fig. B.) The finger is withdrawn from the left hand, and, apparently the thimble has been left behind in the hand.
The left hand is opened and shown empty; (See Fig. C) it is then turned round, the back being shown, and the right hand makes a few passes over it. The right hand is obviously empty. The left hand is closed and the right first finger is pushed into it (See Fig. D) and withdrawn with the thimble on it (See Fig. E.)
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EXPLANATION.
Figs. A, B, C, D and E show the effect of this sleight, and Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 show the part which the audience does not see. When the left fingers close over the thimble, the right first finger is bent inwards and the thimble is “palmed” at the fork of the thumb. (See Fig. 1.) After the left hand has
been shown to be empty it is turned round, and while its back is towards the audience the left thumb dips into the thimble (See Fig. 3.) under cover of the right hand, and gets the thimble away. The thumb carries the thimble into the left hand (See Fig. 4) the fingers close over it, and the sleight is practically done. No. 2 ANOTHER METHOD.
EFFECT. The left hand is closed and the right hand pushes a thimble into it (See Fig. A). The left hand is opened and shown empty. The thimble is eventually recovered as in the first method. (See Figs. B and C.)
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EXPLANATION.
The right first finger really removes the thimble as in the first method, but great care must be taken to hold the hand at the right angle; otherwise, the sleight will be given away. The recovery of the thimble is a repetition of the first effect.
No. 3 ANOTHER METHOD. EFFECT.
The thimble is placed on the top of the two middle fingers of the left hand (See Fig. A), the fingers close over the thimble, which is then caused to vanish. (See Fig. B.) The thimble is eventually recovered as in the first method. (See Fig. C). EXPLANATION.
Fig. 1 shows how the thimble is “palmed” away under cover of the two fingers. The sleight is more difficult than the first two, but the effect is more bewildering to a spectator. Great care must be taken
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to hold the right hand at the right angle so that the thimble is completely hidden when it is removed from the left hand.
COIN SLEIGHTS. No. 1.-A VANISH. EFFECT. The left hand is closed and is held with the back uppermost, the thumb being nearest to the audience. The performer places a coin just inside the closed left hand and pushes it into the hand with the
first finger of the right hand. Opening both hands suddenly and, showing the palms to the audience the conjurer calls attention to the fact that the coin has disappeared. (See A., B., and C.) EXPLANATION.
Directly the coin is concealed in the left hand it is pushed between the first and second fingers of that hand. (See Fig. 1). Therefore, when the left hand is opened the coin is concealed behind it. (See Fig.2).
NO. 2.-ANOTHER METHOD. EFFECT. The left hand is held with its back towards the audience; the fingers are slightly curved in, and the thumb is outstretched. A coin is held between the tips of the first and second fingers of the right hand. These fingers, passing over the left thumb, place the coin in the left hand. (See A and B). Both hands are immediately opened and shown to be empty. (See Fig. C).
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EXPLANATION. In placing the coin in the left hand the conjurer bends his first and second fingers round directly they are concealed by the left hand; they pass round the left thumb and thus enable the conjurer to leave
the coin for a second in the fork of the right thumb. (See Figs. 1, 2 and 3). The tips of the first and second fingers of the right hand (See Fig. 4) then grip the coin and the thumb pushes it through those fingers to the back of the hand, where it is concealed. (See Fig. 5). NO. 3.-ANOTHER METHOD. EFFECT. In this vanish the closed left hand is held with its back to the audience, the little finger being uppermost. The right first finger pushes the coin upwards into the closed hand, the back of the hand being towards the audience. The right first finger is withdrawn from the left hand which is opened and shown to be empty; in the act of withdrawing the right first finger the conjurer turns that hand round and the audience see that that hasd is also empty. (See A, B and C).
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EXPLANATION. The special feature of this vanish is the position of the coin at the close of the sleight. Although both hands are turned with their palms towards the audience the coin is not back-palmed or hidden behind either hand.
In pushing the coin upwards into the left hand the right first finger really slides the coin round the left thumb (See Fig. 1). The second finger then grips the coin and the first finger is straightened and withdrawn from the hand; at the same time the hand is turned with the palm towards the audience. The left hand is opened slowly and then turned round, so that the empty hand faces the audience. The coin remains concealed in the right hand, the second finger being bent over it, and the third and little fingers are also slightly bent. The right first finger points upwards to the empty left hand. (See Fig. 2). NO. 4.-A SINGLE-HANDED VANISH. EFFECT. The performer spins a coin in the air and catches it in his right hand. He opens his hand and shows both sides of it quickly, with the fingers wide apart; the coin has vanished. EXPLANATION. This is an easy sleight to do, but a difficult one to do well. After the performer has spun the coin into the air (See Figs. I and 2). he turns his hand with the fingers pointing upward; as the coin falls appar-
ently into the hand the fingers close over it (See Fig. 3) but really permit it to drop down the sleeve. (See Fig. 5) The hand can then be shown empty (See Fig. 4). The learner must remember to keep the
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back of his hand towards the audience, and he must “time” the closing of the hand nicely. When this sleight is performed well it is very effective; performed badly there is nothing in it; it requires a good deal of practice.
TO VANISH A BILLIARD BALL. The ball is thrown into the air a few times and caught with both hands. (See Fig. 1). The left hand is closed and held, with its back to the audience, above the right hand, which pats it, and then turns
round, showing the palm, and then turns again with its back to the audience. (See Fig. 2). The left hand is then quickly opened and shown to be empty; the ball has vanished. When the right hand has its back to the audience the ball is, of course, in the left hand, but it is held there outside the tips of the fingers. (See Fig. 3, which shows the correct position of the ball). Now the right hand can palm away the ball easily as the closed left hand is turned round towards the audi-
ence. If the ball were palmed in the left hand in the usual way, the feat would not be possible, at any rate, without a suspicious movement. The deception is brought about by the fact that the fingers of the closed left hand do not move. Try this sleight with the ball palmed in the left hand in the usual
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way and you will at once see the great advantage of holding it in the way shown in Fig. 3. In no other way can the sleight be performed successfully.
PRODUCTION OF ONE BALL. This is an excellent opening for a billiard ball trick, but it is very difficult. The arms are extended and the left hand is held a few inches above the right, the left palm being exposed to the audience and the back of the right hand being towards the audience. (See Fig. 1).
The performer suddenly turns his hands round, the left having its back to the audience and the right palm being exposed. The right first finger then points upwards to the left hand which produces the ball at the finger tips. (See Fig. 4).
To begin with, the ball is palmed in the right hand. When the hands are turned over with a slight swing the ball is thrown upwards into the left hand, which palms it. (See Fig. 2). The move is very difficult, but when once mastered it is wonderfully deceptive. The beginner should stand over a bed or a sofa when he is practising because he will have many failures before he masters this excellent sleight, which is deceptive because of its difficulty. The diagrams make the explanation quite clear.
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A NEW COLOUR CHANGE FOR A BILLIARD BALL. This is a fair description of this pretty effect as it is seen by the audience. The right hand holds a white ball between the first and second fingers. (See Fig. A). The left hand approaches and the left first and finger and thumb take the ball away openly. The right hand is turned round casually so that
the audience can see there is “nothing doing” there. The right hand is closed and the left hand places the ball on the top of the closed fist. (See Fig. B). The left hand takes the ball away again, turns for a second (See Fig. C) and then shows it—a red ball. (See Fig. D). The change has been made.
The explanatory diagrams make everything clear. The right hand, holding the white ball between the finger tips, also palms a red ball. The left hand comes up for a moment—in passing—behind the right hand (as viewed by the audience) and palms away the red ball. (See Figs. 1 and 2). The right hand is then turned round so that the audience can see that no ball is concealed in that hand. (See Fig
.8). The left finger tips take away the white ball and place it on the closed right hand. The left hand then apparently takes away the white ball, but it is allowed to sink into the right hand which palms it and after the left hand has been closed for a moment it is opened and the red ball is exhibited; as the left hand has obviously no other ball concealed in it the illusion is complete.
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AN INSTANTANEOUS CHANGE. EFFECT. A card held in the right hand, as in Fig. 1, is rubbed slightly by the remainder of the pack held in the left hand when the card instantaneously changes.
EXPLANATION. The card held in the right hand (note the position of the fingers) has another card behind it, the two being shown as one card. The performer announces that he will make this card change by means of electricity, and to set up the electric current he rubs the other cards backwards and forwards over it.
(See Fig. 2.) The second card is brought forward from the back as in Fig. 3. After the card is changed the performer repeats the rubbing movement as shown in Fig. 2, which enables him to return the original card to the pack. (See Fig. 4.) THE TRIPLE PASS WITH BOTH HANDS SIMULTANEOUSLY.
This is not a trick in itself, but is a very effective “flourish” with which to begin a series of card tricks.
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The pack is divided, and each hand holds half of it, with faces of bottom cards towards the audience. (See Fig. A.) Both hands then make the triple pass simultaneously. (See Fig. B.) When the pass has been made, the faces of the cards have changed. (See Fig. C.) The positions of the hands at the different stages of the pass are clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
This flourish is by no means easy, but the effect is very good, and therefore it is well worth rehearsing. A DECEPTIVE CHANGE OF A CARD. The advantage of this change is that the pack can be passed from one hand to another while the change is in progress; also, the bottom card of the pack—which is always the card to be changed—is covered only once by the hand.
The pack is held in the left hand, with the thumb at one end and the fingers at the other. The right hand is held near the lower edge of the pack, but it does not conceal the card which is facing the audience. While the hands are in this position the left little finger comes up behind the pack and pushes the top card of the pack down for about an inch. (See Fig. 1.) This card is then gripped between the third and little fingers of the right hand, which immediately takes the pack for a moment as though to convince the audience that the left hand had nothing to do with the trick. (See Figs. 3
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and 3a.). The pack is now returned to the left hand (See Fig. 4) and the right hand passes over the card facing the audience and leaves the card originally clipped between the little and third fingers on the front of the pack. (See Fig. 5.)
CIGAR MANIPULATION. FIRST METHOD. The cigar is held vertically on the left palm, being supported at the pointed end by the middle finger of the right hand. (See Fig. A). The hands are brought together and the left hand is closed, as though it contained the cigar. (See Left Hand in Fig. C). The cigar is really palmed in right hand by being
held between the tip of the middle finger of the right hand and the palm. (See Right Hand in Fig. C). The left hand is opened quickly and shown to be empty, and the cigar is produced from the knee. (See Fig. D.)
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SECOND METHOD. The left hand is held with the back of the hand towards the audience and the fingers, close together, pointing upwards. (See Fig. 1). The right hand apparently pushes the cigar, (pointed end downwards) into the left hand. (Fig. 2). When the cigar is out of sight the right hand presses on the end
and so causes it to swing up into the right hand. (Fig. a). The left hand is closed as though it contained the cigar, but the cigar is really palmed along the middle finger of the right hand. (Fig. 4). The left hand is opened and shown empty and the right hand produces the cigar from sleeve. (Fig. 5).
CIGAR SLEIGHT. A cigar placed in the right hand instantly dis-appears; it is reproduced by the right hand. Hold the top of the cigar by the thumb and the first finger of the right hand and place it on the palm of the left hand (See Fig. 1). Close the left hand and, with the middle finger of the right hand, push
the cigar into the left hand; at the same time the left hand is turned over (See Figs 2 and 3). Open the left hand and show that the cigar has vanished; reproduce it with the right hand.
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EXPLANATION.
When the cigar is pushed into the closed left hand that hand is turned over and the cigar is levered out into the right hand (See Fig. 4). The back of the left hand is now towards the audience and the cigar is palmed in the right hand, ready for reproduction.
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CARD TRICKS. OKITO’S CARD MYSTERY. EFFECT. A card-stand to hold six cards, is on the table. (See A). A stand, consisting of a base with a rod in it and a clip at the top, in which an envelope can be placed, is on another table or a chair. The only other requirements are a pack of cards and a packet of envelopes.
The performer asks six persons to take one card apiece from the pack. These cards are placed in the stand, in the way shown in the illustration. One card out of the six is freely chosen by the audience and is placed in an envelope, which is then inserted in the clip at the top of the small stand.
A second envelope is handed to a member of the audience with the request that he will examine it, close it, and write his signature on it, so that it is impossible to change it for another envelope. This envelope is then placed in the space on the large stand formerly occupied by the card.
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A lighted match is held to the envelope containing the card on the small stand. The envelope burns away, and the audience see the card has vanished. The signed envelope is then taken from the large stand and held under the eyes of the writer of the signature. The end of the envelope is cut away and the card taken from the envelope. EXPLANATION. The stand is made of two strips of wood covered with velvet or felt. The two pieces are held together by two end plates made of brass, and four small feet raise the stand about half an inch from the table. Six small clips, each holding one card, are attached by weak spring hinges to the back of the stand. Each clip has a release pin (See Fig. 1); when this pin is pushed down about one eigth of an inch, the spring hinge is released and the card rises behind the other card.
Fig. 2 shows how all the cards are prepared before the trick is presented. Six cards are forced on six members of the audience and are placed in the stand. The performer takes care to arrange the cards in such a way that each one is in front of its duplicate behind the stand.
One envelope has a slit right across the side, about an inch from the top. After the six cards are placed in the stand the conjurer holds the rest of the pack in his left hand and shows the envelope with the slit in it, but by opening the flap he hides the slit. The envelope is then held on the top of the cards in the left hand.
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The audience then choose one of the cards in the stand. The selected card is placed in the envelope; it passes through the slit and into the rest of the pack held in the left hand. (See Fig. 3). The envelope, which apparently contains the chosen card, is then plseed in the small stand. The signed envelope is not prepared in any way; it is placed in the large stand, but as the conjurer puts it there he releases the spring which causes the duplicate card to rise behind the envelope.
Now the first envelope is set on fire, and of course the card vanishes. The conjurer, with one movement, takes the signed envelope from the stand, and the duplicate card behind it. He holds the envelope with the signature towards the audience so that it is impossible for anyone to see the hidden card. He then cuts off the end of the envelope and puts his thumb inside it; the fingers are at the back of the envelope. The card is pulled away from the back, but to the audience it appears to be drawn out of the envelope (See Fig. 6). The deception is perfect.
THE ENVELOPE MYSTERY. Hanging in the centre of the stage by two ribbons carried out to the wings is an envelope. A chair is placed near the back cloth. The conjurer comes forward with a writing pad and a pencil in his hands. Someone in the audience is asked to write any question he pleases on the pad, to tear off the sheet, and put it in his pocket. The conjurer receives the pad back again and throws it on a side table. He then addresses the audience on the subject of “spirit” manifestations, telepathy, and other mysteries; then, taking the chair in his hand he moves it to the centre of the stage, stands on it, and cuts down the envelope, leaving about an inch of ribbon sticking out of the corners of the envelope. The envelope is handed to someone in the audience with the request that he will sign his name on it and then keep it for a moment.
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Showing six silk handkerchiefs of different colours, the conjurer asks someone else in the audience to name one of the colours. The conjurer picks up the handkerchief which has thus been chosen and causes it to vanish; he then asks for the return of the envelope.
Holding the envelope in his left hand the conjurer slowly tears it open and draws out a slip of paper which he hands to the person who wrote the question. That person is asked to repeat what he wrote and to give the paper with the question on it to anyone else in the audience who may wish to be convinced that the question named is actually the one written on the paper. The writer is then asked to read what is on the slip of paper which has been drawn from the envelope. A suitable answer to the question is written on the paper. To finish the trick the conjurer then draws from the envelope the handkerchief chosen by someone else in the audience. This is a very mystifying trick, and yet it is accomplished by very simple means, and it is not difficult. First of all, the writing pad has to be specially prepared for the trick. The back of the first leaf is rubbed with dry white soap; the rubbing should be even. If the pencil used is fairly hard any writing made with it on this front page will be traced upon the page below, but the tracing will be invisible until the page is dusted over with a little finely powdered lamnpblack. (We will come to that part of the trick presently.) The chair is also prepared, being fitted at the back with a V-shaped servante (See C in Fig. 2). A slit is cut in the back cloth at a point level with the servante on the chair: thus, when the chair is standing against the slit in the back cloth, an assistant on the other side of the back cloth can drop a letter through the cloth into the servante on the chair. The servante should resemble an oblong portfolio; it can be made out of cardboard and calico.
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The pull required for vanishing the handkerchief should be slightly different from the ordinary pull, because it is also required for the production of the handkerchief. Fig. A shows the shape of the pull, which can be made out of thin metal or papier mache; the hole B should have a small washer placed over it so that the knot in the elastic may be held securely. Having explained the preparation of the chair, I am sure my readers will understand that the envelope which is hung up at the beginning of the trick is not the envelope which is handed to the audience. A change has to be made, but it is made so naturally that the audience do not suspect it. Let us see how this can be done. The envelope is hanging so high in the centre of the stage that the performer is bound to stand on a chair when he wishes to reach it. He brings forward the chair from the back of the stage. By this time the assistant has carried off the pad, and has developed the message; he has also written an answer to the message, put the answer in an envelope, through which a short length of ribbon is passed, leaving about an inch sticking out of the corners of the envelope. This envelope has been pushed through the back cloth to the servante on the back of the chair. Let us return to the performer. He brings forward the chair, stands on it, and cuts down the envelope, taking care to leave a short length of the ribbon sticking out of the corners of the envelope. He naturally steadies himself by gripping the back of the chair when he is getting down from it, and since he is holding the scissors in his right hand he has to put his left hard on the back of the chair. He keeps his hand there for a few seconds while he moves the chair out of the way; at the same time he secretly changes the envelope which he cut down from the ribbon for the one prepared by his assistant. The whole movement is so natural that no one in the audience suspects that a change has been made; I have performed the trick many times, and have always got away well with it. The next point requiring a word of explanation is the arrangement of the pull. This should be so fixed that when it is released, with the handkerchief inside, it is brought to a standstill by a ring sewn on the left of the performer’s vest. Thus, when the handkerchief has been vanished it is not very far from the performer’s left hand. After the handkerchief has been vanished, the performer asks for the return of the envelope. The spectator who has signed his name on the envelope hands it back to the conjurer, who holds it well
away from him, so that the audience can see that the envelope is not changed. The envelope should be held in the left hand, in the position shown in Fig. 3. The conjurer opens the right hand end of the
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envelope, dips his thumb inside, and has his fingers on the front of the envelope. The position of the fingers is important because they are to assume the same position in a few seconds time when the conjurer apparently draws the handkerchief from the envelope. Having drawn out the message and handed it to the person who wrote the question, the conjurer, still holding the envelope in his left hand, brings this hand near his body and so gets hold of the pull with the handkerchief inside it. He draws this away from the body behind the envelope, and, repeating the same movements of the thumb and fingers, apparently draws out the hand-kerchief from the envelope; of course his thumb extracts the handkerchief from the pull, and the fingers on the front of the envelope assist in getting it away clear from the envelope. The envelope can now be left with the audience. There are still one or two points which require further explanation. After the question has been written and the conjurer has regained possession of the pad, he must kill time to allow the assistant an opportunity of getting hold of the pad, developing the message, writing the answer, putting it into the duplicate envelope, and slipping it though the back cloth into the servante. The conjurer can address his audience in this way:— “I should like everyone to understand clearly exactly what has happened. This gentleman has kindly written a question on a piece of paper, folded it up, and put it in his pocket. I am going to ask him to think intently of that message all the time; you will agree, I am sure, that only the writer can possibly know what the question is. But possibly this gentleman has a twin-spirit who, being in sympathy with him is able, by telepathy, to read his thoughts, even when a vast space separates the two. You all know that telepathy between two living human beings is a fairly ordinary sort of thing; two people who have much in common often think of the same thing at the same time. There is no reason why telepathy should not be further developed between one living person and his twin spirit, who is invisible, of course. Anyhow, I propose to make a little experiment to-day. Here is an ordinary envelope; it has been hanging up in front of you all the time. I am going to hand it down to some one in the audience, and I shall be very glad if the man who receives it will kindly sign his name across it, so that there cannot be any mistake about it.” Before delivering this little speech, the conjurer goes to a side table to get a pair of scissors. On that table is some apparatus used in a previous trick. Naturally, the conjurer, looking for the scissors for a second drops the writing pad on the table and the assistant, in clearing up the table, takes it away with him. The question on the envelope can be developed and the message written and placed in the envelope in a few seconds. The object of having the pull of the shape shown in the diagram, is to enable the conjurer to hold it easily against the envelope. A round pull might slip away from the thumb. The trick is not difficult and its effect is almost sensational. I should add that the assistant, in answering the question, should take care to show by his answer, that he really knows what the question is. Thus, if the man wrote: “When shall I get married?” and the assistant wrote: “Possibly never,” the audience might think that the answer was merely a clever guess, which would do equally well for many different questions. But if the assistant wrote: “You ask me when you will get
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married; surely that is a question which only the lady of your choice can answer.” The assistant should always try, if possible, to give a reply which will amuse the audience.
OKITO’S THOUGHT READING CARDS. The performer shows two envelopes, each containing ten cards. On each card the names of ten celebrated conjurers are printed, so that there are a hundred names in all. The cards in the second envelope are apparently similar to the first. The performer takes the cards from the first envelope and hands them to someone in the audience, asking that person to look through them and select the one on which is printed the name of his favourite conjurer. The performer asks to be allowed to get a glimpse of the card; he then asks the person holding the cards to replace them in the envelope. Bringing forward the envelopes with the second set of cards in it, the performer goes to the member of the audience who is assisting him and asks him to take out the cards and hold up the one on which is printed the name he originally selected. Directly he sees this card the performer is able to tell the audience what name was selected. EXPLANATION. The trick is worked by means of a key word which must be remembered. The word I have chosen is BRAKSHOTEL, but any word composed of ten different letters will answer the purpose-for instance, DANSMUZIEK. If the reader will now turn to the specimen set of cards printed below he will see that the key word BRAKSHOTEL is made up of the first letters of the first names on the cards, thus:— Card 1. First name Basch. First letter Card 2. First name Rosini. First letter Card 3. First name Albini. First letter Card 4. First name Kellar. First letter Card 5. First name Servais Le Roy First letter Card 6. First name Houdini. First letter Card 7. First name Okito. First letter Card 8. First name Thurston. First letter Card 9. First name Eugene Powell. First letter Card 10. First name Lafayette. First letter -
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B R A K S H O T E L
The ten Cards in the first envelope are as follows: FIRST ENVELOPE 1. Basch Williams Cecil Lyle Nikola Teale Werner Raymond Valadon Maskelyne Holden
6. Houdini Chris Van Bern Stanley Collins Louis Davenport Yettmah Clemente De Lion Trewey Carlton The Great Leon Rameses
2. Rosini Bertram Robert Houdin Chung Ling Soo Plate Rullmann Herrmann Imro Fox Carl Hertz Bosco
7. Okito Elder T. Hearn Maurice Hofzinser Belachini Allen Shaw Zancig David Abbot Van Hoven The Great Carmo
3. Albini De Biere Morrit Leipzig Nelson Downs Sargent Dr. Hartley Hardeen Mulholland David Bamberg
4. Kellar Nelusco William Nixon Linga Singh Fasola O’Connor Herbert Brooks Frank Ducrot Clark Goldin
8. Thurston Amasis Hermalin Silent Mora Dunninger Prof. Becker Ching Ling Foo Ten-Ichi Rouclere Roltair
9 Eugene Powell Ziska L’Homme Masqué T. Aldrich Eugene Laurant Alfred Bezon Dr. Thunig Malini Selbit Cazeneuve
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5. Servais Le Roy G. W. Hunter Dr. Wilson David Devant Ernest Thorn Ottokar Fischer Will Goldston Conradi Verbeck De Kolta
10 Lafayette Dr. Samuel Hooker Victor D. Barbour Prof. Hoffmann Carter Karl Germaine Joseffy Hartz Adolphe Blind Prof. Uferini
The Cards in the second envelope are as follows: SECOND ENVELOPE. 1. Basch Rosini Albini Kellar Servais Le Roy Houdini Okito Thurston Eugene Powell Lafayette
6. Werner Rullmann Sargent O’Connor Ottokar Fischer Clement de Lion Allan Shaw Prof. Becker Alfred Benzon Karl Germaine
2 Williams Bertram De Biere Nelusco G. W. Hunter Chris Van Bern Elder T. Hearn Amasis Ziska Dr. Samuel Hooker
7. Raymond Herrmann Dr. Hartley Herbert Brooks Will Goldston Trewey Zancig Ching Ling Foo Dr. Thunig Joseffy
3. Cecil Lyle Robert Houdin Morrit William Nixon Dr. Wilson Stanley Collins Maurice Hermalin L’Homme Masqué Victor D. Barbour
8. Valadon Imro Fox Hardeen Frank Ducrot Conrad Carlton David Abbott Ten-Ichi Malini Hatz
4. Nikola Chung Ling Soo Leipzig Linga Singh David Devant Louis Davenport Hofzinser Silent Mora T. Aldrich Prof. Hoffmann
9. Maskelyne Carl Hertz Mulholland Clark Verbeck The Great Leon Van Hoven Rouclere Selbit Adolphe Blind
5. Teale Plate Nelson Downs Fasola Ernest Thorn Yettmah Bellachini Dunninger Eugene Laurant Carter
10. Holden Bosco David Bamberg Goldin De Kolta Rameses The Great Carmo Roltaire Cazaneuve Prof. Uferini
In order that the performer shall not make any mistake as to the order of the two sets of cards, the first set is put into an envelope without any gum on the flap. Let us suppose that “Will Goldston” is selected. (See No. 5 of the first set). When this card is given to the performer all he has to do is to look at the first name of the card which, in this case, is Servais Le Roy. The name starts with the letter “S” This letter is the fifth letter in the key word “BRAKSHOTEL,” and the performer merely remembers the figure 5.
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The cards are taken back and put into the envelope. The second set of cards is in an envelope with gum on the flap. These are given to the spectator who selected the name in the first instance with the request that he will find the card with the selected name on it. In this case the card will be No. 7. The performer, remembering that “five” was the figure he got from the first letter on the first card handed to him counts down the list to the fifth name—Will Goldston.
Another example. “Chung Ling Soo” is chosen from first set; it is on card No. 2, and the first name on that card begins with “R” which is the second letter of the key word. In the second set Chung Ling Soo is the second name on the Card 4.
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SMALL EFFECTS. THE HINDOO TALISMAN.
This little trick was suggested to me by the well known trick of the rising pencil. The performer gives out for examination a Hindoo Talisman, the appearance of which is clearly shown in the illustration; it is made of rushes and cottonwool.
When the talisman has been examined the performer places it on his left hand, makes passes over it with his right hand, and causes it to raise itself slowly and stand upright.
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A little hook is concealed in the cottonwool at one end of the talisman; this hook will never be detected, because it is completely covered by the cottonwool. This little hook is slipped into the skin
on the ball of the left thumb, which, being moved outwards and downwards, causes the rise on the hand. (See Figs. 2 and 3).
THE LEMON AND BANK NOTE. I do not claim originality for this idea; in fact, if the originator is living—which I doubt—he must be at least two hundred years old. The effect has been produced by several conjurers before and during my professional career. I only suggest here a practical method worked by me during my appearance in Dutch India (Java) and I can vouch for its practicability. The performer borrows a bank note and asks the lender to remember the number. The performer folds up the note, covers, it with a handkerchief, and asks someone to hold it for a moment, telling him to hold it very tightly. The performer, however, suddenly changes his mind and asks the man to drop the note; at the same time the performer whisks away the handkerchief and shows that the note has disappeared.
The performer returns to the stage and takes a plate of lemons to the audience, asking someone to take one and hold it for a moment. The conjurer then fetches a plate and a knife. The person holding the lemon is asked to put it on the plate. The performer cuts the lemon in two and displays the note in the centre. The note is identified by the owner.
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A faked knife, as shown in the drawing, is used for the trick. The knife is concealed on the table at the back of the stage. The handkerchief is prepared by having a folded piece of paper stitched into one corner. When the performer apparently covers the note with the handkerchief, he really palms the note and the man holds the faked corner of the handkerchief; of course he believes that he is really holding the note. Going to the centre table at the back of the stage for the plate of lemons, the conjurer drops the note on it. The note is taken away by the assistant, who puts his hand through the flap of the back drop. The assistant then pushes the note into the metal receptacle at the back of the knife and pushes the knife through the flap in the back drop and (unseen by the audience) on to the plate. When the performer fetches the plate and knife, of course he holds the latter with the fake containing the note underneath it. In cutting the lemon the magician holds his right thumb against the screw of the bolt and gradually pushes the note into the lemon by pressing the bolt against the cut portion of the lemon.
“VANISHING” CLOTHS.
When I write of “vanishing” cloths, I refer, of course to the cloths which conjurers use to cause the magical disappearance of tumblers. I do not mean that the cloths themselves vanish. My readers will be interested, I hope, in having a description of several different kinds of vanishing cloths. The first cloth of this kind simply consisted of two cloths sewn together with a piece of cardboard, of the size of the top of the glass to be vanished, sewn in the centre. The first improvement on this old idea was made by a French magician, known professionally as Burton, in 1884. He used a disc of celluloid in place of cardboard, and as the celluloid was transparent, the cloth could be held in front of a lighted candle without betraying the secret. In 1898, Mr. Noll Marcelin, improved on the idea. He had a disc of celluloid with a tiny hole in the centre. (See Fig 1). He also had a thin metal rod, pointed at both ends, sewn into the cloth; the ends of the rod protruded at the
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holes C and C in the diagram. Having covered the glass with the cloth and got the disc over the top of the glass he allowed the glass to drop into a well in the table. He then secretly inserted one end of the rod into the hole in the celluloid disc while he was removing the cloth from the table. He placed it down on another table or a chair, and secretly stuck the other end of the rod into the wood. The audience could apparently see the glass still under the cloth, because the rod was the same height as the glass. The vanish was then very mysterious. Carl Willmann, the well known German maker of magical apparatus, improved on this idea by attaching three little legs to the disc which, in his case, was made of thin metal. (See Fig. 2). These legs were pointed and were hinged at the points marked B in the diagram. The whole fake could be sewn between a double cloth and, of course, after the glass had been secretly removed, the legs of the fake were allowed to drop and the fake, covered with the cloth, was stood on another table. The glass was apparently there.
This idea was further improved in 1902 by Dr. C. Runschke, a German physician. He used two wire rings hinged to a thin strip of metal. (See Fig. 3). When he wished to put his cloth into action, he merely folded the rings down, and the stops—shown at C in the diagram—kept them at right angles. When the cloth was picked up, the lower ring dropped down by its own weight. A cloth for vanishing a bird-cage has two threads sewn by their ends to it. The threads are parallel. (See Fig. 6). By pushing the thumbs and first fingers between the two threads and the cloth, the conjurer is able to make the cloth taut, and he thus conveys the idea that the birdcage is still there. The inventor of this cloth, Mr. Emile Clauss, has a strong black loop of thread fastened on the bottom of
the cage, and when he puts the cage on the table, he secretly hooks the loop on the table cloth. Thus, when he picks up the cage covered by the cloth and drops the cage it hangs hidden behind the table. (See Fig. 7.) F is the cage, CC the loop, and E the cloth. I use a little fake of my own when I want to vanish a glass of water. The vanishing is done under cover of a borrowed handkerchief, and so a much greater effect is obtained. I use a glass with a ground edge. After it is filled with water, I secretly palm on a glass disc which fits snugly over the glass. Then, having borrowed a handkerchief, I introduce a metal disc under it and place it on the top of the glass disc which is on the tumbler. The metal disc has a piece of elastic attached to it in the
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usual way, like a pull. In turning round to show the glass to a lady, I drop the glass into my profonde, but the metal disc remains for a moment in its place, giving the impression that the glass is still
there. Then I can apparently vanish the glass while I am right in the middle of my audience and can immediately return the handkerchief to its owner. (See Fig. 8). The whole thing flies under my coat.
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COIN TRICKS. THE FLYING COINS.
Two empty tumblers are shown to the audience; one is inverted and placed on the top of the other. The conjurer picks up five half-crowns (or half dollars if he is performing in America) and causes them to vanish, one at a time. As each coin vanishes it is heard to drop into the lower tumbler, and when all five have vanished the conjurer takes off the top tumbler and pours the coins from the lower tumbler on to the table. My readers will readily understand that the coins which are poured from the glass are not the coins which vanish from the performer’s hands. The coins which make their appearance at the end of the trick are concealed in the glass at the outset. The glass is one which I devised for my own use, and I will now explain the device for producing the coins. Both glasses should be of cut or frosted glass. The prepared glass must have the bottom cut out and the edges polished. A slot is cut near the bottom of the glass. (See Fig. 1). The fake for holding the coins is prepared in the following way.
First, cut a brass disc of exactly the same size as the outside diameter of the bottom of the glass. To the centre of the disc braze a round metal rod, about five-eighths of an inch long and a quarter of an inch thick. The top of that short rod has a hole, screw-threaded, so that a shoulder screw, marked C in Fig. 4, can be screwed into it.
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A second brass, disc is required. This must have a tiny lip to it, a hole in the centre to allow the threaded part to pass through it, and a hole, large enough to allow a half-crown to pass though it. (See Pig 3 which gives an exact plan of this disc, which we will call B.) This disc is dropped on to the top of the metal rod and is fastened down with a shoulder screw, which prevents the disc from being fastened too tightly; the disc must revolve easily. Now glance at Fig. 4 and note E, which represents a short length of thin tubing; five coins are placed in this tube, which is soldered to the lower disc. The tube should be slightly shorter than the metal rod in the centre, so that when the disc is turned round the coins are held tightly in the tube. A small bracket is screwed to the lower disc at a point just opposite to the tube which holds the coins. A small slit is cut in the glass at “A” to take the bracket. It will be seen that the whole fake is held in place by means of this bracket and lip “B.” Now, if the second disc has been cut and arranged properly it will be an easy matter to close the tube containing the coins by merely moving the lip “B” outside the slot in tbe glass; when the lip is moved to the other end of the slot the tube should be opened. At the beginning of the trick the tube is filled with coins and closed. If the discs are nickel-plated and kept bright, the interior of the glass can be shown quickly to the audience.
The noise of the coins falling one at a time into the glass—or, rather, a glass—is easily managed, and I do not suppose my readers will require any more information than that afforded by Fig. 5. “I” is a screw eye which fastens a simple servante to the back of the table. At the top of the servante there is a short piece of stout wire, the end being twisted into a tiny ring. A tumbler stands on the servante. A coin with a piece of black thread attached to it is dropped into the glass; the end of the thread is carried up through the ring in the wire and so to the invisible assistant at the back of the stage. Obviously, every time this thread is pulled and then suddenly released the coin drops into the glass. The noise of a coin dropping into a glass is merely repeated five times. I have said nothing about vanishing the coins because I take it that every magician has his own pet moves for this part of the trick. If the performer does not wish to rely entirely on sleight of hand for vanishing the coins, he can use a coin board, which will simplify the work considerably.
THE IMPROVED COIN LADDER. I invented this coin ladder some years ago, and presented it for the first time in 1915. My object in designing this form of the coin ladder was to remove an objection I had to the old one, with which my readers are doubtless familiar. It seemed to me that, although the effect was spectacular and good, it was really out of all proportion to the apparatus which produced it; the old-fashioned coin ladder was much too large.
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I reduced the dimensions by one half, and my coin ladder can be worked successfully even in a drawing-room. No assistant is required, and although the construction is simple the apparatus is absolutely reliable. I also considered that a weak point about the old style of coin ladder was the board on the top, which always seemed to me to suggest some mechanical arrangement. In my apparatus the top board is only seven-eighths of an inch thick instead of two and a half inches.
Fig. 1 represents the coin ladder complete; it can be taken to pieces for convenience in packing. “C” are two brass tubes which are screwed to the wooden bottom and to the top “B.” The tubes in my own ladder are polished and lacquered, and all the wood is mahogany and french polished. “A” is a wooden framework open at the back; it is considerably narrower than the top “B” and the bottom of the apparatus. Ten little squares of glass with polished edges are fastened to the inside of this wooden frame. They are held in place at an angle by means of strips of angle brass. One side of each angle brass is permanently screwed with little bolts to the glass and the other side of the brass has a bayonet catch, so that it can be taken apart. These ten squares of glass I will call “D.” (See detail “D” in the drawing.)
Fig. 3 shows a sectional view of the top board “B,” which is hollow; it contains an aluminium disc a trifle thicker than the coins to be used in the trick.
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Fig. 2 is the plan of this disc, in which twenty holes are punched out, so that the coins fit comfortably. “F” is the aluminium disc; “E” are the holes for the coins, and “G” is a flat pulley. (See section Fig. 3.) This pulley is made out of hard wood and is permanently attached to “F” ; it has a steel spindle which runs through both “F” and “C”; a strong cord is passed twice round “C” so that “F” can make one revolution. To prevent friction, the spindle is pointed at both ends and is slightly raised from “B.” The whole thing fits nicely into the hollow space in the board “B” and on the top there is a lid “R”; when this is closed the mechanical part of the apparatus is invisible. One of the brass tubes “C” (See Fig. 1) is fitted with an arrangement for setting the pulley in motion. A smaller tube “Y” rests on the bottom of “C.” At the top of “Y” fits a little lever “X,” which protrudes out of “C.” On this lever rests a pointed tube “Z,” having a hole about one-eight of an inch at the point. The tube “Z,” which reaches to the top of “C,” contains some fine dry sand, which is prevented from running out by the lever “X,” but a little turn to “ X” releases it and consequently it runs down into the reservoir “Y.” At the end of the pulley cord is a weight “L,” heavy enough to make “F” revolve; the cord “K” runs over a small metal pulley “H” to facilitate the action. Underneath the top board is a round hole a little larger than the holes in “F” and so placed that it coincides with any of the holes “E.” Therefore, if the coins are placed in the holes “E” and the disc “F” is revolved, the coins will drop one at a time through the hole in the board “N.” (See Fig. 3.) In making my preparations for the trick I set up the ladder and fill the tube “C” with sand, which cannot escape because the lever “X” is closed. Now I place all the coins into the holes “E” in the disc “F’, and place the board ”B" on the two brass tubes; the weight “L” is put on the top of the sand. In order to prevent any coin from dropping out; none of the holes “ E” must coincide with “N” the disc is slightly turned for this purpose. PRESENTATION. In a small well in my table is a tumbler-of course invisible to the audience. The well must be so small that a bottomless glass placed over it will rest there on the top of the hole. Having finished the “Miser’s Dream,” I take all the coins and drop them into the bottomless glass; they fall through into the small glass concealed in the well. The illusion is perfect, because, if the audience are not deaf, everyone hears the coins falling into the glass. I use a Bohemian cut glass, which is not trans-parent; therefore nobody can tell if the coins are there or not. I place the glass on the top of “B” and place a glass bowl underneath “D” on the top of “A.” I then release the lever “X” and the sand starts to run into the reservoir “ Y,” and the disc “F” revolves taking
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the coins with it. When a coin passes “N” it falls through on to the top of the glass square “D” and then drops down with a zig-zag movement on to the other glass squares, finally falling into the glass bowl. When all the coins have fallen into the bowl I pick up the glass and show that it is empty. The movement can be quickened or retarded by making the little hole at the point of “Z” larger or smaller than the size I have mentioned. To prevent this tube “7" from dropping into the sand after the lever ”X" is released it has a small edge on the top which rests on. the tube “C.” I think that everything is now clear and that, with a little study, any reader will now be able to make this coin ladder for himself.
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BIG EFFECTS. THE SYMPATHETIC COLOURS. EFFECT. The conjurer shows three tumblers, a tall glass, cylindrical in shape, and a cardboard cover which fits over the tall glass.
One tumbler contains some water, another a red liquid, and the third a blue liquid. Having covered the tall glass with the cardboard cover, the conjurer pours all three liquids from the tumblers into the tall glass and stirs up the mixture with a glass rod. Yet, when the conjurer removes the cardboard cover the three liquids are seen to be separate, the red being at the bottom, the white in the middle and the blue at the top. Once more the conjurer covers the tall glass for a moment; when he removes the cardboard cover the colours have vanished; the glass now contains water. EXPLANATION. Concealed in the cardboard cover is a cylinder of celluloid, the lower third being painted with transparent “lake colour” blue and the upper third red. there is a tiny “lip” at the bottom of the cardboard cover to prevent the fake from dropping out. The red liquid in the first tumbler is water in which has been dissolved a tiny piece of permanagate of potash and five drops of sulphuric acid. The water in the second tumbler has a piece of “hypo” obtainable at any photographic shop, about the size of a hazel nut dissolved in it. The third glass is prepared in the same way as the first, but with about five times the amount of permanagate of potash; this gives a blue shade to the water. The working of the trick will now be clear. By having the “lip” at the bottom of the cover, the conjurer can handle it easily, holding it by the top edge. He drops it over the glass to show that it fits; in the act of replacing it over the tall glass he turns the cover over, thus allowing the celluloid fake to drop over the glass. He pours in the contents of the three tumblers; the liquid immediately becomes
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transparent. The conjurer lifts the cover, leaving the celluloid fake behind. He then covers the glass again for a second, and, in removing the cover squeezes it and so secretly removes the celluloid fake. The audience see clear water.
THE BEWITCHED BLOCKS.
The conjurer brings forward on a tray, twenty-six wooden blocks, two inches square. On each block are six different letters of the alphabet. The blocks can be thoroughly examined. Bringing forward a writing pad, the conjurer invites someone to write on it any word of eight letters. The conjurer then shows an oblong cabinet (See Fig. 1.) This cabinet has eight partitions, and the conjurer puts eight blocks into the cabinet and closes the door. The cabinet is then hung up in the centre of the stage by means of the chains at the end. The conjurer asks the person who wrote the
word, if he will kindly tell the audience what the word was. The front door of the cabinet is opened and the audience see that the blocks have mysteriously arranged themselves in the right order; they now spell out the word written on the pad.
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The cabinet must not be on the stage at the beginning of the trick. The pad is arranged in the way described in “The Envelope Mystery”; therefore the assistant off the stage soon gets to know what word has been written. He has a number of “shells” near the cabinet, each “shell” fits into a partition
in the cabinet, and so over one of the shells. The cabinet really has two doors, one at A and one at B. (See Fig. 3.) The assistant arranges eight shells so that they spell out the word written on the pad; he then puts them in the cabinet, closes the door, and opens the door A, and brings the cabinet to the performer. The cabinet can now be shown to the audience and each partition will be apparently empty. The performer puts the eight blocks into the cabinet, in reality in the shells, closes the door, and, in returning to the centre of the stage gives the cabinet a half-turn which brings the other door to the front. It will be understood, of course, that the door which is now at the bottom of the cabinet must be held in place by a strong catch, to prevent the blocks from falling out. The conjurer merely has to fire his pistol or tap the cabinet with his magic wand and open the door, when the audience will see that the blocks have arranged themselves in the right order. I suggest that when the conjurer is performing to an audience composed mostly of children, he should provide himself with a list of words of eight letters, otherwise, some little time will be spent in thinking of the word. At the end of the trick the conjurer can take out the blocks; of course the “shells” are then over them.
THE JAPANESE GLASS SHADES. I have performed this trick many times, and even when I have shown it to experts, it has completely mystified them; yet the trick is really only an elaboration of the well known trick with a tumbler and a coin. On the stage are two small undraped tables. The performer shows eight glass rods, about ten inches long, and with them builds up two little platforms on the tables (one on each table) the tops of the platforms being two boards only about three-eights of an inch thick; the boards are covered with green plush. The performer shows two glass shades, each with a knob on the top, so that it can be handled easily.
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The shades are placed on the boards. (See illustration). The performer also shows two large handkerchiefs, each with a hole in the centre, so that they can be placed over the shades, the knobs of which protrude through the holes in the handkerchiefs.
After the shades have been covered in this way, the conjurer places a silk handkerchief, 24 inches square, under one of them. He immediately lifts the shades and shows that the handkerchief has travelled invisibly to the other shade. The conjurer takes it away for a moment while he replaces the shades in position; then he puts the handkerchief back again under the first shade. On uncovering both shades, the audience are surprised to find that this time, the handkerchief has vanished altogether. Psychology, which plays such an important part in the art of magic, is largely responsible for this mysterious effect.
First of all, the edges of the shades are ground perfectly flat. (As a rule, they are rounded off by the manufacturer). A very thin strip of brass a quarter of an inch wide, is soldered tightly round the edge of each shade. The rims should be lacquered to give them a neat appearance. Around the brass rim fits a second ring, of the same width, and at right angles to this ring is an edge a quarter of an inch wide. Several small holes are drilled in the flat portion of this ring and a piece of green plush is sewn to it; the plush should not be taut, but slightly concave, so that when the ring is placed on a table there is a small space in the centre.
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Each of these two rings with the plush in the centre fits loosely into a cavity in the board; of course the plush is uppermost, so that when it is placed in the cavity it is invisible to the audience.
In order to make the audience believe that the gilded rims on the shades are merely ornaments the conjurer has the knobs also gilded. In making his preparations for the trick, the performer places a duplicate silk handkerchief between one of the plush rings and the board. Having built up the two little platforms on the tables, the conjurer shows the glass shades; he holds them by the knobs and allows the audience to see that they are free from deception and perfectly empty. They are placed on the boards and pressed into the plush rings and are then covered with the handkerchiefs with the holes in the centre. A handkerchief is then placed under one of the covered shades, but it really goes between the ring of plush and the board. The weight of the shade keeps the handkerchief nearly flat. Now we come to the psychological part of the trick. Each shade, STILL COVERED, is lifted from the board and placed near the cavity, and the hand-kerchief (with the hole in it) is instantly removed.
The audience will never notice that the shades are never lifted without the handkerchiefs covering them. The shades are covered again and plaqed in their original positions, each in the cavity in the board. The silk handkerchief is then pushed under the other shade (really between the green plush ring and the board) and then two covering handkerchiefs are removed and the handkerchief has disappeared altogether. The boards and shades are taken away together.
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THE MYSTERIOUS CASKET.
This glass casket is used to cause the disappearance of small articles, such as billiard balls, eggs, gloves, handkerchiefs, etc. Having shown all sides of the casket, the conjurer places it on his table and, to dispel the idea that the back of the table has anything to do with the trick he places a small three-sided screen behind it. (See Illustration.) Various small articles are in the casket. The conjurer removes one and puts it on the top of the casket. He fans it with a large fan and it disappears. The conjurer repeats the trick with the remaining articles. EXPLANATION. The casket itself is unprepared. The centre panel of the screen is faked, the lower half swinging on a hinge. The presence of the hinged portion is concealed by the pattern on the screen. When the conjurer has placed the casket and the screen in position, he allows the flap to fall and to rest against the
back of the casket. It is impossible for people at the sides of the room to see the flap because the two sides of the screen hide it.
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Each article falls, under cover of the fan, behind the casket and so through the screen to a servante at the back of the table. (See Fig. 1.) If the conjurer wishes to do the trick on a table without a cloth or servante he uses a screen with the flap in the middle panel hinged in such a way that it can be swung to either side of the panel. Having caused the articles to vanish, the conjurer picks up the screen and secretly pushes the flap towards the panel; it remains concealed behind the panel and the screen then appears to be unprepared. When the audience look through the casket while the trick is in progress they think that they are looking at the panel; in one sense they are, but the portion of the panel which they see though the casket is the flap resting against the back of the casket.
THE BOWLS OF “GOBI.” A Chinese Fairy Story. EFFECT. The conjurer comes on to the stage with an empty china bowl in his hand. The bowl is not prepared in any way for the trick and therefore it can be examined. The performer places the bowl on the palm of his left hand and covers it with a silk handkerchief. With his right hand the performer fans the bowl and, after a few moments, snatches the silk handkerchief away. The audience then see that the bowl is filled with water which is poured into another receptacle. The trick can be repeated many times. EXPLANATION. The trick is suitable only for a Chinese or Japanese performer. A small metal tank, strongly made, is concealed on the left hip and is strapped round the body. (See Fig. 1.). Galvanised iron is a very suitable metal for the tank, which must be very strong; it should be large enough to contain about three times the amount of water which can be contained in the china bowl. Attached to the tank is a rubber tube (See Fig. C.) which is strapped round the wrist of the performer. A piece of metal tubing should be inserted into the tank, about one inch from the bottom. There is also a screw tap (See Fig. A.); the water is poured in here until the tank is about three parts
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full. On the other side the tank (See Fig. B.) is another cap, fitted with a leather washer with a cycle pump valve fitting into it.
When the release (See “B” Fig. 1) is pressed, the water is forced through the tube into the bowl. It is necessary to reinforce the tank inside with metal strips, which should be specially soldered and rivetted, so that when the air is pumped into the tank, there is no danger of the tank bursting. PRESENTATION. Before doing the trick, the performer fastens the tube attached to the tank to his wrist by means of an elastic band. When he places the bowl on his left hand, he gets the tube just over the rim of the bowl (See “C” Fig. 8); he does this under cover of placing the silk handkerchief over the bowl. Then the performer presses his elbow on the release (See Fig. B.) and with his right hand fans the bowl. He allows just sufficient time for the water to fill the bowl; after a little practice the performer will know exactly what time to allow for this part of the trick. If a little water is allowed to run over, no harm is done; in fact, the effect is even more mysterious when the water runs over the edge of the bowl.
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OKITO’S NEW HANDKERCHIEF TRAY.
The tray I am about to describe was the “missing link” in a very successful trick, but it can be usedas the reader will see-in many other tricks. My original object in inventing the tray was to enable me to produce a silk handkerchief, perfectly dry, from a tumbler full of wine. My readers may possibly be interested in knowing of the various methods and devices I used before I invented and designed this mechanical tray. The effect of the whole trick was as follows:— A tumbler was filled with wine, or milk, or any other opaque liquid and placed on a table. A silk handkerchief was caused to disappear; it was then produced, perfectly dry, from the liquid in the glass. That was the whole of the trick. Now I will explain the different methods I used. The tumbler, I suppose, is well known to my readers; it has a tapered glass tube in the centre. These glasses which can be purchased from any reliable dealer, are made from a single piece and to mask the tube the glass is “frosted” so that it is practically non-transparent. A glass of this kind was used by me in 1898; it was made by me out of two pieces. The glass tube in the centre was straight and was cemented to a hole in the centre of the bottom of the glass. Some years later the firm of Carl Wilmann, of Hamburg, took the trouble to make these glasses in one piece, and they used Bohemian cut glass. This was a considerable help to me, because I was saved the trouble of making the glasses. This glass is shown in Fig. 2. The reader will see that the liquid is really poured on the side of the glass, and that the tube protrudes above it. The dark colour of the liquid makes the tube invisible.
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A handkerchief is vanished—in the magician’s favourite manner—and extracted from the liquid; in reality it is pushed though the glass and taken from the tube.
The weak point of the trick was the need of some subtle device which would bring the handkerchief up to the right position for production. My first attempt in this direction took the form of a little hollow ball, about an inch and three quarters in diameter, the hole being about one inch. The ball had a little clip on one side for convenience in holding it (with the hole uppermost) in the hand. In this ball a duplicate handkerchief was placed and when I held the glass in the left hand I also held the ball under the glass. Pretending that I did not wish to make my fingers wet I put a little hook into the glass and so drew out the handkerchief through the tube. I do not claim this as a great and ingenious idea, but the reader must remember that I was only a young boy at the time. Rome was not built in a day. Some little time afterwards I made the following improvement:—Instead of the ball I used a tapered tube, the same height as the glass tube. This tapered tube was covered with black velvet; it was closed at the large end and I loaded it with the duplicate handkerchief. This tube was standing on my table, which was draped with a small velvet cover, and in placing the tumbler on the table I put it deliberately over the velvet tube. I was now able to produce the handkerchief without the aid of the troublesome hook. I too the handkerchief from the glass—really, of course, out of the velvet tube—with my finger tips. But again there was a weak point in the trick. After I had poured out the contents of the glass the velvet tube was visible, and in any case it was im-possible to do the trick in this way at close quarters. Improving the trick again, I made an arrangement on my table like a piston containing a rod which could be pulled up out of the well in my table. This piston carried the handkerchief straight through the glass tube, ready for production, but I did not like the idea of having to place the glass in a line with the centre rod of my table. All these arrangements made me think of constructing a practical device without a table and perfectly “clean” At last—" Eureka I “—I got an inspiration, and devised a mechanical tray which I still use and therefore I can vouch for its practicability. Only a few of these trays are on the market; I sold them to some magicians—professional and amateur. The tray is only half an inch thick, and of the regular standard size. It is decorated like the real Japanese article, so that nobody suspects any trickery; in fact, it looks as though it might have been bought at some Oriental shop. To make the illusion perfect, I use the same tray all the evening dur-
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ing my entertainment, for the collection of articles, etc. I will now explain the way in which the tray is ingeniously “faked.” If the reader will look at the illustration he will see that Fig. 1 represents the tray before and after the handkerchief is produced. The bottom of the tray can be removed entirely for convenience in loading the handkerchief between the false and the real bottom of the tray. When we remove the false
bottom we see a mechanical arrangement containing a lever. (See Fig. 2.) If this lever is pulled about one inch, the end of the lever will make a movement of four inches; to this end of the lever is fastened a tempered steel wire No. 17 gauge. This wire is bent into a quarter of a circle, and at the end of it there is a little metal ball which prevents the wire from coming through the silk when the handkerchief is pushed up into the tube.
The false bottom is “faked” in another way. It is decorated on the top, and all four corners are apparently alike (See Fig. 1) but one corner is really a hole. To make that hole invisible, even at a few inches, a sliding trap moves underneath it, and the trap is decorated to match the other three corners of the tray. Fig. 4 explains how, by pulling the little handle, the sliding trap opens, and Fig. 3 shows the sectional view of it.
To prepare the tray the flap or false bottom is removed, and the duplicate handkerchief placed in position. One corner of the handkerchief has a little pocket sewn in it to receive the end of the steel wire. The little ball must fit easily into the pocket.
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The false bottom is placed in the tray, and the sliding trap closed. If the glass is placed in the corner of the tray (the corner acts at the same time as a guide) the hole in the false bottom will coincide with the tube in the glass. The first lever is now pulled, and the hole is thus opened. When the handkerchief is to appear, the right hand pulls the lever an inch and consequently the wire travels out of the tray, inside the glass tube, and delivers the handkerchief right at the top of the glass. When about half of the handkerchief is pulled out, the lever is released and the coil spring causes the lever to return to its original position. When the handkerchief has been taken out the second lever closes the hole in the tray. Nobody ever suspects that the tray, being so very thin, “does the trick.” I have produced, by means of this tray, a handkerchief (Liberty silk) 28 inches square, so there is plenty of room between the false and the real bottoms of the tray. A decanter of wine and the glass can be brought on the tray; the magician thus has a plausible reason for using the tray.
THE SIAMESE CYLINDERS. EFFECT.
The performer shows two prettily decorated cylinders, one fitting inside the other; they are fourteen inches in height and ten inches in diameter. To prove that the cylinders are empty the performer places one inside the other and shows each separately. The cylinders are placed on a bare table or board; the smaller is put inside the other and both are turned upside down. Producing a large cloth from the cylinders the performer spreads it out to show its size, and then takes from the cloth an enamelled bowl with two lives pigeons in it; the bowl is twelve inches in diameter and five inches high. Placing the bowl on the table the performer pushes the cloth back into the cylinders and again turns them upside down. He takes the outer cylinder away and shows that it is empty, and places it next to
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the smaller one. He then puts the smaller one into the other, takes it out again, and shows that it is empty. These movements are repeated, and the outer cylinder is put on one side. The performer then picks up the smaller cylinder, and produces from it a large solid brass vase which is as high as the cylinder itself. The performer now tries to place the cylinder back over the vase, but finds that it is impossible to do this because the vase is larger than the cylinder from which it was produced. He turns the cylinder upside down, but is still unable to put it over the vase; he repeats the attempt several times, gets confused and embarrassed, and finally gives up the task in despair. Putting the cylinder on one side he looks into the vase and then, picking it up, pours water from it into the bowl which he had previously produced. EXPLANATION. The brass vase is prepared in the following way. The bottom is cut out and the edge is turned in for about one inch all round. Another bottom is soldered inside the vase, about six inches from the bottom edge. This bottom cannot be made out of one piece because at the point where it is to be fixed, the vase is wider than it is at the neck; therefore it is made of two overlapping halves, the object of the over-lapping being to get it waterproof. (See Fig. 1). A cloth is pushed into the space under the bottom of the vase; the turned-in edge prevents the cloth from dropping out. The vase is then filled with water and a rubber cap stretched over the mouth. Two thin fish lines are fastened to the neck of the vase; each line has a hook attached to its end, as shown in the drawings. The lines are so adjusted that the vase can be suspended inside the smaller cylinder.
The larger cylinder, which we will call “A ,”is not prepared in any way, but the smaller one, “B” is fitted with a simple but ingenious contrivance. At one end a ring is fixed; this ring is large enough to allow the passage of the vase through it. A rim is fixed to the other end, but the edge of the rim is so wide that it does not allow the vase to pass through it. Therefore, when the vase is produced it is taken out of “B” from the top. (See Fig. C). Inside “B” is a sliding ring, and therefore when “B” is turned upside down the ring falls, but the projecting rim at the other end acts as a stop and two small catches at the side keep the ring firm. Now both ends of “B” are smaller in diameter than the vase,
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and therefore it is impossible to place “B” over the vase. This arrangement must be thoroughly understood. Before the trick is presented the ring “C” is slid down (See Fig. 2) and the vase, prcpared with the water and the cloth, is suspended in “B” and finally “B” is placed inside “A.” Two or three pigeons are placed in the bowl and a rubber cap, with plenty of air holes, is stretched over it. A little ring on the edge of the bowl enables the performer to hang it on a hook at the back of his waistcoat; the coat tails hide the bowl. PRESENTATION. Cylinder “A” is first raised, taking the load of “B” with it, and is placed on the table (or board). “B” is shown to be empty is placed on table for a moment and then put inside “A.” Both cylinders are then turned upside down and “A”is lifted up (leaving the load in “B” ), shown to be empty and then replaced over “B.” I wish to impress upon the reader the importance of making all these manipulations quickly, in order to confuse the audience; at the same time, they must be performed in an easy and -apparently-in a deliberate manner. The two cylinders have both been shown to be empty, and one is inside the other. The cloth is now pulled out of “B” (really from the bottom of the vase). The performer displays the cloth in front of him, and this action gives him sufficient “cover” for the production of the bowl. He places his right hand behind him gets hold of the bowl, pulls off the cover in the action of taking off the cloth, and lets the pigeons fly out. Then he puts the bowl on the table and pushes the cloth (with the rubber cover inside it) back into the vase. Now both cylinders are again turned upside down, and “B” with the load inside it, is pulled out of “A,” leaving “A” empty. “A” is again shown to be empty and is placed on the table. The performer puts his hand into “B” from the top, pulls off the rubber cap, squeezes it up and conceals it in his right hand and takes out the vase with both hands. (See Drawing C). The performer places the vase on the table, and, apparently to make more room for the vase, places his right hand on the top of “A” and moves it a little on one side, at the same time dropping the rubber cap into “A.” The performer now tries to put “B” over the vase, but it is impossible to do this, because the fixed ring is smaller in diameter than the vase. Then he turns “B” upside down, which causes the sliding ring “C” to fall down (See Fig. 8) and this makes the other end of “ B” smaller than the vase. Therefore, it does not matter in which position the cylinder “B” is held; it is impossible to place it over the vase. As a finale the performer pours the water into the bowl.
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THE ENCHANTED RICE.
This pretty trick is equally suitable for a drawing-room and the stage. I perform it myself, and the methods I explain are those I use. Placed on a side table in readiness far the performance is a box full of rice, a large handkerchief, a tumbler, and a cardboard cover which fits easily over the tumbler. The cover should be two inches higher than the tumbler. With these objects the following effects are produced:—The tumbler is filled full with rice from the box and covered with the handkerchief. The performer whisks away the handkerchief and throws it in the air; the tumbler and the rice have vanished. A smaller silk handkerchief is produced from the air and pushed into the empty cardboard cover, which is then placed on the table. When the performer lifts the cover the audience are surprised to see the tumbler full of rice there; the silk handkerchief has vanished. The missing handkerchief is produced from the performer’s buttonhole. The performer covers the tumbler of rice with the cardboard cylinder; picking up the silk handkerchief, he rubs it between his hands and causes it to disappear. Uncovering the tumbler, the per-
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former shows that the handkerchief is now in the tumbler, but the rice has disappeared; he produces the rice from one of his pockets.
The articles required for this trick are as follows:—An ordinary wooden box, about the size of a cigar box, full of rice. A bottomless glass and an ordinary glass to match it. Two silk handkerchiefs exactly alike; those I use are eighteen-inch handkerchiefs. An ordinary cardboard cover with a hole in the centre large enough to admit the tip of the middle finger. A black art table with two wells, or a table with a good servante behind it; I use the former. A double handkerchief of thick material with a celluloid disc in the centre (a vanishing handkerchief). The disc should be of the same size as the top of the tumbler. A lining for the bottomless glass similar to that of the well-known fake used in the “Bran Glass,” but covered with rice, well cemented to it; there is some loose rice on the top. One of the handkerchiefs is placed in a little pocket at the back of the left lapel of the coat; one corner of the handkerchief should be passed through the buttonhole and should be concealed by the flower which the performer is wearing in his buttonhole. The other silk handkerchief is rolled up, tied with thin cotton, and hidden in the fold of the left coat sleeve, at the elbow. At the commencement of the performance the box is on the table with the fake in the bottomless glass behind it. The cardboard cover, the other glass, and the vanishing handkerchief are in front of the box. The performer begins by showing the cover, which he says is quite empty—"as empty as a schoolboy just before dinner time"—He tilts the box of rice towards the audience to show the rice, and with the other hand puts the cover on the table behind the box; of course the cover goes over the bot-
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tomless glass, which has the fake inside it. The performer takes out a little rice and lets it trickle through his fingers into the box. He then fills the tumbler with rice and stands it on the table in front of the well. Picking up the vanishing handkerchief he holds it in front of a lighted candle to prove that it is free from preparation; as the celluloid disc is transparent it is not seen. He then covers the tumbler with the handkerchief and allows the tumbler to drop into the well in the table, but he picks up the handkerchief with his fingers at the edge of the disc, so that the audience think that the tumbler is still under the handkerchief. Going towards the audience he suddenly whisks away the handkerchief and shows that the tumbler of rice has disappeared. The performer then pulls up his sleeves and in so doing, palms the silk handkerchief hidden there; he produces it between his hands. Picking up the cardboard cylinder, the performer puts his finger through the hole in it and so holds the glass inside. He then pushes the silk handkerchief into the cylinder; of course it really goes into the fake in the glass. Having placed the cylinder on the table for a moment, the performer is able to show, when he lifts it again, that the tumbler of rice has taken the place of the handkerchief. He produces the handkerchief from his buttonhole. A little loose rice should have been placed on the top of the fake in the glass; the performer smooths some of this rice away and covers the tumbler once more. He then vanishes the handkerchief by his favourite method. Lifting the cylinder from the glass he gets his middle finger into the fake and withdraws it in the cover, which he places on the table over the second well; the fake drops into the well, and the audience see the handkerchief in the glass. In order that there may be no risk of withdrawing the handkerchief inside the fake the handkerchief may be weighted with a little piece of lead. The performer is then able to show that the cylinder is empty, and he takes some rice from one of his pockets.
MULTUM IN PARVO. I worked this trick for a number of years, and always found it very successful. EFFECT. A large box or casket is first shown. It is held by two handles at the sides, and all sides are freely displayed to the audience. It is placed on a chair and unlocked. Inside is a second box which is taken out and placed on the first box, but just before this is done the first box is shown to be empty. We will call the first box “A” and the inside one “C.”
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“C” is taken to pieces; the lid is removed and the four sides, permanently fixed together, are taken away from the base “B” which is only three-quarters of an inch thick. The sides are made of the same wood. Fig. 2 represents the trick at this stage. Having convinced the audience that the boxes are empty the performer puts “C” together again. He then produces from this box an enormous quantity of silk handkerchiefs, Chinese dolls and lanterns, flags, etc., etc., He throws one of the silk handkerchiefs over his shoulder and puts the box “C” on one side. He then opens “A,” which is full of live pigeons, which he tosses into the air. After about a dozen pigeons have been produced the performer places the box “A” on one side, and his assistant removes it. Noticing that he has a large silk handkerchief still hanging over his shoulder, the perfbrmer shakes it and a large live duck drops from it.
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EXPLANATION. “A” has a large flap in the back panel, which is concealed by means of the panel effect, the lines on the box, etc. ; it is hinged from the tap. Fig. 3 shows a sectional view of the two boxes after C is taken apart.
The main secret of the box “C” is in the bottom, which hinges down and carries the side with it; between the two is a tin receptacle “G,” which has a sliding panel with a hole in it. When the finger is introduced into the hole the receptacle can be pushed down. All the articles to be produced, except the livestock, arc carefully packed in the receptacle “G.”
A similar receptacle is on the back of the chair, and it can be pushed to the front when necessary. This receptacle “M” holds the pigeons and is provided with air holes. (See Fig. 4.) The seat of the chair is made of metal and the top opens with two flaps, which, however, are kept closed by means of spring hinges. The flaps are covered with cloth. A duck is put into a bag of the same colour as the silk handkerchief or cloth from which it is to be produced. The bottom of the bag is sewn with thin cotton so that when it is shaken the weight of the duck causes the bag to break and consequently the duck appears. This bag is put into the hollow seat
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of the chair “N.” The bag has a thin wire loop attached to its neck; the loop produces between the two flaps. To return to the boxes, “A” has a flap on the lid which is held upwards by the spring hinges. (I have already explained that it has another flap at the back provided with similar spring hinges). “C” has the receptacle at the bottom, and prevents “G” from dropping down too soon. The lid has an angular piece of metal which acts as a stop. (See “L” in Fig. 4). PRESENTATION. The two boxes are brought on to the stage, and after “A” has been opened, “C” is taken out by the handle on the lid. “A” is shown to be perfectly empty, and is placed on the chair with the back flap facing the back of the chair. “C” is now put on the top of “A” , but in taking off the lid the right hand is pushed through the flap “H” to support the falling receptacle “G.” Fig. 5 shows the receptacle “G ”falling down. If the hand did not support it “C” would fall with considerable force, because the removal of the lid releases “C.” After the load is dropped it will look like Fig. 8. “B” represents the bottom of “ C,” and the audience think that the bottom “B” is just resting on the top of “A.” Now “C” is taken apart, shown to be unprepared, and put together again. Directly this is done the right hand is placed on flap “H” and pushes the load “G” into box “C.” To prevent “C” from falling down a spring bolt “Z” is provided to hold flap “W.” (See Fig. 4). Now all the articles are produced until “C” is empty. The lid is replaced, and the box “C” is handed to the assistant and taken away. The box “A” is then once more shown to be empty and placed on the chair. Before opening the lid again the performer pushes “M” through the flap “H” (See Fig. 4) which brings “M” inside the box but “H” is now on the top and so the performer has to use another “fake” to enable him to get at the receptacle “M.” This is merely a round hap large enough to allow the performer to put his hand through comfortably. All the pigeons are produced by putting the hand through the round trap and taking them out of “M.” After all the pigeons have been released the box is taken away. The performer then gets hold of the wire loop in the seat of the chair, and under cover of the silk handkerchief or cloth thrown over his shoulder, he pulls out the bag containing the duck. The flaps in the chair close by spring hinges. The performer shakes out the duck, and thus concluded the trick.
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