BE DECEIVEDBY

L O U I S L A M

CARD MAGIC THAT IS DIFFERENT

“ SILK EN SORCERY”Je an H ugard

Silken Sorcery covers practically everything on silks, including thirty methods of producing a silk. Eleven methods of producing a number of silks. Seventeen methods of vanishing a silk. Twelve methods o f dyeing the silks. Eleven methods of Twentieth Century Silks. A chapter on Knots and Flourishes. Twenty-three tricks with silks. Usefulaccessories, sleights, etc.Well Printed and Illustrated, $1.60

Price 7/6.

rlugard

of Close-up- tie of magic.nt day is be- 4if?iit C lu bs", son. Brooks. }a v e A llison, icrs. A book ;s weil illus-........... si.oc

Price 5 /6 .

-A FT E R TH E D ESSE R T” — GARDNER

Here is a book with 30 effects using articles that can be carried in your pocket or picked up a t the dinner table. All of the material is of real reputation-building nature. With the instructions given for presentation, the results obtainable could not be bettered under “ after dessert” con­ditions if you carried a car load of apparatus. In its original mimeographed form, with only 24 trick, it sold out so fa st that we have had to have it published as a 24 page printed booklet. With 30 tricks now, it represents super value at the old price

trated. A boo

WSLL ALMAM.I.M.C. ( LO N D O N )

OF THE HANDS.1

One of tht a noted auth< talented Nev his books, tl tained the m

The great* hand effects balls, thimbl and miscellasections— so classic. Pri«

Price 4/-.

BE D E C E I V E DBY

L O U I S L A M

Au l'hor o f

“ W O U LD YOU BELIEVE IT ? ”

“ W A T C H ME CLOSELY ”

" M E N T A L L A ”

etc.

d e m o n

SERIES

M a n u fa c tu rin g R ights Reserved

COPYRIG HT

(The right to reproduce the contents, or any part thereof, is strictly reserved)

L. D A V E N P O R T &■ CO.incorporating MASKELYNE S MYSTERIES

111, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON , ENGLAND

D E D IC A T IO N

I dedicate this book to THE GREAT

LEVANTE, to whom the magical fraternity is so much indebted for real lessons in presentation and showmanship.

LOUIS LAM .

2

INTRODUCTIONHappy days are here aga in .” I do hope you w il l th in k th is

w hen you read my new book. O rig ina lly i t has been my in te n tio n to w r ite a new book every year, b u t I realised th a t good ideas do no t come every day, and in order no t to d isappoin t you I re fra ined from doing so. The m ate ria l conta ined in th is book I personally consider b e tte r than in the past. Th is is no t a novel, so do no t look a t the last page to f in d o u t “ w h e th e r they lived happily ever a f te r .” On going th rough these pages you may consider ce rta in experim ents as unsu itab le fo r your reperto ire . The reading o f M agic Books is an a rt. Read your books over and over again, on ly then w ill you be able to appreciate some sm all po in ts you over­looked a t f irs t. Real M ag ic means “ 100% PRESENTATIO N A N D S H O W M A N S H IP .” I cannot do b e tte r than to re fe r you to THE GREAT LEVANTE, Here w e have a m aster o f presenta tion and show m anship: “ the secret o f his enormous success.” Is he a b e tte r m agician than w e are ? The answer is em pha tica lly “ N O ,” b u t . . . he possesses som ething, w h ich is more im p o rta n t, v iz . the knack o f p resenting his problems. A f te r we have seen his show we go home sa tis fied , because w e have seen “ REAL E N T E R T A IN M E N T ,” and th a t is w h a t m atters. Personally I am m uch indebted to the G reat Levante, fo r w ith o u t h im I w ou ld no t be in the position in w h ich I fin d m yself to-day. He was no t a fra id to te ll me w h a t was w rong w ith my act, he cu t i t to b its . His c r it ic ism was constructive , and I was a man to take i t on the ch in . I realised th a t the w ords he spoke to me w ere true . I d id no t k id m yself th a t I was the best m agician in the w orld . Here is a lesson fo r a ll o f you : L isten to those and ac t upon the advice o f those w ho have proved to be successful. They have paid costly fo r the ir experience and you can b e n e fit by it , and here is my advice: Put in your act som eth ing d if fe re n t o thers have no t got. I t w i l l make your act stand o u t as “ IN D IV ID U A L .” Do no t copy, everybody else is already doing it. Should any p o in t in my book be n o t clear, do not hesita te to drop me a line, you may be sure o f a reply.

So get busy, p ractise hard, and be successful.

LOUIS L A M .

Am ste rdam -0.Holland.

3

CONTENTS

Page

IN T R O D U C T IO N ........................................ .......................................... 3

EL-EL TELEPHONE TEST ................................................................ 5

A D D IT IO N A L PRESENTATIONS ................................................ 6

LA D Y BE G O O D .................................................................................... 7

EL-EL BLUFF FORCE .......................................................................... 9

EL-EL 4 ACE PRODUCTION ...................................................... 10

SEN SATIO NAL CARD DISCOVERY ...................................... 10

“ ENORMOUS ” 4 ACE PRESENTATION .................................. 12

“ MYSTERIOSO ” SEN SATIO NAL 4 ACE T R IC K .............. 14

M IR AC U LO U S .................................................................................... 16

D U A L S Y M P A T H Y ............. ...................................................... 18

CO INCIDENCE .................................................................................... 19

i-iWp̂ s ib l e .............................................................. 21

PUSHO .............................................................................................. 23

SQUARE M A G IC .................................................................................... 25

4

The

State

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TIO

N’ THE EL-EL TELEPHONE

TESTHere a t last we have a real te lephone test, w h ich you can try

ou t im m edia te ly . Phone up a fr ie n d o f yours, ask h im to have a pack o f cards handy, and in s tru c t h im to pe rfo rm various moves w ith the pack. In the end he has selected a card, w h ich o f course vhe perfo rm er never knows. Im agine your fr ie n d ’s aston ishm ent when you te ll h im the name o f the card he selected. O f course ihe en te rp ris ing m agician w ill also use th is exce llen t e ffe c t in his card reperto ire , even then i t is a real m iracle .

A nd now fo r the explanation. Ask your fr ie n d on the o the r end o f the te lephone to s h u ffle a pack o f cards tho rough ly and to proceed as fo llow s. He has to take a small packe t o f cards from ,he pack, say between 10 and 20, as o therw ise the expe rim en t w ou ld last too long. By now your fr ien d has counted the packet o f cards he has taken away. Le t us take, fo r example, he has taken 17 cards. T e ll h im to place on the tab le from these 17 cards one card to represent the ten and next vo i t 7 cards to represent the 7. In the event o f his having taken 15, he must coun t on the tab le 1 fo r the num ber 10 and next to th is card 5 fo r the num ber 5. I tru s t so fa r every th ing w ill be clear to you. A f te r he has done th is, he has a small packet o f cards le f t in his hands, te ll h im to look a t the bo ttom card, and replace th is sm all packe t o f w h ich he has seen the bo ttom card, and w h ich he is to rem em ber, on the pack. The cards on the table, in our exam ple the 1 and the 7, have to be sh u ffle d thorough ly and placed on the bo ttom . You m ust a dm it th a t up t i l l now i t is abso lu te ly impossib le fo r you to know w h ich card he selected, and never once have you obta ined the cue fo r a key card. T e ll your fr ien d to read the cards o u t to you over the telephone, and a fte r he has m entioned a num ber you say, “ There is ',no need to go any fu rth e r, the card you selected was, say, the Queen o f Spades.” He m ust adm it th a t your s ta tem ent is q u ite correct.

The secret, like a ll good th ings, is sim ple too. W h e n the cards are being m entioned to you a ll you have to do is to co un t the num ber o f cards w h ich are being m entioned, and, believe i t o r no t, the n in th card he m entions a lways is the card selected. O f course you w ill realise th a t i t w ou ld be poor showm anship to m ention the card im m ed ia te ly you know it, th e re fo re le t h im co n tinue to m ention the cards to you, and a fte r he has m entioned about 12 or 13 cards, you s im p ly say: “ I believe you have already passed your card ? " M ost probably he w ill say, “ Yes,” and you con tinue , “ I k-new it, fo r you selected (mention the c a rd ) .” A s im p le test w i l l prove our case. Say he has 17 cards. He puts on the tab le 1 card and next to i t 7, toge ther 8 cards, balance 9 cards. T h is expe rim en t is even possible should your man take m ore than 20 .

5

Here is the ca lcu la tion. Say 24 cards. He puts down 2 cards to represent 20 and 4 cards to represent four, together six cards. Here the balance is 18 cards. W ith 30 cards and over the balance is 27. You w ill now realise w hy you ask your man on the phone “ I th in k I have passed your card ?” For i f he says “ N o ,” you know i t m ust be the 18th or 2 7 th card. However, i f you fo llo w the ins tructions and pa tte r ca re fu lly , you w ill always be r ig h t on the

tn in th card.

W hen w o rk in g a t the card table, I have the fo llo w in g rou tine , w h ich is also very m ys tify ing . A f te r my assistant has done a ll I have asked h im to do, w h ils t my back is tu rned, so th a t i t is abso lu te ly impossible fo r me to know the card, I take the pack behind my back, and w h ils t pa tte rin g I q u ick ly coun t 9 cards and take the n in th card from the pack, and hold i t behind my back w ith the le f t hand, w h ils t the r ig h t hand re tu rns the pack to spectator requesting h im to w rap the pack in his handkerch ie f. W h ils t he is doing th is, w ith my r ig h t hand I pu t the card in my pocket. I ask h im to m ention his card and to take i t from the pack, b u t . . . the card has gone. I now g race fu lly produce the card from my pocket.

O f course your spec ta to r'o r fr ie n d on the phone m ust never te ll you how many cards he has taken from the pack.

Since w r it in g the above, a fr ien d o f m ine pointed o u t to me th a t I could s ligh tly im prove th is experim ent by m aking sure th a t the assistant m ust a lways take a num ber o f cards to ensure the selected card to appear a t No. 9, instead o f 18 o r 27. He suggests you ask your fr ien d to cu t the pack in about 4 equal heaps. Spectator now selects one heap, and puts the o the r 3 heaps together. N a tu ra lly i f your ins truc tions have been carried o u t properly, it w ill be a lm ost impossible fo r any o f the 4 heaps to conta in less than 10 cards and more than 20.

A D D IT IO N A L PRESENTATIONS.

.W he n presenting th is experim ent w ith an audience, you can a lte r your presentation. As previously m entioned the card is the n in th from the top. The fo llo w in g presentation, w h ich is a great fa vou rite o f the author, w i l l no doubt in terest you.

The chosen card is the n in th from the top. N ow remove th ree cards from top and ask spectator w he ther his card is amongst them . N a tu ra lly he w ill decline. Take ano ther three, and ask h im the same question. Again he declines. N ow take five cards from top, apparently haphazardly, b u t ac tua lly you have counted five . Ask h im again w he ther he sees his card. This tim e he w ill say “ Yes.”

6

T ell h im to th in k o f his card, a-nd you im m ed ia te ly te ll h im the name o f the card. Th is is w ha t happens. W h e n you take the five cards from the pack, backs tow ards yourse lf and faces to the spectator, the selected card is in the centre, v iz ., coun ting from rig h t or le f t i t is the th ird card. T h is can never fa il. You now have a chance to tu rn up the le f t bo ttom corner o f the centre card, do th is w ith your le f t thum b, and you can see the index. Spectator cannot possibly see th a t you have tu rned the ie f t bo ttom corner qu ick ly .

A n o the r p resentation w ou ld be p rac tica lly the same as above u n til you have the five cards, w h ich are replaced in the pack according to the system explained in “ GREATER M A G IC ,” w hereby you push the cards in the pack, and fo u r cards come ou t, these are pushed in, and on ly th ree cards come ou t, w hen these are pushed in, tw o on ly come o u t, and w hen these last tw o are pushed in on iy one card comes ou t. T h is is the selected card. I f w ou ld no t be fa ir to disclose th is expe rim en t from “ GREATER M A G IC ,” w h ich I personally consider one o f the fin e s t e ffec ts in the book.

LADY BE GOODSounds good, you w ill say, w e ll . . . i t is. T h is t i t le is used

to in troduce to you my fa vou rite rou tine o f f in d the lady. I show tw o o rd ina ry cards and one queen. The tw o o rd ina ry cards are now placed on the tab le “ face up ,” whereas the queen is “ face d ow n .” There fo re the face dow n card m ust be the queen, b u t they are w rong, fo r the face dow n card is no t the queen, the queen ac tua lly being one o f the face down cards.

I w ou ld suggest you fo llo w the moves w ith a pack o f cards in your hand. Reading from the top face down the cards are in the fo llo w in g o rder: seven o f spades, Queen o f Hearts, n ine and e ight o f spades. Patter w ou ld be on the fo llo w in g lines: “ You have aii heard o f the card sharper’s sw ind le o f F IN D THE LA D Y . O f course you never stand a chance to w in . Le t th is be a w arn ing to you never to p lay th is experim ent, fo r you w il l never w in . I w ill now show you my version o f F IN D THE LA D Y . The more you w a tch , the b e tte r you w ill know w here the queen is. N ow do no t say THE QUEEN IS IN THE PARLOUR, th a t ’s an o ld one .”

7

W h ils t pa tte ring the pack o f cards is in the le f t hand. W ith tig h t hand make a double s h ift, take the tw o cards from the top between- m idd le finge r and thum b and show as Queen. The nine o f spades is aiso taken between m idd le finge r and thum b and the e igh t o f spades between ring finger and thum b. Show the cards in the r ig h t hand, saying “ Here I have a queen and tw o black cards, I w il l th ro w them on the table and I w an t you to te ll m'e w here the queen is ,” In a suspicious m anner th ro w the tw o black cards on the table, and re ta in the queen (ac tua lly the tw o cards) between fingers o f the r ig h t hand in th e ir o rig ina l position . Say ‘ ‘W here is the queen ?” Everybody w ill te ll you “ IN YOUR H A N D .” “ C orrect ” you reply. Repeat th is tw o or th ree tim es, every tim e they w ill say “ IN YOUR H A N D .” T e ll your spectators th a t you w ill now s lig h tly change the rou tine . By now the tw o b lack cards on the table are face up. Take one o f these cards and place i t in the le f t hand face up. On top place the queen face up (actua lly tw o cards) and oin top o f the queen the rem ain ing b lack card from the table, also face up. N ow tu rn all these cards over. The backs are now up. Cards are in le f t hand in the position fo r dealing. Keep all the cards w e ll squared up. Place the f irs t card in r ig h t hand, tu rn i t over, and th ro w face up on table w h ils t saying “ A n o rd ina ry card .” The next card is now dea lt on the table, b u t th is tim e “ FACE D O W N ,” say “ THE QUEEN.” A c tu a lly there are tw o cards le f t in your hand, tu rn them over as one card, and say “ A lso an o rd ina ry card. There is there fore no doubt th a t the face down card is the queen.” W h ils t p a tte ring take the o rd ina ry card from the tab le and place i t on the cards in le ft hand aiso face up. Po int o u t once more th a t you are hold ing tw o o rd ina ry cards in the le f t hand. T urn cards over in le f t haind, so th a t they are backs up. Place top card on the tab le face down, (actua lly the queen) b u t do no t m ention th is. Show the card (actua lly fw o cards) w h ich are le f t in le f t hand as an o rd ina ry

b lack card. You have now proved th a t the card you had placed at the beginning on the table to be the queen, and everybody w ill be q u ite sure. W hen they say th a t the queen is the card you placed o rig in a lly w here the queen should be, they are surprised to see it is an o rd ina ry card, whereas the queen is the second tu rned down card, w h ich is on the table. A li th is may read com plicated, bu t w ith cards in your hands, i t is s im p lic ity itse lf. I f you w a n t to repeat the experim ent get the cards in th e ir o rig ina l order.

THE EL-EL BLUFF FORCE

Even w hen you are clever in fo rc in g cards, the fo llo w in g system o f fo rc ing w ill appeal to you. I t is no th ing m ore than a great b lu ff , b u t i t comes o f f every tim e . Here is w h a t happens. A sk spectator to th in k o f a card. He has an obso lu te free m enta l choice and to remove the card from the pack. T h is card is open ly shown to the audience and replaced on the pack face up. The pack is face down. T e ll the audience th a t specta tor has had an abso lu te free choice and th a t i t was im possilbe fo r you to know beforehand w h ich card he w ou ld select. T e ll the audience you w ill use th is card fo r your next experim ent. A sk specta tor to cu t the cards and to replace the top packet reversed on the bo ttom packet. Th is brings the reversed top card somewhere to the m idd le o f the pack. Spectator has to look a t the card a t w h ich the c u t was made, and there fore he has to take the card n ex t to the card th a t was reversed. Perform er im m ed ia te ly announces the card in any m anner he wishes. A c tu a lly the card is forced. W ith cards in hand fo llo w the ins truc tions . The top card is know n to you. False sh u ffle the cards, re ta in ing the top card in position . Have a card m en ta lly selected and replaced on top face up (cards face d o w n ). Spectator cuts cards and reverses the top h a lf, w h ich is replaced on b o ttom ha lf, so to speak backs to backs. Do no t change the position o f the pack now and hold cards in le f t hand, or to be exact, the cards are ly ing on the le f t hand. W h ils t p lacing the cards from le f t hand in to r ig h t hand, tu rn the pack com p le te ly over. N ow fan the cards h o r izo n ta lly from the le f t hand in to the r ig h t hand. Suppose the top card reversed was the seven o f Hearts. W h e n fann ing the cards you w il l no tice th a t the seven o f H earts is the last o f the cards face up, then come the cards face dow n. Ask spectator to take the f ir s t card face dow n, w h ich is ac tua lly the card th a t was on top before you sta rted the expe rim en t. W ith cards in hand you w ill soon grasp the idea. Every th ing goes so q u ick ly th a t de tec tion is impossible. T h is fo rce is ideal fo r G IA N T CARDS, and I s trong ly recomm end i t fo r use in the G IA N T R IS ING CARDS.

9

EL-EL 4 ACE PRODUCTIONNeedless to say th a t to show a fo u r ace tr ic k you require

fou r aces. Usually perfo rm er h im se lf looks fo r the fo u r aces or requests spectator to get them from the pack. I t occurred to me th a t you should also be able to produce the fou r aces in a m ysterious manner. To do th is , all you have to do is to pu t fou r aces on top o f the pack, and produce them according to the system o f the EL-EL BLUFF FORCE described elsewhere in th is book. W a tch your step o f course th a t you re ta in the aces on top each tim e one ace is produced.

SENSATIONAL CARD DISCOVERY

Here is an experim en t w h ich is m ost b a fflin g . Unprepared cards are used, cards are no t m arked or faked and here is w ha t happens. A pack o f cards is cu t several tim es. Once again the pack is cu t by the audience, cu t com p le te ly and top card noted. Th is card is replaced by spectator anywhere he likes. Perform er never once looks at the faces o f the cards. He shows cards to spectator, asking h im i f he can s til l see his card. Perform er im m edia te ly m entions the card selected. In reading th is i t sounds like no th ing on earth, b u t perfo rm the experim ent and pa rticu la rly before your b ro the r magicians— they w ill be dum bfounded, they cannot possibly fin d the so lu tion . Experim ent can be repeated over and over again. You can show the cards to them to prove to them you are no t using a pre-arranged pack.

A nd now fo r the exp lanation :A c tu a lly you are using unprepared cards, b u t you are w o rk ing

on a pre-arranged pack p rinc ip le . The p rinc ip le o u tline d here is as fa r as I can ascertain absolute ly novel and de tec tion impossible. To arrange your pack fo llo w my ins truc tions closely, bu t . . . w ith a pack o f cards in your hands. W e have to arrange tw ice tw e n ty - six cards and proceed as fo llo w s : Place on the table any ace, say fo r instance a black ace, pu t th is on the tab le on your le f t hand side, now take another b lack ace and p u t i t on the tab le on the r ig h t hand side. N ow place on the le f t hand ace a deuce, co lour is im m ateria l, b u t i f i t be a red deuce, then a red deuce m ust be placed om the r ig h t hand ace, i f i t be a b lack deuce then a black deuce m ust be placed on the r ig h t hand pack. Carry on w ith three, fou r, five , e tc., inc lud ing k ing and s ta rt a ll over again, ace, deuce, etc., etc. W hen fin ished you have tw o packets o f 26 cards each. Take the le f t hand packet and sh u ffle i t thoroughly. The. r ig h t hand packet m ust be arranged in the same order as the le f t hand packet, and w h ils t doing th is you m ust ABSOLUTELY M A K E SURE,

10

th a t w hen using a red card in the le ft hand packet you m ust also place the iden tica l red card in the r ig h t hand packet. For example.I he f irs t card in the le f t hand packe t is k ing o f hearts, then the f ir s t card in the r ig h t hand packet m ust be the k ing o f diamonds, and le t us say the second card in the le f t hand packet is e igh t o f spades then the second card in the r ig h t hand packet m ust be the e igh t o f clubs. W hen ready place one packet on the o the r, and once again you have a com ple te pack o f cards, w h ich w il l enable you to perfo rm m iracles. Come fo rw a rd w ith the pack o f cards, or be tte r s t il l exchange the pack, I mean th a t f ir s t o f a ll you should do some tr ic k s w ith an unprepared pack and a t am opportune m om ent exchange the unprepared pack fo r the arranged pack. H ow to make the exchange I leave to you. W e a ll have our ow n pet methods. A sk the specta tor to cu t the cards as many tim es as he likes (m ake sure he makes a s tra ig h t cu t, and o n ly cu ts once at a t im e ) . Ask h im to replace lower cu t on top cu t. P erform er now tu rns his back and asks spectator to cu t the cards and fin ish the cu t. N ow specta tor m ust take the top card and p u t i t in his pocket. Perform er now takes pack o f cards in his hands and has card replaced in the pack. Here you m ust make sure th a t the card be replaced in the low er h a lf o f the pack. Fan the cards before specta to r’s eyes and ask h im to th in k o f his card w hen he sees it, b u t no t to m en tion it. Perform er im m ed ia te ly announces the card. W h a t ac tua lly happen is th is. O w ing to the a rrange­m ent o f the pack the 2 6 th card in the pack w ill always te ll you the card selected. A f te r card has been replaced, hold cards between le f t and r ig h t hand fingers and place the cards fro m le f t hand in to r ig h t hand, w h ils t show ing them to specta tor. A c tu a lly here you coun t o f f 26 cards, b u t do no t stop a t the 2 6 th card, on ly keep con tro l o f th is card. W h ils t carry ing on show ing all the cards, the le f t thum b pushes up the low er le f t hand bo ttom corner o f the 2 6 th card. You w ill f in d you can then see p la in ly and clearly the index o f the 2 6 th card. A nd here you m ust rem em ber th a t the card selected is always o f the opposite s u it to the su it o f the 2 6 th card. I f the index o f the 2 6 th card is 9 o f hearts then the card selected is the 9 o f diamonds, i f the 2 6 th card is a spades, then the selected card is a clubs. A f te r you have m entioned the card take i t from the pack to show specta tor. Th is is ac tua lly done fo r a reason. W hen you have shown it, replace i t on the bo ttom o f the pack, i.e. faces o f the cards dow n. Y ou r pack is now once again in proper order to repeat the experim ent.

I have puzzled the greatest card experts w ith th is experim ent. They could no t f in d a clue. I showed them the faces o f the cards to prove there was no pre-arrangem ent. I could do th is, and so can you, because there is no regular order in th e tw o packets o f 26 cards, each set is abso lu te ly tho rough ly m ixed. To con ju ro rs you can po in t o u t th a t you are no t using a pre-arranged pack, w h ils t show ing them the faces. They w ill a ll th in k you are using SI STEBBINS arrangem ent, b u t they are surprised th a t such is n o t the case.

U

THE “ ENORMOUS” 4 ACE PRESENTATION

“ A n o the r 4 Ace expe rim en t,” you w ill say ! A nd you are righ t, b u t do no t fo rg e t th a t you do no t always require the 4 Aces. W h y not perfo rm w ith 4 Kings, Queens or jacks. A lo t depends on your pa tte r, and should you be ta len ted to w r ite your ow n patter, a w onde rfu l p lo t could be w r it te n around the fo llo w in g experim ent. B rie fly , the e ffe c t as the audience see it, is the fo llo w in g .

A card is free ly selected and replaced. Cards thorough ly shu ffled . Four Aces are shown and placed on the table. One Ace is selected, tu rned over, b u t . . . the ace has disappeared and instead the o rig ina l selected card is found. The m issing Ace is taken from the gentlem an ’s pocket. A real m ystery.

M ost o f the experim ents in th is book are easy reading. Should you on ly read them , you w ill no t like them I am sure, b u t w hen you actua lly perfo rm them , you w ill be in a position to appreciate the beauty o f them . You may like one t r ic k b e tte r than another, bu t a ll the same, you w ill f in d th a t a ll the m ateria l conta ined herein is o f a p ractica l nature.

Experim ents th a t w ou ld be too d if f ic u lt fo r the average card man have purposely been o m itte d . Maybe I w ill w r ite a book one day on ly fo r the most advanced card w orkers, b u t are there many o f them ? I cannot say, fo r I do no t know .

I a lm ost fo rg o t to give you an explanation o f th e above experim ent. To s ta rt w ith , have fo u r Aces on top o f the pack. Have a card selected, and remembered by spectator. W h ils t he is looking a t his card, you make the pass and hold the break. Fan the cards a l i t t le o f the bo ttom packet, and have card replaced between the 4 Aces, exactly in the centre, i.e., so th a t there are tw o Aces rig h t and tw o Aces le f t o f the selected card. In closing the pack, you w ill f in d i t an easy m a tte r to insert your l i t t le finge r over the top tw o Aces, ready fo r m aking the pass. Under your l i t t le finge r you are hold ing tw o Aces, the selected card, and another tw o Aces. M ake the pass. Reading from the top you now have tw o Aces, the selected card, and another tw o Aces. False sh u ffle the cards, keeping the top five cards und isturbed. N ow te ll the audience th a t they have selected a card, th a t you have thorough ly sh u ffle d the cards, and th a t i t is impossible fo r you to know the card th a t has been selected. Furtherm ore, you impress upon them th a t you have been extrem ely clever, fo r w hen you sh u ffle d the cards you have

12

been able to b ring the Aces from the pack to the top unnoticed to the audience. “ I w il l prove i t to yo u ,” you continue . Take the f ir s t card from the top o f the pack, ar.d show i t to the audience. W h ils t pa tte ring , hold the pack in the le f t hand, w ith r ig h t hand remove top card, show i t : THE ACE OF HEARTS. Place i t on the tab le back up. Take the next card from the to p : THE ACE OF D IA M O N D S , show i t and place on tab le nex t to the o th e r Ace, also back up. N ow you apparen tly take the n ex t top card, a c tua lly m aking the double s h ift. A n o the r A ce : the Ace o f Spades. A c tu a lly you are ho ld ing tw o cards, v iz ., the Ace o f Spades, w h ich covers the o rig in a lly selected card. These tw o cards are th ro w n back on the pack, a t the same tim e ta k ing on ly the top card in the r ig h t hand. You place th is on the tab le nex t to the o the r tw o Aces, also back up o f course and say once a g a in : ACE OF SPADES. A ga in take th e top card from the pack in le f t hand, b u t th is tim e also make a double s h ift. Show th is card, apparen tly to the aud ience: TH E ACE OF CLUBS. W hen properly done you have o f course tw o Aces in the r ig h t hand. D rop these back on pack, and take away one card, saying, “ A n o the r Ace !”

On the table you now have fo u r cards, and the aud ience are fu lly convinced th a t the fo u r Aces are on the table. The position ac tua lly is three Aces and the selected card. Suppose reading from r ig h t to le f t the pos ition is, one Ace, one Ace, the selected card, and another Ace. W e have to fo rce the selected card. W e use the o ld force, v iz ., asking fo r a num ber betw een one and fo u r. I f they say tw o , s ta rt coun ting from the le ft, i f they say th ree, s ta rt coun ting from the r ig h t. There fo re you always have the selected card. M ove th is selected card away from the o thers and tu rn the Aces oyer, i.e., the th ree Aces on the table. They can p la in ly see th a t the card s t i l l back up on the tab le m ust be the rem ain ing Ace. A sk fo r the name o f the Ace m iss in g .. The audience w il l m en tion the name. T u rn th is single card over and show to the audience th a t the Ace has disappeared and th a t in its place w e have the o rig in a lly selected card. W h ils t th is has been going on you w ill have had am ple tim e to palm the top card o f the pack, w h ich is Ace No. 4, and you produce it from specta to r’s pocket, m uch to th e aston ishm ent o f the bew ildered audience.

“ MYSTERIOSO ” - A MOST SENSATI0NAL4 ACE TRICK

. Here again we have another 4 Ace t r ic k w ith unprepared cards. The idea came to me w hen reading “ Card M an ip u la tion s ” by Jean Hugard, Series No. 5. Th is book I h igh ly recomm end to the serious card w orke r (free a d ve rtise m e n t). Published by M ax Holden and obta inable from a ll reputable magical dealers. The expe rim en t I go t the idea from is FRANCIS CARLYLE ACES on page 150. The experim ent is w on de rfu l, b u t personally I th in k th a t the average card w o rke r cannot w o rk it, as i t is too d if f ic u lt . I there fore u tilise d the idea and have s lig h tly made the experim ent easier, perhaps be tte r, b u t th is I leave fo r the reader to decide.

From an unprepared pack o f cards 4 Aces are taken and placed backs up on the table. Three cards are placed on each o f the Aces and one packet selected. The three Aces now m ysteriously disappear from the th ree packets and packet o rig in a lly chosen conta ins the fo u r Aces. As regards the w o rk ing , here again I strong ly advise you to practice w ith a pack o f cards in your hands. Give pack o u t and have the fou r Aces selected. M y presenta tion actua lly is the fo llow ing .

I have beforehand obta ined one Ace from the pack, any Ace w ill do, and palm th is Ace. W hen spectator looks fo r the fo u r Aces he can on ly fin d three, and I say “ NO W O N D E R ,” you have No. 4 in your inside coat pocket. I im m edia te ly produce the palmed card from his pocket. Personally I g reatly believe in these add itiona l small e ffects , fo r i t creates in terest before you ac tua lly s ta rt, and I fin d th a t i t makes th ings easier fo r the perform er. I am speaking from a s tr ic t ly psychological po in t o f v iew , and as th is sub ject o f psychology is too exhaustive to tre a t here, I w il l no t say any more b u t “ STUDY PSYCHOLOGY,” . . . i t is even more im p o rta n t than sleights. I ask spectator to s h u ffle the fou r Aces and place them in one packet on the table, backs up. I fu rthe rm o re ask h im : “ DO YOU K N O W THE ORDER OF THE ACES ?” He says “ N O ,” w h ich is true . W h ils t he is s h u ff lin g the fo u r Aces, pe rfo rm er counts th ree cards from the top, there is no need to do th is secre tly, as everybody is w a tch ing spectator. Pack o f cards is in the le f t hand. W h e n th ree cards have been counted inse rt your l i t t le fin ge r under the three cards, ju s t as i f you w ere going to make the pass. Take the fo u r Aces from the table, or b e tte r s t i l l ask spectator to g ive you the fo u r Aces, w h ich you hold in the r ig h t hand. B ring r ig h t hand to the le ft, and drop the fo u r Aces on the pack, s t i l l ho ld ing the break, and take away w ith the r ig h t hand im m edia te ly the seven cards you are hold ing on top o f the l i t t le finge r. Reading from

14

b o tto m th ree o rd ina ry cards and then fo u r Aces. B e tte r s t i l l w ou ld be to hold the seven cards, and remove the le f t hand w ith the rem ainder o f the pack, w h ich hand places the pack on the table. T h is leaves you w ith seven cards in your hand, b u t the audience th in k you have on ly fo u r Aces. H o ld these cards h o r izo n ta lly in the le f t hand betw een th um b and f irs t finge r. W ith the r ig h t hand take the top card, and show i t to the audience. IT IS A N ACE, say the ACE OF HEARTS. Replace th is card on the b o ttom o f the cards you are hold ing, and show the bo ttom also to the aud ience to prove to them th a t no m an ipu la tions take place. Th is is repeated w ith the second and th ird Ace from the top, w h ich are replaced on the bo ttom . Each tim e you take an Ace, you m ention the name o f i t . So the second tim e you say “ ACE OF CLUBS,” the th ird tim e “ ACE OF SPADES.” Place ail the cards in your hand on top o f the pack o f cards, and say there is on ly one Ace le ft, w h ich I have no t shown you. Ask fo r the name o f th is Ace. They w il l n a tu ra lly say “ THE ACE OF D IA M O N D S .” Take the top card and show i t to be the ACE OF D IA M O N D S , w h ich is replaced on top o f the pack again. You now con tinue te llin g th a t the Four Aces are on top, and th a t you have shown the fo u r Aces. Place the fo u r top cards on the table next to one another, and say “ Here I have fo u r Aces,” b u t o f course do no t show them , fo r ac tua lly on ly the f ir s t card is an ACE, and the o the r th ree are o rd ina ry cards. The audience o n ly th in k th a t there are fo u r Aces on the table. C on tinue saying th a t you w ill place th ree cards on each Ace. The f ir s t th ree cards you take are ac tua lly th ree Aces, and these are placed on the f ir s t card you p u t down, and w h ich is ac tua lly an Ace. A n o th e r th ree tim es three cards are taken from the pack, and i f so required you can show them to the audience, and each tim e placed on one card o n the table. You mow have fo u r small packets, apparen tly each packe t con ta in ing one Ace and th ree o rd ina ry cards, b u t ac tua lly the f irs t packet has fou r Aces, and the three o the r packets comprise ju s t fo u r o rd ina ry cards. A sk the audience w h ich tw o packets they w a n t, le f t or r ig h t. I f they select the tw o packets, one o f w h ich is th e fo u r Aces, take the o the r tw o away and place them on top o f pack o f cards. If they select the o the r tw o packets take these away, so th a t also in th is case tw o packets are le f t on the table, one o f w h ich conta ins fo u r Aces. O u t o f these tw o have a se lection made, and remove the packe t w h ich has no Aces, so th a t a c tua lly fo u r Aces are le f t on the table. S h u ffle the pack o f cards, show th a t the Aces have disappeared from same, and tu rn over packet o f cards on ta b le : the fo u r Aces have m ysteriously arrived . Th is force is too w e ll know n to say any m ore about it. Francis C arly le has done some good w o rk in inve n tin g the s le igh t o f adding the th ree cards. Should somebody else be responsible fo r th is s le ight, c re d it should go to h im .

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MIRACULOUSH ow is i t possible ? Th is is w ha t you w ill say w hen you see th is

masterpiece. Th is e ffe c t alone is w o rth much more than the p rice o f the w ho le book. I t is an experim ent th a t can be shown anyw here w ith o u t any preparation whatsoever. I t embodies several sub tle ties and o rig ina l tw is ts , and above a ll creates a sphere o f super m ystery. Imagine you see a m agician w ith a pack o f cards. The audience themseives select the fo u r Aces and hold them w ith a rubber-band round them . A card is free ly selected, no t forced, and replaced in the pack. Cards are w rapped in a handke rch ie f or piece o f paper and held by another spectator. The selected card disappears m ysteriously from the pack o f cards, and is found safely between, the fou r Aces. No preparation is needed, ino w ires, threads, w ax, ho ld-outs, no palm ing, and ye t the impossib le is achieved r ig h t under your nose. You w ou ld g ladly pay a sm all fo rtu n e fo r th e secret. The experim ent could be repeated over and over again and you w ou ld no t be any w iser. Experim ent proceeds exactly as o u t­lined above. I have on ly given as ye t a b rie f in tro d u c tio n o f th e tr ic k , fo r ac tua lly there are even more surprises as you w il l see from the explanation. You are ge ttin g im p a tie n t, so I w i l l s ta r t o f f r ig h t away.

The p rinc ip le employed is the one given in “ MYSTERIOSO.” Come fo rw ard w ith pack o f cards, or b e tte r s til l ob ta in the loan o f a pack o f cards, so th a t the audience is fu lly convinced you cannot use dup lica te cards ! A sk someone to take the fo u r Aces from th e pack and to sh u ffle them thoroughly. A n o the r specta tor selects a card free ly (no fo rc e ) . Card is replaced in pack and the pass made. Therefore the card selected is on top. A sk specta tor w ho is h o ld in g the fo u r Aces to sh u ffle them once more. W h ils t he is doing th is , you get a chance to glim pse the top card and rem em ber the name o f the card. Insert your l i t t le finge r o f the le f t hand under th is card and hold the break. Take the fo u r Aces from spectator, te llin g h im th a t you do no t know the order o f the Aces. Place fo u r Aces on the pack o f cards. Retain these Aces w ith the selected card a t the bo ttom , and w ith the le f t hand place pack o f cards on table. Nobody w ill ever know th a t the selected card is a t the b o ttom o f th e fou r Aces you are hold ing in the r ig h t hand. Be care fu l n o t to disclose the bo ttom card to the audience. Cards are placed in le f t hand, and you proceed along the lines o f MYSTERIOSO. Show- top Ace and b ring to the bo ttom , show bottom , repeat th is w ith the second and th ird Ace. N ow ask the audience to te ll you w h ich Ace you d id no t as ye t show them . Suppose they say the A ce o f Hearts. Show the top Ace, to prove to them th a t th e ir s ta tem ent is correct. This No. 4 Ace is replaced on TOP and N O T BROUGHT TO THE BO TTO M . Show the bo ttom Ace again to prove you have

16

n o t done anyth ing to the cards, take i t from the b o ttom and pu t i t on top. The cards in your hand run as fo llow s, reading from top to bo ttom or vice versa. T w o Aces, the selected card, the rem ain ing tw o Aces. O f course, to the audience i t appears you are on ly hold ing fo u r Aces. Place a rubber-band round these cards, and give packet to a gentlem an to hold or place in his pocket. A nd now comes a w on de rfu l sub tle ty . The audience s til l th in k th a t the card they selected is in the pack, b u t ac tua lly i t is betw een the Aces. N ow comes a big b lu ff . A sk spectator w ho selected the card to th in k o f same. Yes, you get an impression. He selected, you te ll h im , the “ E IG HT OF SPADES.” C orrect he w il l say. O f course you have rem em bered the card you glim psed w hen i t was on top. Pretend to look fo r the card in the pack, b u t ac tua lly any card is taken. Say, “ Here I have the E ight o f Spades.” They w ill believe you, b u t be care fu l no t to show the card. Place th is card on the table. They th in k the expe rim en t is over. N ow take the card and place same in the pack, q u ite openly, to show the pub lic th a t you are no t palm ing. There is no need to m en tion to them any th ing here, fo r th a t w ou ld be exposing. S im ply keep the hands q u ite open to prove a ll is fa ir and square. Give pack o f cards to a specta to r and ask h im to w rap the cards in his own handkerch ie f. The man w ith the handke rch ie f is stand ing say on the le f t o f you and the man w ith the fo u r Aces is stand ing o>n your r igh t. N ow p re tend to take a card from the handkerch ie f. Say “ I w il l now take the E ight o f Spades from the h an dke rch ie f” (pre tend to take i t th rough the h a n d ke rch ie f) and make a th ro w in g m otion tow ards the gentlem an on the righ t. A sk man on the le f t to open! his handke rch ie f. He w ill f in d th a t the E ight o f Spades has disappeared. A sk gentlem an on your r ig h t to remove the rubber-band and hand you the Aces, one a t a tim e. Th is leaves h im w ith the selected card “ THE EIG HT OF SPADES.”

T h is experim ent is the h ig h lig h t o f the a u th o r’s show. O f course a lo t depends on presenta tion , b u t w ith a l i t t le care and showm anship, you, dear reader, too, should be able to present th is tr ic k w ith enormous success. You cannot expect to be p erfec t the f irs t tim e you try it , b u t w ith a l i t t le practice and care a lo t could be done. Do no t fo rg e t PRACTICE M AKES PERFECT.

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DUAL SYMPATHYHere we have a f irs t class experim ent, no t ju s t a s le ight, and

you need mot be as clever as C A R D IN I to handle a pack o f cards, it all w orks au tom atica lly fo r you. You require tw o packs o f cards, one blue and one red-backed pack. One pack is g iven to spectator to shu ffle . W hen th is has been done, specta tor m ust take the top card from the pack and place i t on the tab le w ith o u t looking a t same. This card is replaced reversed in the o th e r pack. W h e n the cards o f the la tte r pack are spread o u t on the tab le faces up, you w ill fin d tw o cards w ith backs up, one red and one b lue-backed card. These cards are tu rned over, they are both a like , say the Ten o f Hearts. By th is experim ent you have proved th a t the card in sym pathy w ith the card selected has tu rned its e lf com ple te ly over, and fu rthe rm o re th a t th is card has au to m a tica lly placed its e lf next to the selected card. W h a t w ill in te rest you most is . . . th a t there are no sle ights whatsoever. I t w orks itse lf.

To try ou t, have tw o packs o f cards, one blue and one red backed pack. Remove from the blue pack say the Ten o f Hearts, and also the Ten o f Hearts from the red-backed pack. Place these tw o cards together in the red pack as fo llow s. Red pack is on the table faces up. Take away the f ir s t and second card, and between tnese tw o cards and the rem ain ing pack place the tw o Tens (one blue and one re d ) . These tw o Tens m ust be inserted in the pack backs up. The pack is now reading from top, faces up : tw o ord inary cards faces up, tw o cards faces down;, and the rem ainder o f the pack faces up. You are now ready to perform .

Give blue pack to spectator to sh u ffle thoroughly. W h e n he has fin ished, ask h im to place his cards on the table, and to remove the top card o f his pack W IT H O U T LO O KIN G A T SAME. In tro ­duce some p a tte r about dual sym pathy and impress upon h im th a t i t is impossible fo r you to know w h ich card he has removed. Take red pack in hands faces up and turn- the top card face dow n. N ow tu rn the pack com ple te ly over and reverse the card th a t is now on top. Th is w ill make the top card n ow face up. Keep cards w e ll squared and announce th a t you w il l place the selected card face down in the pack, w h ich you ac tua lly do. N ow reverse the top card again, tu rn pack com p le te ly over, reverse the card th a t is on top now. The pack o f cards should be now in your hands face up. C ut the cards once, replace cu t, and spread cards on the table faces up. You w ill f in d there are tw o cards together, one red and one blue, and o f course they are both identica l. The blue card spectator selected and w h ich was replaced in the pack cannot be seen as the face o f th is blue card is also up and looks like one o f the red cards. Do no t fo rge t to remove th is extra b lue-backed card at the earliest possible m om ent.

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COINCIDENCEI described th is e ffe c t fu lly in “ W A T C H ME CLOSELY,” on

page 6. I realised th a t a lthough the expe rim en t was no t bad, it was w o rth y o f a be tte r p resenta tion, and consequently I h it upon a com b ina tion w h ich w herever perform ed by m yself brings rounds o f applause. A nd th a t is ju s t w h a t you w an t nowadays.

For the presenta tion you require tw o packs o f cards o f v a r i­co loured backs. Say, a blue back and a pack w ith red backs. F u rth e r­more, I in troduce fo u r envelopes, ju s t p la in envelopes. W h e n in d if f ic u lty in ob ta in ing these, see your local W o o lw o rth . Joke over.

I w i l l now give a rough o u tlin e o f the pa tte r, w h ich you, o f course, can m od ify or im prove upon :

Ladies and Gentlem en,

M any th ings happen in life , w h ich w e call “ LU C K ” or “ C O IN C ID E N C E .” W hen M r. Jones gets a good job, w e say he is lucky. I f w e happen to m eet somebody about w hom we have recently spoken, we say “ W H A T A C O IN C ID E N C E .” W h e n you are happily m arried and fa ll in love w ith ano the r wom an, you say “ JUST LUC K ” or “ C O IN C ID E N C E ,” o f course somebody else w il l call i t som ething else. As fa r as I am concerned, ca ll i t any­th in g you like . W h a t I w ou ld like to dem onstrate to -n ig h t is the fa c t th a t there are such happenings in life , w h ich indeed w e could call LUCK o r C O INCIDENCE. M y expe rim en t is ex trem e ly d if f ic u lt and I do hope to be able to prove my theories to -n ig h t. W o u ld a lady k in d ly step fo rw ard to assist me. I prom ise you 5 0 % o f the applause I may get. (Lady comes on the s ta g e ). I f she is nice, say, Ladies and G entlem en, i t looks like being successful to -n ig h t, fo r my luck is in a lready by having such a b e a u tifu l ass is tan t.” (To lady) ‘ ‘A re you m arried ?” (Lady) “ N o .” (P erfo rm er) “ W e li, I stand a good chance.” Perform er con tinues: “ 1 have here tw o packs o f cards, one b lue and one red. W h ic h is your fa vou rite co lour ?” (Lady) “ Red.” (P erfo rm er) “ T ha t leaves me BLUE !” “ Before I hand you the red cards, I w i l l f ir s t tho rough ly sh u ffle them — all men are good s h u ff le rs .” Perform er false shu ffles cards and gives them to lady to hold. He then takes b lue pack and false shu ffle s these cards as w e ll, and places them on the table. “ I fu rth e rm o re have here fo u r envelopes.” C ount th em : 1, 2, B, 4. Place them on the table n e x t to one another, b u t do no t coun t them th is tim e. Perform er to lady: “ W h ic h num ber w ou ld you like betw een one and fo u r ?” Lady says “ T h ree .” V ery w e ll, here we have envelope num ber three, w h ich I place here on a chair, so th a t I cannot touch i t any more. W i l l you please fo llo w my ins tru c tion s w ith cards in hand.” Perform er requests lady to take a card from

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the centre o f the pack, and to place i t on top o f the pack, W IT H ­O U T LO O KING A T THE CARD. “ I do no t w a n t you to have a look a t the card, fo r should you know it, the name o f the card may be transferred to me by though t transference. Look, th is is w ha t you have to do .” (Perform er takes card from centre and places same on top o f his pack.) Lady is requested to do likew ise. "So th a t I cannot m an ipu la te the cards, I w ill hand you my pack to hold and may I have your pack P Thank you. W hen I say three, show the top card to the audience and I w ill do the same.” (This happens). “ As you are able to see fo r yourse lf I am lucky to -n ig h t, fo r we have both selected the same card. Th is is w h a t we call luck o r co in ­cidence. Th is is on ly the beginning o f my experim ent. The lady selected an envelope. (To lady) “ W o u ld you k in d ly take the envelope and see w ha t is in i t ?” Lady takes envelope and from same she takes e ithe r a card, the same as previously selected by the tw o parties, o r a s ilk on w h ich th is card is p rin ted . “ Ladies and Gentlem en, here again you see th a t I am lucky to -n ig h t.” Perform er then continues his p a tte r: “ So fa r w e have been iucky, th is lady has selected the Ten o f Hearts, here again we have the Ten o f Hearts. O f course I could carry on all n ig h t p roving to you how lucky th is lady is. The Ten o f Hearts is the love card, th is lady is extrem ely lucky is m atters concerning love. (To lady) “ Is not th is correct, M iss ? ” Lady w ill be laughing, and perform er s im p ly makes the s ta tem ent: “ You see, ladies and gentlem en, I am r ig h t again.However, I w i l l prove to you th a t th is lady is no t so fo rtu n a te w ith financ ia l m atters, fo r had she selected envelope No. 1 (take envelope and open i t ) she w ou ld have had a five -pound note. Had she selected envelope No. 2 (open it ) she w ou ld have had.also a five -pound note, and had she selected envelope No. 4, she w ou ld have had a one-pound note.

The c lim ax is most sensational and words cannot describe it. T ry the experim ent and convince yourse lf o f the c lim ax. The coincidence tr ic k has already been fu lly explained, so I w i l l no t enter in to rep e titio n here. If you do not possess a copy o f “ W A T C H ME CLOSELY,” I suggest you see your dealer, he w ill be happy to supply you w ith a copy. Do no t fo rge t there are only a fe w copies s til l obta inable.

In add ition to the tw o packs o f cards, you require fou r envelopes, three o f w h ich conta in money, actual notes, the higher the value o f the notes, the more impressive the e ffe c t w i l l be. One envelope conta ins the same card o r card s ilk as used in the co incidence e ffec t.

Force the envelope w ith the card or s ilk in any m anner you like and you have perform ed an apparent m iracle. You can a lte r the pa tte r according to your ow n ideas and jokes. I have sim p ly a ttem p ted to g ive you an o u tlin e .

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IMPOSSIBLEA nd here we have a though t-read ing experim en t, very sim ple

D U t e ffe c tive . Perform er comes fo rw a rd w ith a pack o f cards (52 ) and 13 envelopes. Four cards are take-.’'.' from the pack and placed in an envelope. Th is is repeated 13 tim es. As an a lte rn a tive you may come fo rw ard w ith 13 envelopes, each one con ta in ing already fou r cards. The envelopes may be free ly exam ined in order to show th a t they a ll conta in d if fe re n t cards and th a t i t is im possible fo r the perfo rm er to know w h ich cards are in each envelope. One o r more envelopes are selected by the audience. In order to enable you to fo llo w th is experim ent b e tte r and to avoid com plica tions, we w ill say one envelope is selected. Spectator takes the fou r cards from the envelope, and selects one card m en ta lly . Spectator puts th is card in his own pocket. P e rfo rm er’s face is tu rned away from specta to r so th a t he cannot see the envelope, nor the cards conta ined there in . Im m ed ia te ly pe rfo rm er announces the card spectator m en ta lly selected. W h e n you read th is descrip tion, you w il l say “ IMPOSSIBLE,” b u t a fte r reading the explanation, you w ill say “ IS T H A T A L L !”

A c tu a lly you are w o rk in g on a code, b u t i t is so c leverly con­cealed th a t the audience w iil never be able to de tec t same. I am g iv ing you hereunder a lis t o f cards to p u t in each envelope.

No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8A . C. 2 C. 3 C. 4 C. 5 C. 6 C. 7 C. 8 C.4 H. 5 H. 6 H. 7 H. 8 H. 9 H. 10 H. J.H.7 S. 8 S. 9 S. 10 S. j.S. Q.S. K.S. A.S.10 D. JD . Q-D. K.D. A .D . 2 D. 3 D. 4 D.

No. 9 No. 10 No. 11 No. 12 No. 19 C. 10 c. J.c. Q.C. K.C.Q.H. K .H . A .H . 2 H. 3 H.2 S. 3 S. 4 S. 5 S. 6 S.5 D. 6 D. 7 D. 8 D. 9 D.

W e w ill f ir s t o f a ll scru tin ise each envelope ind iv idua lly . Take No. 1 fo r instance. There are fo u r cards. A n exam ination w il l reveal th a t each card is th ree more po in ts than the previous one. No. 1 is an Ace, there fore No. 2 is three po in ts more, v iz . a FOUR. No. 3 is three po in ts more than No. 2, the re fo re No. 3 is a SEVEN. No. 4 is three po in ts more than No. 3 the re fo re No. 4 is a TEN . T h is system o f three more, applies to the contents o f a il envelopes. A c tu a lly you are using the SI STEBBINS SYSTEM fo r each ind iv idua l envelope. IM P O R T A N T : th e 13 envelopes themselves are no t placed io a SI STEBBINS ORDER.

21

Envelope No. 2 reveals the fa c t th a t the f irs t card is a Deuce. No. 3 envelope discloses the fa c t th a t the f ir s t card is a THREE, etc. So envelope No. 9 has as f ir s t card a N IN E card. Furtherm ore th is applies to a ll the envelopes. Envelope No. 1 1 a JACK (Jack counts as eleven, Queen as tw e lve and K ing as th ir te e n ) .

In add ition you w ill f in d th a t each envelope conta ins the fou r suifs, v iz ., Clubs, Hearts, Spades and Diamonds. T h is order you can never fo rge t by rem em bering the w ord CHaSeD, representing Clubs, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds.

H O W TO F IN D O UT E X A C TLY W H IC H CARDS ARE IN EACHENVELOPE.

If we take fo r example, No. 7, w e know th a t the f irs t card is a SEVEN, we know the f irs t su it is CLUBS, there fo re the f irs t card is the SEVEN OF CLUBS. W e know the second card is three m ore than the previous one, there fo re the second card is a TEN , the second su it o f the w ord CHaSeD is HEARTS, there fo re the second card is the TEN OF HEARTS. The th ird card is three more than the ten, there fo re a K IN G , th ird su it is SPADES, card is th e re ­fo re K IN G OF SPADES. The fo u rth card is th ree more than the K ing, there fo re a THREE SPOT, fo u rth su it o f CHaSeD is D IA M O N D S . Fourth card there fo re is the THREE OF D IA M O N D S . As soon as you know the f irs t card, you know the o the r three.

H O W TO F IN D O U T THE FIRST CARD OF EACH ENVELOPE.

The envelopes are placed in the exact num erica l order as o u t­lined above. Reading from top to bo ttom you are ho ld ing No. 1 to 13 as per the schedule.

H O W TO W O R K THE EXPERIMENT.

A f te r your in tro du c to ry rem arks show the packet o f envelopes. Do no t say “ HERE I HAVE 13 ENVELOPES.” S im ply say, “ Here I have a packet o f envelopes, each envelope conta ins a inumber o f d if fe re n t p laying cards.” Procure your assistant, and fan the envelopes just as you w ou ld do w ith a pack o f cards when you w a n t someone to take a card. You there fore fan the envelopes from the le f t to the r ig h t hand, m en ta lly coun ting them , v iz ., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc. T u rn your face away from specta tor w h ils t you fan the envelopes so th a t you cannot see w h ich envelope he takes. As you have been coun ting the envelopes as you fan them from the le ft hand to the righ t, you know exactly w h ich No. envelope he takes. Suppose he has taken No. 9. You im m edia te ly know the f irs t card o f the code is a 9 and the f irs t su it o f CHaSeD, the re fo re the N ine o f Clubs. You also im m edia te ly know w h ich o the r cards are in the envelope according to the ins truc tions given above. Should you be a keen s tudent o f psychology i t w i l l be an easy m a tte r fo r you t o decide w h ich o f the fou r cards he has selected. I w ou ld advise you to have a good shot and m ention any o f the fo u r cards. In

22

nine cases o u t o f ten it w i l l come o ff , b u t should you lack s u ff ic ie n t psychological know ledge, you should proceed as fo llo w s : Take envelope No. 9. You say to specta to r: “ You selected a red ca rd .” I f i t is correct, he w ill say, “ Yes,” I f not, he w ill say “ N o .” and you know he had a b lack card. W hen you know the co lour, you say fo r b lack : “ You had SPADES.” I f he says “ Yes,” he th in k s you are clever, i f he says “ N o ,” you say “ You selected CLUBS.” The same applies to the red cards, o f course. As soon as you know the su it you can w o rk o u t the spots. Take again envelope No. 9. You have found o u t he had a SPADE. You know th a t SPADES is the th ird card o f the code, and as regards the points, w e ll, the f ir s t card is a N IN E , the second a QUEEN, and the' ih ird card a DEUCE. The re fo re he selected the DEUCE OF SPADES.

The experim ent m ust be presented bold ly, w hen no doub t you w ill f in d i t successful. Th is expe rim en t is no t h a lf as d if f ic u l t as i t reads, and i f you know the SI STEBBINS System, w e ll, you w ill understand on f irs t reading w h a t I mean.

You can even have tw o or th ree envelopes selected by various spectators, as long as you rem em ber the num bers selected from the num erica l order o f the envelopes.

PUSHOA t f ir s t you may th in k “ T H A T 'S A N OLD O N E,” b u t is i t ?

Here is w ha t happens. A pack o f cards is tho rough ly sh u ffle d by spectator. Perform er now takes cards, holds them in- h is le f t hand, and w ith his r ig h t f ir s t finge r pushes a smail packet o f cards from the pack, w h ich small packet pro trudes from the pack. Th is small packet is taken in the r ig h t hand, and perfo rm er explains to spectator th a t he w ants specta tor to push a packe t from the pack, look a t the bo ttom card, and replace the small packe t on the pack. Perform er im m edia te ly names the card. If pe rfo rm er likes, he pushes a small packet from the pack several tim es to show specta tor exactly w h a t he has to do.

2 3

E X P LA N A T IO N .

H old pack o f cards in the le f t hand. E ither w ith a pencil or w ith r ig h t f ir s t finge r push a packet o f cards from the pack, and take th is small packet in vhe r ig h t hand. W hen you hold th is small packet in the r ig h i hand between thum b and f irs t finge r, it is an easy m a tte r to make a small fan. Face o f cards should now be facmg perform er. W ith the f irs t finge r o f the le f t hand touch the bo ttom card o f the packet in- r ig h t hand, i.e., the f ir s t card o f the packet in r ig h t hand fac ing perform er. W h ils t doing th is you explain to the spectator th a t you w an t h im to do the same, i.e., push a packet from the pack and look a t the b o ttom card, i.e., the card being touched now by perfo rm er w ith the f ir s t fin ge r o f the r ig h t hand. The gesture is very natura l. Th is packet m ust bereplaced on the pack, and spectator m ust rem em ber the card helooked av. Perform er is now in a position to m ention the card, orra ther I should say to “ locate” the card.

This is w ha t happens. W h e n the f ir s t finge r o f the le f t hand touches the card o f the packet in the r ig h t hand, you are m aking use o f m isd irec tion : everybody w ill be fo llo w in g your le f t fin ge r and be looking a t the card you are touch ing . However, you are looking a t another card, v iz ., the last card o f th is small packe t in your r ig h t hand. A q u ick glance is a ll th a t is necessary. Perform er repeats th is several tim es, on ly the last tim e he has to remember th a t last card, w h ich becomes the top card o f the pack a fte r he has replaced the r ig h t small packet on the pack. W hen spectator does the same, i.e., pushes a packet ou t, and looks at the bo ttom card and replaces i t on the pack, n a tu ra lly the card he looked a t is placed on the top card o f the pack, w h ich you have remembered. A ll you have to do now is to go th rough the pack, look fo r the card you remembered and the card behind i t is the card spectator selected. The w ho le experim ent should be made w ith speed. D etection is abso lu te ly impossible. Looks d if f ic u lt and is easy to perfo rm . T ry i t w ith the cards, you w ill see w ha t I mean. Once you know the card there are a hundred-and-one d if fe re n t ways to produce same. I leave th is to the in te lligence o f our readers.

24

SQUARE MAGICHereunder you w ill f in d a square w ith o rd ina ry words. Th is

square w ill enable you to perfo rm a real m iracle.A card is free ly selected and replaced in the pack. The square

is fo lded over several tim es and the paper cu t in to fou r. T h is leaves you w ith fou r small packets o f paper, each packet com pris ing fo u r slips, each slip conta in ing a w ord.

Spectator has a free choice o f any packet, w h ich he m ust place in his pocket. N ow he takes o u t one square and m entions ihe w ord on it . For instance, M A N . Perform er has pack o f cards in his hand and fo r each le tte r he takes o f f oce card, so he starts M an : M -A -N , each tim e ta k ing a card fro m the pack. Spectator repeats th is w ith a ll the fo u r squares o f paper, and each tim e perform er spells the w ord, ta k ing one card o f f the pack fo r each le tte r spelt. On tu rn in g over the last le tte r o f the last w ord, he discloses th a t th is special card is the card selected by spectator.

You w ill notice th a t there are no t tw o words a like , pe rfo rm er never knows w h ich w ords specta tor puts in his pocket, and spectator is a llowed to fo ld the paper h im se lf, as w e ll as the cu ttin g . A super mystery.

A t f ir s t I w an ted to m arke t th is special e ffe c t, b u t I realised th a t i t w ou ld no t be fa ir to you to leave i t from th is book. Th is e ffe c t alone w ill make a name fo r yourse lf. I f you are no t a fra id o f hard w o rk , I w ou ld suggest you use a very large square, p a rticu la rly w hen w o rk in g in Cabaret or Stage. W hen using the large square, the e ffe c t is sensational. I t does no t take long to p a in t the words in the square. I am try ing to make arrangem ents w ith the dealers to supply you w ith p rin ted squares a t reasonable prices.

Instead o f the num bers in the squares you m ust w r ite the corresponding w ords in them . The words w ith the corresponding num bers fo llo w hereunder:

C D

A B

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16

25

1. Steamship Company 9. S itua tion2. He 10. Am erica3. M an 11. Europe4. In te rna tiona l 12. Transm ission5. Horse 13. M ine

- 6. In s titu tio n 14. T ransporta tion7. T ype w rite r 15. C igare tte Smoker8. M oto rcar 16. 1

H O W TO FOLD THE SQUARE.

You may e ithe r fo ld A -C on to B-D o r C -D on to A -B , then fo ld again, leaving you w ith fo u r squares o f paper. C u t these in ha lf, m aking tw o rectangular packets. Each o f these packets is again cu t in ha lf. I f you have fo llow ed the ins truc tions ca re fu lly , you w ill now have fou r packets, each packet conta ins fo u r squares. You can perform the experim ent w ith any o f the fo u r packets, as in each case the resu lt w ill be the same. I f you care to go to the troub le to coun t a ll the le tte rs o f each packet, you w ill f in d th a t in every case you get th ir ty - fo u r le tters.

As we are concerned w ith the to ta l o f the le tters, i t makes no d iffe rence w h ich slip spectator takes from his pocke t f irs t. S tr ic tly speaking the use o f the square is no th ing more than a “ fo rce ,” th a t ’s a ll !

A nd now th a t you know th a t the selected card m ust become No. 34 in the pack, I w ill te ll you how to accom plish th is. C ount o f f 34 cards and bridge them , then pu t them back on the pack. Before you s ta rt have pack on your table. Place i t in the le f t hand amd press gen tly on i t w ith the le f t thum b. T h is w ill conceal the break o f the bridge. Fan cards and have one card selected o f the 34 cards. Surely th is is no t d if f ic u lt . To replace card, have i t inserted im m edia te ly under the bridged cards, o f w h ich there are now 33. Th is places the selected card No. 34 in the pack. R u ffle the cards so th a t the bridge and break disappear, and the pack o f cards once m ore looks q u ite innocent.

A sk spectator to take one o f the fo u r packets and to p u t i t in his pocket. He m ust take one s lip o u t and read o u t the w ord on same. Give h im the pack o f cards and ask h im to th ro w one card from the top fo r every le tte r he spells. Suppose the f ir s t s lip is TYPEW RITER. He spells T and th row s one card on the table, back up, then Y, th row s another card, then P, etc. The next slip is taken from his pocket. Spell exactly as the f irs t tim e. T h is is repeated w ith the th ird and fo u rth slip. W h e n he spells the very last le tte r

26

o f the fo u r words and consequently is ho ld ing the selected card, say before he th row s card on table, “ W H IC H CARD D ID YO U SELECT ?" He w ill te ll you. A sk h im to tu rn the card he is ho ld ing over. HE IS SURPRISED to see his own card.

The w ho le system o f Square M agic is ac tua lly based on a M agic Square, a very special arrangem ent too, w h ich I may describe in one o f my next books. W h y shou ld I bother you w ith a lo r o f m athem atica l problems w hen you have i t a ll w orked o u t fo r you already above ?

27

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