UC-NRLF B E fi3b 3DD I ^ THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA The John J. and Hanna M. McManus Morris N. and Chesley V. Young Collection A Copyrighted 1897 BY A. ROTERBERG. IWew Era Cari) ZLricke, — BY— K. ROTERBERC, Author of "THE MODERN WIZfIRD" and "LflTTER DAY TRICKS" 284 PAGES. . 204 ILLUSTRflTIONS. 2 FULL PflGE HflLF TONE ENGRAVINGS. Drawings by L. R. Gossett. PRICE $2.00. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. Messrs W. & p. Iian)ley. 231 HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON, W. 0. Sole Agents for England. PREFACE. |8|NC0URAGED by the flattering reception given to '^ my previous works, I herewith submit to the con- «^il J^^i^^ world of this country and England, a des- cription of the very latest card tricks, many of which are now, for the first time, made public. Particular attention is called to the many new sleights, which no doubt will receive a hearty welcome from those of my readers who have made this very fascinating field of conjuring a special study. In the present work, I have been greatly assisted by the well known experts, Messrs. W. E. Robinson, J. W. Elliott and Adrian Plate, whom I hereby thank heartily for the many favors so cheerfully bestowed. I also acknowledge my indebtedness to Prof. Conradi, of Dresden, Germany, who kindly permitted me to make several extracts from his book, "Der Moderne Kartenkuenstler. " Hoping this book will prove of benefit to both the ama- teur and professional conjurer, I remain Sincerely, A. ROTERBERG. LOAM ^T&nc C^qT^f^ mi INTRODUCTION. jN ORDER to become a successful conjurer with cards, it is absolutely necessary that the learner should first ^ thoroughly familiarize himself with the various sleights upon which the most effective card tricks are based. It is impossible to devote too much time to the acquirement and practice of these moves, there being practically no limit to the degree of dexterity that can be reached by practice and only by practice. After the necessary degree of proficiency in the sleights has been acquired, each trick that the beginner intends to perform, must be carefully laid out and clothed, as it were, with a certain speech, technically termed "patter," the ob- ject of which is to cause the trick itself to assume, in the minds of the spectators, a plausible appearance. The performer's manner should be suave, but not over polite, a mistake made by most beginners. Over politeness tends to reduce the performer to a level below that of the spectators; whereas, his object is to convey the impression that he is a being gifted with an inexplicable power. 850 gl^i^IG^fi*!'^- IHE TWO principal sleights used in card tricks are the "Pass" and the "Force," both of which may safely be called the sine qua non of card conjuring. As the "Force" is practically the "Pass" with an addition to it, I shall first endeavor to teach my reader the "Pass, " which may be executed either with both hands or with one hand only. TUB nOUBLB HANDBD PASS. [HE PURPOSE of the sleight is to cause the upper and lower parts of the pack, divided into halves by the little finger, which is held between them, to change places; that is, the upper part of the pack is made to take the place of the lower one and vice versa. Usually a selected card is placed on the lower half of the pack, the upper half is then placed on top of this, whereupon, the pass is made in the twinkling of an eye, the conjurer's object, to bring the selected card from the middle to the top of the pack, being thereby attained. For this purpose, the pack is held in the left hand, be- ing divided into two nearly equal parts by the little finger, which is inserted between them. Fig. 2. (Most American conjurers, including myself, prefer the insertion of the third 8 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. linger instead of the fourth one, as it allows the fingers to grip the packet more firmly.) The pack is now covered by the right hand (Fig. 1), which seizes the lower half of the pack, the fingers being stationed on the upper edge of the cards and the thumb at the bottom. Under cover of the right hand, the upper half of the pack, which is held clipped between the third and fourth fingers, is drawn away till it just clears the lower half. FIG. 1. Simultaneously with this movement, the right hand lifts up the lower half, the root of the thumb acting as a support. Thus both packets are just made to pass each other without actually touching, both having now changed places. A close inspection of Fig. 3 will serve to illustrate this transposition still better. The shaded part (No. 2) in the drawing, represents the lower packet, while the lighter one (No. 1) indicates the upper one. The original position of these two halves is shown in A; while in B, the upper part of the pack is represented in the act of being tilted upwards by the third and fourth fingers of the left hand. In C, the lifting of the lower packet is illustrated; in D, both halves are seen to have passed each other. E shows the new posi- tion of the two packets. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. FIG. Z. FIG. 3. 10 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. The beginner will at first find the making of the pass a rather awkward and difiicult task, but as he continues to practice, the fingers will begin to become more pliable, as it were, and act in unconscious unison. In a few weeks the pass can be mastered so that tricks depending on it, can be safely exhibited. An ideal pass, which must be absolutely noiseless, quick as a flash, and practically invisible, will, however, take a year or more to acquire, and even then con- stant practice must be devoted to it. THE HERRMANN PASS. |HE double handed pass, that I am about to describe, was a favorite with the late Alexander Herrmann, who delighted to puzzle with it people versed in the usual sleights. In this pass, which depends almost exclusively upon misdirection, no change of the two halves of the pack can possibly be seen, no matter how close the spectator watches for it. The secret lies in the fact that the upper front half of the pack is held in an upright posi- tion. Behind this half, under cover of which the transposi- tion of the two packets is effected, the spectator is not al- lowed to see. In the first position of the two packets, the lower or, rather, the rear one, is held in the left hand, the first joints of the second and third fingers being stationed at the side of the cards, while the first and little fingers lie curled up be- hind it (Fig. 4). The upper, or front packet, C, is held in the right hand, in the position as shown in Fig. 4, the thumb being located above, and the fingers below the cards, expos- ing as much of them as possible. Both packets are held in a perpendicular position, C be- ing turned towards the spectators. Under cover of C, the packet B which is slipped between the fingers of the left NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 11 hand is tilted downwards and passed around the front of C, being then placed on the latter. Fig. 5 illustrates the act of packet B passing around C. The two halves then occupy the position shown in Fig. 6. FIG. 4. After my reader has once understood the principle and purpose of this pass, he will be surprised how very useful FIG. 5. the latter will prove in cases, where the spectator, in a spirit of contrariness, refuses to have his attention diverted by the 12 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. performer's patter and insists upon riveting his eyes upon the conjurer's hands. The best way in which to use this pass, will be to have the selected card laid on packet B, upon which C is then placed, its back being turned towards the spectators who, as we will take for granted, keep their eye on the rear card. The pass is then made under cover of C as explained, the pack being turned face upwards during this operation, thus completely disguising the sleight. FIG. 6. Another excellent use to which this pass may be put, is to convince the spectators that the selected card is neither at the top, nor at the bottom of the pack. The card in this case occupies the top place, the regular double handed pass is then made, whereby the card is brought to the middle of the pack, both packets being held in readiness for the exe- cution of the "Herrmann Pass."' After having exhibited the top card, the performer turns over the left hand, which holds the pack, and shows that the bottom card is not the chosen one either. In turning back the left hand into its original position, in which act it is assisted by the right, the "Herrmann Pass" is made and the desired card is thus brought once more to the top of the pack. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 13 THE CHARLIEB PASS. IS the pass of this name is by far the best one of all single handed passes, I shall describe it only. The pack is held in the left hand, as shown in Fig. 8, the thumb being kept at one side of the cards and the second and third fingers at the other side, while the first and fourth fingers lie slightly bent beneath the pack. By slightly unloosing the thumb, the lower half of the pack is allowed to drop down into the position shown in Fig. 8, the first and fourth fingers immediately receiving this packet, and pushing it over towards the thumb, press- FIG. 7. ing it in an upright position against the latter. The upper pack is now allowed to drop down, as shown in Fig. 9, the former lower half being then placed on top of it (Fig. 10). Although the various stages of theCharlier pass are illus- trated and described, it must however, be understood that these different moves must blend into each other and be prac- tically made one. (This same remark may be applied to the two passes previously explained. ) In practising this pass the right hand ought to be left out of the play altogether, the left hand only being used in placing the cards in the posi- tion shown in Fig. 2. 14 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. The usual method of employing this pass is to hold the pack in the position shown in Fig. 7 and to request the per- son to insert his card in the pack thus offered to him. As FIG. 8. he is about to do so, the performer allows the lower half of the pack to drop into the position seen in Pig. 8, thereby silently inviting the spectator to place his card in the open- ing thus made. The right hand then aiVproaches the pack FIG. 9. and shields it for an instant, at the same time the left hand is rather quickly drawn back, the right hand following, the pass being invisibly made under cover of these movements. NEW EKA CARD TRICKS. 15 An improvement, or rather Charlier's original way of performing this pass, consists of allowing the spectator to replace his card on the lower half of the pack, after which the conjurer calmly allows the upper half to drop on top of it. Those of my readers, who are familiar with the ' ' Char- lier Pass" will no doubt exclaim, "Why, that is not the Charlier Pass as the selected card is now in the middle of the pack. " So it is, my dear reader, but wait a moment be- FIG. 10. fore jumping at conclusions. If the card is in the middle of the pack at present, that is no reason why it should stay there. Neither does it. In dropping the upper half on the lower half, the performer manages so that a step:] is formed by the two packets. Firmly holding the pack in this posi- tion, he simply bides his chance of being unobserved, and when this opportunity arrives, with the left thumb simply lifts the former upper half of the pack back into its original position and then makes the pass in the regular fashion. ^ 16 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. THB FORCE. ^T THE forcing of one or more cards is understood the sleight whereby a person is compelled, but without his knowledge, to draw such cards out of the pack, that the conjurer wishes to have selected. There is a certain indefinable something about the force, in influencing the spectator's choice in an unnoticeable manner. This part of the sleight is practically impossible to explain, but will be readily understood and learned by the beginner after the latter has made a few experiments on that subject. But now to the mechanical part of the force itself. Af- ter requesting the spectators to shuffle the pack thoroughly, the performer receives it back nnd quickly notices the bot- tom card. In the act of advancing toward a spectator, he makes the double handed pass, bringing the bottom card to the middle of the pack, which he immediately spreads out in fan shape, requesting the spectator to select a card. Just as the spectator is about to take a card, the performer, who has in the meantime gradually passed the upper half of the cards from one hand into the other, arrives at the former bottom card, of which he has carefully kept track, and ex- posing this card a trifle more than the others, causes the spectator's choice, in nine cases out of ten, to fall upon this particular card. The beginner is cautioned not to commit the usual mistake of exposing or offering the desired card at too early a stage of the "Force." At the moment that the spectator's fingers are about to close on a card, the desired card must be there and not sooner. In case the performer fails to force a particular card, the customary expedient is to request a person to retain the drawn card, whereupon the conjurer goes to a more obliging person (ladies are the easiest to force cards on) and after forcing the desired card, does the trick he originally intend- ed to perform, after which he requests the first spectator to replace his card in the pack which is then shuffled. The NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 17 conjurer then performs with this card one of the many exist- ing tricks with a chosen card. After a performer has thoroughly mastered the art of forcing, he can even venture to force a card while the pack is held by one hand only. The desired card in this case is the top card. In the act of advancing toward the spectator, the performer makes the ''Charlier Pass," thereby bringing the card from the top to the middle of the pack, but allow- ing the two packets to form a step. The upper packet is then spread a. little by the left thumb, but none of the cards are exposed nearly as much as the desired card, which is the top card of the lower heap. Upon requesting a spectator to kindly select a card, the latter's choice will most always fall upon the card that is exposed the most. Dependant upon this fact, is a still bolder form of forcing, the cards in this case being placed on a tray held by the performer. In ar- ranging the cards, the performer simply takes care to expose the card or cards that he intends to force, more than any of the others. CHANGES. jHE OBJECT of all sleights of this name is to change a card held in the right hand for the top card of the pack, which is held in the left. Changes are especially useful when the performer has made a mistake, having by some accident lost the chosen card. Taking any card out of the pack, he places it, without show- ing its face, on the table, and boldly asserts that it is the chosen card, which he requests its owner to name. Upon thus becoming acquainted with the name of this card, he spreads out the pack, under the pretext of showing that the chosen card is not contained among the others. In reality, he quickly finds this card and slips it behind the others, 18 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. thus bringing it to the top of the pack. Picking up the card on the table, he adroitly changes it for the top card of the pack, i. e., the chosen one, and exhibits it. The changes mostly employed by conjurers, are the ' 'Top Change" and the "Bottom Change," a description of which is herewith given. THE TOP CHANGE. IHE CARD to be changed is held face downward between the thumb and first finger of the right hand, while the pack is kept in the left hand, the thumb lying loosely across the back of the cards, the finger being stationed at the bottom of the pack, which of course is also held face downwards. Just a moment FIG. 11. previous to the "Change, "the thumb of the left hand se- cretely pushes the top card of the pack over towards the right, thereby causing it to project over a trifle beyond the rest of the cards. The hands are then brought together for an instant only, and the top card of the pack is quickly NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 19 seized by the first and second fingers of the right hand (Fig. 11) which is immediately withdrawn, leaving the card it formerly contained on the top of the pack, being retained there by the thumb. The act of bringing the two hands to- gether is generally disguised by some appropriate gesture by the performer, who, after having successfully executed the sleight, usually rubs the card on his sleeve or requests some spectator to breathe upon it, then showing that the card has changed into another. This change, if adroitly executed, is practically im- possible to detect. It is one of the most useful of sleights and for this reason ought to be practiced until the beginner is thoroughly proficient in it. THE BOTTOM CHANGE. ^^^^N THIS form of the sleight, the card to be exchanged for the one on the top of the pa^k is left at the bottom I of the latter. The pack is kept in the left hand be- tween the thumb, which is lying across the the top of the cards and the first finger, which is placed at the bottom, the remaining fingers of the same hand being- held loosely at the same place in readiness to receive the card to be ex- changed, which card is held between the second and third fingers of the right hand. The hands are now brought to- gether for an instant only, during which act the card in the right hand is left at the bottom of the pack, being inserted between the second and third fingers, while at the same time the top card of the pack, which has been previously pushed towards the right by means of the left thumb, is quickly seized and carried away by the thumb and lower part of the first finger of the right hand (Pig. 12). 20 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. As already stated in the description of the Top Change, there must not be the slightest lingering, while the hands are placed together for that very short period of time neces- FIG. 12. sary to execute the change. In the same manner as the "Top Change" this sleight is generally accompanied and disguised by an auxiliary movement of the body from the rififht towards the left. THE NEW TOP CHANGE. [HE PERFORMER seizes the card, say the Six of Diamonds, that he is about to exchange for the top card of the pack, between the thumb and fingers of the right hand, holding the pack in the left hand as shown in Fig. 13, the top card of the pack being slightly pushed over towards the right hand by means of the left thumb. The conjurer thus first shows the Six of Diamonds to the spectators sitting to his right, then to the ones directly NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 21 o^^posite him, and, finally to the persons to his left. After havino- done so, he apparently places the card on the table to his right, but in the act of passing the right hand over FIG. 13. FIG. 14. the pack in the left, the Six of Diamonds is left on top of the latter, the Ace of Hearts being noiselessly seized instead and placed on the table. K3 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. THE MBXICAW TURN OVER. [HIS EXCELLENT and very useful sleight is so far but little known in conjuring circles in this country. It is, however, extensively used in Mex-- ico, where professional gamblers employ it almost exclusively in playing Three Card Monte. The purpose of the sleight is to change a card lying on the table for one held in the performer's hand. The method of procedure is as follows: The card in the right hand is held between the first and second fingers, the second finger resting on the back of the card. Holding the latter in this manner, at an angle of about 45 degrees, the conjurer pushes its side under the card on the table, thereby appearing to turn over the latter. As, however, the card in the hand has reached half way under the one on the table, the exchange is deftly made, the right thumb drawing up the card from the table, and the fingers releasing the other card instead, turning it over at the same time. The sleight is not at all difficult to acquire, but must be quickly performed, in which case the illusion will be found to be an excellent one. THE EXCELSIOR CHANGE. HIS indetectable change, which is the invention of my ingenious friend, Mr. Adrian Plate, is no doubt the best of all changes that have been invented up to the present day. The beauty of the sleight lies in the deliberateness and apparent fairness with which it is executed. In performing it, the selected card is secretly brought NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 28 to the top of the pack, being easily retained there by means of a False Shuffle. The performer with his right hand now takes off the two top cards, placing the pack on the table and keeping the two cards well and closely together, hold- ing them lengthwise between the thumb and middle finger. Exhibiting them as one card, he asks the persons whether this is his card, the answer of course being in the negative, the person only seeing the face of the bottom card, behind w^hich the selected one is hidden. The conjurer now pretends to transfer the card to the FIG, 15. left hand, but this is what he really does: He moves the right hand over towards the left, the thumb of this hand be- ing placed on the top card and the fingers on the bottom one. Now, by means of the thumb, the top card, that is, the se- lected one, is drawn into the left hand, while under cover of this, the lower card is pushed into the right hand and palmed there (Fig, 15). The palming of this card is materially assisted by the middle finger of the left hand, which pushes the card into the palm of the right. To conceal the palmed card, the wand is picked up with the right hand, or the pack is seized with it, the palmed card being thereby left on its top. 24 ^ NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. If these movements, which are not nearly as complicated as they appear to be, are executed in a natural and deliber- ate manner, the deception created will be as perfect a one as the performer desires. THE COL OB CHANGE. HE Color Change is a novel and illusive sleight, by the aid of which the front card of the pack, which is held in the right hand, is mysteriously trans- formed into another card, generally a selected one. This change takes place under cover of the left hand, which is shown to be empty prior to being placed over the cards, and also after the transformation has taken place. FIG. 16. FIRST METHOD. The pack is held in a perpendicular position between the thumb and middle finger of the right hand, as indicated in Fig. 16. The fingers of the left hand are, for a moment only, placed over the cards, the thumb resting on the back NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 25 of the pack. As this hand is taken away with a shght down- ward movement, the rear card of the pack is carried along with it, (Fig. 17) being clipped between the root of the thumb and that of the first finger. FIG. 17. As the front card of the pack is still in its place, no one will attach any suspicion to this movement, which practically resembles an indicatory gesture. The /left hand is then, a moment later, replaced on the pack and this time leaves the palmed card on the top of the latter. The hand is then re- moved and the transformation of the front card is seen to have taken placa SECOND METHOD, This is a variation of, or, rather an improvement on the last sleight, as in this method the pack is held in a more natural and easy manner, as shown in Pig. 18. It will be noticed that instead of being held perpendicularly, the posi- 26 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. tion of the pack in this case is almost a horizontal one. As the right hand, which has previously been shown empty, passes over the pack with an upward movement, it seizes FIG. 18. FIG. 19. and carries away the rear card of the pack, clipping it be- tween the root of the thumb and first finger (Fig. 19). The hand is then replaced on the pack and the palmed card left there. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 27 THIRD METHOD. In this version of the Color Change, the pack is held in a horizontal position in the left hand, the thumb of the lat- ter being kept at one side of the pack, the first finger on the back and the remaining fingers at the other side of the cards. The right hand now covers the pack, for a moment only, or more properly speaking, passes over it. Under cover of this movement, the first finger of the left hand pushes the rear card of the pack forward, it being received and palmed FIG. 20. by the right hand during its transit. The execution of the sleight will be facilitated if the tip of the first finger of the left hand is slightly moistened previous to the trick. Fig. 20 gives a rear view of the operation. The act of passing the right hand, which has previously been shown empty, across the pack, must be made to appear a gesture of no par- ticular importance. The hand in which the card is placed is then replaced upon the pack a moment later and the card left on the top, after which process the change is exhibited, FOURTH METHOD. Here we have an entirely different manner of accom- plishing the Color Change. . . In this method, one hand only, 28 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. which holds the pack, is used. While every one is looking at the front card of the latter, it is seen to suddenly trans- form itself into an entirely different one. The pack is firmly held in the left hand, between the root FIG. 21. FIG. 22. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 29 of the thumb and the first joints of the first and second fin- gers (Fig. 21). The thumb then pushes the first card, the Five of Clubs, upwards about one and a half inches, pulls it over towards the left side, and then slips the card on the back of the pack, where it is held clipped between the first joint of the thumb and the lower joint of the first finger (Fig. 22). The operation is generally covered by a rapid rotary gesture of the hand. Besides being very useful in effecting a visible change of a card, this sleight may be employed to excellent advan- tage in making a sort of a slip pass, whereby the top card of the pack, the back of which is turned towards the spec- tators, is transferred to the bottom without their being aware of the fact. THE CARD PALM. ^Y THE Card Palm is understood the method of secretely removing one or more cards from the top of the pack and holding them concealed on the hand. THE REGULAR PALM. [O SECRETLY obtain possession of a selected. card which has been brought to the top of the pack by means of the pass, the following course is usually adopted: The pack is held in the left hand, the back of the cards, of course, being uppermost. The right hand is then placed lengthwise over the pack, while at the 30 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. same time the left thumb pushes the top card of the pack over into the right, which seizes the card and is then partly closed just enough to give it a natural appearance. Fig. 23 shows the manner in which the card is held, resting against the slightly bent first joints of the second and third fingers and the root of the thumb. The right hand is now carelessly dropped to the side, or placed on the hip, while with the left the pack is handed to a spectator with the request to shuffte it. A still better, but much bolder plan, is to seize the pack with the same hand in which the card is concealed and in this fashion hand it out to be shuffled, the left hand being casually shown emp- FIG. 23. ty during the maneuver. The proper way in which to hold the pack for this purpose, is to grasp it between the first joint of the thumb and the lower joint of the first finger of the right hand, the inside of which is turned toward the floor. Care must be taken to hold the fingers of this hand closely together, so that the spectator, to whom the pack is given, cannot get a glimpse of an accidentally exposed part of the palmed card. When the pack has been returned to the conjurer, the latter receives it with the left hand and care- lessly passing the right hand over it, leaves the palmed card on the top. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 31 Most performers have a habit of ruffling the pack just after the palmed card has been replaced. I would warn the reader against the acquirement of this habit, as the ruffling generally conveys the impression that some subtle sleight is taking place, or that it has already been executed, being dis- guised by the Ruffle. It is my opinion that a performer of artistic inclinations ought to appear to manipulate the cards in as natural a way as any other gentleman, who is not a conjurer, would do. All flourishes, as palming off part of the pack and reproduc- ing it, making single handed passes to show off one's dex- terity, etc., ought to be studiously avoided, as they only tend to create the impression that the conjurer is past mas- ter in the art of handling the pasteboards. Once this last named impression has been made, the spectator will readily conclude, after seeing the artist perform some difficult and intricate card tricks, that it is no wonder such marvelous results can be attained when one can manipulate the cards as dexterously as the conjurer did a while ago. Thus the effect of the trick proper is greatly impaired by the injudi- cious introduction of superfluous sleights which precede it. THE BEAVTIEB BALM. IHIS sleight, which, to the best of my knowledge is the invention of Mr. Buatier Dekolta, is a vast improvement over the palm just described, as in this case the pack is never touched with the right hand at all. The pack is held in the left hand, the cards to be palmed being divided off from the rest of the pack by the little finger, which is inserted there. They are kept down on the pack proper by pressure of the remaining fingers. As the right hand, under any plausible pretext, passes over the left, the pressure of the fingers ceases, while at the same 32 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. time the little finder tilts the first card lying above it up- wards, the cards being thereby rapidly and invisibly pro- pelled into the right hand, which instantly palms them. THE BACK HAND JPALM. IHE SLEIGHT, or rather flourish, of this title has of late years become quite popular with the conjurers of this country, some of whom have attained a wonderful proficiency in performing it, having elaborated the original idea considerably. Foremost among these are my friends Mr. Elliott, who, I believe, is the orig- inator of the move, and Mr. Harry Houdini, another very FIG. 24. dextrous card manipulator. I shall give a full description of the sleight proper, but can only treat the elaborations in brief for the simple reason that, on account of their great difficulty, they would be appreciated by a select few only. As the name of the sleight indicates, one or more cards are palmed, or rather, kept concealed on the back of the hand, being transferred to there from the front of the hand. The NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 38 card is first seized between the thumb and first finger of the right (or left) hand, the inside of which is turned towards the audience. From this place it is transferred to the posi- tion shown in Fig. 24, being held between the first and fourth fingers, its lower end being bent into a convex form •FIG. 25. as indicated in the illustration. The second and third lin- gers, which have remained passive up to this moment, now curl under the lower edge of the card (Fig. 25. ) and twirl it over to the back of the hand, where it is held as shown in Fig. 26. By reversing the process, the card is made to ap- pear at the finger tips. My readers will of course understand that, as the execu- tion of the sleight takes but a moment, the four different stages, or moves, are practically made to form one com- pound movement only. The improvements of this sleight consist of being able to show the hand empty from both sides and still have the card palmed anyway. In the act of turning over the hand, in order to show that the card is not concealed on its back, it is removed from there, and by a very adroit process, which is almost impossible to describe, is brought back to the in- side of the hand, where it is palmed by clipping its upper corners between the first and second and the third and 34 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. fourth fingers respectively. From this position it is instant- ly transferred once more to the back of the hand. By dint of considerable practice, the two performers that I have mentioned in the beginning of this article, are en- FIG. 26. abled to palm a number of cards in this fashion, then produce one card after another at the finger tips, still showing both sides of the hands empty at any stage of the trick. WEW THOUGHT CABD SLEIGHTS. |N DESCRIBING the following entirely new methods of discovering the name of a card, that a spectator has secretly thought of, I take great pleasure in making my readers acquainted with some of the most interest- ing and indetectable sleights in the whole range of con- juring. All these methods are the sole invention of my very ingenious friend, Mr. Wm. E. Robinson. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 35 FIRST METHOD. ^N THIS form of the trick, the performer takes a pack of cards that has just been shuffled by a spectator and holding the cards, of the order of which he has abso- lutely no knowledge, in the right hand, with the backs of the cards towards himself, passes them one at a time into the left hand, at the same time requesting a spectator to think of any card that he desires. After the person has signified that he has made a selection, the performer closes up the pack and gives it a thorough shuffle. He now fin- ishes the trick in any manner that he chooses, producing, for instance, the thought card at any number called for, or causing any card that some one else selects at random from the pack, to change into the thought card. The secret of this entirely new dodge, depends practi- cally upon a novel application of the Mind Reading Act, a la Bishop and Cumberland. As the performer deliberately passes the cards from the right hand to the left, he counts them, at the same time carefully watching the eyes of the spectator, to whom he is rather close. It is a curious fact, that as soon as the latter has made a silent choice, his eyes will give a recognition of that fact by the glance losing its intensity. The conjurer can thus invariably tell which card has been selected, and having kept tally on the number of cards passed, knows its exact position in the pack. It is a comparatively easy matter for him to make the pass at this place, thereby bringing the desired card to the top of the pack, which is next subjected to a vigorous but false shuffle. The finish of the trick, which is optional with the performer, ought to be made as brilliant a one as possible. The conjurer employing this plan of discovering a card secretly thought of, is apt to be suspected of being in league with his Satanic majesty, for he takes an unprepared pack of cards that has just been shuffled, and without as much as glancing at one of the cards, places the pack behind his back which he turns towards the spectators. Passing the cards from one hand to the other, he invites a spectator to 36 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. think of one of them; then closing up the pack, and after shuffling it, produces the selected card in any way that he sees fit. SECOND METHOD. This method, which is entirely different in principle to the preceding one, depends mainly upon a novel way of forcing a card. As the conjurer rather rapidly passes the cards from one hand into the other, he keeps the attention of the spectator engaged by about the following remark: "Now, sir, as I pass these cards from one hand into the other in this fashion, please have the kindness to think of one of the cards. " The moment that he exclaims "think,** he stops for an instant only, fully exposing the face of the card that he is about to transfer, then actually placing it in the other hand and passing the remaining cards in quick succession on top of it. The person will, in almost every case select the card that the performer has made a brief stop at, for the very simple reason that he did not know to a certainty what the conjurer wished him to do until the latter came to the word "think," of the short sentence he uttered. It is also almost impossible for him to select any of the cards that follow the one that the performer intends to force, because they are intentionally passed too quickly before his eyes. The artist, who has slipped the little finger of the left hand above the forced card while transferring it to the other hand, closes up the pack, and in the act of turning around, makes the pass, thereby bringing the card to the top of the I)ack. Palming off this card, he allows the jjack to be thor- oughly shuffted, replacing the palmed card after it has been returned to him and then finishes the trick in any way he chooses. THIRD METHOD. The ruse employed in this version of the feat is really as ingenious as the preceding one. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 37 The performer advances towards a spectator and, hold- ing the pack with the faces of the cards towards himself, causes them to spring from one hand to the other in the manner familiar to all conjurers. At the same time, he re- quests a spectator to think of any one of the cards that he sees. The gentleman does as requested and is very much surprised, when a few moments later the conjurer produces, in some mysterious manner, the card that he actually se- lected. In this case another novel force, resembling in principle the preceding one, is used. It is practically impossible for the spectator to note, in particular, any of the cards as they are sprung from one hand to the other, for the very reason that they pass before his eye in too quick a succession to each other. When about half of the cards have been sprung, the performer stops for an instant, say a quarter of a second, thereby causing an extremely brief cessation of the springing and thus causing the last card that has been sprung to be more fully exposed than any of the others. The spectator readily grasps the chance offered to him and selects this card which the performer, who quickly places his little finger over it, sees as well as he. The rest of the cards are then sprung on top of the other ones in the usual fashion, whereupon the pack is closed and the pass made whereby the chosen card is brought to the top of the pack, the performer then dealing with it as best suits the occasion. THE NEW GLIMPSE. I^Y THE Glimpse is understood the very advantag- eous sleight of secretly getting sight of a selected card which has been replaced in the pack, or of a card preparatory to forcing it. 38 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. FIRST METHOD. prpN THIS, the regular form of the sleight, the little fin- wM^ ger of the left hand is inserted below the chosen card, while the latter is being returned to the pack, the re- maining fingers of the same hand resting on the top of the cards. In the act of handing the pack to a spectator to shuffle, the performer slightly raises the upper one of the two packets and thus obtains a rapid glimpse of the lowest card in the upper heap, which card is the selected one. The spectators may now shuffle the cards as long as they may desire, without incommoding the conjurer, who, knowing the name of the card chosen, is enabled to discover it with the greatest ease. SECOND METHOD * This method of getting a glimpse of a card will prove of great advantage in any trick where it is necessary to force a card for the sole reason of being able to have the pack shuffled, after the forced card has been replaced in the pack, which is generally handed to the spectator for this purpose. This sleight does away with the usual forcing of the bottom card of the pack, which card the performer has previously noted. The objection to the last mode is that a sharp spectator may also have seen this particular card, and noting that the selected card is identical with the former bottom card of the pack, thus obtains a partial clue to the modus operandi. In order to execute the slight, the performer holds the pack in the first position necessary for the making of the Charlier Pass, only more perpendicularly. In the act of advancing toward a certain spectator, he allows the lower half of the pack to drop down (or to second position of the Charlier pass) and is thus afforded a rapid glimpse of the bottom card of the upper heap, which is instantly dropped back on the lower packet, a step being, however, formed by the two, enabling the conjurer to tell the joint of division of the two packets. The pack is then spread out in the usual NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 39 fashion and the card that the performer got sight of, is forced without the least trouble. It must be understood that it takes but a fraction of a second in which to accomplish the entire sleight, which, if adroitly performed, is practically unnoticeable. THIRD METHOD This very natural way of obtaining a glimpse of a select- ed card, is in many ways to be preferred to all others. The performer holds the pack in the left hand, the thumb lying across the back of the cards, the fingers being kept at the opposite side of the pack. The right hand then seizes the top edge of the latter and bending the cards backwards, al- lows them to escape in rotation, thus making practically a Ruffle. The person holding the selected card is invited to insert it into the pack during the ruf&e. He does so, but will find it impossible to push the card all the way home, the card protruding about a quarter of an inch. The per- former continues until all the cards have been ruffled and then transfers the pack to the left hand, the right turning it over during the transit, thus allowing him to obtain a glimpse of the protruding upper portion of the selected card. The indicator printed in the left corner of the latter instantly betrays to him the name of. the card. With the right hand, the pack is then given to a spectator with the request to shuffle it thoroughly, A somewhat" similar sleight is the following one, in which the conjurer obtains sight of the card above the se- lected one, being enabled to pick out the latter later on by the aid of this knowledge. For this purpose he proceeds in exactly the same manner as described, holding the pack, back uppermost, in the left hand and ruffling the cards with the right, bending them well backwards so that he can just see the indicator of each card as it passes. The selected card is now inserted into any place of the pack that the-gen- tleman fancies, the pejformer noting carefully the indicator of the next card above it, thus becoming, to all intents and 40 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. purposes, acquainted with the name of the chosen card itself. ¥ THE BRIDGE .MBLERS use the bridge extensively in causing their opponent to cut the cards at a certain place desired by the operator, whereas in conjuring, the bridge serves principally to discover by its aid, a selected card which has been replaced and shuffled into the pack by the spectators themselves. As this result cannot be attained by any other method, unless prepared cards are used, the usefulness of the sleight will readily be perceived. Holding the pack in the left hand, the thumb resting across the back of the cards, the per- former seizes the upper and lower ends of the pack and gives the cards a sharp bend towards himself. A spectator is then invited to chose any card that he desires and told to look at it closely so that he will be sure to recognize it. While he does so, the conjurer gives the pack another bend, this time in the opposite direction to the first bend. The pack is then handed to the spectator with the request to replace his card and after shuffling the pack thoroughly, to return it to the performer. As soon as the latter receives the pack, he holds it rather loosely and will now find that owing to the different curve of the selected card, the pack will open itself at the very spot where this card is located. It is an easy matter for him to insert the little finger at this place, then making the pass and bringing the selected card to the top of the pack, after which he proceeds with the trick in any manner that he desires. CS3 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 41 THE PREABBANGED PACK. IS THE title indicates, the cards contained in the pack are, previous to the performance, placed in a certain regular order which the performer knows by heart. To facilitate the memorizing and recall- ing of this order, a sort of formula or artificial aid to mem- ory is generally employed, the most popular one being the following: Eight kings threatened to save. Eight, King, Three, Ten, Two, Seven, Ninety-five queens for one sick knave. Nine, Five, Queen, Four, One, Six, Knave. The words of this verse suggest, as will be observed, the values of the cards printed below them. The performer must also have a regular order of the four suits, as, for in- stance: Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades. Thus, the first cards of the prearranged pack would be: Eight of Hearts, King of Clubs, Three of Diamonds, Ten of Spades, Two of of Hearts, Seven of Clubs, etc., the last card being the Knave or Jack of Spades. A number of capital tricks explained in this book, de- pend exclusively upon the use of the prearranged pack. When the reader, who is advised to get up a formula of his own, arrives at the description of these tricks, he will readily observe the many ways in which the prearranged pack may be employed to good advantage. 42 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. THE GLIDE. IHE GLIDE is a simple but useful form of the Change, whereby the bottom card of the pack is apparently removed and placed on the table, the performer however taking the second card from the bottom instead. He first holds the pack in a perpendicular position, thus exhibiting the bottom card. The hand is then lowered to a horizontal position, whereupon the bottom card is apparent- FIG. z7. ly removed. What really takes place is that, by means of the previously moistened third finger, the lowest card is drawn toward the performer for about an inch and the next card, in our illustration (Fig. 27) the Six of Clubs, is taken instead and placed on the table. KJ NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 43 THB BEVOLVTION. iN THIS sleight, which is mostly used as a finale to a card trick, the pack, which is held face downwards, is I then dropped on the floor or table, whereby a card, us- ually a selected one, appears at the top of the pack, reversing itself during this operation so that it now lies face uppermost. The selected card is first brought to the top of the pack by means of the pass, being retained in this position by a False Shuffle. The performer then transfers the pack from the left hand to the right, during this act pushing the top card of the pack over toward the right by means of the left thumb. The right hand now, with some force, drops the pack on the table from a height of about two feet. The pressure of the air, acting on the protruding portion of the top card, causes the latter to turn over so that it now lies face upwards. There are several novel tricks which depend altogether on this sleight. One of them is the following: A card is chosen and placed on the table by the per- former, who then drops the pack upon the chosen card, which apparently jumps to- the top of the pack, turning face upwards during this evolution. This rather neat trick depends upon the clever execu- of the Top Change and the Revolution. After the chosen card has been exhibited, the performer changes it for an- other card by means of the Top Change, then placing the substitute on the table. Getting the pack into the position necesssary for the Revolution, he drops it directly on the card on the table, causing the upper card, which is really the selected one, to turn over. In the second trick, the chosen card, after the False Shuffle, is left the second one from the top of the pack. The latter is then dropped on the table, the uppermost card be- ing made to turn over. The performer asks if this is the desired card and appears to be surprised at learning that 44 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. such is not the case. He then states that having committed this error, he will try to remedy it by causing the wrong card to visibly change into the chosen one. For this pur- pose, he removes the top card, carrying with and hidden be- hind it, the selected card. Both cards, which the audience believes to be one, are replaced in their original position on the top of the pack, being allowed to protrude a little at one side of the latter. The pack is now rather vehemently thrown on the table, thereby causing both top cards to turn over, the wrong card thus visibly changing into the right one. I FALSE SHUFFLBS. UHALSE Shuffles are of two kinds, the object of one ^'^A being to keep in view one or several cards only, while the remainder of the pack is given a genuine shuffle. By means of the other False Shuffle the entire pack, which is generally prearranged, is kept in the same order throughout. The various methods by which this latter result may be accomplished will be described first. THE CUT. |HE simplest form of the False Shuffle is the cutting of the pack in whist fashion, by taking off the upper half of the pack, placing it on the table and placing the lower half of the pack on top of it. By this process the cards are only cut, but not shuffled, for when the former bottom card is found and all card below it are placed on top of the pack, the latter will be restored to NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 45 its original order. As well known as this fact is among con- jurers, it is astonishing how little the general public is ac- quainted with it. In order to thoroughly deceive even the persons that are acquainted with this principle of the simple cut, the modern conjurer divides the pack into either three, four or five heaps, which he places together in such an irregular order that one who has not actually tried the same process, will be positive that the cards have become hopelessly mixed. As this is, however, not the conjurer's intention, I hasten to make my reader acquainted withe the modus op- erandU so that he can go and do likewise. Supposing that the pack has been divided into three heaps, which we will call A, B and C, and which are placed on the table as follows : A. B. C. Lower Heap. Middle Heap. Upper Heap. Heap A is placed on C, and B on A and C, which process will be found to preserve the original order of the cards. For four heaps: A. B. C. D. Lower Heap. Second Heap. Third Heap. Upper Heap. C. is placed on B, A on D, CB on AD; or, A on D, B on AD, BAD on C. For five or more heaps: The Pack is placed on the table at A, a few cards are taken from the top and are placed at B; a few more are taken from A and placed at C, the same process being repeated with D and E. A is then quickly placed on B, B on C, C on D, and D. on E. If these ingenious and very useful methods of cutting have been well practised and can be performed rapidly, both hands being used at the same time, the con- jurer may be sure that there isn't the slightest doubt in the minds of his spectators, that the pack has not been thor- oughly shuffled. 46 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. SHUFFLING THE FNTIRF PACK. |S THIS method of apparently shuffling the entire pack is by far the best of all existing False Shuf- fles, the beginner need not trouble himself with learning any other method, as this one and a ju- dicious combination of the various trick Cuts, will answer for all occasions. The prearranged cards, the order of which the conjurer does not wish to disturb by shuffling, are held in the left hand, the thumb of which begins the false shuffle by push- ing a number of cards, which we will call A, into the right hand. Now, from the bottom of the pack remaining in the left hand which we will call B, a number of cards are passed upon the top of A. A few cards from the top of B are then transferred to the bottom of A, the performer continuing in this manner until all the cards have been successively passed from the left into the right hand. If desired this apparent shuffle may be repeated a few times. If it is smoothly and rapidly executed, the illusion will be found to be all that can be desired. m FOB ONE CARD. |N THIS method, one particular card only, is to be kept in view, said card having been brought to the top by means of the pass. The pack is then taken in the "^ left hand, the thumb of which rests on the back of cards while the fingers are placed underneath. Exercising a slight pressure with the thumb on the top card, the per- former seizes the pack with the right hand and lifts off all cards excepting the top one which is thereby brought to the bottom, the cards held in the right hand being then promis- cuously shuffled on top of it. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 47 Taking the entire pack in the right, he shuffles it back into the left hand, dropping of the cards in heaps from the top of the pack, continuing to do so until the last card, which is the desired one, is reached, which is then placed in its former position on the top of the pack. If two cards are to be kept in view, one of them is made to- occupy the bottom and the other the top of the pack, which as before is held in the same position in the left hand. Slightly pressing with the fingers and the thumb of the left at the same time, the right hand lifts up the pack with the exception of the top and bottom cards. The top card is thereby brought directly over the bottom one, and the remainder of the pack is now^ shuffled indiscriminately on top of both. The right hand then lifts up the entire pack with the exception of the bottom card and shuffles the pack on top of it, passing the card in small heaps from the top of the pack, until the last card is reached. It will be found, that by means of this process, both the bottom and the top card, have returned to their original place. Another simple, and little known plan is to have the de- sired card on the top of the pack, which is then divided into two equal parts, which are then sprung or "riffled'* into each other in the well known manner adopted by most card players in this country. It will be found a very easy matter to retain the top card or cards in their respective places, as the "riffle" need only affect the middle and lower part of both heaps. 48 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. Triek^ Witl( C^td^. NE PLUS ULTRA. FIRST METHOD. [HE spectators are requested to examine and shuf- fle an ordinary pack of cards, the performer retir- ing to a sufficient distance to be prevented from see- ing what is taking place. At his request the specta- tors select at random ^ny number of cards, say seven from the pack, and write down their names on a slip of paper, which one of their number folds up and places in his pocket. The selected cards are placed face downwards, on the table in a separate heap, by the side of the pack which is also turn- ed face downward. When affairs have reached this stage, the performer advances and asks a gentleman to replace the seven selected cards on the top of the pack and then to cut the latter, whist fashion, that is, give the cards a single cut, the other surrounding spectators being also invited to cut the cards in this manner. This having been done, the per- former seizes the pack and taking off the four top cards, but without disturbing their order, places them on the table on the spot indicated by A. the next four top cards are placed at B. the next at C. and four at D. also. He then recommences at A. by placing four cards on top of the those already there, and continues in this manner until there are twelve cards each in heaps A, B, C, and D. Fouic cards are still remaining in his hands. These he disposes of by plac- ^>^^o/^y/^r^ ,0m^ Three of the Principal Card Conjurers of America. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 49 ing the topmost one on top of heap A, the next on B, and the remaining ones on C and D: C B D A He now picks up A, then B, which he places on top of A in his hand. On this he places C, and on top of this, D. Again the cards are dpalt in four heaps, but in this case only one card at a time is placed successivly on A, B, C and D, so that the performer is obliged to make this round thirteen times, when all the cards are evenly distributed. They are then picked up in the same fashion as already described, i. e. , B, on A, C on B, and D on C. Once more they are dealt out as indicated in the follow- ing table No. 1, by placing the topmost card, which we will call No. 1, in the upper right hand corner and dealing the next six top cards towards the left. In placing the second row of cards, he commences at the right side at the spot in- dicated by 8. He proceeds in this manner until he has laid out the cards, face downwards, in seven rows of seven cards each, which process leaves three cards remaining in his hands; these he places at 50, 51 and 52. TABLE NO. 1. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 14 IB 12 11 10 9 8 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 49 48 47 52 46 51 45 50 44 43 All these preliminaries, which in actual practice occupy much less time than it takes to describe them, having been gone through with, the performer now slowly passes his right hand to and fro over the cards, which, as will be re- membered, are lying face downwards, and suddenly seizing one of them, exhibits it, asking the spectator holding the slip of paper, whether that is not the first one of the select- 50 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. ed cards and receives a surprised answer in the affirmative. The performer then proceeds to pick out the remaining six cards in rapid succession to each other, calling due attention to the fact that he discovers them in exactly the same order in which they have been chosen. In order not to confuse my readers, I will teach them only how to perform the feat, leaving it to those who have a taste for the solving of mathematical problems, to discover the key to the secret! I shall first explain the simplest method of performing the feat. For this it is necessary that the conjurer should secretly remove, prior to experiment, one of the cards of the pack, which card he marks slightly on the back, just suf- ficiently to enable him to distinguish it from the other cards. While the spectators are occupied with the selection of their cards, the performer palms the marked card in his right hand. After the gentlemen has replaced the chosen cards on the top of the pack as requested by the conjurer, the lat- ter places his right hand for a moment on the pack, pushing it towards the spectators and inviting them to cut the cards. By the aid of this little pretext, he is enable to leave the palmed, marked card on top of the pack without being ob- served. Any other suitable expedient will answer equally as well, as for instance seme trivial remark pertaining to the experi- ment, as long as the spectator's attention is thereby diverted momentarly from the slight movement of placing the palmed card on top of the selected ones. The spectators then cut the pack as often as they please, after which the performer deals out the cards (quadrating is the technical term for the two different ways of mixing them) as already set forth. The cards having been laid on the table in rows of seven cards each, and the remaining three cards placed in a sep- arate smaller row at the bottom, the real process of finding the chosen cards begins. For this it is necessary to have committed to memory the following abbreviated Table No. 2, or, if the student NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 51 should find the memorizing too difficult a task, have it written on a small card, which he holds openly or concealed in his hand, consulting it as he proceeds with the picking out of the selected cards. TABLE NO. 2. JS 8C 5D 10 H lOS 7C 4D 3D 8H 5S 2C 3H KC 10 D 9D JH AH JC 8D 9S 6C 5C 2D 7H 4S AC 2H QC 5H 2S QD KS IOC 7D 8S 7S 4C AD 6H 3S KD QH 3C 4H AS JD QS 9C 6D KH 9H 6S In placing the cards in rows, the conjurer has kept his eyes open for the previously secreted, marked card and has carefully noted which place it occupies. We will suppose that it is card No. 12 according to Table No. 1. Consulting Table No. 2, the performer finds the twelfth place on the latter and sees that it is occupied by the Five of Spades. This is the starting point. Knowing that according to the order of the cards described in Table 3, the Six of Spades follows the Five of Spades, he consults Table No. 2 and finds that the Six of Spades is the first card in the small row, or more properly speaking, the fiftieth card according to Table No. 1. Picking up this card, he will find that it is the first one of the selected cards. Once more, referring to Table No. 3 (which of course, he knows by heart), he sees that the card following the Six of Spades is the Seven of Spades. Consulting Table No. 2, he finds that the Seven of Spades occupies the forty second po- 52 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. sition; consequently, he picks up the forty -second card on the table and thus has discovered the second one of the chosen cards. TABLE NO . 3. 1. Ace of Diamonds. 27. Ace of Spades 2. Two 28. Two 3. Three 29. Three 4. Four 30. Four 5. Five 31. Five 6. Six 32. Six 7. Seven 33. Seven 8. Eight 34. Eight 9. Nine 35. Nine 10. Ten 36. Ten 11. Jack 37. Jack 12. Queen 38. Queen 13. King 39. King 14. Ace of Clu bs. 40. Ace of Hearts. 15. Two 41. Two 16. Three 42. Three 17. Four 't 43. Four 18. Five 44. Five 19. Six 45. Six 20. Seven " 46. Seven 21. Eight 47. Eight 22. Nine ' ' 48. Nine 23: Ten 49. Ten 24. Jack ' ' 50. Jack 25. Queen '' 51. Queen 26. King i I 52. King The next card that he looks for in Table No. 2, is the Eight of Spades, which lies in the twenty- ninth plaec. Therefore, the twenty-ninth card of the ones lying on the table must be the next card wanted. The fourth card in this same case would be the sixteenth, NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 53 the fifth (the Ten of Spades) the third, the sixth, the seventh and the last, or the seventh card, the forty- fifth one on the table. Another example: Supposing that after the cards have been laid in rows upon the table, the marked card occupies the twenty -fifth place, (according to Table No. 1) the performer sees that the twenty-fifth card in Table No. 2 is the Four of Spades which is his starting card. According to the rotation of cards in Table No. 3, the Four of SpadBs is followed by the Five of Spades, which is the twelfth card in Table No. 2, and, consequently, also the twelfth card on the table. This is the first one of the chosen cards, the next card, the* Six of Spades, the fiftieth card, is the second selected card; the forty- second, the third one,- and so forth, according to the number of cards selected. Last example: The marked card occupies the fourth place on the table. The fourth card in Table No. 2 is the Ten of Hearts, which is the starting point. The Ten of Hearts is followed by the Jack of Hearts, which, according to Table No. 2, is the twentieth card; consequently, the twentieth card on the table is the first chosen card, the thirty- sixth card is the second one, the fifty- second, or last, the third, etc. For the benefit of those who wish to make the cards appear to be still more hopelessly mixed, I append a key, or table, which is used when the cards are quadrated (shuffled) twice instead of once, as in the preceding method. Other keys can easily be constructed by laying the cards in the order shown in Table No. 3, and without cutting them, quadrating them as many times as the performer intends to quadrate the regular pack afterwards. When the cards are then placed, face upwards, in eight rows, their order is copied, the desired key being thus obtained. In the preced- ing tables, instead of the full name of the cards, abbrevia- tions as H, C, D, S, are used for the suits, numbers for the values of the spot cards and the letters J, Q, K, for the three picture 54 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. card. Thus K D signifies the King of Diamonds, 2 S the Two of Spades, etc. TABLE NO. 4. KD 9D 5D SC QH JH lOH lOS ,AS IOC 6C 7S 7H 3H KC 6S AD AC lOD 5H AH JC 7C JD 7D 3D 4C 4S 9C 5C r)S 6H 2H JS 2S QD 8D 4D QS 8S 8H 9H 9S 6D 2D 2C 3S QC 8C KH 4H KS After my intelligent reader has mastered the simple rules governing this most interesting and absolutely in- detectable feat, he can then embellish it according to his fancy and by the use of a few additional dodges, obtain an almost marvelous result. Thus, the secreted, palmed card may be dispensed with, the performer picking up the pack for a moment and bending one corner of the bottom card, which will later on serve as a starting point, in the same way as the marked top card did. Another still better way is to use a pack with a marked printed back (obtainable at all magical repositories) in which case the performer only has T;0 note the top card of the selected ones, which he afterwards easily discovers among the others. He can even invite a spectator to do all the quadrating and laying out, so that he need never touch the cards during the entire experiment, on which point, of course, he lays great stress. I also suggest the blindfolding of the conjurer by means of a borrowed handkerchief, it be- ing a well known fact among magicians and second sight artists, that a person may seemingly be securely blindfolded NEW ERA CARD TRiCKS. 55 and still be able to see out from under the handkerchief, provided the latter has been folded into a rather small com- pass. But the greatest one of the additions to this mysteri- ous feat, consists in the use of a pack of Biseaute cards, bet- ter known as Strippers, which may be shuffled after the selected cards have been replaced on top of the pack. For this purpose the performer takes off the upper half of the pack and turns it half way around, so that its narrow ends are opposite to the remaining wide half of the pack, ''^riffles" both into each other by means of the well known table shuffle, familiar to all card players. Half of the strip- pers now lay one way, and the other half the opposite way, All that the performer, therefore, has to do in order to re- store the pack to its former order, is to simply pull one half of the pack out of the other, and place the two packets to- gether. The attention of my readers is also called to the various ways of cutting cards, and thereby mixing them thoroughly, as explained in the earlier page's of this book. The combi- nation of ruses that I would suggest are a marked stripper pack and the blindfolding of the performer. Equipped in this manner, the artist may challenge the world (and especi- ally the ubiquitous gentleman, who has a smattering of con- juring,) and convince them that there are still a few things "not dreamt of in their philosophy." Some of my readers especially the professionals, may raise the- just objection, that this feat is not suitable of being performed before a large assembly of people. Neither are a number of standard tricks, which nevertheless are very popular. For an experimejit to be exhibited in the parlor, this card feat, in my estimation, eclipses all others, especially as it is entirely unknown to the conjurers and the public alike, this being the first time that the explanation has ever been made public. SECOND METHOD. In this version of the ' 'Ne Plus Ultra Trick" ah entirely different effect is obtained by exactly the same means. 56 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. After the selected cards have been returned co the pack and the latter cut and quarrated as described, the performer takes the cards, back uppermost, and rapidly deals them face uppermost, one at a time, upon the table, placing one card on top of the other. When he has done this, he hands the pack, back uppermost, to a spectator and requests him to deal off the cards, one at a time, upon the table. After the gentleman has dealt off say six cards, the conjurer asking him to stop, exclaims: "The next card that you will take from the top of the pack, is the second one of the chosen ones. " The spectator who selected the second card is asked to call out its name, wheaeupon the gentleman in possession of the pack is invited to turn over the top card and dis- covers it to be the ond just named. A few more Cards are then dealt off in the same manner as before, when again the conjurer interrupts the gentleman and invites him to turn over the card which is now on top and which is also found to be one of the chosen ones, say the fourth one. In a sim- ilar manner, the remaining selected cards are indicated by the conjurer, while the pack remains in the possession of the spectators during the entire time. The secret depends upon the use of a simplified key, formed by the keys or tables described in the preceding method. My reason for not explaning this key before, is simply that I wanted my reader to first thoroughly understand the true nature of the feat. The key used is the following one; 27 14 1 43 30 17 8 46 33 24 11 49 15 2 40 31 18 5 47 34 21 12 50 37 3 41 28 19 6 44 35 22 9 51 •38 25 42 29 16 7 45 32 23 10 48 39 26 13 4 20 36 52 As in the first method, the performer secretly notes the cards directly above the selected ones and then allows the pack to be cut as often as the spectators desire. After this has been done, he subjects the pack to as many false cuts and shuffles as he sees fit and then quadrates it in the man- ner already set forth. After the quadrating process, he NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 57 deals off the cards one at a time, face uppermost upon the table, counting them as he does so and noting the exact number of the card that he previously placed above the selected ones. We will suppose that this card occupies the twenty ninth place. Consulting the key, he finds that No. 29 is followed by Nos. 16, 7, 45, 32, 30 etc. , which numbers indicate the position of the selected cards in the pack. Thus the seventh card is the second one of the chosen ones. No. 16 the first. No. 30 the fifth etc. , thus enabling the con- jurer to give the pack to a spectator and to predict at what numbers the selected cards will turn up. The first method, if desired, may be accomplished in this manner also. After the cards have been placed in eight rows upon the table, the conjurer after discovering the position of the starting card, finds its number in the key and proceeds to pick up the cards following the starting card, the exact arrangement of the cards being shown in Table No. 1. A still more sensational finish can be given to the trick by the performer predicting, in an envelope handed to a spector previous to the performance, the exact position that the selected cards will subsequently occupy in the pack. For this purpose the same method is used that is employed in the trick called "Divination of Thought, " described in the latter part of this book. PENETRATION OF MATTEB. [P\a''^^ FIRST METHOD. HE following trick, which originated in this city several years ago, has since then become popular with conjurers the world over, being no doubt one the of best of latter-day card tricks. I can con- 58 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. scientiously advise my readers who, until to-day were unac- quainted with the trick, to add it to their rejjertory. After a card has been chosen and shuffled back into the pack, the latter is enclosed in a borrowed handkerchief, which is held by its upper ends, as illustrated in Fig. 28. FIG. 26. Tapping with his wand against the cards in the handker- chief, the performer states that he will cause the selected card to separate itself from its mates and to visibly pene- trate the fabric. While he is explaining this, and tapping the pack with the wand at the same time, the chosen card, the name of which the conjurer has previously asked for, is observed to gradually force itself out through the handkerchief. It is seen to protrude further and further, until the entire card becomes visible and at last flutters to the floor. The handkerchief is instantly opened out and the cards Contained in it removed, no trace of any preparation, whatever, being noticeable. The pack is then examined and the selected card is found to be missing from it. After the card has been chosen, the gentleman is re- quested to return it to the center of the pack, whereupon the conjurer makes the pass, thereby bringing it to the top and then palming it in his right hand, over which he now NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 59 si)rea(is the previously borrowed handkerchief, arranging the latter in such a way that its center is directly over the palmed card, which is thus hidden beneath it. Placing the remainder of the pack in the middle of the handker- FIG. 29. chief, exactly above the palmed card, the performer folds the front half of it toward himself. Now seizing the pack and the handkerchief with the left hand, he passes the the right hand along it, thereby folding the loose portions of the handkerchief over towards the back and then seizes it by its four corners, the chosen card being by this opera- tion held in the folds of the handkerchief, as illustrated in Fig. 29, which, as my reader will perceive, is a rear view of the position of the handkerchief and card. It will now be found, that by hitting the cards in the handkerchief short, quick taps with the wand, the concealed card will become dislodged and gradually make its appearance with a mysti- fying effect. SECOND METHOD. In effect, the trick I am about to describe, is somewhat 60 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. similar to the preceding one, but here all resemblance ceases. Three or four cards are selected and placed with the re- mainder of the pack in the center of a handkerchief, which must be a tolerably large one. Seizing the four corners of the latter, the performer lifts it up and commands the chosen cards to penetrate the handkerchief. Giving the latter a sudden shake, the desired cards are seen to issue from it, fluttering to the floor. The handkerchief may now be inspected, as well as the pack it still contains and from which the chosen cards are found to have vanished. FIG. 30. The handkerchief, which in this case is the performer's property, has been prepared for the trick by making in its center a double fold B (Fig. 30), which must be a trifle wider than the four cards which the conjurer then conceals in it. These cards are duplicates of the ones to be forced later on. To give the handkerchief a less suspicious appearance than in the illustration, it is crumpled slightly, whereby the fold is made to appear less conspicious. After the desired cards have been successfully forced, they are collected by a specta- tor and by him returned to the middle of the pack, which the performer holds open for that purpose. Making the pass, he brings them to the top and palms them off, secretly NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 61 disposing of them on the servante of the table, on which the handkerchief is lying spread out. After placing the pack exactly over the spot, under which the four cards are hidden, the artist seizes the four corners A. A. C. C. and if desired can even knot them together. By giving the handkerchief a sudden downward shake, the secret fold becomes obliterat- ed, the cards being thereby dislodged and falling to the floor. The handkerchief still containing the other cards may, now be safely passed for inspection, as by this time all traces of preparation have been removed. MAGIC VERSUS MNEMONICS. VERY clever trick, apparently depending upon a phenomenal memory possessed by the con- jurer, is the following one which as the title indicates is accomplished by the aid of trickery alone, the pretense of mnemonics being only part of the mise en scene. The performer commences the experiment by distribut- ing at random thirty two slips of paper numbered success- ively from one to thirty two. Each spectator that gets a slip, takes at the same time a card from a Euchre or Piquet pack of thirty two cards, that the performer holds on a tray. After all the slips and cards have been distributed in this manner, he retires to the stage and requests each spectator to call out the name of his card and number of slip, at the same time asking him to write the name of his card on the slip, so that it will not be forgotten. This is heard by the performer's assistant, who is stationed behind the wings, or a screen, or in the adjoining room. In the assistant's possession is a duplicate pack of cards, arranged systematically on the table. As soon as the spec- 62 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. tator holding slip No. 1 calls out his card and number of slip, th^ assistant places a duplicate of this card on place 1 of the following table, the second card is laid on place No. 2, etc. After all of the cards have been called out he gathers up the four rows, commencing with 32 and finishing with 16 as the last card. Table. 32 1 17 2 25 3 18 4 29 5 19 6 26 7 20 8 31 9 21 10 27 11 22 12 30 13 23 14 28 15 24 16 Requesting a spectator to collect all the cards that were distributed, the performer retires for a moment to fetch a handkerchief, bringing with him the assistant's pack, which he has palmed. Receiving the cards, the spectator collect- ed, he places them on top of the palmed pack, both being divided by the little finger, which is inserted between them. At a suitable moment he takes off the top pack, which as will be remembered, contains the collected cards, secretly disposing of these by dropping them into the profonde or on the servante of a chair or tables. Spreading out the pre- arranged pack, he shows that it is well mixed and then covers it with the handkerchief, under cover of which he transfers the top card No. 32 to the bottom of the pack and producing the next card No. 1 from underneath the handkerchief, holds it up, without exhibiting its face how- ever, and asks : ' 'What card does the gentleman, who holds slip No. 1 wish to see?" The name of the card desired is given, whereupon the performer turns over the one in his hand and shows it to be the card mentioned. Replacing his hand under the handkerchief, he draws off the top card (No. 17 of the pack) and placing it on the bottom, produces the next, second card, after first requesting the spectator to call out its name, continuing in this manner until all the thirty - two cards have been produced from underneath the hand- derchief in their successive order. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 63 THE CABIJ RECEPTACLE. ALTHOUGH the contrivance of this name is not very popular with American conjurers, it is, nevertheless, a useful adjunct, which can be used to excellent advantage in the performance of sev- eral quite clever tricks. The Card Receptacle, as illustrated in Fig. 31, is usually FIG. 31. made of cardboard or black cloth. It has four compart- ments, each of which is made to contain the eight cards of one suit, arranged from Ace, Seven, Eight to the King. This case, which is concealed in the profonde (a secret pocket [in the coat tail) thus contains a Piquet or Euchre pack of thirty-two cards, which is the best to use, as by em- ploying a full i^ack of fifty-two cards, too much time would be required in picking out the card desired. It is necessary that the conjurer should devote considerable practice in learning to select any desired card quickly and unobserved from the receptacle, of the existence of which the specta- 64 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. tors are not supposed to have the slightest idea. Sometimes two receptacles are used, each of which is divided into two compartments only, one receptacle contain- ing the Clubs and Spades, and the other one the Hearts and Diamonds. In this case, one receptacle is concealed in the left profonde and the other one in the right. In the description of the following two tricks, I shall give examples of the uses to which the Card Receptacle may be put. THE APPEABANCB OF DESIBEI) CARDS. |FTER requesting the spectators to call out the name of any card they like, the performer passes for inspection a piquet pack of thirty-two ordi- nary cards and invites them to shuffle the cards thoroughly. After this has been done, the pack is returned to him, whereupon he simply passes his empty hand over the bottom card, causing the latter to be instantly trans- formed into the very card that the spectators have previous- ly decided upon. While the company is occupied with the inspection and shuffling of the cards, the conjurer carelessly drops his hand to his side and secretly removes and palms, from the receptacle concealed in his profonde, the card called for by the spectators. After the pack has been returned to him, he adroitly places the palmed card on the back of it, next giving the cards a False Shuffle, keeping the top card in view only. Then holding the pack with the bottom card facing the company, he makes the Color Change, thereby transferring the rear card of the pack to the front. If desired, the trick may be repeated once or twice, the artist requesting the spectators to name another card and handing them the pack to be shuffled again. While this is NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 65 being done, he obtains from the case and palms the desired card, being, however, careful to bear in mind which card or cards have been taken out of the receptacle, so that no mis- calculation on his part can possibly be made. THE mystehiovs pnonucTioN. pEN the spectators have shuffled an examined pack of cards, the latter is placed in the inside breast pocket of the coat of the performer, who now repeatedly produces from this pocket any card the spectators call for. In this incomprehensible trick, two Card Receptacles, containing two compartments only, are previously concealed in the breast pocket. The shuffled pack is placed in front of them, the performer simply taking the desired cards out of the receptacles. Another arrangement, which is considered superior to the preceding one, consists of the use of a prepared double breast pocket: In the rear pocket is concealed the Card Receptacle, which in this case is one made of cloth. Previous to placing the shuffled pack in the first compart- ment of the double pocket, the conjurer invites a spectator to insert his hand in the latter to prove it empty, the trick then proceeding in the manner described. 66 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. The Improved Mysterious Production. :N THIS improvement over the preceding trick, the idea of the double pocket is carried still further. The advantage of this version of the trick is that no special construction of the performer's coat pocket is necess- ary and besides, the latter may previously turned inside out, to prove that it contains nothing. A detachable inside pocket, made of black cloth, is used for this purpose, its upper edges being sewn to a U shaped spring wire; the turned points of which can easily be push- ed through the material of the real coat pocket, in which is con- cealed the Card Receptacle with its usual contents. For the sake of effect, several articles such as letters, a card case etc., are previously placed in the trick pocket. Thus equip- ped the conjurer allows the cards to be shuf&ed, after which he states his intention of placing them in his coat pocket, the contents of which he first removes, then afterwards turning the False Pocket inside out showing it empty. The shuf- fled pack is placed on the inside and the performer then NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 67 produces from the receptacle in the pocket proper any card desired by the audience. This pocket may also be used to good advantage in the following trick: Several cards are selected, returned to the pack which is shuffled by one of the company. The con- jurer then places the pack in his pocket, having previously pulled it partly out and shown it empty. He then proceeds to produce the selected cards one after the other. For this purpose the Card Receptacale is not required. The performer forces three cards, duplicates of which he had previously concealed in the pocket proper. It is the trick pocket, of course, that is turned out and shown to be empty. Improved Cards Head Behind The Back. ^||0R THIS feat it is necessary that the artist should ^ have two packs of cards, with similar backs. One of these packs is prearranged in auy certain order that the conjurer may know and conceal either be- hind his back, under the vest or in a pocket made specially for the purpose. The performer introduces the unprepared pack, and after having it thoroughly shuffled, casually calls the attention of the spectators to the bottom card, at the same time noting it himself. After causing himself to be securely blindfolded, he jDlaces the shuffled cards behind his back, quickly exchanges them for the prearranged pack and then slowly produces the top card of the latter, hesitatingly calling out its name. He proceeds in this manner, calling out the cards in succession until he arrives at the card identical with that of the bottom card of the secreted pack. At this moment he turns around, presenting his back to the spectators, so that this particular 68 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. card faces them and proceeds to draw off and name the cards from the other side or bottom of the pack, simply calling off* the cards in their reverse order. This process seemingly leaves in its original position the bottom card of the pack, which he took care to exhibit before the experiment. This card is the last one named, and the majority of the spec- tators probably noticed this card (really its duplicate) at the bottom of the first pack shown. Everything appears to be fair and above board, the deception thereby being made the more effectual. THE HYPNOTISBn CARD. |HERE is a slight preparation required for this pretty trick. The conjurer previously procures a long human hair and by means of a tiny pellet of wax. attaches it to the middle of the left edge of the ta- ble. Near this edge lies the wand, to the tip of which is attached the other end of the hair. After a card has been selected at random, the performer places half of the pack in the center of the table, then seizing the wand and transferring it from its position at the left to the the right side of the pack, thereby tightly stretches the hair across the back of the cards on the table. The spectator, who cannot see the hair, is requested to place his card on top of the others, whereupon the conjurer places the balance of the pack evenly on them. Seizing the wand with his right hand, he states that by exercising a hypnotic influence over the cards, he will cause the chosen card to exhibit itself. By imperceptibly raising the wand, the upper half of the pack is gradually lifted by the hair and turns over, the undermost card of the upper half, which is the chosen one, thereby becomes revealed. In the act of NEW ERA CARD PRICKS. 69 placing the wand under the arm, the hdir is broken and all evidence of the preparation thereby destroyed. The effect of this mysterious feat, which ought to be accompanied by a suitable mise en scene, or by-play, will no doubt commend itself to those of my readei^s who make a specialty of parlor performances. THE QUEEN OF THE ATB. jN TWO small tables or stands, situated one on each side of the stage, are placed two glass goblets, HB which are sufficiently large to admit a pack of cards. A card is then selected, returned to the pack, and the latter placed in the goblet on the left. The performer now commands the chosen card to rise out of the pack and to travel through the air into the glass on the right. A card is then seen to separate from the pack, leave it and slowly float in a straight line towards the second gob- let. While the card is passing from one goblet towards the other, the performer asks the person if that is the card he selected, and receiving a negative answer com- mands the card to change into the chosen one, which it vis- ibly does. Continuing its journey the card finally descends into the second goblet, whence it is removed by the i)er- former, who shows it from both sides. Most of my readers will be mildly surprised to learn that this rather elaborate effect, can be easily performed at a very small outlay of money and trouble. For the only properties required are two black silk threads, a flap card and two goblets preferably with straight or perpendicular sides, especially made for the purpose of holding a* pack of cards. In Pig. 33, the exact arrangement of the various ob- ■0 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. jects is shown. C is a thread, which passes from an assist- ant concealed behind the right wing, through a staple in the floor and then upwards. To its other end is attached a small metal clip, which is slipped over the end of a mechan- FIG. 29. ical card, in such a manner as to hold the flap down and when pulled off by means of the thread C, the flap springs back to its normal position, changing the face of the card. Another thread A is stretched horizontally across the stage, one end being held by an assistant behind the left wing, and the other by the assistant on the right, already mentioned. On the back of the mechanical card, near its upper edge, are glued two small strips or hooks cut out of an- other card with a similar back. These strips serve to sus- pend the card on the thread A. These necessary prepara- tions having been made, the conjurer forces a card similar to the one concealed by the flap of the mechanical card. This trick card with its flap held back by the metal clip, should be lying face upward, on the left stand; its presence here be- ing concealed by a silk handkerchief carelessly thrown over it. Returning to the stage with the pack into which the selected card has been placed, the performer lays the hand- kerchief aside and places the pack directly over the trick card, then shows both goblets proving them unprepared. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 71 The pack with the mechanical card on its back, is now taken up and placed in the left goblet, the assistants at the same time lowering the thread A stretched across the stage from position A to B, enabling the performer to secretly slip it under the hooks of the rear trick card. At his command the assistants simultaneous raise the ends of the thread A, and thereby pulling the card out of the goblet. The assist- ant on the right slowly draws in his end of the thread, causing the card to appear as if floating through the air. By the time the card has reached the center of the stage it has been declared not the one selected. It is commanded to stop and transform itself into the desired card. The assist- ant at this moment gives a quick jerk to the thread C, there- by disengaging the clip from the card, which thus instantly changes to the selected one. It is then made to resume its journey and to pass into the right goblet, from which it is taken by the performer, who in the act of removing the card, detaches it from the thread and shows it to be appar- ently unprepared. THE LOST FOUND. jANDING A pack of cards to a spectator, the per- former requests him to select any card that he de- sires, to replace it anywhere in the pack and then to cut the cards. While this is being done, the conjurer observes what is taking place, carefully noting as near as possible the position the replaced card occupies after the cut, which may leave it either near the top, middle or bottom of the pack. Suppose the card to be near the top, occupying the eighth, ninth or tenth place, tha performer holds the pack behind him and taking three cards from the top, shows them and after asking if the chosen card is among them, and receiving a negative reply, places them 72 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. aside. He takes another set of three cards from the top, repeats the process with them, placing- them on the table. To take the next three cards from the top would be too hazardous, as the desired card may be any one of the three. The conjurer therefore takes for the next three, but one card from the top and the remaining two from the bottom of the pack. If the chosen card happens to be one of them, he knows it, as it is the one removed from the top of the pack. If, however, the chosen card was not among the three cards last shown, the performer proceeds, in the manner referred to, until the presence of the card in a set of three is asserted, when he may simply name the card or, after re- placing all the cards, bring the trick to as elaborate a finish as he chooses. If, however, after the cut, the card happens to be near the bottom or middle of the pack, the conjurer's manipulations must necessarily be changed accordingly. % THE CARD CA TIGHT ON THE PEA TE. jHE ARTIST requests a gentleman to select from the pack any card he may desire and then to mark it so that he will be sure to recognize it, The same spectator is then handed the pack and re- quested to replace his card and shuffle the cards. The per- former next introduces an ordinary china plate which he freely shows from both sides, proving it to be unprepared. He now takes the plate in one hand and throws the pack in the air with the other. As the cards descend in a shower, he makes a lunge among them with the plate, upon which he catches the chosen card which is given to the spectator, who identifies it by his mark. The trick is as simple as it is pretty, no previous prep- aration being necessary for its performance. Before hand- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 7B ing the cards to one of the company with the request to se- lect one at random, the performer bends the ends of the pack in a downward direction. After a card has been re- moved, and while it is being marked, the conjurer again bends the pack, but in an opposite direction, so that after the spectator has returned his card to the pack, no amount of shuffling will prevent the performer from immediately finding the desired card. It will be the only one bent in an opposite way to the rest of the cards, the j)ack opening slightly at the very place where this card is situated. After inserting the little finger under the chosen card, the per- former brings it to the top of the pack by means of the pass. Then he places the cards, for the time being, on the middle of the plate, to which he has previously attached a small pellet of adhesive wax. By slightly pressing the top of the pack, the chosen card on the bottom is made to adhere to the plate, which the conjurer then seizes and turning its bottom towards the spectators, allows the free cards to slide into his hand. They are then thrown into the air, the select- ed card being apparently picked out from among them, with the plate. After detaching the card from the plate, the conjurer secretly removes any remaining traces of the wax adhering perchance to the back of the card, then giving the card to the spectator who selected and marked it for identi- fication. THE LANTEBN OF DIOGENES. |LTHOUGH this clever piece of apparatus cannot very well be called a novel one, despite this fact, it is but little known among conjurers that a pretty trick can be performed by its aid. The ap- paratus consists of a transj^arent glass box, mounted on an 74 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. ornamental metal base, the whole presenting the appear- ance of a minature lamp post, Fig. 34. Besides this, there is a shallow lid, by the aid of which the open top of the glass box may be securely closed. In the interior of the lid, which is about three inches long and two inches wide, is concealed a folding card which is held in place by a clip B which can be released by pressing the stud A situated on the outside of the lid. The lower half of the card, is blackened to resemble the interior of the lid, thus rendering the card invisible when held in position by the FIG. 34. clip. In the performance of the trick, the glass lantern which is about as high as a card is long, is exhibited sepa- rated from the lid and seen to be perfectly empty. The lid is then casually shown and placed on the lantern proper, the card not being visible on account of its blackened lower half. A borrowed handkerchief is now thrown over the upper part of the lantern, and the stud A being pressed during this operation causing the card, concealed in the lid to be- come released. On account of the elastic hinge in its center, NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 75 the card unfolds and assumes an upright position in the glass box. A duplicate card is now forced by the performer, who after vanishing it in any manner he may see fit, sub- sequently finds it in the lantern, all parts of which may now be freely shown. Extraordinary Restoration, iN THIS striking improvement over the well known and popular, ''Torn Corner Card Trick," a slight preparation of the pack is required. All the Aces, with the exception of Ace of Spades are previously removed. The latter card is prepared by neatly inking its edge, all around, so that it can easily be distinguished from the other cards by looking at the edge of the pack. ^,U01TRfi65.^, FIG. 35. FIG. 36. From the pack thus arranged the Queen of Hearts is forced on a lady, who is requested to tear the card into eight or nine pieces, which she is asked to place on an ex- amined china plate held by the performer, who secretly adds to these pieces a duplicate corner which he had previously torn from another Queen of Hearts, the latter being con- cealed in any piece of apparatus, say for instance the Sand Frame. Keeping this corner in view, the conjurer invites several of the company to take a piece of the torn card, 76 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. taking good care to note who gets the duplicate corner. He then requests each spectator holding a piece of the torn card to take from the pack any card he desires. The performer really forces the Ace of Spades known by its blackened edge on the i)erson holding the duplicate corner. To increase the effect of the trick, he may force this card in the second or third instance, then inviting each one of the remaining spectators to take the pack, face downwards into his hands aild allowing him to draw any card he likes. After this has been done, the performer states that he will leave selection to chance, the person holding the highest card, shall retain the piece of the torn card in his possession while all the other pieces are collected. As the gentleman who took the Ace of Spades also holds the duplicate corner, the remain- ing pieces are collected and placed into a Card Box or Magic Pistol, from which they are caused to disappear, only to re- appear fully restored, minus the retained corner or piece, in the Sand Frame, which has been shown empty, covered by a handkerchief and given to a lady to hold. The frame is uncovered and in it is found the Queen of Hearts as com- manded. The card is taken out and given to the gentleman who selected the Ace of Spades; he fits the retained corner to it which of course is found to match exactly. APPARENT SEC OKI) SIGHT. (ROM an unprepared, preferably borrowed, pack of ^, .___^ cards, the artist requests the spectators to select, »^^g^ during his absence, any number of cards, which ^^ are to be placed, in a separate heap, upon the table and covered with a borrowed handkerchief. After the return of the performer, he is is blindfolded and the selected NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 77 cards shuffled into the pack which is then given to him. Holding the cards behind his back, the conjurer then suc- cessively produces all of the chosen cards. FIG. 37. The secret of the trick depends upon the use of a clever little contrivance, called the Card Marker, which will be useful in the course of many other card tricks. The Card Marker, Fig. 37, consists of the hook (C) and plate (B), to which is soldered a needle point (A). To the lower end of the plate (B) is fastened a strong thread of flesh colored silk, to which in turn is attached the elastic cord (E), in the end of which a loop is made. To attach the apparatus to the person, hook C is slipped under a ring worn on the third finger of the right hand, the thread (D) and elastic (E) be- ing passed up the inside of the sleeve to one of the rear sus- pender buttons, under which the loop of the elastic is en- gaged. After the selected cards have been placed on the table and covered by the haudkerchief , the performer places his hand over them, for an instant only, as if to convince him- self of their presence. This moment suffices for him to 78 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. press the fine needle point of the Card Marker through the handkerchief into the cards. By the passing of the needle point through the cards, there is formed a slight projection, hardly discernible to the eye but readily distinguished by the touch. After the chosen cards have been shuffled into the pack, it is an easy matter for the conjurer to pick out, behind his back, the desired cards by simply feeling for the projections made by the point of the needle. After having succeeded in marking the covered cards, the performer de- taches hook C, by pushing it out of the ring with one of the fingers of the right hand, the Card Marker being then in- stantly pulled inside of the sleeve, owing to the action of the tightly stretched elastic. FIG. 38. A more portable form of the Card Marker is a Finger Ring, which has a needle point brazed to it as shown in Fig. 38. Those of my readers who do not wish to incur the ex- pense of purchasing either form of the contrivance, can sub- stitute for the latter a short pin, which can easily concealed between the fingers, its point being pressed into the cards in the same manner as with the regular contrivances. THE ATTACHED CARD. SPECTATOR is invited to step forward and is requested to assist the conjurer in the trick about to follow. Introducing an ordinary pack of cards the performer asks him to select a card, which is. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 79 say the Five of Hearts, and to return it to the pack, which is then shuffled. Handing the pack to the spectator, the performer tells him to remove his card from the latter, but to his astonishment the gentleman finds that the Five of Hearts has mysteriously vanished. Both, he and the con- jurer institute a search for the missing card, which is finally discovered sticking under the back of the gentleman's coat collar. FIG. 39. For this clever sleight of hand trick, it will be necessary to have an extra Five of Hearts, placing both on top of the pack. As the spectator steps forward to assist the per- former, the latter palms the top card of the pack and while instructing the gentleman, places the hand in which the card is palmed, in a confidential manner on the back of the per- son and adroitly pushes the palmed card partly under his coat collar. He then makes the pass, and forces the duplicate of the Five of Hearts on the assisting spectator, who returns it to the pack. The performer makes the pass, bringing the card to the top of the pack and proceeds to give the latter a vigorous but false shuffle, keeping the Five of Hearts at the top. In handing the pack to the gentle- man, with the request to pick out his card, he palms off the top card and disposes of it while the spectator is engaged in looking for his card, which of course he is unable to find. The performer who also pretends to be at a loss as to the whereabouts of the missing card, then asks the person to assist him in the search for it During the search, the spec- 80 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. tator is artfully induced by the performer to turn his back to the company. They immediately appraise him of the presence of the card by their merriment. The performer then pretends to first discover the card and after removing it, dismisses the gentleman with a hearty handshake, ac- companied by the remark that he is evidently somewhat of a conjurer himself. CABDS SHOT AGAINST A HAT. |HE PERFORMER borrows a silk hat, which he places on his table, so that the crown of the hat, which has been previously covered by a borrowed handkerchief, is turned towards the company. Three cards are then selected and after being torn into small pieces by the persons who drew them, are loaded into the Magic Pistol, which the conjurer discharges at the hat. After the report of the pistol, the handkerchief is seen to fall, revealing the three selected cards, completely restored on the crown of the hat. They are removed and the hat is returned to its owner with the usual thanks on the part of the performer. The preparation for this trick consists of neatly cover- ing, with newspaper, the backs of three cards, duplicates of the ones that the conjurer intends to force. The point of a thumb tack is then pushed through the face of the middle card (2) in such a way that it will at the same time penetrate a corner of cards 1 and 3 (See Fig. 40). All three are then placed on a sheet of paper similar in appearance to the one with which they are backed, the paper being then placed on the conjurer's table. Even at a short distance, it will be im- possible to notice the presence of the three cards on the paper. The crown of the hat is then placed in a careless man- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 81 ner directly over these cards, which, by a slight downward pressure on the part of the performer, become attached to the hat by means of the thumb tack. The handkerchief is now placed over the side of the hat in such a manner that when the hat is lifted and its crown turned towards the FIG. ,40. company, the handkerchief will completely hide the prepara- tion. While arranging the handkerchief, the conjurer se- cretly attaches to one of its corners, a bent pin or small sharp hook, to which is fastened a fine black thread which passes to an assistant behind the scenes. The three duplicate cards are then forced and after hav- ing been torn into small pieces, are loaded into the barrel of the pistol as described. At the moment the latter is dis- charged, the assistant gives a slight pull to the thread, caus- ing the handkerchief to drop down, exposing the three cards attached to the crown of the hat. 82 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. WAR IN PEACE. |LL MAGICIANS are acquainted with the feat in which three chosen cards are caught on the point of a sword, out of the air into which the pack has been thrown. The cards, which have been previously concealed in a receptacle attached to the hilt of the sword, are in this case pulled to the tip of the latter by means of a stout elastic cord. As a good sword of this description is quite an exj^en- sive article which, at its best, is obviously mechanical and will not bear close inspection, I take pleasure in making my readers acquainted with a simpler method of doing the trick, by which any sword, even a borrowed one, may be used. Previous to the trick, the conjurer takes four cards and out of the center of the first one, cuts an oval shajjed piece a little larger in circumference than the tip of the sword which he intends to use. In the second card he cuts a hole still larger than that in the first one, etc., each of the four cards being provided with a larger hole than that in the card preceding it. The four cards are then connected by a fine black thread, an interval of about four inches being left between the cards, which the performer then conceals in his pochette (a small pocket sewn on the rear side of the leg of the trousers) or any other convenient part of his person. He then forces duplicates of the four prepared cards and has them returned to the pack, secretly placing on the top of the latter, the four cards of his own, which he has in the meantime secretly palmed. After exhibiting the sword, he takes it in the right hand, holding the pack by one comer in his left and placing the tip of the sword against the back of the cards, inserts it in the largest hole of the topmost one. He then proceeds to toss the pack into the air, at the same time making a lunge with the sword after it. The four cards, which owing to the holes in them, are retained by the sword, now slide along NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 83 the blade of the latter, the first card remaining near the tij) while the others arrrnge themselves along the blade of the sword. THE NEW CABD TABLE. OST conjurers are familiar with the construction of that useful apparatus known as the "Card Tripod" or "Card Table," which is generally used in the restoration of burnt or mutilated cards. FIG. 41. With the card table of the old form, only one change can be made, while with the new improved apparatus, two distinct changes take place without altering the appearance of the table proper, which is shown as A in Pig. 41. B is 84 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. a shallow lid, fitting over the top of A; C is a second lid, which in turn fits somewhat tightly over B. D is an orna- mental cover, which has an extra inside lining, conforming in shape and appearance to the lid proper. This lining, which is indicated by the dotted lines in the drawing, can be moved up and down by manipulation of the knob on the upper part of the lid, for the purpose of forcing C out of the cover when desired. To illustrate the uses to which this apparatus may be put, we will suppose that the conjurer intends to perform the Torn Corner Card Trick. He prepares for this by plac- ing on C a duplicate of the card, say the Jack of Clubs, that FIG. 42. he intends to use in the experiment, and placing C in the lower end of the cover, which it fits rather tightly. On A he places another Jack of Clubs, from which a corner has been torn (or still better, a piece torn out of its center), the fragment lying, for the time being, concealed in the conjur- er's vest pocket. Over A, lid B is then placed. These preparations having been made, the performer advances towards the company, and after forcing a third Jack of Clubs, requests the person, who selected it, to tear the card into small pieces. While that is being done, he ob- tains possession of the fragment concealed in his vest pocket and after receiving the torn pieces from the gentleman, returns to him what seems to be one of them with the re- quest to retain it in his possession, the performer hand- ing him the extra corner or piece. The torn pieces are laid on the table, that is on B, the cover is then firmly NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 85 placed on the table. In removing it a few seconds later, B is carried along with lid C in the cover and the card prev- iously concealed under B, thus revealed. It is shown and handed to the gentleman, who kept the fragment, which of course is found to fit it exactly. Taking both the card and the piece the performer replaces them on the table that is on A, and covers them one more. In removing the lid the last time he presses the knob, by which process the in- side lining is forced down, causing both lids, B and C, to re- main on A. The card previously concealed on C is thus brought into view, the effect to the spectators being, that the card and corner just shown, have now become fully re- stored, especially as in taking off the cover this time, the conjurer casually exhibited its interior, to prove all absence of preparation. The flanges on B and C, which are no wider than the turned flange or edge of A, cause the latter to retain the same appearance during all stages of the trick thus greatly adding to the deception. As already stated, the trick just described simply serves to illustrate one of the many ways in which to utilize the Improved Card Table : I have no doubt but that the ingen- uity of my reader will suggest other tricks in which the ap- paratus can be used to good advantage. Thought Reading Extraordinary, ^FTER A spectator has mentally selected a card at the request of the conjurer, the latter also asks some one to think of a number between One and Ten. Both persons are instructed to whisper the name of the card and number respectively, to their neigh- bor so that no mistake can occur. The performer asks the first gentleman to state aloud the name of the card of which he thought, say for instance the Nine of Hearts. The 86 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. second gentleman is then told to call out his number, which we will suppose is Seven. A disinterested spectator is in- vited to count off seven cards from the top of the pack, which during all this time has been lying on the table, and to show the next card to the company. To their astonishment, they discover it to be the card thought of, which the artist, without approaching the pack, has caused to appear at the very number secretly thought of by another spectator. So much for the effect of the trick, which certainly is one of the most mysterious ever invented. In order to know the card thought of, the performer uses of the various ex- pedients previously explained under the heading of '•Sleights,'* then instantly brings the chosen card to the top of the pack. While inviting the second gentleman to think of a number and to whisper it to his neighbor, he quickly counts off from the bottom seven cards and by means of the pass, brings them to the top of the pack, which he then places on the table. The chosen card, in our supposed [}f f 1 f f A f * * t. *! PIG. 43. case the Nine of Hearts, now occupies the eighth place, counted from the top of the pack. The gentleman is next requested to state the number he thought of and in nine cases out of ten, it will be found that he has thought of number seven, in which instance the trick, which is practi- cally finished, proceeds as described. If the number eight has been decided upon, the gentleman is simply told to turn up the eighth card counted from the top of the pack. If NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 87 nine is the selected number, the conjurer himself takes the I)ack from the table and in the act of handing" it to the gen- tleman, by means of the Slip Pass, brings one card from the bottom to the top of the pack. If a number below seven has been taken, the performer is obliged to transfer a cor- responding number of cards from the top to the bottom of the pack by means of the pass. But as I have already re- marked, these expedients, although not detracting to any extent from the merits of the trick, will seldomly have to be employed. A Mysterious Change, VERY pretty effect may be obtained by the intro- duction of the following trick. The several novel sleights used, ought however to be thoroughly prac- ticed before an attempt is made of performing the trick in public. After a card, say the King of Hearts has been chosen and returned to the pack, the latter is given a False Shuffle, whereby this particular card is left on the top of the pack. The conjurer then pretends to be able to pick out the chosen card, by running his fingers over the top edge of the pack, slightly rufling it and removing the two cards on the top, which are the King of Hearts and another card, say the Ace of Hearts, which he must hold in sucli a way that the spectators think them to be one card only. For this purpose, both the cards are held slightly con vexed, toward the palm, the thumb at the lower end and the fingers at the upper end of the cards. Thus exhibiting the cards, which to the company appear to be but one and that the Ace of Hearts, the performer asks if this is the card selected, and upon being told that it is not, replaces the card in the middle of the pack held by the other hand, allowing it to protrude nearly two inches. This is what really takes place: 88 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. The pack itself is held in the extended left hand, the thumb of which rests on one side of the cards, the first finger at their upper end and the remaining fingers at the other side of the pack, which faces the palm. In the act of replacing the cards with the right hand, the position of FIG. 44. FIG. 45. the fingers holding it, is changed, the card being now held by its upper end only, the thumb and first finger resting on the back of the card and the other fingers on the face side or bottom. With the left thumb the pack is slowly ruffled and the card in the right hand inserted sideways. While this is being done, the second finger of the right hand pushes the lower one of the two cards, that is the Ace of Hearts, towards the pack, the first finger of the left hand completing the work of imperceptibly pushing the card home, leaving the selected card to protrude from the rest of the pack. When properly executed, this sleight is absolute- ly invisible, it being shielded altogether by the upper one of the two cards which, as will be remembered, is the King of Hearts, although the spectators really believe it to be the Ace of Hearts. The performer once more asks whether the protruding card is not the selected one and is told that the selected card has not been shown. He then takes the projecting card and places it face downwards on the ex- tended hand of the gentleman, who is told to breathe upon it, when it is thereby apparently transformed into the de- sired one. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 89 THE CARD AND HAWDKERCHIEF. IHE following is a neat trick, in which a selected card visibly appears on a handkerchief held by the performer. A handkerchief is borrowed from some obliging male spectator and is, for the time being, spread on the performer's table. A card, say the Five of Diamonds, is placed on a plate and burned. Its PIG. 46. ashes are loaded iuto the Magic Pistol, which is given to a a gentleman, who is requested to discharge it at the per- former when the latter commands. FIG. 47. Taking the handkerchief by its four corners and hold- ding it as shown in Fig. 47, the conjurer explains that, upon the firing of the pistol, he will release two of the corners of the handkerchief, illustrating this by actually dropping the 90 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. two front corners of the latter, thus exposing the entire handkerchief and incidentally showing that nothing is at- tached to it. Seizing the corners again, he commands the spectator to fire. At the moment of releasing the corners, the restored Five of Diamonds is seen attached to the center of the hand- kerchief, which, after the card has been removed from it, is returned to its owner. Previous to the trick, a duplicate Five of Diamonds is placed face downwards on the conjurer's table. To the back of this card is fastened a small pellet of adhesive wax. In spreading the handkerchief on the table, the performer so arranges that the rear half of the handkerchief is placed directly over the hidden card and, by a little pressure, it is made to adhere to the handkerchief. A Five of Diamonds is now forced and, after it is burned, its ashes are placed into the pistol which, as described, is given to some gentle- man to hold. In picking up the handkerchief, the conjurer folds the front half over the rear half and holds it as shown in Fig. 47, the Five of Diamonds being attached on the rear side of the half CD of the handkerchief, consequently it is invisible from the front. In releasing the two corners in his explana- tion, the conjurer drops the front half, thereby proving the handkerchief to be seemingly unprepared. Regaining pos- session of the two corners, he requests the gentleman to fire and, at the proper moment, releases comers CD, the side of the handderchief to which the card is attached, be- coming visible, disclosing the card. In removing the Five of Diamonds, he secretly scrapes off the small pellet of wax and carelessly throws the card on the table so that in case any one should express a desire to examine the card, his wish can instantly be gratified. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 91 THE ITINERANT CARD. [HE conjurer introduces an ordinary pack, contained in the original case and still securely sealed by the usual government stamp. After opening the case and removing the pack, he divides the latter into two heaps, one of which is made to contain all the red cards, that is, the Hearts and Diamonds; the other one con- sisting of all the Clubs and Spades, or black cards. Invit- ing the spectators to choose one of these heaps, without in- fluencing their choice in the least, he requests some one to take the selected heap and to wrap it in a sheet of paper, the ends of the parcel being then securely sealed. After this has been done, a lady is asked to indicate one of the cards of the remaining heap, which is then given to her to hold. The card just chosen, which we will suppose to be FIG. 48. FIG. 49. the Ten of Hearts, is now commanded to leave the heap in which it is contained and told to join the cards in the sealed parcel. The latter, which consists of the black cards, is opened and found to contain the chosen card, the Ten of Hearts, while from the heap held by the lady, this same card is found to be missing. In order to be able to perform this interesting feat, the performer requires duplicates of two spot cards of the pack, say the Ten of Hearts and the Nine of Spades. Taking a pack of cards, with the backs similar to those of the dupli- tate cards, he carefully removes the government stamp, which seals the case, and taking out a red and a black card, 92 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. attaches the Ten of Hearts to the back of the black card and the Nine of Spades to the back of the red card, by means of white, unscented soap. Both double cards ought then, in order to obtain a good result, be placed for some time under pressure, after which they are ready to be used. Adding these cards to the others in the case, the performer closes it and and neatly replaces the stamp in its former po- sition. Thus prepared, he proceeds as described, by first call- ing the attention of the company to the newness of the pack, which they will believe is undisturbed in its original package. The pack is then divided into red and black cards, and after one of the heaps is chosen, which in our case was the one containing the black cards, it is wrapped and sealed as explained. Seizing the remaining heap of red cards, the conjurer induces a lady to indicate the Ten of Hearts, by means of the force. He immediately makes the pass, brings the card to the top of the pack and disposes of it at the first opportunity offering itself. Before the sealed parcel is opened, ths performer takes it in his hands for a moment, presumably to show to the com- pany that the seals are still intact, but in reality to gain an opportunity to bend the parcel back aud forth, by which process the Ten of Hearts, adhering to the back of the black cards, becomes detached and is subsequently discovered among the black cards by a spectator. The Terpsiehorean Card. PTER some trick with a chosen card, the performer gives a pretended explanation of his tricks, by ex- plaining to the audience that all that is necessary, is to have the cards well trained, when they will NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 93 do just as they are bid. He illustrates this by standing a a card in an upright position upon the table, then immediately passing the card for inspection to prove that it is not pre- pared in any way. Again placing the card in the same up- right position, he requests some one to play a lively air upon the piano, commanding the card to keep time with the music, which it does, dancing about in a lively fashion. Telling the card to discontinue its terpsichorean efforts, the conjurer takes it and once more passes it for examination. FIG. 50. For this trick a small apparatus made of tin or brass, bent in the shape shown in Fig. 50, is required. To its lower end is attached an extra weight, in the form of a lump of solder (B). On the flat, upright part of the apparatus, adhesive wax is evenly spread, the contrivance being then concealed in the right hand of the conjurer. Seizing the selected card with the left hand, he transfers it to the right, secretly attaching the back of the card to the waxed side of the apparatus. The card may now be placed upright on the table, its face, of course, being turned towards the company. Taking up the card with the right hand, it is again transferred to the left, the apparatus being detached and palmed during the operation, so that the card may be examined. 94 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. The operation is repeated and this time a thread, stretched horizontally across the stage, is lowered by an as- sistant, behind the scenes, to a level with hook A, under which the thread is slipped by the performer, at whose com- mand the card proceeds to execute a dance, the assistant manipulating the thread, keeping time with the music. Finally the card is seized, the thread being allowed to slip out from under the hook, whereupon the performer, after again detaching and palming off the little apparatus, once more passses the card for inspection. % THE CARD IN THB POCKET. ^pN this trick, which will particularly commend it- p^ self to the beginner who has not yet mastered the various sleights necessary for the performance of the more elaborate tricks, a card, that a spectator has se- cretly thought of, disappears from the pack and is dis- covered in the tail pocket of the performer's coat. The performer commences the experiment by offering the spectators a pack of cards, with the request for one of them to note and bear in mind a certain card and to note at what number, counting from the bottom of the pack, the card lies. This having been done and the pack returned to the conjurer, the latter, under the pretense of looking for the chosen card, quickly passes the cards, one by one, from the left hand into the right, by which process the former bottom card now becomes the topmost one. Above the last card, he places three more indifferent cards taken from the bot- tom of the pack. Acknowledging that he is unable to dis- cover the card in this manner, he returns the pack to the spectator, requesting him to count off from the top of the pack, the same number of cards that his card was removed NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 95 from the bottom card. After his request has been complied with, the conjurer knows that the fourth card from the top of the pack must be the selected one. Seizing the three uppermost cards, he places them face downwards upon the table and boldly asserts that the chosen card is among them, inviting the spectator to look and see that such is really the case. While the person is engaged in doing so, failing of course to discover his card among them, the conjurer takes advantage of this opportunity to palm off the top card of pack, then throws the latter on the table, asking the gentle- man to name the card. FIG. 57. We will suppose it is the Four of hearts. "The Four of Hearts, my dear sir," says the conjurer, "That cannot be, as I have had this card in the pocket of my coat all the even- ing. " Reaching into the indicated pocket, he produces the selected card, and upon inspection of the pack it is found to be missing. The Spectator as Conjurer. jIKE several other tricks described in this book, the experiment that I am about to explain, cannot pro- perly be called a new one, but the fact of its being so little known, renders it practically new to most conjurers. 96 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. From a paper of pins, a number are selected by the spectators, one of whom is then requested to choose a card from the pack, said card being, say, the Eight of Hearts. This card is returned to the pack and the cards shuffled. The conjurer then produces his magic pistol and proceeds to load into it the selected pins, giving the pistol in charge of the spectator who drew the Eight of Hearts. Seizing the pack, the performer explains that he is about to throw the cards into the air, requesting the gentleman who holds the pistol, to take good aim at the cards and to discharge the pistol at the word of command. The cards are tossed into the air, the pistol fired, and among the cards, fallen to the floor, is discovered the selected Eight of Hearts, being pierced by exactly the same number of pieces that have been loaded into the pistol. When the paper of pins is returned to the performer, the latter by a furtive glance, immediately knows the num- ber of pins that have been removed. By means of a sim- ple system of cues, he conveys this information to the assis- tant behind the scenes, who quickly takes a duplicate Eight of Hearts and sticks into it the same number of pins that the spectators have selected. It is best to previously blacken these pins slightly in a candle flame. In the meantime, the performer has forced the other Eight of Hearts, which is re- placed in the pack. Then, making the pass and palming off the top card, which is the selected one, he retires for a moment to fetch the pistol, disposing of the palmed card card and palming, in its stead, the prepared card. Return- ing to the stage, he seizes the pack with the same hand in which the card is palmed, leaving it on the top. The pins are then loaded into the false compartment of the pistol, the latter being subsequently discharged at the pack, as the performer throws it into the air. The card, pierced by the pins, being among the falling cards, is then discovered in their midst. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. GRAVITY DEFIEn. ^li^NE of the most interesting and indetectable of im- promptu tricks with cards, is the feat that I am about to explain; the performer causing all the cards of the pack to adhere and remain suspended, in a most mysterious way, to the lower side of the hand, which, as well as the cards, can be closely inspected at all stages of the trick, the performer carrying the cards about as they cling to his hand and inviting any one who so desires to convince himself of the mysterious nature of the experi- ment. FIG. 52, Those of my readers who are not acquainted with the secret of the trick, will be moderately surprised to know that nothing but a fine needle is required for the perform- ance of the trick. Previous to the exhibition, the conjurer has pushed this needle through the skin of the inside of the hand, as shown in Fig. 52. The hand, thus prepared, can be used with impunity, as the needle will not in the least in- commode a person. 98 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. When ready to exhibit the trick, the artist- places the prepared hand flat on the table and pushes a card under each end the needle, Fig. 53. Two more cards are next FIG. 53. FIG. 54. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 99 placed between the first two and the hand, Fig. 54. With the exception of two cards, the remainder of the pack is then inserted in a circle between the first four cards and the palm, which the performer now turns over in order to intro- duce the remaining two cards, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 55. One end of one of these cards is placed underneath the Ace of Diamonds and above the Five of Spades, thus hiding one half of the needle, while part of the last card is placed underneath the Five of Spades and above the Ace of Dia- monds, the needle being thereby hidden completely. FIG. 55. The conjurer now exhibits both sides of the hand, bend- ing back the cards to allow the company to inspect the sur- face of the inside of the hand, to prove that there is abso- lutely no preparation of any kind. By exerting a slight pressure on the backs of the cards, with the fingers of the hand holding them, the loop of the skin, which holds the cards, is broken and all the cards, to- gether with the needle, drop to the floor. Or, if the con- jurer does not wish to do this, he can cause all the cards to fall off, by simply giving a quick lateral movement of the 100 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. hand. In this case, he secretly draws the needle out from under the skin at the first opportunity which offers itself. THE UEMON ENVELOPE. |HE performer enters, bearing a large envelope in one hand and a complete pack of cards in the other. Placing the envelope against a candle- stick, or some piece of apparatus on his table, so that it remains in full view during the course of the trick, he proceeds to shuffle the cards. Then seizing an ornamental dagger or paper knife, he goes among the company and, handing a spectator the dagger, requests him to insert it anywhere in the pack. The performer takes off all the cards above the knife and asks the gentleman to take the topmost card of the lower heap, on which the knife now rests, cautioning him to remove the card, so that, he, the performer, cannnot obtain a glimpse of its face. In a similar manner, six more cards are selected at random by different spectators, each one retaining his card in his pos- session. Remaining away from the company, the performer calls for his assistant, who is told to hand the envelope to some prominent gentleman, who is then requested to open it. Doing so, he discovers in it another envelope, on the outside of which is written the name of the card selected by the first gentleman, who is requested to hold up his card, so that everyone can see that both the card and the name on the envelope correspond. The next envelope is opened, and inside of it is found a third one, bearing the name of the second card chosen. The trick proceeds in this manner, th*^ gentleman discovering as many envelopes, one inside of an- other, as there were cards selected, each envelope bearing the correct name of a drawn card. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 101 The solution of this mysterious and effective trick is very simple indeed. In the first place, it is necessary that the performer and his assistant should have memorized some simple code of Second Sight, consisting of seventeen differ- ent cues, thirteen of them representing the different values of the cards and four the suits. The pack of cards that is used is prearranged, the shuffle to which it is subjected be- ing a false one. The envelope placed by the performer upon the table is really empty, the set of envelopes opened later on by the spectators, being in possession of the assistant behind the scenes. After the dagger has been inserted in the pack by the first gentleman, the performer, as will be remembered, takes off* all the cards above the dagger. By glancing at the lowest card of this heap, thanks to his formula, he can instantly tell the name of the card that has been taken. In inviting the second gentleman to insert the dagger any- where in the pack, he words his request in such a way as to bring into play the cue for the name of the first card select- ed, the assistant, who is listening, thus becoming acquainted with the name of the card. For the different cues, such simple short phrases as "Now, sir,"' "Please,"' "If you please," "Kindly,'' etc., will be found to be the most service- able. The exact arrangement I leave to the ingenuity of my reader, who, no doubt, can easily invent a brief system, nicely adapted to his own style. By this means he com- municates all the names of the selected cards to his assis- tant, who writes them separately on the outsides of the envelopes and, quickly enclosing them in one another, places them into a still larger envelope, which he conceals under his coat and stands ready to obey the call of the per- former, who, in order to give him the necessary chance to get ready, has occupied a little time by stating what has taken place, explaining how utterly impossible it would be for anyone to know the names of the cards selected in such a fair manner. Calling for the assistant, the latter steps forward and is 102 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. told to take the envelope from the table and to hand it to a gentleman, whom he requests the audience to select. While this is being done, the assistant turns about to pick up the envelope, at the same time obtaining possession of the one concealed under his coat. He secretly places it on top of the one on the tablfe and, picking up both, he adroitly places the empty envelope under his coat and turns around with the nest of envelopes in his hand, bringing it to the gentleman the spectators have decided upon. It is to be understood that the assistant must be clever enough to change the en- velopes in a second's time without being detected in the act. The trick, which is now practically done, is then brought to the conclusion described. If presented with the neces- sary amount of address, it will not fail to bring the per- former a hearty round of applause. The Ubiquitons Card. FAVORITE trick with conjurers is to discover a selected card, that has been shuffled back into the pack, at any number, counted from the top of the 'cards, that a spectator choses. The method that I am about to explain, besides being superior to tne older forms of the trick, has the advantage that it is entirely unknown. As usual, after the selected card has been returned to the pack, the pass is made *and the card is brought to the top. After having given the cards a False Shuffle, the conjurer asks at what number the spec- tators wish him to find the chosen card. We will suppose that Fifteen is the number told to him. Holding the pack in his hand, he counts "One" and transfers the top card, which is the desired one, to the right hand, seizing it between the first and second fingers. The next card is transferred NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 103 to the right and placed above the card already there, the tip of the first finger being used as a division between the two cards. In this manner, the other cards are successively counted into the right hand, counting until the number thir- teen is reached. At this stage, the performer, instead of taking the top card of the pack, leaves the selected card which is at the bottom of the ones in his right hand, on top of the pack, this movement being made to exactly resemble that of taking off a card. It ought to be well practiced and, if properly executed, will be found very illusive. Counting "Fourteen," at the execution of this sleight, the performer states that the next card is the fifteenth one, which ought to prove the selected card, and requests the gentleman to name his card. He does so, whereupon the performer turns over the top card of the pack and shows it to be the desired one. Four Cards Cauifht At The Finger Tips, P|^j||OUR cards, after being selected, are returned to the ^iBn!^ pack which, after being shuffled, is handed to a ^^^^^ spectator with the request to throw the pack into the air, causing the cards to separate and come down in a shower. Reaching with both hands among the descending cards, the performer catches two of the selected cards at the finger tips of each hand, as shown in Figs. 56 and 57. Difficult as the trick may appear at first reading, it will, however, be found quite simple when the explanation is once understood. In the first place, it is necessary to have duplicates of two of the cards selected, the Five of Clubs and the Three of Hearts, which are placed face to face and are concealed in the pocket of the left coat tail. The duplicates of these 104 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. FIIG. 56. FIG. 57. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 105 cards are then forced and two more cards are selected, the performer allowing the spectators full choice in the selec- tion of the latter. The Five of Clubs and Three of Hearts are first returned to the pack and the latter is then shuffled FIG. 58. FIG. 59. by a spectator to his heart's content. The next two cards, in a supposed case the Ace of Clubs and Six of Hearts, are FIG. 60. FIG. 61. then returned to the pack, the performer immediately mak- in the pass and bringing both of them to the top of the pack, after which operation he palms them off and allows the pack to be shuffled once more. Then requesting a spectator to throw the cards into the air at the word of command, he takes his position in readiness to catch the falling cards, and places his left arm behind him, as if to have it out of the way. Instructing the spectator how to hold the cards, so that when they are tossed up they will scatter properly, the performer, with his left hand, the finger tips of which he has previously moistened, takes the two cards out of the coat pocket and counts ''One I Two I Three!" At ''Three," 106 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. the spectator tosses up the pack as instructed, the conjurer reaches with both hands among the descending cards and produces the chosen* cards, adhering to his fingers on ac- count of their having been previously moistened. As some performers will find it difficult to cause the cards to adhere by this method, I suggest that, just before the experiment, a little powdered rosin, a small quantity of which can be lying on the table, be rubbed on the thumb and middle finger of each hand. By this plan, the cards are certain to adhere. Another version of this trick dispenses with the specta- tor's help. The two cards not froced, that is, the Ace of Clubs and Six of Hearts, are left at the top of the pack, after the latter has b^en given a false shuffle by the performer. The top card is then brought to the bottom of the pack, be- ing turned over during the operation. The conjurer then seizes the pack beween the middle finger and thumb of the right hand and, pressing firmly with these fingers, throws the pack into the air, the top and bottom cards be- ing retained in" the hand, while the other hand (which, meanwhile, has obtained possession of the two cards con- cealed in the coat tail pocket) reaches among the falling cards and pretends to pick out the selected cards from among them. THE CARD, RIBBOIS^ AND ENVELOPE. |PTER showing an unprepared pack of cards, the conjurer has one of them selected, say the Ten of Spades, asking the spectator to mark the card on its face with a pencil. While this is being done and the attention of the company drawn to the person, the performer contrives, without being observed, to attach a small pellet of adhesive wax to the back of the top card NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. lo: of the pack. Requesting the gentleman to return his card, he offers him- the pack, at the same moment making the pass, thereby causing the person to place his card directly on the prepared former top card, which we will suppose is the Jack of Diamonds. Squaring up the pack and pressing it well together, so as to cause the two cards to adhere and appear as one, the conjurer advances towards the spectator, spreads out the pack and forces him to select the double card. However, he does not permit him to remove this card, but simply requests him to indicate it. Seizing this card FIG. 62. , himself and showing it to be the Jack of Diamonds, the per- former places the pack aside and taking a sharp penknife, pierces the center of the: double card and threads it on a silk ribbon, which should be about one-fourth of an inch in width and about three yards long. Requesting two spectators to assist him, he gives each of them one end of the ribbon to hold and covers the card, which is threaded on the latter, with a large handkerchief. Introducing his hand under it, he separates the two cards, and placing his hand oyer the Jack of Diamonds, in the same manner as in palming, moves the hand, and with it the card, along the ribbon. It is an easy matter for him to remove the card from the ribbon by simply taking one end of it and, under the pretext of transfering it to the specta- tor's other hand, slipping off and retaining the card palmed. He next introduces a sealed envelope, which he proves to be empty by holding it in front of a candle, thus allowing the 108 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. audience to see through it. On the back of the envelope, a small quantity of adhesive wax has previously been placed, which enables the performer to secretly attach the palmed Jack of Diamonds. The attention of the spectators is noW called to the fact that the Jack of Diamonds is threaded on the ribbon and that the selected card, the Ten of Spades, is contained in the pack. A change is then commanded to take place. Upon removal of the handkerchief from the ribbon, the marked Ten of Spades is found instead of the Jack of Diamonds. Then showing his hands to be quite empty, the artist takes the envelope, which during this time has been standing up- right against the candlestick, and tear^ off the end. Blow- ing into the envelope so as to cause it to expand, he appar- ently shakes the Jack of Diamonds out of it, the card really coming from the rear of the envelope. If neatly done, this will be found a very illusive effect. Faeilis DescenH^s Averno. |N this invention of the celebrated Prof. Conradi, the per- former introduces a transparent glass case into which Wm he places an ordinary pack of thirty -two. cards, pre- viously examined and shuffled by the company. The glass case is placed upright on a minature glass top table, which stands on one of the regular side tables. Pig. 63. Any card whatever, that the spectators now name, will, at the performer's command, visibly rise out of the shuffled pack in the case, the conjurer remaining in the audience during the operation. The card is removed from the case and the same experiment is repeated, as often as desired, with any of the cards remaining in the case. The construction of the apparatus required for the per- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 109 formance of this trick is a complicated one. In the first place, the upright or leg, to which the glass top is secured, is a metal tube, the inside diameter of which is just large enough to admit a folded card, prepared in the same way as the card that passes into a narrow necked bottle. Fig. 176. In the center of the glass top, a hole of the same diameter as that of the inside of the tube is drilled and ground. The glass top stand is placed on a side table, the drapery ^...^ ^BW'T'Tfl^SSeni ^J'^. PIG. 63. around the bottom of which is about six inches deep. In the top of this table, a hole is cut, of the same size as that in the glass top. The center of this table top is sunk a little, to allow the round base of the glass top stand to be easily placed in a correct position. Under the top of the table is attached a drum, divided equally into thirty- two compartments, open at the top and bottom. By means of a clock work mechanism this drum can be revolved, bringing each one of its compartments success- ively under the hole in the table top. By means of a strong no NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. thread attached to an anchor stop, same as used in the con- struction of Anchor watches, the assistant behind the scenes is enabled to stop the drum at any compartment he desires. Each of these compartments or chambers contains a metal plunger, the upper end of the which has a clip soldered to it. Into each clip is previously placed a different mechanical card of the kind described, only the lower edge of the mid- dle part of the card being held by the clip. By means of a piston rod, contained in the hollow leg of the table, the X)lunger of that jjarticular chamber that happens to be di- rectly under the hole in the table top, is pushed upwards, through the rod of the glass top stand and in the hole in the glass. The folded card attached to the clip of the plunger is thus brought directly behind the glass case on the stand. The moment the card passes through the hole in the glass, it expands, the piston continuing for a distance of nearly three inches in its upward movement, thus causing the card to apparently rise out of the pack. The performer takes it out of the clip, which together with the plunger sinks back into the table, according to the manipulation of a thread in the assistant's hands. Witnessed from behind the scenes, the trick proceeds in the following manner. After the conjurer has put the ex- amined and shuffled pack into the glass* card case on the glass top stand, he advances to the company, inviting some one to name any card that he would like to have rise out of pack. As soon as a card has been decided upon, the assist- ant who can plainly see the revolving drum, the back of the table being devoid of drapery, sets the latter in motion by releasing the stop. When the drum has revolved far enough for the compartment containing the desired card, to come under the hole in the table top, the anchor stop is made to snap back into place, thus stopping the revolution of the drum. By pulling the cord, operating the piston he causes the latter to rise, carrying with it the plunger containing the desired card, which subsequently appears to rise out of the case. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. lU THE QBE I) I ANT €ARI). jLTHOUGH the effect of the trick, that I am about to explain, is practically the same as that of Con- radi's Pacilis Descensus Averno, an entirely dif- ferent and much simpler plan is employed. We dispense with all mechanism, nothing being required in the way of properties, but two packs of cards, a Card Receptacle (Pig. 31) and a black thread, which is stretched horizontally across the stage. One of the packs, each card of which is provided with two small cardboard hooks or strips glued to its back (vide ' 'The Queen of the Air") is distributed in suits in the four divisions of the Receptacle, which is then con- cealed in its usual place, in the profonde. While the remain- ing unprepared pack is being shuffled, the conjurer asks some one to name a card that he wishes to have rise from the pack. As soon as the name of the card has been men- tioned, the performer secretly obtains a similar card from the Receptacle, palms it and places it on the top of the pack after the latter has been returned to him. In inserting the card in a glass case or goblet, he secretly slips the thread, which the assistant has lowered for the j)urpose, under the hooks in the back of the rear card. The desired card is then told to rise out of the pack. At the word of command the assistant slowly pulls the thread,' causing the rear card to issue from the glass. This trick can be repeated several times, the performer taking the pack out of the case on each occasion and under the pretext of having some one shuffle the cards, in the meantime retains and palms the de- sired card from the Receptacle. 112 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. The Card Appearing On The Hot tie. jFTER exhibiting an unprepared bottle, from which liquid is poured, the conjurer places it on the table and then requests a spectator to select a card, which is loaded into the Magic Pistol. Dis- charging the latter at the bottle, the selected card is sud- denly seen to make its appearance at the neck of the latter. It is removed and together with the bottle passed out for in- spection. FIRST METHOD. ^N this way of doing the trick, a contrivance is employed which can be quickly attached to the edge of any ta- ll ble, see Fig. 64. E is a square piece of metal, bent at right angles. The upper half of E is slipped under FIG. 64. the loose cover of the table, which is turned under along the rear edge. By means of a spring hinge, the bent wire, A, is fastened to E. To the lower end of A, is soldered a clip, B, which contains a duplicate of the card that the con- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. lia jurer intends to force in the course of the trick. The ten- dency of arm A, is to occupy the position indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 65. It is, however, folded downwards, being prevented from resuming its normal position by the bolt, C, which is slipped over it. Fastened to C, is the thread, D, which passes to the concealed assistant. FIG. 65, In standing the bottle on the table, the performer places it directly over the center of E. At the report of the pistol the assistant pulls the thread D, thereby causing bolt C to slip back; arm A is released and instantly flies up against the bottle, to the shape of which it is made to conform. The card is then removed from the clip by the conjurer, who takes the bottle away with a sliding motion towards the front edge of the table, causing A to lie down on the top of the latter. Its presence there cannot be noticed, it being painted the same color as that of the table cover. The Improved Torn Corner Card (Fig, 171) can be com* bined with this trick to excellent advantage. For this pur- pose, the usual black hood, to which a thread leading off to the assistant is attached, is slipped over the upper comer of 114 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. the card held by the clip, B. After the duplicate of the card has been successfully forced, it is torn into small pieces, one corner of which is retained by the spectator. The remaining pieces are loaded into the pistol, which is discharged at the bottle, upon the neck of which the re- stored card, minus one corner which is apparently the one retained, makes its appearance. The conjurer requests the spectator to give him the corner kept out and, making the pass with it, pretends to throw it at the card on the neck of the bottle. At the same moment, the assistant jerks off the hood covering the cor- ner of the card, which, after being taken out of the clip, is passed for inspection. SECOND METHOD. In this form of the trick, the necessary apparatus, which consists of a metal tube about four inches in length, is con- cealed in the neck of the bottle. This tube contains a metal disc, which is pushed upwards by a spiral spring under- neath it. To the center of this disc is soldered a clip which holds a folding card (Fig. 176), same as used for passing in- to a bottle. The disc is then pushed down as far as it will go, when a small catch, to which a thread is fastened, springs into place and prevents the disc from flying upwards again. This small apparatus, as I have already said, fits in the neck of the bottle, being prevented from falling on the inside by a small rim or flange, turned on its upper edge. Previous to the trick, the tube lies concealed on the servante, from which the conjurer obtains it after the bottle has been un- corked, After the palmed tube has been secretly slipped into the neck of the bottle, a duplicate of the folding card is forced and loaded into the pistol, which is fired at the bottle. At the same time the assistant, who is holding the thread attached to the catch of the tube, pulls it, whereby the disc becomes released and is carried upwards by the spring, causing the card, which expands as soon as it is outside of the bottle, to appear at its neck. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 115 The Card Ofi The Table Edge. |S THE title indicates a selected card mysteriously appears on the rear edge of the table. The ap- paratus employed for this trick is practically of same construction as the one used in the first method of the Card and Bottle Trick. It consists of a metal plate, Fig. 66, which by means of the sharp points A A A is securely attached to the lower surface and near the rear FIG. 66. edge of the table. D is a spring hinge, B a metal arm, the lower end of which ends in the clip C, which holds the card, the conjurer wishes to use for the experiment. Arm B and with it the duplicate card are folded flat under the metal plate, being held in place by bolt F, to which the thread E leading to the assistant, is fastened. It will be apparent that this apparatus can be attached to the lower side of a table with a very thin top, without its presence being noticed. At the moment the performer desires the card to appear, the assistant draws the bolt F by pulling the thread E. The arm B, which in our illustration is shown in the 116 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. act of turning over, flies upwards and folds against the Tear edge of the table, causing the selected card to appear as de- sired. It is then taken out of the clip and passed for inspec- tion. THE MYSTEBIES OF THE ZODIAC. |LTHOUGH the experiment that I am about to ex- plain, depends upon a mathematical principle, the latter is so cleverly arranged and so exceedingly well disguised by all sorts of pretexts,' that the conjurer, who adds the feat to his repertory of parlor tricks, need not have the slightest fear of any spectator, no matter how astute, discovering or even being able to explain the modus operandi. We have in the line of conjuring, a number of clever feats, depending upon mathematical principles, which feats com- pared with the present one, pale into comparative insignifi- cance. I have no doubt, with due deference to the intelli- gence of those of my readers, who will master this feat, that the majority of them will even fail to see the reason why the peculiar result at the finish of the trick, is obtained. Para- doxical as this may seem, it need however prevent no one from learning to perform the mystery. For the sake of clearness, we will suppose that one spectator, whom we will call A, takes an active part in the course of the trick, although in actual practice it will be found much more my s- terious and effective, if all or at least the majority of spec- tators participate. The performer commences by explaining that the mys- tery he is about to introduce, is a purely astrological one and for this reason it will he necessary for him to know the spectator's, (A's) birthday, by the aid of which after a mo- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 117 ment" s calculation, he tells A the name of the playing" card, which domineers A's career or to use the proper astrological term, tells the person's birth card, requesting him to bear it in mind, as it will play an important part in the experiment which is to follow. He next proceeds to execute on the table tof) a drawing of the Zodiac depicted in Fig. 67, using a piece FIG. 67. of chalk for the purpose. To increase the mystery, he may as indicated, place opposite each division of the Zodiac, the name of the sign it represents. What is still better, is to have in readiness a large sheet of white paper or oilcloth thus marked. Introducing a pack of fifty-two ordinary cards, he gives them a thorough shuffiLe, inviting a spectator to cut them (single cut) as many times as he may desire, then cutting the cards himself in the improved style, described in the earlier pages of this book. The spectators are next handed an or- dinary die, with the request to throw it. Supposing that the five comes uppermost, he takes the pack and places the four cards on top of it, but without disturbing their order, face downwards in the fifth division of the Zodiac. The next four cards are placed in the sixth sign, the next four in the seventh and so on up to sign Twelve, in which four cards are laid. The next four cards are placed in Thirteen, the Sun, 118 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. the next in One, and the remaining twelve cards are then evenly distributed in heaps of four, in the second, third and fourth divisions of the circle. This having been done, the conjurer produces a sheet of paper, on which is neatly and legibly written the following table, which, as it is identical with a table used in the "Ne Plus Ultra Trick," we will therefore call No. 3. TABLE NO. 3. 1. Ace of Diamonds. 27. Ace of Spades. 9 Two 28. Two 3. Three 29. Three ' 4. Four 30. Four ' 5. Five 31. Five ' 9. Six 32. Six 7. Seven ( 4 * 33. Seven ' 8. Eight 34. Eight ' 9. Nine " . : \ 35. Nine ' 10. Ten 36. Ten 11. Jack 37. Jack ' 12. Queen 38. Queen ' 13. King Ace of 39. King ' 14. Clubs. 40. Ace of Hearts 15. Two a 41. Two 16. Three ii 42. Three ' 17. Four li 43. Four 18. Five I i 44. Five 19. Six a 45. Six 20. Seven i i 46. Seven ' 21. Eight a 47. Eight ' 22. Nine a 48. Nine ' 23. Ten a 49. Ten 24. Jack li 50. Jack ' 25, Queen a 51. Queen ' 26. King li 52. King ' He explains the law of this simple order of the cards, by NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 119 relating that when cards were first invented the four suits represented the four seasons of the year: Diamonds (Rose) being spring, Clubs (Trefoil) the summer, Spades (Acorn) fall and Hearts (Cup) winter. (This is true in fact, as in Spain this nomenclature still is used. ) Spectator A who is willing to take part in the experiment, is invited to take possession of the sheet, while the performer retires to the furthest end of the room. From this point he dictates, to A, whom he has provided with paper and pencil what he desires him to do. He first requests A to think of a card and then to find it in Table No. 3 in his possession. The number preceding the card is to be put down and multipli- ed by 33. To this result he is told to add the number of the month, in which he was born. To this is to be added 7x7, or as the performer states: ''There are seven days to the week, which days are governed by seven principal planets. These two numbers multiplied together make 49, which kindly add to the sum already obtained. '" Next borrowing some one's watch, he tells A to add to the total, the number of minutes or seconds indicated by the watch, at the same time requesting the owner of the latter to verify the number. To the result thus obtained is then added A's birthday, that is day of the month, the number of the month in which he was born and finally the number of his birth card, which he has been told before the experiment. For this purpose A is told to look for his birth card in the Table No. 3 and to put down its tabulated number. This having been done, the spectator is requested to divide the total by 52, (the number of weeks in the year). The quotient obtained is to be disregarded, only the remain- der to be kept and marked R, so that when the performer has occasion to refer to R later on, the spectator will linow what is meant To R, the gentleman is told to add the name of the century, which for a few years to come will be 19. The result obtained is to be divided by 4 (four seasons of the year). To the quotient thereby obtained R is to be added. The result of this addition is to be divided by 120 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 5 (the number of one's senses). This will result in a quo- tient, which say is 8 and a remainder, which we suppose, is 3. The performer then requests A take the third card in sign 8 of the Zodiac, and to his utmost astonishment, the specta- tor finds it to be the very card of which he thought. If a number of persons say, twelve, each having a different birth day, birth month, birth card and thought card, partici- pate in the experiment and at the end of it, each person finds his card at the place, where the final quotient and re- mainder indicates, the result will simply dumbfound them, especially if they are people above, what may be called, ordi- nary intelligence. In order to undeceive my reader as quickly as possible, I beg to state that the pack of cards used is prearranged in the order set forth in Table No. 5, but as the cards are sub- jected to a thorough but False Shuffle and Cut by the per- former and also are repeatedly cut by the company, no one will have the slightest idea, that the cards are laying in a certain order. Another point to be added to the deception of the spec- tators, is that the conjurer in distributing the cards in heaps of four in the Zodiac, begins, in the sign decided by the throw of the die, which really is an unprepared one. Of course one can dispense with the die, it being used for the effect only, the idea to create the impression of chance com- bined with astrology being at the bottom of this mystery. It is for this reason, that I have placed in parenthesis, be- hind each numerical dictation, a plausible reason for the division or addition, and cannot too strongly urge my readers to resort to these expedients, thus misleading the company as much as possible from the true secret of the feat. ' ''But how about the number of minutes shown by the watch, that you dictated to me, when you performed this experiment for my benefit" some of my personal, profess- ional friends will ask: Ah! there is the rub, my friends, when I distributed the cards in the Zodic, I secretly looked at the bottom card of division 13, technically known as the Sun NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 121 Card and then without being observed, referred to the Table No. 5 which I had written on a small card and palmed in my hand. Supposing that the Sun Card was the Ten of Clubs. FIG. 68. Quickly finding the Ten of Clubs in Table No. 5, I noticed the number (21) behind it, kept this in mind and dictated it to you a moment later as the number of minutes or sec- onds. " TABLE NO. 5. The Nine of Clubs (face downwards) is the top card of the pack. 9 C. 2 9 S. .41 9 H. .28 9 D. .15 JD. . 1 J C. .40 J S. .27 JH. .14 •^K H .52 KD. .39 KC. .26 KS. .13 2H. .51 2 D. .38 2 C. .25 2 C. .12 4 S. .50 4 H. .37 4 D. .24 4 C. .11 6 C. .49 6 S. .36 6 H. .23 6 D. .10 H D. .48 8 C. .35 8 S. .22 8 H. . 9 10 H .47 10 D .34 IOC. .21 lOS. . 8 QS. .46 QH. .33 QD. .20 QC. . / AS. .45 A H .32 AD. .19 AC. . 6 n c. .44 3 S. .31 3 H. .18 3 D. . 5 5 D. .43 5 C. .30 5 S. .17 5 H. . 4 7 H. .42 7 D. .29 7 C. .16 7 S. . 3 As the watch is borrowed, the performer notices if the number of minutes or hours agrees with the number indicat- ed by the Sun Card. Sometimes both correspond, some- times the watch lacks a minute or two, in which case the conjurer occupies the required amount of time by dictating 122 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. all the other numbers first. If neither the hour nor the minutes will furnish the desired excuse for the dictation of the number of the Sun Card, the performer waits until the second hand approaches the right number. Then showing- the watch to the gentleman from whom it has been borrowed, the conjurer exclaims : ' 'The seconds are twenty -one, are they not?'' and by that time, the second hand having arrived at twenty-one, the gentleman therefore corroborates the per- former's statement. The only thing that still remains to be explained is the figuring out of the birth card. This is also easy, for all that is required is to double the number of the month in which the person is born, then add to this the day of birth and subtract the total from fifty-five. Example: Birth card for the 5th of April (4th month). Double number of month, 2 X 4= 8 Add the day of the month, 84-5=13 Subtract total from 55, 55 — 18=42 42, according to Table No. 3, is the Two of Hearts, which is the birth card. Another example: December 10th (12th month). 12x2=24 24+10=84 55— 84=21=Eight of Clubs. Last example: June 24th (June is the 6th month). 6x2=12 12+24=86 55— 86=19=Six of Clubs. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 123 I shall next give several examples of the entire process of figuring, knowing that they will materially assist my readers in learning the experiment, which is not nearly as difficult as it appears at first glance. Date of person's birth, February 9th; ergo, birth card, Two of Hearts, or 42. The Thought Card 27, the Ace of Spades. Sun Card, Six of Spades (36 minutes). Multiply Thought Card by 33=981 Add month of birth, " Days of Week, Planets, " Minutes, '' Birth Card, - '' Birthday, '' Month of Birth, 2 49 36 42 9 Divide by 52 weeks, 52 J 1030 1 19 52 510 468 42=R. Add Century, 19 Divide by 4 seasons, 4 j 61=15 Add remainder, +42 Divide by 5 senses, Remainder, 5 i 57=11 Sign of Zodiac. 55 2 No. of Card in Sisrn. 124 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. Second example: Date of Person's Birth, July 15th. Thought Card 49, Ten of Hearts. Sun Card, Five of Hearts (4 minutes. ) Thought Card, 49x33=1617 Add Birth Month, 7 7x7 - 49 Minutes, 4 Birth Card, 26 Birthday, 15 Birth Month, 7 Divide fcy 52 Weeks, 52 J 1725 [ 33 156 165 156 9=R. Add Century, 19 Divide by 4 Seasons, 4 J 28=7 Add Remainder, 9 Divide by 5 Senses, 5 J 16=?3==SigTi. 15 Remainder, l=Card. ^ NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 125 THE CABDS, COINS AND GLASS. iFTER a tumbler and a pack of cards have been subjected to close examination, the glass is placed on the table, the pack of cards being then laid over the top of it, thus shutting out all access to the interior of the glass. The conjurer borrows a few coins, usually half dollars, and proceeds to pass them through the cards into the glass, into which the coins are seen and heard to drop. Several years ago, the effect was accomplished by the use of mechanical packs, which however of late years has gone out of fashion, owing to the greatly simplified methods of performing the trick that have been invented since then. FIRST METHOD. ]HIS FORM of the trick is the simplest imaginable, a description of it being given here, for the sake of completeness only. After having placed the glass on the table, the conjurer obtains from the servante or from his pochette, a half dollar, which he vsecretly places on the bottom of the pack, holding the latter by one of its ends with the top card turned towards the com- pany, the coin being held on the rear side of the pack by the thumb, the fingers resting on the other side of the pack, 126 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. which the performer now places on the glass Fig. 70, slip- ping the coin between the edge of the latter and the cards. The whole is next covered by a handkerchief, apparently to make the trick the more difficult, but in reality to prevent the spectator from seeing where the coin comes from, when it falls into the glass. The conjurer then borrows a half dollar and pretends to transfer it from the right hand into the left, really retaining it in the right, with which he seizes his wand placing it on the end of the pack opposite to the one under which the coin is concealed. Holding the closed left hand above the pack, he suddenly opens it and hits the upper end of the wand a gentle tap whereby the end of the pack holding the coin against the glass, tilts up and releases the coin, which drops into the glass and is removed by the performer, who after substituting for it the coin he has palmed, returns the latter to its owner. SECOND METHOD. The plan employed in this version of the trick is a very ingenious one indeed. In one of the cards of the pack, previous to the perfor- mance, four slits A B and C D, are cut with a sharp pen- knife. The distance between B and C must be adapted to admit of a half dollar being placed into the slits, as shown in Fig. 71, being held neither too loosely or too firmly. The card and coin thus prepared is placed in the second one from the bottom of the pack, which may now be freely spread out, fan like, and shown from both sides, the performer ex- ercising a little care not to expose the prepared card. Just before placing the pack on the tumbler, he removes the bot- tom card and places it on the top of the pack. Taking the borrow coin, and pretending to place it in his left hand, in reality keeping it palmed in the right, with which he seizes the wand, he holds the latter in a vertical position, its lower end resting on the pack. The closed left hand then strikes the upper end of the wand a quick blow, causing the pack to bend inward a trifle, thereby forcing the concealed coin NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. . 12\ out of the slits, causing it to drop visibly and audibly into the tumbler with very pretty effect. The left hand as it strikes the wand is opened and shown to be empty. FIG. 72. Our second diagram Fig. 72, shows a plan by which two coins are held by the slits A B, C D, E F, G H, made in the 12^ . NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. bottom card. By this method one coin at a time is made to apparently drop through the pack into the tumbler under- neath; the performer for this purpose applying the lower end of the wand to one end of the pack and dislodging the coin held there, afterwards moving the wand to the other end and releasing the second and last coin in a similar manner. THIRD METHOD This version of the trick differs materially from the methods just described, as during the course of the trick the magician stands at some distance from the glass and while in this position, invites a spectator to come forward FIG. 73. and examine cards, glass and coins, proving the absence of preparation. The table on which the tumbler is placed must be either a regular conjuring table with a bellows or box top or if the latter is not available, a parlor table with a partly open drawer may be used. Pace downwards on the table lies a card, the back of which is painted the same color as the table top. To the edge of this card is attached 'a black silk thread A, Fig. 73 about fourteen inches in length, which is firmly tied to a small ring C, to which also is secured a black, elastic cord B, the end of which is fastened to the in- side of the table or table drawer. To set this combination of thread, ring and elastic, the latter is drawn out to its NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 129 full tension, and prevented from flying back by the needle C, which is driven partly into the top of the table. To the eye of this needle is fastened another thread D which is either passed behind the scenes to the assistant or may be secured to the performer's wand, which is lying on the table. After having borrowed, two half dollars, which for the sake of better effect he causes to be marked, by the owners, the performer apparently places them in some conspicious place, where they may be seen until the moment they are required. What he has done however, is to substitute for the borrowed coins two of his own, keeping the original ones concealed in his hand. Having shown the glass and cards, he places the latter directly in front of the prepared card on the table and, hold- it in such a way that the spectators cannot see behind it, he secretly places the palmed coins beside each other on the prepared card and then places th e cards on it. He now^ picks up the pack and prepared card and with them the coins, placing them evenly on the glass. Taking the other two coins, which the spectators believe to be the borrowed ones, he makes the pass with them and pretends to throw them into the glass. At this moment, the thread D must be pulled, either by the assistant or by the performer himself, with the attached wand, thereby pulling the needle out of the table top. This releases the ring E and the elastic, with great rapidity, recedes within the table, carrying with it ring, thread and card P, which is so quickly jerked from below the pack that the coins underneath, on account of their in- ertia, do not accompany the card, but fall directly into the glass. As all preparation has vanished into the interior of the table with the elastic, the performer generally requests some spectator to come up and inspect cards, glass and coins, which are, by the marks on them, identified as the the borrowed ones. CS2 130 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. THE HALVJEI) CABD. OR this excellent trick, in which a destroyed card is m magically restored, the performer prepares him- ihid self by previously cutting a card, say the Six of Diamonds, into two parts, one of which he discards, concealing the other part (B, Pig. 82) about his person. After having forced a duplicate of this card (A, .Fig. 83) ♦ f FIG. 82. he places the pack on the table, using this opportunity to secretly obtain possession of the half card B, which he places on the selected card, the two presenting the appear- ance indicated in Fig. 83. Holding both cards well to- gether, he takes a pair of scissors and cuts A in two, follow- ing exactly the line of B. The upper part of A is given in charge of some one and the double half card shown from both sides. B is then substituted for the lower half of A, by means of the Excelsior Change. The upper half of A and the part B are then matched, and found fitting together, ap- parently proving that they are really portions of the same card. Part B is now destroyed by setting fire to it, and then apparently restored by exhibiting in its stead the lower half of the original card A. Those of my readers who do not mind a little extra ex- pense or trouble, can bring the trick to a more sensa- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 131 tional close by dropping the palmed half of A on the ser- vante, from where it is removed by the assistant, who takes it behind the scenes and quickly encloses it in an envelope, which he seals and encloses in a second larger envelope, sealing this, and so on, until the half card is contained in a nest of six or more envelopes. This set of envelopes he hands to a District Messenger Boy, who is in waiting and who quickly runs out of the entrance of the theatre and, en- tering from the front of the house, hands the nest of en- velopes to the spectator to whom it is addressed. The gentle - FIG. 83. man, at the conjurer's request, opens one envelope after the other and, inside of the innermost, discovers half of the card A, which exactly fits the other half in his possession. While the assistant is occupied in getting the envelopes ready, the performer, by dint of a little by- play, fills out the necessary time by burning B and causing its ashes to disap- pear. If this additional effect, of using the Nest of Envelopes, 132 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. is introduced, it is advisable to have the gentleman who se- lects the Six of Diamonds, place a private mark on each end of the card, so that at the linish of the trick, there can be no lingering doubt but that the restored half is really part of the card originally chosen. THE PHOENIX. IHE admirable trick of this name resembles in effect and principle the trick just described. After a card has been selected, the performer places it aside and proceeds to tear off a corner of the card, which had best be a court card, say the King of Diamonds. Then handing the very same corner and the card to another spectator, he requests him to take charge of the corner until it is wanted. This card itself is then placed on an unpre- pared china plate and set on fire by a spectator or the per- former, who previously begs the spectator to compare the corner with the card, which are found to match exactly. After the card has been consumed by the flames, the con- jurer places the ashes in any piece of apparatus, say for in- stance the Card Box and closing it, gives it to a second spec- tator to hold. The burnt card is now commanded to become completely restored, the box is opened and the performer's wishes found to have been obeyed. Instead of the ashes placed in the box, is found the original King of Diamonds minus a corner. The card is passed to the spectator who retained the corner and they are found to fit exactly. In order to be able to perform tiiis capital trick, it is necessary to have a duplicate King of Diamonds, from which the upper corner has been previously torn and de- stroyed, as it is not required in the course of the trick. The card itself is secreted in the pochette or any other^easily NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 133 accessible place on the person of the performer, who thus prepared advances with the pack and adroitly forces the second King of Diamonds. In the act of placing the pack, for which there is no further need, on the table, he obtains possession of the card concealed in his pocket, palming it face downwards, in the right hand. Receiving with the left hand the selected King of Diamonds, he places the right hand over it leaving the palmed card on top. Holding both as one card, he deliberately tears off a corner of the selected King, carefully following while doing so, the exact form of the tear in the other card. Handing the piece just torn off to a spectator, he shows the double card, which the com- pany believes to be only one, and then making the Excelsior Change, exhibits the duplicate King of Diamonds in place of the chosen one. The corner may be safely applied to this duplicate card, without any danger of the substitution being suspected. The duplicate card is then burned as described, the palmed original card be found in any place optional with the conjurer. % The Lost Ace. iPTER introducing a pack of unprepared cards, the performer removes the four Aces from it and lays them on the table in plain sight. The remaining cards are then handed to a spectator with the re- quest to convince himself that no duplicate Aces are con- tained therein. After this has been done, the conjurer picks up the four Aces and requests the gentleman to shuffle them into the pack. Upon asking the spectator whether he is sure that he has the Aces in his possession and being an- swered in the affirmative, the performer reaches into his pocket and produces from there the Ace of Diamonds, which, upon inspection of the pack, is found missing. 134 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. Previous to the introduction of the trick, the artist re- moves from the pack the Ace of Diamonds, which he places in the tail pocket of his coat. The cards laid on the table consist of three Aces and the Nine of Diamond, which is ♦ ^ ♦ 4 ,.♦ ♦li FIG. 85. used as a substitute for the missing Ace of the same suit. To conceal the side pips of this card, the Ace of Clubs and Ace of Spades are made to cover it, as indicated in Fig. 86. By a little practice this can be done in an apparently care- less manner of arranging the cards on the table, and finally placing the Ace of Hearts over them. FIG. 86. The trick then proceeds as described, the four cards (supposed to be four Aces) being shuffled into the pack, after which operation, the Ace of Diamonds having vanished from the pack, is produced from the performer's pocket. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 13o Thought Foretold, ]HE performer commences the experiment by hand- ing to a spectator a sealed envelope, with the re- quest to take charge of it until it is wanted. He then introduces a piquet pack of thirty- two cards and, after shuffling it, divides it into four heaps of eight cards each, arranging these heaps on a tray, over which a borrowed handkerchief is then spread. Turning his back to the tray, the conjurer invites another gentleman to remove from underneath the handkerchief, any one of the four heaps and retain it in his possession. After his request has been complied with, he turns around, seizes the gentleman's hand and, while pretending to read his thoughts, proceeds to write on a blackboard the names of the cards contained in the selected heap. He then asks for the return of the envelope, which he opens and from which he removes a slip of paper, also bearing the names of the eight cards that were chosen. The cards used have been prearranged. Every eighth card is a trifle wider than the rest. After having given the pack a False Shuffle, the performer makes the pass at a wide card and diVides them into four heaps on the tray. In doing so, he secretly obtains a glimpse of the bottom card, and from that can easily calculate the names of the cards contained in each heap. After one of these heaps has been removed from the tray, he can easily tell, by glancing at the tray, which packet is missing, the handerchief being sunk down in the place formerly occupied by the cards. Know- ing the names of them, thanks to their prearranged order, he proceeds to write on the blackboard the names of the cards. The envelope contains a slip of paper on which are written the names of the first eight cards of the prepared I)ack, and also a second smaller envelope, which again con- tains another slip with the names of the next eiglit cards and a third, still smaller envelope. This is 'similarly ar- 136 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. ranged, containg a third slip and a fourth envelope, with a slip bearing the names of the last eight cards. Owing to this peculiar arrangement, the conjurer has it in his power to produce from the envelope or envelopes, as the case may be, any one of the four slips. Supposing the first eight cards to have been chosen, he simply opens the first envel- ope and, neglecting the envelope within, removes the- slip, which he hands to a spectator, requesting him to read aloud the list of cards thereon. The envelope and its contents, in this case, are carelessly thrown aside. If however, the third set of cards has been chosen, the performer would open the first envelope, pay no attention to the slip it contains, but would remove the second envel- ope. Opening this one and ignoring the slip it contained, he would take the third envelope, from which he would remove the slip only, placing the last envelope shown aside, as if it were of no further importance. THE PIERCED CABt). ALTHOUGH the effect of this trick, upon perusal of the explanation, appears to be simple, it is, never- theless, one of the most mysterious of modern, or rather modernized, card tricks. In the first place, the performer is securely blindfolded, after which a gentleman selects any card from the pack, then, taking possession of it, he replaces his card, shuffling them as much as he pleases. The pack is then returned to the conjurer, who carelessly throws it on the table, spread- ing out the cards promiscuously with his hands. A spectator is then asked for the loan of a penknife, which is opened and handed to the performer, who grasps it dagger-like and, circling with his hand above the cards. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 137 suddenly drives the point of the knife into one of them. Re- questing the gentleman who selected the card to name it, he turns up the knife with the card still adhering to it and shows it to be the one selected. The secret of the solution of this trick, which simply dumbfounds the spectators, is as usual, simplicity itself. The conjurer, himself, folds the handkerchief, which is to be placed over his eyes, taking care that the folds are not too wide, so that when he is blindfolded by it, he can easily see underneath it, by glancing in a downward direction. The idea of the performer being able to see under the blindfold, never seems to strike the spectators, whose only care is usually to select a handkerchief of a texture sufficiently close to render it opaque when folded. This having been done, the conjurer asks for the cards, which are handed to him and allows a gentleman to select any card that he wishes, requesting him to show the card to the rest of the company, to avoid all possibilities of a mistake being made. While his wish is being complied with, he gives a sharp bend to the cards in his possession, and handing them to the gentleman, asks him to replace the card himself and after doing so to shuffle the pack thor- oughly. No matter how much the pack is shuffled, the per- former upon receiving it, can easily discover the chosen card, it being the only straight one in the pack. He glances under the blindfold, while asking some one to furnish him with a knife. After he has located the card, he brings it to the top by means of the pass and then throws the pack on the table, immediately spreading it out thoroughly, using both hands, taking care to keep the chosen card in view. The finish of the trick then proceeds as already described, the conjurer impaling one of the cards, which turns out to be the one previously selected. By slightly modifying the process, the effect of the trick can be greatly increased by having three cards chosen and piercing and displaying them successively. For this purpose a somewhat different method is adopted- After the 138 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. cards have been selected and are returned to the pack, which the conjurer himself holds, he makes the pass at a suitable moment, thereby bringing the cards to the top and after palming them off by means of the Buatier Palm, allows the pack to be shuffled. Upon its return, he secretly re- places the palmed cards and spreads them on the table, ar- ranging it so that the three cards are not situated suspic- iously near one another, taking excellent care however to remember their exact location. He must also bear in mind, which one of them is the first card, which one the second etc. The trick in this form, requires considerable audacity and address on the part of the performer, who will certainly be amply repaid for his trouble in mastering the trick, by the great impression its performance creates. THE CARD BOX. NE of the most useful accessories in Card Conjuring is the Card Box, Fig. 87, which is invaluable for causing cards to appear, vanish or change into others. To all appearances, it is but a plain FIG. 87. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 139 box of polished wood, consisting of the parts A and B, hinged together, either of which will serve as top or bottom of the box. The inside is usually blackened; but there is another part, not noticed by the spectators, and that is a very thin slab, C, of blackened wood, nicely fitting the in- side of the box, and which is held in place by one of the fingers, as the performer freely shows the open box from both sides, inverting it to prove that it contains nothing. We will suppose for an illustration, that in B lies a card, face downwards, being hidden by the slab C. The box thus prepared, may be freely shown, apparently empty, as de- scribed above, and then closed by means of lid A. (This, at least, is the method usually adopted, although I, myself, let A form the bottom of the box and adroitly close prepared side B on it as the cover, by which process, I dispense with the necessity of turning over the box.) In placing the closed box upon the table, or giving it to some person to hold, the box is secretly turned over, so that B is now up- permost. The false slab C falls into A, causing the con- cealed card to be revealed when the box is opened. By using a reverse process, the box is made to serve for the vanish- ing or changing of cards. The Mechanical Card Boor, |NOTHER excellent contrivance, by the aid of which cards are made to vanish, appear or change, is the Mechanical Card Box, depicted in Fig. 88. The superiority of this box over that just described, lies in the fact that the Mechanical Box, after being shown emp- ty, is held and closed by a gentleman, who, after opening it a minute later, discovers in it the card that the performer 140 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS, desired to have appear. The spectator is then invited to inspect the box and fails to find any indication of trickery in it construction. FIG. 88. A (Fig. 88) represents a slab, pivoted in the bottom cor- ners of the box. At this place, hidden by the wood-work, is inserted a coiled watch spring, which is fastened to one of the pivots of A, tending to force the slab against the back of the box. To set the apparatus for the trick, the card de- sired is placed on the real bottom of the box, and by push- ing a pin through a minute hole from the back of the box, the slab A is pushed inward as indicated in the diagram and folded down on the bottom of the box, where a catch B springs into place, preventing A from flying back to its nor- mal position on the back of the box. The box, thus prepared, may be shown empty with im- l^unity, and in this condition is handed to a gentleman with the request for him to lock it and close it himself. In doing so the slot D in the cover engages and slightly moves latch C, which in turn causes catch B to move within the woodwork of the box, thereby releasing A, which by means of the spring at one of its pivots, noiselessly folds up against the back of the box, its upper edge being hidden under a slight projection of the box proper, so that now the NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 141 apparatus may safely be passed for inspection with no dan- ger of detection. THE BRASS CABU BOX. SIMPLE but excellent Card Box is that shown in Fig. 89. It is made of sheet brass throughout^ presenting the appearance of a plain box without a top. A card is visibly placed into the open box, which is instantly inverted. The card drops out, but is found to have changed into an entirely diiferent one. The principle used in the making of this novel box is the same as that of the trick box just described, except that in the present apparatus the top of the box and all springs and catches are dispensed with. There is a false bottom pivoted in the corners, which, by means of a small metal tongue protruding from the rear side of the box, can be noiselessly folded against the back of the box or let down from the latter on the real bottom. The tongue is operated by the fingers of the hand, while holding the box, and cards are made to appear, change or disappear entirely. Good use can be made of this box in spiritualistic per- 142 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. formances, where it will do excellent service in exchanging question slips for duplicates previously concealed in the box. The apparent simplicity in the construction of this piece of apparatus recommends it for work of a similar char- acter. The Neiv Brass Card Box, HONJURERS, who desire something especially neat, ^ novel and clever in the way of a Card Box, will do well to purchase the New Brass Card Box, illus- trated in Fig. 90. This box is made of metal throughout and is just large enough to contain a card. It is FIG. 90. scarcely an inch in heighth, thus making it appear as if there w^as no chance for trickery in the construction. Yet, when a -card is placed into it and the box closed and given to spectator to hold, he will, upon opening it, find that the card has either vanished or changed into an entirely differ- ent one, according to the arrangements of the performer. The secret of the trick lies in the fact that there are really two boxes, B and C, neatly nesting and connected by NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 143 the same hinges to the lid A, which is of such shape as to fit very snugly into part B. Previous to performing the trick, B, which is nearly of the same depth as C, is placed in the latter and the box may, in this state, be freely shown. After the card has been placed in B, the box is closed, press- ing A into B, in which it becomes firmly lodged. The box is then handed to a spectator, who, upon opening it, takes A and B to be one, thereby disclosing C, which may be either empty or contain a card, into which the card placed in B is supposed to have been transformed. The Vanishing Of Thought Cards. 'N THIS rather neat trick, several cards, that the spec- tators have mentally selected from a number of cards, spread out before them, are caused to mysteriously disappear. The secret of the trick lies in the preparation of the cards, which are double-faced, one side of the pack showing twenty-six certain cards, while the other side shows a sim- ilar number of different cards. Spreading out the cards be- fore the eyes of the company, the conjurer requests several persons to note and bear in mind, any of the cards they see. In order to cause the cards to vanish, he simply closes the the pack and turns it over, without being observed, then spreading the cards again. As an entirely different set of cards is thus presented to the spectators, they are unable to locate their respective cards among them. 144 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. X BAYS FIRST METHOD. Pl^jj^ROM a pack of unprepared cards, a number, say ^R§(|^ nine, are selected and placed, by their several hold- ^jM^^ ers, into opaque envelopes, which are then sealed. The closed envelopes are then collected on a plate or tray by a volunteer assistant, who, at the performer's re- quest, hands him any one of the envelopes, w^hich the con- jurer places to his forehead and instantly tells the name of the card contained therein. The envelope is then opened by a spectator, and is found to contain the card the per- former predicted. The contents of the remaining envelopes are next read in the same apparently miraculous manner, the performer, with his usual love of the truth, attributing the experiment to the use of the celebrated Roentgen Rays. FIG. 91. The envelopes used are perfectly white on the outside and blue on the inside, whereby they are rendered opaque. Eight of them are marked after a plan shown in Pig. 91, the marking consisting of a small dot on the face of the envel- ope. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 145 The dot on the first envelope is placed in the upper left hand corner, the dot on the second one in the middle of the upper edge, the third in the upper right hand corner, etc., the last (ninth) envelope being devoid ot a mark. For each envelope the conjurer has memorized the name of a playing card, as, for instance, the Nine of Clubs for envelope number one, the Ace of Diamonds for envelope number two, etc. These nine cards are picked out of the 4 ♦ 'a 1 ♦ '^ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦. 1 ^J FIG. 92, FIG. 93. pack and are then placed on top of the latter. The marked envelopes are placed in a corresponding order, on top of a packet of similar, but unprepared, ones. Thus equipped, the conjurer allows the pack to be shuffled, previously palm- ing the nine cards from the top and replacing them, without being observed, after the pack has been returned. *He then makes the pass and forces the nine cards on different spec- tators, noting, as he goes along, the order of the persons selecting the cards. He next takes the heap of envelopes and distributes the nine uppermost ones in exactly the same rotation as the cards were forced. Each spectator is told to insert his card and seal it, and all of them are collected as described. All the performer does, in order to become ac- quainted with the names of the cards enclosed in the envel- opes, is to note the position of the mark near the edge, for the cue to the card contained therein. SECOND METHOD. In this vastly improved form of the preceding experi- 146 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. ment, the conjurer is securely blindfolded and, as a further handicap to his clairvoyant powers, the nine envelopes are covered by a handkerchief, before being given to him. Des- pite these apparently insurmountable difficulties, he predicts, with unfailing accuracy, the name of the card that each en- velope contains. The difference in the modus operandi of the trick con- sists in the manner of marking the envelopes, which are pricked with a fine needle instead of being dotted with the ink. This pricking raises a sligh protuberance, which is made more prominent and more lasting by being touched with the tiniest drop of mucilage, which, when dry and hard, causes the mark to be easily detected by the fingers. Otherwise, the trick proceeds in exactly the same man- ner as described in the last method, with the addition of the blindfolding of the performer and covering of the envelopes. As the conjurer does not require his sight for this form of the trick, the blindfolding does not affect him; while, so far as the covering of the envelopes is concerned, their marks can be read through the texture of the handkerchief, the tiny projection being easily felt and interpreted. ^ TUB BALANCBU CABD. IN THE course of some trick, in which the performer has occasion to use a silk hat, he demonstrates that he ^Jll is a juggler as well as a magician, by taking a select- ed card and balancing it in an upright position on the crown of the hat, then going among the company continu- ing to balance the card in this position. The card is then removed and together with the hat passed for inspection. As usual the secret is a very simple one. To the upper button of the conjurer's vest is tied a blonde human hair NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 14' about sixteen inches in length. To the lower end of this hair is attached a very small pellet of adhesive wax. After a card has been chosen, the performer, on his way to the stage, obtains possession of the waxed end of the hair and secretly presses it against the middle of the upper end of the selected card, which he stands upright on the center of the crown of hat, holding it in such a manner and at such a dis- FIG. 94. tance from his body, that the hair is drawn taut, the card leaning slightly towards the spectators, Pig: 94. As the hair is practically invisible to the naked eye, especially in the evening, the performer can safely venture among the company, allowing them to witness the mysterious feat, at close quarters. Seizing the card, and quickly detaching the wax with his fingers, allowing the hair to drop, he passes both card and hat for inspection. For the sake of clearness the hair A in our illustration, is shown much heavier than it is in reality. 148 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. THE LIGHTNING CHANGE, pHOWING two cards, the Six of Clubs and the Jack of Hearts, the performer places the first, face downwards upon the table and invites a spectator to place his hand on the card, to prevent it, as he explains from being conjured away. The conjurer then seizes the Jack of Hearts and with a rapid movement of the hand, changes it into the Six of Clubs. The gentleman is asked to turn over the card, upon which his hand rests, and finds it to be the Jack of Hearts. FIG. 95. FIG. 96. The properties necessary for the performance of this novel trick, consist of a double faced card, one side of which is the Six of Clubs, and the other side the Jack of Hearts. Over the court card side of this card, he places an ordinary Six of Clubs, so that he can take both cards and holding them in such a way to appear as one card, show them from both sides. Replacing them on the pack, he takes the un- prepared Six of Clubs and the double card, turning the court card side of the latter to the company. Holding the prepar- ed card between the index and middle finger of the right hand, he transfers the unprepared Six of Clubs to this hand also, seizing it by the thumb and first finger, so that it is in front of the prepared card. The names of the two cards are called out once more and the Jack of Hearts is apparently placed on the table, but instead however, the Six of Spades is thrown down back uppermost, while with the same move- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 149 ment the double card remaining in the hand is quickly turn- ed around, so that the side representing the Six of Clubs is turned towards the spectators, thereby creating the impres- sion that the card on the table is really the Jack of Hearts. As the trick is now practically done, all that remains for the performer to do, is to command the cards to change, at the same time quickly turning around the prepared card so that the court card side of the latter again faces the company. The Card Servants . |N MANY tricks with cards, it is necessary that a pack of cards after having been examined and shuffled, is to be exchanged for a pack prearranged or otherwise prepared. To accomplish this neatly, has so far been a rather difficult matter, but since the introduction of the FIG. 97. Card Servante, Fig. 97, the task of exchanging packs has b ecome a comparatively easy one. The apparatus is sim- 150 1 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. plicity itself, consisting in the main of a metal rim A, to which is sewn a rather shallow bag of black cloth. To this rim is attached a flat strip of metal, to which is ri vetted a spring clip B. By means of a sharp point protruding from the rear of A, the apparatus can be quickly attached to the back of a suitable chair, by pressing the sharp point into the wood- work of the upper part of the frame. In clip B is inserted the pack of cards, which the conjurer intends to substitute for the examined one in the course of the trick. To do so, he proceeds in the following manner: Holding the pack with the right hand, he seizes with the same hand, the upper part of the chair in such a way, that the thumb alone is visible, the rest of the fingers being hid- den by the back of the chair. The left hand at the same moment, seizes the seat of the chair, which is set to one side, as if it were in the conjurer's way. During this operation, the pack of cards is dropped from the right hand into the bag of the servante, the right hand, at the same time, removing the duplicate pack from the clip B, the change being unobserved and accomplished with ease. Some Card Servantes are made with two spring clips, one at each end of the frame A, so that a second change of packs can be made by the use of the same apparatus. In order to render these changes still more unnoticeable, the Servante is attached to the back of a chair, which has a cane back and behind which there is seemingly no chance of concealing anything. To accomplish this result, the wily conjurer has simply to render the caning opaque, by tacking over the rear a piece of black velvet, behind which he at- taches his Servante in the usual manner. This very ingen- ious way of preparing the back of a chair, can be used to great advaniage in other conjuring tricks. It is impossible to detect the preparation at a slight distance, as a trial on the part of my reader will easily demonstrate. ^ NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 151 BAPin TRANSIT, ij^T^OR the performance of this clever trick, it is neces- ^ sary that the performer should place a duplicate of a certain card, say the Six of Spades, in the pack. After having successfully forced one of these two cards, he invites a spectator to step forward and assist him in the experiment about to follow. The gentleman is first requested to empty the inside pocket of his coat and to place the selected card into the now empty pocket. While the ^« # # # ♦ ♦l FIG. yb. gentleman is. doing this, the conjurer secretly palms the du- plicate Six of Spades and, addressing the spectator, exclaims : ' 'Upon second thought, I think it will be best if we replace your card in the pack!" at the same time reaching into the spectator's pocket and appearing to remove the selected card, he really takes out the palmed Six of Spades, which, after showing, he replaces in the pack. Commanding it to vanish, he "ruffles" the pack and asks the gentleman to feel in his pocket, to which the card, to all appearances, has re- turned. THB CARDS AND THE ORANGE TREE. [HE following trick, although requiring but little dexterity and being of a rather simple nature, nevertheless invariably creates a pretty effect, es- pecially if introduced in an assembly where ladies predominate. 152 . NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. On the. conjurer's table is seen a flower pot, containing a plant, to which are attached four oranges, each of which is suspended by a different colored ribbon, or to each of which a small ribbon rosette is pinned. The performer next introduces an ordinary pack of cards, requesting each of four ladies to select a card. Each one is requested to tear her card into small pieces, which are collected on a plate by the performer, who requests each lady to retain one of the torn pieces to aid her in remember- ing her card. The remaining pieces are loaded into the Magic Pistol, which is discharged at the orange tree. The oranges are cut off and placed on a plate by the performer, who invites each lady who selected a card, to choose one of the oranges. They are asked to open the fruit, and in it discover their cards, fully restored, with the exception of the retained piece, which is found to fit exactly. My reader has no doubt surmised by this time, that the four selected cards were forced and identical with those con- cealed in the oranges previous to the trick. To properly introduce a card into an orange, the button or bloom is care- fully removed and a rolled up card (in this case minus a cor- ner) is inserted. Afterwards, the bloom is easily replaced by the use of melted beeswax. The pieces torn from, or out of , the cards, the performer conceals about his per- son in easily accessible places. It then becomes an easy matter for him to apparently hand to each lady one of the pieces of her card, as if taking it from the plate, but in re- ality giving her a palmed substitute. The conjurer must bear in mind the order in which the cards are forced, as well as the disposition of their respective corners, so as to be able to force the corresponding orange at the finish of the trick. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 158 CARD, RING AND RIBBON. >^^NTRODUCTIVE to the trick proper, the performer bor- rows from some one a plain gold ring, which for safe ^ keeping he places in a piece of apparatus, say the Watch Box or Rattle Box. The box is then laid on an inverted tumbler, so that it will remain in full view of the audience during the entire experiment. Requesting a lady to choose a card from a pack offered to her, the conjurer takes this card and in it with a penknife cuts three holes ABB FIG. 99. Fig. 99; and then suspends the card between two chairs by means of two ribbons previously attached to each. The rib- bons are for this purpose, passed through holes B B of the card and then secured with knots. He next introduces a narrow ribbon of about twelve inches in length and after threading it through the round hole A in the center of the card, ties its two ends together, forming loop E as shown in the diagram. Retreating to some distance from the suspended card, the artist commands the ring to leave the box and to appear 154 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. in the lower end of loop B, upon which the ring is seen to suddenly appear. The box is then opened and found empty. Tearing the card from the two ribbons by which it is sus- pended, the performer takes it to the person who loaned him the ring, requesting him to identify his property, and to remove it himself from the loop, proving that there is no trickery about card, ring or ribbon. In the first place, the apparatus into which the ring is placed, is ingeniously constructed in such a manner that when the performer with his left hand places the ring into the box, the right hand, a moment later, removes it from the other end of the box, which can be secretly opened and closed, without showing a trace of preparation. Having once regained possession of the ring, which the spectators fancy safe enough in the box on the inverted tumbler, the conjurer suspends the card by the ribbon and by means of a small pellet of adhesive wax, secretly attaches the palmed ring to the rear side of the card encircling the hole A as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 99. In passing the ribbon through the hole A, it is passed through the ring as well. After having formed the loop E, the performer secretly slips over the ring a loop, tied in the end of a fine, black silk thread. This thread, previously arranged, leads to the floor and passes through a staple, directly underneath the suspended card, and from there to the assistant, sta- tioned behind the wings or a screen, as the case may be, and who, at the proper moment, gives a quick pull to this thread. By this operation, the loop in the end of the thread slips between the ring and card and severs the wax, causing the ring to slide by its own weight to the lowest part of the loop. If the conjurer has no assistant, he can pull the thread himself, by tying the end to the wand, which should lie on the table. When commanding the ring to appear on the loop, he seizes the wand and, making a sudden gesture with it, accomplishes the very same result, as if an assistant were employed. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 155 A simpler, but inferior, method of dislodging the ring, is to hit the suspended card a sharp rap with the wand; the ring is thereby loosened and drops to the lower end of the loop. The Conjurer' ^8 Prediction, [HREE spectators are each requested to think of a card, after which the performer successively seizes each person's hand and asks him to think intently of his card, looking him in the eye, as if fathoming his r^houghts. Stating that he has in this way successfully divined the respective names of the three cards, he proceeds to write their names on three slips of paper, which he rolls up and places in a glass. The three spectators are then asked to remove their cards from the pack, which being counted is naturally found to contain forty nine cards, which with three removed, makes a correct total of fifty two. The persons then place their cards in a small shallow box, held by the performer while the remain- der of the pack is placed on a second, inverted glass. The selected cards now disappear from the box, which is shown to be entirely empty, and reappear in the pack. The slips of paper in the first glass are opened and are found to con- tain the correct names of the mentally chosen cards. For the performance of this trick, the conjurer requires an assistant, stationed behind the scenes and who holds in readiness a number of slips of paper on which is written, " of Hearts, of Clubs" etc. Furthermore the per- former needs a card box, a pack of fifty two cards, arranged in a certain known order, and a duplicate pack, consisting of only forty nine cards. This pack is placed on the servante: lo6 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. and under the performer's vest or in his pochette are con- cealed three indifferent cards. After the three persons have each thought of a card, the conjurer makes a pretense of thought reading as described and then feigns to write the names of the cards on the slips of paper, which he rolls up and places in the glass. The spectators then remove their cards from the complete, prearranged pack, which the per- former immediately exchanges for the pack of forty nine cards on the servante. While the cards in the latter are be- ing counted, the assistant under the pretext of bringing in the Card Box, enters and while placing the box on the table, obtains possession of the cards on the servante and secretly carries them behind the scenes. Rapidly running over the cards, he notes the missing ones and fills in their values as for instance. King, Four, Nine, on the slips of paper lying in readiness. These he rolls up and brings out concealed in the hand, holding the second glass. During the time the pack has been counted and three chosen cards placed in the Card Box. Requesting the gentleman who has counted the pack, to hand it to him, the conjurer secretly adds the three vested cards, and places them on the second glass which is handed to him by the assistant, who manages, unobserved, to give him the rolled up slips of x^aper. The cards are now told to disappear from the box and to return to the pack, which is then counted proving the order to have been obeyed. All that now remains for the performer to do, is to ex- change the three palmed slips received from the assistant for the ones in the glass. This he can easily do in the act of handing them to a spectator, or by taking the slips out of the glass with the right hand and pretending to transfer them to the left, really palming them and at the same mo- ment showing the papers concealed in the left hand. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 157 HANDKERCHIEF AND CARD, |PTER having caused a handkerchief to disappear, the conjurer invites some one to select any card at random and give it to him. Then, showing the card from both sides, the performer holds it, by its upper edge, in a vertical position, and appears to slowly extract from it, the previously vanished handkerchief . The card is again given to the spectators, who can examine it closely and fail to see how a handkerchief could possibly be extracted from it. FIG. 100. For this very illusive eifect, the performer requires a small, flesh colored, pear shaped box (A, Pig. 100), having two flat parallel faces and an opening, B. Into the aper- ture B, located at the small end of the box, a silk handker- chief is pushed previous to the experiment, the box then be- ing concealed under the vest or in the pochette. While the 158 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. selected card is being inspected, the performer obtains pos- session of the box and secretly places it, with the aperture downwards, on the back of the card, holding it in place with one of the lingers. The lingers of the disengaged hand then seize the one corner of the handkerchief, which should protrude a trifle from the opening of the box, and gradually pull it from its hiding place with a mystifying effect. The box is then disposed of under cover of the pro- duced handkerchief, and the card yjassed out for exam- ination. Marvelou 8 Coineidenee, (HE excellent trick, that I am about to describe, de- pends upon the Mexican Turn Over. (See Sleights and the use of two prepared packs of cards). The cards in pack No. 1 have marked backs, while pack No. 2 consists of ordinary cards whose backs are made up entirely with Tens of Diamonds. Besides FIG, these, the conjurer has lying on the top of this pack two Tens of Diamonds, both having the same back as the cards in pack No. 1. By the aid of these two cards, the performer is enabled to show the pack No. 2 from the back and then NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 159 spread it face uppermost to show that the cards are ordinary ones. Apparently selecting a card at random from pack No. 2, but really taking one of the Tens from the top of the pack, the conjurer places it face downwards, on the table and states that this card is identical with the one that a spec- tator will draw from the pack No. 1, which is then handed to a gentleman, with the request to select a card and place it, also face downwards, on the table. As soon as he does so, the conjurer by glancing at the marked back becomes ac- quainted with the name of the card, which w^e will suppose to be the Queen of Spades. Running his eye over the cards FIG. 102. in pack No. 2, he quickly finds tlie Queen of Spades and takes it out, with the Ten spot side turned towards the com- pany. With this card, he turns over the Ten of Spades previously placed on the table, exchanging it however for the prepared card m his hand by means of the Mexican Turn Over, whereby the side representing the Queen of Spades in brought uppermost. With the unprepared Ten of Spades now in the performer's hand, the Queen of Spades placed on tiie table by the spectator is turned over, proving the per- former's statement that both were alike. Although cctnsiderable practice ought to be devoted to the acquirement of the feat, the effect on the company will amply repay the conjurer for the time spent in learning the trick. 160 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. Grand Card Maneuvre, jFTER removing from a pack of cards, all the court cards, the conjurer places the four Jacks on the top, and the four Kings at the bottom of the pack. The four Queens are covered by a plate, which is inverted over them, from under which they vanish, taking the place on top occupied by the four Jacks. The artist after introducing a second plate, which he also inverts, com- mands another transposition to take place.. Upon lifting the second plate, the Kings and Jacks are discovered under it, while the Queens are found to have returned to their or- iginal place under the first plate. The pack is freely exhib- ited and shown to contain no court cards whatever. For the performance of this clever combination trick the following properties are required: First. A soup plate of white china, constructed with a false bottom of cardboard, the lower side of which backed with newspaper, while over the other side, white glazed paper in imitation of china ware, has been glued. In exhibit- ing both sides of the plate, the conjurer holds the false bot- tom in position. FIG. 103. Second. A prepared, double newspaper containing an invisible trap door, Fig. 103, which by means of a simple mechanism may be turned from the left side over towards the right and vice versa. -.^ NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 161 Third. Two complete packs of cards. Fourth. Four cards which represent Kings on one side and Queens on the other. Prior to the trick, the artist conceals the Jacks and Kings of one of the packs, between the false and real bot- tom of the prepared plate, the four Queens of this pack are discarded, and the remaing spot cards are placed in the clip of a Card Servante, attached to the back of a chair. The four Kings of the second pack are hidden under the trap door of the newspaper and the four double car«ds are placed, King side uppermost, among the cards of the second pack. Having finished these necessary preparations, the per- former introduces the last named pack and after removing from it, the four King, (double cards) Queen and Jacks, pass- ing the remaining pack, consisting of spot cards only, for inspection. The Queens are placed on the newspaper, as shown in Pig 103 and are covered with an unprepared china X)late, under cover of which the performer releases the trap door, which turning over towards the right, covers the Queens and exposes in their place the previously hidden Kings. The Jacks are next placed oli the top of the pack, while the Kings (double cards) are placed at the bottom, being, however, reversed during the operation, so that later on, they seem to have vanished, the Queens having, to all ap- IDearances, taken their place. After the conjurer has exhibited the change that has occured, he again places the plate over the Kings on the newspaper and, under cover of it, reverses the trap door so that now the Queens are again visible. Then, taking the prepared plate, he inverts it on a second unprepared news- paper, thereby causing the false bottom to become released and drop down on the paper, thus exposing the hidden Kings and Jacks. After picking up the plate and the last named cards, a moment later, the conjurer passes both for inspection, leaving the false bottom of the plate lying un- noticed on the paper. All that now remains to be done is 162 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. to exchange the pack of cards for those in the clip of the Card Servante, on the back of the chair. THE NEW GENERAL CABn, ^OR the performance of this clever trick, a pack r^ non-indexed cards is required, the three cards consisting of on of the Six, Seven and Eight of After having given the cards a False Shuffle, the con- jurer forces the three top cards upon different persons seat- ed at some slight distance from each other, allowing each person to retain his card. Finally another card, say the King of Clubs is chosen (not forced) and returned to the pack, the conjurer slipping the little finger in the place where the card is inserted, ready to make the pass at a mo- ment's notice. Going to the spectator who has drawn the r ♦ ¥ 4 ♦ ♦ ♦ ▼ ♦ ♦ ♦ FIG. 104- FIG. 105. FIG. 106. Six of Diamonds, he requests him to replace the latter any- where in the pack, making ^he pass in opening the latter and allowing the card to be placed below the King of Clubs. In a similar manner, the Eight of Diamonds is made to occupy a position next below^ the Six, while the remaining card, the Seven of Diamonds, is placed directly above the King. Keep- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 16:-} ing the- finger on the Seven of Diamonds, the conjurer, at a suitable moment, makes the pass, so that this card now be- comes the uppermost one. Seizing this card and covering the odd middle spot with the thumb of the right hand, he turns to spectator A, who took the Six of Diamonds, and says: "Is this your card, sir:"' The person assents, where- upon the conjurer turns to spectator B, who drew the Eight of Diamonds, and shows him the same card, making it ap- FIG. 107. pear as an Eight by covering an imaginary spot with the thumb. Placing the same card, face downwards, on the extend- ed hand of spectator C, who took the Seven of Diamonds, the performer asks him to blow on tiie card, stating that it will change into the one he has chosen. Taking this card, and adroitly changing it for the King of Clubs now on top of the pack, the conjurer requests the fourth spectator to name his card. This done, he places the supposed Seven of Diamonds on the extended hand of spectator D and causes it to be transformed into the King of Clubs, by requesting the gentleman to breathe upon it. The Small Curd Fratne. FIRST METHOD. |NE of the best and most mystifying appliances to be used in connection with card tricks, is the small Card Frame or Sand Frame, which, although not of recent origin, is described here for the reason 164 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. that some of my readers may not be acquainted with, the de- tail of its construction. The Sand Frame (Pig. 108j consists of a frame proper, • in which the glass is fastened permanently, and a removable back occupying the space behind the glass. The frame, with the back in position, is first shown to be unprepared and, after being covered with a borrowed handkerchief, is given to a lady to hold. A card is then selected, placed in a FIG. 108. piece of apparatus, as, for instance, the Card Box, and com- manded to vanish from there and appear under the glass of the frame. The handkerchief is removed and the change is seen to have occurred. The back of the frame is then taken out and the card removed. The frame and cards are then inspected and, there being -nothing but the transparent glass and the frame itself, the construction of which shows no trickery, preparation seems impossible. The secret is a very ingenious one. The glass in the frame really consists of two sheets, sepg^rated by a small space, for reasons which will become apparent immediately. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 165 The sides and upper ends of these two glasses are hermeti- cally sealed, while the lower end is left open. This opening corresponds with a secret hollow space in the lower end of the frame, which is filled with fine sand which is of the same color (either white or black) as the removable back of the frame. Prior to the trick, a card is placed between the back and double glass of the frame, which is then turned upside down. The sand thereby leaves the cavity in the lower end of the frame and fills the space between the glasses, causing the frame to appear as if it were entirely empty. While the latter is being covered with a borrowed handkerchief, it is secretly inverted, whereupon the sand runs back into the hollow space, causing the concealed card to become exposed. In passing the apparatus for inspection, the conjurer exercises due care in preventing the frame from becoming accidentally turned upside down, thus betraying the secret of the trick. The best plan for the performer to follow in this, is to hold the frame in his own hand and, taking it among the company, show it from all sides. My readers will readily perceive how useful this clever contrivance will prove for the appearing and vanishing of selected cards, the beauty of the trick lying in the fact that, to the minds of the f pectators, there is apparently no chance for trickery in the simple construction of the frame, glass and back. One objection that I have found with most of the Sand Frames in use, is that they are too large and much too thick, which, besides giving them an ungainly appearance, is also sure to give the audience a clue to the modus operandi. To obviate these drawbacks, I have constructed frames which, besides being of a neat and dainty design (vide illustration) are hardly three- eighths of an inch in thickness, an advan- tage which will no doubt be appreciated by all conjurers who use the trick. SECOND METHOD. This version of the Small Card Frame Trick, is compar- 166 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. atively little known, and will therefore be of interest to most of my readers. The plan used is entirely different from the one employed in the first method. All parts of the apparat- us, that is frame, glass and back (which is kept in place by means of a pivotted cross piece) being taken apart at the end of the trick and passed for inspection. The card is previously concealed between the glass and back same as in the older form, differing therefrom, that in- stead of being hidden by sand, a removable curtain or a piece of cloth is used, the cloth, of course, being of the same color as the back of the frame. The upper end of this small curtain is stiffened slightly by having glued thereto a narrow strip of card board which protrudes a trifle at the back, coming out between the frame and back. In removing the handkerchief, with which the frame has been covered, FIG. 109. the conjurer seizes the protruding end of the curtain at the same time and carries it away with the handkerchief, (Fig* 109) causing the concealed card to become exposecL^nd as NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 167 there is now no trickery about the apparatus it may be taken apart and passed for examination : While this is being done, the conjurer has ample time to remove and dispose of the curtain concealed in the borrowed handkerchief. My friend Mr. W. E. Robinson, who never touches a trick without improving it in some way, combines the cur- tain and sand idea making it answer for the successive ap- pearance of two cards. The method by which this result is accomplished is so clever and ingenious that my readers can not fail to admire it. The first card is made to appear in Frame, containing the sand, by means of the curtain just de- scribed. The apparatus is then taken apart and everything is shown to be free from preparation. To the outside of the back however is attached by means of adhesive wax, the second card that the conjurer desires to have appear. While causing the appearance of the first card and taking the frame apart, care is taken not to exhibit the card attached to the back, this side being downwards on the table when the ap- paratus is taken apart. In replacing the pieces, the conjurer first lays the frame, face downwards, on the table and then inserts the back, prepared side foremost. In the act of picking up the frame, he turns it over, keeping the back to- wards the company, causing the sand to run between the double glass. He can thus once more show the frame to be apparently empty. Then covering it with the handkerchief, under cover of which, the frame is inverted, the sand runs back into the secret space, thereby disclosing the second card. Grande CI air voy a nee Mysterieuse, iLTHOUGH the three versions of the trick that I am about to describe, resemble somewhat in effect "The Marvelous Coincidence" the methods employed are entirely different. For this reason I have selected a different title. 168 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. As in "Marvelous Coincidence" a spectator selects a card from a pack and places it on the table, whereupon the per- former lays another card beside it. Upon turning over both cards, they are found to be identical. FIRST METHOD. In this version of the trick, the conjurer hands the spectator a pack of cards with marked, backs, while he him- self has a pack, which is prearranged in a certain order, which he has memorized. The spectator is requested to select a card and place it face downwards on the table. As soon as this is done the performer who is near, reads the card by glancing at its marked back and judging as near as possible the position of the same card in his pack, makes the pass, thereby bringing the desired card at or near the top of the pack. By secretly glancing at the bottom card of the pack — thanks to the formula, he can tell the name of the top card which, if the first judgment has been correct, is the duplicate of the selected card. If not, the error can easily be corrected by another pass, bringing the duplicate to the top. All this is but the work of a moment, the performer seems simply to take from the pack any card that comes in- to his hand, (in reality the top one) and place it on the table. Both cards are then turned over by the spectator and are found to be of the same suit and value. SECOND METHOD. Instead of the spectator placing the first card on the table, as in the last method, the performer commences the experiment by laying down a card. The spectator then does the same, but with marked cards, which enable the conjurer to tell at a glance the card selected. Under the pretext of proving that his pack is unpre- pared, the performer spreads it out, thereby noting the po- sition of the card, the duplicate of which the spectator placed on the table. In closing the pack, he introduces the little finger just above the desired card and brings it to the top of the pack by means of the pass. Using this card, the NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 169 back of which he turns toward the company, he turns over with it the card he had previously placed on the table, ex- changing it, however, for the one in his hand by means of the Mexican Turnover, with which sleight my readers, by this time, are no doubt on familiar terms. With the card that he has just exchanged for the one previously in his hand, he really, without resorting to trickery, turns over the spectator's card and, as before, both are seen to be identical. THIRD METHOD. As the two packs of cards used during this experiment, are totally unprepared and, for that reason may be bor- rowed cards, this method is superior to the preceding ones. Both packs being devoid of preparation, the conjurer, a FIG. 110. true representative of his art, makes the most of the occa- sion by spreading out the cards and showing them freely. But, combining business with pleasure, he at the same time finds the Jack of Spades from both packs, and brings them to the top of one pack by means of the pass. He commences the experiment by placing on the table a card, which, needless to say, is the Jack of Spades. A spectator is then invited to select a card, and also to place it, without looking at its face, on the table. The performer takes the toj) card of his pack, that is, the second Jack of Spades, and with it turns over the spectator's card. At the same time, he maks the exchange by means of the Turn Over. Using the card that he has just substituted in his 170 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. hand, he really turns over with it the card he first selected and shows it to be the Jack of Spades, in conformity with his prediction. THE BBinOE OF CAUDS. |HE trick of this title is a rather singular one, as, in performing it, all laws of gravity are apparently set aside, the cards being spread out in the air, in the form of a bridge, presenting exactly the ap- pearance conveyed by Fig. Ill, which is an exact reproduc- tion of a photograph of the operation. Around the right FIG. 111. forearm of the performer is tied a thin, silk cord, under which is passed a black silk elastic cord, which is prevented from slipping through under the silk cord, by a small button or bead, fastened to its end. The elastic cord is then led up the inside of the right sleeve, over the back of the vest and down to one of the rear suspender buttons, to which it is securely attached. Besides this preparation, the performer wears, on the middle finger of his right hand, a loosely fit- ting ring, which is cut open to admit the elastic cord. Just before introducing the feat, the conjurer seizes the bead fastened to the elastic cord and, pulling outward, slips the elastic throug the opening of the ring, the bead pre- venting it from flying back into the sleeve- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 171 Taking the pack of cards in the left hand, palm up- ward, the performer places the latter hand on the inside of the open right. With the backs of the first and second fin- ger of the left hand, the bead, resting against the ring on the right hand, is seized; whereupon the left hand is moved away from the right, taking the elastic along with it. At the same time, the thumb of the left hand springs the cards, allowing them to escape, one at a time, causing them to ar- range themselves along the elastic, as shown in the illus- tration. The conjurer can now pass among the company, carry- ing the cards in this fashion and even permitting a specta- tor to select out of the bridge any card that he chooses. Finally, he closes up the pack and passes it for inspection, at the same moment, with the thumb of the right hand dis- engaging the bead from the ring. The elastic instantly re- cedes within the sleeve and the performer is at liberty to allow an examination of both hands, as well as the cards. In order that the opening in the ring may not be noticed, he secretly turns it, so that it is concealed between the sec- ond and third fingers. % THE CARDS AND MIRROR. »Jifl iN THIS trick, three cards are selected and are shuffled ^^ into the pack, which the performer throws against a mirror, All the cards fall to the floor, with the ex- ception of the three selected one, which remain attach- ed to the glass. Previous to the performance, the conjurer takes dupli- cates of the cards that he intends to force and after placing one of them, say the Queen of Diamonds on top of the other card, which we will suppose to be the Five of Spades, 172 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. passes a fine thread through the lower left hand corner of both cards. Above and below the cards a knot is made in the thread, which thus practically forms a rivet. The Five of Spades is now pushed over towards the right and the re- maining card, the Three of Clubs, is placed on the Queen of Diamonds and is secured by means of a second thread rivet to the lower right corner. To each of the upper corners of the FIG. 112. FIG. 113. FIG. 114. Queen of Diamonds, a fine thread or hair is then attached and connected with the Five of Spades and Three of Clubs so arranged as to hold the two end cards in a slanting posi- tion, suspended from the middle card the Queen of Diamonds. To the back of the Queen, a pellet of adhesive wax is then attached, whereupon the three cards thus prepared are vested. Three similar cards are now forced and are shuffled in- to the pack by the spectators. While they are occupied with this, the conjurer secretly obtains possession of the prepared cards, palming them and upon receiving the pack, unobservedly adds to it the three duplicates. He then throws the pack, waxed side of the preparer card foremost, squarely against the mirror, to which the Queen of Diamonds thereby becomes attached and the two cards fastened to its lower corners immediately arranging themselves upon either side of it, falling askant, being held by the hair attached to their upper corners. CS2 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 173 THE SPIRIT ENVELOPE. jLTHOUGH I have already given an explanination of this trick, in one of my other works, neverthe- less I repeat the description, as some of my pres- ent readers may be unacquainted with the trick, the effect of which is as follows: From a wire or ribbon, stretched across the room or stage, an envelope is seen suspended, which, if the conjurer de- sires, can be taken down and shown to be empty, before pro- ceding with the trick. An ordinary pack of cards is then examined by the spectators, who choose from it any cards they desire, the performer calling particular attention to the fact that he does not influence their choice in any man- ner. The performer cannot possibly be aware of the names of the cards that have been selected, and the persons taking the cards are requested to retain them. The conjurer then takes down the suspended envelope and, opening it, extracts a slip of paper bearing the correct name of every card se- lected. The only peculiarity of the suspended envelope, the back of which is turned towards the company, is that its front is covered with black satin of good quality, which is neatly glued thereon. In taking down the envelope for the purpose of showing it empty, the conjurer is careful not to expose the black, rear side. The pack used in the experi- ment, although an ordinary one, has been prearranged, ac- cording to some formula with which the performer is famil- iar. Therefore, when a card is drawn, he secretly glances at the next one and, knowing the arrangement, becomes ac- quainted with the selected card. By the wording of his re- quests to the different spectafors, he conveys to his assis- tant, behind the scenes, by a system of cues, the names of the chosen cards. The assistant writes them on a slii) of paper, that he has in readiness and quickly encloses it in a second envelope, prepared in exactly the same manner as 174 NEW ERA CAKD TRICKS. the one suspended on the stage. This envelope (E, Pig. 115) he places, black side uppermost, on a shallow metal tray, over the flat part of which has been glued black satin, the remaining part of the tray being japanned black. FIG. 115. While the conjurer is entertaining the company, the as- sistant quietly brings in the tray and places it on a chair or table. The performer then, picking up the tray, takes the suspended envelope and lays it, black side downwards, di- rectly on the invisible envelope, E, and picks up both envel- opes together, so as to cause them to appear as one. In re- placing them on the tray, he carelessly turns them over, whereby the second envelope, containing the slip, becomes the upper one. This envelope the conjurer opens and from it extracts the written slip as described. The original sus- pended envelope, the black side of which is now uppermost, remains unobserved on the tray, which a moment later is carried off the stage by the assistant. The Divination Of Thought. TRICK resembling in principle the preceding, although dependant upon a different principle, is the following: Introductory to the trick the per- former announces that he will write on a slip of paper the names of three cards that will be selected during NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 175 the experiment, as well as their numerical location in the pack. This slip he encloses in an envelope and gives it in charge of a spectator, and later on it is opened to prove the statement. For this the following preparation is necessary. In the first place the conjurer requires two similar envelopes, one of which is unprepared the other having an extra front containing a tightly folded slip of paper, so that, when held to the light, it apparently contains a slip of paper, although the flap may be opened and the envelope shown perfectly empty. It is concealed on the servante of the table, while the unprepared envelope, together with a pencil and a blank slip of paper, are placed on the table. The assistant, behind the scenes, has a small, very thin metal case, which is enamelled white and which is just large enough to easily admit a folded slip of paper. On each of the flat sides of this case a small quantity of adhesive wax is spread, with which later on to attach it to the prepared envelope. Furthermore, the assistant has in his possession a slip of paper, on which the following sentences are writ- ten, with the space for the numbers of the cards left blank: "The first gentleman will select the card, which is the Two of Diamonds. '" FIG. 116. FIG. 117 FIG. 118. card, "The second gentleman will decide upon the - which will be the Four of Clubs. '" ' 'The lady, however, will choose the card, the King of Spades.*' 176 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. The pack of cards used during the experiment is pre- pared by taking a dozen or more of the cards, the top three being the Two of Diamonds, the Four of Clubs a^d the King of Spades and laying them face downwards on the face side of the remainder of the pack. In introducing the experiment, the performer explains that, by the aid of a wonderful faculty of divination with which he is gifted, he will predict what will take place later, and then goes through the pretense of writing something on the slip of paper lying on the table. This he encloses in the unprepared envelope, immediately exchanging it for the prepared envelope, which is lying on the servante, and gives it to a lady to hold. He then invites a gentleman to tell him the number of a card, counting from the top of the pack, that he will choose; and, for this purpose, holds the pack with the three cards to be forced, at the bottom. The gentleman, being re- quested not to name too high a number, says, we will sup- pose, "The twelfth card. " Whereupon, the performer pro- ceeds to count off eleven cards from the the top, adroitly turning the pack over at this moment and exhibiting the card which is now on top (the Two of Diamonds), and places this, counting "Twelve,'' on the table. At the same time, the assistant behind the scenes, writes "Twelfth" in the blank space left for that purpose. Turning the pack into its original position, the conjurer, in a similar manner, forces the Four of Clubs and King of Spades, by requesting another gentleman and also a lady to call out a number and, counting, turns over the pack just before arriving at the number called, as before. The assis- tant, who hears the numbers chosen, fills in the blank spa- ces and, folding the slip of paper, quickly inserts it in the fiat metal case, which he secretly places on the servante of the table, while bringing in some properties for another trick. The performer obtains possesion of the metal box and palming it, secretly attaches it, by means of the wax, to the back of the envelope, which has now been returned to NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 177 him. He then opens the end of this envelope and, pre- tending to shake out the slip contained therein, really al- lows the slip to slide from the box, while the one in the double front of the envelope remains in its place, so that the envelope may be shown perfectly empty. Handing the slip to a gentleman, he asks him to read it aloud, and re- quests the three spectators, who selected cards, to state whether or not his prediction in regard to the number and name of the card has been correct. Mne monies Applied to Cards, CAPITAL introduction to a series of card tricks, consists of the instantaneous memorization, by the performer, of the order of a pack of thirty two cards, which has previously been shuffled by a spectator. This bona tide feat of memory can be exhibited in a variety of ways at the option of the performer, who takes the shuffled pack and simply glancing at every card, then turns away and proceeds to call off the names of the cards in the exact order in which they are lying. To make matters appear still difficult, he can even name them in the reverse order. For instance upon a spectator asking him, ' 'Which position in the pack does the Jack of Club occupy V" or "What is the name of the twelfth card from the top of the pack?" he immediately gives the correct answer. The effect of a performance of this kind, upon an intelligent audi- ence is excellent and never fails to bring forth rounds of sincere applause. As an article teaching the very interesting art of Mne- monics would be out of place in a book of card tricks: I shall confine myself to a brief description of the principles in- 178 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. volved, referring those of my readers who wish to go to the trouble of mastering the art, to some standard work on the subject. Mnemonics is a system, in which certain key words, perfectly memorized by the performer, are linked to other words or ideas that are to be memorized, so that in order to recollect the given word, the performer simply has to think of the key word that he has previously connected with it in the form of a short sentence. It is first necessary to learn the following table: l=t or d. 6 ch, sh, i 3 (soft) 2=n. 7 k, g, g, ng, c (hard) 3=m. 8 f , V. 4==r. 9 p, b. 5=1. 10 s, c, j (soft) By the aid of this easily mastered rule, a table of key words is constructed. The vow^els and silent consonants in key word signify nothing, vocalized consonants only being used. Thus "Tea'' the first word contains consonant T, which according to the rule, denotes 1. The consonant N, in the word hen represents No. 2 etc. Each person is strongly advised to construct a table of key words of his own, which he will be able to memorize much easier than a given table, nevertheless I have offered a table for the use of persons who do not wish to go to this trouble. TABLE. 1 tea, 9 bee. 17 deck, 25 nail, 2 hen. 10 dice, 18 dove. 26 niche. 3 may. 11 toad, 19 tube. 27 neck, 4 rye. 12 tin, 20 noose, 28 navy. 5 owl. 13 dime. 21 hand, 29 nib. 6 show. 14 door. 22 nun. 30 mace. 7 key. 15 tile. 23 name, 31 mat. 8 fay. 16 dish, 24 owner, 32 moon, etc. By studying the table a few moments, it will be per- NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 179 ceived that numbers suggest corresponding names, and the names corresponding numbers. Now for the thirty two cards, the following - words are to be perfectly memorized. Spades. Hearts. Clubs. Diamonds. 1. Ace, Tar, Tomato, Dark, Duck, 2. King, Negro, Napkin, Nun, Nude, 3. Queen, Mole, Meat, Mud, Moon, 4. Jack, Rat, Rose, Rubber, Ruby, 5. Ten, Licorice, Lemon, Lock, Lobster, 6. Nine, Shoe, Cheese, Steamer, Cherry, 7. Eight, Coat, Goose, Cap, Cob, 8. Seven, Fly, Fire, Funeral, Fox. It will be noticed, that all black cards, that is, the Spades and Clubs, are represented by black or dark articles, while the red cards, the Hearts and Diamonds are indicated by red or light objects. The words in connection with the numbers and names will have to be thoroughly mastered, so that to the performer any word will instantly and correctly suggest its card and vice versa. As an example we will suppose that the first five cards to be committed to memory are: The King of Hearts, (Nap- kin) the Eight of Spades, (Coal) the Queen of Diamonds, (Moon) the Jack of Clubs, (Rubber) the Ace of Spades (Tar. ) .These the performer links to his first five key words in about the following manner: I spilt some Tea (1) on my Napkin (K. H.) The hen was discovered among the Coal (8 S). In May (3j the Moon (Q. D. ) rises late. I have some Rye (4) in a Rubber (J. C.) bag. The Owl (5) was caught by means of Tar (A. S. ) In this fashion the remaining cards are to be memorized, the odd connection formed between the key words and the card words become for the time firmly im- I)ressed upon the mind, so that the performer with the nec- essary practice can readily execute the feats described. An effect which appears to be more difficult than the one previously mentioned, although requiring no extra trouble to perform, is the following: 180 NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. After the performer has looked over the cards, he ar- ranges them upon the table, backs uppermost, in four rows of eight cards each. A spectator is then requested to alter the positions of these cards as dictated by the performer, who then turns away from the cards and tells the gentleman to take, for instance, the fourth card in the first row and to place it the last in the second row. The card that oc- cupies this place is to be taken up and given the second place in the fourth row, etc., the artist continuing to dictate in this manner until the order of the cards has been en- tirely changed. The cards are now turned fjice up and it is seen that each row contains all the cards of one suit arrang- ed in the regular order from Seven to Ace. THE ACROBATIC CARDS. |PTER having borrowed a silk hat, the conjurer places it crown downwards upon the table. Pour cards are then chosen by different persons and shuffled into the pack by a spectator, who returns the pack to the performer. The latter places the cards in- the borrowed hat and, after having asked for the names of the selected ones, commands them to separate from the rest of the pack, which command is instantly obeyed by the four cards, which jump out of the hat, flying high into the air. They are then picked up and identified by their owners. ^ For this trick an apparatus is required, consisting of a flat metal box, which is just large enough to admit of four cards, duplicates of the ones to be forced during the experi- ment. To the middle of the upper edges of the box, is fas- tened an elastic, indicated, in position for service, by the white dotted line, E, in the drawing. This elastic passes in a downward direction, from one edge underneath therdcards. NEW ERA CARD TRICKS. 181 and upwards to the other edge of the box, to which it is se- cured. It is of such a length as to be stretched to its fullest extent when the cards are forced into the box. A hinged lever is attached to the side of the box, its upper bent end normally preventing the elastic from forcing out the cards. The box, which has been concealed on the person of the performer, is secretly introduced by him into the borrowed hat on his way to the stage, it being attached to the inside FIG. 119. leather band by means of two sharp hooks, soldered to the rear side of the box. This having been done, duplicates of the four cards in the box are forced and shuffled into the pack, which the conjurer then places in the hat. In order to cause the cards to jump out, he simply presses the lever, whereupon, the cards being released, are shot into the air by the elastic with considerable force. In the act of removing* the remaining cards from the hat, the performer detaches the box, concealing it under the cards and dropping it on the servante of the table at the earliest opportunity- 182 NEW. ERA CARD TRICKS. SINGULAB TRANSPOSITION. FIRST METHOD. SPECTATOR is requested to select two cards at random, to insert them in the middle of the pack, and finally to place it on the table. This being done, the performer states his intentions of pass- ing the two selected cards from the center to the bottom of the pack, by simply giving it a severe blow with the hand. No sooner said than done, for upon turning over the pack, the two cards are discovered on the bottom as promised. The secret of this very deceptive feat is simplicity its- self, a slight previous preparation being necessary. The conjurer has picked out the Seven of Clubs and Eight of ['♦ ♦ '« « ♦*♦ ♦ *! ♦ #1 74. 75. ♦ ♦; FIG. 76. FIG. 77. Spades, and placed them on the bottom of the pack, while he takes the Eight of Clubs and Seven of Spades, and placed them in the center, forcing them from there on a sp