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- Herausgeber: Edizioni Savine
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
“ … It is considered very bad ethics among the conjuring fraternity to expose even a single trick, and, while it is not necessarily harmful in itself to do so, it does, as a matter of fact, detract from the mystery of all the other tricks performed during the same exhibition. To explain, however, by private lessons or in book form how to do the tricks is taken by magicians in general to be perfectly legitimate and correct.
I have had the thought in mind these many seasons of writing a treatise which would be especially suitable for the beginner in magic, and which would embody a choice collection of tricks. This I have at last succeeded in accomplishing in the present work. The tricks explained herein have been selected from over a thousand in my own repertory…” (Raymond Dixie - 1922)
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THE BOY MAGICIAN
A large number of the latest and best tricks carefully selected for the rising generation of conjurers.
By
RAYMOND DIXIE
Ace of Magicians.
FULLY ILLUSTRATED
LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
BOSTON
Copyright, 1922
New digital edition
© 2021 - Edizioni Savine
FOREWORD
During the course of my professional career, which has covered a period of nearly twenty years, I have had the pleasure of performing before numerous audiences composed of boys and girls. Invariably they were keen to know how the tricks were done.
Now, it is considered very bad ethics among the conjuring fraternity to expose even a single trick, and, while it is not necessarily harmful in itself to do so, it does, as a matter of fact, detract from the mystery of all the other tricks performed during the same exhibition. To explain, however, by private lessons or in book form how to do the tricks is taken by magicians in general to be perfectly legitimate and correct.
I have had the thought in mind these many seasons of writing a treatise which would be especially suitable for the beginner in magic, and which would embody a choice collection of tricks. This I have at last succeeded in accomplishing in the present work. The tricks explained herein have been selected from over a thousand in my own repertory.
Before concluding, I want to say a few words as to the practice of magic itself. If you are really interested in it, you should buy whatever you need in the way of artifices, devices, and apparatus from makers of and dealers in magical supplies rather than try to make them yourself. In both America and Europe there are many such firms. Among the oldest houses are Messrs. A. W. Gamage, Ltd., Holborn, London, E. C. i., England, Messrs. Martnika and Co., 304 West 34th Street, New York, N.Y., and Petrie-Lewis Mfg. Co., 157 Valley Street, New Haven, Conn. For numerous other dealers I refer you to the advertisements appearing in The Magician’s Monthly, a journal of magic and mystery published by Messrs. Gamage, Ltd., as above, and The Sphinx, the official organ of the Society of American Magicians, edited and published by Dr. A. M. Wilson, 1007 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo., U. S. A.
R. D.
PART I - The Latest Card Tricks
Card tricks may be divided into four different classes which are first, those that use prepared cards; second, those that employ apparatus; third, those that require skill; and fourth, those that utilize, or pretend to utilize, memorizing systems, or mnemonics, (pronounced ne-mon' -ics, a word we get from the Greek mnemonikos, which means to remember, or to aid the memory).
CHAPTER I.
TRICKS WITH PREPARED CARDS.
THE PHANTOM CARDS.
This easy, simple, and wonderfully mystifying trick also goes under the name of Phantoms. It can be worked in two different ways, to wit: first, with a handkerchief, and second, with a hat.
The Handkerchief Effect. You hold five spot cards up to view, spread out fanwise as shown at A in Fig. i; then close them up and throw a handkerchief over them. On second thought you remove two cards, as at B, and at the same time you say, “And that leaves—?” (at this instant you shake out the handkerchief) “nothing!” The three cards have completely vanished as at C.
The Hat Effect. Again you hold the cards as at A and ask some one to think of three of them, and then drop them into a hat. This done, explain that you will remove from the hat the two cards that have not been chosen and, suiting action to the words, you take them out and replace them in the pack you are using.
The spectators naturally suppose that the three selected cards are still in the hat. You tap the crown with your fingers, look heavenward and say “Go!” in a psychological tone of voice, then turn the hat upside down and show that it is empty. The effect is truly startling. I know, because
I have done the trick a thousand times or more.
Presentation. Presentation is a nice word that magicians use when they wish to convey the meaning of “how a trick is presented to an audience.” Like nearly all good tricks, the secret of the Phantom Cards is simple.
To begin with, there are only two cards and both of them have spots on both sides. The first card on one side (called the front, or obverse side) shows, say, the Deuce of Spades, as at A in Fig. 2, and the other side (called the back or reverse side) shows, say, the Six of Clubs as at B.
The other and second card is the chief one that does the trick. The front, or obverse, side shows, say, the Five of
Fig. 1.—The Phantom Cards.
Spades as at C and the back, or reverse, side is printed with, say, part of the Eight of Spades, the Ten of Clubs, the Six of Spades and the Nine of Clubs as shown at D; this, of course, gives it the appearance of being four cards. The lower right-hand comer is left blank, so that when you hold the Deuce of Spades over it, it appears to the spectators exactly like a full hand of black cards as shown at E.
Now when you take both cards from the handkerchief or the hat you show the backs, or reverse sides of them, which no one has seen, and as they are not among those that the spectator has thought of he knows they are not those he has selected. As soon as you have taken the two prepared cards from the handkerchief, or the hat, replace them in the pack so that they will not fall into the hands of the curious who will speedily discover how the trick is done.
THE CHANGING-SPOT CARDS.
This is one of the best card tricks ever invented, and it consists of causing four Kings to change to four Aces and these to change to blank cards.
The Effect. The way it appears to the spectators is this: first you spread out the four cards fanwise and show that they are all Kings
Fig. 2.—The Phantom Cards.
then you pick up the Ace of Spades, place it back of the King of Spades, close up the cards, breathe gently on them (especially if you have a strong breath) and spread them out fanwise, when they will have all changed miraculously into aces.
Fig. 3.—The Changing-Spot Cards.
You next pick up a blank card from the table, place it back of the Ace of Spades, close up the cards again, breathe a little harder on them (unless you have been eating onions) and spread them out once more into a fan, when all of them will be blank cards.
Presentation. By referring to A, B, and C, Fig. 3, you will observe that the first three cards are, respectively, the Ace of Spades, the King of Spades and a blank card. You will also observe that D, E and F are prepared cards, that is, they are printed so that the upper left-hand corners are Kings, that the spots in the middle represent Aces, and the lower right-hand corners are blank.
Fig. 4.—The Changing-Spot Cards.
First, place the real King on top of the prepared cards and spread them out just enough to let the corners of the Kings show, as in A Fig. 4, when to the spectators it will appear that you have four Kings. Next, pick up the Ace of Spades, which you have previously left face-up on the table, and explain that you will place it directly back of the King of Spades; when you have done this, remove the King of Spades and lay it on the table.
Now right here is where you make the change of Kings to the Aces, and to do it you only need to turn the cards around, that is, so that the top edges will be at the bottom. Having done this, spread the cards out until each Ace spot shows, when all four cards will appear to be Aces as at B.
Lastly, say to the spectators that the result would be just the same if you were to use a blank card instead of the ace, that is, the cards would all be blanks. To prove it, you pick up the blank card from the table and place it back of the Ace of Spades, which latter card you lay on the table. Now close up the cards just enough to cover the Ace spots, when, as far as the eyes of the spectators are concerned, the cards have all changed to blanks as at C
THE ELUSIVE ACE.
This good little trick is also sometimes called Three Card Monte, but erroneously, for the latter is a sleight in which three perfectly good cards are used and, hence, it requires skill, whereas in The Elusive Ace the cards are prepared and it takes no dexterity to manipulate them.
The Effect. You begin the trick by laying the Ace, Deuce, and Trey on a table with their faces uppermost.
This done, ask a spectator to point out the Ace, when, much to his own surprise and that of the onlookers as well, he will be unable to do so, unless, of course, he is “in on” the secret of the trick. It is quite as baffling as picking the Ace in three card monte or pointing out the shell the little pea is under.
Presentation. Take a good glance at the cards shown at A in Fig. 5, and you will see that while the Deuce is a real card, both the Ace and Trey have false indices (the index being the letter or figure at the upper left-hand and lower right-hand corners of the card, and the word indices being the plural of index).
Now place the cards together with the Ace on the bottom, the Trey in the
Fig. 5.—The Elusive Ace.
middle, and the Deuce on top, and spread them out so that only the false indices on the Ace and Trey are covered, as shown at B; thus the spectators can easily see that each card is just what it purports to be. Close the cards together again slowly, and turn the ends with the false indices around so that they will be at the top ; then spread them out, when the false indices will be seen, as at C, and lay the cards in this position on the table.
Your next move is to ask the spectators to note the position of the Ace and to watch it closely. Close the cards together and lay them face downward on the table, being sure to have the false indices toward you. Of course the one the spectators thought was the Ace will be the Trey, and the fact that it is not the card they thought it was will confound them. When you pick up the card to show it, be sure to have your finger cover the false index.
THE GHOST CARDS.
This is a new and wonderfully clever trick. In England it is called The Ghost Cards, while I find here in the States it goes by the name of Papel Blanco, which is Spanish for paper white; reversed, it becomes white paper, though, as a matter of fact, the meaning it is intended to convey is that of white cards.
The Effect. The bald effect of the trick is that a number of court cards that are placed in a hat change into blank cards. To do the trick, you show four court cards to your audience and ask the members thereof carefully to note them and remember their names. Then you drop them into a borrowed hat, and bring forth each one in turn again to
show they are all there and that you have not changed them. After having satisfied the spectators on this point, you take out one of the cards “to make,” so you say, “it easier for those present to remember the names of the other three cards.” You ask that some one repeat the names of the three cards that remain in the hat, when lo! you produce them and show that they are entirely white!
Fig. 6.—The Ghost Cards.
Presentation. There are five cards used for this trick, one of which is a real Queen of Hearts, another, a doubleface card with four indices on it, and three blank cards. Before you start to do the trick, place the real Queen of Hearts, which is shown at A in Fig. 6, secretly, in your outside pocket. Now place the double-face card, the front, or obverse, side of which is shown at B, and the back, or reverse, side, at C, in front of the blank cards D and you are ready to do the trick.
The first thing on the list when you are going to perform the trick is to borrow a hat and lay it on the table, crown-side down. Next pick up the four cards with the doubleface card on top and keep your thumb over the face and the index of the Jack, or Queen, as the case may be, as shown at E, so that the spectators can not see that it is made up of half a Jack and half a Queen. Then riffle them, and count them aloud as each one slip past your thumb, in order to let the spectators know that there are four of them.
This done, drop the cards into the hat one at a time, being mindful that the faces of the blank cards are not seen. Now take the double-face card out of the hat and show it first as the Jack of Clubs, covering the face of the Queen with your thumb as I explained above; then throw it back into the hat and pretend to take out one of the other cards, but in reality pick up the double-face card again, and this time show it as the Queen of Hearts, which is on the other side of it.
Throw it back into the hat, and after looking into the hat a moment produce the double-face card and show it as the Queen of Clubs; again return it to the hat, look a little more into it, and bring it forth for the fourth and last time and show it as the Jack of Hearts. Again return it to the hat, but lay it so that you can pick it up and show it without having to turn it around.
Now ask a spectator to name the four cards which you have just shown, but before he can do so, reach into the hat and take out the double-face card and show it as the Queen of Hearts, explaining at the same time that this will make the trick a little easier to do. Put the double-face card into your pocket that contains the real Queen. After the spectator recites the names of the remaining three cards in the hat, ask him to examine them. He and the rest of the audience will have the surprise of their lives for, instead of being court cards, they will find them to be perfectly white. You can finish the trick by producing the real Queen of Hearts from your pocket.
A SIMPLE WAY TO FORCE A CARD.
This is not a trick that will stand by itself, but there are a hundred and one tricks where it is necessary to force a card, that is, to make a spectator take a card which you either wish him to take or must know what it is after he has taken it.
Magicians who are skilled in the art, of course, use an ordinary pack of cards and are able to force any card they want to, and the way they do this will be described in Chapter III. But if you are a beginner in the wonderland of magic, you can produce precisely the same effect without any previous practice or the slightest danger of failure.
That is, you can if you use a forcing pack of cards. A forcing pack consists of having all the cards in the pack alike, or, better you can have half of the pack of, say, the Trey of Diamonds, and the other half made up of the Queen of Clubs. Or you may go still farther and have the pack divided into four parts, each of which is made up of cards that are all alike.
In any event, you should have a real pack at hand, with the backs exactly like those of your forcing cards, and whatever you do, don’t let the latter lie around carelessly and get into the vulgar hands of the uninitiated.
THE WIZARD PACK OF CARDS.
To all appearances, this pack, with which you can do a large number of tricks, is an ordinary one consisting of fifty-two cards and the Joker. You can hand it to a spectator and, if he is not “in the know,” he cannot see that it is in any way different from an ordinary pack, and, further, you can use it to play cards with.
