{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 1, "folder": "", "text": "111\n.\n116"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 9, "folder": "", "text": "LATEST MAGIC\nBEING\nORIGINAL CONJURING TRICKS\nINVENTED AND ARRANGED\nBY\nPROFESSOR HOFFMANN\n(ANGELO LEWIS, M.A.)\nAuthor of \"Modern Magic,\" etc.\nWITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS\nFIRST EDITION\nNEW YORK\nSPON & CHAMBERLAIN, 120 LIBERTY ST.\n1918"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 10, "folder": "", "text": "1.665\nCopyright, 1918\nBx SPON & CHAMBERLAIN\n$ 180\nCAMELOT PRESS, 226-228 WILLIAM ST., NEW YORK, U. S. A.\nCIA506691"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 11, "folder": "", "text": "TO\nJ. N. MASKELYNE, ESQ.\nFOREMOST OF ENGLISH MAGICIANS,\nAND\nFEARLESS EXPOSER OF FALSEHOOD AND FRAUD\nTHIS Book IS DEDICATED\nBY\nHis FRIEND AND ADMIRER,\nTHE AUTHOR"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 13, "folder": "", "text": "PREFACE\nThe tricks described in the following pages are\nof my own invention, and for the most part are en-\ntirely new departures: not only the effects pro-\nduced, but the appliances by means of which they\nare produced, being original.\nFrom the nature of the case, it follows that few\nof the items described have been submitted to the\nsupreme test of performance in public, but all have\nbeen thoroughly thought out; most of the root-\nideas having in fact been simmering in my mind\nfor more than two years past. One or two of them\nmay demand a more than average amount of ad-\ndress on the part of the performer; but the ma-\njority are comparatively easy, and I believe I may\nassert with confidence that all will be found both\npracticable and effective. Should any of my mod-\nest inventions be found, as is not improbable, sus-\nceptible of further polish, the keen wits and ready\nfingers of my brother wizards may safely be\ntrusted to supply it.\nThe items entitled The Mystery of Mahomet,\nThe Bewildering Blocks, and The Wizard's\nvii"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 14, "folder": "", "text": "viii\nPREFACE\nPocket-book, have been described in the columns of\nan English magical serial, but have never appeared\nin book shape, and are by special desire, included\nin the present volume.\nA final word on a personal matter. Had I been\nprophet, as well as magician, when I first began\nto write on conjuring, I should have chosen a dif-\nferent pen-name. In the light of later events, my\nselection was unfortunate. My identity has long\nbeen an open secret, but as I cannot flatter myself\nthat it is universally known, I take this opportun-\nity to assure all whom it may concern that I am\nBritish to the backbone.\nLOUIS HOFFMANN."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 15, "folder": "", "text": "CONTENTS\nPORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR HOFFMANN\nFrontispiece\nPAGE\nPREFACE\nvii\nSOME New APPLIANCES OF GENERAL UTILITY\n1\nMagical Mats\n1\nFairy Flower-Pots\n5\nPatter Introducing the Flower-Pots\n8\nAdhesive Cards and Tricks Therewith\n10\nThe Missing Card\n12\nNOVEL APPLICATIONS OF THE \"BLACK ART\" PRINCIPLE\n17\nBlack Art Mats and Black Art Patches\n17\nA Magical Transposition\n23\nThe Detective Die\n26\nDissolving Dice\n32\nWhere is It?\n38\nCARD TRICKS\n46\nArithmetic by Magic\n46\nThose Naughty Knaves\n49\nMagnetic Magic\n55\nThe Telepathic Tape\n57\nA Card Comedy\n60\nThe Fast and Loose Card-Box\n63\nA Royal Tug of War\n64\nSympathetic Cards\n66\nTell-Tale Fingers\n68\nDivination Doubly Difficult\n72\nA New Long Card and Tricks Therewith\n77\nThe Mascot Coin Box\n83\nix"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 16, "folder": "", "text": "<\nPAGE\nMISCELLANEOUS TRICKS\n88\nMoney-Making Made Easy\n88\nThe Missing Link\n92\nCulture Extraordinary\n97\nThe Bounding Beans\n104\nLost and Found\n110\nThe Riddle of the Pyramids\n115\nThe Miracle of Mumbo Jumbo\n123\nThe Story of the Alkahest\n130\nThe Oracle of Memphis\n137\nThe Mystery of Mahomet\n146\nThe Bewildering Blocks\n156\nAn \"Od\" Force.\n162\nThe Mystery of the Three Seals\n170\nThe Wizard's Pocketbook\n.\n180\nCONCERNING PATTER\n192\nTHE USE OF THE WAND\n203\nA FEW WRINKLES\n215\n.\n222"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 17, "folder": "", "text": "LATEST MAGIC\nINTRODUCTORY\nSOME NEW APPLIANCES OF GENERAL UTILITY\nTHE little appliances to be presently described\nare the outcome of ideas which, after a long period\nof incubation in my note-books, have ultimately\ntaken concrete form in what, I venture to believe,\nwill be found to be practical and useful items of\nmagical apparatus. I may further claim that they\ncombine in an exceptional degree absolute inno-\ncence of appearance with a wide range of practical\nutility. Examples of their uses are indicated in\nthe following pages, but the inventive reader will\nfind that these by no means exhaust their possibili-\nties of usefulness.\nMAGICAL MATS\nThe first to be described are of two different\nkinds, to be known as the \"Card\" and \"Coin\" Mat\nrespectively. They are in appearance simply cir-\ncular table-or plate mats, with an ornamental\n1"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 18, "folder": "", "text": "2\nLATEST MAGIC\nborder as depicted in Fig. 1, and about seven inches\nin diameter. In the centre of each is an embossed\nshield, ostensibly a mere ornament, but in reality\nserving, as will presently be seen, an important\npractical purpose.\nFig. 1\nTo the casual observer the two mats look pre-\ncisely alike, but there are in reality important\npractical differences between them. The \"coin\"\nmat is covered with leather on both sides, and each\nhas the embossed shield, so that, whichever side is\nuppermost, no difference is perceptible to the eye.\nIn the case of the \"card\" mat the upper surface\nonly is of leather, the under side being covered with\nbaize. The object of this difference is that the\nexposure (accidental or otherwise) of the baize-\ncovered side of the card mat may induce in the\nmind of the spectator the assumption that the\nunder side of the coin mat is covered in the same\nway, such assumption naturally precluding the\nidea that it is reversible."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 19, "folder": "", "text": "MAGICAL MATS\n3\nEach mat has a secret space, after the manner of\nthe old \"multiplying\" salver, between its upper\nand under surfaces. The opening in each case is\nopposite the lower end or point of the shield before\nmentioned, so that, however the mat may be placed,\na glance at the shield will always furnish a guide\nto the position, for the time being, of the opening.\nFig. 2\nIn the case of the card mat the secret space (see\nFig. 2) is just large enough to accommodate three\nplaying cards, one upon another. The corre-\nsponding space in the coin mat (Fig. 3) is shorter,\nnarrower and deeper, being designed to receive,"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 20, "folder": "", "text": "4\nLATEST MAGIC\none upon the other, a couple of half-crowns, or\ncoins of similar size.\u00b9\nWhen required for use, the coin mat is prepared,\nshortly beforehand, by rubbing the whole of the\nspace within the ornamental border on one of its\nfaces with diachylon, in the solid form. The\nFIG. 3\ndiachylon is used cold, the necessary rriction melt-\ning it sufficiently, without any additional heating.\nThis treatment renders the surface of the mat, for\nthe time being, adhesive, without in any way alter-\ning its appearance. To make sure of its being just\nright, press a half-crown or penny down firmly\n1 Where coins of English denominations are referred to in the text,\nthe American wizard will naturally replace them by corresponding coins\nof the U. S. currency."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 21, "folder": "", "text": "THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS\n5\nupon it, turn the mat over, and wave it about\nfreely. If the coin adheres securely, the mat is\nin working order.\nTHE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS\nThese are, strictly speaking, only flower-pot\ncases, called in French cache-pots. They may be\nof leather or cardboard, ornamented on the out-\nside, but plain black inside, their general appear-\nFig. 4\nance being as shown in Fig. 4. They have neither\ntop nor bottom, and when not in use, can be opened\nout flat or rolled up as in Figs. 5 and 6, for greater\nportability.\nThe pair, when needed for use, are exhibited in"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 22, "folder": "", "text": "6\nLATEST MAGIC\nthe first instance as one only, the one within the\nother. The professedly single pot, after being\nproved empty by exhibiting the interior and pass-\n0\n0\nFIG. 5\nFIG. 6\ning the hand through it, is made into two, by sim-\nply drawing out the inner one. The duplication\nis not presented as a trick, the modus operandi"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 23, "folder": "", "text": "THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS\n7\nbeing self-evident, but it has a pretty effect, and\nthe exhibiting of the two pots as one in the first\ninstance admits of the presence, within the outer\none, of a secret pocket, open at top, as depicted in\nFig. 7, but folding down, when not in use, flat\nagainst its side.\u00b9\n0\no\n0\n0,\nFIG. 7\nThe main object of this pocket is to enable the\nperformer to \"vanish\" a card. The card to be\ngot rid of is dropped ostensibly into the flower-\npot, or rather, the pot being bottomless, through\nit on to the table, where, when the pot is lifted,\nthe spectators naturally expect to see it. It has\nhowever disappeared, having in fact been dropped\ninto the pocket, where it remains concealed. Two,\nor even three cards may on occasion be dealt with\nin the same way. By covering the pocket with the\n1 It is extremely difficult to construct the \"pots\" so that the pocket is\nworkable on the concave inner surface, but if they are made four, five or\nsix-sided the pocket folds against a flat surface and works perfectly.-ED,"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 24, "folder": "", "text": "8\nLATEST MAGIC\nfingers in the act of picking up the pot, the interior\nof the latter may be freely shown after their disap-\npearance.\nThe pocket, previously loaded accordingly\n(though the flower-pot is shown, to all appearance,\nempty), may also be used for the production of a\ncard or cards.\nPATTER APPROPRIATE TO THE FAIRY\nFLOWER-POTS\nThe flower-pots may be introduced as follows:\n\"Permit me to call your attention to one of my\nlatest improvements. Conjurers have a foolish\nfancy, as I dare say you have noticed, for borrow-\ning other people's hats. If a conjurer wants to\ncollect money from the air, he collects it in a hat.\nIf he wants to make an omelette, he cooks it in a\nhat. If he wants to hatch a few chickens, he does\nit in a hat. And, for fear of accidents, he never\nuses his own hat, but always borrows somebody\nelse's. It's very wrong of us. As Sir William\nGilbert says, about some other forms of crime,\n'It's human nature, P'raps. If so,\nO! isn't human nature low.'\nBut we all do it. The worst of it is, we get so in\nthe way of borrowing hats that we do it without\nthinking. You will hardly believe that one even-\ning I came away from the theatre with two hats."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 25, "folder": "", "text": "THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS\n9\nOne of them was my own. The other I had bor-\nrowed-from under the seat. You don't believe\nit? Well, I said you wouldn't. I always know!\n\"But that is not all. It isn't only the bad effect\non the conjurer's own morals, and sometimes on\nthe hat. People are SO careless. They do leave\nsuch funny things in their hats. Cannon balls and\nbirdcages; babies' socks and babies' bottles; rab-\nbits and pigeons, and bowls of fish, and a host of\nother things. And just when you are going to pro-\nduce some brilliant effect, you are pulled up short\nby finding some silly thing of that sort in the hat.\nIt's most annoying.\n\"So, after thinking it over, I made up my mind\nto do away with hats altogether. Of course I\ndon't mean for putting on people's heads, but so\nfar as conjuring is concerned, and it struck me\nthat a pretty flower-pot, like this, would form a\ncapital substitute.\" (Show as one, the combined\npots, inside and out.) \"Much nicer than a hat,\ndon't you think? It is prettier, to begin with, and\nthen again, you can see right through it, and make\nsure there is no deception. You see that at pres-\nent the pot is perfectly empty.\n\"But no! I scorn to deceive you. I am like\nGeorge Washington, except that I haven't got a\nlittle axe. I cannot tell a lie. At least it hurts\nme very much to do so, and I don't feel well enough\nto do it now. No! It is useless any longer to dis-\nguise it! The pot is not really empty, for you see"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 26, "folder": "", "text": "10\nLATEST MAGIC\nhere is another inside it.'' (Produce second pot.)\n\"You wouldn't have thought it, would you ? In\nfact, you would never have known, if I hadn't told\nyou.\n\"Of course I could keep on doing this all the\nevening, but there wouldn't be much fun in it, and\nno time would be left for anything else, SO I will\nproceed at once to make use of the pots for a little\nexperiment with cards.\"\n(Proceed with any trick for which the card mat\nmay have been prepared.)\nN. B. It will be taken for granted, in the\ndescription of tricks dependent upon the use of the\nflower-pots, that these have been already intro-\nduced, after the above or some similar manner.\nADHESIVE CARDS AND TRICKS THEREWITH\nI believe I may safely claim that the device I\nam about to describe was, until I disclosed it some\nmonths ago in the Magazine of Magic, an absolute\nnovelty. It consists in the preparation of one card\nof a pack (or, better still, of a spare card, to be\nsubstituted at need for its double), by rubbing one\nor other of its surfaces, shortly before it is needed\nfor use, with diachylon, in the solid form.\nWe will suppose, in the first instance, that the\nback of the card is so dealt with. The rubbing\ndoes not alter its appearance, but gives it a thin\ncoating of adhesive matter, and if another card is"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 27, "folder": "", "text": "ADHESIVE CARDS\n11\npressed against the surface SO treated, the two\nadhere, and for the time become, in effect, one card\nonly, viz., the one whose face is exposed, the other\nhaving temporarily disappeared from the pack.\nThis renders possible many striking effects. To\ntake an elementary example, let us suppose that\nthe old-fashioned flat card-box, or some other\nappliance for magically producing a card, is\nloaded with, say, a seven of diamonds. The cor-\nresponding card is forced on one of the company,\nand taken back into the middle of the pack, on\nthe top of the prepared card. The performer does\nnot disturb or tamper with the pack in the smallest\ndegree. He merely squares up the cards, and,\npressing them well together, hands them to be\nshuffled, meanwhile calling attention to the card-\nbox, which is shown apparently empty. He then\nasks the name of the drawn card, announcing that\nit will at his command leave the pack and find its\nway into the box.\nHe now counts off the cards, showing the face\nof each as he does so, and leaving it exposed upon\nthe table. The seven of diamonds has disap-\npeared, being in fact hidden behind the prepared\ncard, which we will suppose to be in this instance\nthe queen of clubs.\nLeaving the cards outspread upon the table, the\nperformer opens the card-box, and shows that the\nmissing card has somehow found its way into it.\nIn the hands of a novice, the trick might end at"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 28, "folder": "", "text": "12\nLATEST MAGIC\nthis point; but even a novice may very well carry\nit a stage further. To do so, he will in the first\nplace replace the card in the box, in such a manner\nthat it can be again \"vanished.\" In gathering\ntogether the outspread cards, he takes care to place\nthe queen of clubs on top of the rest. As this,\nhowever, is the double card, the actual top card is\nof course the missing seven of diamonds. It is\nan easy matter, in handling the cards, to detach\nthis from the queen of clubs, and, after a little\n\"talkee-talkee,\" show that it has left the box and\nreturned to the pack.\nThe above would, however, be much too crude\nand elementary a proceeding to commend itself to\nthe expert. In the trick next to be described the\nsame expedient is employed after a more subtle\nfashion.\nTHE MISSING CARD\nThe requirements for this trick consist of two\ncomplete packs of cards and an extra card, which\nwe will suppose to be the knave of diamonds. One\nof the two packs, which we will call A, has on top\na card made adhesive at the back as above\ndescribed, and its own knave of diamonds at the\nbottom. The other pack, B, is wholly unprepared.\nThe first step is to offer pack B to be shuffled,\nand when it is returned to palm on to it the spare\nknave of diamonds, after which the pack is left"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 29, "folder": "", "text": "THE MISSING CARD\n13\ntemporarily for the time being in view on the table.\nThe next step is to pick up pack A, and force from\nit the knave of diamonds, receiving it back on top of\nthe prepared card, passed to the middle of the pack\nfor its reception. Squaring up the pack and\napplying the necessary pressure, the performer\noffers it to be shuffled, meanwhile delivering him-\nself to something like the following effect.\n\"Before going further, ladies and gentlemen,\nI want you to remember exactly what has been\ndone. A card has been chosen from this pack. It\nhas been put back again, the cards have been\nshuffled, and you can all bear witness that I have\nnot touched them since. Nobody knows, except\nthe lady who chose it, what card she chose.\nWhereabouts in the pack it may be at this moment\nnot one of us knows, even the lady herself. I can\nassure you truthfully that I don't, but I propose,\nby force of magic, to compel that card, whatever it\nmay be, to leave that pack altogether, and pass into\nthe other one. Nay, more than that, I shall com-\npel it to place itself at any number in that pack\nyou like to name. What shall we say ? Seventh:\nGood.\n\"Now please bear in mind that that pack, like\nthe other, has just been shuffled, and that I have\nnot touched it since. It is therefore manifestly\nimpossible that I should know the position of any\ncard in it. Of course, as there is already a knave\nof diamonds in the pack, it is just possible, though"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 30, "folder": "", "text": "14\nLATEST MAGIC\nscarcely likely, that that card may have been\nshuffled into the seventh place. We will see.\"\nHe counts off cards from the top of the pack on\nto the table, faces down, not exposing any card till\nhe comes to the seventh, which he holds up so that\nall may see it. \"Now, Madam, is that your card?\nI don't want to know the name of it yet. It is not\nyour card I did not suppose it was, for the\nchances were over fifty to one against it, but you\nnever can tell!\"\nHe gathers up the cards counted off, and without\ndisturbing their order, replaces them on the top\nof the pack, thereby bringing the original top card\nto the seventh place.\n\"Now please observe that I do not touch these\ncards again till the miracle has actually happened.\nI will now ask you, madam, to be good enough to\nname your card. The knave of diamonds, you\nsay ? That is all right. Had you taken the knave\nof clubs, I should have feared for the success of\nmy experiment, for that knave always gives\ntrouble, if he can; but the knave of diamonds is a\nvery gentlemanly card, and I have no doubt that\nhe will readily oblige. Now, Percy (perhaps you\ndidn't know his name was Percy), I want you to\nleave the pack you are in, and place yourself sev-\nenth in the other pack. Go at once, like a good\nboy. Start at the top, and go straight down.\nOne. two, three, four, five, six, seven!\n\"I should think he has arrived by this time."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 31, "folder": "", "text": "THE MISSING CARD\n15\nLet us make sure first, though, whether he has\nreally left the other pack.\"\nPicking up pack A, he counts the cards slowly,\nnot looking at them himself, but showing the face\nof each before laying it on the table. \"Stop me,\nplease, if you see the knave of diamonds.\" He\ncounts, \"one, two, three, four,' and so on to the\nend. \"Fifty-one cards only! Then there is one\ncard missing, and as you have not seen the knave\nof diamonds, and as all the other cards are here, it\nis plain that it is he who has left the pack. We\nhave still to find out whether he has obeyed orders,\nand gone over to the other pack. You wished him\nto place himself seventh, I think. I won't touch\nthe cards myself. Will some gentleman come for-\nward, and count them off for me?\" (This is\ndone.) \"The seventh card is really the knave of\ndiamonds, is it not ?\n\"But, you may say, this might be the knave\nproperly belonging to this pack. Please look\nthrough the pack, sir, and if there has been no\ndeception you will find the proper knave in some\nother part of it. You have found the other knave ?\nThen you will admit that that proves clearly that\nthis first one is the identical card the lady drew.\"\n1\nIt would be easy to give other combinations\ndependent on the use of the adhesive principle, but\n1 A somewhat more elaborate trick of mine on the same principle\n(The Elusive Card) will be found described in the Magazine of Magic,\nVol. II, pp. 13, 47."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 32, "folder": "", "text": "16\nLATEST MAGIC\nthese may safely be left to the ingenuity of the\nreader. If the face, instead of the back, of a given\ncard be treated with the adhesive, that card will\nitself disappear from the pack. By due adjust-\nment two adhering cards may (the one slightly\noverlapping the other) be made to form a tem-\nporary long or wide card."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 33, "folder": "", "text": "NOVEL APPLICATIONS OF THE\n\"BLACK ART\" PRINCIPLE\nBLACK ART MATS AND BLACK ART PATCHES\nThe Black Art Table has long since established\nitself in the affections of the conjurer as one of his\nmost effective aids. At a stage performance the\npresence of one or more such adjuncts is almost a\nmatter of course, but the drawing room performer\nfinds many occasions when, for one reason or\nanother, the use of such an aid is precluded.\nSome wizards, as a matter of personal convenience,\ndecline to burden themselves with more artistic\nluggage than can be bestowed in an ordinary hand-\nbag. Others, again, hold (and not without rea-\nson) that the use of a special table, imported by\nthe performer himself, tends to discount the marvel\nof his show; as being suggestive of that \"prepara-\ntion\" which every artistic conjurer is anxious to\ndisclaim. It is no doubt an easy matter to arrange\na good enough programme for which the aid of\n\"black art\" is not needed, but this means the\nexclusion not merely of a valuable auxiliary, but\nof many of the most striking magical effects.\nI have pleasure in introducing to the reader a\nsubstitute which, though its capabilities fall a good\n17"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 34, "folder": "", "text": "18\nLATEST MAGIC\ndeal short of those of the actual table, will answer\nmany of its purposes, apart from special merits of\nits own, and which has the further recommenda-\ntion of exceptional portability. It may be appro-\npriately entitled the Black Art Mat. It consists\nof a piece of Bristol board of size and shape suit-\nable to the purpose for which it is to be used, COV-\nered on both sides with black velvet and edged with\nnarrow ornamental braid or binding. The one\nFIG. 8\nside has no speciality, but the other has a flat\npocket across one or more of its corners; as indi-\ncated in Fig. 8. In the case of a mat of small size\nthe pocket may extend diagonally from corner to\ncorner as in Fig. 9. The edge of the pocket may be\nbraided if preferred (the rest of the surface being\nornamented to correspond) but if the mat be well\nmade this is not necessary. The mouth of each\npocket is made slightly \"full,\" and is held open"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 35, "folder": "", "text": "BLACK ART MATS\n19\na quarter of an inch or so by means of a stiffening\nalong its inner edge. By having the millboard\nfoundation cut in half before it is covered, the mat\nmay be made to fold like a chessboard for greater\nportability.\nFIG. 9\nIf some small article, say a coin or ring, is laid\non mat just behind the mouth of the pocket, it may\nbe made to disappear therein, being in fact swept\ninto the pocket in the act of apparently picking it\nup. In the case of a coin, the pocket may by a\nslight alteration of procedure be used to effect a\n\"change\"; a substitute, palmed beforehand, being\nexhibited in place of the one professedly picked up\nfrom the mat.\nIt is desirable when placing the mat upon the\ntable for use to see that the mouth of the pocket\nis duly open and has not been, by any accident,\npressed flat, and SO closed."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 36, "folder": "", "text": "20\nLATEST MAGIC\nThe utility of the black art mat, however, does\nnot depend upon the pocket only. Its unbroken or\n\"plain\" side, or indeed a mat wholly without\npockets may also be very effectively used for van-\nishing purposes. In this case a little auxiliary\nappliance comes into play. This is a small velvet\npatch, serving as an \"overlay.\" It may be round\nor square, according to the purpose for which it is\nintended to be used. For coin-vanishing purposes\nit is best circular, and about two inches (or less,\nas the case may be) in diameter. The foundation\nis in this case a disc of thin card covered on both\nsides with velvet, in colour and texture exactly cor-\nresponding with that of the mat, under which con-\nditions the patch, when laid on the mat, will be\ninvisible. The exact similarity of the two surfaces\nis a point of the highest importance for black art\neffects, and the velvet used, if not actually silk vel-\nvet, should at least be of the silk-faced kind. Vel-\nvet which is all cotton will never give satisfactory\nresults.\nIf a coin be laid on any part of the mat the\nperformer has only (in the supposed act of picking\nit up) to lay the velvet patch over it to render it\ninvisible. If it is desired to reproduce the coin, a\nhandkerchief shown to be empty, may be laid over\nthe patch, and a moment or two later picked up\nagain, bringing away the overlay within it, and\nagain revealing the coin in statu quo. A practical\nexample of the use of this device will be found in"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 37, "folder": "", "text": "BLACK ART MATS\n21\nthe case of the trick entitled Lost and Found, post.\nAnother little device which will be found useful\nin connection with the black art mat is a cardboard\ndisc covered as above, to one side of which a coin,\nsay a half-crown or half-dollar, is cemented as in\nFig. 10\nFig. 10. Such a patch, laid on the mat, coin side\ndown, will attract no notice, but the mere act of\nturning it over will at any given moment produce\nthe coin. The \"change\" of a coin may be expected\nvery neatly by the aid of this device. Suppose,\nfor example, that the performer desires to retain,\nunknown to the spectators, possession of a marked\ncoin just handed to him. He lays it, to all appear-\nance, in full view upon the table, but as a matter\nof fact merely turns over a patch, loaded as above,\nalready on the table, the borrowed coin remaining\nin his hand.\nThe velvet patch may also be utilised in another"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 38, "folder": "", "text": "22\nLATEST MAGIC\nway for \"changing\" a borrowed coin. The per-\nformer, asking the loan of a marked coin, brings\nforward held in his left hand a velvet mat (of small\nsize) whereon to receive it; the right hand mean-\nwhile holding palmed against the second and third\nfingers the velvet patch, and between this and the\nhand a substitute coin of similar kind. Turning\n(to the left) towards his table, with the coin in full\nview on the mat, he (apparently) picks it up and\nholds it aloft with the right hand, placing the\nnow empty mat alone on the table. What he\nreally does is to lay the velvet patch over the bor-\nrowed coin and to pick the substitute in its place.\nThe original lies perdu on the mat, whence it is\nchild's play to gain possession of it at any later\nstage of the trick.\nThe process may be varied by placing the mat,\nafter receiving the borrowed coin upon it, at once\non the table, and a little later picking up the mat\nwith the left hand, then proceeding as above indi-\ncated. The advantage of this plan is that the turn\nto the table to pick up the mat masks for the\nmoment the right side of the performer and gives\nhim a convenient opportunity to palm the coin and\npatch, bestowed in readiness in the pochette on\nthat side.\nThe same principle may be applied with appro-\npriate modifications to card tricks. The idea of\nthe black ait mat is so completely a novelty that I\nhave not found leisure to give it the full considera-"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 39, "folder": "", "text": "A MAGICAL TRANSPOSITION\n23\ntion it deserves, and have probably far from\nexhausted its possibilities, but I offer by way of\nillustration the trick next following, which it seems\nto me would be rather effective, particularly as an\nintroduction to some other card trick. We will\ncall it\nA MAGICAL TRANSPOSITION\nPrepare two cards, say an eight of hearts and a\nseven of spades, by blackening all their edges save\none of the narrow ends,\u00b9 and backing each with\nvelvet matching the mat. Lay the two cards SO\ntreated face down with the white edge towards\nyourself on the mat at some little distance apart,\nor preferably on separate mats. Force corre-\nsponding cards on two members of the company\nand deliver an oration to something like the fol-\nlowing effect:\n\"We hear people talk sometimes about the\nquickness of the hand deceiving the eye. I sup-\npose such a thing must be possible, or nobody\nwould have thought of it, but it seems to me that if\nit did anything of the kind, either the hand must be\nextra quick, or the eye extra slow. I know I should\nbe afraid to attempt anything of that sort myself,\nbut if you are a magician of the right sort you have\nno need to do so, for you can deceive the eye with-\n1 Better still, thicken the under edge by the interposition between\ncard and velvet of a slip of white card, as described in The Detective\nDie, post."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 40, "folder": "", "text": "24\nLATEST MAGIC\nout any quickness at all. I will prove it to you by\nmeans of these two cards which have been chosen.\nPlease give me one of them. I don't mind which.\"\nWe will suppose that the card handed up is the\neight of hearts.\n\"Notice please what card this is; the eight of\nhearts. You can't possibly mistake it for any\nother card, can you? I will turn it down here on\nthe table. And now for the other card.\" (It is\nheld up that all may see it.) \"This one, you see,\nis the seven of spades. No mistake about that,\neither! I will lay that one here.\" The card is in\neach case laid upon the velvet-covered card of the\nopposite kind.\n\"Please don't forget which is which. There has\nbeen no quickness of the hand so far, has there ?\nNow I am going to make these two cards change\nplaces.\" (You touch each with the wand.)\n\"Presto, change!\" (Picking up the upper and\nlower cards exactly one upon the other you show\nwhat was a moment previously the eight of hearts,\nbut which now appears to be the seven of spades.)\n\"One card has changed, you see. And now for\nthe other.\" (You show the other pair after the\nsame fashion.) \"And here we have the eight of\nhearts. I will now order them to change back\nagain.\" You lay both pairs again face down.\n\"Now I again give the cards a touch with my\nwand, and say 'Right about! Change!' and now,\nyou see\" (showing the faces of the original cards),"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 41, "folder": "", "text": "THE DETECTIVE DIE\n25\n\"they have returned to their original positions.\n\"Now you will realise, if you think about the\nmatter, that those two cards couldn't in any nat-\nural way change places without your seeing them\ndo it, neither could the one change into the other.\nBut this is where magic comes in. What I really\ndid was to hypnotise you a little SO as to make you\nfancy, when I told the cards to change, that the\neight of hearts was the seven of spades, and that\nthe seven of spades was the eight of hearts. It's\nquite simple, when you know it, and you can see\nfor yourselves that the quickness of the hand has\nhad nothing to do with the matter. For my own\npart I like to do things slowly; the more slowly\nthe better, and then you can all see how it's done.\"\nThe trick is simple enough; but it will test the\nperformer's expertness as to neatness of execu-\ntion. He must be careful in the first place to put\neach of the drawn cards as exactly as possible on\nthe opposite velvet-backed card; and in picking up\ntwo cards together he should frame them, so to\nspeak, between the middle finger and thumb at top\nand bottom, and the first and third fingers at the\nsides. Held in this manner they rest squarely one\nupon the other and there is little fear of their\n\"duplicity\" (or \"duplexity\") being perceived.\nIn the act of again turning the double card down\nthe upper one should be partially drawn off the\none below it; this facilitating the picking of it up\nalone a few moments later.\n/"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 42, "folder": "", "text": "26\nLATEST MAGIC\nAn illustration of the use of the same device\nin a somewhat different form will be found in the\nitem next described, and in the trick entitled\n\"Where is it?'' post. Other ways of using it will\nsuggest themselves to any reader of an inventive\nturn.\nTHE DETECTIVE DIE\nThis is another of the new departures dependent\nupon the use of the velvet mat. Broadly stated,\nthe effect of the trick is as follows.\nOne of a group of six different cards laid out in\na row or rows repeatedly changes place with some\nother, the position which it occupies, or to which it\nhas moved, being indicated by the cast of an ordi-\nnary die. This may be repeated any number of\ntimes.\u00b9\nThe requirements for the trick are as follows:\n1. The Velvet Mat. This should be one with\na plain surface, diniensions preferably eighteen\ninches by ten, so as to admit of the six cards being\nlaid in one row. A smaller size, say twelve by\nnine, may suffice, the six cards in this case being\narranged in two rows. In either case there must\nbe a space of an inch or SO between each pair.\n1 Since the description which follows was written. it has come to my\nknowledge that there is already on sale a trick on somewhat similar\nlines in point of effect entitled The Educated Die. I need hardly say\nthat my own trick, so far as I am concerned, is absolutely original. The\nadvertised description of The Educated Die would suit either trick, but\nthere is little further resemblance between them."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 43, "folder": "", "text": "THE DETECTIVE DIE\n27\n2. Six cards of like denomination (say for the\npurpose of illustration six queens of diamonds),\neach backed with black velvet and blackened at the\nedges all around save at one end. Here the card is\nthickened by the interposition of a slip of white\ncard-board between itself and the velvet, so that the\ncard as viewed from that end shall show a clearly\nvisible white edge. Each card has all four of its\ncorners snipped off to a microscopie extent, say a\nsixteenth, or less, of an inch.\n3. An ordinary pack of cards one of which (in\nthe case supposed, the queen of diamonds) bears a\nmark upon its back recognisable by the performer,\nbut not conspieuous enough to be noticed by any\none else.\n4. An ordinary die and dicebox, or a champagne\ntumbler to be used in place of the latter.\n5. A tray or plate, about six inches in diameter,\nwhereon to throw the die.\n6. The wand.\nPreparation. Velvet mat on table, and laid\nupon it, face down in a row (or a double row, in\nthe case of a small mat), the six velvet-backed\ncards. These, SO laid, will be undistinguishable by\nspectators at a very short distance from the mat\nitself. Each is laid with its \"white\" end toward\nthe hinder part of the table, so that this shall be\nvisible to the performer when standing behind it.\nThe marked queen of diamonds is laid on the top\nof the pack. The die and dice-box, on their tray,"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 44, "folder": "", "text": "28\nLATEST MAGIC\nare laid on the mat, which may partially cover two\nor more of the six cards.\nPresentation. Performer, picking up the pack\nof cards with his right hand, transfers it to his left,\nleaving the queen of diamonds palmed in the right.\nPicking up the tray and its contents with the right\nhand and advancing with it, he offers the pack to\nsome member of the company, saying: \"Will you\nkindly look well over this pack of cards and satisfy\nyourself that there is nothing exceptional about\nthem; and when you have done SO give them a\nthorough shuffle. And you, Sir\" (handing tray\nand die to another spectator), \"please test this die\nin any way your please. Throw it as many times\nas you like. I want you to be quite sure that it\nthrows a different number each time, and that it is\nnot loaded, or 'faked' in any way.\n\"I don't like bothering people to examine things,\nfor in most cases it is a mere waste of time. But in\nthis case I have a special reason for asking. There\nis something about this pack of cards and this die\nwhich I myself don't understand; and I shall be\nmuch obliged to anyone who will help me to do SO.\nAs a matter of fact, these cards, though quite ordi-\nnary in other respects, are afflicted with a peculiar\nrestlessness. They change places without notice\nand without any apparent reason. If I were to\ntry to play bridge with them, for instance, I should\nfind as likely as not that my best trump had invis-\nibly left my hand and passed over to the enemy,"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 45, "folder": "", "text": "THE DETECTIVE DIE\n29\nwhich would naturally upset my game and get me\ninto trouble with my partner. The die is equally\npeculiar, but in another way. From some curious\neffect of sympathy it knows where a given card\nis to be found when I don't know myself.\n\"The only possible explanation I can think of\nfor their peculiarities is the fact that both cards\nand die were formerly the property of an old\nmagician, and that after his death they were shut\nup together for some years in the same box with\nthis wand, which also belonged to him, and that\nthey have imbibed some of its magical qualities.\nI will give you a sample of their 'eccentricities.'' \",\nPerformer takes back the cards and proceeds to\nforce the queen of diamonds on some member of\nthe company (a lady for choice). Leaving the\ndrawn card for the time being in her hands, he\nasks a gentleman to shuffle and cut the rest of the\npack and count off from the cut five indifferent\ncards. The card drawn by the lady is then shuffled\nwith these, so that its position among the six shall\nbe unknown. Performer, taking these from the\nholder, deals them in a row (or double row, as the\ncase may be) upon the velvet mat, placing each\nexactly over one of the velvet-backed cards; the\nwhite hinder edges of these guiding him as to their\npositions.\n\"We will now consider these cards as numbered\nin regular order, One, Two, Three, Four, Five,\nSix! Among them somewhere or other, is the"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 46, "folder": "", "text": "30\nLATEST MAGIC\ncard the lady chose. At what number it stands\nnobody knows (I can assure you that I don't), but\nthe die will tell us instantly. May I ask you,\nMadam, to name your card. The queen of dia-\nmonds; you say? Good! Now will the gentle-\nman who holds the die kindly throw it. What is\nthe number thrown? A three?\" (Whatever the\nnumber happens to be.) \"The die says the card\nstands number three. Let us see whether that is\ncorrect.\"\nHe picks up the two cards occupying the posi-\ntion indicated, and shows the face of the under-\nmost, which is of course seen to be the queen of\ndiamonds.\n\"But now we come to the more remarkable fea-\nture of the case. I told you about the queer way in\nwhich the cards change places. Even in this short\ntime I daresay the lady's card has got tired of\nbeing number three, and has moved away to some\nother number. If so, the die will tell us. Throw\nit again, Sir, please.\"\nThis is done, the die bringing up a new num-\nber, say \"five.\"\n\"The die declares that the card has moved, and\nnow stands fifth. We shall soon see whether such\nis really the case. First, however, let us see\nwhether it has really departed from number\nthree.\"\nPerformer has meanwhile replaced the two\ncards just lifted. He now lifts the upper one only,"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 47, "folder": "", "text": "THE DETECTIVE DIE\n31\nwhich (being one of the indifferent cards) shows\na different face. \"The queen has gone, you see.\nAnd now to ascertain whether she has really\npassed to number five.\"\nThe two cards standing at that number are lifted\ntogether, and again a queen of diamonds is exhib-\nited. The trick can of course be repeated any\nnumber of times, but it is better not to prolong it\nbeyond a third or fourth \"move.\"\nIn picking up two cards together, in order to\nshow the undermost, they are lifted with second\nfinger at top, thumb at bottom and the first and\nthird fingers at the sides. Thus \"framed\" SO to\nspeak, the two cards will lie squarely the one upon\nthe other and be undistinguishable from a single\ncard. When it is desired to lift the upper card\nalone, it should be nipped between the second fin-\nger at top right-hand corner and thumb at bottom\nleft-hand corner, when it will be brought away\nclear without difficulty.\nThere is one contingency for which the per-\nformer must be prepared, namely, that the throw\nof the die may happen to correspond with the\nactual position of the card drawn. Both cards of\nthe pair are in this case alike, and the performer\ncannot, at the succeeding throw, show that the\ndrawn card is no longer in its late position. This\npossibility is provided for by having the back of\nthe card marked as before explained. Should the\ncontingency in question arise, the performer, hav-"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 48, "folder": "", "text": "32\nLATEST MAGIC\ning meanwhile noted the marked card, does not call\nattention to the disappearance of the queen from\nthat number, but proceeds at once to show that it\nhas moved to its new position. There is not the\nsmallest fear that anyone will notice the omission.\nTHE DISSOLVING DICE\nTo be worked on a Black Art Table\nThe requisites for this trick are as under:\n1. Three small billiard balls, one red, two white.\n2. A white half-shell to correspond, vested or\nplaced in a pochette.\n3. Three hollow wooden dice, each of such a size\nas just to contain one of the balls, and lined inside\nwith velvet to prevent \"talking.\" One side of\neach is left open, but the opening can be closed\nat pleasure by the insertion of a loose side with a\nbeveled edge. When this is in position, the die\nappears solid. The inner surface of each of the\nloose sides is also covered with black velvet, so that\nwhen lying with that side upwards on a black art\ntable it is practically invisible.\n4. Three cardboard covers, fitting easily over\nthe dice. In preparation for the trick the three\nballs are placed inside the dice, and these are\nplaced on the table, open side upward, but with the\nloose sides inserted on top, and the covers over\nthem."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 49, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISSOLVING DICE\n33\nPresentation. The opening \"yarn\" may run as\nfollows:\n\"I once read a story about a man who invented\na most ingenious piece of furniture of the 'com-\nbination' kind. It started, say, as a table, but by\ngiving it a pull here and a push there, it became a\nstep-ladder. Another pull and push, and it turned\ninto a mangle, or by just turning a button or two,\nyou could make it a clothes-horse.\n\"The story says that at first it was a great suc-\ncess, but after a little while the thing began to work\ntoo easily, and sometimes changed of its own\naccord when least expected, which was a drawback.\nIt was annoying, naturally, when you were using\nit as a step-ladder, and hanging up a picture, to\nhave it suddenly turn into a clothes-horse, and land\nyou on the floor. It was vexing, too, when it was\na table, and the family were seated round it at\nbreakast, to have it turn into a mangle, and mangle\nthe cups and saucers.\n\"I shouldn't care myself to have a piece of fur-\nniture like that: it would make life too exciting.\nBut the story gave me an idea. It struck me what\na convenience it would be, after showing one of my\nlittle experiments, to be able to turn the articles I\nhad been using into what I wanted for the next. I\nhaven't got very far as yet, but I have made a\nbeginning in a small way, and I will show you how\nit's done.\n\"I have here three wooden dice, with a cover for"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 50, "folder": "", "text": "34\nLATEST MAGIC\neach of them.\" (Take off all three covers, placing\neach beside its own die. Then, placing one of them\non the end of your wand, advance with it to the\ncompany, tacitly inviting anyone who pleases to\ntake it off and examine it.) \"I use these covers\nto spare the feelings of the dice at the critical\nmoment. Like myself, they are rather bashful.\nThey don't mind doing the Jekyll and Hyde busi-\nness, but they don't like to be seen doing it. By\nthe way, there is a very ancient trick (believed to\nhave been invented by Noah in the Ark, to amuse\nthe boys on a wet Sunday), which is worked by\nmeans of a sham die fitting over the real one.\nPlease take my word for it that I do not use any\nsuch stale device. If I did, you may be quite sure\nI should not mention it. These are all three gen-\nuine dice. They are rather too large to play back-\ngammon with, but save as to size, they are merely\nbig brothers of the regular article. Most of you\nknow, no doubt, that in properly made dice, the\npoints on opposite sides always together make\nseven. Notice please, that each of these dice has\nthe numbers placed correctly.\" (Taking up one\nof the dice and turning it about.) \"You see, five\non this side, two on that; together, seven. Three\non this side, four on that; together, seven. Six on\nthis side, one on that; again seven.\"\nThis is repeated, in a casual way, with the other\ntwo dice, the object being two-fold, viz.: first, by\nshowing all six sides, to induce the belief that the"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 51, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISSOLVING DICE\n35\ndice are solid, and secondly, to enable the per-\nformer, in replacing them on the table, to turn each\nthe other way up, so as to bring the loose side\nundermost. This is best done by placing the\nthumb on top of the die, with the first and second\nfingers behind it, then tilting the die over a little\nto the front, and slipping the two fingers under-\nneath it. After showing it on all sides, as above\nmentioned, it is an easy matter to replace it with\nthe loose side undermost, as desired.\n\"Now, as it happens, I have no immediate use for\ndice, but I want to show you a pretty little effect\nwith billiard-balls. Naturally, the thing to be\ndone is to change the dice into billiard-balls. It's\nquite easy, if you are provided with my patent\nquick-change combination dice. All you need to\nthink about is to take care to have even numbers\nin front.\" (You turn the dice accordingly, and in\nso doing lift each die a little, and shift it forward\na couple of inches or so, leaving the loose side\nundisturbed just behind it, the ball travelling for-\nward with the die, though still covered by it.)\n\"You don't see why they should show even num-\nbers? Because they would look 'odd' - if they\ndidn't. Quite simple,-when you know it. Now\nI cover all three dice over, to spare their blushes,\nas I explained just now. I wave my wand over\nthem and say, 'Presto! Proximo! Change!\nAnd we shall find the dice have all turned to bil-\nliard-balls.\""}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 52, "folder": "", "text": "36\nLATEST MAGIC\nThe right hand lifts the first cover, pressing its\nsides sufficiently to lift the die within it, exposing\nthe ball, and in bringing it down again lands it\nclose to one of the wells of the table. The exposed\nball is picked up with the left hand, and while the\nattention of the company is attracted in that direc-\ntion, the die is allowed to slide out of its case into\nthe well, after which the ball and cover are brought\nforward and handed to someone of the company.\nThe other two balls are now uncovered in the\nsame way, but in this case the dice may be left in\ntheir covers, the offer of the first cover, found\nempty as above, having sufficiently proved that\nthey really disappear.\n\"Well, we have got our three billiard-balls.\nGood, SO far. Next, can any gentleman oblige me\nwith the loan of a billiard table? Nobody offers:\nthat's unfortunate. Well, does any gentleman\nhappen to have a cue about him. No again ?\nWell, perhaps it would be 'cuerious' if any gen-\ntleman had. I beg your pardon, it slipped out\nunawares. It shall not occur again.\n\"It's unfortunate that I can't borrow a billiard\ntable and a cue, because it prevents my showing\nyou my celebrated break of ninety-three off the\nred with my eyes shut. When I showed it to Gray,\nhe turned green, but that is another story. You\ndon't believe it? Well, I told you it was a story.\n\"Anyhow, as we have got the balls, we must do\nsomething with them.\""}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 53, "folder": "", "text": "THE DISSOLVING DICE\n37\nThe sequel may vary, according to the fancy of\nthe performer, and his skill in ball-conjuring.\nFor lack of a more effective d\u00e9nouement, the trick\nmay be brought to a finish as follows:\nSecretly getting the shell ball into his right\nhand, and picking up the red ball with the left,\nthe performer proceeds:\n\"Well, here we have three balls, one red and two\nwhite. To prevent ill feeling between them, I\nthink we had better make them all the same colour:\nand as the white are in the majority, we will have\nthem all white. It is quite easy, if you know how\nto do it. You have only to breathe on the ball,\ngive it a roll round in the hand to take the colour\noff, and there you are.\"\nAfter breathing on the ball, you bring the right\nhand containing the shell over it, and exhibit it,\nshell in front. You then transfer it in the same\ncondition, to the opposite hand. Then pick up one\nof the two white balls with the right hand, transfer\nit to the left and show the two side by side. Then\npick up and add the third ball, in SO doing letting\nthe red ball fall into the right hand, and while\ncalling attention to the three in the opposite hand,\ndrop it into the profonde. You then bring up the\nshell over one or other of the two solid white balls,\nthereby transforming the three into two. Drop\nthe solid from the shell into the right hand, making\nthe two into one; finally causing the disappearance\nof this last after the usual manner."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 54, "folder": "", "text": "38\nLATEST MAGIC\nIf the reader (being an expert) is provided with\na spare red ball and red shell, he may offer the\nchoice as to which shall be the colour of all three,\nfinally causing their disappearance after the man-\nner above described, or his own version thereof.\nWHERE IS IT?\nThis is another of the tricks dependent on the\nnovel application of the black art principle.\nFor programme purposes the trick may, if pre-\nferred, be entitled \"The Erratic Shilling.\" Its\neffect may be broadly described as follows:\nA marked shilling, lent by some member of the\ncompany, after being professedly magnetised or\nmesmerised by rubbing, is laid upon a black velvet\nmat and covered with a playing card, face down.\nTwo other cards are laid (also faces down), one on\neach side of the first, at a few inches distance from\nit, and the audience are given to understand that\nthe rubbing has imparted to the coin the power to\ntravel from card to card at command, and indeed\nsometimes of its own accord. When the card\nwhich covered the coin is lifted, this is found to be\nthe case. The shilling is no longer where first seen,\nbut is found to have placed itself under one of the\nother two cards. The spectators may be invited\nto say under which of the cards they would like the\ncoin to pass, when it will place itself accordingly."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 55, "folder": "", "text": "WHERE IS IT?\n39\nThe coin may be identified by the owner in the\ncourse of the trick, as well as at its close.\nThe requirements for the trick are as follows:\n1. The velvet mat.\n2. A pack of cards, arranged as presently to\nbe explained.\n3. Three overlays (see p. 20), each consisting, in\nthe present instance, of a court card, backed with\nvelvet of similar tint and texture to that with\nwhich the mat is covered. Three of the edges of\neach card are blackened, but the fourth (one of its\nshorter sides) is left white, and thickened by the\ninsertion of an extra slip of white card along that\nend. The effect of this is that, as the card lies\non the mat, its white edge is visible from that side,\nbut from no other position.\n4. Three cards, corresponding with the three\noverlays, which we will suppose to represent the\nqueen of clubs, and the knaves of spades and dia-\nmonds respectively. The queen is wholly unpre-\npared, but each of the two knaves has a point of\nfine wire, or a black bristle projecting a sixteenth\nof an inch or so, midway from each of its sides.\nThe \"queen\" overlay is furnished with similar\npoints, the object of these being to enable the per-\nformer the more easily to lift a given card with or\nwithout its duplicate overlay.\nIn preparing for the trick the two \"knave\"\noverlays, each covering a shilling, are laid before-\nhand on the mat, velvet side up, eight or ten inches"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 56, "folder": "", "text": "40\nLATEST MAGIC\napart, as shown in Fig. 11, under which circum-\nstances they are invisible to the spectators at a few\nfeet distance, and very nearly so to the performer,\nsave that their white edges, turned towards him-\nself, furnish him with an exact guide to their posi-\ntion. On the top of the pack are laid, first the two\nknaves. On these the queen overlay, and upper-\nmost the unprepared queen.\nFig. 11\nIn presenting the trick the borrowed shilling\nis laid on the mat midway between the two\noverlays already on the table, and is covered with\nthe top card of the pack, the third overlay being\nlifted off with it, and resting beneath it with its\ncentre as nearly as possible over the coin.\nThe two following cards are now laid one on each\nside of the first, as in Fig. 12, each on the corre-\nsponding overlay, the white edges of these, visible"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 57, "folder": "", "text": "WHERE IS IT ?\nII\nto the performer, but not to the company, serving\nas guides to exact position. When the performer\ndesires to show that the coin is not under a given\ncard, he raises the card only, lifting it lengthwise,\nand leaving the coin covered by the overlay.\nWhen he desires to exhibit a coin, he picks up the\ncard covering it breadthwise between finger and\nthumb and with it the overlay beneath it.\nFig. 12\nThe introductory patter may run as follows:\n\"You have all heard, no doubt, of what is called\nthe thimblerig trick, frequently exhibited at fairs\nand on race-courses. Some of you gentlemen may\neven have parted with a little money over it. For\nthe benefit of the ladies I will explain what it is.\n\"The operator has before him on a small board\nor tray three thimbles, or half walnut-shells. He\nexhibits a small pea, or a pellet the size of a pea,\nwhich he affectionately calls the 'joker.' This he"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 58, "folder": "", "text": "42\nLATEST MAGIC\nplaces under one of the thimbles, all three of which\nhe then shifts about on the tray; inviting the spec-\ntators to bet with him as to which thimble the pea\nis under. He has two or three confederates, who\nbet, and naturally win, but if an outsider is rash\nenough to back his own supposed smartness he\nloses; for as a matter of fact the pea is not placed\nunder either of the thimbles at all until after the\nbet is made, when it is skilfully introduced under\nwhichever thimble best suits the performer.\n\"The trick is in truth a mere affair of dexterity;\nthe performer having acquired by long practise\nthe power of placing the pea under any thimble\nhe pleases. What I propose to show you is a sim-\nilar effect, but more surprising, because, as you will\nsee, there is no room for dexterity, or indeed any\nform of trickery; so that I have to depend entirely\nupon my magic power. I shall use a shilling, as\nbeing more easily seen than a pea, and three cards\nfrom this pack to represent the thimbles.\n\"Will some gentleman oblige me with the loan\nof a shilling; marked in such a way that he may\nbe sure of knowing it again.\"\nReceiving the coin in his right hand, the per-\nformer makes believe to transfer it to his left;\nwherein he already has a shilling of his own.\nSurreptitiously depositing the coin lent to him\nbehind the pack of cards on the table, he exhibits\nthe substitute on the palm of the left hand and rubs\nit with the fingers of the right."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 59, "folder": "", "text": "WHERE IS IT?\n43\n\"I do this,\" he explains, \"in order to drive out\nall adverse magnetisms, and to substitute my own.\nI will now put the coin in full view on the table\nand cover it with a card. See that I do SO fairly.\"\nAfter laying down the coin he takes the top card\nof the pack, and with it, unknown to the specta-\ntors, the overlay beneath it, and lowers them on to\nthe coin.\n\"Notice particularly, please, where I have\nplaced the coin, and notice too that I do not touch\nit again. I will now place two more cards, one on\neach side of the first one.\" He does so, letting the\nspectators see clearly that there is nothing in the\nhand save the card itself, and then slowly lowering\nit exactly on to one of the two overlays on the\ntable. \"Now I make a few magnetic passes over\nthe cards, so.\" He waves his wand backwards and\nforwards above the cards, at a few inches' distance.\n\"And now, where is the coin? Still under the\nmiddle card, you would say You are mistaken.\"\nHe lifts that card lengthwise, leaving the overlay\ncovering the coin; then replacing the card. \"Itis\nno longer there, you see. In point of fact it has\npassed under this card.\"\nHe lifts one of the side cards breadthwise, the\noverlay coming with it, and exposes the coin\nbeneath it. \"Here it is, you see. We will try\nonce more.\" He replaces the card and then shows,\nin like manner, that the coin has passed to the\ncard on the opposite side. After one or two trans-"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 60, "folder": "", "text": "44\nLATEST MAGIC\npositions have been shown, the audience being\nallowed to say under which card the coin shall\nappear, and the last shift having been to one of\nthe side positions, the performer says: \"I should\nlike you to be satisfied that it is really the marked\ncoin and no other, that wanders about in this way.\nI will ask the gentleman who lent it to me to verify\nhis mark.\"\nHe picks up from one of the side positions the\ncoin last uncovered and brings it forward, but in\ntransit \"switches\" it for the borrowed coin, which\nhe has a moment previously picked up from its\nresting place behind the pack. It is, of course,\nthis last which he offers for identification, again\nexchanging it for The substitute before replacing\nthis in its former position. The final reproduc-\ntion must be from under the centre card, the per-\nformer again ringing the changes before returning\nthe coin to the owner. At the close of the trick all\nthree cards are placed on the pack, the centre over-\nlay going with them. The other two overlays are\nleft on the mat, each still covering its own coin,\nand the whole being carried off together. If the\nmat is of the folding kind it can be closed before\nremoval, effectually concealing the accessories\nused in the trick.\nSome amount of skill will be found necessary\nto pick up the card with or without the correspond-\ning overlay, as may be desired. The difficulty\nhowever speedily disappears with practice.- On"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 61, "folder": "", "text": "WHERE IS IT?\n45\nthe other hand, the trick is well worth the trouble\nneeded to master it, for if the spectators are con-\nvinced (as, given perfect execution, they should\nbe) that it is really the borrowed coin which trav-\nels about as it appears to do, nothing short of gen-\nuine magic will furnish an adequate explanation.\nThe performer is of course by no means bound\nto adopt the mise en scene above suggested. If\npreferred, the patter might be based on a supposed\nplot between the two knaves to rob the queen, the\ncoin representing the stolen property, secretly\npassed from the one to the other when either was\naccused of the theft. The story might conclude\nwith an appeal by the queen to a benevolent\nmagician, through whose good offices her property\nis brought back to its original position, and in due\ncourse restored to her. The touch of the mystic\nwand would naturally play an important part in\neffecting the restoration."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 62, "folder": "", "text": "CARD TRICKS\nARITHMETIC BY MAGIC\nPreparation. The two \"flower-pots\" (see page\n5), separated, are placed upon the table. Also the\ncard mat (see page 1), loaded with the ten of any\ngiven suit, say diamonds, taken from the pack per-\nformer is about to use, and a double-faced card,\nrepresenting on the one side the seven, and on the\nother the three of the same suit. The deuce and\nfive of same suit to be laid on the top of the pack.\nPerformer, advancing pack in hand, palms off\nthe two top cards, and offers the rest to be shuffled.\nThis done, he forces these two cards on different\npersons. On receiving back one of them, he brings\nit to the top; executes a false shuffle leaving it in\nthe same position ; brings it again to the middle by\nthe pass, and has the second card replaced upon it;\nthen, once again making the pass, brings both\ntogether to the top.\n(The use of the Charlier pass is here recom-\nmended.)\nThe patter may be to something like the follow-\ning effect: \"Two cards have been chosen, ladies\nand gentlemen. I can't say what they are, but I\ncan very easily find out. I shall simply order\n46"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 63, "folder": "", "text": "ARITHMETIC BY MAGIC\n47\nthem to rise up and paw the air. It all depends on\nthe strength of the will. I myself happen to have\na very strong will, in fact, I don't know anyone\nwho has a stronger will, except my wife. I exert\nmy will, and say, \"first card, rise! and up it comes,\nas you see.\"\nStepping well back from the spectators, SO that\nthey cannot distinguish from what part of the pack\nthe card comes, he works up the hindmost card\nby the familiar \"hand\" method. (\"Modern\nMagic,\" p. 129.)\n\"Here we have one of the two cards. Let us see\nwhat it is. The five of diamonds! Good! And\nnow for the other. Second card; rise! Up comes\nanother card, you see, the deuce of diamonds.\nThose are the cards which were drawn, are they\nnot ?\n\"Now the question arises, \"what shall we do with\n21 It is a pity the ladies didn't choose bigger\ncards. You can't'go nap' 1 on a deuce and a five,\ncan you ? I think I can't do better than use them\nto show you a little experiment in conjurer's arith-\nmetic. Will some young mathematician among\nthe audience kindly tell us what two and five, added\ntogether, make?\" (He waits for reply, but if\nnone, pretends to hear one.) \"Seven! Right\nfirst time. And if you take two from five how\nmany remain? Three Good again. Really\n1 To endeavor to take all five tricks in the game of Napoleon."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 64, "folder": "", "text": "48\nLATEST MAGIC\nthere are lot of clever people about, if you know\nwhere to look for them.\n\"Now I want to show you that the cards know\nall about it themselves; in fact, they are just as\nclever at doing sums as we are. I will take these\ntwo cards and drop them into one of these pretty\nflower-pots. Let me show you first that it is quite\nempty.\"\nHe lays the cards on the little mat while show-\ning inside of flower-pot (the one with secret\npocket), then picks up mat, and transfers it from\nhand to hand, showing, without remark, that the\nhands are otherwise empty, and lets the two cards\nslide off it into the flower-pot, the concealed cards\nnaturally going with them.\n\"Now, ladies and gentlemen, what shall the cards\ndo for you, the addition, or the subtraction sum ?\nIt is all the same to me. The addition ? Very\ngood. They can't talk, SO they will call another\ncard from the pack to give you the answer. Yes,\nhere we have it. Five-and two-are-seven.'\nAs he names each card, he produces it from the\nflower-pot, the third being the double-faced card,\nshown as the seven.\n\"Now I can hear what some of you are thinking.\nOh, yes! I often hear what people think. You\nare thinking that if you had said subtraction\ninstead of addition, I should have been in what is\npopularly called a hole. But you are mistaken.\nNow we will ask the cards to do the subtraction"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 65, "folder": "", "text": "tion the order of production will naturally be\nvaried accordingly.\nTHOSE NAUGHTY KNAVES\nThis item may be described, if preferred, as\n\"Knavish Tricks.\"\nRequirements. Card mat loaded with knaves of\nspades, hearts and diamonds, taken from the pack\nin use. Knave of clubs on top of pack."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 66, "folder": "", "text": "50\nLATEST MAGIC\nPresentation. Advance, palming off the knave\nof clubs, and offer pack to be shuffled. When it is\nreturned, force the knave on one of the company.\nBorrow a hat, and after showing that it is empty,\nplace it, crown downwards, on the table. Receive\nback the drawn card upon the mat, remarking that\nyou will place it in the hat, which you do accord-\ningly, the other three knaves going in with it.\nThen, assuming a worried expression, deliver pat-\nter to something like the following effect.\n\"I am afraid, ladies and gentlemen, that I shall\nnot be able to show you the experiment I had\nintended. I have a telepathic nerve in my left\nthumb, a sort of private fire alarm, only more so,\nwhich always gives me warning when things are\ngoing wrong, and I feel it now. If you have read\n'Macheth,' you will remember that one of the\nwitches says:\n'By the pricking of my thumbs,\nSomething wicked this way comes.'\n\"I have often wondered whether that old lady\ncould have been a sort of great-great-great grand-\nmother of mine. Magic certainly runs in the\nfamily, and we may have inherited it from her.\nAnyhow, I have just the same sort of sensation\nmyself. Unfortunately, in my case the warning is\nincomplete. I dare say you will remember that\nstory (I rather think it's in Macaulay's 'Lays of\nAncient Rome'), about Little Queen Cole. Her"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 67, "folder": "", "text": "THOSE NAUGHTY KNAVES\n51\nMajesty had the misfortune to develop a mole upon\nher nose, and King Cole was worried about it. He\nconsulted Old Moore and Zadkiel, and all the lead-\ning astrologers of the day, but all they could tell\nhim was\n'A mole upon the face\nShows that something will take place,\nBut not what that something will be.'\nThat's just my case. My prophetic thumb merely\ntells me that something is wrong, but doesn't say\nwhat. It may be drains, or the house on fire, or\nsomething in the county court. You never can\ntell!\n\"Of course it's nothing of that sort now. In\nthe present case it has no doubt something to do\nwith the experiment I want to show you. You\nchose your card quite freely, did you not, Madam?\nIt never matters to me in the least what card is\nchosen, with the exception of one particular card,\nwhich is a holy terror. May I ask if you happened\nto draw the knave of clubs ? Yes ? I feared as\nmuch. The knave of clubs is the bane of my life.\nHe is always endeavouring to get himself chosen,\nand then he does his best to upset my arrange-\nments. And the worst of it is, he leads away the\nother three knaves. The four of them form a\nsecret society, which they call \"The cheerful black-\nguards.' The knave of clubs is the president, and\nthe rest have to do just as he tells them. He com-"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 68, "folder": "", "text": "52\nLATEST MAGIC\nmunicates with them by means of a sort of wire-\nless telegraphy, and when he calls they go to him\nat once.\" (You here make the \"click.\"7 \"Did\nyou hear that sound? That's his call now,\ndespatched by wireless from the hat to the very\nmiddle of the pack. I have no doubt that we shall\nfind that the other three knaves have already left it,\nand joined him in the hat.\" (Make believe to look\nover the pack, and hand it to a spectator.) \"Yes!\njust as I thought: they are all gone.\" (To a spec-\ntator.) \"See for yourself, sir. Not a single\nknave left. And here they all are, in the hat.\"\n(Whence they are produced accordingly.)\nAs the \"click\" in some cases adds much to the\neffect of a trick, and as it may to some readers be\nan unfamiliar sleight, I may pause to explain that\nit is executed as follows: Take the pack in either\nhand, held upright between forefinger and thumb,\na little more than half-way down, with the middle\nfinger curled up behind it as in Fig. 13. With the\ntip of the third finger bend back the extreme bot-\ntom corners of the last half dozen or SO of the\ncards, allowing them to escape again smartly.\nThe sound made by the corners in springing back\nagain constitutes the \"click.\" It needs a little\npractice, but if the cards are held properly, and\nthe sleight worked smartly, the sound will be\naudible at a considerable distance, whilst the move-\nment of the finger producing it is quite invisible\nto the spectators."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 69, "folder": "", "text": "THOSE NAUGHTY KNAVES\n53\nBut we have not yet done with our trick. You\nmay resume as follows:\n\"I will give you a further illustration of what I\nhave to put up with from the knaves. I should\nlike you to be satisfied that I have nothing to do\nC\nFIG. 13\nwith their bad behaviour.\" (You palm off the\nthree top cards, and with the same hand offer the\nfour knaves to a spectator. \"Will you, sir, make\nsure that these really are the four knaves, and then\nplace them here on the top of the pack,\"-offered"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 70, "folder": "", "text": "54\nLATEST MAGIC\nwith the left hand. When the knaves have been\nlaid upon it, you transfer it to the opposite hand,\nand palm on to them the three concealed cards,\nbut immediately slide them off again, with the\nuppermost of the four knaves beneath them. You\nhold them up in a careless way, so that the\naudience, catching sight of this card, may be con-\nfirmed in the belief that the cards exhibited in the\nright hand are really the four knaves.\n\"Here we have the four knaves, at present all\ntogether. I will now distribute them in different\nparts of the pack, as far apart as possible. One\nhere, nearly at the bottom, one a little higher up,\nanother about the middle, and this last\" (you show\nit carelessly), \"close to the top.\" (This, being a\ngenuine knave, must be placed among the other\nknaves.) \"They could hardly be placed farther\napart than that: but to make things a little more\ndifficult for them, I will ask some lady to cut the\ncards.\"\nThis done, and the cards handed back to you,\nyou repeat the click. \"There it is again: the wire-\nless signal. You can all bear witness that I have\nnothing to do with the matter. Now, Sir, will you\nkindly examine the pack, and unless I am much\nmistaken, you will find that the other three knaves\nhave answered Black Jack's call, and that the four\ncheerful blackguards have got together again, in\nwhich case, with your permission, I will leave them\nseverely alone, and try some other experiment.\""}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 71, "folder": "", "text": "MAGNETIC MAGIC\n55\nThe expert will recognise this last effect as a\n\"chestnut\" among card tricks, but it is none the\nworse on that account, and it forms a particularly\nappropriate sequel to the principal trick.\nIf the performer possesses the \"flower-pot,\" one\nof these will naturally be used in place of the hat.\nMAGNETIC MAGIC\nRequirements. Card mat, loaded with a single\nknown card (precise nature optional). Pack of\ncards with corresponding card at top. A horse-\nshoe magnet, the larger the better for the sake of\neffect. The two flower-pots, placed at some dis-\ntance apart, preferably on separate tables.\nWe will suppose that the card selected for the\npurpose of the trick is the ten of spades. Per-\nformer advances, and delivers patter to something\nlike the following effect.\n\"By way of a change, I should like now to show\nyou a little experiment in magnetism, but mag-\nnetism of a new kind. The old sort was a com-\nparatively poor affair. It was only useful with\niron or steel. Anything else it wouldn't attract\nfor nuts. My sort of magnetism is a very superior\narticle. It will attract all sorts of things, so long\nas they are not too heavy, like a sack of coals, or a\nlawyer's bill. So far, I have been chiefly experi-\nmenting with cards, and I will show you how it\nworks."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 72, "folder": "", "text": "56\nLATEST MAGIC\n\"I want three ladies each to choose a card from\nthis pack.\" (He forces the ten of spades, allow-\ning the other two cards to be chosen freely, and\ntakes all three back, face down, on the mat, keep-\ning in mind which of them is the forced card. \"I\nwill take one of these cards.\" (He picks up the\nforced card, and holds it aloft.) \"Please all\nnotice what it is: I don't want to see it myself. I\ndrop it into this pretty flower-pot\" (actually drop-\nping it into the secret pocket). \"And now as to\nthese other two.\" (He picks them up and shows\nthem, then replacing them on the mat.) \"These\nI will place in the other flower-pot. First, how-\never, I will show you that at present it is empty.\"\nHe does so, and then lets the two cards slide off\nthe mat into the pot, the concealed card going with\nthem.\n\"Now I take this magnet. It is a very power-\nful magnet, and I make it still more vigorous by\nrubbing it on my left coat sleeve. Do you know\nwhy on the left ? You all give it up ? Because in\nthis case the left happens to be right. Simple,\nwhen you know it, isn't it? Again, you will\nobserve that one-half of this magnet is painted\nred. Can you guess why that is? It's so that\nwhen it is wanted it is sure to be 'reddy.' I hear\na lady smile! Thank you so much! This is the\neleven hundred and third time I have let off that\nlittle impromptu joke, and no one has ever laughed\nat it till now."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 73, "folder": "", "text": "THE TELEPATHIC TAPE\n57\n\"Well, as I was saying, or as I was going to say\nwhen the lady interrupted me--I mean compli-\nmented me, by smiling-Upon my word, I've for-\ngotten for the moment what I was going to say, but\nI daresay it was of no consequence, SO we'll skip\nit, and proceed \u00e0t once to \"business as usual.'\n\"Observe, I just draw the magnet slowly across\nfrom the one flower-pot to the other, when the\nsingle card, being naturally the weaker, will be\ndrawn out of its own flower-pot, and join the other\ntwo.\" (Looks into flower-pot holding the pair.)\n\"Yes, it has found its way, as you see.77 (Lifts\nthe pot, and shows that the third card is on the table\nwith the other two.) \"And as it's a well-known\nfact that nobody but a bird can be in two places at\nthe same time, it naturally follows that it is no\nlonger in this other pot, which is once more\nempty.\" (Lifts it up and shows that it is so.)\nVariation. If the flower-pots are not available,\nthe single card may be placed in a card box, or\nother suitable appliance adapted for causing its\ndisappearance, the other two, with the concealed\ncard, being dropped from the mat into a borrowed\nhat.\nTHE TELEPATHIC TAPE\nRequirements. Two or three yards of half-inch\ntape or ribbon, wound on a reel, to which its inner\nend is secured, and having a loop on its outer end.\nCoin mat made adhesive, and two packs of cards,"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 74, "folder": "", "text": "58\nLATEST MAGIC\nwhich we will call A and B respectively. From\npack A take a court card (say the queen of dia-\nmonds), and press it face down against the waxed\nside of the mat: then turn this over, and place the\nrest of the pack upon its unprepared side. On the\ntop of pack B lay the corresponding card, in readi-\nness for forcing. This pack also to be placed on\ntable.\nPresentation. Advance with pack A on the mat.\nInvite a gentleman to take it in his own hands\nand after shuffling, to pick out a card, and without\nlooking at it, lay it face down on the mat. Re-\nmark: \"I have asked you not to look at the card,\nbecause I find people fancy I find out by what is\ncalled thought-reading, and if you don't know the\ncard yourself, I can't find it out that way, can I?\nYou are sure you don't know what card you have\ntaken? I can honestly say that I don't. Now\nplease notice that I don't look at it, or even touch\nit-I will place it here, where you can all keep an\neye on it. You had better keep the other eye on\nme.\"\nYou accordingly place the mat on the table, in\ntransit keeping the card just laid upon it in place\nby the pressure of the thumb, and just as you\nreach the table, under cover of your own body, turn\nover the mat, SO as to bring the adhering card\nuppermost.\nYou then say, picking up the reel, \"I must now\nintroduce to your notice my telepathic tape. Like"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 75, "folder": "", "text": "A CARD COMEDY\n59\nmyself, it isn't anything particular to look at, but\nit has an extraordinary talent for finding out\nthings; even secrets that people don't know them-\nselves. Now you will admit that the name of that\ncard on the table is at present an A1, copperbot-\ntomed secret. Even the gentleman who chose the\ncard doesn't know what it is; you don't know:\nin fact nobody knows. Nothing could well be more\nsecret than that. But this tape will find it out.\nWill you, Sir,\" (addressing the gentleman who\nchose the card) \"be kind enough to pass this loop\nover your left little finger. Thank you, and now\nI want some lady to assist me. Perhaps you will\noblige, Madam?\" A sufficient length of the tape\nis unrolled, and the reel placed in the lady's hands.\n\"And now I will ask you to do me the further\nfavor of taking a card from this other pack.\"\n(The second queen is forced on the lady.)\n\"Now, Madam, what was the card the gentleman\nchose? You don't know Oh, yes, you do. The\ntape has told you. Unless it has betrayed me for\nthe first time in my experience, it will have com-\npelled you by an effect of sympathy to draw the\nvery same kind of card as the one freely chosen, as\nyou will remember from the other pack. What\ncard did you draw? The queen of diamonds?\n(Goes to table, and turns up card on tray.) \"The\ntape was right, you see. The card the gentleman\ndrew is also a queen of diamonds.\"\nIn default of the card mat, the trick can be"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 76, "folder": "", "text": "60\nLATEST MAGIC\nequally well performed by the aid of the card-box,\nor any other appliance for \"changing\" a card.\nA CARD COMEDY\nThis may be otherwise described for programme\npurposes as. \"A Royal Row,\" or \"A Row in a\nRoyal Family.\"\nPreparation. Card mat loaded with two kings\nof hearts: one of them taken from the pack\nto be used: the other a spare card. The king of\nclubs and queen of hearts to be laid on top of pack.\nThe two flower-pots, on table.\nPresentation. Advancing to the company, palm\noff the two top cards, and hand the pack to be\nshuffled. This done, force the palmed cards on\ntwo different persons. Then say, \"I want you to\ntake notice that I do not handle or tamper in any\nway with either of the cards you have chosen.\nPlease lay them yourselves face down on this mat.\nThank you. Now still without touching them I\nwill put them temporarily in this elegant flower-\npot, which you observe is quite empty. You see\nthat it has neither top nor bottom, and nothing\nbetween. You couldn't have anything much\nemptier than that, could you?\"\nHaving duly exhibited the flower-pot (this by\nthe way must be the one without pocket) you let\nthe two drawn cards slide off the mat into it, the\ntwo concealed kings going with them. Then,"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 77, "folder": "", "text": "A CARD COMEDY\n61\nassuming a perplexed air, you say, \"I don't know\nwhy it is, but I have that peculiar sensation in\nmy left thumb that always means that something\nhas gone wrong. What it is in this case I can't\nimagine, but I must find out before we go further.\nAs the two chosen cards have passed out of my\nhands, I may now ask the ladies who drew them\nto name them.\n\"The queen of hearts and the king of clubs, you\nsay? Ah! that accounts for it. When those two\ncards come together there is sure to be trouble.\nThe queen of hearts is a bit of a flirt, and the king\nof hearts is very jealous, particularly of the king\nof clubs, who is rather a gay dog, though he is old\nenough to know better. I fancy I hear some sort\nof commotion going on in the flower-pot.\" (You\nlook into it.) \"Yes, it is just as I feared. The\nking of hearts has found out that his queen has gone\noff with the king of clubs, and has followed the\nqueen post-haste. Here he is, you see.\" (You\nplunge hand into flower-pot, and take out and\nexhibit the two drawn cards, and with them one of\nthe two kings of hearts.) \"It's too bad, for as a\nmatter of fact the queen of hearts doesn't really\ncare two-pence about the king of clubs. In fact\nshe has even been known to call him a giddy old\nkipper.\n\"But I can't have my arrangements upset by\nthese little family jars. To teach the king of\nhearts better manners I shall put him in solitary"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 78, "folder": "", "text": "62\nLATEST MAGIC\nconfinement. We will drop him into the other\nflower-pot, which, as you see, is also empty.\"\n(The card is in this case not dropped through the\npot, but into the pocket.)\n\"Now we shall be able to get on. No ! my left\nthumb tells me that there is still something not\nquite right..' (Glance into second flower-pot.)\n\"Upon my word, this is too bad. The king of\nhearts has already. got away and followed the\nqueen again.\" (Lift flower-pot, and show that the\nking has disappeared.) \"I thought I had him\nsafe, but his prison, as you see, is empty, and here\nhe is again in the first flower-pot.\" (Show the\nthree cards accordingly.) \"He is too many for\nme; I can't show you what I had intended. I must\ngive it up and try something else.\"\nVariation. Load mat with a single king of\nhearts and the queen of clubs, the latter taken from\nthe pack. Proceed as before up to the putting of\nthe king in prison, and then exhibit the queen of\nclubs, as having come in pursuit of her spouse, the\npatter being modified accordingly. The impris-\noned king of hearts will still be found to have\nescaped, but in this case to have returned to the\npack.\nFor lack of the two flower-pots, the drawn cards\nmay be dropped with the concealed pair into a bor-\nrowed hat, and the jealous king made to escape\nfrom a card-box, or some similar appliance.\nApropos of the card-box, by the way, I have"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 79, "folder": "", "text": "A CARD COMEDY\n63\nalways had a sort of affection for this in its oldest\nand simplest form, viz., the reversible flat box with\nloose flap falling from the one into the other half\nat pleasure. I should not recommend the use of\nit at a school treat, as there would be much risk\nof some demon small boy proclaiming to all whom\nit might concern that he \"knows how that's done,\"\nbut before an average mixed audience its use is\nsafe enough. Should one of the spectators happen\nto be acquainted with the box he will probably\nsmile in a superior way, pluming himself on having\na little inside information, though he may be no\nnearer the complete solution of the trick than the\nrest of the company.\nThe expert will easily guard himself against\neven this small risk. For example, he may use a\nduplicate box, innocent of guile, ostensibly merely\nto contain the cards he is about to use, and after\nturning the pack out of it upon the table, switch\nthis (obviously empty) box for the faked box to be\nused later, or after using the latter he may extract\nthe fake and the superseded card during the jour-\nney back to his table, where the box will of course\nbe inspection-proof.\nBetter still, he may make matters absolutely safe\nby using an improved box, which has been chris-\ntened the \"Fast and Loose'' card-box. This is a\nrecent invention of an Italian wizard named\nVeroni, of Glasgow (an old soldier of Garibaldi).\nIt is an idealised version of the old flat box, being"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 80, "folder": "", "text": "64\nLATEST MAGIC\nof the same shape, but a trifle larger. The loose\nslab is retained, but it is only loose when the per-\nformer desires it to be SO. The box may be\nhandled beforehand with the utmost freedom, and\nafter a card has been placed in it it may be closed\nand re-opened any number of times, nothing hap-\npening till, \"Presto,\" a mere touch in the right\nplace, and the flap is free. When the box is now\nclosed, this falls into the opposite portion, con-\ncealing the card, or producing another; and again\nlocking itself, automatically, in its new position.\nThe box in this condition will again stand the\nclosest scrutiny.\nWhether this box is yet placed upon the market\nI cannot say (having myself been favoured with a\nsight of an \"advance\" model), but it will certainly\ncommend itself to all who appreciate a good thing\nin the way of ingenuity of contrivance and\nmechanical finish.\nA ROYAL TUG OF WAR\nPreparation. Card mat to be loaded with king\nof hearts and king of diamonds, not taken from\nthe pack in use. Flower-pots on table.\nPerformer advances with ordinary pack, deliv-\nering patter to something like the following effect.\n\"It is not generally known, ladies and gentlemen,\nwhat a lot of human nature there is about a pack\nof cards. They have their likes and dislikes, and"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 81, "folder": "", "text": "A ROYAL TUG OF WAR\n65\ntheir little tempers, just as we have. Some of\nthem are bosom friends; others again hate each\nother like rival suitors to the same best girl. The\nfour kings are generally pretty friendly, but there\nis a good deal of emulation between them, par-\nticularly between the two red kings on the one\nhand, and the two black ones on the other. Each\npair claims to be the stronger, and they are always\npleased to have a chance of putting the matter to\nthe test.\n\"I will give you an illustration of this, by allow-\ning them to hold a little tug of war. They have\nalready had six trials, and each side has won three\nof them. This evening we will let them play a\nfinal game, which is to settle the matter. Will you,\nsir, kindly pick out the four kings for me, and lay\nthem on this little tray. Thank you! (This\ndone, performer lays mat with cards on table.)\n\"I will drop the two red kings into this flower-\npot.\" He takes them from the mat and after\nshowing them drops them into the flower-pot (in\nreality into the pocket), \"and the black ones into\nthis other.\" (The black kings are allowed to slide\ndirectly off the mat, into the flower-pot, the con-\ncealed pair going with them. \"Are your Majes-\nties ready? Silence gives consent! Then Go!\"\nHe waits a moment or two, and then looks over\ninto the flower-pot with the pocket. \"Nothing has\nhappened yet. Yes, there goes the king of dia-\nmonds, pulled over to the other side. There's not"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 82, "folder": "", "text": "66\nLATEST MAGIC\nmuch chance now for the poor king of hearts, left\nsingle-handed. He won't hold out long. Yes!\nNow he is gone too.\"\nPerformer lifts flower-pot, with fingers inside\npressing against pocket, and shows it apparently\nempty. \"And here, in the other flower-pot\" (lifts\nit and shows the four cards lying together on\ntable) \"are all four Kings. One more score to\nblack. You didn't see the cards go ? Of course\nyou didn't; because they fly horizontally, like the\naeroplanes, and they go SO fast that they get there\nalmost before they have started.\"\nSYMPATHETIC CARDS\nPreparation. Card mat loaded with two cards\nof different denomination, say the queen of clubs\nand the knave of diamonds, taken from the pack.\nFlower-pots on table.\nPresentation. Force the corresponding cards\nof same colour (in this case the queen of spades\nand the knave of hearts), lay the pack aside, and\ntake the drawn cards back face down on the mat,\nleaving them thus on table till needed. The patter\nmay run as follows:\n\"As I think I have mentioned before, the cards\nof a pack, from long association, become a sort of\nfamily. They have their likes and dislikes, just\nas human beings have. In particular, there is a\ncurious bond of sympathy between each pair of"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 83, "folder": "", "text": "67\nthe same colour, say the king of hearts and the king\nof diamonds, or the ten of clubs and ten of spades.\nIf they are parted, and they possibly can, they will\nget together again.\n\"I will try to give you an example with the cards\nthat have been drawn. We will put them for the\nmoment in this pretty flower-pot, which, as you see,\nis quite empty.\" (Show by lifting it up, that it is\nso, and then drop the two cards from the mat into\nit, the concealed pair going with them.) \"They\nwill only require to be assisted by a gentle electric\ncurrent, which I shall create by waving my wand,\nSO.\n\"Before we go any further, will the ladies who\ndrew the cards say what they were,-1 don't mind\nasking you now, because they have passed ont of\nmy control. The queen of spades and the knave\nof hearts, you say ? A fortunate choice, for the\nqueen of spades and the knave of hearts happen to\nbe particular friends, so I think we may now be\nsure of success. Now to establish the wireless\nwave, and I doubt not the queen of clubs and the\nknave of diamonds will speedily find them.\n(Make any appropriate gesture with wand.)\n\"Did you notice a little flash, like the striking\nof a very inferior lucifer match in a gale of wind ?\nThat's when they went. Quick work, isn't it ?\nThe cards were timed by two gentlemen one even-\ning, each with his own watch. By the one gentle-\nman's watch they started at one minute past nine,"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 84, "folder": "", "text": "68\nLATEST MAGIC\nand by the other gentleman's watch, they arrived\nat one minute to nine, SO it is clear that they must\nhave made the journey in two minutes less than no\ntime. But let us make sure that they have\narrived.\" Lift the flower-pot, and show the four\ncards lying on the table together. \"And now, to\nconvince you that there is no deception, will some\nlady or gentleman kindly look through the pack,\nand make sure that the queen of clubs and knave\nof diamonds have really left'it.\" Which is found\nto be the case.\nThe trick may of course be worked with any two\npairs of cards, the mat being loaded and the cor-\nresponding cards forced accordingly.\nTELL-TALE FINGERS\nThe discovery, in some more or less mysterious\nway, of an unknown card is one of the stock feats\nof the conjurer, and indeed in one shape or another\nis one of the most hackneyed of card tricks. But\nthe wise magician never discards a good trick sim-\nply because it is an old one. He repolishes it, adds\na bit here, takes away a bit there, presents it in a\nnew shape and with new patter, and behold! the\n\"chestnut\" of yesterday becomes a latest novelty\nof today.\nTo obtain the maximum effect from a trick of the\nabove kind, it is necessary in the first place to con-\nvince the spectator that the drawn card cannot pos-"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 85, "folder": "", "text": "TELL-TALE FINGERS\n69\nsibly be known beforehand to the performer; and\nin the second place to persuade him that it is dis-\ncovered in some actually impossible (and therefore\nmagical) way; taking advantage, where possible,\nof some known scientific truth which may lend\ncolour to your suggestion. It is surprising, in con-\njuring matters, how much even the smallest per-\ncentage of fact increases the power of the average\nspectator for swallowing fiction. The patter for\nthe trick which follows has been arranged upon\nthese lines.\nThe requisites for the trick are a pack of cards\nfrom which three known cards have been with-\ndrawn and palmed (or SO placed to be in instant\nreadiness for palming), a hand-mirror, and a silk\nhandkerchief.\nThe introductory oration may run somewhat as\nfollows:\n\"You all know, ladies and gentlemen, what an\nimportant part finger-prints now play in the detec-\ntion of crime. Happily. there is no connection\nbetween conjuring and crime, beyond the fact that\nthey both begin with a C. No conjurer that I\nknow of has ever murdered anybody or been mur-\ndered himself, and when a conjurer borrows a half-\ncrown, he always-well, almost always returns it.\nBut each one of us, whether criminal or curate,\nburglar or bishop, possesses a definite set of finger-\nprints, quite unlike those of anybody else. And,\nwhat is more, we cannot touch anything, ever SO"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 86, "folder": "", "text": "70\nLATEST MAGIC\nlightly, without leaving upon it our sign manual\nin the shape of a more or less perfect impression\nof our fingers, imperceptible to ourselves, but quite\nvisible to the expert in such matters.\n\"Practice in distinguishing such points forms\na highly interesting study. Of course it must be\npursued with a proper amount of tact, or it may\nget you into trouble, as in the case of a gentleman\nI once heard of who took up the study with more\nzeal than discretion. He said to his wife, not lead-\ning up to the subject gently, as he should have done,\nbut in a peremptory sort of way, 'Maria, I want\nyour finger-prints.' Unfortunately, Maria was\nrather a quick-tempered lady, and she had just\nbeen having a few words, of a hostile nature, with\nthe cook. She slapped his face, and said, 'Well,\nnow you've got 'em.' He had They were very\ndistinct, but not quite in the shape he wanted. I\nam going to ask permission to read some of your\nfinger-prints, but, I trust without fear of such\npainful results.\n\"In the first place, I should like this pack of\ncards to be thoroughly well shuffled.\"\nWhile this is done, performer palms the three\nknown cards, and when the pack is returned, pro-\nceeds to force them on different members of the\ncompany. Each of the drawers is requested to\nallow his or her card to lie for a few moments face\ndown on the palm of the outspread hand. The\ncards drawn are then returned to the pack, which"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 87, "folder": "", "text": "TELL-TALE FINGERS\n71\nis again shuffled, and spread face upward on the\ntable.\n\"Each of the three cards which have been drawn\nnow has a complete set of finger-prints upon its\nsurface, but there are no doubt others on many\nother cards, the result of previous handling. To\nenable me to distinguish the right ones, I must ask\neach person who chose a card to give me, for the\npurpose of comparison, a fresh impression, on\nthe glass of this mirror. First, however, we\nmust remove any prints that may already be upon\nit.\"\nHe accordingly breathes upon the glass, and\nwipes it carefully with the handkerchief.\n\"Now, Sir\" (to the person who first drew), \"will\nyou kindly press your hand flat against the glass.\nThank you. Not a very clear impression, but I\ndare say it will be good enough. I have now only\nto discover the card bearing the same imprint, and\nI shall know that it was the one you drew.\" (He\npicks it out from the exposed cards on the table.)\n\"Here it is, I think, the of \" (as the case\nmay be).\nThe other two cards are then discovered after\nthe same fashion. As the performer knows\nbeforehand what they are, this will give him little\ntrouble, but he will be wise, for the sake of effect,\nnot to discover them too readily. For the same\nreason, great importance should ostensibly be\nattached to the thorough cleaning of the hand mir-"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 88, "folder": "", "text": "72\nLATEST MAGIC\nror before each new attempt, so as to get a clear\nimpression.\nThe trick as above described can be worked with\nany pack of cards, but where those used are the\nperformer's own property, he can make it even\nmore effective by marking the three cards to be\nfreed in such a way as to be distinguishable (by\nhimself only) by their backs. The drawers in this\ncase are requested to press their hand against the\nback of the card, and the cards are spread face\ndown upon the table, the performer apparently not\nknowing the nature of the card indicated to him\nuntil he has turned it up.\nDIVINATION DOUBLY DIFFICULT\nThis trick, though it merely rests upon a com-\nbination of methods already familiar to the expert,\nmay as a whole fairly claim to be a complete nov-\nelty. The mise en sc\u00e8ne is SO simple, and the\nroom for deception apparently SO small, that to the\nuninitiated it seems like a genuine miracle.\nUnlike most card tricks, it is even better adapted\nto the stage than to the drawing-room.\nThe effect of the trick, baldly stated, is that the\nperformer divines the nature of nine cards,\nselected apparently quite haphazard, and then\npicks out the corresponding cards from another\npack, freely shuffled and covered by a handker-\nchief."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 89, "folder": "", "text": "DIVINATION DOUBLY DIFFICULT\n73\nThe requirements for the trick consist of two\npacks of cards, and an envelope with adhesive flap,\nof such a size as to accommodate one of them. One\nof the two packs is a \"forcing\" pack, consisting of\nthree cards only, each seventeen times repeated.\nThe cards of each kind are however not grouped\nall together, as is usually the case, but are arranged\nafter the manner explained in More Magic (p. 13),\nviz. : assuming the three cards to be the knave of\nclubs, the seven of spades, and the nine of dia-\nmonds, the pack will consist of groups of those\nthree cards, in the same order, repeated through-\nout. The effect of this arrangement is that,\nwherever the pack be cut, the three cards above\nor below the cut will always be a set of those three\ncards: and the same result follows, however many\ntimes the pack may be cut, or however many such\ngroups may have been taken from it.\nThe second pack has no preparation, but the\nthree cards corresponding to those of which the\nforcing pack is composed are SO placed as to be\nready to hand for palming.\nThe performer advances with the forcing pack,\nmeanwhile executing a false shuffle of the kind\nwhich leaves the pack as if cut, but otherwise\nundisturbed as to order. Holding the pack on the\noutstretched palm of his left hand, he invites some-\none to cut it. This done, he takes back with the\nother hand the upper portion of the cut, and says,\n\"You have cut where you pleased, have you not ?"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 90, "folder": "", "text": "that I have not sought to influence the choice of\nthese gentlemen\" (or ladies, as the case may be)\n\"in the slightest degree, and it must be equally\nclear to you that I cannot possibly know even one\nof the cards that have been chosen. To make sure\nthat I do not get sight of them in any way, we will\nhave them placed, with the remainder of the pack,\nin this envelope.\" He collects the cards accord-\ningly, allowing each person who drew to replace\nhis cards himself in the envelope, and requesting\nthe last person to moisten the flap, and make all\nsecure.\nReturning to his table, he places the closed\nenvelope in full view. \"I shall now want the\nassistance of some gentleman. Thank you, sir."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 91, "folder": "", "text": "DIVINATION DOUBLY DIFFICULT\n75\nWill you kindly shuffle this other pack for me.\"\n(He runs the cards over fanwise, showing their\nfaces, SO as to prove that they are an ordinary\nmixed pack: then hands them to be shuffled, and\nwhile this is being done, palms the three secreted\ncards. \"Shuffle them thoroughly, please, and then\nspread them a little, faces down, upon the table,\nand lay your handkerchief over them.\n\"Now I am going, in the first place, to attempt\na little thought-reading. I shall endeavour by\nthat means to discover the three cards each person\nchose, and then, by means of the sense of touch,\nwhich I have cultivated to a rather unusual degree,\nto pick them out, without seeing them, from among\nthe cards under the handkerchief. I shall only\nask one indulgence. To leave a little margin for\npossible mistakes. I shall ask your permission to\npick out four cards instead of three for each per-\nson, SO as to give me one extra chance. Will the\ngentleman who drew first kindly look my way, and\nsay to himself slowly, the names of the cards he\ndrew. Thank you, Sir! I think I read them\nright.\" He inserts his hand under the handker-\nchief, and after a little pretended fumbling, brings\nout the three palmed cards, with one indifferent\ncard in front of them. He does not show or look\nat them, but asks the second chooser to think hard\nof his three cards, afterwards taking four more\nfrom under the handkerchief. Having done the\nsame in the case of the third drawer, he spreads"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 92, "folder": "", "text": "76\nLATEST MAGIC\nthe twelve cards he has taken from under the hand-\nkerchief, and shows them fanwise. Addressing\nthe first drawer, he says, \"Your three cards are\namong these, I think, sir?\" and the same question\nis then addressed to the other two choosers, the\nanswer being of course in the affirmative.\n\"'Now, gentlemen, in order to prove that there\nis no deception, I will take away three cards at a\ntime, one from each set of three. Pray observe\nthat from beginning to end, I have not looked at\nthe face of any card.\"7 He accordingly removes\none of the forced, and two of the indifferent cards,\nmaking however some pretence of selection and\nthrows them aside. \"There are now only two\ncards belonging to each gentleman left. That is\nso, is it not?\"\nThe question is addressed to each of the three\ndrawers in turn, and answered accordingly, after\nwhich the same process is again twice repeated.\n\"And now, gentlemen, we have three cards left,\nbelonging to neither of you, which is just as it\nshould be. It is a peculiarity of this experiment\nthat if it comes out right it always brings good\nluck to those taking part in it, SO you may all fairly\nexpect to live happily ever afterwards, and I trust\nyou will.\"\nIf the performance is given before the family\ncircle, or very intimate friends (who sometimes\nconsider themseles privileged to be disagreeable),\nit is just possible that some ill-mannered person,"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 93, "folder": "", "text": "A NEW LONG CARD PACK\n77\nin the hope of embarrassing the conjurer, may ask\nat the close to be allowed to examine the envelope\ncontaining the drawn cards. Such an examina-\ntion, if permitted, would of course largely give\naway the trick. If the performer has any reason\nto fear such a contingency, he may guard against\nit by \"switching\" the envelope, during his return\nto the table with it, for a duplicate containing an\nordinary mixed pack. In some part of this the\nthree cards corresponding to those drawn should\nbe placed together, as the obnoxious person, if him-\nself one of the drawers, will naturally expect SO to\nfind them.\nAt a public performance such a precaution\nwould be supererogatory.\nA NEW LONG CARD PACK AND A TRICK\nDEPENDENT ON ITS USE\nSome few months ago I was shown by a clever\namateur, Mr. Victor Farrelly, a pack of cards pre-\npared, after a method of his own, to replace in a\nmore subtle form, the familiar biseaut\u00e9 pack. Mr.\nFarrelly's plan is to round off, in a very minute\ndegree, three of the corners of an ordinary pack.\nIf a given card be turned round in a pack SO\ntreated, it is obvious that its unfiled corner will\nproject, to a microscopic extent, beyond those\nabove and below it, rendering the card instantly\ndiscoverable by touch."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 94, "folder": "", "text": "78\nLATEST MAGIC\nMr. Farrelly's idea is decidedly ingenious, but\nthe uses of the biseaut\u00e9 pack are rather limited,\nand the fact that the pack must be reversed before\nthe card is replaced in it is a drawback. It struck\nme, on reflection, that the idea might be developed,\nin a slightly different direction, to greater advan-\ntage.\nMy own plan is as follows: Two packs, exactly\nalike are used. As to one of these, I treat all four\ncorners after the manner indicated by Mr. Far-\nrelly, when any card of the second pack, inserted\ninto the one so treated, naturally becomes in effect,\na long card. There is in this case no need to\nreverse the pack, and as the minute projection is\nduplicated at each end of the diagonal, a less degree\nof rounding off is necessary.\nAs a practical illustration of the possible uses\nof such a pack, I offer the trick which I am about to\ndescribe. The expert will recognise that, save for\nthe use of the new pack, it is merely a combination\nof well-known methods, but as regards the mode\nof presentation it is original, and I think will be\nfound worthy of a place in the r\u00e9pertoire of the\ncard-conjurer.\nFor the purpose of description we will call the\npack with rounded corners the \"short,\" and the\nother the \"long\" pack. Three known cards are\nborrowed from the long pack, which may then be\nput aside, as it plays no further part in the trick.\nThese three cards are palmed, and after the short"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 95, "folder": "", "text": "A NEW LONG CARD PACK\n79\npack has been shuffled by one of the company, are\nadded to it, and forced upon three different spec-\ntators. We will suppose that the three selected\ncards are the queen of hearts, forced on a gentle-\nman; the king of clubs and the ten of diamonds;\nthe two last mentioned forced on ladies.\nThis done, each of the drawers is invited to\nreplace his or her card in the pack, which is passed\nfrom the one to the other for that purpose, and\nbefore it is returned to you is once more shuffled.\nYou then deliver a \"yarn\" to something like the\nfollowing effect:\n\"Please bear in mind, ladies and gentlemen,\nexactly what has been done. To begin with, you\nhave seen that the pack was thoroughly well\nshuffled. Three cards were then freely chosen\nfrom it. They have been put back, not by me, but\nby the persons who drew them, and the pack has\nsince been shuffled again. It is therefore\nobviously impossible that I should know either\nwhat cards have been chosen, or whereabouts they\nmay now be in the pack. But I enjoy impossibili-\nties. The more impossible a thing is, the more I\nwant to do it. I will find out these cards or die!\nDon't be alarmed, I don't mean to die just yet; SO\nI must do the other thing. It's easy enough, if\nyou know how to do it.\n\"In the first place I cut the pack into three por-\ntions.\" (You cut three times, nipping the \"long:\"\ncorners between second finger and thumb, at each"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 96, "folder": "", "text": "80\nLATEST MAGIC\nof the drawn cards in succession, and placing the\ncards left at bottom on one or other of the three\nheaps; then solemnly rub your wand, without\nremark, with a silk handkerchief, and lay it across\nthe tops of the three packets.)\n\"Now, if the electric influence is strong enough,\nthe three chosen cards will gradually sink down\nto the bottom of these three heaps. A nice easy\nway of finding them out, is it not ? It will take a\nminute or two for the charm to operate, so in the\nmeantime I will try to find out the names of the\ncards for myself by thought-reading. You drew\na card, I think, Sir? Will you kindly think of\nthat card, as hard as you can, and meanwhile look\nstraight at me? Thank you. Judging by physiog-\nnomy, I should say that you were rather a ladies'\nman. Don't blush, Sir. It's nothing to be\nashamed of, is it, ladies ? But he did blush, didn't\nhe? Now, being a ladies' man, you will naturally\nhave chosen one of the ladies of the pack, that is to\nsay one of the queens, and your blush suggests that\nit was a red queen. Now there are only two red\nqueens to choose from. The queen of hearts rep-\nresents Love, and the queen of diamonds Money.\nIf I read your thoughts aright I feel safe in declar-\ning that you chose the queen of hearts. That is\nright, I think? Quite simple, when you know how\nit's done.\n\"And now, Madam, for your card. I can see at\na glance that you have a liking for aristocratic"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 97, "folder": "", "text": "A NEW LONG CARD PACK\n81\nsociety, and you will therefore naturally have\nchosen a king. But which king? Think hard of\nyour card, please. A picture of a dark-complex-\nioned gentleman comes up before my mind's eye,\nand I feel that I can say with confidence that\nthe card you chose was the king of clubs. Am I\nright?\n\"And you, Madam. I have an idea that you\nhave a taste for pretty things, particularly jew-\nellery. Such being the case, you would naturally\nchoose diamonds. Think of your card, please.\nThank you. I see I was right in my guess. The\ncard you chose was the ten of diamonds.\n\"And now to verify my discoveries. If my\nwand has done its work, those same three cards will\nnow have percolated through the rest, and settled\ndown at the bottom of these three heaps. Let us\nsee whether they have done so.\" (The three heaps\nare-turned over.) \"Yes, here we have them: the\nking of clubs, the queen of hearts, and the ten of\ndiamonds. It is a curious thing for the cards to\ndo, and I daresay you would like to know how it is\ndone. As a matter of fact, it is done by synthetic\nreadjustment of dissociated atoms. You don't\nknow what that means, perhaps? Well, to say the\ntruth, I don't quite know myself, but that is the\nscientific explanation, so no doubt it is correct.\"\nThe trick may very well end at this point, but\nif the reader possesses a card-box, or other appar-\natus adapted for \"vanishing\" cards, he may bring"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 98, "folder": "", "text": "82\nLATEST MAGIC\nit to a still more striking conclusion. In this case\nhe may continue as follows:\n\"Now, I should like to show you a curious effect\nof sympathy. I take away these three cards and\nhand the rest of the pack to the gentleman who\ndrew the queen of hearts. Kindly hold it up above\nyour head where all can see it. The three drawn\ncards\" (show them one by one) \"I place in this\nbox. Again I electrify my wand a little, and lay\nit across the box. Now I want each gentleman or\nlady to think of his or her card. Think of it\nkindly, and feel as if you would like to see it again.\nThink hard, please, because it is you, not I, that\nperform this experiment, and if you don't think\nhard it will be a failure. I am pleased to see by\nthe expression of your countenances that you are\nall thinking hard. Thank you very much. You\nmay leave off now. The deed is done. The three\ncards have left the box, and gone back to the pack.\nPlease look it through, sir, and tell the company\nwhether it is not so.\"\nThe reader, being familiar with the wiles of con-\njurers, will doubtless have guessed that the three\ncards supposed to have returned to the pack have\nin fact never left it, being those naturally belong-\ning to it, corresponding with the three long cards.\nBut to the outsider their supposed return will be,\nin the words of the lamented Lord Dundreary,\n\"one of those things that no fellow can under-\nstand.\""}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 99, "folder": "", "text": "THE MASCOT COIN BOX\n83\nAs regards the disappearance of the three cards,\nthe performer is of course by no means restricted\nto the use of the card-box. If he is an expert in\nsleight-of-hand, he may with even better effect,\n\"vanish\" them one by one by means of the back\npalm, dropping them a moment later into the pro-\nfonde.\nTHE MASCOT COIN BOX\nThis is a little device on the same principle as\nthe well-known flat card-box, but adapted for use\nwith coins, and with an addition which largely\nincreases its utility inasmuch as it will not only\nenable the performer to \"change\" or \"vanish,\"\nbut to get instant and secret possession of a coin\nplaced in it.\nThe box (see Fig. 14) is of ebonized wood,\nunpolished, and in size about three inches square.\nIt consists of two parts (a and b), which are\nalike in size and appearance, so that either half\nmay be regarded as \"box\" and either as \"lid,\" at\npleasure, according as the one or the other is made\nuppermost, no difference being perceptible be-\ntween them. In the centre of each half is a cir-\ncular well, not quite two inches in diameter.\nUsed with the box is a thin dise of wood corre-\nsponding to that of which the box is made. This\nis of such diameter as to fall easily from the one\nwell into the other, according to the way in which\nthe box is turned, but on the other hand fits so"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 100, "folder": "", "text": "84\nLATEST MAGIC\nclosely within that its presence or absence is not\nperceptible to sight. If a coin be laid in the box\nupon the disc and the box is then closed and turned\nover, the disc settles down over the coin in the\nopposite half, either leaving the box apparently\nb\na\nC\nFIG. 14\nempty or exhibiting in place of the original coin a\nsubstitute with which the opposite side of the box\nhas been previously loaded.\nThus far, as the reader will doubtless have per-\nceived, the effect produced (save that a coin instead\nof a card is dealt with) is precisely the same as in"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 101, "folder": "", "text": "THE MASCOT COIN BOX\n85\nthe case of the card-box. But the \"mascot\" has\na speciality of its own, in the fact that in that half\nof the box marked a (see Fig. 14) a horizontal\nslot is cut on the side opposite to the hinge, just\nlong enough and wide enough to allow the passage\nof a halfcrown. The wood being dead black, this\nsmall opening is invisible save to close inspection,\nwhich the box is never called upon to undergo.\nWhen it is desired to gain secret possession of a\ncoin lent by one of the company, the lender is\ninvited to place it himself in the box, held open\nbookwise as in Fig. 14, the side b of the box having\nbeen previously loaded with a duplicate coin.\nThe lender of the coin may place it in whichever\nside of the box he pleases, but the manner of clos-\ning the box will vary accordingly. If he places it\nin the side a, the opposite (or loaded) side is treated\nas the lid and turned down over a. In this case,\nthe coin being already in the slotted half, no turn-\nover of the box is necessary, the performer having\nmerely to allow the coin to slip out into his hand.\nIn the opposite case, viz., that of the coin being\nplaced in b, a is treated as the lid, and the coin\nbeing in this case above the disc the box must be\nturned over before it can be extracted. If pre-\nferred the performer can hold the box SO that the\ncoin will naturally be placed in b, but in this case\nthe turn-over is unavoidable.\nWhen the box is again opened, the duplicate coin\nis revealed in place of the original, which is mean-"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 102, "folder": "", "text": "86\nLATEST MAGIC\nwhile dealt with as may be necessary for the pur-\npose of the trick. After the borrowed coin has\nbeen extracted, the further fall of the disc closes\nthe slot, and bars any possibility of the substitute\ncoin escaping in the same way.\nThe following will be found an easy way of\nworking the exchange.\n\"For the purpose of my next experiment,' says\nthe performer, \"I shall have to ask the loan of a\nhalfcrown; marked in such a way that you can\nbe sure of knowing it again. I should like one, if\npossible, that has seen some service, for a coin in\nthe course of circulation imbibes a certain amount\nof magnetic fluid from each person who handles it ;\nand this renders a well-worn coin more susceptible\nto magical influences than a new one.\"\nThe reason alleged for asking the loan of an old\ncoin is of course \"spoof,\" but there is a reason;\nand it is twofold. In the first place it ensures your\ngetting a coin tolerably like your own; which you\nhave chosen in accordance with that description,\nand which you have marked after some common-\nplace fashion, say with a cross scratched upon one\nof its faces. Secondly, a well-worn coin, having\nlost the sharp edge which is caused by the milling\nin a new one, passes the more easily through the\nslot, which for obvious reasons is kept as narrow as\npossible.\nPerformer, advancing toward the person offer-\ning the coin, continues:"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 103, "folder": "", "text": "THE MASCOT COIN BOX\n87\n\"I don't want even to touch the coin myself till\nthe very last moment, so I will ask you meanwhile\nto put it in this little box. I believe it was built for\na watch-case, but as I don't happen to need one, I\nuse it to hold my money, when I have any, or when\nI can get somebody to lend me some.\"\nThe box is held open bookwise, as above men-\ntioned, and closed according to circumstances, in\none or the other of the two ways described.\n\"I will now ask some gentleman to take charge\nof the coin in the box. Who will do so? You will,\nSir? Thank you. But stay! I think I heard\nsomebody say (it was only said in a whisper but I\nheard it) 'I don't believe the halfcrown is in the\nbox.' It is very sad to find people so suspicious,\nespecially when I take such pains to prove that\nthere is 'no deception.' But the gentleman was\nwrong, you see.\" (He opens box, and shows the\nsubstitute coin.) \"Here it is. Take it out, sir,\nand keep it in your own hands till I ask you for\nit again.\"\nDuring the delivery of the patter the borrowed\ncoin has been extracted, and the coin exhibited in\nthe box and handed for safe-keeping is, of course,\nthe substitute. The box, as being no longer needed,\nis laid without remark upon the table, and the\ntrick proceeds, after whatever may have been its\nintended fashion."}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 104, "folder": "", "text": "MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS\nMONEY-MAKING MADE EASY\nRequirements. Coin mat loaded with two\ndouble pennies, shell side undermost. Lighted\ncandle and velvet mat (with pocket) on table.\nPresentation. Performer comes forward with\ncoin mat hanging down in his right hand (mouth of\nloaded space upwards), and asks for the loan of a\npenny, marked in some conspicuous way. Receiv-\ning it on the mat, he shows it, so placed, to the per-\nsons, seated on each side of the owner, in so doing\nmaking it obvious to them, without remark, that\nhis hands are otherwise empty. Then returning to\nhis table, with the mat and the coin on it still in\nhis hand, he delivers patter to the following effect:\n\"Now I am going to show you a nice easy way\nof making money. I was told when I was a small\nboy, \"Take care of the pence, and the pounds will\ntake care of themselves.' I believe they do. The\npounds take such good care of themselves that very\nfew of them seem to come my way. But you can\nmake a bit even with pennies, if you know how to\nset about it. All you need is a really good penny\nto start with. It doesn't matter how you get the\npenny. You may beg, borrow, or steal it. Per-\n88"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 105, "folder": "", "text": "MONEY-MAKING MADE EASY\n89\nsonally, I prefer to borrow it. If you try the other\ntwo ways you get yourself disliked, but you can\nalways get people to lend you things, if you ask\nprettily; and I've always been celebrated for my\nnice borrowing manner. You must all have no-\nticed that the gentleman lent me a penny without\nthe slightest hesitation. I daresay if I had asked\nhim, he would have made it two-pence, or even six-\npence, if he had as much about him. In this case,\nhowever, one penny is enough for my purpose;\nand here it is with the owner's own mark upon it.\nObserve that it is just a plain ordinary penny, and\nyou can see for yourselves that it is the only one\nI have-in my hands, I mean. I am always truth-\nful. As a matter of fact, I believe I have another\nin my left trouser-pocket, but I promise you that\nI won't use it.''\nPass mat, with coin on it, from one hand to the\nother, showing the hands otherwise empty, and\nleaving the mat finally in the right hand: then let\nthe marked coin slide off it into left hand, the\nconcealed coins passing with it. Put down the\nmat, and show all three coins together (the marked\ncoin in front) held between fore-finger and thumb,\nbroadside toward the spectators. Thus held, they\nare, even at a few feet distant, undistinguishable\nfrom a single coin.\n\"Now I am going to make money. Not much,\nperhaps, in fact only a penny at a time. I shall\nstart by making this one penny into two. Cent"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 106, "folder": "", "text": "90\nLATEST MAGIC\nper cent is not bad, is it ? Observe, I use no vio-\nlence. It's all done by kindness. I just warm the\ncoin a little over this candle-flame. That softens\nthe metal and I am able to squeeze another penny\nout of this one, so!\"\nShow as two accordingly, by sliding off the\nhindermost coin in its shell, exhibiting it on both\nsides, and laying it on the table.\n\"You have all heard of turning an honest penny.\nWell, this is one way of doing it. It is said, too,\nthat one good turn deserves another, so we'll try\nagain. I warm the first penny a little more, and\nagain I pull another out of it.'' (Draw second\ndouble coin from behind the original penny.)\n\"Now we have three, two in my hands\" (showing\none in each hand) \"and one on the table.\n\"I think I heard somebody say that I couldn't\nmake any more I don't like to do it, because the\nprocess takes a good deal out of the original penny,\nand I might spoil it. On the other hand, I don't\nlike to decline a challenge, so here goes! I warm\nthese two again, and then, with a little extra pres-\nsure, because it naturally becomes more difficult\neach time, I get yet another penny, as you see.\nSo now, in all, we have four.\"\n(Show\nthose\nin\nhand as three, by drawing solid coin out of shell,\nthen, picking up double coin from mat, show as four\naccordingly.) \"Did I hear a lady say 'Just one\nmore'? Well, then, one more.\" (Develop the\ndouble coin just picked up, and show as five.)"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 107, "folder": "", "text": "MONEY-MAKING MADE EASY\n91\n\"But here I must really draw the line. If k ept\non like this, there would be none of the original\npenny left. It is already getting weaker and\nweaker. Besides, there wouldn't be time for any-\nthing else, and I have several still more wonderful\nthings to show you.\n\"And now to put these extra pennies back again\ninto the original coin. At present it is only one-\nfifth its proper weight and if the owner tried to\npass it in this condition there would be trouble.\nI should explain, by the way, that these others are\nnot really solid coins: though they look like it.\nThey are what the spiritualists call astral coins,\nif you know what that means: I don't quite know\nmyself; SO I won't attempt to explain, but I believe\nin the Police Courts they are known as 'duffers.' \",\nLay all five coins on the velvet mat, each of the\nshells slightly overlapping the solid coin to which\nit belongs.\n\"Here we have one, two, three, four, five. I\npick up two of them.\" (Draw shell over solid in\nact of picking up.) \"I give them a gentle squeeze\nand they become one only.\" (Show as one, and\nreplace on mat behind the mouth of pocket.)\n\"Now I treat two more in the same way.\"\n(Repeat accordingly, replacing these also, as one,\non mat.) \"We have now only three left. Let me\nsee, which is the original? Ah here it is, with the\nowner's mark upon it.\" (Pick it up and show in\nleft hand.) \"Now I rub one of these others into"}
{"path": "latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf", "page": 108, "folder": "", "text": "92\nLATEST MAGIC\nit.\" (Make the movement of picking up one of\nthe double coins, and of rubbing it into the coin in\nleft hand, but in reality \"vanish\" it, in the sup-\nposed act of picking up, into the pocket of mat.)\n\"And now I pass this other one into it in the\nsame way, and we have only the original penny left.\nIt is like the ten little niggers, isn't it, only that\nthey never came back. Here is your penny, Sir.\nPlease observe that it still has your own mark\nupon it, which is proof positive that there has\nbeen 'no deception.'\"\nN. B. If the performer is a novice, he may\nsimplify the trick by loading the coin mat with\none double and one ordinary coin only, or two\nordinary coins, limiting the successive productions\naccordingly.\nTHE MISSING LINK\nAt an early period of my magical career, I\ndevised a trick to which I gave the name of Con-\ncatenution Extraordinarg, and which will be found\ndescribed in Later Magic, page 94. In effect it\nconsisted of the magical welding of a number of\nloose iron links into a continuous chain. It was\nperformed by the aid of a Black Art table, a bot-\ntomless tumbler, and a silk thread. \"Though I\nsay it that shouldn't,\" it was an ingenious trick,\nand I was very proud of it. Unfortunately, some\ngood natured friend (I rather think it was"}