CARD TRICKS REQUIRING SPECIAL APPARATUS.
We propose to describe in this chapter such card tricks as require
the aid of some mechanical appliance or apparatus, but are still
appropriate for a drawing-room performance. There are some few tricks
performed with cards (such as the Fairy Star, the Demon’s Head, and
the like) which necessitate the use of a mechanical table, or other
apparatus of an elaborate and costly character. These will not be here
noticed, but will be given, at the close of the work, in the portion
devoted to Stage Tricks.
We may here anticipate a not unlikely question on the part of the
student--viz., “How can I best obtain the necessary apparatus?” In some
instances, an amateur with a mechanical turn may be able to manufacture
his appliances for himself; and where this is the case, we would by
no means discourage his doing so, as he will thereby derive a double
amusement from his study of the magic art. But where the student has
not the ability or inclination to do this, we should strongly advise
him not to attempt to have his apparatus made to order by persons
unaccustomed to this class of work, but to go direct to one or other
of the regular depôts. Magical apparatus requires so much precision
in its details, and so much attention to apparent trifles, that the
first attempt of any workman, however skilful, is almost sure to be a
failure; and by the time the defects are rectified, the purchaser will
find that he has paid more for a clumsy makeshift than he would have
done for a thoroughly good article had he gone to the right quarter.
Experience will quickly prove that inferior apparatus is dear at any
price.
Peck & Snyder, 124 Nassau Street, New York City, are the largest
manufacturers, importers, and dealers in sports, pastimes, and trick
materials. They will forward illustrated catalogues on application,
giving details of an infinite variety of Optical, Chemical, Mechanical,
Magnetical, and Magical Experiments, and ingenious deceptions.
Supplementary sheets are issued from time to time, giving descriptions
of new novelties. One peculiarity of their business is that every
purchaser is taught, by the very explicit instructions that accompany
each article and by correspondence, to perform whatever Tricks he
may buy, so that he may exhibit them with ease and without fear of
detection, and no trouble is spared in order to make him perfect in
what he purchases. Prices are generally low: where a seemingly high
price occurs the professor or skilled amateur will readily realize
that it is occasioned by the elaborateness of the mechanism of the
particular apparatus desired, and the cost that such precision in
manipulative manufacture involves. The purchaser--we speak from
personal experience--can always depend on receiving uniform courtesy,
good value, and sound practical instruction.
The novice must be warned against imagining that, when he has got
into the region of apparatus, the necessity for personal address and
dexterity will be diminished. On the contrary, there is hardly a trick
among those we are about to describe which does not demand more or
less practical knowledge of sleight-of-hand. We shall assume, in the
following pages, that the reader has carefully followed and studied the
directions already given, in which case he will find little difficulty
in this portion of the work.
THE MAGIC SWORD. A CARD BEING DRAWN AND REPLACED, AND THE PACK FLUNG IN
THE AIR, TO CATCH THE CHOSEN CARD ON THE POINT OF THE SWORD.--We have
already described a trick somewhat similar in effect, in which, the
pack being flung in the air, the chosen card is caught in the hand of
the performer. The trick in this form makes a very good prelude to the
still more surprising one which we are about to describe.
[Illustration: FIG. 41. FIG. 42. FIG. 43.]
It will be remembered, that, in the trick above mentioned, an ordinary
pack is used, and the spectator is allowed to draw whatever card he
pleases. The card, when returned, is brought to the top by the pass,
and palmed: and, though supposed to be caught amid the falling shower,
in reality never leaves the hand of the performer. The audience may
possibly have a suspicion of this, and you may hear a faint murmur to
the effect that “he had the card in his hand!” and so on. When this
occurs, it serves as a very natural introduction to the trick with
the sword. You say, “Ah! you fancy I had the card in my hand? I will
repeat the trick, in order to show you that you are mistaken. Will some
one be kind enough to draw another card? Thank you. Don’t return the
card to me, but put it back in the pack yourself. Now be kind enough
to shuffle thoroughly. You cannot say I have the card in my hand this
time, at all events. Excuse me one instant, while I fetch my magic
sword.” You go behind your screen, and return, holding in your hand a
drawn sword. You place yourself in fencing attitude, and, addressing
the person who holds the cards, say, “I am going to give you the words,
one! two! three! At the word ‘three!’ will you please throw the cards
in the air, so as to fall lightly on the point of my sword, when I will
pick out with the point the identical card you drew. Spread the cards a
little in a fan shape before you throw them, so that I may get a fair
sight of them. Are you ready? One, two, THREE!” At the word three,
the cards are thrown, the performer makes a lunge among them, and a
card is instantly seen fluttering on the point of the sword, and, on
examination, is found to be the very card which was drawn.
The secret of this surprising feat lies mainly in the sword. This is an
ordinary small-sword (_see_ Fig. 41), with a three-sided rapier blade,
but altered in a particular way for the purpose of the trick. The tip
of the blade (_see_ Fig. 42) is cut off at about a third of an inch
distance from the extreme point, and across the concave side of this
tip, and also across the corresponding part of the shortened blade,
are soldered minute cross-pieces of brass, each bent outwards in the
middle, so as to form, with the concavity of the blade, a kind of eye
just large enough to admit freely a piece of thin black elastic cord,
the other end of which is passed through a similar small hole in the
guard of the hilt. The elastic thus lies along the hollow side of the
blade, passing through the two “eyes” already mentioned, and is kept in
position by a knot at each end. The tension of the elastic holds the
moveable tip in its natural position at the end of the blade. It may,
however, be drawn away from it in any direction as far as the elastic
will permit, but, when released, immediately flies back to its old
position. On the same side of the hilt--viz., the side farthest away
from the palm of the hand when grasping the sword (_see_ Fig. 43)--is
fixed a flat, oblong piece of tin, painted black, with its longer edges
folded over about half an inch on each side, in such manner as to form
a receptacle for a card.
Unless you are tolerably expert in forcing, you will also require
some forcing cards of the same pattern as the ordinary pack you have
in use. These, however, need not be a full pack, a dozen cards alike
being amply sufficient for your purpose. You commence your preparations
by taking one of the cards of the forcing pack, cut a small slit in
its centre with a penknife, and thrust completely through it the
moveable tip of the sword (taking care not to enlarge the hole more
than absolutely necessary), and place the sword thus prepared out of
sight of the audience, but so as to be easily got at when you want it.
Have your forcing cards in your pocket, or somewhere where you can lay
your hand on them without attracting observation, and your ordinary
pack on the table. You may begin by remarking, “Let me ask you to
take particular notice that I perform this trick with whatever card
you choose, not influencing your choice in any way. To show you that
I don’t compel you to take any particular card, I will just take a
handful of cards from the top of the pack” (as you say this you place
your forcing cards, which you have previously palmed, for an instant
on the top of the ordinary pack, immediately taking them off again,
as if they had formed part of it, and were the handful of cards you
referred to, and offer them to some one to draw). “Take whichever you
please--first card, last card, middle card, it is precisely the same to
me. Observe that I don’t attempt to press upon you any particular card,
but hold the cards perfectly motionless while you make your choice.” As
soon as a card is drawn, without waiting for it to be replaced, return
to your table, holding the remaining forcing cards in your left hand.
Pick up the pack with your right hand. Place it on the cards in your
left hand, at the same moment making the pass to bring these cards to
the top. Palm these (with the right hand), and, dropping them into
your _profonde_, or elsewhere out of sight, advance with the pack to
the person who drew, and request him to replace his card, and shuffle
thoroughly. While he does so, you retire to fetch your sword, as
before mentioned. Before returning to the audience, you prepare it as
follows:--Taking it in your right hand in the ordinary manner, you draw
down with the other hand the pierced card, and slide the card endways
into the receptacle on the hilt. The elastic, which is now stretched
to double its ordinary length, will pull at the card pretty tightly;
but you retain it in position by pressing on the face of the card with
the second and third fingers of the hand that grasps the hilt. Having
done this, you return to the audience, taking care so to stand that
the back of the hand that holds the sword shall be towards them. When
the cards are flung in the air, as already described, you make a lunge
among them, and at the same moment relax the pressure of the fingers
on the pierced card. The elastic, being thus released, flies rapidly
back to its original position, and carries the moveable tip, and with
it the card, to the end of the blade, by which the card appears to be
transfixed, as in Fig. 41. The movement of the sword in the lunge,
coupled with that of the falling cards, completely covers the rapid
flight of the pierced card from hilt to point. To get the card off the
sword, pull it down the blade, and tear it roughly off. When you have
taken off the card, drop the point of the sword, and hand the card at
once to the drawer for examination. This serves to divert attention,
not only from the sword itself, but also from the cards scattered on
the ground, among which the one actually drawn still remains.
This trick is sometimes performed with three cards instead of one. The
working of the trick is the same, save that you use a forcing pack
consisting of three cards repeated, and that in preparing the sword
the two first cards which are threaded on the elastic are perforated
with holes of such a size, as to allow them, when released, to slide
partially down the blade, the first nearly to the hilt, and the second
about half way.
[Illustration: FIG. 44.]
THE RISING CARDS (_La Houlette_).--SEVERAL CARDS HAVING BEEN DRAWN,
RETURNED, AND SHUFFLED, TO MAKE THEM RISE SPONTANEOUSLY FROM THE
PACK.--This is one of the best of card tricks. The performer advances,
pack in hand, to the company. He invites three persons each to draw
a card. The cards having been drawn, they are replaced in different
parts of the pack, which is thoroughly shuffled. The performer then
places the pack in a tin box or case, just large enough to hold it in
an upright position. This case is generally in the form of a lyre, open
in front and at the top, and supported on a shaft or pillar, twelve
or fifteen inches high (_see_ Fig. 44). He then asks each person in
succession to call for his card, which is forthwith seen to rise slowly
from the pack, without any visible assistance, the performer standing
quite apart.
The ingenuity of different professors has added little embellishments
of a humorous character. For instance, the performer may remark,
addressing one of the persons who drew, “I will not even ask the
name of your card, sir. You have only to say, ‘I command the card I
drew to appear,’ and you will be obeyed.” He does so, but no effect
is produced; the cards remain obstinately motionless. The command is
repeated, but with the same result. The performer feigns embarrassment,
and says, “I must really apologize for the disobedience of the cards.
I cannot tell how it is; they never behaved in this way before. I am
afraid I must ask you to name the card, after all, when I will try
my own authority.” The card proves to have been a queen, say the
queen of spades. “Oh,” the performer says, “that quite explains it.
Queens are not accustomed to be ordered about in such a peremptory
manner. If we try again in becoming language, I dare say we shall be
more successful. Let us try the experiment. Say, ‘Will your Majesty
oblige the company by appearing?’” Thus propitiated, the card rises
instantly. Occasionally a knave is one of the cards drawn, and, when
summoned, scandalizes the performer by appearing feet foremost. He is
appropriately rebuked, and thrust down again by the professor, upon
which he immediately reappears in a proper attitude. Sometimes a card,
after coming up half way, begins to retire again, but at the command of
the performer starts afresh, and rises completely out of the pack.
These apparently surprising effects are produced by very simple
means. In the first place, the cards which rise from the pack are not
those actually drawn, but duplicates of them, arranged beforehand.
The performer ensures the corresponding cards being drawn by using a
forcing pack, made up of repetitions of the three cards in question,
which we will suppose to be the queen of spades, the ten of hearts, and
the seven of diamonds, with some other single card at the bottom. The
tin case, in the original form of the trick, has two compartments--the
one to the front being large enough to hold a complete pack, but the
hinder one adapted to contain six or eight cards only. In this hinder
compartment are placed six cards, three of them being those which are
intended to rise, and the other three indifferent cards. A black silk
thread is fastened to the upper edge of the partition between the two
compartments, and is thence brought under the foremost card (which is,
say, the queen of spades), over the next (an indifferent card), under
the third (the ten of hearts), over the fourth (an indifferent card),
under the fifth (the seven of diamonds), over the sixth (an indifferent
card), finally passing out through a minute hole at the bottom of the
hinder compartment. If the thread be pulled, the three cards named
will rise in succession, beginning with the hindmost--viz., the seven
of diamonds. The three indifferent cards are put in as partitions, or
fulcrums, for the thread to run over. If these partitions were omitted,
the three chosen cards would rise all together.
The thread may be drawn in various ways. Sometimes this is done by the
performer himself, standing behind or beside the table. Another plan is
to have the thread attached to a small cylindrical weight within the
pillar, which is made hollow, and filled with sand. The weight rests on
the sand until the operator desires the cards to rise, when, by moving
a trigger at the foot of the pillar, he opens a valve, which allows the
sand to trickle slowly down into a cavity at the base; and the weight,
being thus deprived of its support, gradually sinks down, and pulls
the thread. (The pillar in this case is made about two feet high, as
the weight must necessarily travel six times the length of a card.)
Others, again, draw the thread by means of a clockwork arrangement in
the table, or in the pillar itself, answering the same purpose as the
sand and weights. The arrangement which we ourselves prefer, where
practicable, is to have the thread drawn by an assistant, who may
either be placed behind a screen, or may even stand in full view of
the audience, so long as he is at some little distance from the table.
The silk thread is quite invisible, if only you have a tolerably dark
background. The only portion as to which you need feel any anxiety
is that immediately connected with the cards. To conceal this it is
well, if you use a special table, to have a small hole bored in the
top, through which the thread may pass. The card-stand being placed
immediately in front of the hole, the thread will pass perpendicularly
downward for the first portion of its length, and will thus be
concealed behind the pillar. In default of a hole, a ring of bent
wire attached to the table will answer the same purpose. The great
advantage of having the thread pulled by a living person instead of a
mechanical power is, that you can take your own time in the performance
of the trick; whereas, if you use a weight or clockwork, there is
always a danger of a card beginning to rise before you have called for
it, or possibly not rising at all--either contingency being rather
embarrassing.
In the latest and best form of the trick, the second compartment of
the case is dispensed with, and the apparatus may be handed round
for examination both before and after it is used. In this case three
cards are forced and returned as already mentioned; but the performer,
as he reaches his table, adroitly exchanges the forcing pack for
another already prepared, and placed on the _servante_ if a regular
conjuring-table is used, or, if not, concealed behind some object on
the table. This pack is prepared as follows:--The last six cards are
arranged with the thread travelling in and out between them, just as
the six cards in the hinder compartment were in the older form of the
trick. A knot is made in the silk thread, which is hitched into a notch
an eighth of an inch deep, made in the lower edge of the _sixth_ card.
The knot prevents the thread from slipping, but does not interfere with
its being instantaneously detached when, the trick being over, you hand
the whole apparatus, cards and all, to be examined.
Some performers use no stand or pillar for the card-case, but fix it
by a short plug projecting for that purpose on its under side, in a
decanter of water on the table. Some, again, in order to exclude all
apparent possibility of mechanical aid, fasten it on the top of a
common broomstick, fixed in the floor of the stage, and broken over the
performer’s knee at the conclusion of the trick. To our own taste, the
trick is best performed without any special card-case whatever, the
pack being placed in an ordinary glass goblet with upright sides, first
handed round to the audience for inspection. It is here absolutely
self-evident that the glass can give no mechanical assistance; and as
the audience know nothing of the exchange of the packs, the immediate
rising of the cards at the word of command appears little short of
miraculous.
It only remains to explain the _modus operandi_ of the little
variations before alluded to. The offended dignity of the queen,
declining to appear when summoned in too cavalier a manner, is
accounted for by the fact that the performer or his assistant refrains
from pulling the thread until the offender has adopted a more
respectful tone. The phenomenon of the knave first appearing feet
foremost, and then invisibly turning himself right end uppermost, is
produced by the use of two knaves, the first (_i.e._, hindmost) being
placed upside down, and the second (with an indifferent card between)
in its proper position. When the performer pushes the first knave down
again, with a request that it will rise in a more becoming attitude,
he thrusts it down, not as he appears to do, in the same place which
it originally occupied, but among the loose cards forming the front
portion of the pack, thus getting it out of the way, and allowing the
thread to act on the second knave. It is hardly necessary to observe
that, for producing this particular effect, the cards must be of
the old-fashioned single-headed pattern. The alternate ascent and
descent of a given card is produced by using a card at whose lower
edge, between the back and front of the card, is inserted a slip of
lead-foil. The card, so weighted, sinks down of itself as soon as the
pull of the thread is relaxed, and may be thus made to rise and fall
alternately, as often as the operator chooses, and finally, by a quick,
sharp jerk, to jump right out of the pack.
Another very telling incident is the transformation of an eight to a
seven, or a seven to a six. A seven of spades, say, has been one of
the drawn cards, but when it is summoned an eight of spades appears.
The performer apologizes for the mistake, and, giving the card a
touch of his wand, shows it instantly transformed to a seven. This is
effected by sticking (with a little bees’-wax) a loose spade pip in
the appropriate position on an ordinary seven of spades. The performer
takes out the supposed eight with one hand, and thence transfers it to
the other. In so doing he draws off, with the hand which first held
the card, the loose pip, and, holding the card face downwards, touches
it with the wand, and shows that it has apparently changed to the card
drawn.
[Illustration: FIG. 45.]
There is a mode of performing the trick of the rising cards entirely
without apparatus, and without the necessity of forcing particular
cards. The performer in this case invites a person to draw a card,
and when it is returned makes the pass to bring it to the top of the
pack. He then makes a false shuffle, leaving it on the top, and offers
the pack to a second person to draw. When he has done so, and before
he replaces the card, the performer makes the pass to bring the card
first drawn to the middle, so that the second card is placed upon it,
and then again makes the pass to bring both together to the top. The
process may be repeated with a third card. The three cards are thus
left at the top of the pack, that last drawn being the outermost. The
performer now asks each person, beginning with the last who drew, to
name his card, and, holding the pack upright in his right hand, the
thumb on one side, and the third and fourth fingers on the other,
with the face of the pack to the audience (_see_ Fig. 45), he causes
the cards to rise one by one by pushing them up from the back by an
alternate movement of the first and second fingers (which should
previously be slightly moistened). If the face of the cards is held
fairly to the spectators, it will be impossible for them to discover
that the cards do not rise from the middle of the pack.
We have been more prolix than we could have desired in the description
of this trick, but minute details are the very soul of conjuring. The
experience of Horace, “_Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio_,” applies
with peculiar force to the magic art; and if we occasionally irritate
the reader of quick apprehension by too great minuteness, he must
remember that we have, as far as we can, to anticipate every possible
question, and that a single point left unexplained may render useless
an otherwise careful description.
THE JUMPING CARDS.--TWO OR THREE CARDS HAVING BEEN DRAWN, RETURNED, AND
SHUFFLED TO MAKE THEM JUMP OUT OF THE PACK.--This trick is somewhat
similar in working to that of the rising cards as performed in the
hand, which we have just described. The course of the two tricks is
precisely the same up to the point when, the two or three cards having
been drawn and returned, you have got them all to the top of the
pack. Here, however, the resemblance ceases. In the present case you
drop the whole pack into an open-mouthed box, made for that purpose,
and announce that, although the chosen cards have been replaced in
different parts of the pack, and the whole have since been thoroughly
shuffled, you have only to blow upon them in order to separate them
visibly from the rest of the pack. You blow upon the box accordingly,
when the chosen cards instantly fly out of the pack, rising to a height
of three or four feet, and fall on the table.
[Illustration: FIG. 47. FIG. 46. FIG. 48.]
The secret of the trick, apart from the sleight-of-hand necessary to
bring the chosen cards together at the top of the pack, lies in the
box. It is in general appearance something like a miniature pedestal
for a statue, but hollow, and open at the top, the cavity being rather
more than large enough to hold a pack of cards. (_See_ Fig. 46.) It
is divided longitudinally into two compartments, the foremost being
large enough to hold a whole pack, the hindmost to hold only three or
four cards, the partition between the two coming about half way up the
box. The bottom of the larger compartment is level with the top of the
plinth, but the smaller is open to the whole depth, save that across
it is a steel spring about half an inch in width. Fig. 47 represents a
section of the apparatus, A being the upper part, of which _a_ is the
larger or front compartment, and _b_ the smaller compartment at the
back. B is the plinth. A is so constructed as to slide forwards on,
or rather in, B, to the extent of about an eighth of an inch, but is
prevented doing so, in the normal condition of the apparatus, by the
spring _c_, which is screwed to the bottom of A, its free end pressing
against the side of the plinth. If, however, the spring be pressed
down from above, so as to be below the level of the shoulder _d_ (for
which purpose a thin slip of wood is supplied with the apparatus), and
A be at the same time pushed towards _d_, it will slide forward to the
position indicated in Fig. 48, and the spring _c_ will be held down
beneath the shoulder _d_. This is the condition in which the apparatus
is first exhibited to the audience. After turning it over, to show
that there are no cards already concealed in it, the performer places
in it the pack, first, however, slipping his little finger between the
chosen cards (which are on the top) and the rest of the pack, so as
to enable him to drop the chosen cards into the smaller compartment
at the back, where they rest upon the bent spring. (_See_ Fig. 48.)
Standing behind the box, and placing his hands around the plinth, as
if to hold it steady, the fingers of each hand being in front, and the
thumb behind, he blows smartly upon the box, at the same moment pushing
A forward with the thumbs to the position which it occupies in Fig. 47.
The spring _c_, being drawn back with it beyond the shoulder _d_, is
released, and instantly flies up to its old position, shooting out of
the box the cards resting upon it.
This trick is sometimes, like that of the rising cards, worked with a
forcing pack, duplicates of the forced cards being placed beforehand in
the hinder compartment. This method, however, is very inferior to that
above described, and would hardly be adopted by any performer who had
acquired a competent mastery of sleight-of-hand.
TO MAKE A CARD STAND UPRIGHT BY ITSELF ON THE TABLE.--This is a little
trick of hardly sufficient importance to be performed by itself; but
as an incident introduced in the course of some more pretentious
illusion, produces a very good effect. A great deal of the sparkle of a
conjuring entertainment depends upon the performer’s readiness in what
may be called “by-play,” consisting of a number of minor tricks not
supposed to form part of the settled programme, but merely introduced
incidentally, and used, as it were, as a garnish to the more important
feats. Thus, when a coin, an egg, or other small article, is required
for the purpose of a trick, the performer may fetch it openly from
behind the scenes, or have it handed to him by his servant; but this is
a commonplace proceeding. The higher class of performers prefer in such
cases to produce the article from the hair, whiskers, or pocket of one
of the audience; and in like manner, when the article has served its
purpose, to make it vanish by some magical process, rather than by the
prosaic methods of every-day life. These little incidents serve to keep
the audience on the _qui vive_, and they further assist materially in
keeping up the _continuity_ of an entertainment. In a thoroughly good
performance the audience should have no time to think, but should be
led direct from one surprise to the contemplation of another.
The trick we are about to describe is of the class above alluded to.
In the course of one or other of your card tricks, you have or make
occasion to ask some person to go and place a given card on the table,
or to examine a card already placed there. He does so, and is about to
return to his place; but you check him. “No, sir, that won’t do. I want
everybody to see what card it is. Will you be good enough to stand it
up on end, with its face to the company, so that everybody can see it.”
He looks foolish, and finally says that he can’t do it. “Not do it?”
you reply. “My dear sir, it’s the simplest thing in the world. Allow
_me_!” and taking the card from him, you place it upright on the table,
and leave it standing without any visible support. Taking it up again,
you hand it round, to show that there is no preparation about it, and
on receiving it back, again stand it upright, but with the other end
upwards; or, if challenged, allow the audience themselves to choose a
card, which you cause to stand alone with equal facility.
[Illustration: FIG. 49.]
The secret lies in the use of a very small and simple piece of
apparatus, being, in fact, merely a strip of tin or sheet brass, an
inch and a half in length, and five-eighths of an inch in width, bent
at a shade less than a right angle--say 85°; its shorter arm being
one-third of its length. On the outer surface of the long arm is
spread a thin layer of bees’-wax (made more adhesive by the addition
of a small portion of Venice turpentine), and to the inner surface of
the shorter arm is soldered a small piece of lead, about an eighth of
an inch thick. When you desire to perform the trick, you have this
little appliance concealed in your right hand, the longer arm between
the first and second fingers, and the shorter arm pointing towards the
little finger. Picking up the card with the left hand, you transfer it
to the right, taking hold of it in such manner that the fingers shall
be behind and the thumb in front of the card. As you place the card on
the table (which, by the way, must be covered with a cloth), you press
against it (_see_ Fig. 49) the waxed side of the slip of tin, which
will slightly adhere to it, and thus form a prop or foot, the little
lump of lead acting as a counterpoise to the weight of the card. You
pick it up with the same hand, and as you transfer it to the other, you
will find no difficulty in removing and secreting between the fingers
the little prop.
If the wax is properly amalgamated, it should leave no mark on the card.
[Illustration: FIG. 50.]
CHANGING CARD-BOXES, AND TRICKS PERFORMED WITH THEM.--The changing
card-box in its simplest form is a small flat box in walnut or
mahogany. (_See_ Fig. 50.) Its outside measurement is four inches by
three, and not quite an inch deep. Inside it is just large enough to
admit an ordinary-sized playing card. The upper and lower portions of
the box, which are connected by hinges, are exactly alike in depth, and
each is polished externally, so that the box, which, when open, lies
flat like a book, may be closed either way up; and either portion will,
according as it is placed, become box or lid in turn. Thus, by using
a card which, unknown to the audience, has two faces--_e.g._, is an
ace of hearts on the one side, and an ace of spades on the other--and
placing such card in one side of the open box, you have only to close
the box with that side uppermost, or to turn over the box as you place
it on the table, to transform the card just shown into a different
one. There is nothing in the appearance of the box itself to indicate
that it has been turned, so to speak, wrong side up, and a very little
practice will enable you to turn it over, as you place it on the table,
without attracting observation.
There is a further appliance in connection with the box in question,
which, however, may be used with or without it, as may best suit the
trick in hand. This is a loose slab, _a_, of the same wood of which
the interior of the box is made, of the thickness of cardboard, and
of such a size as to fit closely, though not tightly, in either half
of the box. When so placed, it has the appearance of the inside top
or bottom of the box. When the box is closed in such manner that the
part in which this slab is placed is uppermost, the slab falls into the
lower portion, thus forming a false bottom on whichever side happens to
be undermost. If a card (say the ace of hearts) be secretly placed in
either side of the box, and this slab placed on it, the box will appear
empty. If now another card (say the knave of spades) be openly placed
in either side, and the box closed in such manner that the portion
containing the false bottom is undermost, no change will take place;
but if, either in closing the box or subsequently, it is so placed
that the side containing the false bottom becomes uppermost, the false
bottom will at once drop into the opposite division, and on re-opening
the box the ace of hearts will be revealed, and the knave of spades
will in its turn be concealed. The effect to the spectators is as if
the knave of spades had changed into the ace of hearts.
These card-boxes are frequently worked in pairs, as follows:--The
boxes are prepared by placing a different card secretly in each, say
an ace of hearts in the one, and a knave of spades in the other. The
performer brings them forward to the company, each hanging wide open,
and held by one corner only, with the first and second finger inside,
and the thumb outside the box, taking care, however, to hold each by
the side containing the false bottom, which is thus kept in position
by the pressure of the fingers. So held, the boxes appear absolutely
empty. Having drawn attention to the entire absence of any preparation,
the performer lays them open upon the table, and, taking up a pack of
cards, requests two of the company each to draw one. They, of course,
imagine that they are making a free choice, but in reality he forces
(either by sleight-of-hand, or by means of a forcing pack) the ace of
hearts and the knave of spades. Again bringing forward the two boxes,
he requests each person to place his card in one of them, taking care
so to arrange that the person who has drawn the ace of hearts shall
place it in the box already containing the concealed knave of spades,
and _vice versâ_. Closing each box with the portion containing the
false bottom uppermost, he now announces that at his command the cards
will change places, which, on re-opening the boxes, they appear to have
done. By again turning over the boxes, they may be made to return to
their original quarters.
Numerous other good tricks may be performed with the aid of these
boxes, which should form part of the collection of every conjuror. By
placing a given card beforehand beneath the false bottom and forcing
a like card, you may allow the card drawn to be torn into twenty
pieces, and yet, by placing the fragments in the box, or firing them
at it from a pistol, restore the card instantly, as at first. In like
manner, you may cause a given card to be found in the apparently empty
box, or may cause a card openly placed therein to vanish altogether.
The changing-box is also sometimes employed by those who are not
proficient in sleight-of-hand, as a substitute for forcing, in the
following manner:--The performer requests some person to draw a card,
and, without looking at it, to place it face downwards in the box for
supposed safe keeping. The box is presently opened by the same or some
other person, who is requested to note what the card is. He does so,
believing the card to be that which was drawn, and which he had just
before seen placed in the box; whereas the card he now examines is, in
reality, one concealed beforehand in the box by the performer to suit
his purpose, the card actually drawn being now hidden by the false
bottom.
[Illustration: FIG. 51. FIG. 52.]
THE MECHANICAL CARD-BOX.--This also is a piece of apparatus for
changing a chosen card to another. It is somewhat the same in principle
as the card-boxes last described, but differs from them a good deal
in detail. It is an oblong wooden box, in external measurement about
four and a half inches by three and a half, and four inches high.
Internally, the measurement is so arranged that, putting the lid out
of the question, the front of the box is of exactly equal area with
the bottom. Against this front (_see_ Fig. 51) lies a slab of tin or
zinc, working on a cloth hinge along its lower edge, thus rendering
it capable of either lying flat on the bottom of the box (which it
exactly covers), or of being folded up against the front, the upper
edge of which projects slightly inwards, so as to aid in concealing
it. This flap, like the whole inside of the box, is painted black. On
one point of its upper surface is a little stud, which, when the flap
is raised, fits into a hole prepared for it in the lock, across which
passes the hinder end or tail of the bolt. The box is prepared for use
as follows:--The key is turned, as if locking the box (which, however,
is held open), thus pushing forward the bolt of the lock, and the flap
is lifted up against the front, the stud passing into the little hole
before-mentioned. The key is then again turned as if unlocking the box,
when the tail of the bolt catches the stud, and secures the flap. The
box will in this condition bear any amount of examination, but as soon
as it is closed, and the key turned to lock it, the tail of the bolt,
being again shot forward, no longer retains the stud, and the flap
falls. When in actual use, a card (say the ace of spades) is placed
upon the flap, and folded up with it against the front of the box. The
card to be changed (suppose the nine of diamonds) is in due course
openly placed in the box, which is then handed to some one with a
request that he will himself lock it, that there may be no possibility
of deception. The trick proceeds, and when the box is again opened, the
card placed therein is found transformed to the ace of spades.
Some card-boxes are so made, that the flap, instead of falling actually
_upon_ the bottom of the box, falls parallel to it, but at a distance
of an inch or so above it, leaving a hollow space beneath capable of
containing a lady’s handkerchief, a canary, or any other small article,
which, being covered by the falling flap, is thus apparently changed
into a card. The box in this case is somewhat taller in proportion than
that above described.
THE “CARD AND BIRD” BOX.--This is, in form and general appearance,
similar to that form of the card-box last above described (that which
has an enclosed space beneath the flap), but its working is precisely
the converse--_i.e._, the normal condition of the flap in this case is
to lie folded against the back of the box, against which it is pressed
by the action of a spring. It may, however, be folded down so as to
lie parallel with the bottom, a little catch projecting from the inner
surface of the front, holding it in that position. (_See_ Fig. 52.) The
lock is in this case a mere sham, having neither key nor keyhole, but a
little stud projecting from the lower edge of the lid, and representing
the “staple” of the lock, presses, when the box is closed, upon an
upright pin passing through the thickness of the wood up the front
of the box, and thereby withdraws the catch, when the flap flies up,
concealing the card which has just been placed upon it, and revealing
the bird or other object which had previously been concealed beneath it.
The same principle is sometimes applied to the “card-box,” the flap
when “set” lying flat on the bottom of the box, leaving no hollow space
below.
THE CARD TRIPOD.--This is a miniature table, standing five or six
inches high. It has a round top of about the same diameter, supported
on a tripod foot. It is provided with an ornamental cover of tin or
pasteboard, shaped somewhat like the top of a coffee-pot, just large
enough to fit neatly over the top of the table, and about an inch deep.
The table has a false top, made of tin, but japanned to match the real
top, and of such a size as to fit tightly within the cover. If the
false top be laid upon the true one, and the cover placed over both,
the cover will, on being again removed, carry with it the false top,
and leave exposed the real one, which, however, the audience take to be
that which they have already seen.
The reader will already have perceived that the card-tripod is, in
effect, very similar to the changing card-box. Like the card-box, it
may be used either singly or in pairs, and the tricks performed by
its aid will be nearly the same. Thus two forced cards drawn by the
audience may be made to change places from one tripod to another, a
card drawn and destroyed may be reproduced from its own ashes, or a
card drawn and placed on the tripod may be made to vanish altogether,
the drawn card being in each case laid upon the false top, that to
which it is to be apparently transformed having been previously placed
under the false and upon the true top. A card once changed, however,
cannot be restored to its original condition, and the card-tripod is,
therefore, in this respect inferior to the card-box.
THE “TORN CARD.”--This is a very effective trick. The performer
requests some one of the company to draw a card, and, having done so,
to tear it up into any number of fragments. He does so, and hands them
to the operator, who returns one corner to him, with a request that he
will take particular care of it. The performer announces that out of
the torn fragments he will restore the card anew, for which purpose he
first burns the fragments on a plate or otherwise, carefully preserving
the ashes. He then brings forward one of the changing card-boxes
already described, and, after, showing that it is empty, closes it, and
places it on the table in view of all present. He next takes the ashes
of the torn card, and, loading a pistol with them, fires at the box.
(If he has not a pistol at hand, placing the ashes on the box, rubbing
them on the lid, or any other act which gets rid of them will answer
the same purpose.) When the box is opened, the card is found whole as
at first, with the exception of one corner, being (ostensibly) that
which was retained by the drawer. Taking this piece in his right hand,
and holding the card by one corner between the thumb and first finger
of his left hand (_see_ Fig. 53), the performer makes a motion as if
throwing the small piece towards it. The small piece instantly vanishes
from his hand, and at the same moment the card is seen to be completely
restored, the torn corner being in its proper place. Some performers,
instead of giving the drawer the torn corner to take charge of in the
first instance, burn ostensibly the whole of the pieces, and pretend
surprise on finding that there is a corner missing when the card is
restored. Directly afterwards, however, they pick up the missing
fragment from the floor, where they have just previously dropped it,
and the trick proceeds as already described.
[Illustration: FIG. 53. FIG. 54.]
The reader will, no doubt, already have conjectured that the card drawn
is a forced one, and that the supposed restored card was concealed
beforehand under the false bottom of the card-box. This pretended
restored card is, in reality, an ingenious though simple piece of
apparatus, constructed as follows:--A piece of tin is cut to the exact
size and shape of a card; out of this, at one of the corners, is cut
an oblong piece, measuring about one inch by five-eighths. This piece
is attached by a spring hinge, _a a_, on one side of it, to the larger
piece of tin, in such manner that it can be folded back (_see_ Fig.
54) flat against it; the action of the spring, however, bringing it
back again, when released, to its original position. To this piece of
tin is soldered lengthways a narrow tail-piece, of such a length as
to extend nearly to the opposite end of the larger piece of tin. This
tail-piece forms a kind of handle wherewith to bend back the smaller
piece of tin on its hinge, and at the same time acts as a check to
prevent the action of the spring pressing the smaller piece beyond
the plane of the larger one. A playing card is split in two in order
to reduce its thickness, and the face of the card thus reduced is
pasted on the front of the larger piece of tin. Previously, however,
a piece, somewhat smaller than the little moveable flap, is torn out
of one corner, and pasted on the flap in such a manner that, when the
latter is released, the torn piece will occupy its proper position with
respect to the remainder of the card, which will thus appear complete.
When, however, the moveable flap is folded back, and so held by the
pressure of the forefinger upon the tail-piece, the torn portion of the
card will be folded back with it, as in Fig. 54. When the mechanical
card is placed in the box, it should be thus folded back, and kept in
position by a little bit of thin wire, half an inch long, and bent
into a miniature staple or clip, which, slipped over the end of the
tail-piece and the adjoining edge of tin, will effectually hold the
flap back, and yet may be got rid of in an instant, when the forefinger
is ready to take its place. You must take care so to place the card in
the box as to be face uppermost when the box is opened, as the audience
must not, of course, see the back. When you desire to make the card
complete, you have only to slip aside the forefinger, and thus release
the moveable flap.
There are torn cards now made entirely of pasteboard, dispensing with
the tin plate at the back. This is a decided improvement.
As to the disappearance of the loose corner from your hand, you will
find little difficulty when you have learnt the art of coin-palming, to
be hereafter explained. Assuming that you have at present no knowledge
on this subject, you may proceed as follows:--Take the bit of card
between the forefinger and thumb of your right hand, and as you make
the motion of throwing it towards the mechanical card, push it with the
ball of the thumb between the first or second joints of the first and
middle fingers. This releases the thumb, and the inside of your hand
being turned away from your audience, you run little risk of discovery,
particularly as the same piece, apparently, is now seen in its proper
place as part of the restored card.
We must not omit to mention that there is a mode of performing the
“torn card” trick in which the use of the mechanical card is dispensed
with. In this case the performer secretly takes an ordinary card, say
the knave of spades, and tears off one corner, which he carefully
preserves. The card thus mutilated he places in a card-box, or other
similar piece of apparatus. Pack in hand, he advances to the company,
and “forces” the knave of spades, having, meanwhile, the little corner
piece of the concealed card hidden between the second and third fingers
of his right hand. The card having been drawn, he requests the drawer
to tear it up, and place the pieces on a plate, which he hands him for
that purpose. Having received the pieces, he says carelessly, “You
had better keep one piece for the purpose of identification;” and, so
saying, hands him apparently one of the fragments of the card just
torn, but really the concealed corner piece, which he drops from his
hand on the plate for that purpose in the very act of picking up. The
trick then proceeds as already described up to the finding of the card
partially restored, in which condition it is handed to the drawer, and
its identity proved by showing that the torn edge exactly corresponds
with the corner retained. The trick may either end here, or, by using a
second card-box, card-tripod, or the like, the card and corner may be
again changed for a complete card.
MECHANICAL CHANGING CARDS.--These are of two or three kinds, but all
have the same object--viz., the apparent transformation of the card
to a different one. In some cases the change is from a court card of
one suit to the same card of another suit--_e.g._, a king of spades
to a king of hearts, involving merely the alteration of the pip in
the corner. This is effected by having the card made double, that
portion of the front card on which the pip should be being cut out.
The hindmost card, which is pasted only round the extreme edge to the
front one, is a plain white card, but with the appropriate pip, say a
spade, neatly painted in the proper position, to allow of its showing
through the opening in the front card, which thus has the appearance of
an ordinary king of spades. Between the two cards is a moveable slip,
worked by a pin through a slip in the back, on which is painted a heart
pip. By moving this slip, the heart is in turn brought opposite the
opening, covering the spade pip, so that the card now appears to be the
king of hearts. The card as above described is of the old single-headed
pattern, but the same principle may be applied to double-headed cards.
In this case both of the “pip” portions of the front card are cut away
as in Fig. 55, while on the upper corresponding portion of the hinder
card is painted (say) a spade, and on the lower a heart, as in Fig. 56.
The moveable slip is of such a shape and size as to cover the one or
the other, according as it is drawn up or down; and on the upper part
of this (_see_ Fig. 57) is painted a heart, and on the lower a spade.
When, therefore, the slip is pushed _up_, the heart pip on the slip and
the heart pip on the hindmost card are shown, so that the card appears
to be a king of hearts. When, on the other hand, the slip is drawn
_down_, the spade pip of the hinder card is revealed, and at the same
time the slip covers over the heart pip of this latter, and exhibits
its own spade pip, giving the card the appearance of a king of spades.
[Illustration: FIG. 55. FIG. 56. FIG. 57.]
These mechanical cards are used in various ways. Such a card may be
introduced with good effect in the trick of the “rising cards,” before
described. The king of spades, we will suppose, is one of the cards
drawn. The changing card is made one of those which rise from the pack,
but is so arranged as to appear as the king of hearts. When the king
of spades is called for, this card rises. The performer feigns to be
taken by surprise, and asks the person who drew the card whether he is
sure he is not mistaken, and that the card he drew was not the king
of hearts. The drawer naturally maintains the correctness of his own
recollection, while the performer as stoutly insists that the cards
never deceive him, and that, if the king of spades had been drawn,
the king of spades would infallibly have risen when called. At last,
as if tired of the dispute, he says, “Well, I still maintain you were
mistaken; but as you insist that your card was the king of spades,
why, we will make this into a king of spades.” So saying, and holding
up the card between his middle finger and thumb, he touches its face
with his wand, and at the same moment with the first finger moves the
slide, when the card changes to the king of spades. The little dispute
as to the supposed mistake, which the audience have hitherto believed
to be genuine, gives to the transformation an impromptu air which is
very effective. The performer may go on to say, still holding up the
card, “You are quite satisfied now, I presume.” The drawer assents.
“Then if so, as it would spoil my pack to have _two_ kings of spades in
it, you will allow me, before proceeding further, to change the card
back again. Change!” Again he touches the card with his wand, and it is
seen to change back again to the king of hearts.
Another mode of using the mechanical card is in conjunction with the
changing card-boxes, above described. In this case the changing cards
are used in pairs. One of them, arranged as the king of spades, is
secretly placed in the one box, and the other, arranged as the king
of hearts, in the other. Two of the spectators are requested each to
draw a card, and two genuine kings of the same respective suits are
forced upon them. Taking the cards so drawn, and showing the card boxes
apparently empty, the performer places one of the cards in each, taking
care to place the king of hearts in the box containing the ostensible
king of spades, and _vice versâ_. He now commands the two cards to
change places, and, opening the boxes, shows that his commands are
obeyed. He then remarks, “Now, I dare say you all think that the trick
depends on the boxes. To show you that it is not so, I will again
order the cards to change; and this time I will not place them in the
boxes, but will merely take one in each hand, so. If your eyes are
quick enough, you will see the cards fly across from the one hand to
the other. Observe, the king of spades is in my right hand, and the
king of hearts in my left. One, two, three--Change!” (with a stamp and
a slight flourish of the cards). “Did you see them fly? Here is the
king of hearts in my right hand, and the king of spades has passed to
my left. I will put them in the boxes once more.” You put each in the
box which it before occupied, in doing so again making the change, but
without closing the boxes. You continue, “Please to notice which I put
in each box--the king of hearts in the right hand box, and the king
of spades in the left hand box. Is that right?” The audience reply in
the affirmative. “Excuse me,” you say, “I fear you are mistaken. You
did not notice, perhaps, that the cards had changed again.” You show
that this is so, and then close the boxes so as to bring the cards
originally drawn uppermost. Opening them once more, you show that the
cards have again changed, and then remark, “I have shown you that the
secret does not lie in the boxes, perhaps you would like to satisfy
yourselves that there is no preparation about the cards,” which you
accordingly hand for examination.
[Illustration: FIG. 58.]
Another form of changing card is known as a “flap card.” This is a card
across whose centre is fixed a moveable flap of exactly half its size.
When the flap is folded one way, it covers the upper half, and when
it is folded the other way the lower half of the card, in each case
revealing a different surface. (_See_ Fig. 58.) On one of such surfaces
is pasted, say, a queen of clubs (made thin by peeling off the back),
and on the other surface, say, a nine of diamonds, prepared in like
manner. Thus the card will appear, according as the flap is folded,
alternately a queen of clubs or nine of diamonds. An india-rubber
spring tends to draw the flap down, so that the normal condition of the
card is to appear as, say, the nine of diamonds. When exhibited to the
company, the flap is forced over in the opposite direction, so that the
card appears to be the queen of clubs. The thumb and finger hold the
flap down until the right moment, when they relax their pressure, and
the flap flying up, the card is instantly transformed to the nine of
diamonds.
[Illustration]