York, England
7th November, 1938

Dear Mr Annemann;

I would like to mention that one effect of yours has become my most favorite mental effect, and that is the Magic versus Mentalism from your One Man Mental Routine. If you have read the World’s Fair magical pages, edited by Brunel White recently, you may have noticed that I presented this effect in a mental routine in the Scottish Magical Convention at Glasgow, and after proceeding as per your book, —

[By Annemann: The effect in question has been found very satisfactory. Two decks are used and both are in cases to start. Both are arranged previous to the performance. Locate and place on top of the deck reading from back towards face – AC, 6H, JS, 8H, 9D, QD. Pencil dot the upper left and lower right corners on back of the QD. On top of these six put nine indifferent cards from the deck. Arrange the other deck the same way.

A spectator is asked up and shown the two decks. He is told to take either one he wishes and to pocket for the time being. The magus explains that a magician has cards selected by hand but a mentalist has them chosen by mind alone. He takes the remaining deck from the case and fans them face down as he is talking (the book gives a complete patter scheme) breaking the deck so the marked Queen is at face up upper half and the six face cards are spread out a bit so as to be the only ones showing. They are held before the spectator who thinks of one and the deck returned to normal. A dovetail shuffle doesn’t disturb the top 15 and the spectator is given the deck. For the first time he reveals the card and is asked to deal the cards on the performer’s hand. The performer spells and on the last letter the mentally chosen card turns up.

Now — the performer asks if he could possibly have known what card the spectator was going to think of BEFORE the effect was begun. Then the spectator is told to take pack from pocket, remove from case, and deal them again as before. Once more the card is spelled and again it turns up. Using the patter scheme the thing has always hit people between the eyes. Mr May, however, has produced a bit of a finish which appeals to me very much and which I am now making good use of. It may serve to wake up a few who have let the effect slip by unnoticed and give them a new item for the program.]

— I turn to some other person in the audience, and say “Perhaps, Sir, you may have some doubts about the genuineness of this experiment”.

Whatever the reply, I say “To prove that I definitely foretold what card the gentleman would select mentally, I wrote its name down, sealed it, and put it here in my pocket. Would you kindly take it out and read aloud what card I thought would be chosen in the gentleman’s mind?”

He does so, and of course the prediction is correct. You will, naturally, have tumbled by now to the fact that I have six envelopes for the six cards and have one in each pocket so that the spectator may remove it himself. You prepare only one new envelope each show and it is a most extraordinary climax to a fine effect.