Asking everyone present to think of a card, the mentalist passes around a small pad upon which several write their thought of cards, one under the other. Someone else takes the written on sheet, secretly crosses out any one of those thereon and pockets the paper. The performer states that he will not make the card appear, but rather will take a thought photograph or thought image of the card marked out. Showing a blank playing card, it is placed on a spectator’s left hand face down, and their right hand used as a cover over it. The person who crossed out a card is asked to concentrate.

After a moment, the blank card is looked at and a faint impression seen which is of the Ace of Spades. The spectator who crossed out a card says this is wrong, whereupon the performer asks who was thinking of the Ace of Spades. Someone raises their hand and the performer tells them not to think of their card now as they are shutting out the influence of the right card.

To further isolate the card it is placed in a small envelope and again held. This time when it is looked at, a clearer impression has taken the place of the Ace of Spades, and found to be the correct card.

In working, it will be found that this effect makes a good impression because it is different, regardless of the method. On the bottom side of a small pad, write a list of five cards. With a hard rubber eraser rub lightly over the faces of these five cards removed from a deck. This causes them to become somewhat faint and ghostly. This clever idea was originated by Larsen and Wright in their book Take a Card.

Now rub over the Ace of Spades until it is quite faint yet may be seen at a little distance. The five cards are placed in the back portion of double envelopes. Bridge size cards fit the usual drug envelopes and may be trimmed slightly to make sliding in and out easy. The Ace of Spades is not one of these five. Place the envelopes in your right side coat pocket in known order.

With a few corner daubs of diachylon (lead plaster) wax stick the Ace of Spades to the back of a blank card matching the five cards in the envelopes. If you can’t obtain a blank to match the cards, rub out the entire face of an Ace of Clubs or Diamonds. On the back of the card case place a few corner and center daubs of diachylon.

Most card cases have the back design on them.

Ask everybody present to think of a card, which manoeuvre makes practically certain that one or more in the place will think of the Ace of Spades. With the pad in hand and blank side up, pass among the audience and have five persons write the names of their thought of cards. Many times the Ace of Spades will be among these, but it doesn’t matter as it is just as startling when someone else is found to be thinking of it.

In going to the sixth person, the pad is turned over, and of course one of the five arranged cards i crossed out. You have turned your back as this is done, and ask the person to tear off the sheet and keep it. There is no danger of them turning the pad over. (Editor’s note : Mr Clever must have found this fact out by experience the same as did Mr James in this issue’s trick. I do know that no one has turned the pad over so far with me. If you’re a little skittish though, just tear off the sheet yourself and hand to the person to cross out a card and keep.)

After the card is crossed out, you remove the blank card from the card case (excuse for having the case in hand) and freely show it perfectly blank. Place it face down on the case for a second as you mark an X on the back in a corner. (I neglected to mention that the back of each of the five cards in pocket has an X mark.) The card case is held in the left hand with the fingers inside to make a more solid base, and enables you to press the blank card to the back of the waxed case. The top card (the faint Ace of Spades) is then pushed off with the thumb, and the card case tossed back of you somewhere out of the way. This is a perfect get-a-way. Place the card on someone’s hand and have them cover it with the other.

The person who crossed out a card concentrates and when the apparently blank card is shown, a faint impression is seen of the Ace of Spades.

Ask if it is right and at this point, allow it to be passed around.

Patter “I seem to feel conflicting thoughts. Who has been thinking of the Ace of Spades ?” When someone acknowledges this, tell them to keep it out of their mind. If, by chance, no one does acknowledge it, just remark that someone must have thought of it and has now changed their mind. Rarely, however, will this be necessary. Now say “To make sure we don’t go wrong again, what was the card you crossed out. The — ? Thank you. Now will everybody please think of that one card. This time we’ll isolate the card a little better.”

Remove the correct envelope from the pocket and seal up the card. After a moment, tear off the end, pull out the other card half way and let the spectator remove it. This time a better impression is seen of the correct card, and the faint impression of the first card has vanished.

This is almost a card trick without cards, at least, card in their accepted sense. One might ask why not have 52 cards in envelopes, but such a thing has been tried and the packets are too bulky to be real practical. This can be introduced at any time in your program, and gets away from the usual procedures with decks of cards.