Faked envelopes all run along the same basic principles but I think that I have a new variation and also a very practical improvement on the old style. I've never considered such envelopes as sound magic when used to obviously change an article. We know they do, but if an audience sees the Four of Spades go in, and the Ace of Clubs come out, they at once consider the envelope as the medium of exchange and center their interest upon it. However, if a card is freely chosen and sealed without being shown, and later removed to be revealed…
One of the subtle methods for the transmission of signals has been passed around a good deal in its original form. The switching on and off of an electric light in another room was found to act on the radio with sharp static like snaps. Presumably the performer would be given a number or card and leave the room before the medium returned. In another room he would signal her through the radio which had been turned down a little but not off during the test. I played around with this idea and found out an important secret which allows…
(Note: Mr Read needs no introduction. As the author of The Calostro Mindreading Act, he can be thanked by the profession for a most practical and much needed system. The following is another of his very original ideas.) Having stolen, or otherwise secured, original written questions, or duplicates thereof, this new method of tabulating them for later secret reference is one of the cleverest means yet devised for the mentalist. It is so innocent looking and so easy to handle that no suspicion can possibly be aroused. It is now released for the first time and will fit in with…
I thought for quite a while before deciding to release this secret because I've used it a lot for press work and the effect is absolutely original. I had it listed as a dollar trick should I ever let it go, but Spring has made me weak so here it is. Pick out a friend from the telephone book. Count down and remember its position from the top of its column. Make 26 one inch square cards containing letters of the alphabet. Make 25 more all containing the first letter of the friend's last name. Put the 26 duplicate letters…
A most unusual test that can be introduced into a program at any time is one which needs no preparation in one version and but a little in another. It is one of those tricks that can be done before practically any sized audience and it is just as effective if presented for a single person. Professional performers know only too well how rare and hard to find such an effect is. The first version is impromptu with any cards that may be borrowed. The performer states that what he is about to do must not be confused with card…
One of the greatest effects in thought transmission is the coding of pictures freely drawn by the audience. It goes without saying that it is at the same time the most intricate of methods. Julius Zancig was most adept at this feat and developed it over a period of years through undisputed ability plus a thorough grounding in transmission secrets. What I am presenting here is a poor substitute for what that master could accomplish, but in itself and as far as it goes, the effect is quite marvelous to an audience and at the same time satisfying to the…
An extremely cute match divination can be presented impromptu with the paper packages that are so common now. Hand a paper of them to a person and ask him to turn his back. First he is to remove several and pocket them so that the performer will not know how many are in the pack. Now he is to count those remaining and tear out enough more to represent that number. For instance, should there be fifteen left, he is to tear out one and lay it on the table, and then tear out five to lay alongside it, in…
Here is an old card principle in a new dress and for a different effect. Magicians all know the old stunt of putting four aces on top of the deck and having it cut into four piles. Then, cards are moved from pile to pile by the spectator, at the performer’s direction, and for a climax, the top card of each pile is turned and shown to be an ace. Now try it this way. While seated at a table, write a prediction on a piece of paper, fold, and let someone keep it. Pick up the pack, false shuffle…
I know many people who don't care for an effect like that which is to follow in the wake of these lament but nevertheless there are a few who will make use of it in their spare time. When Mr Cole showed it to me I thought it rather cute and different in several ways from the usual run of such stunts. I find it nice to do when I have the back of an envelope that is without notes and upon which the lenient victim can make his notations as well as calculations. The person in question is asked…
Good publicity stunts for newspaper men and offices are not easy to find. This not only fills that need but is also good for impromptu use anywhere at any time. Tearing a piece from any handy newspaper, the performer has his witness look it over and encircle any word thereon with a pencil line. The paper is folded and the spectator is asked to concentrate upon the word. The performer tears the piece of paper into bits openly, drops them into an ashtray and sets fire to them. As soon as the paper is burned he reveals the chosen word…