Any time you are within shouting distance of a calendar, it will be possible to present an offhand feat to upset good mathematicians. The assistant takes a monthly sheet; you turn your back. He is told to mark off one day in each week. You now ask "How many Sundays are checked ?" "How many Mondays ?" "How many Tuesdays ?" etc. Immediately after this you name a number. The calendar man adds up the dates he has crossed and finds that you have correctly called the total ! Our secret is well hidden. A calendar page is illustrated. Try…
Cards, counters, and other foreign appliances have no part in this really new conception. The spectators select any page and any line in a Reader's Digest, or similar magazine. They remember the first word of the line, and on a blank card write the page number and line number. The writing is sealed in an envelope. The flap is either initialed to prevent opening, or wax may be used with a ring impression to build it. The envelope is slipped under the door of a room wherein the performer has been concentrating (?) during the entire process. A minute later…
Jinx #10 contained the first mention in periodicals for magi of extra sensory perception, that much discussed emotion of present day delvers into the realm of mental gymnastics. However, insofar as I have been able to discover, magicians taking advantage of the Rhine publicity by using the symbol cards in their presentations becloud the issue by using the cards like an ordinary bridge deck, and complicate things with sleights and intricate patterns of effect for which the original designs were never intended. Over two years ago I made up a set for my own amazement, and used them only at…
An original method for securing a question or message makes use of a common hat pin. Holding the hat pin in my right hand, I request a spectator to write on a piece of paper, fold it into a small bundle, and stick the paper on the end of the pin. The first illustration is followed here. There has already been stuck onto pin another duplicate paper roll, which isn't visible because I am holding the needle between my thumb and first finger in a manner so as to conceal the duplicate. Now, with the left thumb and forefinger I…
Ladies in the audience always make available a powder case, or compact, which becomes a valuable accessory in this feat of fake clairvoyance. It is practical as an interlude during your performance, and is an excellent publicity stunt for impromptu work. A compact having been secured, the owner is asked to write a single word on a business card, enclosing it in the case. The performer is given the case behind back and he faces the audience. Immediately he says that the second letter is exceptionally clear and is round, like a letter "e" or "o". Then, after building up…
A number of white pasteboard cards are shown all different and to contain a number on one side, all numbers varying in the hundreds and thousands. The cards are shuffled, and after cutting, a spectator removes five, holding number sides down. On a slate the performer now chalks "THE TOTAL OF THE NUMBER SELECTED WILL BE", explaining that a helpful spirit will write in chalk the total of the addition to be arrived at presently. Another slate is given spectator, he copying the numbers selected onto slate and adding them up. While this is being done, the first slate is…
A number of coins are collected in a borrowed hat which the wizard places on the table crown down. Announcing the date of a coin, the performer puts his hand into the hat, and brings forth a coin which he immediately passes for inspection. It bears the date he named ! He repeats with the others. One advantage of this method is that no extra coin is used, and another is the fact that the spectators may note the dates on their own coins before dropping them into the hat. Thus each may claim his coin immediately after its date…
Just a few years ago I would have taken this idea, put a full page ad in the Sphinx, supplied a book and deck of cards, made a price of about three dollars, and sold from 100 to 150. I'm rather proud of the way it has worked out, and it is a direct result of the effect Between the Lines that received much in the way of plaudits in the May issue. Whereas Between the Lines was a straight book test with the word revealed at the finish, The Oss of Lhasa is a prophecy, fair and very square,…
Editor's note : I dug this up from out of the past, and offer it now to those who otherwise would never see or get to know it. I honestly consider Stewart James as one of the best informed people in the business, bar none, and one whose tricks always have a touch of genius in their originality. The performer writes a prediction on a slip of paper and a spectator retains it. Two volunteers are each given a half of the pack and the first volunteer shuffles his half and selects a card while they are all in his…
Know as Long Distance Telepathy, this effect has always been one of great appeal, but it hasn't been exactly practical and useful for the performer who entertains mostly in the home and more or less along impromptu lines. The older methods are fairly well known to the profession: (a) by writing in the pocket and secreting in a fountain pen, (b) an impression pad, (c) and John Booth devised a method where the metal container for a pencil eraser is removed and the message hidden there. Other methods have appeared but generally not straightforward enough for practical use. I have…