Conjurors are ever on the lookout for pocket tricks, and certainly there is much to say for their use in the everyday social life of a magician. The ideal pocket trick should require no preparation and difficulty of performance be reduced to a minimum, as few care to expend hours of weary practice on a trick that can only be shown to a small circle of acquaintances. The little trick I am about to describe, although quite unpretentious, will, I feel sure, be appreciated by readers, as the effect is a clearly defined one, requiring but little practice. The charm…
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…
If ever there was an impromptu mental novelty, this should be it. I took the basic working from an idea of Montreal's Charles Peet about two years ago, and it has served me quite well. Borrow a derby or soft hat. Say that you'll show a test of clairvoyance and telepathy combined. Ask for the loan of seven or eight one dollar bills. However, before starting to collect them, step up to one volunteer and ask him to write his name in pencil on his bill to identify it later as his. Ask him to fold it over and over…
I don't know where Mr James got his title for this mystery, but anytime anyone can produce such a problem I'll be the last to argue over what it is to be called. Certainly no concocted effect has in years been so original in effect upon the watchers. I have used the problem any number of times since learning it, and I have yet to find people who aren't amazed at the outcome. I won't go into any reason why it works because of limits in space, but it does work, and that's about the most important thing. The performer…