December 30, 1938 Dear Ted; I want to tell you about a strange experience I had the other day and also show you how easy it is to get into a jam doing card tricks around some of these spots where they offer you a drink for about ten dollars worth of entertainment. In Boston the other day I happened to run into a college chum I hadn't seen for years. After the usual "you old so-and-so" type of greeting he invited me up to his club. Now, I've been in some mighty nice private clubs but this was about…
Effect: Two decks of cards, sealed in their cases, are offered to a spectator who is asked to choose one and keep it in his possession. The other deck is taken from case by performer and three cards mentally selected. The first is found by spelling its name, the second in the same manner except that the spectator handles the deck himself, and the last is found in the sealed case held by the spectator who has been holding it throughout the entire action. A preliminary set-up solves the whole problem. 10 Clubs A Spades 9 Hearts Q Spades 4…
(A takeoff on the ancient coin (glass disc) into a glass of water, this effect didn't sound so forte, but when I saw it done, in between other card effects, I reversed my opinion. Ed.) Five cards are taken from the pack's top and shown in a fan. A spectator names one of the five. We shall presume it to be the Ace of Clubs. The Ace is covered with a handkerchief and held by the performer. A shake of the hank shows the card to have vanished. It is reproduced from one of the magician's pockets. Don't grimace now.…
After a standard four Ace trick, or two, this gag serves for a funny surprise finish. Most magicians do four Ace tricks (correct me if I'm wrong), so the idea shouldn't be unwelcome. The four Aces lie face up on the table and the spectator is asked to indicate his choice of one by turning it face down. All note its position and then the remaining three Aces are turned over also. Three cards are first placed on the selected Ace and then the same number on each of the remaining, as in the prosaic effect. Now three of the…
(Editor's note : Mr. Simpson has, to us, discovered a new system of almost immediately computing the location of the spectator's thought of card after he, himself, has handled the cards alone. It is a vast improvement over the old 27 card trick, or the method (requiring tables) by Jordan for use with the entire deck, or the more complicated method of figuring as written by Stanyon. Combined with another deck for a coincidental effect it makes an amazing problem.) EFFECT Two ordinary decks of card are used, the spectator having free choice of one, the performer retaining the other.…
The magician has a card selected from the usual ordinary deck in the usual ordinary manner. It isn't put back among its fellow cards, as usual, however, for the magus lays his deck aside. Then he asks the selector to initial the pasteboard in such a manner that he will be able to identify it -- soon. The spectator surrenders his chosen card to the performer, who openly, and very fairly, folds it within the confines of a square of newspaper. The paper is touched by a match, flames as is to be expected, and, at the last safe moment,…
The trick is ruthless, but effective. The audience sees four envelopes passed out, and four cards taken from the pack by those people. The cards are sealed, collected by a fifth person, mixed well, and laid, BY HIM, in a row on a table between performer and audience. Now the magus speaks out. He wants to show that a sympathy exists between people and the objects they have touched. To emphasize that sympathy he will let each of the four people pass through a sieve of chance. Each of the four persons is given his chance. Each, in turn, keeps…
(Editor's Note: Some of the magician-detectives that have been lately popping out from every book and magazine do other things beside their unmasking of murderous maniacs, their outwitting of international spies, bloodthirsty vampires and invisible men. THEY CONTRIBUTE THEIR PET EFFECTS TO THE JINX! Way back in issue #56 Clayton Rawson's fictional zombie, The Great Merlini, gave us RED VIBRO. And now the genie from Stuart Towne's brain and typewriter, Don Diavolo, The Scarlet Wizard, steps out of the pages of fiction to give you, and your audiences, a trip into the future of the fourth dimension!) "You have all…
Some subscribers have wanted clarity via less words in these descriptions of tricks. I saw this effect presented three times before it dawned that I was contaminating it with my ideas which should fool magicians. Then, and only then, did I realize why the audience was being fooled. The trick was quickly done, simply presented, and, none of those watching were ever bored. Ed. Five cards are taken from the top of the pack which has been shuffled, and shown in a fan. A designated spectator names ANY one. This chosen card is openly covered with a handkerchief and held…
Somewhere in this issue is a force by Don Diavolo, complemented with an unusual climax. My trick cannot approach Mr. Diavolo's conception for originality, but it DOES amaze people because of its backwardness. I must emphasize the presentation. It should take the audience through sincerity of purpose, maddening suspense, lack of confidence, despair of success, and finally, a grand climax as perfect for the performer as for the spectators. It's a trick with cards best introduced in a program where cards otherwise are absent. The performer opens up a deck (obviously new) with the statement that he will attempt a…