Pages from magic and home entertainment

MAGIC AND

Home Entertainment

MAGIC GAMES HUMOR

Copyright 1924 ADAMS

PRESS

19 Park Place, N e w York City

MAGIC In the following experiments we have chosen the simplest, so that the amateur could the more easily master them for home use.

Nevertheless no trick should be attempted until well practiced.

Next to practice you require a "line of talk" to fit each trick, this talk misdirects, or keeps the company's mind occupied, to such an extent that they do not discover what you desire to hide. If you make yourself thoroughly familiar with the trick arid talk you will succeed.

CANT BRUSH A DIME FROM YOUR HAND Borrow a dime from one of the company, place it in the hollow of the palm of your open hand. Take an ordinary flat clothes brush and invite any one to brush the dime off your hand, stating that they can have the dime if they succeed. The dime is not out of your pocket so why should you worry. They cannot use the extreme ends of the brush but must brush with the part between the ends. Hold your hand out stiff with the dime in the hollow of the palm and they will never succeed in getting it out.

THE CORD THAT BINDS Take two pieces of cord each about 12 feet long. Tie the ends of one piece to the wrists of a lady. Pass the other piece through this loop and tie to the wrists of a gentleman. These two cords looped together securely ties together the couple, Inform them that it is their task to get free from each other without untying the knots or cutting the cord. Failing to do so they are bound for life. They will step over and under and twist themselves in all sorts of shapes in an endeavor to extricate themselves.

To get free from each other one of them should take the center of his cord and pass it through the part that is tied around one of the wrists of his partner. Do this on the top of the hand away from the fingers, draw this loop over the fingers and out at the underpart of the hand, and they will be free.

MESMERIZED WALKING STICK To do this trick you sit down and hold a walking stick or umbrella between your knees. Carelessly allow it to fall to the floor a couple of times while explaining what a fine stick or umbrella it is. Then say: "Look here Mr. Umbrella, if you don't stand up I will mesmerize you." Make a few passes over it, and behold it stands without any effort as long as you desire. Then you pass it to some other man to try, and it promptly falls down. Ask him how he expects it to stand if he does not mesmerize it, etc.

To do this trick take a piece of fine black silk about 15 inches long, and fasten it to your trousers at the knees on the inside of the legs. When you want the stick to stand up, spreai the knees until the thread is taut and lean the stick against the thread.

11 will stand up very nicely. You can ge": up and walk to give the cane to some me else, even if you break the thread it will not be seen. If you pin the thread on use black pins.

TO SUSPEND A CUP FROM THE CEILING AND CUT THE THREAD Make the statement that you can suspend a cup from the ceiling with a cord, cut the cord in the center, and the cup will not fall.

After you have suspended the cup, tie a loop in the center of the cord, and cut it in the center of the loop. Of course the cup Will not fall as the knot in the cord forming the loop will hold the cord together. Thus you have suspended a cup and cut the cord without the cup falling.

THE OBEDIENT CARD Take an ordinary business card, or other piece of cardboard, of oblong shape. Bend the two ends of the card about a quarter of an inch at right angles to the card, thus forming an inverted U. Place this on a smooth table or tray and ask some one to blow it over. When every one has failed, blow sharply with mouth close to the table and ten or twelve inches from the card. The card will turn over for you.

THE FLOATING HAT Take an ordinary black derby hat, attach a fine silk thread from the inside through the crown, so that it makes a loop on the top of the hat sufficient to insert one or more fingers. To make this loop, thread a needle with the silk, tie the two ends together and pass the needle through the top of the hat from the inside, the knot on the thread will prevent it coming through.

Cut the thread at the top to release the needle and tie the ends together. When you have finished the trick the thread can be pulled out, dropped, the hat shown.

Make passes over the hat to get your finger under the thread, when you can make the hat float in the air. You could have a fan in the other hand and fan under the hat to give the appearance of floating in the air. Move the hat around slowly as though with effort.

TO MAKE A COIN DISAPPEAR AND RE-APPEAR A coin is borrowed and placed on a sheet of paper near an inverted glass. A paper cylinder is made by rolling a sheet of paper to the size of the glass and pinning it. This cylinder is placed over the glass, which is then placed over the coin. When the cylinder is removed the coin has disappeared. The cylinder is once more placed over the gla'ss, the glass lifted and the coin reappears.

How it is done—cut a paper disk of the same paper as that on which the trick is done, just large enough to cover the top of the glass but not to extend over the sides.. Attach it to the edges of the glass by a very little paste. It cannot be seen when