Magic & Conjuring: page 413

Have you ever tried to adjust your hands and fingers for a portrait of Shakespeare, a sheep, or a wild Indian? The author of this delightful book of hand shadows spent long hours working out the figures in this book. By following his clear visual instructions (each of the 16 figures in this book is explained by a full-page illustration that shows you the precise positioning for fingers and hands) you can create Shakespeare, a sheep, Wellington, a hare, Mike, Mike's pig, a cockatoo, a bull's head, a squirrel, Mrs. Gamp, Mr. Punch, and other people and animals. After you have mastered these, you...

Aldo Colombini has selected eighteen wonderful card effects for his first ebook. Most of these are completely new and have never been published before. Some have seen print in largely unknown periodicals. Aldo is a master in creating strong effects with little finger flinging. We also included some interesting snap shots from Aldo's magic life.

1st edition, 2002, Lybrary.com.

1. 4' Wave
2. Carousel
3. Confusing Sevens
4. Cut It Out
5. Don't Joke Around
6. Fire Down Below
7. Inside Moves
8. Investigations
9. Narrow Margin
10. Nowhere
11. The Comancheros
12. The Great Escape
13. The Kings And I
14. Triumphant Triumph
15. Ultra...

U. F. Grant presents several clever ideas on billet reading or how to use a svengali deck for mentalism. He also has a completely different version of "Grey Elephants in Denmark".

• Bill Reading
• Name Duplication
• Impromptu Test
• Best Digit Test
• Cards Impossible
• In Their Pocket
• Up & Down Test
• Thot of Person
• Card Projection
• Lites Out
• Dunninger Type Act
• Another Dunninger
• Weekly Prediction
• Committee Test
• Thought Projector
• Private Lives
• Lobby Tip-Off
• Directory Test
• Houdini Bill Reading
• Glass Clipboard
• Mental Table
• Flaming Answer
• Fake Questions
• Flower-Color-Animal
• Mass Mind Reading

10...

This is a gutsy and exceptionally strong effect. Look out for this guy. He will be releasing more of his strong ideas.

1st edition, 2002.

The original edition of this book was selected among the best books of 1935 by John Mulholland, editor of The Sphinx. Contact mind reading or 'muscle reading' is probably the next best thing to genuine mind reading. It doesn't require any gimmicks, codes or confederates. It is based on involuntary subtle clues spectators give. This is one of the best texts ever written on this subject.

Paul Fleming wrote:

Hideo Kato was for many years a part of the brain trust of Tenyo, thinking up new and clever effects for its line of magic products. He is the creator of such well known effects like "The Wandering Hole" or "Mirror-Mate", thirteen unique inventions altogether. Kato has a particular love for the pasteboards and over the years he has developed hundreds of miracles with them. In this ebook he is sharing 13 effects with us, eleven are based on the method of estimation and two bonus tricks. Beside a little biographical sketch about Hideo Kato you will also find a short history of estimation. He also...

An exciting, humorous routine, which combines subtle mentalism with magic! From the fertile mind of Ralf Wichmann-Braco - the German wizard who brought the world of magic some of the most pivotal work on the use of thread, this routine combines the elements of prediction, animation and great humor to stun the audience into believing that a felt tip marker has come to life inside a wooden box.

The magician brings out a wooden box, about the size of a small cigar humidor. He borrows an object from a spectator. The object is placed inside a small cardboard box. Then this box and a felt tip marker...

This little booklet details the code the Zancigs used. Laura Fixen writes in the preface that she was a student with the Zancigs and was taught their code.

1st edition, 1912, Laura G. Fixen; 27 pages.

3. Preface
4. How the Zancig System Was Obtained
5. How The Carter-Price Act Was Secured
6. How to Apply the "Second Sight" System
7. To Tell Letters
8. The Zancigs' Code
9. To Tell Numbers
9. To Tell Dates
10. To Tell Money
11. To Tell Names
12. To Tell Articles
13. Articles by Series
20. Countries
21. Lodges and Orders
22. Colors
22. Silent Cues
23. The Fays' Great Act
25. Advertisement

Dorny was a much liked and regarded magician of his time. One of the highlights of this book is the "Who's Who and Why" section which will tell you a lot about the colleagues of Dorny. There is also a good patter section and a number of tricks ranging from cards, coins, mentalism, most of them contributed by other magicians like Hugard, Blackstone, Jordan, Brema, Hilliar, ...

1st edition, 1921, W. Dornfeld, published by Arthur P. Felsman; 286 pages.

13. Overture
19. Act One - "Chatter"
65. Intermission - "The Ne-Kro-Mancer Man"
73. Act Two - "Who's Who - and Why"
181. Intermission - "War Magic"
193. Act Three - "Trix"
272. Finale

The title "Secrets - Malini, Leipzig, Vernon, Jarrow, ..." suggests a lot, but these are merely the interpretations and versions of U. F. Grant to some of the classics of Malini, Leipzig, Vernon, Jarrow and others. Grant uses only one page to describe each effect and method. This book is therefore to some degree a disappointment. Nevertheless I think it is a cheap way to learn the plots and a method to several of the greatest tricks of all time. Just don't expect very detailed descriptions. Grant displays in this book an arrogant writing style with comments like 'This is good' or "The best method" or "Fools...

Moe Seidenstein was a legendary character who baffled the magic convention attendees in the 1930s with "Moe's Move a Card" and "Think a Card," stunning effects with no possible hint as to method. Then, Moe disappeared. Now you can learn 11 of Moe's tricks - well, actually 10 because for one no method is given. Moe relies heavily on estimation. A good primer for estimation is Kato on Estimation.

11 pages.

1. The 'Moe' Look At A Card Trick
2. Moe's Counting
3. Moe's Location While The Back Is Turned
4. Moe's Riffle Behind The Back Location
5. Another More Mental Force
6. Moe's Spread Trick
7. Moe's Card Riffle Over The...

This ebook gives a very nice glimpse into the past. It describes the routines and effects of the programmes of famous magicians. You will find descriptions of programmes by Dai Vernon, Al Baker, Annemann, Cardini, Blackstone, Dante, Davenport, Hugard, Keating, and many more. Check the table of contents link further down for the complete list.

1st edition, 1937, Max Holden, New York City; 49 pages.

2. Percy Abbott
2. AMAC
3. Annemann
4. Al Baker
4. Roy Benson
5. Walter Baker & Co
5. McDonald Birch & Co
5. John Blackledge
5. John Booth
6. Harry Blackstone
7. The Late Herbert Brooks
7. Milbourne Christopher
7. The Great Carmo
7. Keith Clark
8. Cardini
8. Cortini
9. Chris Charlton
10. Judson Cole
10. Henry Clive ...

This is a wonderful item in many respects. First, these three 78 rpm records and booklet, bound in a beautiful hard cover are quite rare. I have seen copies with missing instructions or broken records. Second, Zingone was a fast and smooth professional card manipulator. Being able to hear him speak and perform tricks accompanied by his voice is a treat. And third, the six tricks taught are excellent.

You will receive a PDF that includes the instructions, photos of the original box, and six audio clips embedded in the PDF, one for each trick. (You can also download the audio clips as stand...

This is a very clear description of how to build a Houdini-style Sub Trunk from readily available parts. Matt added several clear photos to illustrate various stages and subassemblies. If you have never built an illusion or if you don't know the secret of this classic trick, you will find this ebook very useful.

1st edition, 2004

The Volta System For The Feat Of Reading Sealed Messages ... says it all! Burling Hull’s personal verbosity shows up in this 16 page booklet of "the latest advances for the reading of sealed messages." In 1929, when this was released, it was the final word in sealed message reading. Today, it still ranks at the top of any list of secrets of this kind.

It covers: impromptu work with borrowed stationary; the first practical solution of what was once considered an impossible feat; the ability of this "Power" to always be available to the performer

These words from Burling Hull were used...

Five Mind Reading Acts Exposed was written prior to 1940 and upon reading the 12 pages of instruction you realize that everything old is new again. Although all the routines are designed for a two person act some of the ideas contained can be adapted for a single performer. No author is credited and it is a compilation of secrets of acts of that era.

Act No. 1 is the reading of dates on coins sealed in envelopes. Today’s mentalists could combine this with Psychometry and Cold Reading to use as a feature in their act.

Act No. 2 is a preamble to the question answering act of Falkenstein....

An Ambitious Card routine which cleverly uses the Card Box to heighten the effect.

1st edition, 2004.

As the title suggests, this is a pure work about theory, but not old and dusty thoughts, instead a fresh and new look by Daniel Tyler. Certainly you will find topics which are as old as magic, such as 'the merit of gimmicks' and 'misdirection', but you will also find a chapter dealing with 'where to shop', which is up-to-date and includes places on the internet. This chapter alone can save you a multiple of the price of this ebook. Or what about 'getting the girl' or 'how to admire Blaine, but be yourself' - all topics that Daniel discusses. You might be shocked to hear that Daniel is just eighteen...

This ebook is the author debut of Michael Wild. But he is no beginner when it comes to handling coins. He likes to perform in a bar/restaurant environment, and all his routines have been extensively tested there. I was impressed with his meticulous way of describing his routines, his thinking and motivation. He included many photos to describe the modus operandi. This makes it very easy to follow along and learn these fantastic coin routines. The PDF version is done in a beautiful magazine like layout. Michael is also a regular at The Magic Café online forum, aka Wildstone. If you have any...

Tavern Magic 1 was so well received that Michael Wild decided to follow it with a second volume which has even better routines. To use his own words "it's larger, has more photos, and contains some pretty damn good material (if I do say so myself)". Yes, it has almost double the amount of photos - and I thought volume one was already chock full of photos - and it teaches indeed amazing miracles using the Sun & Moon gaff coin set. For reviews and comments about Michael's innovative work see Tavern Magic 1.

Michael about the Sun & Moon gaff: "I have always been fascinated by the Sun & Moon coin set because of it's diabolically...

Michael Wild has teamed up with another hard core bar magician, Todd Diamond, to share with you their knowledge and great effects for the bar/pub venue. If you read Bar Magician it will become obvious that these two gentlemen have done magic in bars for quite some time. They explain their thinking and reveal some of their best effects. A bar can be a tough and sometimes rude place. Todd and Michael included one effect that matches this environment: "Two Cigarettes Having Sex". Be warned that this presentation may offend you. You might not want to do this for your in-laws next to the Christmas...

This book includes detailed work on the "Cups and Balls," and the first version of the "Stack of Pence" (i.e., "Stack of Quarters"). It is probably the first English book written from the viewpoint of a performing magician. Any serious magician should read this book, not to learn a lot of new tricks, but to realize how much has been known for a long time. This book is part of our history. I understand that $60 or more for a paper reprint is hard to justify, but now for a few bucks there should be no excuse to not read this wonderful little treasure.

1st edition, 1634; 52 pages.

3. The Epistle...

This is a neat little collection of bar tricks, stunts and simple magic effects. Some of it will be familiar to you, some have a new twist or plot and others might be completely new to you. Julian added photos to make it very easy to present these on your next visit to your favorite bar or restaurant. It is a good idea to have a few of these stunts ready when you are not prepared to do a full magic show, but still want to be the center of attention.

1st edition, 2004.

1. Red or Black
This trick will prove that your volunteer has ESP as they correctly predict whether cards are red or black. ...

It took us two years to track down a copy of these elusive instructions to the bottom deal. Gary Plants, the man with the best bottom deal alive, wrote "The Artanis bottom deal is probably the closest thing in print to the type of bottom deal that I do."

The really cool part of this ebook is that you can study the bottom deal audio-visually: hear, see and read. Artanis explains verbally how to do the bottom deal, you can study 12 photos that capture every stage of the bottom deal, and you can read a set of instructions. The electronic format allowed us to further improve the audio-visual...