David Devant's books are some of the best books on conjuring ever written. This one is no exception. There is so much wisdom and advice in them. Following it is bound to make you a better magician, particularly if you are relatively new to this performing art, or if you are struggling to have success with it.
From the insightful introduction:
One way of discovering the worth of a trick is very simple. Test it by performing it to an audience. If the trick passes that test it is a good trick. All the tricks described in this book have been tested in that way and have passed the test. I have not attempted to describe all the good tricks in existence, for the simple reason that it would be impossible to do that in a book of this size. But I have selected my material very carefully. All the tricks I have explained are well within the reach of any amateur conjurer who wishes to give an entertaining performance to his friends.
...
"Patter" - the conjurer's conversation during his performance - is generally the amateur's weakest point. I have given suggestions for patter for some of the tricks explained in this book, but I strongly advise the amateur to try to concoct his own patter. The more jokes the better, within reason, provided they are good jokes and are not dragged in; they must be suitable for the occasion.
There is seldom any danger of a performer being too amusing, but if his main object is to get laughs he may find that although he has amused his audience he has not mystified them by his performance, and after all that is what a conjurer is supposed to do. The jokes should be an accompaniment to the tricks, and the accompaniment must not be so prominent that the audience pay more attention to that than to the tricks.
- INTRODUCTION
- CHAPTER I COIN TRICKS
- The Travelling Coins
- The Cap and Pence
- An Impossible Trick
- A Coin and a Ball
- A Coin and a Nest of Boxes
- The Miser's Dream
- CHAPTER II TRICKS WITH BALLS
- The Billiard Balls
- A Ball and a Handkerchief
- A Handkerchief Changed Into a Ball
- The Patriotic Balls
- CHAPTER III CARD TRICKS
- Simple Thought-reading
- Invisible Flight
- Three Celebrities
- The Card and the Cigarette
- CHAPTER IV MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS
- The Clock
- The Sliding Die Box
- CHAPTER V MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS (continued)
- A Strip of Paper
- The Drying Machine
- A Chinese Transparency
- The Japanese Box
- The Mysterious Ring
- The 20th Century Trick
- The Dyed Handkerchiefs
- CHAPTER VI A FEAT OF MEMORY
- CHAPTER VII LAYING THE GHOST
1st edition 1931, 124 pages; PDF 68 pages.
word count: 29432 which is equivalent to 117 standard pages of text
