Step into the private workshop of Jack Chanin - Philadelphia's "Man With the Magic Hands" - with From the Private Files of Chanin, a curated collection of some of his most ingenious, deceptive, and surprisingly simple magical miracles. This isn't just another magic book - it's a vault of forgotten treasures, meticulously transcribed from Chanin's original instruction sheets, many of which baffled even his fellow magicians. Inside, you'll find 27 astonishing effects with cards, silks, ropes, eggs, coins, and everyday objects - including his legendary "Rip-It" (torn-and-restored bill), the mind-bending "Scotland Yard" lie-detector card routine, and the impossible "Hot Breath" napkin-to-flame miracle. Every trick is workable with minimal or no apparatus, making them perfect for performances at tables, parties, or on stage. Chanin's magic is elegant, direct, and devastatingly effective - and now this collection of some of his legendary "instruction sheets" gathered in one essential volume, can be yours.
Own a Piece of Magic History - Before It Vanishes Again
Jack Chanin didn't just sell magic - he lived it, performed it in full Chinese regalia as "Cha-Nin," and invented effects so clever they've remained underground gems for decades. From the Private Files of Chanin preserves his legacy with crystal-clear instructions, historical context, and thoughtful annotations by editor Marko. Whether you're a seasoned performer looking to add timeless classics to your repertoire or a curious collector of magical arcana, this book offers rare insight into the mind of a true innovator. These are not theoretical tricks - they're battle-tested miracles that astonished audiences in Jack Chanin's time and can astonish them today. Don't let these secrets stay buried. Add this instant classic to your library and experience the magic that made Chanin a legend - effects so good, he asked his buyers to "keep this secret to yourself." The secret's out. The book is here. The magic is yours.
Here's a summary of the contents of this fantastic book:
1. VANISHING SALT TRICK
Effect: An amount of salt is poured into the magician's fist. With a simple gesture, the hand is opened - and the salt has completely vanished without a trace.
2. COLOR CHANGE OF A SILK
Effect: A silk handkerchief is visibly pushed into the hand. When it emerges from the other end, it has instantly and impossibly changed to a completely different color. This is Chanin's expert handling of the dye tube.
3. J. C. SHOE LACE MIRACLE (Improved)
Effect: A borrowed ring or key is threaded onto a shoelace and tied in place for identification. The center of the lace is then burned away - yet the lace is instantly and visibly restored to perfect condition, with the ring still securely on it.
4. TRU-AN-TRU
Effect: A solid object - like a table knife, pencil, or straw - is clearly placed under a napkin or handkerchief. With a simple motion, the object visibly and impossibly penetrates through the fabric, emerging on the other side - leaving the napkin or handkerchief completely unharmed.
5. DYEING OF THE SILKS
Effect: Three white silk handkerchiefs are pushed one by one through a simple paper tube made from a magazine cover. Each time a white silk enters, a brightly colored silk emerges from the other end. In the end, all three white silks have been magically "dyed" into three different, vibrant colors - and the paper tube is shown completely empty.
6. YOUR CARD PLEASE!
Effect: A spectator freely selects and marks a card. After it's lost in the deck, a different card rises mysteriously from the center of the pack, attached to a ribbon. When that proves wrong, the spectator himself pulls the ribbon - and the correct, selected card rises instead, still securely fastened to the ribbon.
7. RIP-IT (A Masterpiece)
Effect: A genuine, unprepared dollar bill is folded and a small piece is visibly and audibly torn from its center. The torn piece is placed in the magician's mouth and chewed. The bill is then unfolded - and shown completely restored, with no trace of damage. This is one of Jack Chanin's greatest creations.
8. THE CHINESE LAUNDRY CHECK
Effect: A single sheet of paper (or tissue) is shown on both sides and given for examination. It is then torn into small pieces, crumpled into a ball, and sprinkled with "magic powder." When opened again, the paper is found completely restored - whole and undamaged... and it is handed to the audience since there's nothing to find.
9. J. C. DEAD RINGER
Effect: A spectator holds the ends of a silk handkerchief stretched between his hands. A knot is tied in the center. The magician covers the knot for just a moment - and when uncovered, a borrowed ring has magically appeared, securely threaded onto the knot.
10. "FOLD IT"
Effect: A borrowed coin is wrapped inside a piece of newspaper. The package is tapped against a glass to prove the coin is inside. The paper is then torn into tiny pieces and dropped into the glass - but no sound is heard. The coin has vanished. Moments later, the original, marked coin is found inside a sealed package that the spectator has been holding the entire time.
11. 7 IN 1 CARD ROUTINE
Effect: A single, freely selected and signed card undergoes a stunning series of seven different magical revelations: it's found by a "fancy cut," appears at a number called by the spectator, is the only card to repeatedly show up during a running cut, and finally vanishes completely from the deck - only to reappear in a sealed envelope or wallet.
12. PHANTASTIQUE BAG
Effect: An ordinary paper shopping bag is shown empty. The magician pours what appears to be water into it. When the bag is opened, a cascade of colorful silks and ribbons pour out - completely dry. The bag is swished again, tilted over a pitcher - and now pours out pure, white milk (or wine, or soda) - leaving the audience wondering where it all came from.
13. SQUIRMY WORM ROPE (by Allan Lambie)
Effect: A length of ordinary rope is held dangling from the magician's fingers. With a mysterious gesture, the lower half of the rope suddenly and spookily curls up by itself, wrapping around the thumb as if alive. This eerie, self-animating motion can be repeated several times before the rope is casually tossed aside.
14. THE PAPER THAT WAS
Effect: A strip of tissue paper is burned to ashes in the spectator's view. The magician reaches into the ashes and magically restores the paper, whole and intact. The paper then vanishes from a closed fist, reappears from inside a silk handkerchief, penetrates through the silk, and finally vanishes once more - leaving no trace behind.
15. THE PADDLE MYSTERY
Effect: A small wooden paddle, shown blank on both sides, impossibly produces coins, stamps, or cigarettes that appear and disappear at will. The paddle can be examined at the end - and is found completely ordinary.
16. OUT OF THE BAG (Paddle Routine)
Effect: A borrowed dollar bill and cigarette are wrapped together and fastened to a paddle using a rubber band. The bill visibly vanishes, leaving only the cigarette. The cigarette is lit, smoked, and then broken open - revealing the same borrowed dollar bill inside, perfectly intact and identified by its serial number.
17. KNOCKOUT ROUTINE (Paddle)
Effect: Seven pennies are placed on the paddle, three on each side. The magician removes them two at a time, yet somehow always leaves fewer behind. Eventually, the paddle is shown completely empty on both sides - even though the spectator is certain one penny should remain.
18. PADDLED (Bonus from The Phoenix)
Effect: A paddle displays three pennies on one side and three dimes on the other - totaling 33 cents. The pennies are slowly and fairly removed one by one. The paddle is then shown on both sides using the classic "paddle move" - and the three dimes have vanished. The paddle is handed out for examination - and is found completely empty. This is a fine "sucker" style trick.
19. I DON'T BELIEVE IT - ROPE TRICK
Effect: A spectator designates any spot on a long rope held by two people. The rope is cut cleanly at that exact spot. With no tying or covering, the magician instantly and visibly restores the rope to one piece - which can then be handed out for inspection.
20. HOT BREATH
Effect: The magician, lacking a match, picks up a paper napkin and simply blows on it. Instantly, the napkin bursts into flame. The fire is used to light a candle or place into a dove pan - leaving the audience stunned by the power of "hot breath."
21. THE GYPSY'S BANGLE
Effect: A solid metal ring is placed onto a piece of string held between the magician's fingers. With a simple, visible motion, the ring impossibly penetrates through the string, as if the solid metal passed through the solid cord. As a finale, a bow is tied in the string, and the ring is removed without untying the knot.
22. SCOTLAND YARD
Effect: A card is freely selected and initialed while the magician looks away. The deck is shuffled. The spectator then deals cards face down, naming each one aloud. The magician, using "lie detection" principles, listens intently and stops them - correctly identifying the exact moment the spectator lied about their own card's name.
23. CARD CONTROL
Effect: A freely selected card is lost in the deck. The magician performs what looks like a casual, in-the-hands shuffle - yet at the end, the selected card is secretly and perfectly controlled to the top (or any desired position) - ready for any magical revelation. This easy method can be used to control several cards, and this is demonstrated in a 4-Ace routine.
24. SALTY
Effect: A card is freely selected and lost in the deck, which is then shuffled. The entire deck is placed on the spectator's outstretched palm. The magician gently shakes the spectator's finger - and the deck magically separates at the exact spot where the selected card lies.
25. SILK TO EGG
Effect: A colorful silk handkerchief is waved and then apparently compressed into a small hollow egg. The egg is shown on all sides. In a flash, the silk vanishes and is replaced by a real, solid egg. To prove it's real, the egg is broken open into a saucer - and the silk is later produced from an entirely different location. This is Chanin's expert handling of this classic trick.
26. TOM OSBORNE 3 TO 1 ROPE TRICK (Adapted by Chanin)
Effect: Three separate pieces of rope are shown. They are tied together in various ways, yet through a series of magical transformations, they always end up as one single, long, unbroken rope - defying all logic and expectation.
27. JACK CHANIN'S MOVES FOR 3-SHELL GAME
Effect: A small pea or ball is placed under one of three identical shells. The shells are rapidly mixed and moved in plain sight. Despite the spectator's best efforts to follow it, the pea impossibly jumps from shell to shell - and is never found where it should be. The magician demonstrates a variety of baffling techniques that make the game unwinnable. This is a concise yet complete guide for performing the 3-Shell game as it includes moves and several different combinations to construct an effective routine.
1st edition 2025, PDF 57 pages.
word count: 21530 which is equivalent to 86 standard pages of text
