There is no more fascinating study, when once an interest in the subject has been aroused, than conjuring - or, as it is popularly called, "Magic." One of the most delightful of all pastimes is the inventing and performing of new tricks, and watching their effect upon the audience - who do not know the secrets of the various "sleights" performed. We all know how fascinating the professional conjuror's entertainment is, - and how mystifying! So I propose to take my readers, - in the present book, - into the very heart of the mystery - to explain exactly how the important and really effective tricks are performed - and not merely the "workings" of a few parlour tricks, which are out-of-date, and easy of detection. After reading this volume, the would-be magician will find himself possessed of a wealth of secrets, and a stock of information which will enable him to give an entertainment as good as many seen upon the public stage - if he will but give the necessary amount of time and trouble to developing and studying the tricks.
Dr. Carrington is the author of a number of books on spiritualism, notably The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism (now unfortunately out of print) which contains much valuable material for magicians who specialize in spiritualistic effects. But he is also the author of this little book on magic, which was first published in 1921 and now appears in a new edition at so low a price that it will doubtless sell by the scores or hundreds of thousands of copies.
Magic for Everyone is, a general treatise on magic. It begins with a chapter that discusses such matters as the magician's dress, his table and servante, his wand, and the care of the hands. In Chapter 2 it presents (in 31 pages) the standard sleights with cards, and describes a half-dozen feats of card magic. Chapter 3 (25 pages) deals with coin sleights and tricks, including The Coin and Orange Trick and The Multiplying Coins. Chapter 4 (24 pages) explains several handkerchief "productions" and "vanishes," and such complete tricks as The Soup Plate and Handkerchief, The Shower of Sweets, The Handkerchiefs and Cylinders, The Color-Changing Handkerchiefs, and a very good combination trick with handkerchiefs, flag, and decanter, which is credited to "Mr. Frederick S. Keating" (who may or may not be the well-known Fred Keating). Chapter 5 (4 pages) has little in it but an explanation of egg production from a handkerchief. Chapter 6 (13 pages) presents apparatus of general utility, such as the mirror glass, the bottomless tumbler, the Roterberg handkerchief vanisher, the bran glass, and the drawer box; and gives several uses for "the conjurer's best friend" - black silk thread. Chapter 7 (22 pages) consists of sixteen miscellaneous tricks, which include The Multiplying Wand, The Wand and Envelope Trick, The Tambourine Trick, two versions of The Torn and Restored Paper, Thimble Sleights, and three or four methods of producing flowers. Chapter 8 is a five-page discussion of the arrangement and presentation of a magical program, with helpful hints about lighting, nervousness, and speech.
To a very large extent, this book is a compilation, but it is none the less valuable on this account; and it should be noted that Dr. Carrington fulfills the obligation (sometimes overlooked by writers on magic) of giving credit to the authors whom he quotes. Readers who are familiar with magical literature will meet here some "old friends" from Hoffmann's Modern Magic; More Magic; and Later Magic; Howard Thurston's Card Tricks; Downs' Modern Coin Manipulation; Burlingame's Tricks in Magic; Stanyon's Conjuring for Amateurs; Devant's Magic Made Easy; and other well-known books.
This is not, of course, a major work on magic, but it is a first-rate introduction to the subject, and it will be read with interest by advanced amateurs and professionals as well as beginners. It is a book of 138 pages, cloth bound, with 68 illustrations. It is a lot of magic for the money!
