The Secrets of Ancient and Modern Magic
by Martin Young

Or the art of conjuring unveiled.

As performed by the wonderful magicians Houdin, Heller, Herr Alexander, Maskelyne & Cooke, Bautier and others. Comprising all of their best stage tricks, giving full explanations for performing them successfully in the Parlor or on the Stage.

• Preface
• Conjuring And Magic
• Making The Pass
• Forcing A Card (Saut A La Coupe)
• The "Long Card"
• Guessing A Card Thought Of
• To Tell A Card By Smelling
• To Make A Card Vanish From The Pack, And Be Found In A Person's Pocket
• To Place The Four Kings In Different Parts Of The Pack, And To Bring Them Together By A Simple Cut
• A Card Having Been Withdrawn And Replaced, To Call It From The Pack, And To Make It Come To You Of Its Own Accord
• The Magic Sword. A Card Being Drawn And Replaced, And The Pack Flung In The Air, To Catch The Chosen Card On The Point Of The Sword
• The Rising Cards (La Houlette). - Several Cards Having Been Drawn, Returned, And Shuffled, To Make Them Rise Spontaneously From The Pack
• To Make A Card Stand Upright By Itself On The Table
• To Make Two Marked Coins, Wrapped In Separate Handkerchiefs, Come Together In One Of Them
• To Pull Four Quarters Or Half-Dollars Through A Handkerchief
• To Make A Marked Dime Vanish From A Handkerchief, And Be Found In The Centre Of An Apple Or Orange Previously Examined
• The Animated Coin, Which Answers Questions, Etc.
• The Miraculous Casket
• The Half Dollar Wand
• The Shower Of Money
• The Egg And The Handkerchief
• The Birdcages From The Hat
• The Welsh Rabbit
• The Wizard's Omlet. (Borrowed Rings And Live Doves Produced From An Omelet)
• The Rose In The Glass Vase
• The Chinese Rings
• The Birth Of Flowers
• The Flying Glass Of Water
• The Rabbit Trick
• The Fairy Star
• The Card Bouquet
• The Magic Picture Frame
• The Flying Watches And The Broken Plate
• The Sphinx - (See Frontispiece)
• The Cabinet Of Proteus
• The Indian Basket Trick
• The Magic Drum
• The Arial Suspension Or A Living Woman Made To Recline In Mid Air
• The Burning Globe
• The Vanishing Gloves
• A Dozen Babies From A Hat
• The Transformed Handkerchief
• To Pass A Borrowed Ring Into An Egg
• To Pass A Ring From The One Hand To Either Finger Of The Other Hand
• To Indicate On The Dial Of A Watch The Hour Secretly Thought Of By Any Of The Company
• A Half Dollar Being Spun Upon The Table, To Tell Blindfolded Whether It Falls Head Or Tail Upwards
• Several Persons Having Each Drawn Two Cards, Which Have Been Returned And Shuffled, To Make Each Couple Appear In Succession, One At The Top And The Other At The Bottom Of The Pack
• To Change The Four Aces, Held Tightly By A Person, Into Four Indifferent Cards
• A Card Having Been Thought Of, To Make Such Card Vanish From The Pack, And Be Discovered Wherever The Performer Pleases
• The Bottle Imps

1st edition 1880, 96 pages; PDF 76 pages.
word count: 40481 which is equivalent to 161 standard pages of text