Wiljalba Frikell

This is a substantial collection of magic tricks in a wide variety of categories, including puzzles, stunts, and science experiments.

• Preliminary
• I.—Simple Tricks
  • Fly Away, Jack!
  • Dance, Boatman, Dance!
  • Buy A Bird
  • Little Watchman
  • To Add Five To Six And Yet Make But Nine
  • To Carry Hot Coals In The Hand
• II.—Simple Tricks With Coins
  • The Coin Trick, From An Hibernian Point Of View
  • The New Trick Of Melting Money
  • To Reduce A Shilling To A Sixpence
  • The Uncrushable Flower
  • The Flying Cotton Reel
  • The Obedient Sixpence
  • The Invisible Transit
  • The Die And Dove Trick
  • The Coin Wand ...

The subtitle reads: Containing explanations of all the tricks and deceptions with playing cards. Tricks with cards performed by skillful manipulation and sleight of hand; by the aid of memory, mental calculation, and the peculiar arrangement of the cards; by the aid of confederacy and sheer audacity and tricks performed by the aid of ingenious apparatus and prepared cards. The whole illustrated, and made plain and easy.

The first section of this book is identical with the card section in The Secret Out.

• PARLOR TRICKS WITH CARDS
  • General Rules for Amateurs
• PART I: TRICKS WITH CARDS PERFORMED BY SKILFUL...

The authorship of this book is not entirely clear, but Frikell is a likely author of at least good parts of the book. However, most likely it is a compilation of material from different sources with potentially a number of editors and compilers. Some of the other names associated with this book are H.L. Williams, George Arnold, Frank Cahill, and John Wyman, Jr. The book covers not only magic tricks of various kinds, but also a lot of what we would call today "kitchen table top experiments" in fields ranging from mechanical and chemical to optical, math and others. It also features a section...

There is quite some confusion about this book, because there are American editions and British editions, some only with card magic, others with additional chapters on cups and balls and other non-card magic effects. The book we have reproduced was printed in London and it does include non-card items. We are reproducing the complete table of contents below.

This book was edited by W. H. Cremer as noted in the preface of Hanky Panky.

PRELIMINARY

PART I. - GENERAL TRICKS

• The Landlord and the Merrymakers
• To Show that an Egg contains a
• To Tell beforehand what Cards will be Chosen ...