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    Karl Fulves - The Chronicles 19-24

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    Bill Bremner

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 60
    THE CHR When Derck Dingle was honored at the Garden State Magicale earlier this year he was asked to perform a few minutes of close-up magic for the people present, and this was the routine he used to open the segment. This write-up is based on notes of Jan. 15, 1974, and over the subsequent 5 years Derek has changed the handling (he will now open with the cig- arette production and follow it with a bill in cigarette, for example). But this is the original routine, a bewilder- ing example of close-quarters magic. The routine begins with a bare-hand- ed production of a cigarette. the cigar- ette is broken inte three nieces, and these change into three balis. The 3 balis are dropped inte the hand they change back to the cigarette, No. 19 RONICLE Copyright (©) 1979 by xarl Fulves The cigarette production is based on a Coe Norton trick from his lecture of about 1968. Preparation Required is a piece of cardboard measuring about 1" by 2", and a length of Scotch tape about 3/4" wide. The tape is wrapped around the cardboard as indi- cated in Fig. 1, sticky side out. Remove some of the stickum from one Side of the tape by rubbing the tape a~ gainst the hand. Then place a filter tip cigarette against the gimmick as shown in Fig. 2. The gimmick is fastened to the out~ side of the left shirt pocket and is hidden by the jacket. The gimmick is a 1245- $2.00 "In England there is a tax on non- fitter cigarettes, so 1 got the idea to TAPE WRAPPED ON poll ay oon Eton Conboy movies." CARDBOARD £/KE ae ee @ side jacket pocket with the Ri ond remov- filter cigarettes and I watch a lot of ! cc cowboy movies." ia a } holdout for the cigarette, but in this trick it is put to ingenious use, First it is used to secretly load the cigarette into the hand, but then it is used to steal part of the cigarette back later on. i @ least _ 3B Bales PALMED : i + IN RA (eer) aM 4 ing a packet of cigarette papers. Panto- (Rin) ime pulling out one paper, take it in it —~ the LH. the RH then puts the invisible packet of rolling papers back inside the CIGARETTE jacket. at this point steal the gimmick Into the RH, Fig. 4. Ov GIMMICK, 4. Pantomime removing a pouch of i tobacco, pour some onto the invisible Also required are four small balls. PaPery replace the pouch in the inside You can also use, in keeping with the | Patter, four small bullets obtainable at toy and novelty stores. If they are used instead of the small balls, the covering patter line is that they are the only thing that will kill you faster than cigarettes. For the purpose of this dis cussion, we'll assume that the small balls are used. One bill is tucked into the knot in the tie. Three balls are palmed in the RH as shown in Fig. 3. If you have the apparatus at hand and follow the routine, you will quickly appreciate the elegant handling and startling visual effect. pocket with the right hand. 5. Pantomime rolling a cigarette with beth hands, Fig. 5. The LH grasps the imaginary cigarette and folds the Paper over, Fig. 6, palm of the hand i ‘The Routine toward the audience. i 1, "People ask why I do a lot of | card tricks. The reason is I don't like 6. As the hands come together, the | ~1246- 8. Turn the LH to display the cigar- ette, Fig. 10. The RH is held perfectly flat, back to the audience, while the cigarette is being produced. 9. “Even though I roll my own, T still got a filter cigarette." Sema right middle finger and thumb pivot the b cigarette into the left palm, Fig. 7. Then the right hand smooths the right end of the invisible cigarette, Fig. 8. ‘The right fingers are curled to conceal 10. Break the filter off, then break the three small balls. the remainder of the cigarette in half, giving you a total of three pieces. Put the two pieces of the cigarette down on the table. Then put the filter on the outstretched left palm. 11. Now bring the RH over the Lif, 7. The FH moves in front of the LH, pig. 11. the gimnick contacts the €1i- fingers extended, and the Li pivots the ter and steele it, At tne sane time fe" cigarette into the right palm, Fic. 9. ease the ball palmed between the ight The back of the left third finger pushes third and fourth fingers so it falls in- the ginmick into the right palm, Fig.9. to the left palm. ‘The left thumb revolves the cigarette to the right, freeing it from the gimmick. 12. Slide the RH out of the way,still keeping it palm down, and show that the filter has changed into a ball, Fig. 12, 13. Repeat Steps 10, 11, 12 with the next third of the cigarette, and again with the last third of the cigarette. ‘Thus the three pieces of the cigarette have changed to three balls. Note that the steal of the cigarette pieces is made easy by the use of the gimmick. 1247- 14. prop two balls into the LH and close the IM into a fist. Place the third ball into the right jacket pocket. Ditch the gimmick in the pocket. Bring out a ball palmed in the right hand. 15. Open the LH and shew only two balls. Drop them onto the table. Pause for @ second as if puzzled as to the where- abouts of the third ball, Then remove the third ball from the knot in the tie. 1248 fis 16. With all three balls on the tab- le, pick up one between the right thumb and first finger. As the RH approaches the left, Fig. 13, release the palited ball and load it into the Li, Fig. 14. at the same time the LH closes into a fist. 7 17. Say, "I tried to get rid of the three balls." Deposit a ball on top of the loft fist, Fig. 15, palm of the hand to the audience. Allow the ball to drop into the fist. 18. Repeat with the second ball.Then Place the third ball into the pocket with the RH. Leave the ball in the poc- ket and palm a duplicate cigarette as in Fig. 4. 19. Open the IH to show three balls. 20. Close the RH into a fist, pushing the cigarette to a position like that shown in Fig. 16. Drop one ball onto the right fist. Allow it to roll to a posi~ tion between the right third and fourth fingers where it is clipped. 21. Drop the second ball onto the right fist. Allow it to roll to a posi- tion between the second and third finger, 22. The third ball goes into the left jacket pocket. 23. The IH makes a suspicious move under the right, as if the balls were being dropped out of the RH and stolen in the left. 24. The IH remains closed. the left first finger and thumb then remove the cigarette and place it between the lips. Say, “When I tried to vanish the balls, I ended up with the cigarette. 25. The cigarette is displayed as in Pig. 17. This apparently shows the RH empty in a very fair manner. The LH is still suspiciously closed. 26. Then open the LH and show it empty. PSYCHO Old indeed is the trick where spec~ tator and magician each choose a card and the selected cards turn out to be mates of one another. The following var- dation is too simple to stand on its own and should never have been released, but it does gain strength if you follow it immediately with the J-X, Hartman rou- ‘tine on the next page. You already know the effect. The re- quirements of the method are modest. Get two black 5's to the top of the deck. 1. Say that you will choose a card at random, False shuffle the deck if you like. Then double 1ift and place the double card face-down on the table in front of you. 2. Shuffle the deck again. Deal the cards one at a time from top to bottom. Stop whenever the spectator calls stop. Deal the next card aside. 3, Grasp the deck from above with the RH. Drop the deck onto the specta~ tox's card. Pick up the deck plus his card with the RH. The RH grasps the deck from above. ~1249- ce ee ET RESET At 4, Immediately drop the deck onto the double card (your apparent selec- tion). The Ri then picks up the deck and the double card. As before the deck is held from above, by the ends, with the right hand. 5. Holding the deck face-down but up and away from the table, have a spec- tator remove the face card and hold onto this card. Then have another spectator remove the next face card and hold it, 6, The two face-down cards are then turned over. They match. 7. Before anyone has a chance to backtrack, say you'll make it harder and use two deck. Proceed instantly into the Hartman routine. Note: Here's an easy way to get two mating cards to the top, With the deck face-up, note the topmost or backiost card. Say it's the 5C. Spread the cards until you spot the other black 5. Get a jeft Little finger break under this card as you square the deck. RH grasps deck from above and right thumb takes over the break. With deck in Li dealing position, RH lifts off all the cards above the break, Left ath finger Pulls down/buckles backwost card, and BH slides ite packet into the break. Now square the deck, turn it face-down and go into the trick. J.K. Hartman DUP-LICATES This version of the traditional "You Do As I Do" theme eliminates the usual exchange of decks and incorporates the interesting concept of setting a key cara for yourself. Ask a spectator to shuffle both decks and give one to you. It is neces~ sary to Glimpse the bottom card of your deck as a key. (One easy method is to re= ceive it in the RH and perform the Trans- fer Glimpse, Loose Ends, p. 1, as it is taken by the left hand.) Say that both you and the spectator will deal cards from the top of your re~ spective decks into a pile on the table. You will deal at the same pace he does- card for card-~ and whenevor he decides to stop, you will do the sane. You both be- gin dealing and you do exactly as you said, matching your deal to his and stop- ping when he does. Tap the last card you dealt, point- ing out that it is the card you stopped on. “And precisely what cards they are,” you go on, "neither of us could know be~ cause you shuffled both decks and you Gecided where we both stopped our deal- ing." Then say that proceeding under the general principle that you can't cons trol what you don't handle, you will, take a Little peek at his card and remenber ite nane, and you want him to do the same with your card. So saying, reach over and Lift @ comer of the last card he deale and pretend to note it, Don't expose ite face to anyone else. Allow hin to take a peek at the last card you dealt. Instructing the spectator to reas- semble his deck, demonstrate by dropping the balance of your deck on top of your ile. He will follow your actions with his card. Proceed by asking him to give his deck a complete cut and then do the same with yours. Have him square both decks neatly. Comment that you are each thinking of a card and recall again that the names of those cards could not have been known or predetermined because he shut fled the decks and controlled the deal- ing. Ask him to look through his deck and remove the card he is thinking of while you remove yours from your deck. Caution him to wait with his card until you have placed yours safely on the tab- de. : Look through your deck for your or iginal key and remove the card in front of it (to its right). Place it Face-down on the table. when the spectator has re moved his card, turn over both to show that they're duplicates, -1250- LETTERS Taylor, and, the question he raises could well be unanswerable. KF) Exom James A. Taylor: T don't know what, the definition of a self-working card trick is, but 1 have long wrestled with another problem that you might find of interest; what's a sleight? You might at first answer that it is any secret manipulation, but there are too many exceptions. My favorite example is the faro shuffle. This is something that is done completely in the open. the spectators see the shuf- fle. Sometimes when I yemove a deck from the case, just out of habit, T'11 give the deck a faro shuffle. It's easier and faster than a riffle shuf- fle done in the hands. Is it a move? A sleight? ‘The only difference between the faro shuffle done this vay and the faro done as a control is that I know in m mind what the faro accomplishes. Tha audience sees it as a shuffle. Some- times T use it just as a shuffle. It's she same move in either case, so if there is a difference between the faxo as a random shuffle and the faro as a sleight, the difference must exist in my mind only. Suppose we change the definition and say that a sleight is a manipula- tion used to accomplish a secret end. This is no good either, and heres why. Say I want to deal cards off the face of the deck. I don't want to control the cards, I just want to deal them honestly. But T could hold the deck face-down in Glide position, glide back the bottom card and deal until the spectator calls stop. The Glide serves no purpose in this application.t'm just doing the move. There is no secret application, so there is no move. Or is there? My favorite definition is that a sleight is anything @ beginner can't ao. (Okay, but then how do you define a beginner. KE) From Eric Eicher: T had no idea when 1 subscribed to The chronicles that it had already run its first year. the first volume contains some terrific magic, especially "Midnight Coin. What a giant step this is from a sim ilar effect in Modern Coin Magic re~ quiring a gimmicked suit! Also, thanks for the issues of Interlocutor. The sarcastic approaches to Annemann's insane credo, "Anything Goes," were hilarious. After reading the list of your pubs Lications since '65 in Interlocuter 425 Why not republish? why not keep all of these excellent manuscripts in print? Additionally you could release Epilogue in monthly installments. The same goes for Pallbearers. A whole new genera— tion of magicians has mobilized who ave not familiar with the excellence of these publications. (The idea of issuing Pallbearers Review on a monthly basis in reprint form is a fascinating idea. The only drawback is that it would in effect mean running two separate magazines and the time needed to establish separate mailing lists, ete. is just not avail~ able. (at this writing Epilogue issues 1-15 are being reprinted. The cost is staggering. There are two reasons why every title can't be kept in print. The first is the investment. The second is that I don't have the physical’ space to store, say, 1,000 copies of each of 60 titles. There is also the fact that the magic marketplace is velatively small, and after the first printing is sold out there is little demand for further printings. Anyway,as time and money permit, some early titles will be reprinted. KE) -1251- | (CRICKET: Cont'd) a curious optical illusion. You tell the audience one thing, they catch a flicker of something else, but they think they see exactly what you tell them, 8. Say, "I'm going to slide the Aces out of the deck (as you say this, panto- mime sliding the Aces out to the right with the RH) and then slide them back through the deck. If i'm lucky, the Aces will find your card." he patter secs spacific but ceally says nothing. The audience knows you're going to siide the Aces through the deck, but this is the one thing you are not go ing to do, All you will do ie slide the Aces out of the deck, taking the chosen cara with thom. But because of the il1us~ fon, it appears that you do what you say. 9. Grip the Aces at the lower or in- ner right corner with the RH. This next must be done quickly. Tt will require a~ bout one minute of practice to get the knack of it. Slide the Aces to the right about a half-inch. This is shown by the dotted lines in the drawing at the right of Fig. 4. 10. The chosen card will move to the right also, but this is never seen or re~ membered by the audience. The instant the hand moves to the right, it immediately changes direction and moves to the left, clear of the deck. Thus the notion of Fig. 4 is a quick right-and-then-left motion of the right hand, 11. The RH pulls the Aces clear of the deck, and in the process the chosen card appears, sandwiched face-down be~ tween the Aces. Refer to Fig. 4 for the end result as seen by the audience. The audience thinks that the aces slid clear of the deck in the motion to the right, and then slid back through the deck to the left, trapping the cho- sen card in the process. Since they think they see this, they know it is im possible. 12. Have the chosen card named. Then turn the right hand over so that the face of the trapped card is revealed. his ends the trick and if you have Impromptu Opener you know how "Cricket" is put to logical use in a series of three routined tricks. What follows is an in-the-hands variation and notes on rela~ ted material. Cricket 1x @his is an in-the-hands version that may be of interest to the stand-up per- former. 1. Steps 1,2,3 of the original rou- tine are the same. The selection is on the bottom and the injogged Aces are in place. 2. The RH cuts off the top half as in Pig. 2 and places it on the bottom, but to the right of the other half of the deck, as indicated in Fig. 5. 3. The RH now grasps the Aces and, in a quick left-and-then-right move, first pushes the Aces to the left and against the heel of the left thunb,Fig.6, then to the right and clear of the deck, vig. 7, revealing the trapped card. 1252+ notes (A) Suppose you wanted to do Cricket I or Cricket II as a multiple sandwich effect. You can of course extend the [handing ideas alzeady given, but are | there alternate, and possibly easier ap- 5 proaches? {J senmioT (B) I've tried, with indifzerent suc cess, to perform the trick literally as the audience sees it; that is, the Aces slide free of the deck, then slide thru the deck with a card trapped between them. there is a way to fake the entire proceedings, but is there a legitimate handling that is 1008? (c) For a visible sandwich effect without the deck, have the selected card secretly loaded between the Aces. The chosen card is face-down, the Aces face~ up. Hold the face-up packet from above i with the RH. The left fingers pull the i backmost Ace to the left and down about an inch. With the left fingers in back and ‘the thumb at the face, the LH now grasps the packet. The LH flicks up and down in one quick gesture. at the same time the left thomb pulls the facenost ace down and in line with the other Ace.the result is that a face-down card appears instantly between the Aces in an upjog~ ged condition. The element of surprise comes from the fact that the chosen card does not pivot out from behind the facemost Ace. Rather, the Ace moves out of the way of the chosen card. (D) Another visual sandwich effect is Reinhard Muller's famous "3 card Gatch.” Anyone know of a simple way to expand this into a multiple sandwich trick, ie, "5S Card Catch"? THE CHRONICLES is published by Xarl Fulves, Box 433, Teaneck, N.J. 07666. Telephone: 201-427-1284 Contributions in the form of news, notes tricks and ideas are welcome. card & coin tricks are in abundant supply. Tf you have a routine that does not involve cards or coins, it stands a much better chance of get ting into print in these pages. Free catalog available on request. i do not advertise, so this catalog is the only complete list of titles. i -1253~ | | There are hundreds of ways of reveal- ing a chosen card, but few of them are both visual and easy to do. "Cricket" is a visual sandwich effect. You slide two Aces thru the deck. On the way through, they trap a card between them and it is the chosen card. The fact that the audi- ence sees all of this happen is what makes the trick appear impossible. 1. Have a card chosen and returned to the deck. Secretly get the chosen card to the bottom of the deck. Secure a left Little finger break over the chosen card. 2. Previously you have removed the two red Aces from the deck. Place the Ail on the top of the deck, face-up and back~ jogged about an inch. 3, Place the AD on the bottom, but as you do, insert it into the break you are holding above the chosen card. The AD 4s also face-up and backjogged. The sit~ uation at this point is shown in Fig. L. OF seumiog ~1254- Karl Fulves CRICKET * The right first finger Lifts up about half the deck. The right thunb and first finger then remove this top half from the balance of the deck, Fig. 2, and place it on the bottom of the pack. This brings the two red Aces together in the center of the deck. Unknown to the audience, the chosen card is between the red Aces. the deck is in LH dealing posi- tion. Grip the outer end between the left ‘thumb and the left first finger. With the deck firmly gripped in this manner, straighten the left 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers so they are out of the way. 6. The RH now grasps the two Aces and pulls them slightly to the right so they are jogged a bit to the right in a slightly fanned condition, Fig. 3. This requires a light touch because there is a card sandwiched between the Aces and you don't want that card to move to the right The firm grip of the left thumb and first finger at the outer end of the deck will insure that the chosen card stays in place square with the deck. 7, The LH now places the deck on the table so that the deck rests at the near edge of the table. What is to follow is (cont'd on pg. 1252) THE CHIR (his brilliant trick is extracted from a new manuscript called Curioser. This rou- tine and the others in Elmsley's handwritten manuscript were kindly made available by Alex when he was here during his 1975 lec- ture tour. KF) Set up your pack in any stack in which pairs matching in colour and value are 26 apart. The Si Stebbins set-up is one such arrangement. You will also need (as you will, see) a fairly large performing area. False shuffle as you advance on a spec~ tator; then have him cut and complete the cut. He then deals 5 rows of 5 cards each, face-down. Now explain to the spectator that you Copyright (€) 1979 by Karl Fulves $2.00 No.20 ICLES are going to ask him to turn over any four- some of cards which are at the corners of a rectangle, i.e., at the intersections of any two rows and any two columns. This idea is more easily explained by example than words; point out to him sever- al examples of foursomes in a rectangle among the cards he has dealt. while talking and pointing, retrieve the remainder of the pack fron him. Turn so you cannot see him, “Now will you turn over any foursome. 0.K.? Now will you do the same thing again ~ of course, if one of the cards is one you turned face-up before, this time you will be turning it face-down. You've done that? Keep turning over foursomes until the cards are well -1255- i | | | | mixed, face-up and face-down." "Are you satisfied? Good - now 1 want you to choose any one of your 25 cards. Don't move it, Just decide hich one you want. It can be one of the face- up cards, or one of the face-down cards. Zt docsn't matter. So you don't forget which it is, put something on it, a coin or a pehcil, or a match, anything. "O.K.? Now I want you to call out all your cards in the order you dealt them, just saying for each whether it is face-up or face-down, For example, you might call ‘Up - up - down - up - down! and so on. But when you come to the card you've chosen, lie. If it's face-down, say, ‘Up,' or vice versa. Co ahead. As the spectator calls out the cards, deal out cards from those you hold, face-up or face-down, until you too have a five by five square.two cards will be left over. Hang on to them. Because you stacked pairs 26 apart, Whereas the spectator dealt only 25 cards, the values in your layout will not be obviously related to the values in the spectator’s layout. Nevertheless you can name his chosen card quite easi- ly. WATIO'S THEY'LL D6 IF EVERY TLE lS WUNDERGLU OF SBURS DOESNT HORT THOUGHT TTD FX THE ‘SOLE ON My TENN. ‘SHOE "BUT NO Dee OW 7H OTHER WAND Mel FINGERS ARE S-STUCK The One DEP Oe tile SPILLED OH) Pe “ TOGETHER! Four of your rows will have an even number of face-up cards (remember, 0 is an even number) and one row will have an odd number. Four of your colums will have an even number of face-up cards and one column will have an odd number. The in- tersection of the oda row and the column will give you the position in his layout of the spectator's chosen card. The pair (that is, mate) to the spectator's card is the card you dealt after the one at the intersection of your odd row and col- umn; if the intersection is on the last card you dealt, the pair to the specta— tor's card is the first of the two cards you had left over. If the pair is face-up you can go straight ahead and name the spectator's card. Otherwise, sweep your cards togeth- ex and pick them up, glimpsing the right pair as you do so. Then name the specta~ tor's card. GARDNER'S ACES Martin Gardner suggests that if you do any of the versions of the MacDonald Aces that you use four double-faced cards instead of three. This would allow you the op~ portunity to offer the spectator a choice of any Ace as the leader Ace. But if you try this approach you run into an immediate problen. Say the spectator decides he wants the AH to be the leader Ace. You must now deal three cards onto the leader Ace, but clearly one of them can't be the AK. the problem thus becones cleary the three cards you deal onto the leader Ace must all be Aces, but they must be different from the leader Ace in terms of suit. Maze-type solutions using var~ fous false deals will of course solve the problem, as will a var— iety of sleights designed to shift or switch the unwanted ace out of the way. But Martin Gardner has an easy, direct solution. Can a read- er furnish an easy answer to the problem? cursed from the for outs should the point where beginning with the need the spectator go beyond he's supposed to stop, has always been a difficult trick to sell. Magicians prefer surefire tricks and tend to avoid tricks requiring outs. About. 1943 Howard Wurst solved the prob- Jem in an ingenious way by making the out a logical part of the effect. So logical is this approach that in all the times T saw floward perform the rou- tine, I never suspected the use of ‘an out, and in fact assumed that he was us~ hg the pass or some other move to bring the chosen card to the stopped-at posi- tion, Only recently dia I have the pres~ ence of mind to ask him for the details, and was amazed to discover the simple secret. The Stop trick is one of the most. dramatic of all card tricks and this is by far the best method around. ‘ry it once and you will be sold. KF) After a card is selected and re~ placed in the deck, bring it to a pos~ ition Sth from the top. The easy way to do this is to bring it to the top and then overhand shuffle four cards onto it. Then hand the deck to the specta~ tor and proceed as follows. 1. ‘the spectator is requested to hand you cards singly fron the top of the deck. He is to deal slowly, and he is to stop at any time he desires. 2. The manner in which you receive the cards from him is important. As the spectator hands you each card, take it in the RH, pass it to the LH, and then place it on the table as your RH takes the next card. RE OUT OF CONTROL Howard Wurst (The psychological stop trick, 3. As you place the 2nd card on the table, atop the first card, tell the spectator he may stop handing you cards at any time he desires. Make no mention of stopping before placing down the second card. 4. If presented properly and cor~ xect psychology is used, the spectator invariably stops as he hands you the 4th, Sth or 6th cards, in which case you are the master of the situation. If he stops on the 4th card, put down the card in your hand (the 4th card) and have him turn up the top card of the packet in his hand. It will be ‘the chosen card. If he calls stop as he hands you the Sth card, do not put it down. Just turn it face-up and show it to be the chosen card. If he stops after giving you the 6th card, state that by slapping the packet on the table with the card in your hand, you will cause the chosen card to move invisibly to the top of packet. Slap the tabled packet, turn over the top card and show it is the cho sen card. the If he does not stop at any of these cards, do not give up magic for his card is still Sth from the bottom ‘of the tabled packet. When he stops handing you cards, tell him to put down the deck and pick up the packet on the table. Remark that you will give him a chance to bottom deal. Ask him to give 71257- you cards singly from the bottom of the packet, stopping whenever he wishes. This is the clever angle, the point nev ex questioned, If you miss and the spectator does not say stop on the 4th, bth, or 6th card, it appears as if you merely wanted the spectator to deal off a random number of cards so that you could then use that packet to show him the intended trick. Now the spectator hands you single cards once again, dealing from the bottom of the packet, and you use the procedure already described. This means that once again you have the op- tion of using the 4th, Sth or 6th card and now the chances are almost quaran- teed because the spectator is working with a small packet and not the entire deck. Even if you should mise here and the spectator continues dealing past the 6th card and stops at a later point, the trick still looks logical because it appears as if you are asking the spectator to use smaller and small- er packets of cards until he is left with a single card, the chosen paste- boara. Since he is the one who dictates the stopped-at point each time, the outcome does appear to be out of the performer's control. When he does the trick today, Howard Wurst waite until the spectator stops dealing as indicated in Step 4. Then, if the spectator goes heyond the 6th card, Howard waits for him to stop, and says, "I noticed that you were doing a little bottom dealing. Here, take these cards and bottom deal slowly so the audience can see what you're doing. Stop at any time you please." Tf you use the trick and find that spectators tend to stop at the 7th card or the 9th card, it may be a ques~ tion of your delivery. In that case, at the start of the trick bring the chosen card 7th or 9th from the top and pro- coed from here as written, Should it become evident that you have a wise guy on your hands, af- ter he calls stop the first time, hand the tabled packet to someone else and have him deal off the bottom, ~1258- Victor Marsh Found Effect: The medium enters an ajoining xoom. The door is closed. From a shuf- fled deck a spectator chooses any card. The card is returned to the deck and the case@ deck given to the medium. Without codes or set-up cards, the medium immediately locates the chosen cara, Method: Start with a double-back card on top of the deck. Have any card cho~ sen by the spectator. Shuffle the double-backed card to the bottom of the deck. Secretly turn the deck over and return it to the card case. Have the chosen card inserted anywhere facedown into the deck. Ac tually the chosen card goes facedown into a face-up cased deck. Medium gets the deck, removes and pockets the double backer. Then she simply finds the reversed card and reveals it in a dramatic manner. Simple but impressive. (another method appears in Sel. Working Mental Tricks, and still an: other, based on a completely different approach, will be appearing in an up~ coming Chronicles. KF) PSYCHOGENIC Routines using Polaroid cameras for the mysterious appearance of the identi~ ty of selected cards have been around for years. However, the Polaroid camera can be used for creating startling i1- lusions other than the mere appearance of a selected card along with the image of the spectator. Imagine the spectator taking a pic- ture of the mentalist, and when the pic ture develops the mentalist is not in it. Or this; the mentalist holds a selected card, the picture is taken and developed; the card is there, the mentalist ig not. ‘These are but two of the intriguing ef- fects possible. Needed are a Polaroid Colerpack II camera with flashcubes and film, a large piece of black velveteen, and a circular disk of black cardboard just large enough to fit snugly into the lens casing of the camera. The lens casing is made up of con~ centric plastic rings. the disk should fit snugly into the second ring. You Fr. Cyprian might try putting a steel shim into the disk. That way it could be stolen after- wards with a ring magnet so that the camera could be examined or just left a- xound for further pictures. ‘The routines that follow are hased on one of three premises: (a) Witches and warlocks, like vampires, do not re- flect light, so they do not show up in photographs: (B) The mentalist has the ability to project his image anywhere he wills: (C) ‘Time may be bent so that fu ture events may be captured now on film. Psychogenic #2 Beforehand, when no one is around, snap a picture of the place where you'll be standing later when the spectator is called on to take your picture, Choose a spot in front of a mantle or other prom inent spot in the room. Mentally note where you stood to take the picture. Leave the picture in the camera (i.e., do not pull the tab). Cover the lens, place a new flash cube in the camera and you are prepared. In performance, the mentalist concludes his program for an intimate group and offers to have a picture taken of himself to leave behind as a momento of the occas- jon. He stands in the previously chosen spot and has a spectator stand in the Proper spot to take the picture so that the spectator will see in the lens rough- dy the area in the actual print. He snaps the picture, pulls the film from the camera and lets it devel- op. During this time the mentalist pat- ters about the many theories offered to explain the phenomena he has just produc- ed for their entertainment. "One of the silliest is that T ama witch (or war- lock). They say that witches do not re~ flect light, and that you could never take a picture of one. How absurd!" -1259- di This final remark is timed to coin- cide with the spectator's tearing away the developer sheet from the photo. The mentalist is not in the photo; every Et: a Psychogenic #2 In this variation a card is chosen by the spectator and a picture of the mentalist holding the card is taken. but when the picture is developed, the card is there, the mentalist is not. ‘To prepare, take a straight piece of coat hanger wire. Tape one end to the mantle. The coat hanger extends out horizontally, Tape 2 duplicate of the force card to the other end. ‘the coat hanger is straight out behind the card. Snap a picture of the card, cover the lens, leave the picture in the cam= era and put in a fresh flasheuba, Force a duplicate of the card ir the photo. Hold this card, facing toward the spectator, in a position that coin, cides with the position of the cara in the photo. Spectator takes the picture. The gard is there, you are not. Use giant sized cards and a low spot card for the force card. ‘These show up better in the photo. Psychogenic #3 Before the performance, take a pic- ture of the mentalist standing in front of a black velveteen backdrop. He faces 3/4 right, holds a giant size duplicate of the force card about waist high and tilted toward the camera, and, imagining that there is someone standing in front of him, arcs his right arm and points with his forefinger as if calling atten- tion to the card. ‘The person taking the picture should try to visualize two persons in the photo and try to keep the mentalist to the right in the viewfinder. The pic- ture is snapped, left in the camera, and @ new flashcube placed in the camera. Do not cover the lens. In the course of the performance the mentalist forces the duplicate of the vard in the photo. The spectator looks at it and places it in his/her pocket. ‘The wentalist snaps a picture of the specta- tor. ‘The tab is pulled and as the picture develops, the mentalist inquires about the identity of the card. Spectator names the card. The picture is now fully devel- oped and peeled away to reveal a photo of the spectator with the mentalist Pointing over his shoulder to a card held by the mentalist- the selected card. "I project a rather good image, don't I," says the mentalist, Psychogenic #4 Beforchand someone takes a picture ef you~ full figure standing in front of a black velveteen backdrop. Leave the photo in the camera, cover the lens, and place a new flash cube in the camer a. When ready to present the effect, patter about residual images. "Some things remain vividly in our mind's eye- we do not forget them. Some things even impress themselves so strongly on our senses that afterwards the sensa~ tion is still there although the thing is gone..-Like the colored circles we see after a flashbulb goes off." The mentalist poses for a picture. When he is in focus, he steps away and then the spectator snaps a picture of where he was standing. When the picture is developed, a ghostly image of the mentalist is seen standing in the pic- ture- his residual image. -1260- i Psychogenic #5 In this routine the mentalist takes a picture of a future event before it hap- pens. Beforehand have a picture taken of you holding a giant sized card face to- wards the camera. You are standing in front of the mantle or other prominent feature in the room as in previous rou tines. ((To make this even more impos sible, stand in front of a grandfather clock, but set the hands ahead to the ap- proximate time you are going to do the trick; after the picture is taken, reset the hands. KF) Cover the lens and put a fresh flash- cube in the camera. During the perform ance, force the duplicate of the giant card. Have it returned and "lost" in the deck, but keep it under control. Spread the cards out face-down. Hand the camera to the spectator, telling him that you want him to record this great e- vent that will happen shortly in the future. With suitable concentration, re~ move the selection and hold it back to- ward the spectator. He snaps the pic ture. Afterwards say, "I forgot to turn the card face toward you. What was the iden- tity of your selection?" He names it. You call attention to the card whose back is facing the spectator and slowly turn it, to reveal its identity. "I said I wanted you to take a pic- ture of a future event." Show the pictur to the spectator. It is a shot of you holding the card face toward the specta~ tor. Notes Not included in this ms. are several other effects that we have developed. Karl has methods for having a signed sel- ected card appear together with the pic- ture. The card itself is peeled away from the developer sheet (in more detail, the mentalist holds the signed selected| card between his palms, spectator takes a picture; as the flash goes off, the signed card vanishes. The picture is then peeled away from the developer to reveal the signed selection between the picture and the developer sheet. KE) Another effect is to have a card cho- sen and signed. The mentatist is photo- graphed holding the card. When the pic- ture is developed, the mentalist is there, the card is not, but the signature is. For the record we'll call it “witch card." There is also an effect where an object is selected and cet on a small table to be photographed. As the flash goes off, the object disappears. In its place is a photograph of it. The object itself is found inside the camera. NOTES For them as notices such stuff, the color of the paper used in vol. IL of Chronicles brought agreeable com ment, and go will be retained. Although Chronicles still has four issues to go to complete the second volune, some subscribers have sent in renewals for the third volume. I'd ap~ preciate it if you would hold off on this. At present I'm not sure if/when there will be a third volume, and am no good at prognosticating the future, Now then. In June some time was spent with a group which does research in the area of teaching human language to chimps and other primates. The skeptical comments in interlocutor were repeated for the benefit of this group of researchers. Although I do not doubt the integrity of the scientists involved, my feeling is that research goes on with absolutely no thought given to unconscious prompting or cuing on the part of the researchers. Exactly the came problem arises when "evidence" is presented that a dog (Cont'd on pg. 1263) ~1261- (SCORPIO SWITCH: Cont'd) 5. Remember that the face of the fan is toward the audience. Pick up the AH and insert it into the fan between card #2 and card #3, This is shown in the magician's view of Fig. 2. Note that the AH is just to the right of card #3. At this point there are really two cards between the Aces, but if you try this in front of a mirror, it ap- Pears to the audience that there is a single card between the Aces. The aud- ience clearly sees that a single card (it happens to be card #2) is trapped by the red Aces. 6. Say to the audience, "I'd like you to remember the card between the Aces. Here, you might see it etter if 1 push it over." Note that you seem to be going out of your way to be fair. 7. The tip of the left forefinger contacts card #2 and pushes it to the right . Continue pushing until card #2 and the AH are lined up with the Al. his is shown in Fig. 3. Check this in a mirror and you will see card #2 slide clearly into the spec tator's view. Tt is clearly a single card, and there are obviously no other cards involved. Nothing is hidden. 8. Now lower the fan so that it is AE face-down. As you do, slide the AD to the left so it is slightly to the left of card #1. Then slide the AH slightly to the left so that it is to the left of card #3. A glance at Fig. 4 will show the situation at this point. ‘The audience assumes that card #1 is the card they just looked at, but that card is hidden behind the AH. 9. The switch is complete. To fin- ish, and just for the purpose of this Geseription, remove cara #1 and drop it on the table. -1262- 10. Drop the deck on top of this card. Push the red Aces in flush with the deck. 1. Grasp the deck from shove with the RH. Slowly tum the deck over by re~ volving the RH to a palm-up condition. The chosen card has vanished. 12. Turn the deck facedown and spread it on the table. The red Aces are face-up in the center, there is a face~ down card between them, and it is then shown to be the selected card. If you do “Cricket,” then after step 9, leave the Aces outjogged and do the visible sandwich effect. If you want to steal the selected card from the deck, then after step 9, square the deck and pushes the Aces flush with the deck. Be~ cause of the plunger action the chosen card will be backjogged, and from here it can be controlled by a variety of meth- ods. The AH is not really necessary to the working of the switch, but I use the red-Ace sandwich in a trapped-type ef- fect, and hope to get it into print one of these days. Anyway, the idea of a sleightless switch might stimulate reader interest in other avenues. (NOTES: cont'a) or horse has psychic ability. A pet may have a remarkable knack for picking up unconscious cues from its owner, but that is not the same as mindreading Part of the problem may be that chimps (or dolphins or whales) don't hear or see precisely the same way that humans do. A strikingly similar problem has come to light in efforts to teach computers to respond to human speech. A computer can "hear" without necessar- Aly "Listening" to what you say. Part of the discussion took place at the home of a scientist who owned a cat. To demonstrate that the cat was psychic, I had the owner take the cat from the rcon. Then I asked one of the people present to name a card. That card was removed from the deck (it was the €H) and tossed face-up onto the rug. Ten or twelve more cards were al- so tossed out onto the rug. The cat was let back into the room and went immediately for the 8H. The group was visibly impressed. 1 did not tell thom that beforehand I dropped a few grains of catnip on the rug. When the trick was being done, the 8H was placed on the rug directly over the cat- nip. The rest was automatic. Had T not been candid enough to admit it wae all a trick, no doubt I would have been of fered a grant to do further research. At that, knowing it was a trick, there were still a few people in the room who thought thé cat possessed supernatural ability, You have to wonder. ‘THE CHRONTCEES ‘The Chronicles is published 12 times a year by Karl Fulves, Box 433, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666. Phone: 201-427-1284, Free catalog available on re~ quest. I don't advertise so this is the only up-to-date listing of available. -1263- ‘The traditional concept of misdirec— tion has it that you cause the audience to look in the wrong place at the right time. This concept has been the rule for centuries, About 50 years ago Slydini be~ gan to formulate a new idea of misdir- ection, that the crucial move is done at the exact instant when the audience be~ lieve that you are doing nothing. It would be an oversimplification to say that all moves are done at the moment the Rest Position is assumed, but this is the basic idea; you relax, so does the audience, and just here, when they back off a bit, when they suspect noth- ing, just here you do the move, About 20 years ago Jerzy Andrus pro- posed yet another approach. He wanted to ixect (not misdirect) audience atten- ‘tion to the hands when the move was made and he went about devising a system of moves (primarily with cards) that were invisible under the closest scrutiny. In my own work I've tended toward yet another approach. tn this system the move is done openly. There is no cover~ ing action because the move is part of the effect, part of the open handling that the audience sees. The general at- mosphere that is created is that I'm going out of my way to be as honest and open with the routines as possible, easy to do because there is nothing to hide, Literally nothing concealed from audien~ ce view. One example of this approach is giv- en here. Fan switches (that is, switch- ing one card for another while the deck is fanned) are generally not easy to do, but if the method is made part of the effect, the trick becomes virtually self-working. Here tis: -1264- 1. Remove the red Aces from the deck and place them on the table face~ up. 2. Fan or spread the remainder of the deck in the RH. Make sure that at least 3 cards in the center are separ- ated from one another by about a half inch. For the purposes of this discus~ sion they can be any 3 cards. In the Schmidt drawings they are numbered 1,2, 3, simply to make it easier for the veader to follow the handling. Remem- ber in what follows that there are no sleights, no line-up moves, no secret slip action, no double-lift from the center of the fan. It is all a matter of open handling. 3. Referring now to Fig. 1, insert the AD into the Zan so that it is about a quarter inch to the right of card #1, The fan is horizontal (parallel with the floor) at this point, and the audi- ence clearly sees the AD being inserted into what is a face-down fan. 4. Now raise the fan so that the faces of the cards are toward the aud~ dence. It is already too late,but the spectators are not even remotely aware that they are being set up. (Cont'd on pg. 1262) He dd Ub diy two Slydini books were being written, many magical problems were discussed. One effect was the self-cutting deck, and after about four minutes mulling over the possibilities, the master close-up magician devised the following elegant routine. Effect: Spectator chooses any card from his own deck and returns the card to the center of the deck. The card is positively in the middle of the deck and is not secretly brought to the top or bottom. The deck is placed on the table and is covered with a handkerchief. A snap of the fingers, the handkerchief is removed, and the deck has cut itself into two packets. Not only has the deck cut itself, but it has cut itself at the chosen card. No gimmicks. The trick is impromptu and can be done surrounded. This version is perfect for the oc- casion where you want to do a Haunted-Deck type effect but don't have the gimmick. -1265- HRONICI Copyright: (©) 1979 by Karl Fulves ee No. 21 There are variations where the deck cuts itself into three or more packets. Once the basic idea is described, many var- dations will immediately become apparent. Method: You use just the deck and any opaque handkerchief. The chosen card is, actually in the center of the deck at the start, and you will be required to cut’ to it without hesitation. There are mechanical ways of accomplishing this , but since this is the impromptu version, we will mke use of a crimp. Give the lower half of the deck a downward crimp at the inner end. This is the only preparation. Spread the deck and have a cara chosen. While the spectator looks at the card, undercut the lower half of the deck. Have the card replaced on top of the deck. Place the bottom half on top of all and square the deck. Place the deck on the table so that the crimped end is toward you. Then grasp the handkerchief as shown in Fig. 1. First finger and little finger are on one side, middle finger and ring finger on the other. he famous Slydini acting abil- ity comes into play now. Starting with the handkerchief as in Fig. 1, he flips it out over the deck as shown in Pig. 2. Then, acting as if the hank is not placed quite right, he lifts the hank and flips it out again over the dock. Again he acts as if the hank is not quite correctly placed, so he Pulls the hank hack and then flips it over the deck again, But this tine he grasps the top half of the deck as shown in Fig. 3. This packet consists of the bridged carés above the chosen card. The Giabolical touch comes into play here. Slydini flips the hank up again, The audience gets a glipse of the deck as shown in Fig. 3A. Actual- ly this is just the bottom half of the deck. Spectators in front can see the apparent tabled deck by look ing under the hank as it is flipped up and over the deck again. The hank is drawn back over the deck and the top half deposited on the table to the right of the bottom half, Fig. 4. Now you have only to say the mg- ic words, remove the hank and show that the deck has cut itself at exact- ly the point where the chosen card is. ‘The reader may wish to consider the effect where the self-cutting -1266- in this quick trick, three red cards and three black cards, mixed together by the spectator, magically separate. The trick relies on a simple false count for the working. 1. Remove 3 reds and 3 blacks from any deck. Hand them to the spec- tator and have him mix them so that the colors alternate. 2. When he has done this, ask him to cut the packet and complete the cut. You can explain, if you can manage a straight face, that this further mixes the cards. 3. Take back the packet and hold it in the LH in preparation for a push-off type false count. 4. The RH takes the top card of the packet. Look at this card and call out the color. Say the card is xed. 5. Take the next card on top of it, call out the color, then place these two cards on the bottom of the packet. 6. Say, "I have to know how the colors alternate so I can say the right words. In this case the cards alternate Rod-Black." 7. You are now going to count the cards from hand to hand. take the first card into the RH, then the next card on top of it, then the next card on top of that. 8. The Li now holds 3 cards. the left thumb pushes the top two cards to the right as a block or unit. deck cuts itself into four packets, with an Ace on top of each packet. ‘The reader will note that: the bar sic method can be used to steal one or more cards, You can even turn half of the deck over secretly, or switch one deck for another with this meth- od. Many intriguing possibilities. -1267- PUSH PUSE Karl Fulves - 9. The R# slides its 3 cards un- der the Li packet and leaves this 3-eard group there. The RH simultan~ eously takes the two-card block from the top of the LH packet, 10. the lest thumb immediately does another block push-off of all the cards above the bottom cara of its packet. The RH takes this block on top of its cards. il. Finally, the RH takes the last card from the IH packet on top of the RH packet. odd as it may seem, even if you are following this with cards in hand, the colors are now Separate. In this case the top three cards will be red, the bottom three black. If you start with the colors al- temating and do not revers= count two of the cards as in Steps 4 and 5, you will get the color separation by per~ forming Double Push twice. See Epilogue Special #5 for other appli- cations. Al Colhn’s SPONGE any working professionals have said that if they had to reduce their act to a single trick, the trick they would choose would be the sponge balls. he origin of the sponge ball trick- that is, the trick vhere a sponge ball vanishes from your hand & joins a sponge in the spectator's hand~ was claimed by Al Cohn as his own invention. He made a good deal of money selling his own routine, and as you will see, it was not for nothing that he was billed as The Sponge Ball xing. Although I never saw Cohn work, I did see his sponge ball routine per- formed almost exactly as he did it. Slydini gave magic lessons in the back room of Cohn's NYC shop and he saw Cohn demonstrate the routine enough to be able to duplicate the handling, even to the gestures done with the ci- gar which do not appear in the writ- ten instructions, Typical of his abil~ ity, Slydini then went on to impro- vise numerous moves and effects with dazzling speed. Although Cohn's sponge ball rou tine has appeared in print before, to the best of ny knowledge the exact text and illustrations have not. The complete routine was kindly made available by Milton Tropp about five years ago. Here is a small extract from his letter: “Enclosed is a copy of Cohn's Cups § Balls just as he taught it to me. Also enclosed is a treasure for which Al was even better known, his sponge ball trick. He was known as the "King Of Sponge Balls." I've never seen his equal in presenting this type of effect which is now a classic. "Howie Schwaraman, one of our truly top-flight experts, demonstrates ~1268- RBA LS and teaches this exact routine in his lectures giving due credit to AL. Cohn did claim originality for this rou- tine. It's so fine I don't know if it will ever be surpassed." THE DRAWINGS Whe original instructions for ‘the Cohn sponge ball routine consis- ted of a page of text and a page of drawings. The text is not keyed to the drawings, but I think the tie-in points should be reasonably clear. Figures 1 thru S are titled "Palming Ball," and Figures 6 thru 10 are titled "Pickup And Adding Ball." The text from here on is exactly that of the original instructions. Fig. 1: Hold sponge between thumb and base of three fingers. Fig. 2: lay sponge deep in palm of the left hand with the right hana. Fig. 3: Start to close fingers of left hand, at same time take sponge out holding it between thumb and three fingers of right hand (i.e. Make sure left hand fingors are curl- ed enough to hide fingers of right hand, as you draw sponge out.) Fig. 4: Pause for a moment and point with right index finger to | ball, which is supposedly in left | hand. Fig. 5: Raise left hand and fol- ' low left hand with eyes and head as hand moves upward. At same time pla~ ; cing sponge under jacket with right | hand. when your jacket is buttoned the sponge will cling under the jac~ 4 ket. ae, Fig. 6: Have spectator point to ball. Fig. 7: When picking up selec- ted sponge roll palm ball to tips er of fingers. a, Fig. 8: Press down on top of @ oe Fig. 9: Lift up both balls hold ing as one. | Fig. 10: Place the two balls as ® one intl the spectators han \ son macy 0% Reach into right pocket and get : three large balls~ coat is buttoned. Put two down on the table, and put the other underneath right coat edge. Brush your hands, subtly suggesting that you have nothing in your hands, at the same time saying, "Will you kindly examine those two sponge balls and point to either one." Retrieve sponge ball from below right side, holding it hidden in finger palm. "You pointed to this one, so I'll take this one (the oth- ex one).” Place the one that is not cho- | sen in LH, keeping LH open. Pick up chosen ball, adding palm ball and ask spectator for his RH, holding other ball (which you have in your LH) in view. You are holding nis -1269- 3 finger tips with your LH. Hold your RH palm down, placing two balls as one on fingers of spec— tator's hand, helping him (with your LH) to close his fingers, saying, “Don't let me take it out of your hand. Now you have one and I have one." (Impress this upon his mind, and place yours from hand to hand) -1270- "x am going to place this one in my hand," making pass, raises your LH, step back, look at Li and immediately get other ball under coat again. Show RH ompty, open hands and show them empty, and tell spectator to open his hand, At that moment, steal ball from under coat. Have spectator put the two balls back on the table. "Will you please hold them both." Add stolen palmed ball to one ball, pick up oth~ ex ball with IH; ad@ LH ball to two Ri balls, get spectator's right hand with your left hand and put three balls squeezed together in his RA. Take fourth large ball out of pocket saying, "I have a third ball which is really the secret of the trick. I am going to put this in ny hand (1) ," but make pass- keep stol- en ball either squeezed down on shoulder of victim or pressed flat on table, or under spectator's lapel. Do finger squeezing movement and have spectator open his hand. He pas three balls now. Have spectator put the three balls back on the table (You have one palned). Patter: "Perhaps you haven't watched me. I am going to place one in my (L) hand (do so with RU), and another, making two (this time adding palmed ball with it, and closing Li) . “and I am going to put the ard ball in my pocket (doing so in get~ ting small ball). How many have I in my hand? Two? No, you have not wat- ched me, there are still three there. "Perhaps you are not watching me closely enough! I am going to take one and place it here"(adé the small ball to large ball and trans fer both as one, with small ball hidden underneath, to tips of IH and 1 and 2- small ball touching L 1 and 2). Pick up another large ball with RH and place it between L 1 & all 2, removing L 1, holding the two (2) between tips of L T/1 and 2. “slowld you hold these two balls," (taking them with R finger tips and placing them in spectator's hand). "I'm going to place this one in my pocket". (Do so and get another small ball) “sponges are a fun-gus growth, even though they are rubber. Tt is the heat of the hand that acts as an incubator." Have spectator open his hand. "Oh, you have a little baby. We'll take one big one (same move as before) and one little one" hold the big one and the little one as one in L tips, the little one in R tips. Place the little one in your L palm, and close hand- “and put ore big one away” (getting last little one palmed) . Squeeze and show twins. Pick up little one, adding palmed little ‘one, -and place the two as one, and proceed as above. Place third big ‘one in pocket. Squeeze and show three little ones. Put one in Li, put in another really taking both out, at same time closing hand, and "The third I am going to place in my pocket. How many have I left? wo? Wall, you hold them, and don't tell any body how I did it." (Slydini did this complete routine impromptu with rolled-up paper napkins merely to demonstrate the handling, but this suggests that in some cases at least it is possible to do a sponge ball trick using borrowed articles. KE) John Rule PREMIUM Dear Karl: This is a description of the men- tal trick you asked about. The effect is that one card predicts another. No preparation is called for. Have the spectator shuffle the deck. Ask him to give you a small num her of cards from the top. The actual, number is unimportant, but the trick moves faster if he hands you a packet of no more than ten or twelve cards. After he gives you the packet, tell him you will look for a predic- tion card. Turn the packet face-up and fan the cards with the faces toward you. Mentally count the cards. Say you count 12. Find a low-valued card in the packet and write "12" on it. Re~ tum this card to the bottom of the packet so it is reversed. You can do this openly just as long as your pro~ diction is not seen, or you can do it behind the back, explaining that .you will reverse your prediction in the packet. In either case, you end with the prediction face-up on the bottom of the face-down packet. Place your packet face-down on the table. Ask the spectator to lift off a.croup of cards from the remaind= er of the deck, shuffle it and look at the face or bottom card. Then he puts this packet on top of your packet. Fi- * nally he puts this combined packet on top of the deck. Remind the spectator that your prediction card is face-up, ‘Tell him to deal cards off the top of the deck into @ heap on the table until he gets to the prediction card. Place the face-up prediction card on top of the dealt cards. Have hin read aloud the number, in this case 12. He then counts 12 car@s off the dealt packet, including the prediction card in the count. He turns up the next card and it is his chosen card. I saw the basic principle in New York just after WW TI, but it had a lot Nore counting. I simplified the routine to its present form, and am glad to finally have it in print. All The Best, John S. Rule ‘THE CHRONICLES is published by Karl Fulves, Box 433, Teaneck, N.J. 07666. Telephone: 201-427-1284 Contributions in the form of news, notes tricks and ideas are welcome. card & coin tricks are in abundant. supply. Tf you have a routine that does not involve cards or coins, it stands a much better chance of get~ ting into print in these pages. Free catalog available on request, 2 do not advertise, so this catalog is the only complete list of titles. ~1272- About ten years ago, in conver sation with a noted coinman in the midwest, I asked what drew him to coin magic. He replied that it was the idea of being able to do magic with ordinary objects. since every- one carried coins with them, it meant: that he could borrow the nec~ cessary apparatus at any time and proceed immediately to do nagic. Purther, one could work anywhere, on a streetcorner, in an elevator, on a bus, at the table or on any stage. I don't want this next to read like a sardonic remark; at the time Iwas genuinely confused about the difference between the idea of coin magic and the practice of it. Be~ cause of this I asked him why it was then that in pursuit of this ex Pression of "natural" magic he used half dollars and English pennies, coins no one carries or uses. His response was the obvious one that the larger coins were eas ier to see and easier to handle. Fine, but the mere use of unfamiliar coins negated the whole idea of mag- ic performed with natural objects. L Clearly the argument cannot be resolved, even without bringing up the use of props like Chinese coins and Okito boxes. No one except a magician carries four English pen- nies around with him, a fact accept- ed by laymen in the same way that. they accept artificial props in i film, stage and television. By way of example in any of these mediums, the laymen knows that lighting and i special effects are artificial and not remotely connected with the real world in any way, yet the con- i | | | ventions are accepted without argu-' ment. ‘The question of the highly contrived nature of coin magic a- yose again recently, this time in connection with a coins & covers routine I saw performed by a NYC magician (It is no longer called Coins & Covers, it is called Matrix but no matter). I argued that the trick itself, involving four half dollars and four playing cards, is beyond my ability to accept as “natural” in any way. Tt seoms to me to be highly specialized, the combination of props existing only for the magician's convenience. There is also the not inciden~ tal point that since the trick must be done with the props resting on the table, the routine can only be seen by six people looking direstly down at the apparatus. Are there working professionals who earn their Living with this type of magic? In the latest version, not on- ly do the coins gather under one cover, but then they return to their original positions, AND THEN they change from halves to copper coins. It seems obvious that one must have a background in this type of magic to appreciate the latest vari- ation, rather like being able to ap- preciate a twist on a joke only be- cause one knows the original joke to begin with. Perhaps there are working profes- sinals who get paid for performing these elaborate layout tricks, but one sus~ ects this curious sub-form of magic was invented solely by amateurs for the benefit of other amateurs. There is no ham, of course, but one wonders if per- haps in pursuing this particular blind alley so relentlessly, they are missing the whole point. The related matter, altogether ob- vious in another sub-form known as the packet trick, is the question of the mul- tiple ending. I know it is done for the sake of novelty, and that magicians are more likely to be fooled by the added ending they weren't looking for. Tt is arguable whether or not the tricks are getting simpler, but it is certain they are getting longer. It is possible that a truly fine original trick will come out of all this, and if 90, it will have been worth the wait. DARKNOT A length of rope is tied around a table leg. One of those present then steps up onto the table and sits in the exact center of the table. All others in the group take their places around the table and place their fingertips on the table edge. Clearly the rope cannot be removed from the table leg without lifting the table le§ off the floor, and if this happens, ‘those present will easily de~ tect the movement of the table. Also, the presence of someone sitting on the table makes any secret movement of the table difficult to do. Nevertheless, the room lights are extinguished for a moment and when they come on again the knotted rope is not only free of the table leg, it is tied around another table leg! Rope is ordinary and may be examin- ed before and after. any number of knots can be tied in the rope. Method: The astute reader will have guessed that the easy way cut of what ap pears to be an impossible test ig that two ropes are used. One is tied around a table leg and then pushed up under the table and wedged in place. The second vope is tied around another table leg. With the Lights out, you cut the first rope and stuff it in a pocket, then pull the second rope down from its hiding place. 1273+ Nigel's JACKS AND You will need a packet consisting of the four Aces and three Jacks, ar- ranged so that there is a Jack on top of the face-down packet, then the four Aces,then the other two Jacks. 1, Turn the packet face-up and do the d~as-4 count to show 4 Jacks. Then tur the packet face-down and place it in the left hand. 2. Cut the bottom three cards to the top of the packet. 3, The RH takes the top card and turns it face-up. At the same time the LH buckles the bottom card of the pack~ et. You do not have to hide the buckle or pull-down move. 4. Insert. the top Jack face-up into the break. Count ¢-as-4 to show that all cards are now face-down. 5. Flip the top card face-up on tep of the packet. Then, using a KP idea, double lift and place the double card on the bottom of the packet. Immediate- Jy count 4-as-4 to show that the cards are still face-down. 6. Repeat Step § identically with the third Jack. 7. Deal the top three carés in a row on the table. Supposedly you have the 4th Jack in the RE. Pick up the deck. Turn it face-up and open up a wide break at the midpoint with the left lit- tle finger. 8. Insert the Ri block face~down in to the break. The right fingers push the block in but the thumb pulls the topmost card (an Ace) out. 9. Turn this card face-up to show that the ath Jack has changed to an Ace. ‘Turn up the tabled cards to show three more Aces. Roy Waiten MAGIC 710 In this routine a Nagic Ten causes red cards and black cards to magically separate. Secretly have 10 reds and 10 black cards alternating by colour. Take the 20-card packet and false shuffle, ie, xun any odd quantity and throw back on top or underneath. Repeat as long as you wish. Hand the 20 cards to the spectator and give him a 10-spot from the main pack. Ask him to push the 10-spot face up atywhere in the packet. Take back the packet after he has cut it a few times. Then deal the cards into two face-down heaps in convention- al dealing fashion. Pick up the heap that contains the face-up 10-spot. As you fan thru to re~ move it, remember the total number of cards above it. As you place the 10- spot on the table, cut the packet at the point from which it is removed and complete the cut. Replace the packet in squared condition face-down on the tab- le. Say that 10 is the mystic number (what brilliant patter) so you will re~ move a total of 10 cards from the top of the two facedown heaps. Appear to do this in a haphazard fashion by removing cards singly from each heap but make sure you take cards equal. to the number you remembered from the heap that did not have the 10-spot Show the cards in your hand are all the same colour and then scoop up, the remaining face-down cards together and turn them face-up to show they are all the same colour. -1274- TH CHRONICLES Copyright fox i v "| \ wi This is the complete and utter vanish of a coin under impossible conditions. you can be wearing a short-sleeve shirt. You are standing, facing the spectator. The coin is not palmed or clipped and there are no gimmicks. The basic secret is not new, but it is little known and the mildest adjetive used to describe it is "bod. * You stand facing the spectator. You bor- vow any coin. It can be a dime or a silver dollar. The coin can be marked. You hold the coin in your palm-up right hand. The specta~ No. 22 1979 by Karl Pulves HOAX CON tor places his han@ over yours, covering the coin. The magic word is said, and the spectator is asked to move his hand aside. The coin is gone. You maintain your right hand palm up and stationary. Spectator can examine the back of your hand. You can spread the fingers apart. The coin is absolutely gone. The spectator replaces his hand on top of your paln-up right hand. You utter heap big magic spell. The spectator lifts his hand and the coin has returned. It's the same coin and is immediately returned to its owner. No gimmicks. Trick is impromptu and can be done surrounded. No confederate, no angles. the effect is as simple as a coin trick is ever going to get, yet it is the kind of thing that people will remember for years. the secret is simple but ingenious, one of those bold ideas that produces an incredible ef fect on the audience. It requires self- confidence because it is a BIG swindle, but ender the right circumstances it has no equal. -1275- Method: If you are standing, facing the spectator, and you are going to cause a coin to completely vanish you can toss At into the shirt as described in The Magic Book, pg. 85, or into the sleeve. It is not easy to slip the coin in~ to the shirt because the coin is in the extended Ri, away from the body, and the hand is covered by the spectator's hand while the coin is still in it. You can't sleeve the coin because you are wearing a short-sleeved shirt (or no shirt at all, for that matter). But you do sleeve the coin. You sleeve it in the spectator's jacket sleeve. That's the method in a nutshell. Details on making your work easier are as follows. Pick a spectator who's jacket has roomy sleeves. That means no jackets with a continental cut. You stand with your left side to the spectator, your RH ex~ tended. Have him place his 1H on yours. As he does, extend your LH and use it to steady: his. Actually you want his left arm to remain horizontal. As your hand approaches his, sleeve the coin into his jacket sleeve. Then have him Graw his LH back (not up). Keep your FH stationary and palm-up. Spread the right fingers. Then slow- iy turn the RH over. Finally turn it palm-up again. As he reaches over with his LH, low- er your Ri. this causes him to lower his LH to meet yours, and of course the coin will then slide out of the spectator's jacket sleeve and into your waiting Ri. ‘The secret is simple but tremendous- ly effective. Some will conclude that it requires far too much nerve, and some will wonder how you practice such a trick. Actually you can practice on any one. If you miss their sleeve, or if they feel the coin slide into the sleeve, alter your technique. After a few trials you will have at your disposal a vanish and recovery that seems beyond rational explanation. f . H. Barry LEFT? RIGHT? This is an excursion into pure mind reading, It depends on a little known fact which can be put to use in a clever way. You hand a spectator a plain card. on one side of the cara is written the question, “What result do you get when you divide 183 by 37" On the other side of the cara is the guestion, "On a dollar bill, which way does Washington face?" Have the spectator read both ques- tions. Then ask him to mentally decide on one Guestion and look away (that is, off into the distance) while he concentrates on the answer. While he does this, you remove anoth- er car@ and place it writing-side-down on the table. Ask the spectator which question he decided to answer. It makes no difference Whether he answers the question correct ly. What is important is which question he decides to answer. Say he decides to answer the question about George Wash- ington. He turns over your card, and it says, "You will choose the question about Washington.” True, it's only an even-money guess, but the test can be repeated with differ ent spectators and you will be right most of the time. The secret is odd enough. wait for the spectator to decide on which question he wants to ponder. Then tell him to look off into space to better concentrate on the question. Of course by this time he puts the card away so there is no clue as to which question he has chosen. If he gazes off to his right, he has chosen the math problem. Tf he chose the dollar— bill question, chances are that he will gaze off to the left. -1276-) i

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