Pet Secnefo by AL BAKER
Text and Illustrations
by CLAYTON
RAWSON
Foreword
by DAI VERNON Introduction
by JEAN
CARL W. JONES
HUGARD
•
Minneapolis, 1951
Publisher of Magic Minn.
Copyright 1951 by Al Baker All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher.
Second Edition November 1951 Carl W. Jones, Publisher Minneapolis, Minn. DeLuxe Autograph Edition May 1951 Out of Print George Starke, Publisher New York
Printed in U.S.A.
Contents: FOREWORD by Dai Vernon
5
INTRODUCTION by Jean Hugard
7
1: HAIR MAGIC Hair Secrets The Baker General Utility Hook-up The Double-Ended Hook-up Double-Breasted Hook-up The Balancing Card The Card From the Hat The Deck That Cuts Itself The Simplex Rising Cards The Rising Ring The Grandfather Clock Trick Miscellaneous Hair Tricks
9 11 12 12 13 14 16 18 20 21 22
2: THREAD MAGIC The Al Baker Arabian Beads Floating Glass of Milk The Hindu Thread Trick Coin Production
25 29 31 35
3: ROPE MAGIC The Instantaneous Visible Restoration The Al Baker Lightning Pull The Doctor Cuts a Rope Ring and Tape Penetration Variation on Stretching a Rope
36 36 39 39 40
4: CARD MAGIC The Jet-Propelled Card Double Impossibility Color Flight The Spectator Does the Trick The Impossible Force The Baker "Readers"
42 47 49 51 53 55
Mental Discernment The Lie Detector Long-Distance Telepathy The Clairvoyant Spectator How To Force a Card The Card Between Glass Plates (Baker Improvement) Jumbo Switch Giant Gambling
56 57 57 57 58 58 59 61
5: MENTAL MAGIC Double Thought One-Man Billet Reading The Baker Billet Switch Center Tear Tip Mental Masterpiece The Telepathic Miracle
62 64 64 66 67 69
6: MONEY MAGIC The Baker Bill Tear The Stack of Quarters (New Method) The Vanishing Quarter Fun With the Money-Making Machine Dime and Penny Gag The Bill in the Borrowed Lemon
75 77 80 81 82 83
7: MAGIC FROM ANOTHER WORLD The Baker Spirit Photo Magnetisn't
85 90
8: VARIOUS MAGIC The Baker Chewing Gum Trick Finesse With the Dye Tube The Vanishing Glass of Water Salt Flight Silk Transportation Sugar Cube Vanish Goldfish Production Bar Trick Fooler Egg Finale Rabbit Production The Obedient Snake The Short Highball
91 95 99 101 102 103 104 107 108 108 110
Foreword: When Al Baker burst forth upon the New York scene, I was out west. I received a letter from a friend, Arthur Findley, telling me about Al, his singularly original ideas, his new approach to magic and his refreshing manner of presentation. Al and I later became intimate friends, and his charm, wit, and sly sense of humor have proved an unfailing source of delight through our long years of association. He is a prolific inventor of ingenious effects and is quick to recognize and appreciate any worth-while contribution to the art of magic no matter what the source. He has a remarkable flair for sorting out practical and artistic effects from the run-of-the-mill kind of magic. He believes that an effect and its modus operandi should be simple, direct and entertaining. His advice to performers has proved invaluable and as a source of inspiration he is already legendary. It is not possible, in a few paragraphs, to give all the credit and pay all the homage due Al. Mindreaders, ventriloquists, and magicians, both the successful ones of today and the aspiring ones of tomorrow, must sooner or later find themselves in deep debt to this man who has made so many great contributions to our mutually beloved art. These then, are some of my feelings about a man who has added dignity and prestige to our profession, my dear and true friend, Al Baker. DAI VERNON
Introduction: Many years ago in Australia, I chanced upon a copy of the BILLBOARD, the American journal for show business. In it, under the heading of Chautauqua Chronicles, I first saw the name of Al Baker, magician. It was the custom then, in these reports, to rate the artists under a percentage system. In this copy and all the others which I subsequently obtained, Al Baker, magician, consistantly headed the list with a rating of 97 or 98%, other artists—and there were some big names amongst them—trailing away below this figure. It was not until some years later, when I came to America, that I had an opportunity to find out if this very high rating was fully deserved. It was. It is very hard to compress in a very short space the unique qualities of such a performer as Al Baker. Perhaps, the best illustration I can give of his ability is to describe his version of one of the most ancient tricks in Magic. The Pudding in the Hat. Here is a trick of such a hoary age that probably no other magician would deign to produce it at the present time. Not so, Al Baker. In his hands, it is transformed into a comedy replete with laughs, and comedy situations, by having a bevy of youngsters from the audience assist in the fun. When the trick is over, and the magician and the small-fry regale themselves with the magic cake, one suddenly realizes that, although fully conversant with the older methods for doing the trick, there is no clue to the Baker method. His methods are all his own, and he has a positive genius for inventing subtle principles while his mastery of misdirection is nothing less than superb. Generous to a fault in giving a helping hand to others in the profession, it has happened far too often that methods and effects originated by him have been taken, exploited, and credited to other performers. In spite of this, it can be safely asserted that Al Baker has carved for himself a place in the magic Hall of Fame, which will remain as long as the Art of Magic endures. JEAN HUGARD Brooklyn, New York April 19, 1951