MAGIC FROM "BELOW BY
CHARLES WALLER Author of " Up his Sbfvt£" WaUe^ Wonders," etc.
LONDON GEORGE 24,
JOHNSON,
Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C. 2 1929
Printed in England by GEO. B. FLOWEB,
16-16, Verulam Street, London, E.C. 1.
INTRODUCTION. LET the reader not misunderstand the title of this book—the term " below " has reference to the Antipodes, where the writer has his dwelling, and not to those regions whence an earlier and more credulous people imagined the magician to derive his powers. Soon, alas—what with cheap commercialism on the one hand, and the craze for " Making magic popular " on the other— the public will suspect the magician of obtaining his powers, with his properties, from the " Nothing over Sixpence " Stores. Ah, well! Let's hope for the best, and— what is more—let us try for it. CHARLES WALLER.
Books on Conjuring and Entertaining TRICKS THAT WORK, by Tom Sellers. Very good. 2/6. Postage ljd. 75 cents. WALLER'S WONDERS, by Chas. Waller. One of the most up-to-date and successful books published. Brilliantly new. Cloth, 8/6. Postage 3d. $2. 60 cents. CONJURING FOR CONNOISSEURS, by Bernard Carton. A brilliant booklet submitting many novel and easy tricks. Wrappers 1/1. Post free. 40 cents. A FEW JARDINE ELLIS SECRETS. "Any single item is worth more than the price at which the book is published." Wrappers 1/1. Post free. 40 cents. ART IN TEN MINUTES, by Geo. Munro. A humorous "Lightning Sketch ' leeture that is easy to present. Wrappers, 1/1, Post free. 40 cents. THE LIGHTNING SKETCHER, by Geo. Munro. A new edition of this remarkably useful and lunny book' Wrappers, 1/1. Post free. 40 cents. LAUGHTER AND LEGERDEMAIN, by Frederic Culpitt. The excellent tricks of this famous magician, with wonderful "patter." Cloth, 5/6. Boards, 4/6. Postage, 3d $1.50 MAGICAL SUGGESTIONS, by Harry Latour. A book of conjuring effects on novel lines. Ideas out of the beaten track. Cloth 3/6. Postage 2d. $1. 25 cents. ORIGINAL MAGICAL NOVELTIES, by Norman Hoole and J. J. Shepherd. A new edition of this successful booklet, illustrated. Wrappers 1/6. Post free. 50 cents. CONJURORS' TALES, by George Johnson. Stones of the ups and downs of conjuring life on the road. Cloth, 1/6. Postage, 2d. 55 cents. THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CONJURING, by Sidney W. Clarke, Invaluable to all magical students and collectors. Boards, 3/6. Postage, 2d. $1.25. MUCH MAGIC. Handsome cloth bound volumes, containing interesting numbers of Tht Magic Wand (quarterly). Series I, over 350 pages, 10/6. Series II, 400 pages, 12/6. Series III, 400 pages, 12/6. Postage, 6d. $2.75 and $3.50. MAGIC MADE MERRY, by H. A. Palmer. The best patter book. 2/-. Postage ltd. 75 cents. CONJURING TRICKS. Cloth bound copies of interesting numbers of the monthly Magic Wand. (Supply limited). Price 8/6. Postage. 6d. $2.60. THE MAGIC WAND AND MAGICAL REVIEW. Famous the world over. Annual Subscription, 15/-. Post freÂŤ. Specimen Copies, 3/6. By Post 3/9. $1.00.
GEORGE JOHNSON, Publisher and Magical Bookseller, THE "MAGIC WAND" OFFICE, 24, Buckingham St., Strand, London, W.C. 2.
CONTENTS. PART I. T H E MAGIC POP-GUN T H E VERSATILE TUBE . . . ... ... EAT MORE FRUIT HELL'S B E L L S ! PICKLED PIECES " AND THE DISH RAN AWAY WITH THE SPOON" ... ... ... ... CONES WITHIN CONES . . . ... ... T H E S E LITTLE PIGS " JUST ON AND OFF ! " ... ... ... T H E BEETLE CRAWLS ... ... ... T H E PRODUCTIVE FLOWER POTS ... T H E GREAT PACKING-CASE ESCAPE ... PART
PAGE 7 12 19 23 39 4 1 46 54 63 67 71 76
II.
T H E TELL-TALE CIGARETTE T H E DUNCE'S CAP ; OR " BEWARE OF THE JOKER! " . . . ... ... ... TEA AND SUGAR T H E RIVAL IMPS ... ... ... " NO PLACE LIKE HOME " T H E SORCERER'S SCISSORS A W O L F I N S H E E P ' S CLOTHING T H E C U R S E O F SCOTLAND A MESSAGE FROM T H E SEA ... ... T H E CHINESE PORTER PISTOL AND GOLLIWOG T H E BALLS THAT REBOUNDED A Box OF SWEETS
88 94 101 106 113 1215 127 133 137 144 152 163 168
To
M Y WIFE,
who laughs merrily at my magical enthusiasms, but whom I suspect, nevertheless, of taking a secret pride in my small triumphs, I lovingly dedicate this book. CHARLES WALLER.
The Magic Pop-gun. I T is made of wood, this pop-gun, and chastely decorated with bands of red and blue against a yellow background. Its explosive force is air-pressure, its projectile is a small cork, and it may justly be called a repeater, because, the cork being attached by a piece of string to the plug of the piston, one has only to draw the latter back sharply to load the gun. In fact, it's a kid's pop-gun, procurable for sixpence at any toyshop in this country under the Southern Cross, and for less, no doubt, in other lands nearer the seat of manufacture. This is how it figures in a magic show. The magician stuffs a coloured silk handkerchief into a decanter resting on an uncovered table at left side of stage. With the gun in his hand and a cheerful smile on his face, he now steps forward. Hear him talk—, " This is my magic pop-gun. Every time I shoot it off something disap-