HOFFMAN'S TRICKS
MISCELLANEOUS
CONJURING TRICKS From " MODERN MAGIC "
BY
PROFESSOR HOFFMAN Author of " M o r e Magic," "Parlor Amuiementt," eic.
WITH 109 ILLUSTRATIONS
PHILADELPHIA
DAVID MCKAY, PUBLISHER 610 SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE
PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
present issue of
THE
PROFESSOR HOFFMANN'S MODERN MAGIC
(which has
now reached its Eighth Edition, and still maintains its position as the leading authority on all branches of Conjuring) is designed to meet a frequently expressed desire for a more portable form of that work, and to enable the amateur who may be interested in any particular branch of the subject to study it with greater convenience. The various Sections are as under.
Price, Fifty Cents each :-•-
I. CARD TRICKS. II. TRICKS WITH COINS, WATCHES, RINGS, AND HANDKERCHIEFS. III.
TRICKS WITH DOMINOES, DICE, BALLS, HATS, ETC. ; ALSO STAGE
TRICKS. IV. MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS.
N. B.—The Introductory Chapter, having a general application to the whole of the last three Sections, is, for the sake of completeness, repeated in each such Section.
CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTION
.
i
MICELLANEOUS TRICKS. The Cut String Restored 5 My Grandmother's Necklace 8 The "Bonus Genius," or Vanishing Doll 9 The Dancing Sailor II The Bottle Imps 12 The Vanishing Gloves 13 The Egg-Bag 14 To Produce Eggs from a Person's Month 17 The Pillars of Solomon, and the Magic Bradawl 18 The Magic Coffers 21 The Bran and Orange Trick 23 The Rice and Orange Trick 25 The Magic Whistle 29 The Magic Mill 30 Pieces of Apparatus of General Utility— The Drawer-Box 31 The Dissecting Drawer-Box 34 The Changing Card-Drawer 35 Changing Caddies 36 The Magic Vase and Caddy 39 The Cover, to pick up and replace any Article 43 The Changing Cover 44 The Changing Ladle 46 The Cone, or Skittle 48 The Cone and Bouquet 52 The Flying Glass of Water 55 Bowls of Water and Bowls of Fire produced from a Shawl 59 A Bowl of Ink changed to clear Water, with Gold Fish Swimming in it . . . 60 The Inexhausible Bottle 61 The Bottle and Ribbons 64 iii
iv
CONTENTS. PAGE
The New Pyramids of Egypt, or the Wine and Water Trick . . . . . . . . 65 The Mysterious Funnel 67 The Box of Bran transformed into a Bottle of Wine 68 The Bran Bottle 70 The Bran Glass 71 To Fire Borrowed Rings from a Pistol, and make them Pass into a Goblet filled with Bran and covered with a Handkerchief, the Bran disappearing, and being found elsewhere 72 The Domino-Box (sometimes called the Glove-Box) 74 The Coffee Trick 76 The Inexhaustible Box 79 The Japanese Inexhaustible Boxes 81 The Feast of Lanterns 83 The Butterfly Trick 85 The Wizard's Omelet 86 The Rose in the Glass Vase 88 The Chinese Rings 89 The Charmed Bullet 97 The Birth of Flowers 99 The Mysterious Salver 104 The Vanishing Die 107 The Die Dissolving in a Pocket-handkerchief 108 The Die and Orange ITI The Vanishing Canary Bird and Cage 112 The Decanter and Crystal Balls 114 The Flags of all Nations 120 The Umbrella Trick 121 The " Passe-Passe " Trick 123
CONJURING TRICKS MISCELLANEOUS.
INTRODUCTION.
ilEFORE proceeding to the practice of the magic art, it will be well to give a short description of two or three appliances, which are of such constant use that they may be said to form the primary stock-in-trade of every conjuror. These are—a short wand, a specially adapted table, and certain secret pockets in the magician's dress. THE MAGIC WAND.
This is a light rod, twelve to fifteen inches in length, and about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. To the uninitiated its use may appear a mere affectation, but such is by no means the case. Apart from the prestige derived from the traditional properties of the wand, it affords a plausible pretext for many necessary movements, which would otherwise appear awkward and unnatural. Thus, if the performer desires to hold anything concealed in his hand, by holding the wand in the same hand he is able to keep it closed without exciting suspicion. If it is necessary, as frequently happens, to turn his back upon the audience for an instant, the momentary turn to the table, in order to take up or lay down the wand, affords the required opportunity. 5