Jv tLzrm^.
Illustrated, $2.00
Tricks Any Boy Can Do By JOSEPH LEEMING Author of "Things Any Boy Can Make," "More Things Any Boy Can Make," etc. Here is just the book for the amateur magician. It contains directions for performing nearly 200 fascinating tricks, all of which are so simple to do that in no time at all the reader will become adept at mystifying his friends. Not only does the book supply material for becoming the "life of the party," but it will provide hours of fun and amusement in mastering the technique of a magician. Mr. Leeming has carefully selected the tricks in this book from over two thousand that are available in the world's literature of magic. In each case he has kept in mind not only effectiveness and dramatic quality, but also the simplicity of materials required and of execution. Consequently, even the beginner will find no difficulty in performing all the tricks described. A great variety of mystifying feats are included —tricks with cards, tricks with coins, tricks with matches and match boxes, tricks with balls, tricks with handkerchiefs, tricks with rings, tricks with string, tricks with cigarettes and cigars, mind-reading and spirit tricks, tricks with numbers, etc. Mr. Leeming has a remarkable ability to present this kind of thing interestingly, simply, and clearly. "Tricks Any Boy Can Do" is a book that will provide many hours of entertainment, a book that is essential for any aspiring magician. D.
APPLETON - CENTURY
New York
COMPANY
London
Tricks any boy can do
By JOSEPH LEEMING CARD TRICKS ANYONE CAN DO TRICKS ANY BOY CAN DO THINGS ANY BOY CAN MAKE MOKE THINGS ANY BOY CAN MAKE PEAKS OF INVENTION FROM BARTER TO BANKING GAMES TO MAKE AND PLAY AT HOME
Tricks any boy can do By
yoseph J^eeming
D. APPLETON-CENTURY COMPANY INCORPORATED
NEW YORK
LONDON
COPYRIGHT, 1938,
BY
JOSEPH LEEMING All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
For JOSEPH LEEMING, JR.
This book is made in full compliance with Government Directive L 120 limiting the bulk of paper.
Foreword T H E tricks described in this book are sufficiently varied and numerous to enable any one interested in magic to entertain and mystify his friends for hours on end. In the selection of the tricks, careful attention has been paid not only to effectiveness and dramatic quality, but also to simplicity of execution. Consequently, even the beginner should have no difficulty in doing all the tricks described. It may be mentioned that to obtain the best tricks of this type, selection has been made from more than two thousand tricks that are available in the world's literature of magic. It has been truly said that there is a vast difference between telling how a trick is done and teaching how to do it. The reader should bear this in mind and realize that while the present volume tells him how to do a large and diversified number of tricks, he should study at all times to present them with the greatest possible showmanship and eclat. Each performer has a different approach and personality, and each must work out for himself the most suitable method (for him) of presenting his deceptions. It is this study, which cannot be taught by any book, that, added to the information given in books such as the present one, makes of magic an art. JOSEPH LEEMING
Contents TRICKS WITH CARDS MAKING THE PASS
3
FORCING A CARD
4
T H E FIVE-PILE FORCE
5
ANOTHER METHOD OF FORCING A CARD
6
T H E FALSE SHUFFLE
7
LOCATING A CHOSEN CARD
8
THE
9
TELLTALE CARDS
T H E TURNED-OVER
CARD
io
REVEALING A THOUGHT-OF CARD
n
T H E CHANGEABLE ACE
12
THE
SECRET CARD
13
INSTANT COLOR CHANGE
14
FINDING THE ACES
15
T H E CARD-IN-THE-GLASS VANISH
16
T H E ADHESIVE CARD
17
ALL TOGETHER
18
T H E FACE-UP CARD
19
CUTTING THE CHOSEN CARD
20
COUNTING TO THE CHOSEN CARD
21
T H E CHOSEN SUIT
22
FACE TO FACE
22
T H E UPTURNED CARD
23
T H E TRAVELING T W O
24
CARD SUBTRACTION
25
T H E INSEPARABLE SUITS
26
ix
x
TRICKS ANY BOY CAN DO
T H E TWENTY CARDS T H E CARD IN THE POCKET
28 29
PICKING THE COURT-CARDS
30
SEPARATING THE COLORS T H E CARDS IN THE POCKET T H E TELEPHONE TRICK
3째 31 32
T H E CARD IN THE BOWL TELLING A CARD DEALT BY A SPECTATOR
.
.
.
.
34 35
ODD AND EVEN
37
NAMING THE CARDS T H E CARD ON THE W A L L T H E CARD CLOCK T H E TRANSFERRED CARDS DUPLICATING THE COUNT T H E "STOP" TRICK T H E LIGHTNING CHANGE
37 39 39 40 41 42 43
TRICKS WITH COINS T H E FOLDED-PAPER COIN VANISH T H E HANDKERCHIEF COIN VANISH
47 48
T H E COIN " P U L L "
49
A GOOD COIN-VANISHING BOX
50
T H E COIN BOX T H E COIN PASS (Le Tourniquet) T H E DISAPPEARING DIME
50
51
T H E COIN IN THE GLASS
54
MELTING MONEY T H E COIN THROUGH THE TABLE
55 56
MULTIPLYING COINS T H E PENETRATING COIN
57 58
T H E MAGNETIC COIN T H E COIN IN THE HANDKERCHIEF
59 60
52
CONTENTS
xi
FLYING MONEY T H E SHRINKING HALF-DOLLAR
61 62
T H E COIN UNDER THE CARDS T H E COIN IN THE H A T
63 64
T H E COIN IN THE SAUCER
65
T H E COIN IN THE SLEEVE
66
CATCHING A COIN OUT OF THE AIR
67
T H E ROLLING COIN BOX
67
T H E COIN, CARDS, AND GLASS TRICK PENNIES AND DIMES
69 72
T H E GLASS OF WATER COIN VANISH
73
TRICKS WITH MATCHES AND MATCH BOXES T H E PENETRATING MATCHES
77
MATCH MIND-READING T H E REDUCING MATCH BOX PASSING T W O MATCHES THROUGH EACH OTHER
78 79 81
.
.
T H E BALANCED MATCH
82
T H E PENETRATING MARK T H E PENCIL FROM THE MATCH BOX
83 84
T H E COLOR-CHANGING MATCH T I P S
85
MATCHES FROM NOWHERE
85
T H E TRANSFERRED COLORS
86
T H E OBEDIENT MATCHES
88
MATCH-BOX EIFFEL TOWER
88
T H E BEWITCHED MATCHES A STRIKING EFFECT
89 90
T H E MAGNETIC MATCH-BOX DRAWER
.
.
.
.
91
TRICKS WITH BALLS BALL FROM THE AIR
95
T H E DISAPPEARING BALL
96
xii
TRICKS ANY BOY CAN DO
MYSTERIOUS BALL T U B E
97
T H E BALL IN THE GLASS
98
THE
BALANCED BALL
100
T H E BALL BENEATH THE HANDKERCHIEF
.
.
.
MYSTERIOUS ROLLING BALL
100 101
TRICKS WITH HANDKERCHIEFS APPEARING AND DISAPPEARING HANDKERCHIEF
.
.
T H E HANDKERCHIEF " P U L L "
106
TYING A HANDKERCHIEF WITH ONE HAND THE
.
.
.
DISSOLVING KNOT
no
THE
DRINKING-GLASS
THE
HANDKERCHIEF PYRAMID
HANDKERCHIEF VANISH
.
.
in 113
HANDKERCHIEF
114
T H E H A T AND HANDKERCHIEF TRICK
.
.
.
.
T H E FIREPROOF HANDKERCHIEF
114 116
THE
DISSOLVING KNOT
THE
HANDKERCHIEF AND THE FOUR BOXES
116 .
.
.
T H E HANDKERCHIEF VASES
117 119
T H E HANDKERCHIEF ON THE STRING THE
108 109
T H E MYSTIC KNOT
T H E FLYING
105
120
COLOR CHANGING HANDKERCHIEF
.
.
ANOTHER HANDKERCHIEF COLOR CHANGE
.
.
. .
122 .
123
TRICKS WITH RINGS V A N I S H I N G A R I N G W R A P P E D I N PAPER
.
.
.
.
129
INSTANTANEOUS R I N G RELEASE
130
THE
DISAPPEARING R I N G
131
THE
RING IN T H E LEMON
132
THE
RING-AND-EGG T R I C K
133
THE
R I N G ON T H E STRING
135
THE
CLIMBING R I N G
135
CONTENTS
xiii
TRICKS WITH STRING THE
DISAPPEARING K N O T
139
THE
INTERWOVEN STRING
140
PASSING A STRING THROUGH A FINGER KNOT
141
THE
MYSTERIOUS
THE
STRING AND STRAW T R I C K
(I)
143
142
THE
STRING AND STRAW T R I C K
(2)
144
TRICKS WITH CIGARETTES AND CIGARS CIGARETTE FROM MATCH
149
T H E SUSPENDED CIGARETTE
150
T H E MAGICIAN AS SALAMANDER
150
T H E LENGTHENED CIGARETTE
151
CIGARETTE MAGNETISM
152
MYSTERIOUS CIGAR BAND
153
T H E BALANCING CIGAR
154
MIND-READING AND SPIRIT TRICKS T H E SEALED MESSAGE
157
ALARM-CLOCK MIND-READING
158
MIND-READING WITH CARDS
159
BOOK MIND-READING
160
W H O TOOK THE COIN?
161
SECOND-SIGHT T I M E TELLING
162
T H E SPIRITS' MATCH BOX
163
SPIRIT MESSAGES
164
THE
166
MYSTIC ASHES
RED MAGIC
167
NAMING A CHOSEN NUMBER
168
W H I C H CARD?
168
xiv
TRICKS ANY BOY CAN DO
PARLOR MIND-READING DOLLAR-BILL MIND-READING
169 171
TRICKS WITH NUMBERS MAGIC ADDITION T o T E L L A NUMBER T H O U G H T OF BY A SPECTATOR .
175 176
T H E MAGIC SQUARE PICKING THE CHOSEN DIGIT
177 180
IMPORTANT DATES TELLING THE NUMBER T H O U G H T OF
181 182
T H E CHOSEN FIGURE T H E NUMBER IN THE ENVELOP
183 184
COUNTING TO O N E HUNDRED
185
MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS T H E APPEARING FLOWER BURNED AND RESTORED PAPER CHANGING AN EGG TO CONFETTI T H E ODD NUMBER T H E PILLARS OF SOLOMON
189 189 190 191 192
THE
195
REVERSING PENCIL
T H E MAGNETIZED PENCIL PENCIL AND PAPER
196 197
T H E CHINESE BLOCKS T H E BEWITCHED PAPER BANDS
198 200
T H E CONFETTI GLASS
201
T H E D I E IN THE HANDKERCHIEF
203
T H E MAGIC PRODUCTION TUBES T H E THIMBLE PALM
205 207
T H E MULTIPLYING THIMBLE PRODUCING A THIMBLE FROM A PAPER CONE . T H E DISAPPEARING THIMBLE
.
.
209 210 210
CONTENTS
xv
T H E THIMB,LE COLOR CHANGE T H E THIMBLE ON THE FINGER
211 212
T H E MULTIPLYING CORKS
213
BLACK AND RED
214
T H E FIVE KINGS
215
LOCATING THE BLACK CHECKER
215
T H E TRAVELING CHECKER PILES A CHECKER PUZZLE
216 218
T H E UNTEARABLE PAPER RED, W H I T E , AND BLUE T H E RED, W H I T E , AND BLUE BEADS
219 220 222
T H E DISAPPEARING SPOTS
223
CHANGING D I E SPOTS T H E OBEDIENT W A T C H
224 225
COUNTING THE HOURS T H E BENDING WATCH T H E SPOOLS-AND-STRING TRICK
225 226 227
T H E EGGS IN THE HAT
228
APPEARING CHINESE COINS
230
COLOR CHANGING SPOOLS T H E NON-WETTABLE HAND
231 232
PRODUCING A GLASS OF WATER FROM A POCKET .
.
233
T H E INVERTED GLASS OF WATER
234
RULER AND NEWSPAPER CHANGING I N K TO WATER
235 235
CHANGING WATER TO I N K
237