The modern conjurer and drawing-room entertainer

Front matter

01079. THE MODERN CONJUROR

And Drawing Room Entertainer, by C. Lang Neil. Introduction by Charles Bertram, explaining and illustrating tricks by Maskelyne, Trewey, Bertram, Downs, Patrice, Kennard, Valadon, DeManche, Lewis, Stanyon and others. With over 400 illustrations from photographs of actual tricks. Demy 8 yo., cloth. Just out. American edition, price, English . Price,

The John J. and Hanna M. McManus and Morris N. and Chesley V. Young Collection

Contents

Sleights Used in Card Tricks.

Two-handed Pass One-handed Pass To Palm Cards

To Palm Cards from Bottom of Pack .

Preface

A HAPPY combination of circumstances, such as has not arisen in the past, enables me to offer to the public a complete book upon Natural Magic and Drawing-room Conjuring, in which many mysteries are explained and illustrated by novel, thorough, and practical methods.

Though not a practical expert — and perhaps on that account better able to look at things from a learner’s point of view — I have for many years kept abreast with the progress made by modern magic and its literature. It has also been my privilege to enjoy the acquaintance, and in many cases the intimate friendship, of the greatest present-day professors of legerdemain and of kindred accomplishments. This has brought me into familiar touch, both before and behind the scenes, with the methods and finished achievements of the most brilliant magicians of the time, and perhaps the fact that I can never hope to rival them in any way may have made them more ready to discuss with me their favourite fakes.

These combined advantages of watching the game, and of close acquaintance with its rules and exponents, have most forcibly convinced me that complete success in all notable illusions, and particularly in

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PREFACE popular drawing - room conjuring, depends upon niceties of manner, speech, and gesture, quite apart from the necessary action of the tricks. Two men may perform the same feat with equal dexterity and effect, so far as the deception of their audience is concerned ; each may have followed skilfully the lines which govern the perfect presentation of the particular trick, but one has added to it many subtle touches of his own, which stamp him with the hall-mark of supremacy, and set him head and shoulders above the other.

There are nowadays so many who can do some¬ thing in the way of conjuring, that even to amateurs a knowledge of these finished touches must be valuable, and this is just what has been lacking in the instructions that were given by previous writers on this fascinating subject.

It has been my good fortune to secure advantages in this direction which have not been possible to others, inasmuch as all the illustrations which explain the exact working of the various illusions are photo¬ graphs from life of the conjurers whose tricks are given, and these experts have themselves seen, and by their advice improved, my renderings and descrip¬ tions of their feats.

A novel feature has also been introduced, for I have been able to show that there is a pleasant and profitable field for ladies in the realms of conjuring. In proof of this I have but to point to the photo¬ graphs of tricks by Mdlle. Patrice, who has made a success of drawing-room magic for some years.

PREFACE

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My heartiest thanks are due for much friendly assistance to Messrs. J. N. Maskelyne, Trewey, Charles Bertram, Paul Valadon, Nelson Downs, Frank Kennard, H. de Manche, L. Graham Lewis (a very clever amateur conjurer, who would have been in the first flight of professionals had not the golden paths of commerce claimed his energies), Ellis Stanyon, and Mdlle. Patrice. Without their aid and counsel this book could not have been produced, and to them much of the credit is due for this addition to the bibliography of conjuring.

Special thanks must be given to my friend Mr. Charles Bertram, whose name is a household word in this connection, for his approval of the advance proofs, and for his Introduction.

C. LANG NEIL.

London, 1902.