Collins - Magic Tricks

Many thanks to Diane Ellis, Kate Ellis, Vicky Ellis and Isabella Percy for testing the tricks.

Performing magic tricks has been a popular pastime among young and old for thousands of years. Historically, magicians have commanded great power and influence because of the magical effects they have created. Today, the most popular magic performers are TV stars who have achieved international fame.

Collins Gem Magic Tricks is a fascinating guide on how to perform over 50 magic tricks which require the minimum of equipment in many cases just coins, handkerchiefs and so on without the need for specialist and expensive apparatus. The book starts with the basic skills and equipment you need, and gives advice on how to practise and develop a good performance. Also included is an easy-to-use glossary of important terms used in performing magic tricks.

Each trick is described with step-by-step instructions, complemented by clear, explanatory photographs and diagrams. The tricks are arranged by type, in roughly ascending order of difficulty within each chapter.

Created by the Diagram Group, the book is an attractive companion volume to the same teams Collins Gem Card Tricks.

Contents

THE TRICKS

Each trick is described as follows:

Skill level

The tricks in this book are arranged into chapters according to the type of props used in the trick. Within each chapter tricks are grouped, more or less, by type, and are arranged roughly in order of increasing difficulty. Each trick is given a difficulty grading of Easy (), Moderate () or Difficult ().

Some tricks are more suitable for older performers because of the skills required. Younger performers may require adult supervision with props such as matches, scissors, knives and glue. These tricks are marked . Most, however, are appropriate for all age levels.

According to Arthur Conan Doyles famous detective Sherlock Holmes, We see but we do not observe. In many ways this describes the reaction a magic performer is trying to instill in his (or her) audience. The performer wants the spectator to see what is happening, but not observe what is going on behind the scenes.

Magic tricks have been practised since ancient times. Probably the earliest record is found in an Egyptian papyrus dating from 1700 BC. It shows an illusionist, Dedi of Dedsnefu, performing a trick in front of the Pharaoh.

The ancient Greeks and Romans had a fondness for tricks, particularly those using hidden mechanical devices which produced miraculous effects. Using such devices, priests could make temple doors open automatically and wine flow from the mouths and arms of statues. The Cups and Balls trick (see p. 178) was described by a Roman named Seneca in the 1st century BC. It is still commonly performed today.

In medieval Europe, the practice of magic became associated with witchcraft, a practice which was punishable by death. Nevertheless, some performers used their abilities to exert power and influence over God-fearing people.

In 1584, the Englishman Reginald Scot, in his book The Discoverie of Witchcraft, tried to show how magic tricks were performed by sleights of hand, not the work of the devil. His text explained the secrets of many magic tricks, including those using coins, cards and ropes. He wrote the book to expose the work of magicians, but instead it became the first manual for practising magicians.

Even by the late 16th century, performing magic tricks was not considered respectable. Nevertheless, novelty acts such as fire- and sword-swallowing, and performances using intelligent animals, were popular in fairs and markets.

In 18th-century Britain, performers of magic tricks had gained some respectability, and perhaps the most famous was Isaac Fawkes. He amassed a fortune from performing close-up tricks at fairs and at private parties in the homes of wealthier citizens.

The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw the appearance of several hundred professional magicians. By the early 19th century scientific tricks were in vogue and performers calling themselves Doctor or Professor wove inventive stories to explain their tricks in terms of science. For example, the French magician Jean Eugne Robert-Houdin explained his famous levitation trick (raising a person in the air without any apparent support) in terms of the newly-discovered gas, ether. His explanation was false, but it was a convincing part of his performance. Robert-Houdin was to become a legendary figure among magicians and was later dubbed The Father of Modern Magic. Originally a watchmaker and inventor, he did not become a full-time magician until over 50 years old. He made many improvements to the techniques and equipment then fashionable. He developed his magic craft to a very high standard and was instrumental in bringing greater respect to the profession.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries were the great age of travelling shows. Spectacular magic shows travelled from theatre to theatre, in Europe and the United States. Such was the popularity of magic shows that one magician and entrepreneur, John Nevil Maskelyne, was able to run a permanent magic theatre in London for over 40 years from 1873.

As magic shows became more popular, and there was greater competition between performers, speciality acts arose and performers developed special personas (theatrical characters). One of the most famous was William Ellsworth Robinson, a white American, who wore makeup and performed as the Chinese magician Chung Ling Soo, even inventing a mock-Chinese language. He took the performance far beyond the stage, and kept up his Chinese persona at all times in public. He died on stage in 1918, attempting his famous trick in which he caught a bullet in his mouth. The gun was faulty and fired a real bullet that killed him.

Perhaps the most famous magic performer of all time was Harry Houdini, who was born in 1874 in Budapest, Hungary, as Ehrich Weiss. During his career as an escapologist he challenged several police forces to lock and bind him in chains and sacking. On each occasion he was able to free himself, sometimes in very unusual circumstances (on one occasion he was lowered into New York harbour in a safe, and escaped). He died in performance on 31 October 1926, Halloween. Several days beforehand he had challenged some students to punch him in the stomach, saying that he could withstand any blow. One student punched him before he had time to tense his stomach muscles. This blow ruptured his appendix and was the cause of his death.

One of the more interesting 20th-century performers was Cardini, who learnt his card-handling skills in the long days spent as a soldier in the trenches during World War I. He wore gloves to keep out the cold. Later, as a performing conjuror, white gloves and a monocle were his trademark, and on stage he would produce dozens of fans of cards from nowhere. His performance also included pretending to be drunk while producing a succession of bizarre articles and handing his clothes to a valet.