Magic Trick 1-10

How to Balance Glass on Playing Card

THE BALANCED GLASS.

Place a glass on top edge of playing card held in hand, holding face of card toward the audience, meanwhile balancing glass with forefinger of hand as shown in above drawing. Finger is hidden by card from audience, and it appears that glass is actually being balanced on edge of card.

How 'Spirit Trick' Is Performed With Names Written in Squares

SPIRIT TRICK—THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.

Fold a square piece of paper into nine parts, and have someone write the names of eight living persons in outside squares and the name of a dead person in the center square. Then tear the paper along the creases into nine parts, as shown in the drawing.

The performer, who is blindfolded, picks up each piece of paper, feeling the edges with the forefinger and thumb. Those containing names of living persons will have straight edges on one or two sides, while the one with the dead per­son's name will have ragged edges all around.

How to Transfer a Coin
From One Hand to Another

(This Is Called a French Drop)

1. Hold a coin between the thumb and forefinger of left hand.
   
   
2. Make motion with right hand as though to take the coin from the left, meanwhile letting it drop into palm of left hand, which is immediately turned so that palm faces down­ward.
   
   
3. As the coin drops into palm of left hand, close the right, making audience believe it is there. Then with left hand reach down and pretend to extract coin from under some object. As you do this let coin slip back from palm to fingers, and presto, it has been transferred from closed right hand to the place from where it is extracted with the left. This must be done quickly.
   

How to Tell Card Taken
From Pack by Trick 'Spirit Writing*

THE INVISIBLE INITIALS.

1. Secretly select playing card from deck and place it on bottom.
   
   
2. Letter the initials of the card on back of left hand with sharp-pointed piece of soap. For instance, the initials of the Jack of Spades would be J. S.
   
   
3. Appear before audience, and ask someone to divide the deck of cards into two parts. Place a blank piece of paper on top of half which does not contain the selected card, and place other half of deck on top of paper. The selected card will then be above the paper.
   
   
4. With your back turned, ask some person to write the initials of the card on the piece of paper, and burn it.
   
   
5. Take ashes from burned paper and rub them on back of hand containing invisible soap initials. The ashes will stick to the soap, and the initials will mysteriously appear in trick "spirit writing."
   

How to Dip Hand Into Water and Take It Out Dry

HAND IN WATER             TAKEN OUT DRY

WATER THAT IS NOT WET.

Here is one that Ripley has missed in his Believe It or Not cartoons. It is possible to dip a hand into a bowl of water and take it out dry. The secret is that the hand is rubbed thoroughly with stearate of zinc powder, which prevents wa­ter from clinging to the hand.

Trouble to Spin an Egg Magician Lindhorst's Method

HOW TO SPIN AN EGG.

Take a hard-boiled egg, put a small identifying mark on it, and place it in a bowl of eggs that have not been boiled. Bring the bowl before an audience and ask someone to select an egg and spin it on end. It will be found impossible to make the eggs with soft yolks spin, while the performer will find it easy to spin the one that is hard boiled

How to Remove Dime Under Glass Without Touching Either

HOW TO TAKE DIME FROM UNDER GLASS WITHOUT LIFTING GLASS.

Turn a glass upside down on a thick linen tablecloth, place it over a dime, and put a match under the edge of the glass. Scratch the tablecloth with the forefinger about two inches from the glass, and on the side where the match is placed. The dime will move slowly toward the finger, and slip under the glass.

Magician Tells How to Hang Hat on Wall Without Nail or Hook

HOW TO HANG HAT ON WALL WITHOUT NAIL OR HOOK.

Take a wood pencil, octagonal shape, and rub it up and down against a painted wood surface, pressing hard at the same time. The heat caused by the friction will make the pencil stick, and it will be possible to hang a lightweight hat on the pencil's point. As the pencil may leave marks on the paint it is best to do this trick on an old surface

How to Invert Glass of Water Without Spilling It

HOW TO INVERT GLASS OF WATER WITHOUT SPILLING IT

Fill a glass with water and place a piece of heavy paper over the top. The suction of the air in the glass will hold the water in, and make it possible to invert the glass without spilling the water. This must be done slowly and carefully. Magicians call this a hydrastic glass, and use celluloid instead of paper.

How to Tell in Which Hand Coin Is Concealed

HOW TO TELL IN WHICH HAND A COIN IS HELD.

1. The performer turns his back, and asks someone to hold a coin in one hand, and close and invert both hands.
   
   
2. The person holding the coin then is asked to lift the coin hand to the forehead and lower it, at the same time say­ing, "Ready."
   
   
3. The performer, turning around, will note that the hand holding the coin is drawn tighter, retarding the blood cir­culation, and appears whiter than the other.
   

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