Author's Note - During the thirty-one years I have studied and practised the art of magic I have continuously cherished a desire to provide the thousands of men and women who are inter­ested in this fascinating art a guide to the solution of many of its most widely discussed mysteries.

The accomplishments of such men as Hermann, Kellar, Thurston and Houdini have been a constant inspiration to me and I have endeavored in the following pages to present clear and simple descriptions of the methods, not hereto­fore disclosed, by which some of the most popular and puzzling illusions are performed.

01. Magic Trick 1-10 - 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.

02. Magic Trick 11-20 - Fill a glass with water. Then drop about 200 pins in the water. If this is done carefully the water, will not overflow, and the glass will have been filled twice without emptying the first contents.

Air Currents Pass Around Sides of Obstacle and Extinguish Light Placed Behind It.

03. Magic Trick 21-30 - Stand two medium-sized corks together and ask someone to try to lift them between the index and middle fingers. It will be found that the corks roll away as they are grasped. The trick is done by slightly tilting the tips of the fingers, which prevents the corks from rolling. Corks of equal diam­eter at top and bottom should be used—wine corks if they can be found.

04. Magic Trick 31-40 - Place a hair pin over the edge of table knife, grasp the knife near the end of the handle, and hold it above a table so the points of the hair pin touch the table. See that the hair pin is tilted away from the handle of the knife, and do not allow your hand to touch the table. Owing to the suspended position, your hand will quiver slightly, shaking the knife, and the hair pin will move along the knife's edge.

05. Magic Trick 41-50 - Have somebody select a card and place it on top of a pack. Lay the pack on a table, near the edge, and inform your audi­ence that you will knock the selected card through the table. Secretly moisten the back of your hand with saliva, strike the pack a blow, and quickly lower your hand beneath the table, as though to catch the card as it falls. The top card of the pack will stick to the back of your moistened hand, where it is hidden from view, and will be carried below the table as you lower your hand. You then pick it off the floor and bring it back to the table.

06. Magic Trick 51-60 - Suggest that two persons play a game of dominos, and inform them that you will predict the ending numbers of the game. Mix up the dominos, and secretly take one out—any but one with identical numbers will do. The game is played in the regular manner, each domino is matched until none are left, and the numbers appearing at either end will be the same as those appearing on the domino which you have removed.

07. Magic Trick 61-70 - Here are two match tricks that should prove entertaining.

Number one: Light two matches, blow them out, and immediately press the heads together so that they stick. Stand these upright on a corner of a match box, supporting them between the drawer and cover of the box. Place another match on your left thumb, point it at the two on the box as an archer would point an arrow, and flip it with the middle finger of your right hand.

08. Magic Trick 71-80 - Place a match in the hem or border of a handkerchief before per­forming this trick. Then in the presence of your audience, open and display both sides of the handkerchief, calling attention to the fact that you have nothing but the handkerchief in your hands. Borrow another match, place it in the palm of your left hand, and drape the handker­chief over the hand. With your right hand, work the match hidden in the hem, so that it will be held upright beneath the handkerchief.

09. Magic Trick 81-90 - Conceal a half dollar in your hand, and spread a handker­chief over the hand. Then ask someone to give you a lighted and freshly-puffed cigaret, at the same time telling the audi­ence that you will put the cigaret out by pressing it against the handkerchief, which will not be damaged. When you do this, have the half dollar in the palm of the hand, draw the handkerchief tightly over the hand, and press the cigaret into the handkerchief on top of the half dollar.

10. Magic Trick 91-100 - You need seven rings, or paper discs with holes in the center, and a piece of cord to do this trick. Double the cord and slip both ends through one of the rings, fastening it to the ring in this manner: After the ends have been placed through the ring, bring them around through the loop of the cord, and draw it tight about the ring. The other six rings are slipped over the cord, and are held there by the fastened ring.

11. Magic Trick 101-110 - Before doing this trick, you must make a tiny flap and paste it on the back of a card, which is known as the key card. Make the flap by cutting a small piece from the back of another card, bending it in half, and pasting; one half of this on the back of the key card, as shown in the above drawing. When this card is laid on the table, keep your finger pressed on the flap so it will not be noticed.

12. Magic Trick 111-113 - For the sake of a story you use four Jacks in this trick. Before beginning the trick, hold one Jack in your hand, but place three other cards, any kind, behind it, and hold the four so it appears to be one card—a Jack. Then, in front of your audience, pick up the other three Jacks, making seven cards in your hand, and tell this little story. The pack of cards is a four-story house, and inside the house there is a burglar.

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