The Art of Modern Conjuring (1886) by Professor Henri Garenne
Hardcover, dust jacket, 5 1/4" x 7 3/8", 206 pages, new and in mint condition.
A first edition reprint of the 1886 classic.
Cards, coins, rings, and even the human predilection for wonder may all be
expertly manipulated with the help of this expert guide to favorite tricks
and illusions of the magician's art.
Professor Henri Garenne, the urbane author of this manual on conjuring,
intended it as a "guide for amateurs and young beginners." Starting with
the basics of palming objects and using props, and progressing through more
than 200 tricks, this distinctive volume is a rich resource for the new
magician or the armchair prestidigitator.
The lessons involve cards, coins, rings, balls, and handkerchiefs. They
explain mesmerizing tricks like The Flying Glass of Water and To Produce
Eggs from a Person's Mouth. Even more astounding are The Indian Basket
trick, The Living Head in a Bottle, and - for a truly stupendous effect - A
Lady Suspended in the Air Without Any Visible Support! And those looking
for instruction in ventriloquism and thought reading will not be
disappointed. The secrets are here.
Elegant vintage engravings demonstrate the tricks and add to the charm of
Professor Garenne's delightful treatise.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 Introduction
The Author's Views and Intentions
Rules to Be Remembered
The Magician's Wand
The Magician's Tables
The Magician's Dress
Talking to the Audience
CHAPTER 2 Hints on Palming
Preliminary Remarks
Modes and Methods of Palming: Palming Coins
Passes with Coins
First Pass
Second Pass
Third Pass: "Le Tourniquet"
Fourth Pass: "La Pincette"
Cautions Respecting Passing
Utility of Passes
Ringing
CHAPTER 3 Tricks with Cards
Cards and Cardplaying
Suitable Cards for Card Tricks
To Make the Pass
1. First Method, with Both Hands
2. Second Method, with Both Hands
3. Third Method, with Left Hand Only
4. Fourth Method, with Either Hand
5. Fifth Method, with Right Hand
To "Force" a Card
To Make "False Shuffles"
First Method of Making a False Shuffle
Second Method of Making a False Shuffle
To "Palm" a Card
To "Change" a Card
Another Method, with One Hand Only
To Get Sight of a Drawn Card
To Draw Back a Card
To Make Four Cards Change from Eights to Twos, and from Black to Red
To Nail a Chosen Card to the Wall
To Change the Ace of Clubs to the Ace of Diamonds
The Rising Card Trick
Catching a Card on the Point of a Sword
To Make a Card Stand Upright on the Table
The Mechanical Card Box
The Card and Bird Box
Mechanical Cards
The Spelling-Bee Trick
The Three-Card Trick
The Card Table
CHAPTER 4 Tricks with Coins
To Make a Quarter and a Penny Change Places
To Pass Two Marked Coins Wrapped in Separate Handkerchiefs into One
Handkerchief
To Pass a Marked Penny into the Center of an Orange
The Multiplied Coins
To Pass Three Coins into a Tumbler
To Change a Quarter into a Penny
The Flying Coins and Handkerchief
To Cause a Coin to Leave a Handkerchief and Pass into an Orange Covered with
a Glass
The Multiplying Money Plate
The Rattling Coin Box
The Pepper Box
The Plug Box
The Magic Cabinet
The Miraculous Money Casket
The Vanishing Plate
The Tray of Proteus
To Pass a Penny into a Corked Bottle
CHAPTER 5 Tricks with Rings
The Vanishing Ring
To Pass a Ring from One Hand onto Any Finger of the Other
The Suspended Ring
To Pass a Ring from the Center of a Handkerchief into a Real Egg
To Pass a Ring Through a Table
CHAPTER 6 Tricks with Handkerchiefs
The Vanishing Handkerchief
The Handkerchief That Cannot Be Tied
The Knotted Handkerchiefs
The Rope and Handkerchief
The Demon Handkerchief
How to Exchange a Borrowed Handkerchief for a Substitute
The Magic Plumes To Produce a Shower of Sweets from a Borrowed
Handkerchief
To Produce Any Number of Eggs from a Handkerchief
CHAPTER 7 Tricks with Balls
The Cups-and-Ball Trick
The Ball Box
The Red and Black Ball Vases
To Change a Ball into a Rose
The Obedient Walking Ball
CHAPTER 8 Tricks with Hats
Suitable Introduction to Hat Tricks
The Cannonballs
A Dozen Babies from a Hat
To Produce a Hundred Goblets from a Hat
A Dozen Handbags from a Hat
To Produce Two Birdcages from a Hat
To Produce Two Hundred Yards of Colored Ribbon from a Hat
CHAPTER 9 Miscellaneous Tricks
The Miraculous Candles
To Cut a Piece off a Person's Nose
To Pass an Egg into a Bottle
The Cut String Restored
The Mysterious Columns
The Mysterious Balls and String
The Chinese Rope, Coat, and Rings
The Magical Mirror
To Pull Yards and Yards of Paper from Your Mouth
Blood Writing on the Arm
The Dancing Sailor
The Enchanted Dancing Skeleton
To Produce Eggs from a Person's Mouth
The Magic Coffers
The Orange and Rice Trick
The Flying Glass of Water
To Change a Bowl of Ink into a Bowl of Water
The Mysterious Pigeon
To Produce Colored Ribbons from a Bottle of Water
The Egyptian Pyramids
The Magic Funnel
To Change a Bottle of Wine into a Vase of Flowers
To Change a Box of Bran into a Bottle of Wine
The Drawer Box
The Unfolding Drawer Box
Changing Caddies
The Magical Caddy and Vase
The Inexhaustible Box
The Demon's Cauldron
To Cause a Rose to Appear in a Glass Vase
The Chinese Ring Trick
CHAPTER 10 Stage Tricks and Illusions
Apparatus for Stage Tricks
The Plain Trap
The Wrist Trap
Dove or Rabbit Trap
The Changing Trap
The Bellows Table
The Magic Picture and Chosen Cards
The Magic Bell
The Crystal Cash Box
The Demon Drum
The Electrical Table
The Aerial Suspension
The Indian Basket Trick
The Sphinx or Decapitated Head
The Globe of Fish and the Living Head
The Living Head in a Bottle
The Mysterious Head
The Bodiless Lady
A Lady Suspended in the Air Without Any Visible Support
The "Thauma" Illusion
CHAPTER 11 Spiritualistic Illusions, Séances, and
Manifestations
Spiritualism: An Imposture
The Sack Feat
The Spiritualistic or Animated Skull
The Spiritualistic Collar and Handcuffs
The Protean Cabinet
The Davenport Brothers' Feat
The Ghost Illusion
CHAPTER 12 Thought Reading
The Art Possible to All
Planchette
Thought Reading Explained
How to Begin in Thought Reading
Subsequent Progress in the Art
A Simple Experiment
Reading Papers Written by the Audience
CHAPTER 13 Conclusion