Magicians' Tricks by Henry Hatton & Adrian Plate

Hatton and Plate were master magicians of their time, and their 1910 book Magicians' Tricks is one of a dozen classics indispensable to today's magicians, both amateur and professional. Besides revealing the techniques behind scores of tricks, this expert how-to book also describes the wardrobe of a successful magician; the magic box into which a magician places all manner of articles; the wand; and other tools of the trade.

With practice and patience-plus such common objects as cards, coins, balls, eggs, handkerchiefs, and other familiar household items-readers will soon successfully execute such card tricks as The False Shuffle, The Slide, Making a Card Disappear from a Glass, and Tearing a Pack of Cards in Two. Would-be magicians will also learn to perform such tricks with coins as the Penetrating Coin, Passing a Coin Through a Hat, and The Disappearing Coin, as well as how to produce novel effects with billiard balls, make a handkerchief disappear, tear and restore a strip of paper, fire a girl from a cannon into a truck, produce "something from nothing" and many more (140 tricks in all!). Suggested stage "patter" to engage or distract the audience is also included for many of the tricks.

Nearly 200 clearly drawn illustrations accompany the text, clarifying movements, finger and hand positions, the proper use of props, and other aspects of the conjurer's art. Best of all, the instructions for each trick-based on the authors years of practice and experience-are clear and easy to follow. You'll find the secrets of the trade spelled out in detail along with a contagious enthusiasm for the art of magic.