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The persons who assist in this trick should sit well apart, and the cards should be held close to
their faces, so that they may not be seen by those who draw them or by others. Of course each one
imagines he has the Queen of Hearts in his envelope, and there is no little surprise when that card is
found on top of the inverted tumbler, and a different one in the envelope.
The Changing Card
A CARD is selected by one of the audience and when replaced is put in the middle of the pack.
Placing the little finger of his left hand under this card the performer makes the "pass", and brings
it to the bottom of the pack, which is then shuffled, but the selected card is kept at the bottom. The
pack, backs upward, is held in the left hand, which is kept flat, the thumb at one side, the fingers at
the other. Then, with the thumb and second finger of the right hand the pack, with the exception
26
Magic with Cards - Card Tricks
of the bottom card, is shoved forward slightly so that this card protrudes about an inch at the lower
end as shown in Fig. 62. The front of the pack is lifted a trifle, the better to conceal this. The selec-
ted card is then ordered to pass to the top of the pack, and the performer, taking off the top card,
shows it and asks whether that is the one that was drawn. The answer, of course, is "No". "Then",
he continues, "it may, possibly, have traveled to the bottom", and he shows the bottom card. In
showing it he takes hold of the end of the pack with the right hand and turns it over completely, as
shown in Fig. 63, so that the faces of the cards are upward.
The pack remains in the left hand. When he shows the visible card, which is supposed to be the
one that was originally at the bottom, that, also, is declared not to be the selected card. It will be
apparent to our readers, who by this time must have fairly good ideas of how some tricks are done,
that the real bottom card which protruded from the lower end of the pack, was not turned over
with the other cards, and is now back to back with the rest of the pack. The performer turns the
pack to its original position, being careful, however, to keep it upright as the selected card which is
now on top, face upward, must be concealed. Picking up the top card again he asks the person who
drew the card whether he is certain that the card shown is not his. Of course the answer will again
be that it is not. Instead of one card, however, the performer picked up two, holding them as one,
as described previously. Laying down the pack, he takes the two cards for a moment between the
thumb and forefinger of the left hand at the upper left hand corner so as to allow his right hand to
shift its position by taking the cards between the thumb and second finger, as shown in Fig. 64.
Now, when it is asserted that the card shown is not the selected one, he says he knows no other
way out of the difficulty except by changing the card. "What was your card, sir?" he asks, and being
told, he bids the card to change. His command is obeyed instantly, the card between his fingers
being now the one that was drawn. This change is brought about in this way: While the two cards
are held by their edges the tip of the forefinger presses against the center of the hinder card. By
bringing the thumb and second finger together the cards are curved outwardly at the center and at
last the second finger releases its hold and the thumb and forefinger clip the cards between them.
This will cause the cards to make a semi-revolution, bringing the card that was at the rear to face
the audience, as shown in Fig 65. The left hand takes the cards away from the right to square them
up in case they should not cover each other perfectly.
Wonderful Change
A COURT card is prepared by punching in the middle a hole about the size of a large pin head.
This card is placed on top of the pack. A card is taken from the pack at random by one of the au-
dience, who marks it. In the meanwhile, the performer brings the prepared card to the middle of
the pack, by means of the "pass", and it is on top of this that he has the drawn card laid, when it is
returned to the pack. Then he makes the "pass" again, and brings both cards to the top. These he
palms and hands out the pack to be shuffled. When the pack is returned to the performer he ruffles
27
Magician's Tricks: How They are Done
the pack, and announces that by his power he has brought the drawn card to the top. In the mean-
time he has laid the palmed cards on the top. Picking up the two top cards he holds them close to-
gether, bending them slightly by the pressure of thumb and fingers, so that they look like one. "He-
re is the card that was drawn", he says. This will be denied, of course, by the one who selected it. As
the front card is a court card the hole will not be visible. Lying on the performer's table is a fine ne-
edle threaded with about two feet of sewing silk on one end of which is a knot. This knot, howe-
ver, must be of a size that will pass through the hole in the court card. Running the needle through
the hole, the performer draws the thread till the knot rests against the selected card. Taking a
handkerchief he passes the needle through it and then spreads it over the pack, which is scattered
somewhat over the table. It is clear that if the thread is pulled up, the handkerchief will be raised,
bringing with it the selected card attached to the thread and leaving the court card on the pack, to
the surprise of the audience. Still keeping card, handkerchief, and thread together the performer
carries them to the one who drew the card, for identification by the mark.
With a String a Reminiscence
IT WAS about the year 1845 that one of the editors of this book learned his first conjuring trick.
At that time Alexander Heimburger, a foreign conjurer, came to New York. Under his stage name
of Herr Alex, under he appeared at the Minerva Rooms, a cozy hall that stood on Broadway
between Walker and Canal streets. His manager was a personal friend of this writer's family and the
writer, then a little boy, had not only the run of the house, but became intimate with Alexander.
One afternoon while the conjurer was arranging something for the evening's performance the boy
came into the hall and, boylike, began to ask questions, and then the conjurer, in turn, asked some.
One of these was, "Which of my tricks do you like best?" "The one where the card comes up out of
the pack", was the answer. "Good. And how is it done?" "With a string". "Ah, that is the boy's
answer. It's always with a string. But how; but how?" "Don't know, but it's with a string". And with
a string, that faithful ally of the conjurer, that potent motive power of so many tricks, it proved to
be. Then and there the conjurer, who had taken a liking to the boy, explained the trick. The secret
is known to many now, and as Alexander Hamburger, dexterous conjurer and genial gentleman,
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