Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Street Conjurer
WILFRED
CULPITT
London :
GEORGE JOHNSON. M A G I C A L PUBLICATIONS,
24, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C.2.
M.I.M.C.
(LONDON)
TABLE
THE
FOR T H E "HANDS
TIP
...
GUINEA-PIG
CARD
CHANGE
...
FLAP
DISPOSALSINGLE
CAP AND
PENCE
"WATER
ON T H E
THE
A
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
6
7
...
...
...
...
BRAIN"
...
...
...
...
USEFUL T I P
...
...
...
...
CARDS
...
...
BALLS
...
...
...
...
...
...
10
...
...
...
11
...
11
BILLIARD
THE
FOLDED
SILENT
THE
A
REPEAT'
MARKED
...
SLATE
I. The Load
II. The Getaway
Page
...
COIN
MAGNETIC
USEFUL
WALKING-STICK
...
...
...
12
RINGS
...
...
...
12
CENTURY
SILKS
...
...
13
F.VER-CHANGING
CARD
...
...
13
...
...
13
...
14
AND
TWENTIETH
ANOTHER
FOUR
VANISH
SECRET
ROPES
THE
PAPERS
CHANGING
PENCE
CARD
AND A GLASS T U M B L E R
UNUSUAL
FINALE TO THE
ACES"
"FOUR
TRICK
" C U P S AND
...
BALLS"
...
16
18
PREFACE.
T h e c o m p i l a t i o n of
"A
Street
Conjurer's
Secrets"
is
t h e o u t c o m e of m a n y y e a r s of o b s e r v a t i o n in t h i s c o u n t r y ,
Australia, America, France and Germany.
T h a t the effects
the
always
in
bearing
ingenuity
mind
the
of
the
methods
conditions under
pages
employed,
which
the
artist
HUGGINS.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE.
T h e a d d i t i o n a l m a t t e r in this b r o c h u r e w a s c o n t r i b u t e d b y
the late Frederic Culpitt.
T h e P u b l i s h e r is i n d e b t e d to
t h e w r i t e r s w h o s e i n t i m a t e k n o w l e d g e of t h e wiles of t h e
S t r e e t C o n j u r e r is, in this t h i r d e d i t i o n , s u b m i t t e d to
the fraternity.
art
A TABLE TIP.
W o r k i n g in the middle of a crowd, a p a r t from t h e
m a n i p u l a t i v e side of the g a m e , o f t e n places t h e s t r e e t conj u r e r in a spot from an a p p a r a t u s s t a n d p o i n t . For instance,
the ordinary music-stand table is often in d a n g e r of g e t t i n g
knocked over and this can just as easily happen in a crowded
drawing-room as in a b a r p a r l o u r ; this latter venue often
provides a source of income to b u s k i n g c o n j u r e r s when it is
raining.
T h e s e facts m a d e clear to me the reason why one such
e n t e r t a i n e r ' s table-top spun round when it was touched. T h e
flanged central spigot was not fastened to the leg with t h e
usual thumb-screw.
This omission allowed the table-top to
revolve and t h u s obviated the whole lot going over when a
passer-by accidentally passed too n e a r to the s t r u c t u r e .
THE GUINEA-PIG.
O n e of the most i n t r i g u i n g of t h e effects peculiar to the
street c o n j u r e r when
by his audience is the
almost miraculous a p p e a r a n c e of a guinea-pig under a h a t .
It usually occurs a f t e r a p o t a t o has been only a p p a r e n t l y
placed under the p e r f o r m e r ' s soft hat, both of which rest 011
the usual small table. S o m e o n e then r e m a r k s , or the c o n j u r e r
p r e t e n d s to o v e r h e a r it said, that t h e p o t a t o is not under t h e
hat.
T u r n i n g swiftly to a s p e c t a t o r on his left t h e p e r f o r m e r
invites him to step n e a r e r . T h e n , p o i n t i n g to the hat with
his right hand, t h e c o n j u r e r e n q u i r e s of his h e l p e r :
" D i d you see me t a k e t h e p o t a t o a w a y ? "
" N o , " replies the s p e c t a t o r .
surrounded
drawer.
holds the die in his hand, he dives it into his pocket and
finger-palms,
opening t o w a r d s t h e fingers, t h e hollow pile of
pence.
A f t e r sufficient by-plav he lifts the d r a w e r , again b e t w e e n
his right t h u m b and fore-finger, and while the onlooker's
attention is m o m e n t a r i l y rivetted on t h e die, he t w i s t s the
d r a w e r over the finger-palmed "pile."
A slight g r i p r e t a i n s
t h e d u m m y h e a p of p e n n i e s in t h e now mouth-down d r a w e r .
W h e n the p e r f o r m e r again covers the die he does it in such a
m a n n e r t h a t t h e r e a r e no d o u b t s this t i m e and n e i t h e r have
the s p e c t a t o r s any idea that the pile of hollow coins cover
the die.
W i t h t h e fake h e a p of p e n c e u n d e r t h e d r a w e r , six o r d i n a r y
p e n n i e s a r e now shown and vanished. T h i s is n e a r l y a l w a y s
done by m e a n s of t h e tourniquet, the coins b e i n g r e t a i n e d in
t h e left hand for s u b s e q u e n t reproduction. A s soon as t h e
right hand is shown e m p t y it lifts the d r a w e r a n d discloses
t h e "pile."
V e r y little t i m e is now w a s t e d . T h e h e a p e d p e n n y f a k e is
again covered and t h e loose coins a r e p r o d u c e d , usually f r o m
a b o y ' s pocket. T h e d r a w e r , with the d u m m y pile inside it,
is lifted b e t w e e n the right t h u m b and fore-finger, and t h e
mouth of the d r a w e r is held over the t h r e e unoccupied right
fingers which a r e c u p p e d as soon a s the hand is clear of t h e
table. On t h e l a t t e r now rests t h e die which, aided by t h e
c o n j u r e r ' s p o i n t i n g left finger, holds the onlookers' a t t e n t i o n
for a m o m e n t . D u r i n g t h a t brief spell t h e pile is allowed to
d r o p into the w a i t i n g fingers which g r i p the fake.
The hand
is t u r n e d palm down as soon as the coins a r e held and at t h e
same instant the t h u m b j e r k s u p w a r d s r e l e a s i n g t h e e m p t y
d r a w e r which tumbles to t h e s p e c t a t o r s ' feet. T h i s diversion
covers the swing-back of the right hand which, with a clean
throw, disposes of t h e " p i l e " in the w a i t i n g inside coat
pocket mentioned in a previous effect.
underneath
handkerchief
the
THE REPEAT.
A friend once saw the foregoing effect p e r f o r m e d 011 a racecourse. The conjurer, he said, gave several p e r f o r m a n c e s and
r e p e a t e d the production on each occasion, but n e v e r once did
he a p p e a r to load himself in readiness. F u r t h e r m o r e he k e p t
to the same pitch all the afternoon. As the biggest p a r t of
t h e w a t e r was spilled 011 the g r a s s and the rest d r u n k by t h e
boy at e v e r y show, the repeated production was lor a time
very puzzling. T h e n close observation revealed this fact when
t h e c o n j u r e r linished u s i n g the glass and f u n n e l : when he
was replacing these " p r o p s . " in his b a g before p r o c e e d i n g
with the next trick in his p r o g r a m m e , he slipped a n o t h e r
filled and c a p p e d glass in his inside pocket all r e a d y for the
following show.
A USEFUL TIP.
A pack of c a r d s is placed face-up b e t w e e n t h u m b and forefinger and a s p e c t a t o r is told to hold the c a r d s tightly.
The
c o n j u r e r with a s h a r p d o w n w a r d blow knocks all the c a r d s
out of his helper's hand with the exception of a previously
selected card.
pink
before
s q u a r e s and
a position to
c h a n g e , say,
T h e effect is
showing there are hut three. These are picked up, the nesting coin is dropped, overlapped by the shell, on top of
which one of the unprepared pennies is placed, the remaining
coin being palmed, as before. Again the glass is brought
into play to stack the coins, the swishing movement is
repeated, a penny produced from beneath the fable, and the
edge of the glass separates the coins on the table, showing
that but two remain. Pick these up, show them on each side,
drop the nesting coin on the table and overlap it with the
shell, palming the remaining coin. Repeat the glass swinging movement, produce the palmed penny from beneath the
table, raise the glass and show that there is but one coin
there. Pick this up, palm off the shell and, if you think it
necessary, hand this last coin for examination. This is not
advised, as the dilference; in the circumference is apt to
cause comment.
UNUSUAL FINALE TO THE "CUPS AND BALLS."
Rightly, or wrongly, this version is claimed by Tom Reid,
a wandering wizard who presented his escamotage in the
Pimlico market places fifty years ago. Having completed the
proverbial routine and brought the little black balls beneath
their respective goblets the magician removes these spheres
of cork and transfers them one at a time to the right hand
outside pocket of his coat. Again the cups are lifted, to
disclose three large balls (about one-and-a-half inches in
diameter) on the table top. The magician stated that it was
an easy thing to smuggle these larger balls under each cup,
as the onlookers were not expecting such craftiness ; but it
would be a much more difficult matter sneaking them out
again. As he said this, Reid would raise cup No. f (at the
right hand end of the row) and pretend to take the large ball
away and convey it to his right hand pocket. Paying no heed
to the remarks of the audience, Tommy went on with the
trick, making a feint of removing balls 2 and 3. The crowd
would keep up a chorus of protest at such swindling. "Show
us the balls," they would bawl out. Reid looked pained,
stroked his De Kolta-like beard, and lifted each goblet to
reveal the balls on the table, placing the cups at the side of
each ball as he lifted them. "Oh, no," the artful old codger
would say, "if I wanted to put the balls in my pocket, f would
but coloured
point about t h r e e - q u a r t e r s of an
inch in length ( F i g . 1).
Without
d e s i r i n g to d e t r a c t
from t h e
cleverness of R e i d ' s m e t h o d a n d
working, 1 m a y be p e r m i t t e d to
remind r e a d e r s t h a t Bosco m a d e
use of some such artifice, e m p l o y ing several needle-points in one
of his cups.
H a v i n g reached t h a t part of the routine w h e r e the small
balls a r e shown to b e back in their original positions b e n e a t h
their respective cups, the p e r f o r m e r secretly gained p o s s e s s ion of one of t h e large black balls Iron) his pocket, p a l m i n g it
in the right hand.
This hand would raise c u p No. 1, the left
hand picked up t h e small ball from the table, the large b a l l
was loaded into t h e goblet (which would be r e t u r n e d to t h e
table top) and the small ball t r a n s f e r r e d to t h e right hand,
which would then deposit it in the pocket. T h i s m o v e m e n t
was r e p e a t e d with the o t h e r c u p s a n d balls, a f t e r this t h e
cups were again raised to disclose t h e large balls.
T h i s d e n o u e m e n t was sufficiently s t a r t l i n g to b r i n g a b o u t a
37
after
18
down).
ace (faces
M u m b o J u m b o of a more or less R a b e l aisian flavour followed ; the c a r d s on the t a b l e were t u r n e d
over to disclose t h e fact that each p a c k e t now consisted of
four indifferent cards, the aces h a v i n g vanished.
The assistant was invited to search t h r o u g h his pockets and would
eventually produce from his inside jacket pocket t h e missing
aces. An excellent finale to a s t r e e t act, full of d i v e r t i n g
m a t e r i a l a n d never failing to elicit a c h o r u s of a p p r o v a l and
a s h o w e r of coins.
T h e card p a l m i n g p r e l i m i n a r y was actually an excuse for
s u r r e p t i t i o u s l y i n t r o d u c i n g t h e four g e n u i n e aces into t h e
b o y ' s p o c k e t ; t h e s e were left b e h i n d as some half-a-dozen
o t h e r c a r d s were b r o u g h t to light. The " a c e s " t a k e n openly
f r o m the p a c k and placed on t h e t a b l e - t o p were double-faced
cards, p r e p a r e d by s k i n n i n g four aces to single t h i c k n e s s by
first i m m e r s i n g t h e m in hot w a t e r and p a s t i n g on the reverse
side four indifferent c a r d s similarly t r e a t e d , t h e process
b e i n g completed by i r o n i n g out t h e c a r d s or p r e s s i n g them
with a p h o t o g r a p h i c p r i n t roller.
W h e n ready for p r e s e n t a tion t h e f a k e aces would b e p l a n t e d at i n t e r v a l s in the pack
t h e ace side in line with the rest of the cards.
W h e n removing these faked aces from t h e pack the
c o n j u r e r held the cards in t h e left hand, faces u p p e r m o s t ,
and ran them t h r o u g h from left to right, picking out each ace
as it w a s a r r i v e d at and placing it on the tablebeing
T h e pack was then h a n d e d
to the boy, who was told to count off t h r e e c a r d s faces down
on to each ace, leaving about an inch of the ace visible. This
having been done and a suitable a m o u n t of
indulged in, t h e magician s q u a r e d up the four p a c k e t s on t h e
table by t a p p i n g the sides with a single card. T h i s card
was next used as a lever with which to turn over t h e four
packets, when the
side of t h e aces would be disclosed.
T h e boy would then be invited to search t h r o u g h his pockets,
t h e p e r f o r m e r s u g g e s t i n g t h e order in which the e x a m i n a t i o n
was to be carried out. " Try your jacket p o c k e t 011 the outside of that horse-cloth which they sold you for a coat in
P e t t i c o a t Lane. N o t h i n g t h e r e ? F u n n y : what a b o u t y o u r
h a n d ? T r y the o t h e r side... O n l y a hole there. Mind y o u r
dinner d o e s n ' t slip t h r o u g h it. W h a t about y o u r handkerchief
p o c k e t . . . You don't use a h a n d k e r c h i e f . N o need to tell me
t h a t . ' E a v e n help t h e fly t h a t tries to nestle 011 y o u r cuff.
' H a v e a t r y a t your inside pocket.
W h a t have you f o u n d ?
T h e four aces I And 1 never p u t my hand near y o u . . .
Remember that."
careful
hocus pocus
reverse
tyr
1
V
BUTNOTTOPLAY
rWILFRID JONSON
'y
act
U n i v e , sal
'epted as the standard critical
analysis of the theory and practice of conjuring since Our
Magic..."
It raises M a g i c far above the level of mere
"trickery" a n d gives a clear exposition of all
the vital necessities that make for good
conjuring: Plot, Presentation, Patter, etc.
A magician who studies this work cannot
fail to reflect the result in a much-improved
show.
Intelligence concentrated on Magic.
A MAGICAL BROADSIDE.
Tricks, Twists, Hints and Tips. N o publication of this type has been
produced within the last fifty years. Includes a reproduction of the stage
setting of the conjurer J A C O B S .
Printed on art paper a n d dispatched
rolled.
By E. Brian MacCarthy,
COIN-.
SLOW SLEIGHTS
8y
E BRIAN MCCARTHY
CCDAce Johnson
Masterly misdirection.
Slow manipulation covering
a v a i l e d field in Magic.
(DODEFRN
SLEICK75
BY BRIAN aWcCAHTMy