Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-09-08
Palrning.

In Pittsburgh they have school for
teaching slight off-hand tricks or
palming. Or recent visit TO that
school ''palmingn was the first thing to
be taught. This consists in eoncealing
the article to be manipulated in the
hollow of the hand. For instance, a
magician takes silver half-dollar, e1-
hibits it to the audience and asks them
to thoroughly satisfy their sight that he
holds the half dollar IN the hand,
blows and the coin is no longer 10 be
seen. The hand into which the coin
was thrown from hangs easily at the
side, open, but with the palm turned
away from the audience. It's position
turns aside suspicion, but if the palm
were turned over the audience would
see the coin held firmly in position be-
tween the fleshy outside portion of the
palm and the fieshv base of the thumb.
This is called ''palming," and is part
of the alphabet of manual dexterity.
The ''card'' trick was also explained.
An ordinary pack of cards is held up,
with the bottom card in full view of the
audience. The card is called by name,
and the magician, as ne moves his arm
in easy motion with wavy turn Of the
hand, tells them the card whatever il
was, has disappeared, and 10! there is
another in its place. Thus the jack of
spades would be replaced in this mys-
teriOus manner by the eight of hearts.
The trick consists in dividing and
shifting the pack while the hand and
arm are moving. The feat is not an
easy one, and the pupils sprinkled :he
pasteboards on the door frequently in
attempting to make the single shift.
The coin trick is as follows: Two coins
are placed on the table; one is appar-
emily thrown from the right to tie left
hand, being ''palmed," and when the
other coin is taken up and placed be-
hind the back, the two coins are in the
right hand. The left hand is now lifted,
as if throwing the first coin in the air,
a clinking noise is made and the two
coins are shown. The class did this
trick very well. Another and harder
trick, and one that il would take con-
siderable space to explain so as 10 be
fully understood, was done with coin,
cork ball and an egg, the three arti-
cles being "palmed" in turn, being
mysteriOusly interchanged, and finally
disappear altogether. The final disap-
pearance of the article requires trick
coat with low inside pockets into which
to throw the articles. Tine full mean
ing of every motion, every step taken,
every turn of the head and of the body,
the rise of the hand, the absolute
necessity of ''palming" articles proper
Jy were here brought out. The teacher
wears his full stage suit in giving in
structions. The coat, which is swal-
low tailed, has six large inside pockets,
four In the breast and one at each side
of the tail; also two outside tail pockets.
The vest is of the ordinary pattern, but
the inside pockets are large, extending
the full width of the cloth fronts and
being very high at the back and low in
front. Any article thrown in the
bosom would not miss one of the
pockets, and very large objects can
easily be secreted in them. From these
deep recesses and the high inside
pockets of the coat come the hundred
and one things the magician apparent
ly pulls out of stove-pipe hat or pre-.
duces in doing other difficult things.