The record-union., 1896-10-26

that time, and the method Of doing 1t
was also set forth. AS a general rule
illusions are accomplished by one or
more of three 4leans, mirrors, lights
and traps, and the novelty. if there is
any, is in the notifications and combi-
nations of these.
But the professional nnagicians would
scarcely support a manufacturer of ap-
paratus. 1t takes the amateurs to do
that. 1t is not generally realized how
many amateur magicians there are in
this country. There are hundreds of
them, and in point of ability they range
all the way from the young man who
can do few of the simplest card tricks
&c the industrious and thorough student
who can do almost anything that pro-
fesslonal can. 1t is from these that the
dealer In magical goods gets his money.
There are many of these dealers, of one
grade and another. Some keep only the
cheapest and simplest articles, scarcely
more than simple mechanical toys;
some OF the dealers in sporting goods
Keep an assortment, large or small, of
magical appliances; the toy shops have
boxes containing perhaps a dozen tricks
each, for children, and finally there are
thcse who make a large business of 1t
ana can supply anything, from pack
OF cards consisting Of fifty-two mines Of
diamonds to a complete stage set OF
brass and plate glass.
HOW THE AMATEUR IS SUPPLIED.
The method of business is this: An
advertisement is placed in the papers
asking those who are interested in
such things to send for a catalogue. A
little charge is made for the catalogue,
to cover postage and printing. The
catalogue contains descriptions of many
hundreds Of tricks, and cuts of the ap-
paratus required for them, with the
price of each. The prices range all the
way from 10 cents to $780, and there
are more expensive tricks, for which a
special bargain is to be made in each
case The descriptions are of the tricks
as they appear to the audience, not of
how to do them. The amateur picks
out whatever he wants, and thinks
that he can afford, and sends the price
Of it. Then he gets in return all the
necessary machinery and full printed
directions for performing the trick
One Of the most extensive establish
ments of this kind in the country is
SAASSS ~
headquarters for magicians herea bouts.
They go there to buy machinery or
plans for new tricks, and they store
old apparatus there when they are not
using it, The firm has an establish
ment In Germany, and Mr.. Martinka
goes abroad every year to see the magi-
clans of Europe and to bring back new
inventions.
From without the shop looks small
and narrow, and within 1t still looks
narrow and a trifle dingy There are
some small showcases filled with boxes
and glasses and tubes and cups and
balls and other apparently simple and
useless toys, and there are more of
these things on the shelves, and that is
about all that is to be seen. But these
toys are not all SO simple or so cheap
as they look, and some of them do the
most surprising things in the hands Of
their master There Is a little square
box with a velvet bottom. The victim
is asked to put a half dollar in it. Then
he is asked to shut 1t and hold it in
his hand. The magician does not touch
1t at all. 1t shuts with a snap. Then
the victim is told that if he opens it
again he will find the half dollar
changed for two quarters. 1t is opened
by the pressure of a perfectly obvious
spring, just like that of an ordinary
jewel box, and there lie the two quar-
ters, and the half is nowhere to be seen.
The victim takes the quarters in place
Of his half, and the magician takes back
the box, lays it aside and does some
thing else. The secret was that when
the spring was pressed to open the box
the bottom of the box rose and formed
the back, imprisoning the half dollar,
and disclosing the two quarters, which
had been placed there beforehand
TRICKS THAT ANYBODY COULD
DO.
The proprietor picks up an ordinary
looking little picture frame Then he
takes pack Of cards and asks the Gus
toner to draw one and look at it, He
draws the ten Of clubs and puts it back
into the pack. The proprietor rubs his
hand over the glass of the picture
frame, and the ten of clubs appears in
the frame under it. He rubS his hand
over it again and the card is gone. OF
course the card was in the frame in
the beginning, and is there all the time
The frame is built with two pieces of
glass over it, instead of one, and little
space is left between them. This space
contains some fine black sand. and ..,r
space is so disposed that when the
frame is held in a certain position the
sand is all hidden by the frame, but
when 1t is turned up the other way it
runs down and hides the card which is
behind the glass. 1t is in this position
that it is first shown, and when the
card is to be disclosed, the operator,
while he seems to be rubbing the glass,
turns it the other way and the sand all
runs down into the frame. He puts
ten of clubs into the frame beforehand,
in perfect confidence that this will be
the card drawn, because the pack con-
tains nothing but tens of clubs.
There is a simple trick which is
worked so prettily that 1t seems a pity
that the audience is not allowed to see
how 1t is worked. A pretty little box of
inlaid wood is produced and unlocked
with key. Within it is a smaller box,
and within this are four little blocks of
wood, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. Some one
in the audience is invited to examine
the boxes. Then he is asked to arrange
the blocks in the inner box, in any
order he pleases. to lock the box, to
place it in the larger box, to lock that
and to keep the key. Then the magi-
clan takes the box, holds it close to his
eyes, and tells the order In which the
blocks are arranged. This Is a scientific
trick. In holding the box to his eyes the
magician holds it in such a way that he
can open a little slide in the top of it
without being discovered; under the
slide are four little compasses. The
four blocks of wood are loaded with
pieces of steel, so placed that wherever