The subject before us today is Silks.

The silk handkerchief has won its way to a prominent place in Magic. There are several reasons for this— the silk handkerchief makes showy effects; it is easy to handle; and it can be compressed into a small space and then opened to cover a comparatively large space.

The popular size for silks with Magicians is a thirteen-inch square. This is due, perhaps, to the fact that this size cuts nicely from Japanese or Chinese silk, which comes twenty-seven inches wide. Some Magicians prefer, however, to work with larger silks—eighteen inches square, or even twenty-seven inches square for flash effects.

It is easy to make silk handkerchiefs. Buy Japanese or Chinese silk, cut your squares, and hem them around the edges to keep from raveling. Then wash and iron your silks to make them softer and easier to handle. The silks furnished with your course should be so laundered before you use them. Use lukewarm water and a little Lux.

Silks come in so many attractive colors that a Magician can add a colorful flash to his act with them. A European Magician made a hit with a silk effect in which the handkerchiefs had one- to three-inch borders of contrasting color. The light-colored silks had dark borders, and the dark-colored had white or light borders. As a result of this, interesting new effects came into prominence.

Important in silk handkerchief effects is the ability to roll a handkerchief readily into a small ball. The Magician starts with one corner and uses it as a foundation around which to wrap the rest of the handkerchief. To facilitate this, some performers sew a piece of shot or a small button into one corner. Most Magicians, however, find this unnecessary.

Your hands must be kept in good condition for working with silks. They must not be rough or they will catch on the silks. It is well to use Hind's Honey and Almond Cream or any good Benzoin and Almond Cream on the hands just before a performance. These creams give the skin a little stickiness to make it easier to do manipulations. You will find this particularly helpful a little later on when you come to Billiard Ball Manipulation.

1. THE EGG, THE GLASS, AND THE HANDKERCHIEF

This is another effect which has been handed down throughout the magical fraternity for many years. There have been many methods used to accomplish the effect. Some are rather complicated, involving the use of a hollow wooden or celluloid egg into which the handkerchief was disappeared and apparently transformed into an egg—and using an extra handkerchief and egg. Of recent years, the Bottomless Glass has been brought into use. It has greatly simplified matters as it requires only one egg and one handkerchief and permits of the marking of both.

The method which I teach you here is simplest of all and just as effective. The experiment is performed with an ordinary unprepared glass, a real egg, and a silk handkerchief (or if desired, a lady's borrowed handkerchief). This method makes the experiment suitable not only for the stage, but for impromptu dinnertable Magic as well.

EFFECT:

An egg is placed in a glass. Performer then covers glass with a pocket handkerchief and places it on the table. A lady's handkerchief is shown (or a silk handkerchief). This is rolled into the hands and suddenly changes to the egg that was in the glass a moment before. Magician removes the handkerchief covering the glass and reveals, to everyone's surprise, the lady's handkerchief or silk one in the glass.

PARAPHERNALIA:

1--An ordinary glass tumbler. The ideal glass to use is one which is straight up and down. If you cannot secure such a glass, one with just a slight slant from top to bottom will do. The goblet with long stem is good as the bottom is usually about the same size as the top. Because of the use to which the glass is put, the bottom must be nearly the same size as the top. A slight difference, however, is all right.

2--An egg (real or imitation).

Other articles, such as a small potato, part of a roll, etc., may be used.

3--A lady's borrowed handkerchief or one of the silk ones which we include FREE with your paraphernalia.

4--A man's handkerchief--large and opaque.

SECRET AND PATTER:

This experiment is of an impromptu nature and requires no preparation.

To Perform:

Have glass, egg, and large handkerchief on table. Place table at your left and a little in front of you. If you are using silk handkerchief, have it handy. Otherwise, borrow a handkerchief from lady in the audience.

Pick up the egg and hold it in right finger-tips so that audience can see it.

"Old King Cole was a merry old soul, And a happy old egg was he--."

Pick up glass with left hand and show freely. Place egg inside glass, holding glass at upper edge with thumb and fingertips. Shake glass a little.

"Maybe, that's why he lived in a Crystal Palace. See, the King is at home now." Pick up large handkerchief and spread it over left hand, taking glass in right hand.

"The next scene is the King under cover."

Show handkerchief with palm of left hand under it turned to audience. Then show right hand with glass and egg. Now bring glass directly in front of you and handkerchief on left hand in front of glass to conceal it from audience. Figure 1 is view towards yourself and away from audience.

When glass is completely screened by handkerchief, turn bottom of it up toward the left until glass is upside down. You will have no difficulty in doing this quickly without dropping egg out. Just move your hand and wrist and keep arm as still as possible so that nothing will be noticed by audience, Figure 2.

Cover glass with handkerchief from left hand. To the audience it appears that you merely covered the upright glass with the handkerchief. They do not suspect that glass is upside down, Figure 3.

Grasp glass and handkerchief at the top with left hand. Allow egg to slide down into right palm and hold it in place by curling second, third, and fourth fingers around egg and pushing it against base of thumb. Remove right hand from under handkerchief, back to audience, Figure 4.

"Now, we'll set the King's palace down by the wayside."

Place glass on table and let handkerchief drape itself down over it. Top of glass (really the bottom) should be allowed to show plainly under the handkerchief.

Pick up the borrowed handkerchief or silk and hold by two corners as shown in illustration. Keep back of right hand well toward audience, Figure 5.

"Pardon me, but did I hear some genial friend say, 'Where's the Queen?' Well......"

Allow handkerchief to hang by corner from left hand. Grasp center of it with right fingers and release left hand. Then place left hand around middle of handkerchief as shown in Figure 6.

Remove right hand from handkerchief and point at it with right index finger, Figure 7.

"There's the Queen."

Turn right side slightly toward audience. Bring right hand up to left and a little in front of it, Figure 8.

Push egg into palm of left hand against the handkerchief and hold it in place with tips of left fingers, Figure 9.

Swing hands toward right so that back of left hand is toward audience. Move right hand up to grasp handkerchief at top again as in Figure 6. Study your movements so that they will be done smoothly and without hesitation. It must appear to the audience that you merely reached over with right hand to grasp center of handkerchief sticking up at top.

Pull handkerchief up and clear of left hand, leaving egg behind in palm of left hand, Figure 10. "Some Queen."

Raise fingers of right hand to show palm of hand. This is done to show that hand is empty without saying that it is.

Now bring right hand with handkerchief up to left hand. Swing hands to left so that back of right hand is turned to audience, also your right side.

"Now watch the queen."

With aid of finger-tips and thumb of left hand roll the handkerchief into the palm of right hand. Ball handkerchief up tight and push securely into right palm. Then curl second, third, and fourth fingers of right hand around handkerchief.

Keep back of left hand well to audience so that egg will not be visible, Figures 11 and 12.

Now bring egg up to tips of left fingers and raise hand away from right hand. Point at left with right index finger. Hold left hand up to show egg with palm of hand to audience. Keep back of right hand to audience so that handkerchief will not be visible, Figure 13.

Figure 14 shows how handkerchief is held in right hand. Thisview is towards yourself, back of hand is toward audience.

"No, you are watching the King!"

Show egg freely and place on table.

"Let us step over to the Crystal Palace."

Pick up glass with handkerchief over it from table. Hold it in lefthand. Place right hand under glass and push handkerchief up inside,Figure 15.

Let glass rest on right hand, holding it secure with thumb andfingers. Grasp inner edge of handkerchief towards yourself with lefthand, Figure 16.

"We'll remove the cover......"

Lift up handkerchief so that it falls spread out from left hand and still screens glass. Turn bottom of glass toward the left and let glass come back to upright position. If you hold glass correctly by finger-tips, you will have no difficulty in accomplishing this move quickly and easily so that no movement is apparent to audience, Figures 17 and 18.

The moment glass comes into upright position, move right hand to the right to show handkerchief in glass. Drop left hand with other handkerchief out of the way.

"And there's the Queen!"

Take glass in left hand. Remove handkerchief from it with right hand. Place glass on table. If using a borrowed handkerchief, return it.

NOTE:

This principle may be applied in substitution of other articles. A small potato placed in the glass can change places with a radish or lime. A spool of thread can change places with a roll of ribbon. A blue handkerchief placed in the glass may be exchanged with a red silk. It is not difficult to get blue silk out of glass under cover of large cotton handkerchief and rapidly compress it into a small ball into palm of right hand. Three fingers hold it in place as in Figure 14. You will find it easy to change it over to other hand also as you did with the egg.

At the dinner table any small objects may be used for this experiment. Use a glass from the table and a napkin for the cover.

2. THE WANDERING HANDKERCHIEF

This experiment permits of good SHOWMANSHIP. It is worked under seemingly impossible conditions with a member from the audience watching you closely. And yet it is easy to do and very effective.

EFFECT:

A spectator comes up from the audience to assist performer. Magician turns both trousers' pockets inside out and shows them empty. Spectator also feels in pockets to make sure there is no mechanical arrangements in them. Slowly Magician places a red silk in his right pocket, then reaches into his left pocket and brings out the same silk. Both pockets are again shown empty and performer's hands are shown to conceal nothing. Silk is replaced in left pocket and is again pulled out of right pocket. Once more red silk is replaced in right pocket and appears in left. Assistant is now requested to tie a knot in the silk. It is placed in pocket. A moment later it is withdrawn, and it has untied itself—the knot is gone. Finally red silk is placed in pocket again and is pulled out by spectator. This time it has mysteriously turned to blue. Pockets are still empty.

PARAPHERNALIA:

1--Two Red Silks.

2--One Blue Silk.

These three silks are sent you FREE.

SECRET AND PATTER:

To Prepare:

Roll up the blue silk and place it in your left back pocket.

Roll one of the red silks into a ball and tuck it into the upper inner corner of your left side trouser's pocket, Figure 19.

You can turn your pocket inside out without exposing the concealed silk, Figure 20.

This same principle of hiding an object in the pocket and being able to show pocket empty has been explained to you before in the effect THE CARDS UP THE SLEEVE, Lesson 12, Principle of POCKET CONCEALMENT, Figures 23 and 24.

To Perform:

Have spectator come up from audience. Have him stand at your right.

Bring forth a red silk.

"I am going to ask you, sir, to act as a committee of one to be chief inspector for the audience for this experiment. Do you accept the nomination? Then all is well. This silk handkerchief has very peculiar properties. It acts up in such a way that people imagine I have many kinds of trick pockets with which to fool them. Now you know I wouldn't fool anyone intentionally for the world so I am going to ask you to reach inside my pocket and see that it is just a pocket such as is usually built into trousers."

Have spectator reach into right pocket and feel carefully around to make sure there are no trick devices in it.

"You are satisfied that all is well--that there are no tunnels or subways in it? So that the audience may also join the little game, I will just turn both my pockets wrong side out."

Place silk in right coat pocket. Now turn both pockets inside out. Pull them out far and show both sides. Be careful when pulling left one out not to pull it so far as to expose the silk, but there isn't much danger if silk is properly tucked in corner, Figure 21.

"Watch my hands and watch my pockets."

Show hands, both sides, with fingers wide apart. Tuck both pockets back into place. As left pocket goes back into place, reach up with left thumb and pull down the concealed red silk. Push it quickly down into pocket. Anyone reaching into pocket now can readily find silk.

Now take the other red silk from coat pocket and hold it up by corner so that audience can see you have only one silk.

"Just to look at this square of red silk, one would hardly think that it possesses the odd powers which it does. For instance, I place it in my pocket over here on my right side."

Bunch handkerchief up and place into right pocket with right hand. Hold it with thumb and finger-tips and push it into upper inner corner with thumb. Let other fingers come down into pocket so that audience can see movement way down in pocket as if you were pushing silk well down in pocket, Figure 22.

Remove right hand and show both sides, fingers wide apart.

"But will it stay there? No."

Reach in and turn pocket inside out, leaving it out.

"It walks over into my left pocket."

Show left hand, both sides, fingers wide apart. Reach in and remove handkerchief. Turn left pocket wrong side out and show silk freely.

Turn both pockets in again. As right one goes in, push right thumb into upper corner and bring silk down into pocket as before.

"Now watch. I shall place it back in my left pocket."

Place red silk in left hand back in left pocket as you did the silk in right pocket. Tuck it into upper inner corner with thumb and move fingers about lower down in pocket. Remove hand and show it empty.

"But just because I placed it there, it will not stay."

Turn left pocket wrong side out and show that silk has gone.

"Now, sir, will you please reach into my right pocket and remove the little wanderer?"

Spectator assisting reaches into pocket and withdraws the silk. Turn pocket inside out. Now push both pockets in again, and as you do so, pull silk in left pocket down lower in pocket.

"I wonder whether you understand this, sir? Suppose we try this experiment again. I just place the silk into my right pocket."

Go through movements again of placing silk in pocket. After it is concealed in upper corner, withdraw hand.

"You are convinced that I placed the silk into my pocket. Now watch." Turn right pocket out and show empty.

"Please reach into my left pocket yourself."

Turn so that he can readily reach into pocket and remove silk. Then turn left pocket out. "See, you place the silk in one pocket, and it bobs up in the other."

NOTE:

In all this pocket work, be sure that your coat is held back so that audience can readily see that silk really goes in and out of trousers' pockets. You must make the experiment convincing.

"Now, I shall ask you, sir, to tie a knot in the silk—one in the middle of the handkerchief."

Assistant ties knot in handkerchief. Take it from him and hold it in your left hand so that audience can see

knot. Turn right pocket in, pulling silk in upper corner down into lower part of pocket.

"You have tied a knot in the silk. Again I place it into my pocket."

Place silk in right pocket, pushing it into upper corner as before. Remove hand.

"Do you believe in spirits? No? Then please reach into my pocket when I say THREE and remove the silk."

Turn right side to audience and hold coat back with right hand.

"One-two-three."

Spectator reaches into pocket and brings out silk, which is untied, from lower part of pocket.

As assistant reaches for pocket and attention of audience is MISDIRECTED to him, reach into your left back pocket with left hand and remove the blue silk from it. Push into left pocket, tucking it into upper inner corner. Remove left hand. Your left pocket has been turned out so that even if some members of audience see you put your hand in your pocket, they will interpret it as merely a move to push your left pocket in again. "It will not stay tied, you see. It has freed itself from all entanglements." Turn both pockets out again and show empty. "A peculiar silk, you must admit." Turn right pocket in.

"Now I shall ask you to stand at my left for a moment as it will be a bit handier for you." Place assistant at your left.

"Watch me again. Here are my hands and here my pocket."

Show hands freely. Then tuck left pocket back into place, bringing blue silk down into lower part of pocket from the corner. Remove hand.

"Again I take the little fellow--this little red silk—and place him in my pocket."

Crush the handkerchief up and place in left pocket. Push up into corner, but call attention to movement of fingers in lower part.

"I shall ask you to blow in the direction of my pocket twice." Blow once to show him how. Then he blows twice.

"You saw the red silk go in—now take it out."

Turn left pocket well toward him so that audience can see. He reaches into pocket and removes the blue silk. THIS IS A GOOD CLIMAX.

Turn left pocket out again to show empty, then replace it. Look at spectator and say: "You BLUE (blew) the handkerchief, all right."

NOTE:

If you should happen to use a green silk instead of a blue one, say "That's his Irish coming out. He thought you were blowing an Irish tune."

Take handkerchief from spectator.

"Which, after all, goes to show that the silk worm may not know what he spinneth."

NOTE:

Two gentlemen can assist you, if desired, instead of one. Have one at your left and other at right.

3. THE SILK AND THE FLAME

This is another pretty experiment which has been handed down from the days gone by and will, no doubt, be popular for many years to come.

EFFECT:

A candle, resting in a candlestick, is lighted. Magician reaches into the flame and produces a brightcolored silk handkerchief from it. The candle is then removed from the candlestick and is wrapped in a piece of newspaper. This is given to a boy assistant to hold. Performer rubs the handkerchief in his hands, and it mysteriously vanishes. He tears the paper parcel in half now and, instead of the candle, takes out the missing handkerchief. The last surprise comes when he removes the burning candle from his inner coat pocket.

PARAPHERNALIA:

1--A candle, about 3/4 of an inch in diameter and eight inches long. Just ordinary white candles which fit ordinary candlesticks may be used.

2--Two extra candles.

3--A sheet of highly-enameled book paper, such as is used in printing. Any printer or good paper house can supply you with this. You may use white, India tint, or any light color.

4--A candlestick.

5--A small box of matches. Also a few matches which can be ignited on anything.

6--Two silk handkerchiefs, alike.

7--A handkerchief pull on elastic. (Furnished you Free.) 8--A piece of sandpaper, 2 x 3-1/2 inches.

9--A piece of newspaper, about 18 inches square.

HOW TO CONSTRUCT THE APPARATUS:

The Candle:

Cover one of the candles with the enameled paper. Merely wrap the paper around the candle and glue down the edge. Do this carefully so that paper is smooth and looks like a real candle from a short distance.

Cut away upper wick of candle and insert a match into candle to imitate wick, head of match up. Make hole in candle with a red hot hairpin or with sharp instrument so you can easily insert match. Match should protrude from candle about half an inch, Figure 23.

Inside of your coat at upper left side, sew a special pocket. This should hold candle easily but should be not quite as deep as the candle is long. In front of this pocket in coat, sew the piece of sandpaper with rough side exposed. If you prefer, you may just pin this on, but be sure it is secure, Figure 24.

The Candle Shell:

Take another candle and wrap enameled paper around it as you did with the first. Slip this paper shell from the candle. The shell must be the same length as the candle. Now take two pieces of candle about an inch long. Place one piece with a good wick on it in the top of the shell. Take a silk handkerchief and push it into the shell. Then insert the other piece of candle in the bottom, pushing it up flush with edge of shell. This shell should look just like candle in your inside coat pocket, Figure 25.

Place candle in candlestick, Figure 26.

NOTE:

The covered candle and candle shell may be made to look like the expensive fancy candles on the market. A little ingenuity on your part—and you can build a pretty effect.

Match Box Arrangement:

Take the small box of matches. Push box open about two-thirds of the length. Take the second silk, just like the one you placed in the candle shell. Fold it or crush it and wrap the end of handkerchief around it to make a parcel. Place this inside the cover of the match box. Push it in so that it will be held securely out of sight, Figure 27.

The Handkerchief Pull:

This is for vanishing the handkerchief later on in the experiment. Sew a small ring under bottom edge of vest, just back of your hip, about an inch back of side seam. The pull is pear-shaped with an elastic attached. The elastic may be from 12 to 18 inches in length. Experience will teach you the length best suited to your needs. Run the elastic through the lower side of ring and up to center back of vest on the under side. Secure it with a safety pin at the point where the end of elastic reaches, Figure 28.

Elastic should hold the Pull just under the ring without any undue stretch of elastic. When Pull is pulled out from body a foot or so and then released, it will fly back into position.

To make it easy to get at Pull when you need it, place it in lower right vest pocket. Some performers carry it in that pocket throughout their show, while others arrange it just before performing this trick. If you need this pocket for other experiments, do not put the Pull in it until just before this trick. You will have no difficulty in doing so when you have left side turned to audience, Figure 29.

SECRET AND PATTER:

To Prepare:

Have candle shell in candlestick on table. Place box of matches with silk inside near candlestick. Place the piece of newspaper nearby. Pull is in lower right vest pocket. Place real candle with match wick in special inner coat pocket with the piece of sandpaper attached in front of pocket.

To Perform:

This experiment may be performed without assistance, but it is well to have an assistant. Have a little girl come up from audience. Place her a little in front of you and toward your right so that she does not screen your movements from audience.

To girl:

"If you will watch me closely, I will show you the mystery of 'The Silk and the Flame.' It is taken from the story of a fairy magician who one evening gathered his little friends together by the candlelight."

Pick up box of matches with left hand and take out match with right. Strike match and light fake candle in candlestick. Hold match box in left hand as in Figure 30.

Now place right hand over box and close box with left hand, forcing the silk out of box into palm of right hand, Figure 31.

Curl right fingers around silk and keep back of right hand to audience.

Replace match-box on table.

"When they were all assembled, he reached over the flame to warm his fingers for a moment."

Move left hand over the flame. Close hand and then open as though you thought you might have something in it. Do this slowly and gracefully so that audience will be interested in watching your movements. Then move right hand over the flame.

"Suddenly he dipped his hand into the flame."

Dip right hand close to flame and move up again, Figure 32. Uncurl fingers a little and allow silk ball to expand, Figure 33.

Finally move hand a little to side and above candle and allow silk to hang from finger-tips, Figure 34.

"And behold, he produced a brightly colored piece of silk --just as though he grasped a beautiful butterfly that was hovering around the flame."

Spread silk out and show to audience and assistant.

"This, Mary, is magic silk made from the flame."

Place silk in lower right vest pocket. As you do this, tuck a little of it into the opening of the Pull, Figure 35.

"Then the fairy magician picked up the candle. He struck on the table three times with it—that's a magic number."

Take candle from candlestick. Strike bottom of it three times on table, without putting out flame. This is to show that candle is solid without saying so.

"He wrapped it up in a magical newspaper. Many fairy tales in this one."

Wrap candle in the newspaper. Do not stop to extinguish the flame. As you cover candle, flame will go out. Twist the ends of the paper.

"He twisted the ends. And then he gave it to one of the little fairy princesses to hold. How would you like to be a fairy princess?"

Give wrapped fake candle to little girl assistant. Hold it at each end where solid parts of candle are. Have girl hold it the same way so that she can feel the solid candle, Figure 36.

"You feel the candle all right, don't you? Just hold on tight."

Reach into right vest pocket with right hand. Take out silk and pull together. To do this, insert tip of forefinger into opening of "pull" and remove it from pocket with the silk. Hold "pull" against right palm with back of right hand to audience. It is easy to conceal it in this way, Figure 37.

"Now he stroked the magic silk gently."

Take silk in left hand, removing first finger from opening in "pull." Hold "pull" in right palm with third and fourth fingers curled over it, Figure 38.

Some performers palm the "pull" as in Figure 39.

Stroke silk twice with thumb and first two fingers of right hand.

"He tucked it into his! hands."

With fingers of left hand, work silk into the "pull" in right hand. Grasp it first by the center. About four movements should be enough to conceal silk in "pull., Figure 40.

"Then he held it in his left hand."

Pretend to place silk in left hand. Make movement of putting it from right into left hand. Close left hand as though grasping it. Look at left hand to MISDIRECT attention from right, Figure 41.

During this time, bring right hand back toward body and release the Full. It will fly back with silk in it, under coat and into position under ring.

NOTE:

In using "pull," be sure that your right forearm screens elastic. Also be careful that there are no objects in any of your pockets against which "pull" might strike and make a noise. Bringing right hand back toward body before releasing "pull" helps to keep it from making an unnecessary bang. "But look! He opened his fingers and the silk had mysteriously disappeared." Open both hands slowly and gracefully and show them empty, Figure 42.

"Mary, have you still the candle? You have."

Take parcel from her. Tear it open at center and remove the silk, Figure 43.

"And strangely, when the fairy magician touched the parcel, the candle, too, had disappeared--and in its place, was the magic silk."

When you have removed silk, crush the newspaper and fake candle into a small ball and place it on table.

"The fairy folk all wondered what had become of the candle. It occurred to the fairy magician to look in

his inside pocket."

Reach into inside coat pocket. Take out the candle, and, as you do so, quickly strike the match end on the sandpaper. Remove candle with wick lighted.

"And there, resting peacefully, was the candle, light and all." Place lighted candle in the candlestick.

NOTE:

In making up the match ends for the candles, some magicians like to use wax matches. These are imported from Italy. You can buy them at some of the large department stores. Ordinary modern ones, however, answer the purpose very nicely.