The Double Lift

No technical description of this sleight, which has come into such great favor of late, has appeared in print, so far as I know. Properly done it is one of the most useful weapons in existence for the card magician. But it must be done correctly, and to clear the way towards an understanding of the right method it may be well to describe the manner in which it is only too often executed, otherwise murdered.

How often do we see a performer fumble with the top cards finally taking hold of two, holding them as if they were made of gold and a crook nearby ready to grab them from him, turn them over on the pack, then face down again, all the while gripping them with all his might, and then push off one card with his thumb and put it in the pack.

Apart from the fact that in the action of taking the cards the performer appeared to be afraid of something, his method of pushing off the single card was entirely different from the way the two cards, supposed to be one only, were taken.

This is all wrong. If you wish to take two cards as one, and have your audience really believe there is one card only, then your actions must be exactly the same as when you take one card. The following method fills these requirements.

While you talking, and looking at your audience, square the deck with your right hand, and, in so doing, lift the inner ends of the two top cards with the ball of the right thumb, pull them a little to the right, as in Fig. 1, and leave them in that position.

Now, when you call attention to the top card, you bring the tip of the left thumb against the middle of the side of the two cards and push them out, as one card, over the side of the pack. Take them between the tips of the right thumb and first finger, firmly but lightly, in an easy manner, turn them over and place them just above the pack not on it. You hold the left fingers so that the card(s) is received between the ball of the thumb on one side, the first joints of the second and third fingers on the other and the tip of the forefinger rests against the outer end. In this way the two cards are squared perfectly and may be shown freely. (Fig. 2).

Again you take the card(s) by the lower outer corner, between the tips of the right thumb and forefinger, the thumb tip covering the lower index, and turn it (them) face down on the deck. Place the card (s) so that it (they) coincide exactly with the top end of the deck, but do not release the grip of the right thumb and finger. With a slight upward push of the thumb tip on the face of the lower card, release it and draw the top card away to the right.

Although it has taken some time to explain the action it must be understood that the actual movement takes a second only, and there must be no hesitation. The card is turned and at once drawn off the pack smoothly, the lower card being left squarely on the top.

In most cases in which this sleight is used the changed card is immediately inserted in the pack. The action just described brings the card over the side of the pack, with its back to the audience, so that the insertion in the pack follows quite naturally.

Sometimes, however, it is necessary to place the changed card on the table, or face down on the hand of a spectator. To do this, instead of drawing the top card off to the right, as soon as the lower card is released on the top of the pack, you draw the left hand away, the right hand rema4ning stationary for a moment, then you put the card in the position required.

One very important point should be borne in mind and that is this--whenever you have occasion to turn over the top card to show it to the audience, do it in exactly the same way as when you turn two cards as one.

The perfect way to do this sleight is to push off two cards as one without first separating them from the other cards with the thumb. This is very difficult, but Mr. Dai Vernon, the famous card expert, not only does it, but is able to push off two, three or four cards, as one, at will. By this means he apparently places the top card in the middle of the deck three times in quick succession, each time showing it has returned to the top. In his hands this is one of the most amazing feats possible with cards.

Although this sleight, the double lift, has come into common use in recent years, it is interesting to note that the first mention of it, that I have been able to discover, is in a French book, "Nouvelle Magie Blanche Devoilé" ("New White Magic Revealed"), published in 1853. It appears therein as the first trick with cards, two cards being shown as one, these replaced on the top of the pack, the top card being placed in the middle and then shown as having returned to the top. The author calls it "The Invisible Pass." He claims several tricks that he describes as being his invention.