The Triangular Room
By John Mullholland

The four Jacks from a pack of giant cards are shown to the audience. The magician also displays a thin triangular board. On the lower side of this board are three feet, one at each corner, and on the upper side, six double brackets, two on each side. The board is put on the table with the point of the triangle away from the audience. One of the Jacks is slid into the brackets in the board, and then the second Jack is also put in the brackets. At this point, the two cards form an angle with the open part of the "V" toward the audience. The third Jack is then put in the brackets at the front of the board, so as to make an enclosed triangular room of cards. The fourth lack is then dropped on the top to make a ceiling. The base is given a quarter turn so that one of the angles points towards the audience, Figure 1. The magician makes his incantation, the roof card is removed and the magician produces a quantity of silks, etc., from the room of cards. So much for the effect.

As far as the base and the cards are concerned, they are exactly as they seem and completely unprepared. Figure 2 shows the construction of the base.

In order to better show the cards, the magician also has a skeleton easel. At the beginning of the trick, the four cards rest in a stack upon this easel, faces toward the audience, Figure 3. When the magician exhibits the cards, he takes one from the easel at a time and calls attention to the suit of each Jack. When he has reached the third Jack, he holds it with the other two previously shown, in a fan, and then without touching the fourth Jack, merely calls attention to its being the fourth suit. He then puts the three Jacks back on the easel, while showing the innocence of the wooden base.

Figure 4 shows the construction of the skeleton easel. The upright sticks of this easel, as well as the cross bar connecting them, are rabbetted out in a "v" shape groove to hold the cards. Also on the inner side of the uprights are saw slots running vertically. Figure 5 shows the top view of one of these uprights. The construction of the card and its triangular load is shown in Figure 5. The card is slightly narrower than the Jacks and just a little shorter. It is best made of thin fibre wood board. The container itself may be made of fibre board or a thin metal. The load compartment is half an inch narrower than the card and half an inch shorter than the height of the card. In order that the fourth Jack does not slip out of the easel before it should, there are two metal lips at the top edges of the easel which stick out toward the front exactly the thickness of the card, Figure 5 A. In order to make packing easier. the uprights of the tripod are hinged to the base A-A In Figure 4.

In performing the trick the fourth lack is left on the easel in order to mask the load at that time. When the Jacks are again picked up to put them in the brackets on the base, the first two Jacks are lifted straight up from the easel and casually put in the base. In lifting these Jacks from the easel. the fingers of the right hand are pressed against the top of the card. Friction will slide a card up until it can be grasped at the back with the thumb. The third card is lifted in the same manner, except that the thumb grasps the card with the load and pulls it up along with the third lack. These two cards, as one, are then stuck in the base. Because of the lips the fourth Jack does not come out at the time the third Jack and the load are lifted. In picking up the fourth Jack, the thumb presses at the back and bends the Jack until the corners snap out from under the lips. It is then taken from the easel as were the first three, and dropped on top of the room of cards. As soon as this fourth Jack is taken, the easel is seen to be the lightest sort of skeleton, and it is inconceivable to the audience that it can play any part in the trick.

Due to the fact that the third Jack had been shown on both sides at one point in the trick, and merely slid off the fourth lack when taken from the easel to build the room, there seems to the audience no possible way for a load to be introduced.

In making the load container, the apex of the triangle can be made to open. in order that it too will pack flat.