Magical Originalities
Ernest E. Noakes
Previous | Next | Contents
An Impromptu PerformanceIN THIS trick I explain a "Competition" turn, at the Magic Circle. The turn was to last from five to fifteen minutes, and the chief articles to be used were confined to a choice of three out of the five following--a jam-pot, key, spectacle case, bottle, and pipe. This test took place under circumstances somewhat out of the ordinary, and the selected articles were nominated by the "greatest writer on magic."
My presentation of the "turn" was as follows:--I requested a member of the audience (which was composed of magicians and their friends) to lend me a hat, a pipe, and a key. I took the key first, and placed this in a spectacle case, and for greater security this was placed in an envelope, which I requested a member of the audience to place in his pocket. The envelope was one of those in which a transparent portion is in the front for the name and address to appear through, and permitted the spectacle case to be seen inside. I now borrowed a hat, and placed it upon a chair at the left of stage. I now made up a paper cone, and requested the person lending me the pipe to drop it into the cone. This was done, and the cone folded over at top and placed upon another chair in full view. The tale was now told of the boy whose father could not decide upon what business his son should adopt, so he placed the various articles in different places and awaited events, etc. etc. The father eventually discovered the boy had entered the room, looked round and found the articles. He was smoking the pipe, the hat was on his head, the key on his bunch, and the spectacle case in his pocket, so he made him a "conjurer."
Having finished the story, I requested the gentleman who had the key in the spectacle case to return the items to me. He withdrew the envelope from his pocket, but the contents had vanished. I asked him then to return the pipe, but on opening the cone, that also was empty. I then requested him to return the hat, which was on the chair at the other side of the stage and which had not been approached throughout the story by either of us. When he picked up the hat, he found therein the case, the key, and the borrowed pipe, all of which he returned to the owners direct.
The only points that puzzled my audience were the two vanishes from cone and envelope, and the loading of the hat. The misdirection was as this: I asked for the hat, key, and pipe all at once. I took good care to obtain the key first, which the owner placed in the open pince-nez case and it was closed with a snap. I held this up between thumb and finger whilst the envelope was examined. When it was passed back to me, I laid the case on my left hand quite naturally, but it was really bottom upwards. Now opening the envelope with the transparent side to the audience, I placed into it a "shell" made from a piece of post card and blackened, which lightly fitted the bottom of the case. This illusion was perfect, and with my right hand I offered the envelope to the gentleman assisting me, requesting him to place it in an inner pocket and button his coat, and at the same time, with the left hand, in which was concealed the case with the key in it, I took the proffered hat and place it at the extreme left of the stage upon a chair, the audience little thinking that half the trick was already done.
I now made up the cone, and requested the owner of the pipe to drop the pipe down into the cone, which was much longer than the pipe. I tilted the cone towards audience so they could see that the pipe was therein and in so doing permitted the pipe to glide towards the opening. Now gripping the stem through the sides of cone, and holding the cone with tallest portion towards the audience, I left the bowl of the pipe pointing towards me and jutting out over the lowest portion of the opening of the cone.
Now with my left hand I took hold of the top of the cone to turn the top down, but I allowed the bowl of the pipe to come to the side of top of cone and it was masked by my left hand. The top of cone was now folded down very nicely, see drawings, and I said I would place it on the chair; I went to do so, and moved the hat an inch or two with my left hand, quickly loading the pipe from the cone into the hat, then, altering my mind, I carried the cone across the stage and placed it in full view of the audience "so they were able to see that the pipe could not possibly be moved without them knowing." The movement of the hat was so naturally and quietly done when getting rid of the pipe that I was able to complete the trick without my audience "tumbling."
I informed them that I would "now commence" my trick and tell my story. I told the story, and then requested the return of the envelope. As the gentleman took the envelope from his pocket, I took care that I had it quickly in my possession with the closed side to the audience, and I simply tore it into pieces to prove that the case had vanished. This seemed a very great surprise, likewise the finding of the paper cone "pipeless," but when the gentleman at my request walked across the stage to get the hat and discovered that the borrowed articles were really there, the appreciation of my audience was unmistakable. The working of the trick, as you see, was far from difficult, but the misdirection was such that my audience had no idea that the trick was" done" before I had apparently commenced.
Previous | Next | Contents
