The Double Envelope Switch

We are indebted to a fellow magician for the following method which he is using with great success. Questions are written by the spectators on slips of paper which they then fold two or three times. No envelopes are passed out but the performer carries one or more envelopes (63/& size) with him in which to place the questions as they are collected.

These envelopes are really the old trick double envelope known to magicians as the Bewitched Envelope, or the Magic Envelope. The preparation is simple indeed--two identical envelopes are used to make the trick envelope. The flaps are opened, and one of them (No. 1) laid back down on the table with its flap away from you. The other envelope (No. 2) is laid back up on top of No. 1, but the flap of No. 2 is toward you. In this position, with both flaps open, you now paste the faces of the two envelopes together. One flap at top closes on one side, and the other flap at bottom, closes on the opposite side. Both sides look like the back of an envelope so you will remember to expose only one side as you use it in the performance.

One compartment of the fake envelope is loaded in advance with fifteen or twenty folded fake question slips, all kept at one end. When ready to collect the spectators' questions you get the fake envelope from your pocket, holding it flat on palm of left hand with loaded side down, while your right hand collects the question slips and puts them in the upper empty compartment at the end opposite the fake load.

The envelope is then secretly turned over and the fake slips dumped out in a pan or bowl to be burned. Our friend now turns to get a box of matches from table, secretly palms out the genuine questions with right hand, sees no matches on table, thrusts right hand in pocket getting matches, and leaving the stolen questions in pocket. As the flames develop, he tears up the envelope and tosses it into the fire. The questions being in one end, makes it easier to get them out in one bunch by the use of the fingers.

This method of securing the genuine questions requires skill and adroitness, and, if you prefer, we suggest you use the following method: You dump the fake questions into the bowl, then carelessly tear the envelope in half, carefully avoiding exposures of the genuine questions which are inside, take both halves in right hand and thrust right hand in pocket, also left hand in pocket, for matches--left hand gets match box, and right hand comes out empty. Hand spectator matches to light the fire, and as attention is centered on him, you quietly reach right hand in your pocket and pull out the two halves of a duplicate unprepared envelope, these being given spectator to put in the fire. This is easy and looks very natural.

When you tear the fake envelope in half, nothing is said, but it accomplishes three things--it creates the impression of emptiness--it enables you to get the torn halves all the way in your pocket--and makes it easy to get hold of the questions when you want them.

The volunteer assistant returns to his seat while performer gets a memorandum book, or writing pad, from the table and sits down. He explains that he uses the pad to record and piece together his impressions. The answers are given in the usual way.

The memo book is constructed as shown in Fig. 6 and is used as a blind to conceal the opening and reading of the billets. When performer gets memo pad from table with left hand his right hand palms a bunch of billets from his pocket and secretly deposits them on the pad where they are held by the lip at the bottom. Of course, nobody is permitted to see behind the pad. With pencil in right hand, performer makes occasional marks on the pad as he talks, meanwhile right hand secretly opens a billet and gives a reading. This billet is then slipped into pocket in cover of pad, and the operation repeated with the remaining questions.

Obviously, the performer should practice the moves of opening and handling billets so he can do it rapidly. The lower edge of pad rests against performer's stomach while he scribbles his notes on the pad, the left hand and arm supporting the pad.