Later Day Tricks
A. Roterberg
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Handkerchief, Lemon and Glass
THE performer exhibits an empty glass goblet, into which he places a small silk handkerchief, then covering the glass with another larger handkerchief. After having produced a lemon by magical means, he borrows a hat and drops the lemon visibly into the latter. He next states that he is going to cause the articles to change places, and upon removing the handkerchief from the glass, the lemon on instead of the handkerchief is found in the latter, while in the hat the lemon is discovered. After this has been done, the performer obligingly offers to repeat the experiment for the benefit of those that did not see the pretended aerial voyage of the lemon and handkerchief. He takes the handkerchief, which still remained in his hand and by, rubbing it, causes it to change into the lemon, and going to the glass, which he has in the meantime covered again, shows that the handkerchief has appeared there.
The glass used is the so-called Celery-glass of polygon shape, in the center of which are placed back to back two mirrors in a vertical position. Both mirrors fit snugly in the glass, which thereby is divided into two compartments of equal size. Only the front compartment, which is left empty, is shown during the first part of the trick. Although the spectators see but the one compartment only, the reflection of half of the glass in the mirror causes the illusion as if they were looking into a complete, entirely empty glass. On the mirror of the rear compartment, which side is not shown to the spectators until later on, is glued half an artificial lemon, made out of paper mache or wood; this is reflected in the mirror and the glass, viewed from this side, appears to contain an entire lemon.
The performer commences the trick by placing lacing the silk handkerchief into the front compartment of the glass, covering the latter with a borrowed handkerchief, and secretly turning the glass around in the act of replacing it on the table, so that upon uncovering the glass the side containing the lemon will be exposed to view. He then produces from his wand a lemon, Which is a hollow one with a hole in its side like the well known hollow egg.
He next borrows a hat, and while placing it on a chair or table secretly introduces into it a duplicate handkerchief which he had vested and then visibly drops the lemon into the hat. A change of the position of the two articles is now commanded to take place and occurs as explained. In finding the handkerchief in the hat, the performer picks up the lemon undercover of it, and after having stated his intention of repeating the trick, places the hands together and while waving them up and down works the handkerchief into the lemon, which is then exhibited and placed opening downwards upon the table. In the glass, which recently contained the lemon and which the performer has turned around in the meantime, the missing handkerchief is duly found.
A still better effect than the last may be produced by using a lady's borrowed handkerchief instead of the small silk one; the performer using care in borrowing a handkerchief of nearly the same size and appearance as a duplicate one of his own.
Instead of using the orthodox method of forcing the handkerchief into the lemon while moving the hands up and down, the author takes pleasure to make his readers acquainted with a much superior and newer manner of producing the same result. We will suppose that the prepared lemon is concealed in the right hand, over which the performer now spreads the handkerchief, pushing its center a trifle into the hole of the lemon. Next placing the left hand over this, he moves the lemon with the right hand in circular fashion, pressing firmly against the left, whereby, as will be found, the handkerchief grows rapidly and visibly smaller on all sides, twisting itself completely into the lemon. A single trial on the part of my reader will convince him of the superiority of this sleigh, which will be found equally advantageous in connection with the hollow egg and billiard ball.
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