Corinda: 13 Steps to Mentalism
©1958 Corinda's Magic Studio, London
©1968 Tannen Magic, Inc. Reprint
©1999 D. Robbins & Co.,Inc. Reprint
Hardcover, 424 pages

Comments: The steps were also indivudually published as separate booklets previous to the compilation.
The full 13 Steps include: 1 Nail Writer Swami Gimmick; 2 Pencil, Lip, Sound, Touch and Muscle Reading; 3 Mnemonics and Mental Systems; 4 Predictions; 5 Blindfolds & X-Ray Eyes; 6 Billets; 7 Book Tests and Supplement; 8 Two Person Telepathy; 9 Mediumistic Stunts; 10 Card Tricks; 11 Question and Answer Readings; 12 Publicity Stunts; 13 Patter and Presentation

Contents:

3 Step One: The Nail Writer Swami Gimmick

4 Different Types of Writers
4 A - Described As The Swami Gimmick
4 B - Described as C Type
5 C - Described as The Band Writer
5 D - Described as the Overnail Writer
5 E - Described as an Adhesive Writer
6 F - Described as the Thumbtip Nailwriter
6 Points to Consider With All Types
6 How to Use Your Swami Gimmick
6 Getting the Gimmick Into Position for Use
8 How to Handle the Gimmick When It Is On
8 What to Write On - the Right Type of Card
8 How to HOld the Card Before, During and After Writing
10 The Technique of Writing
10 The Style of Writing and What to Write
11 Section Two: Special Techniques
11 The Use of Different Colours
12 The Window Envelope
12 The Carbon Impression Technique
13 The Ink Writer
13 Preparation of the Prediction
14 The Fingernail
14 Alternative Methods of Holding the Card
15 The Visible Pencil
16 Section Three: Modesty and Mentalism Mixes
16 Conclusion

17 Tricks With a Swami Gimmick
17 No. 1 The Spectator as the Telepathist
17 No. 2 First Variation of the No. 1 Principle
17 No. 3 Second Variation of the No. 1 Principle
18 No. 4 Straight to the Point
18 No. 5 A Stage Trick
19 No. 7 A Card Trick
19 No. 8 Living and Dead
19 No. 9 A Close Up Quickie
19 No. 10 Two Person Telepathy
20 No. 11 A Mediumistic Effect
20 No. 12 Time and Space, and Informal Effect
21 No. 13 The Card in Glass
21 No. 14 The Week Ahead Prediction
22 No. 15 Another Publicity Stunt
22 No. 16 The Seven Chairs
22 No. 17 Any Date of the Year
22 No. 18 The White Swami
23 No. 19 The Sex Detector
23 No. 20 Headline Predictions
23 No. 21 Topical Effects
23 No. 22 A First Class Newspaper Test
24 No. 23 Dartboard Prediction
24 No. 24 Matches or Cigarettes

25 Step Two: Pencil, Lip, Sound, Touch and Muscle Reading

28 Part One - Pencil Reading
29 Technique of Pencil Reading
29 When To Do It
29 Favorable Conditions
29 Unfavorable Conditions
30 The Pencil Used for Writing
31 The Card Used When Writing Is Done
31 The Distance Between You and the Spectator
31 Safety Checks to Eliminate Errors
32 Pencil Reading of Numbers
32 Pencil Reading Words
33 Pencil Reading by Position
33 Summary
33 Tricks Accomplished By the Art of Pencil Reading
33 Get-Outs Gallore
34 Strange Coincidence
34 The Total Result
34 The Debt Repaid
34 The Swami and the Pencil

35 Part Two - Lip Reading
35 Tricks Accomplished by the Art of Lip Reading
35 Any Card Called For
36 Reconstructed Evidence
37 The Whispering Buddha

38 Part Three Sound Reading
38 Written Information Discovered by Sound Reading
39 The Designs to Use
39 The Numbers to Use
39 Sound Reading Applied to Action Not Writing
41 Tricks Accomplished by the Art of Sound Reading
41 Tapping Card Location
41 Paranormal Precognition
42 A Pocket Trick
42 Clean Cut Card Trick

42 Part Four Touch Reading
43 Tricks Accomplished by the Art of Touch Reading
43 Sujan Location
43 With a Pinch of Salt
43 Impromptu Just Chance (Corinda)
45 Marked Playing Cards
45 Psychic Sorting
47 Colour Conscious
48 Another Version of the Princes Card Trick
49 Another Application of the Touch Reading Envelope

50 Part Five Muscle Reading
52 Advanced Forms of Contact Mind Reading
52 The Copper Wire Contact
52 Action With the Chosen Object Following Location
53 When to Use Contact Mind Reading
53 The Blindfold
53 Hellstomism
54 The Blackboard Test
54 Conclusion

55 Step Three: Mnemonics and Mental Systems

59 Introduction To Mnemonics

61 The Amazing Memory Test
62 Application Of The Amazing Memory System

63 Quick Calculations
63 Squaring
63 Extraction Of Square Roots
64 Cubing
64 Extraction Of Cube Roots

65 The Magic Square

67 The Knight's Tour

68 Chess Trickery
68 The Foolproof System At Chess
69 To Play Unlimited Games At Once
70 The Mate In One Problem

71 A Day For Any Date
72 Summary Of The Day For Any Date System
72 Performance Of The Day For Any Date Effect

73 Simple Card Systems
73 The Stacked Deck (Eight Kings)
75 Tricks Using The Eight Kings Stacked Deck
76 Si Stebbins
76 The Fourteen/Fifteen Set Up
76 The Odd And Even Set Up
76 The Black And Red Set Up

77 The Mnemonic Number Code
78 Application Of The Mnemonic Number Code
79 Corinda's "Fourteenth Book Test"
80 The Photographic Memory

81 Step Four: Predictions

85 Part One Introduction
85 Introduction to Predictions
85 The Value & Nature of Predictions

86 Part Two Technique
86 The Billet Pencil (Corinda)
86 - a. Billet in Test Tube
87 - b. The Zig-Zag Fold Bullet
87 - c. The "S" Rolled Billet
87 - d. Headline Predictions
87 The Billet Knife - Dr. Jaks
88 The Billet Knife - Sackville
88 The Impromptu Billet Knife
88 The Pocket Index for Cards
90 - Standard Pocket Index
90 - Q.5 Pocket Index
92 The Billet Index
93 Cigarette Packet Pellet Index (Tremaine-Corinda)
95 The Body Index (Corinda)
95 The Swami Gimmick
95 The Switch & The Force
96 Scarne Pellet Switch
97 The Switch of a Pack of Cards
97 Bare Hand Envelope Switch
98 The Prediction Chest
98 Trickery With Envelopes
98 - a. The Carbon Prediction Envelope
99 - b. The Nest of Envelopes
99 Stooges
100 Summary of Technique
100 Timing, Misdirection & Patter

101 Part Three Predictions for the Stage
101 A Million to One
103 Quadruplication
105 De Profundis
107 The £75,000 Test
109 Astronomical
111 The Mentalist Four Ace Trick
113 Mentalists Card in Balloon
114 Psi Function

114 Part Four Predictions for the Drawing Room
114 Predictions With a Swami
114 Mind Over Matter
115 My Word!
116 The Third Choice
117 The Lottery Routine
119 The Prophesy
120 The Informative Joker
120 Double-Impact Prediction
121 The Matchbox Mystery
121 The Mystery of the Chest
122 X-Marks the Spot
122 Nicely Suited

125 Step Five: Blindfolds

129 Part One Types
129 Introduction
129 The Unfaked Mask
130 Reverse Crease Blindfold (Will Dexter)
131 The Felt Mask - Faked
131 The Folded Silk Blindfold
132 The Bag Blindfold
133 Sheet or Blanket Cover
134 The Bucket
134 Cotton Wool, Dough, Coins, Plaster and Suchlike
134 Summary

135 Part Two Technique
135 Downward Glimpse
136 One Ahead System
136 The Magnetic Blindfold
137 The Stacked Deck
137 Marked Cards
137 Annemann's One Way Deck
138 Mirrors
138 Reflectors and Shiners
139 Self-Working Effects
139 Prior Observation
141 Memory Systems
141 Patter and Movement During Performance

143 Part Three Tricks
143 Sightless Vision - A Complete Blindfold Routine (J. Elman)
146 Psychical Research Versus Mentalism (Corinda)
147 Mental Masterpiece (Maurice Fogel)
148 X-Ray Eyes (Corinda)
149 A Gem of Mental Magic (Corinda)
150 The Bartender's Nightmare
150 The Blindfold Drive and Location of Objects Hidden at a Distance
150 Corinda's Money Box
154 Evidence (Corinda)
155 Card Stab (Hans Trixer)
155 Blindfold Noughts and Crosses
157 The Blackboard Test
157 The Three Cards (Corinda)

161 Step Six Billets

165 Part One Technique
165 Introduction
166 A Few Simple Rules For Working with Billets
166 The Centre Tear - Corinda Variation
171 The Centre Tear - Punx - Meir Variation
171 Centre Tear - One Hand Variation
173 Centre Tear - Corinda's Backward Variation
174 Centre Tear - Preparation of the Billet
175 Cenre Tear - Reading the Billet
175 Billet Switch - Bare Hand Method
176 - Billet Switch (Annemann)
177 - The Billet Switch Bare Hand Method (Corinda)
178 Billet Switch by Lapping
178 Billet Switch - Magnetic Clip Method
178 Billet Switch - Corinda's Billet Pull
180 Billet Switch - The Matchbox Swith (Will Dexter)
181 The Star Trap Billet Switch (Eric Mason)
182 Eclipse Billet Switch (John Henley)
184 Summary of Billet Switching
185 Marking of Billets
185 Billet Stands
186 The Use of a Crystal Ball
187 References on Technique With Billets in Other Steps

187 Part Two Tricks and Routines
187 The Crystal Locket (Stanley Jaks)
189 Three Little Questions (Corinda)
191 It's a Record! (Corinda)
192 Presenting the Living and Dead Test (Corinda)
192 Great Minds Think Alike (Punx)
194 The Flames of Zor (Chemical Reaction)
195 A Card and Billt Routine (Corinda - Fogel)
195 Inexplicable (Al Koran)

197 Step Seven Book Tests and Supplement

201 Zarkamora II - The Ceremony of Reincarnation (Corinda)
206 A Classic Swindle - Magazine Test
208 Impromptu Book Test Simplfied (Corinda)
209 A Lesson in Mentalism (Corinda)
211 The Crossword Puzzle (Corinda)
212 Novel Revelation of a Word (Corinda)
213 Tele-Directory Test (Corinda)
215 Ulta-Modern Mentalism (Corinda)
218 The Clip Book (Vivian St. John)
219 The Missing Link (Corinda)
220 Summary of Book Tests

222 An Interview With Fogel: through page 231

233 Step Eight: Two Person Telepathy

237 Introduction

238 Part One Major Systems
238 The Code Act - Verbal
238 Complete Verbal Code System
240 Telepathy for Two (Walford Taylor)
240 - Introduction
240 - The Basic Number Code
242 - Coins
243 - Colours
243 - Materials
243 - The Alphabet Code
244 - Objects
245 - The Final Object List
246 - Cards
247 - Countries
248 - Christian Names
249 - Conclusion
249 - Appendix
250 Sub-Miniature Radio Equipment
252 Electrical Two-Person Communicator Unit
252 Improved Light Communicator (Corinda)
255 - How to Code With a Light Communicator
255 -- Numbers
256 -- Playing Cards
256 -- The Alphabet
257 - Summary of the Light Communicator
257 Miscellaneous Code Systems for Full Routines
257 - Radio-Controlled Pulse Unit
257 - Action Signals
258 - Sound Reading
258 Conclusion to the Major Systems

259 Part Two Minor Systems
259 Pre-arranged List of Objects or Numbers
259 Playing Cards in Pre-arranged Order
260 Time Codes
266 Positional Codes
267 Graph or Chart Codes
268 White Elastic Indicator
269 Conclusion of Part Two

263 Part Three Routines
263 The Lady is a Mindreader (Corinda)
263 Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Corinda)
265 All in Order (Corinda)
266 Reference to Effects for Two Person Telepathy in Other Steps
266 Misdirectional Womentalism (Eric Mason)
267 Wrist Watch Code (Corinda)
268 The Third Man (Corinda)
269 Musical Mindreading
270 Conclusion on Two Person Telepathy

271 Step Nine Mediumistic Stunts

275 Introduction
276 Mediumistic Patter
277 Establishing Atmosphere in the Séance Room
278 The Stage Medium
278 Reference to Mediumistic Effect in Other Steps
279 Bibliography - Reference Books on Mediumship

280 Part Two: Physical Phenomena
280 Spirit Writing
281 Spooky Stunts for a Blackout
281 Astral Signs
281 The Spirit Hand
281 Cardboard Skeletons
281 Fire Balls
281 It
282 Ectoplasm
282 Apports
283 Spirit Lights
283 The Icy Hand
283 The Message in Mid Air
283 The Spirit Candles (Corinda)
284 The Waistcoat Escape
286 The Stage Spirit Cabinet Routine
288 Telekinecards (Punx)
289 The Palladino Table Lift
291 Table Lifting With Arm Hooks
291 Table Lifting With Waist Hooks
292 The Haunted Ball
293 Spirit Guide
293 The Dead Hand Writes
294 Corinda's Ghost Walk
295 Spirit Moulding

296 Part Three Mental Phenomena
296 Phoney Business (Corinda)
298 Yes-No Slate Gag
298 Cryptopsychism
299 The Ouija Board
299 Spirit Writing on a Slate
300 Strike a Light (Punx)

303 Step Ten Card Tricks

307 Introduction to Mentalism With Cards
308 Photo-Memory (Hans Trixer)
309 Corinda's Incredible Slate Test
312 The Million Dollar Test (J.G. Reed)
312 Birthday Card Trick (Jack Avis)
313 ESP Test (J.G. Reed)
314 The Trio (Sidney Lawrence)
314 - Two Minds, A Single Thought
314 - Before Your Very Eyes
315 - Gamma Location
316 Beyond the Veil (Patrick Page)
317 Card Exchange (Terry Guyatt)
318 Blind Coincidence (Michael Mence)
318 Mental Card Trick (Terry Guyatt)
319 Two of a Kind (Terry Guyatt)
320 Birds of a Feather (Corinda)
323 Teleprognos (Corvelo, Holland)
326 The Red Card Prediction
327 Across the Void (Paul Marcus, New Zealand)
329 Back to Back
330 Dr. Thornton's Coincimental (by permission of Ed Mellon)
332 Reference to Card Tricks and Technique n Other Steps

335 Step Eleven Question and Answer (Readings)

339 Introduction

343 Part One
343 Dealing with Questions That Are Known
344 How to Get Information
344 - Reference to Technique in Other Steps
344 - Alcohol or Chemicals
344 - Light
345 - The Window Envelope
345 - The Clip Board
346 - The Record Card
346 - The Stooge
347 - Switching of Envelopes
347 - Planting of Envelopes and Slips
348 How to Convey Information
348 General Means of Conveying Information Secretly
348 - Hand Rollers, Faro Boxes, Slip Boxes
348 - Pencilled Slate
349 - The Thumbnail
349 - Cigarette Holder
349 - Roller on Microphone
349 - Watchface
349 - Cuff
349 - On a Small Card
349 - Large Card or Blackboard
349 - Written on Card
349 Selecton of Suitable Questions to Use
350 Answering Questions Known
351 Answering Questions From Platform
355 Summary
355 - Private Readings
355 - Platform Readings
355 - Table of Probabilities
355 - Explanation

356 Part Two
356 Dealing With Questions Unknown
357 Main Objectives When Cold Reading
357 - Observation of Detail
357 - Putting Two and Two Together
358 - Use of the Voice
359 - Misdirecting Attention by Talk
359 - The Importance of Timing
359 Conclusion

363 Step Twelve Publicity Stunts

367 Part One
367 Introduction
368 The Law of Supply and Demand
369 Creating a Demand
371 Personal Publicity
371 Personal Advertising
372 Visiting Cards
372 The Brochure
375 Photographs
375 Headed Paper
375 Publicity Campaign

376 Part Two
376 Publicity Stunts
377 Publicity Plot and Ideas
377 Radio Prediction
378 Personal Column Advert Stunt
379 Registered Letter Prediction
379 Fogel's Bullet Catching
380 Example of Personal Publicity (Raymond Hafler)
382 Visiting Card Gimmick
382 The Haunted House
383 The Challenge Séance
383 Headline Prediction
384 Glorified Muscle Reading
385 Publicity Pencils
386 Blindfold Drives and Walks
386 Conclusion to Publicity Stunts

387 Step Thirteen Patter and Presentation

391 Introduction
392 The Essentials of Good Performance
392 Personal Appearance
393 Manner and Speech
394 Patter
398 Good Effects
403 Handling
404 Timing
407 Misdirection
411 Co-ordination
412 The Actor: an interview with Claude Chandler
420 Appendix Errata and Additions to the Full Thirteen Steps to Mentalism
421 Complete Index to Thirteen Steps



Thirteen Steps To Mentalism
From Wikipedia

Thirteen Steps to Mentalism is a book on mentalism by Tony Corinda. It was originally published as thirteen smaller booklets as a course in mentalism, and was later, in 1961, republished as a book. The book quickly became famous and is now considered[by whom?] to be a classical text on mentalism.

The volume describes various techniques used by mentalists to achieve what appear to be psychic phenomena such as telepathy, precognition, extra-sensory perception, telekinesis and the ability to communicate with the dead as a medium.

The book has detailed information regarding cold reading, hot reading, the construction and use of such devices as the swami gimmick, billets, and billet pens.

Together with Annemann's Practical Mental Effects and T.A. Waters' Mind, Myth and Magic, it is considered[by whom?] standard literature for any magician, mentalist, or student of stage magic who wishes to incorporate psychic entertainment into his routine. Mentalists such as Derren Brown,[citation needed] Larry Becker,[1] Lee Earle,[citation needed] Richard Osterlind[citation needed] and Banachek[citation needed] have relied upon Thirteen Steps To Mentalism for their own mental illusions.

See alsoSi Stebbins
References1.^ Becker, Larry. Larry Becker's World of Super Mentalism. Louis Tannen Inc. 1978.
External links13 Steps to Mentalism Website