Cremer, W.H.: Magic no Mystery
Conjuring Tricks With Cards, Balls, and Dice; Magic Writing, Performing Animals, etc., etc.
©1876 John Grant, Edinburgh
Hardcover, 333 Pages

Comments: As was common in many of the older books on magic (well for that matter, many beginner's books today!), the descriptions are sometimes less than thorough, though most are sufficient. Some of the tricks are a bit bizarre. Still an interesting bit of history!

Contents:

9 Part 1: Modern Magic by Sleight of Hand and Mechanism
11 A Capital Rope Trick: Even though the hands are tied by a handkerchief with a clothes line entrapping the performer, he escapes.
12 The Little Golden Head on Three Rings: a head in a glass jumps in answer to questions, and three rings in another glass dance in sympathy
12 A Simple Bird-Scarer: how to make a glass bell to scare off birds
13 The Magic Wand and Sandalwood Sandals: a suspended wand
13 The Newspaper Mask: ripping a quick child's mask out of newspaper
14 Parachute and Dart: making a parachute in which to return the spectator's ring
15 The Wondrous Restoration: a vanished ring in lemon presentation
17 The Conjurer's Illumination: three methods for flashy lighting
17 The Coloured Flames: mixing chemicals for blue, crimson, orange, and other colored flames. I would wonder how safe these concoctions were...
19 Japanese Paper Matches: making colorful flaming matches
19 Japanese Day Fireworks: description of Japanese smoke bombs
19 Luminous Bust: making a glow in the dark ventriloquist head with phosphorus
20 The Wonderful Ascending Globes: a clever optical illusion box
22 Improved "Sphinx" Table: for the illusion of the decapitated speaking head
23 The Automaton Statue of Memnon: music comes from a statue when placed in the sun
24 The Sympathetic Execution or The Paracelsus Trick: When the shadow of a puppet is cut, the puppet's head falls off
26 The Inseparable Head: a false head is cut through with an examined knife and yet does not fall off
26 The Conjurer's Candles: preparing a candle for a restored handkerchief
27 The Telescope of Power: magician determines the contents of a box with a telescope, and when the box is opened the contents are gone
29 A Handkerchief Trick: a borrowed handkerchief is dowsed in water yet restored pressed and dry
30 The Destroyed Handkerchief Restored: a cut and restored trick
31 The Paradox of Ascension: a clever apparatus that seems to defy gravity
35 The Davenport Cabinet as Improved by Miss Fay: a spirit cabinet
35 The Gordian Knot Unloosed: Assistant is tied inside a cabinet, and yet is able to remove her coat and fling it out of the cabinet. When the cabinet is opened, she is still tied.
38 The Conjurer's Fan - A Lady's Trick: a broken and restored fan trick
40 Magic Traps for Horizontal and Perpendicular Appearances: introduction
41 The Vampire Trap: a trap through which a man can pass without trace of an opening
42 The Star Trap: for vanishing an object; briefly described
42 The Trap for Secret Appearance: for the magic table
45 Lulu's Leap Explained: how Lulu leaps 20 feet into the air
47 Catching a Cannon Ball: a dangerous stunt!
48 Professor Anderson's Magic Portfolio: many items are produced from a too-small book, including children!
50 The Conjurer's Canary: a selected egg dances to music on a cane, then is broken to show it is real. A second egg is broken to reveal a live canary, but then the canary is shown to be dead. The dead canary is placed under a glass, and then restored to life
51 The Conjurer's Orange-Tree (Robert Houdin's Invention): explanation of this fascinating machinery (do an Internet search on Robert-Houdin and Orange Tree to find some videos showing this intricate device).
52 The Conjurer's Post Office: letter vanishes and is replaced with a reply
53 The Dice of Revelation: Magician's dice match those thrown
56 The Impenetrable Sealed Box Trick: