Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
Tricks With Coins
T. Nelson Downs
Frederick J. Drake & Co. (1902)
In Collection
#3806
10*
Conjuring
Magic tricks
Hardcover 
USA  eng
Downs, T. Nelson & William Hilliar (editor): Tricks With Coins
©1902 Frederick J. Drake & Co., Chicago, IL
Hardcover, w/dj, 164 pages plus ads

©1905; 1939 Wehman Bros., NY
Softcover, perfect-bound, 84 pages

©1949 Max Stein, Chicago, IL
Softcover, perfect-bound 128 pages

Also published by Johnson Smith & Co., MI

Comments: "Embracing every sleight and subtlety invented and known". A slightly later edition of Modern Coin Magic.
Also published as "Magic Coin Tricks Anyone Can Do" by Max Stein.
Contents:

8 Preface

9 Chapter I The Miser's Dream
32 Production of Any Number of Coins at the Finger Tips
35 To Pass a Coin Through the Knees
36 The Illusive Pass
38 New Change Over Palm
39 Down’s New Click Pass
43 Down’s New Fan Pass
44 Down’s Eureka Pass
46 The Turnover with Forty Coins
49 Three Distinct Methods of Palming Coins at the Same Time
50 To Palm and Make the Pass with Forty Coins

53 Chapter II A Series of Absolutely New and Original Coin Vanishes and Passes
53 No. 1
54 No. 2
54 No. 3
55 No. 4
55 No. 5
56 No. 6
57 No. 7
57 No. 8
58 No. 9
58 No. 10
59 No. 11
60 A Novel Adaptation of the Rattle Box Idea
60 A Rapid Pass with Six Coins
62 Disappearing Pile of Coins

63 Chapter III Miscellaneous Coin Tricks, Illusions and Combinations
63 The Equilibrium of Silver
64 To Pass Twenty Coins From One Hand to the Other
66 Quadruple Coin
67 Gold Versus Silver
69 The Transmutation of Metals
71 Vanishing Coins From Goblet
73 Multiplying Coins - Sleight of Hand Method
74 New Coin Production from Bare Hands
75 The Money-Producing Cigarette
78 The Coin of Phoenix
79 New Money-Producing Card
81 The Marvelous Transit of Coins
83 Novel Appearing Coin
84 The New Crystal Target
87 The Flying Coins
90 The Downs Goblet of Mystery
91 The Mysterious Claret Glass
93 Magnetized Coins
95 The Demon Goblet
96 The Silver Question
99 Handkerchief as Money Producer
100 New Money-Producing Candle
102 The Dematerialization of Thirty Coins
104 Coin Passing Through a Table, etc.
105 The Crystal Coin Ladder
109 The Traveling Coin
112 The Sixteen to One Silver Trick
113 The Fusible Coins

119 Chapter IV Mechanical Devices for Performing The Miser’s Dream

137 Chapter V Additional Coin Tricks
137 The Coin of Mercury
139 The Coin Cornucopia
142 The Obedient Coins
142 The Coin and Paper Tube
144 An Old Trick Improved
146 A Good Coin Trick
146 To Tell Date on Borrowed Coin
147 Entirely New Pass with Twenty-Five Coins
148 The New Glass Coin Jar (Alfred McEwen)
151 The Winged Coin
153 New Coins and Die

157 Chapter VI Koincluding Observations
Tricks With Coins by T. Nelson Downs

Frederick J. Drake, Chicago, 1902. Embossed hard cover red boards with gilt title to cover and spine. Some moderate wear and bumping (most notably to top corner on front cover) alond with some scuffing and age staining. Pages are clean and binding is sound. A lovely old collectible. 164 pages.

Approximately sixty Magic Tricks with Coins, including; Down's new "Click Pass", "Fan Pass" & Eureka Pass, Quadruple Coin, Gold vs Silver, Vanishing coins from Goblet, Multiplying Coins, new Coin production from Bare Hands, Coin of Pheonix, Downs Goblet of Mystery, Claret Glass, Magnetized Coins, Demon Goblet, Dematerialization of 30 Coins, 16 to 1 Silver Trick, Fusable Coins, Coin of Mercury, Obedient Coins, & many More;

"Embracing every sleight and subtlety invented & known. A complete explanation of his World-Famous Coin Creation, "The Miser's Dream," as presented by him at the Palace Theatre, London, for nearly 200 consecutive performances"
Product Details
LoC Classification GV1547.D6
Dewey 793.8
No. of Pages 354
Personal Details
Read It No
Location Magic Library (Home) Shelf F
Condition Very Good
Owner Bryan-Keith Taylor
Notes
Reprint of the 1st ed. (c1909) published by A. P. Felsman, Chicago.

Downs, Thomas Nelson
(1867-1938)

Born in Garwin, Iowa. Raised in Montour and Marshalltown, Iowa. Pro manipulator and card and coin worker since 1883. World-famous 'King of Koins'. Elected to the SAM Hall of Fame.

Prolific innovator in coin magic. Invented Back-and-Front Palm (1884), Click Pass (c 1900), Eureka Pass (c 1900), Downs Palm (c 1902), Edge Palm, Coins to Glass (c 1909), Coin Star, Coin Wand, Downs Change (1909), possibly Estimation (c 1909), Dime and Penny Trick (c 1917).
Many of his sleights and routines are described in J.B. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic.
Wrote: The Art of Magic, Modern Coin Manipulation

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thomas Nelson Downs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born
March 16, 1867
Marshalltown, Iowa

Died
September 11, 1938 (aged 71)
Marshalltown, Iowa

Spouse
Nellie Stone
Harriett Rocky

Thomas Nelson Downs, also T. Nelson Downs, (March 16, 1867 – September 11, 1938) was one of the most famous manipulative magicians renowned for his coin tricks. Downs was also known as "The King of Koins".[1]

Contents
1 Biography
2 Death
3 Legacy
4 References
5 External links

Biography

Born in Marshalltown, Iowa, he was the youngest of six children in the family of Thomas and Cordelia Downs. His family moved to Iowa from the New York state. Downs' father, the Marshall county superintendent, died when his son was not even a year old.

Downs never took any training in magic; all his tricks were self-taught. By the age of 12, he became an expert in card and coin manipulation. He further mastered his skills by the age of 17, when he took a job as a railway telegrapher and had plenty of time to practice with coins.

In September 1895, Downs decided to quit his telegraphy job and launch a career in magic. At first, he toured Iowa with his partner, Sam Spiegel, a mandolinist. By 1897, Downs concentrated only on the coin tricks — a rare specialization at that time, and established himself in vaudeville, which was a popular avenue for magicians.

The success of Downs career allowed him to get booked into Tony Pastor's New York theater, and to London's Palace Theatre soon after that.

At the peak of his career, Downs traveled frequently, and performed at royal courts. While performing his tricks, he could palm up to 60 coins at a time. One of his most famous tricks was "The Miser's Dream", in which he seemed to pull countless coins out of the thin air.

In 1912, at the young age of 42, Downs decided to retire in Iowa. After moving back to Marshalltown, he rarely left the area. Not quite comfortable with idle retirement, Downs kept busy by opening a vaudeville house on Main Street, a few blocks from his own home at 7 South 3rd Avenue. He also sold a line of magic equipment. Many visitors, other magicians, streamed to his home to share gossip and the latest tricks as well as to brush elbows with the famous sleight of hand artist. The most famous of these visitors included Chung Ling Soo (William Robinson), Mrs. Harry Houdini, and Dai Vernon.

Downs wrote several books on magic before and after his retirement. His first book, Modern Coin Manipulation, was published in 1900 and is still issued in reprints today. His other books include The Art of Magic and Tricks with Coins.

Downs was married twice. He had a son in his first marriage with Nellie Stone, who died in childbirth in 1895. He subsequently married Harriett Rocky on June 3, 1905.

He retired around 1928. In 1935 he was honored with a testimonial dinner.[1]

Death

Downs died on September 11, 1938 in Marshalltown, Iowa.[1] He had suffered a stroke, which paralyzed his left side. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Marshalltown. His gravestone reads "King of Koins".

Legacy

The Historical Society of Marshall County features a display about Downs in its museum.

References

1.^ a b c "T. Nelson Downs". New York Times. September 12, 1938, Monday. Retrieved 2007-08-21. "T. Nelson Downs, known thirty years ago in Europe and America as the "King of Koins," died today at his home here. He retired more than ten years ago. ..."

External links

"T. Nelson 'King of Koins' Downs". Magician. Find a Grave. Nov. 07, 1998. Retrieved Aug. 17, 2011.