Hugard, Jean & Frederick Braue: The Royal Road to Card Magic
©1949 Haper & Brothers Publishers, 1st edition.
©1951 World Publishing Co, Cleveland 1st Edition; Dover Reprint 1999
©1954 Faber & Faber
©1975 Faber & Faber
Hardcover, 302 pages

Comments: A classic of magic. Very good introductory text, though also see Giobbi's Card College series for a more up to date approach. Royal Road has been revitalized the by the issuance of DVD sets by Rudy Hunter and R. Paul Wilson (note: these are two different DVD sets; not a collaboration)

Contents:

xi Introduction by Paul Fleming
xv Preface

3 Part One

3 I. The Overhand Shuffle, I
3 Position of the Pack in the Hands
4 Execution of the Overhand Shuffle
5 Using the Overhand Shuffle
5 Controlling the Top Card
6 Controlling the Bottom Card
6 Retaining the Top and Bottom Cards in Position
7 Top Card to Next to Bottom and Back to the Top
7 The Run
8 The Injog
8 The Undercut
9 Overhand Shuffle Control
10 Retaining Top Stock
10 Overhand False Shuffle
11 Overhand Shuffle Practive Routine
12 Tricks with the Overhand Shuffle
13 Topsy-Turvy Cards
16 A Poker Player's Picnic
18 A Pocket Discovery
21 Telepathy Plus
23 Thought Stealer
25 Pinkie Does It
26 A Card and a Number

28 II. The Riffle Shuffle
30 Riffle Shuffle Control
30 Retaining a Card at the Top of the Deck
30 Retaining the Bottom Card or Cards
31 Riffle Shuffle in the Air
32 Tricks with the Riffle Shuffle
32 An Instinct for Cards
34 Mirror of the Mind
35 Ultra Card Divination

37 III. Flourishes
37 Displaying the Top Card
39 The Ruffle
41 The Click
42 Spread and Turnover
45 Gathering the Ribbon-Spread Pack
45 Springing the Cards
46 A Flourish Count
47 Throwing a Card
48 Waterfall Shuffle
49 The Fan
50 One-Had Fan
51 Thumb Fan
52 Pressure Fan

53 IV. The Glide
54 Design for Laughter
56 The Observation Test

59 V. The Glimpse
59 Bottom-Card Glimpse I
60 Bottom-Card Glimpse II
61 Bottom-Card Glimpse III
61 Top-Card Glimpse I
62 Fan Peek
63 Tricks with the Glimpse
63 Gray's Spelling Trick
66 Round and Round

68 VI. The Key Card
69 The Key Undercut
69 Key Undercut Shuffle
70 Tricks with the Key Card
70 Do as I Do
71 The Three Piles
73 The Twenty-Sixth Card
74 A Meeting of the Minds
76 The Non-Poker Voice
78 Intuition with Cards
80 Sliding Key Card

82 VII. The Palm
83 Top Palm I (Single Card)
86 Top Palm II (Several Cards)
88 Palm Glimpse
88 Replacing Palmed Cards
90 Tricks with the Palm
90 Card in the Pocket
92 Now You See It!
96 Grab-Bag Card
98 Good-Luck Card
100 Do It and Fail
102 Gathering of the Clan
105 Spring Catch
105 A Vested Interest
106 Piano Trick

109 VIII. The Backslip
110 Backslip Force
110 Backslip Control
111 Tricks with the Backslip
111 Lightning Card
112 The Tantalizer
114 Under Your Hat

116 IX. The Overhand Shuffle, II
116 Injog and Break
117 Overhand Break Control
117 Overhand Lift Shuffle
119 Lift Shuffle Force
120 Spread and Break
121 Holding a Break
122 Spread and Break Control
123 Tricks with the Overhand Shuffles
123 The Sevens
125 Obliging Aces
126 Leapfrog
127 Spectator's Card Trick
129 A Poker Puzzle

131 X. False Shuffles and Cuts
131 Optical Shuffle
131 Charlier Shuffle
133 The Cut
136 Palm Cut
136 Tricks with the Shuffles and Cuts
136 An Incomprehensible Divination
138 Circus Card Trick
139 Black Jack, Detective

141 XI. The Double Lift and Turnover
143 Double-Lift Glimpse
143 Double-Lift Card Reverses
145 Rapid Transit
146 The Trey
147 Ambitious Card
150 Throughth and Consequences
151 Insidious Dr. Fu Liu Tu

153 XII. The Pass
156 Riffle Pass
157 Spread Pass
157 Spring Pass
157 Tricks with the Pass
157 Off Agin, On Agin, Finnegin!
159 Kangaroo Card
160 Righting a Wrong
161 Blindfolded Pack
163 Double Speller

166 XIII. Miscellaneous Flourishes
166 Color Change
167 Double Color Change
168 The Changing Card
169 Self-Cutting Deck
171 A Pretty Cut
171 Pop-Up Card
172 A Bit of Byplay
172 Charlier Cut
173 Acrobatic Aces
177 Part Twqo

177 Part Two

177 XIV. The Reverses
177 First Method
178 Second Method
178 Third Method
179 Fourth Method
180 Reversed Location
181 Tricks with the Reverses
181 Spellbound
183 A Tipsy Trick
185 Double Reverse
186 Mentalivity
188 Mountebank Miracle

190 XV. The Hindu Shufle and other Controls
191 Hindu Shuffle Control
193 Hindu Shuffle Force
194 Hindu Shuffle Glimpse
195 The Step
195 Natural Jog
196 Twelve-Down Riffle
197 Tricks with the Hindu Shuffle
197 All Change Here
200 Ewephindit

201 XVI. The Classic Force
204 One-Hand Force
205 Bottom Force
206 Slide-Out Force
207 Two-Card Force
208 Riffle-Break Force
209 Sliding-Key Force
210 Double-Lift Force
210 Cut Force
211 Tricks with the Force
211 Justice Card Trick
213 Fours of a Kind
214 Pulse Trick

216 XVII. Top and Bottom Changes
216 Top Change
218 The Changing Card
220 Top-Change Byplay
221 Bottom Change
222 Top and Bottom Changes

224 XVIII. Arrangements
225 Tricks with Arrangements
225 The Selective Touch
227 A Future in Cards
228 Jacks Wild
229 Think Stop
231 Deal Away
232 The Educated Cards
234 Reds and Blacks

236 XIX. Routines
236 Routining Card Tricks
240 A Table Routine
242 Card-Discovery Routine
244 Razzle-Dazzle Routine

249 Part Three

249 XX. Platform Tricks
249 Conus Ace Trick
255 Ladies' Looking Glass
260 Everywhere and Nowhere
263 Egyptian Pocket
268 Cards to the Pocket
276 Enlarging and Diminishing Cards
278 Three Cards Across
281 Everybody's Card I
286 Everybody's Card II

289 Index



With this book, anyone can develop a versatile repertoire of first rate card tricks. The authors, both noted authorities on magic, present complete, easy to understand explanations of basic techniques and over 100 complete tricks. More than 120 line cuts make explanations easy to follow, so that even beginners can develop professional-level skill. 121 figures.

First publ. in 1949