Mussey, Barrows: Magic
©1942 Barrows Mussey, A.S. Barnes & Co. NY
Hardcover, w/dj, 5.5x8.5", 83 pages

Comments: Illustrated with photos of the author's hands by Margaret Hawthorn.

Contents (from book):

3 Chapter I What Makes a Magician?

6 Chapter II Between Courses
6 The Eternal Match: lit match is removed lit and put back in jacket pocket lit
7 The Fireproof Hand: fingers and handkerchief seem immune to burning, and you blow out the match by blowing down your sleeve
9 The Leaping Flame: science magic, lit match held above blown out match lights it; also balancing a match
10 Solid Through Solid: matches held between the thumb and forefinger pass through each other
11 The Mysterious X-Ray Cross: line on the back of the hand vanishes to appear on the palm, making a cross with the line already there
12 Television: lines drawn on a table are erased and appear on your palm
12 Balancing a Glass of Water on Edge: on a tablecloth
13 The Effervescent Sugar: mark made on a lump of sugar appears on spectator's palm
15 The Vanishing Tumbler: while pretending to vanish a coin
16 The Traveling Pellets: two in the hand, one in the pocket routine
17 The Flying Spots: a paddle trick with a table knife and papers
18 The Floating Sugar: a quick stunt with sugar cubes and coffee
19 The Ghost Echo: sound waves are transferred from a fork to a glass
19 The Coin in the Roll: coin is vanished and found in a dinner-roll
21 To Balance a Paper Napkin: stunt
21 The Devilish Napkin-Ring Puzzle: a napkin ring falls from the fingers joined in a loop

23 Chapter III After the Bridge Game
23 The Demon Card-Sharp: magician knows what card cut to, using a new deck
24 The Poker Trick: everyone gets full houses so you deal a new hand for a straight flush
25 The Coincidence (John Mulholland): spectator and magician choose the same card out of red and blue decks
26 The Whispering Queen: The Queen helps the magician discover the identity of three selections
28 The Row of Ten Cards: mathematical card trick
30 Penny Telepathy: four cards dealt to match the date on a coin
32 The Sensitive Finger-Tips: magician determines the bottom card of the deck, uses the glance
33 The Astral Ace: Ace of Diamonds vanishes to be found at the bottom of the deck
33 The Siamese Aces: Two black Aces are separated in the deck yet are dealt out together
34 How to Find Chosen Cards
35 - The Slip Force: with some brief ideas for use
36 - Bridging the Deck
36 - Stepping the Deck
37 - Indicator Card
37 How to Disclose the Chosen Card
37 - Pulling the Card from a Tossed Deck
38 - Counting to the Selection
38 The Rising Cards: no gimmicks
39 The Treacherous Voice (Leopold Figner): magician determines selection while spectator deals cards aloud
41 The Spelling Master: spectator spells to his card selection
42 The Spot Location: a spot card is used to find the number counted to
43 The One-Ahead Gag: naming the top cards of four piles
44 The Cards in the Hat: magician names a card and instantly pulls it from a hat filled with mixed up cards
45 The Piano Trick: an even and odds pile card trick
47 Balancing a Pack of Cards on the Back of Your Hand

48 Chapter IV Coin of the Realm
48 The Flying Coin - First Method: one coin joins the other when the hands are turned over, Han Ping Chien
49 The Flying Coin - Second Method: one hand ends up with three coins, the other just one
50 The Coin Fold: a coin vanish
51 The Barefaced Coin Vanish: coin vanishes from hand to be found in pocket, then again to under the foot
52 The Pass: a false transfer
53 Brazen Coin Vanish: on the spectator's shoulder
54 The Porous Handkerchief: half dollar penetrates handkerchief
54 The Coins on the Elbow: coin catching stunt
55 Right or Left: magician determines in which hand is which of two coins
56 The Warm Coin: magician finds the selected coin
56 The Incombustible Handkerchief: cigarette doesn't burn a handkerchief

57 Chapter V Miscellaneous Parlor Miracles

57 1. String
57 A Rapid Release: a simple escape
58 To Conjure Up a Knot: an instant knot in a rope
58 To Conjure Away a Knot: knot vanishes
59 The Kellar Tie: a rope tie where you can quickly be released and re-tied
60 The Thumb Tie: as above, with the thumbs
60 The Slave Bangle: bracelet is instantly found on rope tied between the hands
61 The Dematerialized Leg: handkerchief through leg
61 The Peramulating String: string when unwound ends up on other finger
62 The Jumping Rubber Band: from fingers to fingers
62 Threading the Needle: threading a loop without letting go
63 The Lasso Trick: knots appear in a tossed rope
64 Two Canes: two canes appear to be separately tied but come untied together
64 The Scissor Trick: a rope puzzle
65 The Snare: a loop of string catches or releases the finger
66 The Snail: a similar puzzle with a an open loop
67 To Make Two Knots at Once: with a string

67 2. Figures
67 The Book Test: mentalist predicts which word will be selected
68 Thoughts Read and Told: messages written on slips of paper are divined
69 The Predicted Sum: mathematical trick
70 Embarrassing Questions (Albert Boni): a date math trick
71 The Canceled Digit: another math prediction
72 Telling a Person's Age: with math
72 The Watch Trick: Spectator taps to clock number he thought of

72 3. This And That
72 The Penetrating Colors: magician determines which crayon was selected
73 The Damnable Dice Puzzle: a stunt puzzle
74 Fading 'Em: spot totals on a pair of dice change
75 The Chinese Paper-Tearing Trick: torn and restored crepe paper
77 The Appearing Handkerchief: a couple of approaches
78 The Lightning Knot: in a handkerchief
79 Driving a Pin Through Your Head: a bizarre effect, with no real harm
79 The Enchanted Thumb: removing your thumb illusion
80 Alexander Herrmann's Turned Vest Trick: vest is reversed even though tied up
81 The Afghan Bands: loops of paper are cut and each has different resulting loops
81 The Christmas Tree: a paper fold
82 The Clinging Cane: a balancing stunt

83 Hail and Farewell - a Reading List: very brief

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Here is a practical and fascinating book which shows you how to master simple and complex conjuring tricks for your own pleasure and the entertainment of your friends. The author stresses the proper presentation of magic stunts and tricks, rather than the mere mechanics. He shows you how to progress from comparatively simpler tricks to those which require diligent study and practice. In the majority of the tricks described, little or no equipment is necessary for their successful presentation.

June Barrows Mussey
(30th March 1910 - 27th July 1985)

Born in Staten Island, New York. Better known as Henry Hay. Inspired in 1921 seeing Howard Thurston show. Learned in 1921 from Christmas gift of Hoffmann's Later Magic. Thence "Hadji Baba", touring the East and mid-West at age 13. Semi-pro in college when he was protégé of John Mulholland at age 19. Translated and co-edited (with Fulton Oursler) Fischer's Illustrated Magic (1931). Ghosted part of Mulholland's Beware Familiar Spirits (1938). In US Marine Corps in Pacific in WW II. Moved to West Germany in 1950 to work as journalist.

Published during World War Two by A.S. Barnes and Company, New York. In red cloth, illustrated with photographs, and containing 83 pages. Some of the items: The Demon Card Sharp; The Poker Trick; The Coincidence; The Whispering Queen; Penny Telepathy; The Sensitive Finger Tips et al.

The book is in Fine condition.