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Sleight Of Hand
Edwin T. Sachs
 (1885)
In Collection
#4886
10*
Conjuring
Magic tricks
Hardcover 
Sachs, Edwin T.: Sleight of Hand
©1877 1st Ed; L. Upcott Gilll, London, England
Hardcover, approx 400 Pages
©1885 2nd Edition; L. Upcott Gill, Longon,
Hardcover, 399 Pages
©1946 Fleming Book Company
Hardcover, 400 Pages
©1980 reprint, Dover Publications, NY
Softcover, 408 Pages

Comments (Lybrary.com): This is an all time classic with 57 beautiful illustrations. It teaches a broad range of skills with cards, coins, silks, cups and balls.

Comments: There have been several editions of this classic book of manipulative magic. Editions/Reprints include: 2nd Edition by L. Upcott Gill (1885); 3rd Edition by L. Upcott Gill (1890) added a new chapter XIX Some Up to Date Tricks; 4th Edition Revised and Enlarged by Paul Fleming Gemmill (1947); 5th Edition by Magic Limited (1979); Dover Publishers reprint of the 2nd edition (1980); and Pomono Press (2006; not sure what edition this is, but seems to include the new Chapter XIX. Some descriptions mention 57 illustrations, but others mention 131. Also available as an inexpensive download at Lybrary.com (2nd Edition)

Contents:

3 Introduction
5 Part I: Drawing Room Magic

7 General Remarks

8 I Coin Palming
8 First Method the Palm Proper
9 Second Mehthod The Finger Palm
10 Third Method The Thumb Palm
10 Fourth Method the Thumb Grip
11 Fifth Method The Reverse Palm

14 II Tricks with Coins
14 The Traveling Coin: coin vanishes when passed hand to hand
15 The Tourniquet or French Drop
15 Passing a Coin Into a Spectator's Pocket
17 Rubbing a Coin Through a Table
17 Catching a Coin in the Air: Miser's Dream
20 The Magical Transportation of Coins: four coins vanish and are found with others in a hat
21 The Vanishing, Reappearing, and Dancing Coin: in a handkerchief
24 The Nest of Boxes: marked coin found in the center
25 Coin Transposition in a Spectator's Hands
26 Divination With Coins: magician determines which coin was marked while blindfolded
27 The Coins in the Hat: 2nd coin joins the first in a hat
27 The Coin Dissolved in a Glass of Water
30 The Coin in the Bottle: special coin described
34 Tricks with the Reverse Palm: marked coins transpose
36 Sleeving
39 Advice: clearly marking coins, palming coins

40 III Tricks with Common Objects
41 The Travelling Loaf Sugar: Chink-A-Chink with sugar cubes
42 The Flying Bits of Paper: paddle trick with a butter knife
44 The Animated Penknife: examined knife rises from a bottle
45 The Cut and Restored Thread
48 The Ring on the Wand
49 The Ring In the Apple: with borrowed finger ring
50 The Magical Removal of a Ring from a Wand

52 IV Tricks with Cups and Balls
52 The Cups
52 The Basic Sleight
54 Phase One
54 Phase Two
55 Phase Three
56 Phase Four
56 Conclusion: large load
57 Further Advice on presenting the Cups and Balls

59 V Tricks with Handkerchiefs
59 Burning a Handkerchief
61 To Pull a Handkerchief Through the Leg
61 To Untie a Knot by Word of Command
62 To Find Sweetmeats in a Handkerchief: candies found in a hanky
63 To Lengthen a Handkershief: illusion
63 To Appear to Tie a Knot That Will Not Draw Tight
64 To Tie a Knot Instantaneously
65 To Tie a Knot on the Wrist While Holding An End of The Handkerchief in Either Hand

66 VI Chinese Tricks
66 The Chinese Marble Trick: three marbles are placed in mouth, then transferred to one hand, where they vanish and reappear one by one
68 Fire Eating: burning and smoking string in the mouth (ouch!)
69 The Butterfly Trick: paper butterflies fly

71 VII Tricks at Table
71 To Vanish a Glass of Sherry
72 To Vanish a Plate
72 To Pass a Fork or Spoon Through a Tumbler
73 Permeable Plates
74 Changing Dice: numbers change on die as they are turned over
76 To Cut a Person's Arm with a Knife Through the Coat Without Injuring the Cloth: not recommended!
77 The Feast of Corks: Peformer "eats" corks
78 Swallowing a Knife: completely!, and a second method
80 Pushing a Cigarette into the Eye, Ear or Nose

81 VIII Tricks with Cards
82 The Pass
83 The Double Handed Pass
85 Single Handed Passes: Three methods
91 The False Shuffle
93 To Bring a Chosen Card to the Top of the Pack
93 To Cause a Card to Show Itself on the Top of the Pack
94 The Attached Card: all cards scatter except the chosen one or two
94 To Catch Two Cards in the Air Out From the Pack
94 The Congenial Aces: a Four Ace trick
96 The Reversed Card
96 The Traveling Card
97 The Lady's Own Trick: a magician's choice
98 The Mysteriously Changing Cards: using a rapid single handed pass
100 The Change: changing one card for another in full view
100 The Bottom Change
101 The Top Change
102 Third Method
103 The Palm
106 Simple Tricks Performed by Palming
107 The Royal Marriages: variation
108 The Slide
109 The Force: the Classic Force
111 La Carte Generale: magician quickly finds cards selected by multiple audience members
112 The Sympathetic Cards: cards join others under a handkerchief
114 The Permeating Card: spectator is found to be sitting on the card
114 Divination of Thought: visible force
115 To Cause a Card to Appear in Any Position in the Pack Counting Either from the Top or From the Bottom: 5 methods
118 Card-Boxes: gimmicked boxes described with ideas
120 To Throw a Card
121 The Revolution: a table flourish
122 Prepared Cards: cut packs, long and broad cards, pricked cards
124 The Chameleon Card: using gimmicked cards
127 The Traveling Cards: cards travel using the sleeves
128 The Assembly: alike cards assemble, five methods supplied
132 Thought-Reading: Two methods (Cut-Force introduced)
134 A Game at Napoleon: Magician wins (or loses as he pleases) a game with a spectator
137 The Lightning Change: single handed pass
138 Conclusion

141 Part II: Stage Magic

143 IX General Remarks


148 X The Magician's table and Dress
148 Tables, Servantes, and Traps
153 The Conjurer's Dress
154 Introductory Tricks: advice

156 XI Sleights and Properties for General Use
156 Sleights: about
156 To Produce an Egg or Orange From the Wand
159 To Produce Articles from Persons of the Company
159 How to Cause Large-Sized Objects to Seem to Vanish from the Hands
162 To Change an Article
163 To Vanish Handkerchiefs
164 To Vanish a Bird
165 Mesmerizing a Dove
166 To Exchange Borrowed Rings for Dummies
167 How to Show the Hands Empty While Still Containing Coins
168 To Mark a Card in the Course of Performing So as to be able to Recognize it Again
168 To Pass a Handkerchief over the Flame of a Candle Without Burning It
169 The Conjurer's Shuffle: for cards
172 Properties: items needed for stage work
172 The Devil's Handkerchief
172 The Coin Handkerchief
173 The Flyng Ring
174 Magician's eggs
174 Productive Eggs
174 The Coin-Vanishing Tumbler
175 The Magic Plateau

177 XII Tricks with Cards
177 Vanishing a Pack
177 The Egyptian Pocket: fourth card found in spectator's pocket
180 The Missing Link: torn and restored card with matching piece
182 The Ascending Cards: rise from the deck (several methods)
186 The Salamandrine Card: matching half of card found in nest of envelopes
188 The Burnt and Restored Note
191 The Card in the Candle
192 The Obliging Bouquet: cards rise from flowers
194 The Eggs from the Mouth
196 The Hatched Card: using a card wand

198 XIII Tricks with Handkerchiefs and Gloves
198 The Restored Handkerchief
201 The Handkerchief and Sunshade: another variation
202 Sun and Moon: uses white handkerchief with black center, and black hanky with white center
205 The Knots: dissolve, etc.
210 The Decanted Handkerchief: handkerchief tranposes from one decanter to another
212 The Melting Handkerchiefs: and found under a plate
214 The Color-Changing Handkerchiefs: with a gimmick
215 Le Gant De Paris: with a walnut, an Orange, and a Lemon

218 XIV Tricks with Coins
218 The Invisible Transit: coins pass from box to a distant glass one by one with audible clink (requires stage assistant)
222 The Banker: more elaborate Miser's Dream, coin tray explained
227 Hold them Tight!: coins extracted from handkerchief held by spectator
231 The Money Changer: pennies and florins change place in a handkerchief
234 The Crystal Plateau: coins vanish and appear visbilby in a glass stand
235 The Money Producing Candle
237 The Flight: cause five coins to vanish
238 Coin and Worsted Ball Trick: coin found in center of ball of twine

239 XV Miscellaneous Tricks
240 Houdin's Die Trick: large die passes through hats; with variations
243 The Gold Fish Trick: production
246 Gold Fish and Ink Trick: ink changes into bowl of goldfish
248 The Ubiquitous Glass of Water: vanishing and reappearing glass of water, three methods
253 To Invert a Glass of Water: without spilling the water
254 The Shower of Gold: coins produced from tumbler
255 The Egg Bag: a few variations generally descibed, not an in-depth routine
257 Incubation by Magic: Egg to Chick
258 The Production of Eggs from a Handkerchief
261 The Resuscitated Fowl: head cut off and restored on a live bird
262 Kling Klang: egg vanishes from a glass and appears in the hands
264 The Harmless Shot: Magician catches bullets
268 A Bottle of Ginger Beer: bottle vanishes under a cover and appears under another
271 The Flying Plume and Seed: seed to a plume of flowers
273 How to Make and Cook a Pudding in a Hat
274 The Flags of Old England: production of hundreds of flats
275 The Chinese Rings: decent coverage of the effect
279 The Drawer-Box: apparatus explained, and an effect with a wooden cone explained
285 Bacchus' Dovecote: Dove vanishes and appears in bottle
286 The Wine-Drinking Crystal Ball
289 Bacchus' Maypole: wine and ribbons from a single bottle
293 The Accommodating Bottle: inexhaustible Bottle
295 The Mesmeric Suspension Wand: three methods
300 The Magi's Brass Rod: borrowed rings pass onto a rod
301 The Shower of Plumes
303 The Fairy Flower
303 The Preambulating Bottle and Tumbler
306 The Magic Omelet
308 To Pass a Borrowed Ring Inside an Egg
309 The Flying Cage: bird and cage vanish
310 The Great Dictionary Trick: Book test
311 Magical Wine: multiple drinks from one bottle
312 The Sack Trick: escape
313 The Dancing Sailor: cardboard sailor dances
316 The Anti-Gravitation Ball: ball stops on command as it falls on a string
317 To Cause a Stick or Poker to Stand on End

318 XVI The Cornucopian Hat: producing things from a hat
319 The Cannon-Ball: from the hat
321 The Distribution of Candy and Flowers
323 The Shower of Cups
324 Multiplying Balls
325 The Bundle of Firewood
326 Reticules: spring items, dolls, cages, Chinese Lanterns, etc.
329 Destroyed and Recovered Hat

332 XVII Tricks with Watches and Livestock
332 Tricks With Watches
332 Bending a Watch: optical illusion
333 The Cracked Watch-Crystal: and restored
333 The Mortar and Pestle: another destroyed and restored watch
334 The Watch Bag: yet another version
334 The Watch in the Roll: a method of reproducing the watch
335 The Watch Target: a watch is shot at a target and adheres
336 The Watch Frame: another version
338 The Watch on the Spectator's Back
339 The Watch Box: for vanishing
342 Tricks With Livestock
342 Production, Vanish and Reproduction of Rabbits: multiple approaches discussed
345 A Novel Welsh Rabbit: a cake turns into a rabbit
346 The Bird and the Card

349 XVIII Sham Mesmerism, Clairvoyance, Etc.
349 Clairvoyance or Second Sight
349 Second Sight with Cards
350 Other Mental Feats: using papers rather than cards
351 Anti-Spiritualistic Tricks
352 The Mesmerized Poker
353 The Perambulating Waking Stick
354 The Talking Glass
355 The Spirit Bouquet
357 The Slate Trick: Spirit Slates
358 Fiery Hands and Writings: using phosphorus
359 The Electric Touch: spectator feels a slight shock
360 The Animated Skull
361 Final Thoughts

363 XIX Some Up-To-Date Tricks
363 American Indexed Cards: adjusting for American cards
364 Blindfold Divination: magician produces selections from behind his back
366 To Cause Cards to Rise out of a Tumbler
367 Diminishing Cards
369 Trewey's Back Card Palm: color-change with cards
371 Little Finger Slide (Trewey)
372 Reverse Card Palm
375 To Pass a Marked Coin Through a Hat Into a Tumbler
376 Devant's Thimble Palm
378 Production of Flowers

381 XX Final Instructions
381 How to Study
381 Patter
382 The Use of Assistants
383 Substitutes for a Special Table
384 Seating the Audience
385 Printed Programs
385 Music
386 The Prompt Program
386 Concluding Remarks

387 Bibliography
389 Index
Product Details
Edition [2d ed.]
No. of Pages 408
Personal Details
Read It No
Location Magic Library (Home) Shelf T
Condition Fair
Owner Bryan-Keith Taylor
Notes
ANTIQUE MAGIC c1885 SACHS SLEIGHT OF HAND 2nd ED RARE


Originally written in 1877 this volume would usually land in the top 10 list of any magician's library. I have approximated the date based on the 1st and 3rd editions which were 1877 and 1900 respectively, as well as the books that arrived with it which were all from the early 1890s. Highly touted by the likes of Harry Kellar and David Devant (David Devant material was added to the third edition) the book was a large, complete work filled with sleights and props used by 19th Century performers. This
2nd edition is a revised and updated edition as Edwin Sachs believed that much had changed in the decade or so since the release of the first edition. As an example, the popularity of the smaller American playing card with it's rounded corners was addressed in the card section. I have photographed the Table of Contents to give you an idea of the amount and type of material covered in this early edition as well as an example of the line drawings and an ad for Hamley's magic shop in London. The cover is in fair condition and is still attached but has problems like some bubbling of the cloth, small tears at the top and bottom of the spine, and a small stain or two, however the cover is still attached. The interior is in very good condition with the exception of a front end paper which is partially attached, a back page of ads which is loose, but both are complete. All and all I would have to assess the condition as much better than a reader's copy but far from mint condition. The original owner's name (Jack/John Elliot) is written on the front end paper. Any second edition example of this important work is almost impossible to come by in any condition making this a rare find for anyone involved in magic. If you have any questions about the item please email us before you bid. We describe the condition and age of the items to the best of our knowledge and we’ll make every effort to answer your questions as best we can.