Tarr, Bill: Now You See It Now You Don't
"Lessons in Sleight of Hand"
©1976. Bill Tarr, Vintage Books,
illustrated by Barry Ross
softbound, 224 pages, large format,
ISBN-13: 9780394722023
ISBN-10: 0394722027

Comments: Now You See It, Now You Don't is short on words and long on diagrams. Each item is well illustrated with black & white line drawings that clearly show the point being made. The text is minimal, and each move or effect is usually described in one or two pages. This is not a book of routines, but enough tricks are presented so you can see how to apply the basic sleights you are taught. This is a great book to start with if you are interested in manipulative magic.

Contents: (Note: * indicate Tarr's assessment of difficulty, * is easiest, *** are most difficult)


9 Introduction: Bill Tarr
11 How to Use This Book: Be natural, Practice, Presentation, etc.


19 Cards
20 About Cards: terminology
22 Palming (***): Top Palm, Bottom Palm
24 The Pass (***): a classic pass
26 "Say When" Pass (**): easier way to bring card 2nd from top
28 Pass Flourish (*): a flourish that brings selection to top
30 Double Lift (**): four methods briefly described
32 False Shuffle One (*): keep bottom cards undisturbed
33 False Shuffle Two (**): keep top portion undisturbed
34 False Triple Cut (*)
36 Hindu Shuffle (**)
38 Force (**): The Classic Force
40 Riffle Force (**)
42 Glide (**)
43 A Quicky Card Trick (**): card placed into middle of deck jumps to top (Double Lift)
44 Card Transposition (***): card on table transposes with card in pocket
46 Five Card Trick (***): Five cards are counted, three discarded, and still has five cards left. This is repeated.
48 Spelling Trick (**): Spectator spells to his selection
50 Upside Down Card (**): Selection becomes reversed in the deck
52 The Changing Card Trick (**): a wrong choice turns into the right one
54 Three Card Monte (**): brief description of the traditional throw, with a short suggested sequence to build your own routine.

56 Flourishes
58 Riffle Shuffle (*)
59 Weave Shuffle (**)
60 Tips on Fanning
62 Thumb Fan (*)
63 Spring Fan (**)
64 Reverse Fan (*)
65 One Hand Fan (*)
66 One Hand Reverse Fan (**)
67 Diminishing Fan (**): deck seems to shrink in size
68 Twin Fans (**)
69 Giant Fan (**)
70 Peel Away Fan (**)
71 Peel Away Fan in Reverse (**)
72 Fan Away Pack (***): deck vanish after a fan
74 Water Fall (***)
75 Springing the Deck (***)
76 Charlier Pass (*): One handed cut, sometimes used to bring card to top
78 Knuckle Cut (**): One handed cut
80 New Changing Card (***): a color change
82 Card Bits (**): Snap Change, Card Count Flourish, Rising Card Bit, Rising Card Two, Comedy Cut, and Visible Card Change
84 Boomerang Card (***)
85 Card Throwing (**)
86 Card Spreads (**)
88 Back and Front Palm (***)


91 Coins
92 Palming (**)
94 Coin Gimmicks: Briefly described - Shell Coins, Hooked Coin, Double Faced Coins, $1.35 Trick, Coin Wands, Dropper for Single Coin (from safety pin and paper clip)
96 Toss Vanish (**): from hand to hand
98 Flick Vanish (**): as coin is flicked from fingertips into other hand
99 Multiple Coin Vanish (**): while transferred from hand to hand
100 Coin Switch (**): coin switched while tossing to other hand
101 Pocket Vanish (*): with the aid of a handkerchief and coat breast pocket
102 Thumb Palm Vanish (**)
103 Thumb Palm Switch (**)
104 Sleeving (**): Five methods briefly described
107 Rising Coin Trick (**): a coin rises in a glass of water (IT)
108 Coin Roll (***)
109 Coin Production Move (**): from thumb palm to fingertip
110 Impromptu Coin Routine (***): a quick sequence of vanishes and appearances
112 Come Back Coins (***): two in the hand and one in the pocket with coins
114 Coins Through Table (***): no gimmicks
116 Miser's Dream (**): coins grabbed from the air


119 Balls
120 Balls and Ball Gimmicks: types of balls, droppers, shell
122 Palming Balls (**): Classic Palm, Finger Palm, Touch-Palm
124 French Drop (**): vanish
126 Top-of-Fist Vanish (**)
127 Bottom-of-Fist Vanish (**)
128 Palm Vanish (**)
130 Finger Tip Production: (**)
131 Palm Roll Vanish (**)
132 Recoveries: making the object come back such as from your nose, from under hand
134 Ball Acquitment (***): show both hands empty when they actually contain a ball
136 Color Change (***): using two balls
138 Bill Tarr Continuous Ball Production (***)
140 Ball Roll (**): between fingers
141 Elevator (**): ball flourish
142 Basic Multiplying Ball Moves (**): multiplying the balls (shell)
144 Basic Billiard Ball Routine (***): no droppers or props needed other than the basic ball set
146 Shell Color Change (**): move to use during a longer routine
147 Shell Vanish (**): vanishing a ball
148 Basic Sponge Ball Vanish (**): during a transfer
149 Fist Vanish (***): while pushed into fist
150 Mini Sponge Ball Routine (***): in the spectator's hand
152 Cups and Balls (***): Move briefly taught include palming, introducing the ball, vanish, placing under cup, penetrating cups
154 A Cups and Balls Routine (***): a basic routine with a triple large ball climax


157 Thimbles
158 Thumb Palm (**)
159 Thimble Gimmicks: Giant Thimbles, Holders
160 Basic Thimble Vanish (**): while taking with other hand
162 See-Through Vanish (**): as above
164 Push Vanish (*)
165 Thumb Vanish (*)
166 Thimble Hop (*): from one finger to another
167 Pop Thimble Recovery (*): revealing a vanished thimble
168 The Jumping Thimble (**): a flourish


170 Cigarettes and Silks
172 Palming Cigarettes (**)
173 Cigarette Gimmicks: Cigarette Dropper, Tank, Pull, and Thumb Tip
174 Basic Cigarette Vanish (**): while taking with other hand
175 Cigarette Palm Vanish (**): while closing one hand with the other
176 Thumb Tip Vanish (**): using a TT
178 Impromptu Production (**): cigarette is placed in pocket, but another one keeps popping up
180 Mini-Routine (***): vanish, acquitment, and recovery with a lit (or unlit) cigarette
182 Tab Vanish (**)
183 Cigarette Roll (**): between fingers
184 Lit Cigarette Production (***): using a dropper
186 Silks
187 Silk Gimmicks: Handkerchief Ball, Die Tube, Hollow Billiard Ball, Production gimmick
188 Vanishing Knot (*)
189 Instant Knot (**)
190 Untying Silk (**): uses IT
192 Color-Changing Silk (***): using a Dye Tube
194 Pocket Vanish (**): a "sucker" vanish
106 Bare-hand Silk Production (***): using a hollow ball


198 Tricks
200 Torn and Restored Paper (**): tissue paper
202 Torn and Restore Cigarette Paper (***): another approach
204 Bit and Tricks With Matches: penetrating match sticks, jumping matches, flying matches, and pulling out a lit candle
206 Changing Spots (*): with a die
208 Cut and Restored Rope (**)
210 Three Shell Game (***): Basic move taught along with a typical series of moves
212 The Stretching-Thumb Trick (*): optical illusion
213 Upside Down George (*): dollar bill seems to turn upside down without explanation
214 Magical Stunts (*): Bent Spoon illusion, burning sugar cube, rubber pencil illusion
216 Vanishing Salt Shaker (**): in an attempt to get a coin to go through the table, the salt shaker vanishes instead
218 Stretching a Rope (*): a short rope is stretched to many feet


220 Glossary
222 A Few Magical References
224 About the Author
224 About the Illustrator



A new and simple learn-by-picture method that makes it easy for anyone aged twelve and up to perform all the classic sleights just as they are done by the world's greatest professional magicians. Long-time magician Bill Tarr has teamed up with Barry Ross, an illustrator famous for his instructional sports diagrams, for easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, so that with the help of more than 1,500 line drawings that capture each eye-fooling movement, you'll learn everything from simple sleights you can master in minutes to the great classics of magic. With ordinary objects -- a regular deck of cards, a coin from someone's pocket, a few balls of crumpled aluminum foil -- you'll soon be doing ...Card Fanning Springing the Cards from Hand-to-HandThe Lit-Cigarette Trick The Three-Shell Game The Cups and BallsThree-Card MonteThe Cut and Restored Rope The Miser's Dream plus ...Unbelievable Card Tricks Coin and Cigarette Vanishes and dozens and dozens of the world's greatest sleight-of-hand effects!


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