Easy Magic Tricks with Rope, Strings, and Handkerchiefs

By Anon Anon

This unusual book, containing an impressive variety of magic tricks, is sure to delight young and old alike. Its 52 pages contain a wealth of anecdote on a variety of tricks and stunts that are guaranteed to liven up your dinner party. Thoroughly recommended reading for the budding magician. Extensively illustrated with black and white drawings and explanatory diagrams. This book contains classic material dating back to the 1900s and before. The content has been carefully selected for its interest and relevance to a modern audience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Sep 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473353572

Book preview

Handkerchiefs

HINDU MAGIC CIRCLE

A Catch Stunt to mix in with one of your rope tricks. Lay a loose circle of rope on the floor around your feet, step slowly out of it, and say, I bet I can make another loop like this, in the Hindu way, so a person can’t step out without touching the magic circle.

The Catch is hardly magic, but it is good for a laugh. Make a lasso slip-knot on the rope, lay it on the floor again, and when your volunteer steps in quickly pull up the rope to his waist and tie it into a tight knot, saying "This is the Hindu way!"

AROUND AND AROUND

This is usually done with an elastic band, but may be done with a small loop of string, a ten-cent-store bracelet, or even a napkin-ring. After you have demonstrated the effect yourself, hand out an elastic to everyone present, and see how amusing it is to watch a group of otherwise intelligent people, crazily twirling their fingers in an attempt to solve the mystery.

Fig. 1 shows how to do the twirling, around and around your two forefingers. Fig. 3 shows how you touch the finger of each hand to the thumb of the other, and the ring drops off.

The Secret is in Fig. 2. Just before touching your finger-tips and thumbs together, close your right forefinger and thumb around the ring, and your left forefinger and thumb around the ring in the same manner. Then touch your hands together so the left forefinger touches the right thumb and the right forefinger touches the left thumb. Spread your fingers apart a trifle without separating them, and the ring or elastic will drop off, as in Fig. 3.

PENCILOOPING

You can make this trick yourself, by fastening a loop into the rubber end of an eraser-pencil, noting that the length of the loop when pulled tight, should be about an inch shorter than the pencil.

The trick is to fasten this pencil to a buttonhole so it is held there by the loop. This would be easy enough if the loop were longer than the pencil; but can you do it with a short loop? You can if you know:

The Secret: The first move is to put the entire loop over the cloth around the buttonhole, pulling the material through the loop. Then put the point of the pencil through the buttonhole, pull the pencil through, and slip the loop off the cloth, as shown in Fig. 3. Learn to do this so quickly that no one will notice the method, and then see who can take the pencil off after you have put it