de Octubre/Friday, October 29 - ZONA HORARIA: UTC/GTM-5

RUSSELL PRUNIER

Here's a torn and restored card trick that, from an audience standpoint, really has rhyme and reason. The card is restored with the sections taped together, which is a lot more logical than the fallacious method wherein the torn pieces unite into a completely restored card. Modern audiences know that a magician is clever rather than supernatural, so why not perform the trick with a natural climax and get credit for being clever. The following, up-to-the-minute version by Russell Prunier is the perfect answer.

The effect is as follows. One card is selected from a shuffled deck and the spectator is asked to tear the card into quarters. An elastic band is now furnished and the spectator snaps it around the torn pieces. You take this packet and hand it to another spectator together with a piece of paper and ask him to wrap up the torn packet. As he starts to do so, you slip out one of the torn pieces and return it to the person who selected the card asking him to hold it for later identification. At this point, and with very little comment, you show a roll of adhesive tape. Just make the remark that the only way to mend torn pieces is with tape, and set the roll down on your table in view of all. Now approach the person holding the tissue wrapped packet and hand him an ashtray or plate. Have him place the packet on the plate and touch a lighted match to it. There is a blinding flash of flame following which the assistant is asked to show everyone what he finds on the plate. He picks up the three pieces of card, but they are now joined together in proper fashion with adhesive tape. These are passed along to the original selector of the card, who matches up the odd comer he is holding and finds that the mended card is actually the one he selected at the start of the trick!!!

The preparation consists of taking a duplicate card and tearing it into quarters. Now take three of these, as in the illustration, and fasten them together with quarter inch tape, one piece on the front and one piece on the back. Fold number 1 over on top of number 2, and bend number 3 underneath. The separate piece is now laid face out on top of side number 3. (See second illustration.) Snap a rubber band around all, and place the packet in your left trousers' pocket. Have a piece of flash paper about four inches square in your right coat pocket, and some matches, elastic band, and a roll of adhesive tape handy. Now you're all set.

Force the duplicate of the torn card on a spectator, and ask him to tear it into quarters, and to secure them in a packet with the rubber band you furnish. While this is being done, palm the duplicate, taped packet from your trousers' pocket with your left hand. Take the packet of torn pieces from the spectator with your right hand, turn slightly to your left, and pretend to place the spectator's packet into your left hand. Actually, you palm the spectator's packet in your right hand, and simultaneously open your left hand letting the duplicate packet be seen. Hand this to another spectator, while your right hand reaches into your side coat pocket, disposes of the spectator's pieces, and brings forth the piece of flash paper. Hand this to the second spectator who is holding the elastic bound packet and then, merely as an afterthought, slide the loose index corner out of the packet and hand it to the first spectator. You now introduce the roll of adhesive, as already mentioned, and set it on the table. The second spectator wraps up the packet in the piece of flash paper, sets it on the ashtray and ignites it. There is a resultant flash as the paper disappears, leaving the packet of torn pieces on the ashtray. He picks up the packet, unwraps the elastic band and finds — the torn pieces joined together with the pieces of adhesive. The first spectator now matches up the corner piece he is holding which completes the card, and you get credit for really doing a clever bit of conjuring!

COLOROTO

DR. ROTHBART

This trick is one which is far superior to most closing tricks and, because of its apparent frankness, has the distinct advantage of making friends with the audience, even though you turn the tables on them at the finish.

The effect consists of explaining to the audience that tricks with playing cards can be traced back to books of some 300 years ago. Indeed one of the first of these was the then miraculous feat of making one card change into another.

You proceed to demonstrate this as you patter along, color changing the face card of the pack once or twice. You then explain how magic has improved through the ages, and state that the changing of one card's face, or denomination, is today considered of little moment by the modern magician. Today is the age of mass production and effort, and magicians have had to keep up with the times. For example, you call attention to the fact

that the deck you have been using is blue backed. This you hand to a spectator with the request that he remove four cards of the same value, suggesting that he take out the Jacks, as they are knaves and shouldn't be left at large anyway. The remainder of the deck is then returned to you and laid aside. You now pick up another deck with red backs, fan it, and pick out four cards before setting this deck aside also.

You fan the four cards thus removed and show them as four Sevens. You also show the backs of them to be red, as they should be. The fan of four cards is now closed, and the packet held in your left hand face out as in the regular color change. Passing your right hand over the face card of the packet it is seen to change to a Jack of the same suit. The packet is immediately fanned again and the four cards are all seen to be Jacks. When the fan is turned over, the backs have changed to blue! To conclude the little story, you close up the fan, drop the packet on top of the blue backed deck and remark, "And that's how a magician takes care of difficulties today. No matter how many cards are involved, he can make both the faces and backs of the cards all change at one and the same time. Thus he keeps his deck complete."

The answer to this beautiful bit of deception is roughened cards. The preparation of the cards is shown in the accompanying illustration, which indicates how and where the roughing fluid is applied. Note that both the backs and faces are treated at either ends in the order designated in the diagram.

These eight cards appear to be but four due to the adhesive quality of the roughing fluid and are, of course, the "four" cards removed from the red deck for the trick. Before fanning them, they are squared face down in your left hand. The right hand then picks them up with the thumb on the face side and the index finger at the back. In this position the four are fanned and shown as four Sevens while the backs show as red. You need have no worry about fanning them, for treated as described they will fan perfectly when spread with one hand in the manner explained. However, it is a help, when learning where to grasp them for the first fan, to mark the proper end with a pencil.

Thus four Sevens are shown in the first fan and, when turned around, the backs are seen to be red, as they should be. Everything then is in order, so far as the audience is concerned. The fan is now closed and held face outwards in the left hand ready for the regular color change sleight. The face card, a Seven, is changed into a Jack by palming off the rear Jack in the right hand and depositing it on the face card of the packet, as the right hand passes in front of it. This is the elementary color change.

Now the face card is a Jack. The right hand takes the packet from the left by grasping it at the far left side and thus reversing the packet (turning it end for end) as it is exhibited. The packet is now fanned once again, with thumb in front and fingers behind, and all the four cards are seen to be Jacks. The roughing treatment plus the change of one card from the back of the packet to the front takes care of this problem. And when the fan is turned around the backs of the cards are seen to be blue!

You can easily obtain roughing fluid from your magic dealer today, and if you do not care to prepare the cards yourself the dealer will be glad to do it for you. One word of caution though. In using the fluid be sure to apply it with a small wad of cotton in a single stroke across the surface of the card. Try not to deposit more than a very thin layer of fluid on any one spot. Then let the cards dry for a day or so before using them. Do not, under any circumstances, try to match up the pairs until all the cards are perfectly dry. Editor's Note: About the time the above effect appeared in "The Jinx," Dr. Rothbart sent a similar trick to Max Holden. The effect, as I remember it, was most effective and depended upon the principle just explained. You counted off two packets of four cards each, one from a red deck and one from a blue deck. Both of these were fanned, one in each hand, and showed four Aces in the right hand fan, and four Kings in the left hand fan. The fans were closed for a moment, and when refanned, the Aces and Kings had changed places as well as the colors of the backs of the cards. The effect, as you can well appreciate, was truly magical although effortless on your part. Knowing the principle employed, you can easily figure it out. You will, of course, have to lay one packet down temporarily under some pretext or another so that you can turn the packets end for end. Dr. Rothbart claimed that he had been using roughing fluid for a great many years, and it may well be that he was one of the first persons, if not the first, to employ it.