A Magic card is freely selected from a thoroughly shuffled pack and marked. It is shuffled back into the pack around which is placed a rubber band. The magic pack is then returned to the person who drew the card, with the request that hehold it. The magician now takes from his breast pocket a large lettercase or pocketbook, which is securely tiedwith astring. He cuts the string and takes out a sealedenvelope from the book. Tearing off one end of the envelope he asks the one who drew the magical card to put hisfingers into it and take out the contents. When the request is complied with the marked card is brought out. On examining the magic pack it is found that the magic card has left it.
The successful performance of this trick depends, in part, on the skilful palming of the bottom card of the pack. The peculiar arrangement of the pocketbook and the envelope are also essential features of the magic trick. Any letter case or magic pocketbook may be used, provided it is the proper length, which is about four by six inches. In it is placed a sealed envelope, which has one end neatly slit with a sharp knife, at the part AA, shown in Fig. Magic 1. Into this open end is inserted two strips of rather stiff paper, each an inch and a halfwide and fourinches long; twoinches of each going inside and the other twoinches remaining outside. The outside ends are slightly curled outwardly or, better still, each is folded over the side of the book. The book is then securely, but not too tightly, tied around, twice each way, with a string. This cord must be separated at the open end far enough to admit of the card being slipped into the magical envelope. (See Fig. Magic 1.) The pocketbook is kept in the right breast pocket of the coat.
Fig. Magic 1.
Fig. Magic 2.
Fig. Magic 3.
When the drawn card is to be replaced in the magic pack, the magician has it put about the middle and making the "pass" brings it to the bottom. This move he follows with a false shuffle, which leaves the card undisturbed. Taking the magic pack in his lefthand, thethumb on top and the fingersbelow, the magician takes from his vest pocket with his righthand a rubberband, and stretching it over histhumb and the first twofingers, slips it over the magic pack. At the same moment the magical fingers of the lefthand close up and palm the bottomcard, as shown in Fig. Magic 3. The palming of the card and the affixing of the rubber band being made simultaneously, conceal the stealing of the card. The magician now takes the magic pack in his righthand, while his lefthand goes into the breast pocket, and slipping the card between the strips of paper, pushes it down into theenvelope. The strips of paper are then pulled out and left in the pocket, and the cord is properly adjusted. The pocketbook is now brought out; the magic pack is handed to the person who drew the card and he is told to find the card, but fails in his quest. The magician then removes the string from the pocketbook, tears off the open end of the envelope, and requests the one who drew the card to take it out of the envelope and identify it.
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