THE
MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK,
OR THE
WHOLE ART OF CONJURING.
BEING A
COMPLETE HAND-BOOK OF PARLOR MAGIC,
AND CONTAINING
OVER ONE THOUSAND
OPTICAL, CHEMICAL, MECHANICAL, MAGNETICAL, AND MAGICAL EXPERIMENTS,
AMUSING TRANSMUTATIONS, ASTONISHING SLEIGHTS AND SUBTLETIES,
CELEBRATED CARD DECEPTIONS, INGENIOUS TRICKS WITH NUMBERS,
CURIOUS AND ENTERTAINING PUZZLES, TOGETHER WITH
ALL THE MOST NOTED TRICKS OF MODERN PERFORMERS.
THE WHOLE
ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 500 WOOD CUTS,
AND INTENDED AS A SOURCE OF AMUSEMENT FOR
ONE THOUSAND AND ONE EVENINGS.
NEW YORK:
DICK & FITZGERALD, 18 ANN STREET.
1862.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
DICK & FITZGERALD,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
PREFACE.
The publishers of this interesting volume do not conceive that itrequires an elaborate introduction to the reading public. Some briefremarks, however, may not be inappropriate as a preface to THE MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK,since the "black art," as in lessen lightenedages the practice of all these innocent and interesting feats was termed,is not yet as popularly understood in this country as it is abroad.There is a charm in legerdemain, or sleight of hand, that all, whetheryoung or old, can readily appreciate. There is a mystery in it thatpiques the understanding as well as provokes the curiosity of thespectator. If the trick be executed with address, it excites our admiration;and the simpler it appears, the more it engages our fancy andfascinates our attention. And it is not only when we are mystified inpublic, cajoled in great saloons, and in the presence of crowds, thatthese effects are developed. They are called forth by the performanceseven of some humble artist in the family circle, whose ingenuity ofmind has enabled him to gather up the more available of these practicalpuzzles. It would seem, therefore, a useful thing to place thissource of harmless amusement within the reach of all who can relishits eccentricities, and instead of leaving it in the hands of "professors,"as a pecuniary speculation, to enable the domestic group to master andenjoy it in all its ever-varying phases of novelty and gratification. Todo this is what the publishers propose in the issue of this volume;and they flatter themselves, that if carefully studied, it will prepare theYoung Conjuror to convert the parlor, at any desirable moment, intoa place of genuine entertainment for himself and his companions, andample repay him for the little time and thought he may devote to theacquisition of the necessary skill and dexterity.
Sleight of hand, magic, necromancy, &c., are all terms of artapplicable to the same series of performances. The parlor student,[iv]therefore, once familiar with the general principles upon which these"experiments" are e