Sleight of Hand

A classic Victorian manual of legerdemain: palming, coins, cups and balls, handkerchiefs, cards and tricks at the table, then advanced chapters for the serious performer. This scan is the second, greatly enlarged edition of 1885.

What’s inside

1. Palming — the palm proper, finger palm, thumb palm, reverse palm
2. Tricks with coins — passes, changes, the aerial journey, the dancing coin, the marriage
3. Tricks with common objects — misdirection, a Japanese sugar trick, a ring passed onto a wand
4. Tricks with cups and balls — the cups, the balls, the manufactory, patter for the trick
5. Tricks with handkerchiefs — burning a handkerchief, the knot untied by magic, the confectioner handkerchief
6. Chinese tricks — a marble trick, fire-eating, the butterfly trick
7. Tricks at table — a vanishing wineglass, a die trick, magical surgery, knife-swallowing
8. Tricks with cards — the pass, the false shuffle, the change, the travelling card
9. General remarks — the step up from drawing-room to stage: rehearsing, patter, address
10. The table and dress — conjuring tables, traps, side tables, pockets, the vest
11. Sleights and properties for general use — productions from the wand, exchanging articles, the flying ring, magician’s eggs
12. Tricks with cards (stage) — vanishing a pack, ascending cards, the salamander card, a human hen
13. Tricks with handkerchiefs and gloves — the restored handkerchief, sun and moon, the dissolving knots, the elastic glove
14. Tricks with coins (stage) — the invisible flight, the money tube, the multiplying tray, the crystal plateau
15. Miscellaneous — Houdin’s die, the gold-fish trick, the globe, and much more
16. The cornucopian hat — cannon-balls, bonbons and flowers, multiplying balls, birdcages, the flying hat
17. Tricks with watches and live stock — borrowed watches, the target, rabbits, the bran vase
18. Sham mesmerism, clairvoyance, etc. — blindfold feats, imitation second sight, the talking glass, the animated skull
19. Final instructions

Edwin T. Sachs, 1877. Complete 207-page PDF. Free to download: check out at $0 and the file arrives by email and on your order page.

This classic is in the public domain. Scans come from library copies, so expect the odd stain or stamp of an old book.