Stephen+Minch+-+The+Vernon+Chronicles+vol.2.pdf

THE VERNON CHRONICLES VOLUME II

mR~ON

Dai Vernon More Lost Inner Secrets A Tribute To A Master

Written by STEPHEN MINCH Produced by BRUCE CERVON Co-Produced by LOUIS FALANGA Illustrations and Cover Design TOM GAGNON Design and Layout LOUIS FALANGA Pre-Illustrative Photography JAMES PATTON LINDA CERVON ALFONSO ACEITUNO

Published by L & L PUBLISHING Larry Jennings and Louis Falanga

ornER FINE MAGICAL BOOKS by L & L PUBLISHING P.O. Box 100 Tahoma, California 95733 The Commercial Magic of J.c. Wagner Written by Mike Maxwell Louis Falanga's Lake Tahoe Card Magic Written by Mike Maxwell The Classic Magic of Larry Jennings Written by Mike Maxwell Larry Jennings' Neoclassics Written By Stephen Minch The Vernon Chronicles The Lost Inner Secrets Written by Stephen Minch Soon to be released ... The Vernon Chronicles Volume ill Written by Stephen Minch illustrated by Torn Gagnon M.I.N.T. by Edward Marlo Special thanks to: Stephen Falanga for all his help and support, William Bowers for supplying the cover photos and Betty Jane (B.J.) Jennings. Library of Congress Catalog Number 87-82230 FIRST EDmON © Copyright 1988 L & L Publishing and Bruce Cervon, Lake Tahoe, CA All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without the permission of the publishers. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Typesetting - Tahoe Crafts Printing, Kings Beach, CA

Table of Contents Volume II Foreword . .... . . .. ...... .. . .... ............ . ..... .. .. ..... ... ... i Introduction ................................................... iii Author's Introduction ........................................... v Vernonana Portfolio - by Young and Robin ... ...... ............. vii

Chapter One: Lost and Found Department The Challenge Locations: The Bridge . .. . . .. . . .............. ..... . . ...... . ............ 1 The Dual Crimp ........... ....... ... . ....... .. ...... .... .. . 4 The Scrape ... ........ .. ...... .. . ..... ... . .. .. ....... .. .... . 8 The Wallet Punch ...... .... .... ... ..... .... ......... ....... 10 Dual to the Death .................. ... ....................... 14 By Any Other Name .... . . . ...... . ............... ............ 18 The Slap Trick ............................................... 20 Chapter Two: "The Garden of Forking Paths" Aces to Order .... .. .......... ... ..... .. ........ ........ .... . Out of Sight and Mind II ..................................... Four Options ... ....... ..... ................................. Two-Six-Four Royale .........................................

44

Chapter Three: From Silk to Nuts The Tale of the Treasury-Worm ................................ The Daivergent Silk ........ . .............. ..... ...... ... ..... The Twirl Link .............................................. The Threadborne Link ....................................... The Peripatetic Walnuts .. . ................. ..... ........ ... . ..

49 55 71 73 80

27 32 41

Chapter Four: Formal Exchanges The Trick that Cannot be Reconstructed ........ . ............... 89 The Loving Couple .......... ....... .. ............... ........ 94 Al 'n' Dai at the Hop ........................................ 98 A Reblocking of "The Jumping Jack" .......................... 103 Out of Uniform .. . ............ ... ........................... 109 Chapter Five: Card Ciphers The Rendezvous Force ..... .. ..... ... .......... . .... ......... Why am I Here? ............................................ Frisbie Saunders' Location by the Numbers ................... Affinities . ... .. . ........ . .......... .. ..... .... ... ... ... .... . Packet Calculator ............................................

119 122 127 131 134

Chapter Six: Singular Events The Intelligent Leaper ....................................... Driven to the Depths ........................................ The Corsican Climbers ...................................... Punched in the Face .. .... ... . ...... ..... .. . ................ Out of Touch .. .. .. . ... .. . .. ........ .. . . ................... . Sans Index ................................ .. .............. . Vernon on Edward G . Brown's "Poker Hand Mystery" . . . .... .. Aces by Proxy . ..... ..... ............... .... .. . ....... .. .... The Third Color ............................................ Tour Through the Outback .......... .. ... ... ................. The Top-Stock Riffle Reverse . . ..... ... .. .. . .... ........... ... Larry Jennings' Eidetic .... .......... . ..... .... .............. Commanding the Colors .................................... It Stands Alone ............................................. The Silhouette Change ...................................... A Face in the Night .........................................

145 150 155 158 164 166 169 173 180 182 186 188 192 195 199 202

Chapter Seven: Sorted Affairs A Sticky Solution . ......... . ..... . ........... .. . .. . .... ..... It's a Snap .......... .. . ... ...... ... ... ....... . .. ... . .. . . . . . Vernon on Gilbreath . ....................... . ............... Nerves on Edge .............................................

207 210 212 215

Chapter Eight: New Wine from Old Bottles Max Malini's Hypnotic Gaze Divination ....................... Nate Leipzig's Two-Deck Transposition .......... . .. . .. . ...... . Leipzig on the Collins Ace Trick .............................. Henry Christ's Vanish for the Collins Ace Trick ................ Henry Christ's Spell Detector ................................ The Christ Ace Trick ............. . . .. ... ... . ... ........... . .

219 221 224 229 235 242

FOREWORD I can't remember ever being asked to write a foreword to a book and I certainly thank Bruce Cervon for asking me to write this one. DAI VERNON-the greatest individual to ever walk through the world of magic. As this is being written he is approaching his ninety-fourth year. He is quick to tell everyone that he did not get interested in magic until he was seven, so the first seven years were wasted. The other eighty-seven years are history. Dai is truly 'The Man Who Came To Dinner'~ His dear friend Jay Ose called him and told him the crazy Larsen Brothers had opened a Magic Castle in Hollywood. He said there was a lot of room upstairs as all there was at the time was a downstairs bar. He asked Dai to come out and see the place and stay a week or two. The rest is history. Twenty-five years later "The Professor" still hangs out in the library or at the bar at the Magic Castle. When he is not in the library, Dai holds court in the corner of the main bar-always with a pack of cards in his hand-and always working on some new move or effect. He is the most amazing person I have ever known or ever expect to know. A few months ago when he fell and broke his hip, many said-this is it! Not so. He now has to use a cane but he is up and down the Castle stairs with no problem. He does all the wrong things. He smokes cigar after cigar, he eats eggs every day for breakfast and he can drink his scotch with the best of us. Dai has a remarkable memory as those of you who read his Vernon Touch every month in Genii know. He knows names and dates going back over eighty years. Dai has invited everyone to his lOOth birthday party. We will hold it in the Hollywood Bowl. He loved Volume One. I'm sure he will be equally happy with this- Volume Two. Luv ya, Dai. -Bill Larsen

INTRODUCTION by Bruce Cervon The material for this second volume of The Vernon Chronicles was revealed to me by Dai during the same period as was the material in Volume 1. These two volumes and a large portion of Volume 3 contain a body of work I had envisioned as one large book. It is now clear that, when we began, I simply didn't realize how much material I had amassed . The period during which this material was recorded was a very special one for me. It opened my eyes and changed me into a performer. I discovered there is always a better way to do a trick, even if you think you know them all. I don't mean the minor personal changes that each performer makes for himself, so many of which bloat the literature of magic. I mean changes that raise an effect above the trick level; changes that make a trick a great effect. Many of us attempt such changes, but in truth only a handful are real innovators, thinkers and performers. Dai is at the top in this class. Lewis Ganson, who spent a lifetime in magic and knew every great magician of the golden era of close-up, said, "Dai Vernon is the single best natural magician I have ever seen:' I agree wholeheartedly. As a young boy in Akron, Ohio, I became a devoted fan of the Professor, through reading his methods and effects. I had a nearly complete collection of every item Dai had ever worked out. Vernon effects seem to have a mystique that makes them something special. It was this mystique that drew me to him and to California. What I found there far surpassed what I expected: Dai Vernon was even more than I had hoped! At that time the depth of his love for his subject, Magic, was beyond my understanding. I now understand that love more with each passing year. He taught me the greatest of magical lessons-one which has brought me a great deal of pleasure: never be satisfied; simplify and improve; nothing

is ever perfect. Dai has several rules for magicians, which are very important. The last two must be heeded if magic is to be an art. 1. Be natural. (Dr. Elliott)

2. Avoid confusion at all cost. iii

3 . The means of expression can become so exquisite, the effect is lost.

(Leonardo Di Vinci) 4 . Details make for perfection, but perfection is no detail. (Leonardo

Di Vinci)

I only hope that you experience the same excitement and joy I felt when this material was first taught to me.

Bruce Cervon

iv

AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION This second volume of The Vernon Chronicles is designed as a continuation of ideas begun in Volume 1. Therefore, no apologies are tendered for occasional references made to sleights explained in that work. However, as in the previous volume, references have been kept to a minimum, and then only to a few standard works that are commonly available to the magician. An attempt has been made to find an equitable balance designed to serve the reader, while avoiding the wholesale repetition of well-known sleights and concepts, descriptions of which can be readily acquired (and the sources of which have been referenced for quick location). The material that fills this book has again been drawn mainly from the "Castle Notebooks" kept by Bruce Cervon in the mid-1960s, and supplemented by further information provided by Larry Jennings. Again, heartfelt thanks is given to Michael Amrnar, Ron Bauer, John Booth, Steve Freeman, Karl Fulves, Tom Gagnon, Micky Hades, Richard Kaufman, Roger Klause, Harry Lorayne, Jeff Semel, Deane Stern, Byron Walker and Peter Warlock, all of whom provided information that has improved this book. And again I would like to express special appreciation to the following men who kindly reviewed the text, and who contributed corrections and additions that made it better than it was: Conrad C. Bush, Milt Kort, Max Maven, Harry Riser, Michael Skinner, Herb Zarrow; and particularly Faucett Ross, a long-time friend of Mr. Vernon's, and an enthusiastic supporter of this project. Mr. Ross died just months before Volume 1 went to press. His eyesight was failing at the time he reviewed the manuscripts for the first two volumes of the Chronicles; but he read much of the four-hundred pages of typescript with the aid of a magnifying glass, and had his housekeeper read the rest to him. This alone testifies to his deep friendship and dedication.

v

The major part of this volume is made up of card tricks, which will be no surprise to those familiar with Mr. Vernon's predominant love. However, there is one substantial chapter devoted to things other than pasteboard. One chapter in particular is genuinely thrilling to me, as I suspect it will be to others. It contains unrecorded tricks by such departed masters as Max Malini, Nate Leipzig and Henry Christ. This is a time capsule of a sort, stored for decades within the skull of Mr. Vernon. Through the agency of his memory, the tricks of these extraordinary men have been plucked from the voracious maw of time, for the enjoyment of present and future generations. A similar chapter is being prepared for Volume 3 of this work.

Stephen Minch December 31, 1987

vi

VERNONANA Portfolio by

AJ

Y®UNG OJ

Z

Robin Robin, photographer Pamela Young, photographer Los Angeles, California

vii

B

Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine, Dec. 1973 The Magic Circular, Sept. 1958 The Gen, May 1955 The Gen, June 1958 The Gen, May-June 1970 Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine, Sept. 1966 Magical Arts Journal, March 1987 H . The Conjurer, No.8, 1976 I. The New Phoenix, July 9, 1954 J. Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine, April 1963 A. B. C. D. E. F. G.

These are only a few of my mementos of Dai Vernon. Many thanks to my good friends and great photographers, Pam Young and Robin Robin, who took the wonderful photos. Special credit and thanks should go to Bill Bowers, Irene and the "Prez", Bill Larsen; and, of course, Dai's great friend, Faucett Ross. They are responsible for a large amount of this Vernonana, because they love Dai Vernon. - Bruce Cervon viii

Dai Vernon on the cover of various periodicals.

ix

Dai Vernon's 88th Birthday Party Commemorative cards. Four bridge-size decks in a brown case, which has Dai Vernon's silhouette embossed on top; May 14, 1982. Credit: Bill Bowers. Signed presentation card for Commemorative packs. The reverse side of this card contains the photo of Dai Vernon' s props which was used as the jacket for the trade edition of The Vernon Chronides; May 14, 1982. Credit: Bill Bowers.

x

Envelope & Stationery, 1970s, designed by Mickey O'Malley

xi

A

D

A . Invitation to Dai's 88th Birthday Party; May 14, 1982. Credit: Bill Bowers. B. Photo: Given at Dai's 90th Birthday Party, inscribed on plate, " Sincerest thanks for corning to my 90th birthday, June 11th, 1984, Dai Vernon". C. Menu/Program for Dai Vernon's 88th Luncheon, The Variety Arts Center, June 9th, 1982. D . Advance notice card for Dai's 88th Birthday Party; One side advance notice; reverse, full color photo of Dai's props. May 14, 1982. Credit: Bill Bowers.

xii

Dai Vernon Birthday Souvenirs

Xlll

A. B. C. D. E.

Ticket: Dai Vernon's 90th Birthday Party, June 11th, 1984. Balloon: Dai's 88th Birthday Party, May 14, 1982. Matchbook: Surprise Party for Dai, " May 20th, 1978" . Dai Vernon Coins (obverse), "1976, Magic Castle Prestidigitator". Dai Vernon Coins (reverse), "The Vernon Touch, Magic for the Love of It", " VOLCN" (Vernon/O'Malley/Larsen/Cosari/Neilsen). F. Business Card: " The New York Card Expert", parchment paper, New York/Los Angeles 1960s. G. Business Card Case: " Happy 90th, Dai, June 11th, 1984" and facsimile business card, " The New York Card Expert", not parchment paper. H . Business Card: " Sleight Of Hand", New York, 1940s.

xiv

DAI VERNON

Dai Vernon Birthday and Other Souvenirs

xv

B

A

c

D

A. 28 Card Secrets (Latest Revised Edition, Exposing and Expounding), Frank Pickard (ed.), Frank's Magic Shop, Miami, Florida; Frank Pickard edition of Secrets gives Dai Vernon full credit on inside front cover. Circa 1926. "28 Card Tricks That Anyone Can Do". B. Secrets, 1950-1960s, editor is listed as Jack Spiegler. "50 Card Tricks That Anyone Can Do"; Vernon listed among others. C. Secrets, third edition, 414" x 7114", Jules Stuart (ed.), Magnotrix Novelty Corporation, N.Y., copyrighted 1936 (first two editions were not copyrighted) . " 50 Card Tricks That Anyone Can Do"; Vernon listed among others. D. Harry Stanley Presents Dai Vernon European Tour 1955, European lecture notes.

XVI

Several unusual booklets

xvii

A. The Queens Soiree, Louis Tannen single effect release, Ralph Read (ed.), 1945. B. Tom & restored butterfly paper from Dai Vernon's Harlequin act, circa 1937. The butterflys were designed by Dai's good friend, Paul Fox. C. Little Black Book, from "The Zodiac Card Trick", single release; Magic, Inc.; April 1963. D. Hiram Walker Magic Cards, Svengali deck which has been "steamed" to cause them to stick together a la rough and smooth. They are enclosed in a "Century of Progress" box, circa 1933. The instructions state that these cards were prepared by Fred ]. Black. Mr. Black worked at the Hiram Walker Exhibit during the Chicago World's Fair. Dai saw him perform "Black's Stack" (see The Vernon Chronicles, Vol. 3) on top of a barrel to attract a crowd for the Exhibit. Dai, who cut silhouettes at this fair, and Faucett Ross who visited the fair, both knew Fred Black very well. E. Seagram Distillers Corporation Release, single item giveaway, 1937, N.Y., Seagram's Mind Reader; no credit, listed as "a famous magician". Reproduction of this effect is included with the limited edition of More Lost Inner Secrets.

xviii

Miscellaneous effects

xix

THE GHosr

AND MRs. MUIR

UNCi.£ ARNoLO TN Ii:

~GNIFJCli:NT

- .. -

Scripts: Envelope for "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir". "Property of Dai Vernon " . "Mission Impossible", Nov. 20, 1967, The Emerald, by William Read.Woodfield and Allan Balter. Dai did hand inserts . One of the characters who plays a clever cardman uses the name Vernon Miller on page 31. "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir", Aug. 2, 1968; Uncle Arnold the Magnificent. Dai Vernon and Bruce Cervon put together and taught the magic for the show.

xx

Flier for "The Lou Tannen School of Magic", courses in magic by Oai Vernon; one sheet, June 19, 1962. Flier for "The Lou Tannen School of Magic", courses in magic by Oai Vernon; one sheet, Sept. 18, 1962. Advertising folder for ''The Lou Tannen School of Magic", courses in magic by Oai Vernon, 1962.

XXI

Dai Vernon drawings by Guthrie, 1976.

Dai Vernon Silhouette Tie Tack, giveaway for the Japanese Magic Awards, Japan 1986. Credit: Ton Onosaka.

xxii

I.

Dai Vernon Litho by Eric Mason, 1979, sold through "Pabular" .

xxiii

Chapter One: Lost and Found Department

THE CHALLENGE LOCATIONS Over the years Mr. Vernon has developed a number of card locations that meet most or all test conditions: borrowed deck, spectator shuffled, fairest seeming procedures. These challenge locations were not developed for formal performance, but rather to baffle card-trick enthusiasts and fellow magicians in informal circumstances. It is through such elite exhibitions that Mr. Vernon gained a portion of his reputation. Unless one is privy to the extremely subtle methods used, the secrets of these locations defy detection; and Mr. Vernon has built misdirective strategies into the presentations to disguise the means even further. Impromptu feats such as these can secure reputations among discerning gatherings. THE BRIDGE A rudimentary version of the following location was described in one paragraph of Greater Magic (pp. 52-53). As Hilliard then noted, the principle of using a bridge to mark the location of a card was long and well established. However, Mr. Vernon added several embellishments that threw off even the knowledgeable. The following exploitation of the principle has been greatly improved from that published in Hilliard's classic work. If it is possible, borrow a deck. Use your own only if another cannot be

had. Hand the cards to a nearby person. "Take these cards and shuffle them thoroughly, so that there is no possibility of an arrangement or that I could have any knowledge of the order of the cards:' This is the opening move in what will become a game of mental chess. As the presentation proceeds, theory after theory toward possible methods will be eliminated, leading the onlookers down blind alleys of thought far from the true solution. Wait until your helper has finished mixing the cards. Have him table the deck face-down. ''When you were shuffling, it's possible I might have seen one of the cards on the top or bottom of the deck. Cut the cards a few times so that I can't possibly know the position of any card .. . Now the cards are thoroughly mixed. Correct?" The spectator must admit that such is the case. It is important that he commit himself on this point, or he may later incorrectly recall the conditions set and posit some common solution. "So, the card now on top of the deck is a random one. If you like you can cut again:' Again they are made to agree with your statement. 'f\ll right. Now that you've thoroughly shuffled the cards, I want you to peek at the top card of the deck:' You turn away in a gesture of fairness as the spectator notes the top card. Turn back to face the spectator again only after he has finished his task. "Remember-your card is the top card of the pack:' In a very open manner the top third of the deck is cut to the right in preparation for a riffle shuffle. "Now I want you to see that there is no phony business here. I'm going

1

LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

to shuffle the cards:' As the cards are shuffled, the selection is seen to go into the pack. It is definitely not held back on top. Actually it is shuffled to a known position five to eight cards down from the top. This is easily done. The thumbs riffle the cards together honestly until the last few cards of each packet are reached. The number of cards held back by the left thumb, from one to three, must be known . With a little practice one can learn to hold back one or several cards by feel alone. Drop the final card or cards off the right thumb and follow them with the known number of cards from the left thumb. If the number of cards held back is uncertain, they may be counted by releasing them singly; however, with sufficient practice this slightly awkward procedure becomes unnecessary and is best avoided. Mr. Vernon will turn his head, not even looking at the cards as he shuffles, in a further display of utter fairness. Two more shuffles of a similar nature are performed, holding back the top stock with the right thumb and adding a small known number of cards onto it with the left. When the mixing is concluded the selection seems hopelessly lost to the audience, but it is actually at a known location from the top; say seven. The shuffles are executed rapidly and neatly, and are followed by two undercuts. The first undercut is of a special nature : A bridged block of cards is formed as the cut is made. This method of setting a bridge was taught to Mr. Vernon by "Dad" Stevens, and was used to advantage at the gaming tables. The moment the cards are squared after the shuffle, the left thumb lifts the rear edge of the pack about three-quarters of an inch, leaving a block of about ten cards resting on the table. The right thumb, residing at the right rear of the pack, contacts the corner of the tabled block. The second fingertips maintain firm contact with the respective front corners of both deck and bottom block. The right thumb pushes in on the corner of the block with some force, causing the right end of the packet to buckle and bridge. See Figure 1. This convex bridge must be a substantial one. It will not be seen by the spectators, and must be distinct to the performer.

FIGURE 1

2

MORE LOST INNER SECRETS, VOLUME 2

The forging of this bridge is the work of but a moment and is completely hidden by the positions of the hands on the ends of the pack. The instant the bridge has been set the right hand undercuts the bottom block to the top of the deck. This same hand immediately undercuts a similar sized block and slaps it on top. The selection is now roughly centered in the pack, seven cards below the bridged block. The deck is picked up and turned clockwise to bring the unbridged end toward the audience. The cards are perfectly squared and then ribbon spread widely and face-down across the table. This spread is made farther forward than usual, so that a clear view of the inner ends of the cards can be had. The location of the card is now a matter of showmanship only. First the lowermost of the bridged cards must be sighted. If there is any doubt of its position, the spread cards are nudged slightly forward by the tip of the forefinger at the area where the bridge is known to be. This slight adjustment of the spread will be taken as nothing more than a bit of toying. At this point Mr. Vernon makes a show of carefully studying the backs of the cards. It seems that he is looking intently for something. One can almost hear him thinking, pondering the problem. He deftly begins pushing cards slightly with his fingertip, searching. In reality he is counting down in the spread to the selection from the bottom of the bridged section, pushing cards about half an inch to one side as he goes, making sure that they are single. When he reaches the card he knows to be the selection he pushes it forward and out of the spread, saying, "This must be it:' He asks the spectator to name his card, and then turns it face-up with an attitude of certainty. The bridge is removed from the deck during the offbeat, just after the card is turned up. The spread is casually gathered and squared in the hands. The inner end of the pack, which carries the bridge, is grasped between the thumb and fingers of the palm-down right hand and flexed in a concave direction. Both inner corners of the cards are then sprung simultaneously off the thumb and fingers in a manner that seems a mere absent-minded gesture. The pack is tabled and several riffle shuffles are executed, removing any vestige of the bridge. This is one effect that can often profit from a repetition. While several common explanations for the location have been negated during the presentation, people will ponder others that Mr. Vernon has subtly instilled by his close scrutiny of the backs of the cards. When the cards are borrowed, formally marked cards are logically ruled out. Of course, a close examination of the cards can be allowed. However, thoughts of daub, fingerprints and similar ideas may be entertained. Therefore, if Mr. Vernon senses that his spectators are genuinely interested, he offers to repeat the demonstration. During this repetition everyone will watch for evidence previously missed that will support their privately held theories. When such evidence is not

3

LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

found the mystery grows deeper. At the end of the second demonstration Mr. Vernon goes on to something else, leaving his audience without a clue. In circumstances where high audience interest is sustained, another method of location might be performed. The use of an alternative method further obscures the trail. Any of the following locations will serve as a suitable encore. THE DUAL CRIMP

Mr. Vernon's strategy of presentation can be seen in the previous method. Therefore, it will be assumed that a brief suggestion of the patter will suffice as the mechanics of the next methods are described. It should be understood that similar tactics are employed in each.

The active principle in this method is the corner crimp; once again, an old idea. In Greater Magic (pp. 55-56) Hilliard describes Annemann's use of the principle, using one centrally placed crimped card. The possibility of having a card selected that was too remote from this crimped locator caused Jack Merlin to use three crimps, one at center and the other two near the top and bottom of the pack. Mr. Vernon, by shrewdly utilizing only two crimps, both simplified and refined the principle. Borrow the deck and have it thoroughly shuffled and cut. Retrieve it facedown and take it into left-hand dealing grip. The right hand casually grasps the pack from above by the ends. With the left fourth-finger secretly pull down the right inner corners of the two bottom cards. Continue to pull them downward and to the left until a strong corner-crimp is produced (Figure 2).

FIGURE 2

Adjust the pack into overhand shuffle position in the left hand and begin to shuffle by first stripping or milking the top and bottom cards off the pack. Shuffle off roughly one third of the deck onto these cards and throw the balance on top. Continue with a fresh shuffle, shuffling off about a third of the cards and throwing the remainder onto these. This casual shuffle sequence has efficiently placed the two crimps, one approximately one third 4

MORE LOST INNER SECRETS, VOLUME 2

down from the top, and the other roughly one third up from the bottom (Figure 3). The eyes do not turn to the hands for even an instant during this brief mixing of the cards.

FIGURE 3

The face-down deck is now ribbon spread broadly from left to right across the table. Just as with the previous method, this spread should be made farther forward on the table, nearer the spectators, than might normally be done. This is to afford you a clear view of the inner ends of the cards. If the crimps aren't readily visible to you, adjust the spread slightly in their approximate locations by nudging the cards a bit forward with the tip of the forefinger. If the crimps are large enough, you should have no trouble seeing them, even though they lie hidden under the edges of the cards directly above them. See Figure 4. FIGURE 4

Crimps

Ask someone to draw any card they wish about two inches from the spread, but not to remove it completely. This done, request that they just peek at the card from its position in the spread. While they are doing so you count the number of cards from their selection to the closest crimped card. Unless they choose a card very near the top or bottom of the pack, which is most unlikely, their card can lie no farther than seven or eight cards from a crimped key. Often it is much closer; and on occasion they 5

LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

will chose one of the keys, in which case your work is indeed simplified. When the person has peeked at the card, have him push it back flush with the spread; then have the spread neatly gathered up and squared. Instruct him to cut the pack and complete the cut. A simple straight cut is desired here. If there is any suspicion that the spectator might indulge in some more elaborate form of cutting, guide the cut verbally: "Cut the pack into two piles ... and complete the cut. Cut it again. Good. Are you satisfied?" If he is not, further cutting is allowed, the rule being that all cuts are single in nature and an even number of cuts is delivered to the pack. This insures that the relative positions of the crimps and selection are maintained. Ask if the spectator wishes you to find his card with the deck face-up or face-down? It is almost inevitable that the face-down condition is requested, as it seems the more difficult. Actually, it makes no difference. Ribbon spread the deck again, just as before, and visually locate the crimped key that marks the location of the selection. Count silently from the key to the selection, shifting the cards slightly with a fingertip as if you were studying the backs for something. Then push the selection forward and out of the spread, leaving it face-down. Ask for the name of the card. When it is announced, turn it up on the table and sit back with a justified air of assurance. Repetition of this location can enhance the mystery, if the group is receptive. The face-up selection is turned face-down and used to scoop up the spread. Don't bother shuffling or cutting the pack. Merely respread it face-down and have another card pulled forward and peeked. When it has been pushed back into the spread and the cards have been squared and cut, again ask if you should work with the cards face-up or face-down? More times than not, people will request that the deck be turned face-up for the second trial. Since having the cards face-down didn't seem to hinder your success, perhaps having them face-up will. Also, some of the shrewder ones will suspect marks on the backs or possibly an inadvertent crimp in the selection, put there when the card was peeked. Whatever the choice, you can locate the ca_-j successfully. If the face-up condition is demanded, there are several minor changes in procedure. Turn the pack face-up and hold it by the ends in the palm-down right hand. Grasp the inner left corner of the pack firmly between the left thumb, on top, and the side of the curled left forefinger, beneath. Roll this corner of the deck downward over the forefinger. This flexing of the corner will lessen the degree of the two crimps, but does not remove them completely. Figure 5 shows the grip.

6

MORE LOST INNER SECRETS, VOLUME 2

FIGURE 5

This minor adjustment takes but a second and is done casually, almost absent-mindedly, as you talk with the spectator. Immediately ribbon spread the pack from left to right and spot the relevant crimp; it will be openly sticking up, but is not strikingly noticeable to anyone but you. Adjust the spread with the tip of a forefinger as you count from the crimped key to the known position of the selection. As you do this, casually push the card resting just above and to the right of the key over it to hide the crimp. Pause a moment or two when you reach the selection in the spread, as if considering it. Then push it forward. Some may wonder what is to be done with a difficult spectator who insists on choosing a card near the top or bottom of the spread and too far from the relevant key to make counting practical? The simplest course of action is to ask that the selection be completely removed from the spread as it is noted or is shown to others of the group. Then ask that it be replaced "anywhere" in the deck, making a leading but subtle gesture at the center of the spread. Should the spectator resist this suggestion and move to return his card too near the ends of the spread, ask that he place the card deeper in the pack, as it poses no challenge when it is so near the top or bottom. It is unlikely that these provisions will ever be required, but they exist should the need arise . The presentational line of attack should be reasonably clear: Since the deck is borrowed, marked backs are ruled out; as are prearrangements. Since the deck is spectator shuffled, keys also seem out of the question, as the card is drawn from any location in the pack and is not moved from that place. When the red herrings previously noted are also eliminated as possible solutions, all common methods have been dealt with, leaving only a mystery.

7

LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

THE SCRAPE

This method relies on the old, but seldom used, tool of the nail nick. Mr. Vernon usually marks the entire breadth of the card on both ends, to insure that it is easily located. This principle is suited only to used packs. The edges of a fresh deck are too clean to show an edge-scrape reliably. Have the deck shuffled and retrieve it. As it is placed into left-hand dealing position bevel the top of the deck forward, so that it projects over the lower portion at the outer end. Then, in a casual squaring action as you talk, firmly run the nail of the right second-finger from left to right across the outer end of the top card, scraping it from corner to corner. See Figure 6. The beveling of the pack assures that only the end of the top card is marked by the nail.

FIGURE 6

In a further squaring action, turn the deck end for end and rebevel it outward as it settles back into the left hand. Then scrape the newly positioned outer end of the top card just as you did its opposite. Adjust the pack to overhand-shuffle position, undercut about half the cards and begin the shuffle by running four cards onto the marked card. Injog the next and shuffle off. Of course, as all this is done-both squaring and shuffling-you do not look at or seem to pay the least attention to the pack. You are simply toying with it as you talk. Return the deck to dealing position, obtaining a left fourth-finger break beneath the injogged card as this is done. Then classic force the nail-marked card. The reason for holding the break four cards above the card you wish to force, rather than directly over it, as is the more common procedure, is to avoid any tell-tale splitting of the spread caused as you reach the break. If any irregularity in the spread does occur at this point it is passed before the vital card is reached. Such attention to fine detail separates the finished from the common card-handler. 8

MORE LOST INNER SECRETS, VOLUME 2

Have the marked card noted. Fan the deck and ask that the card be replaced at any point. Neatly square the fan and hand the deck to the spectator for shuffling. Insist that he be completely satisfied that his selection has been irretrievably lost. Only then take back the cards. Take the pack by its ends in the left hand, face nearest the palm. Holding the deck with one side tilted toward the spectators, draw attention to it with the disclaimer, "See, there is absolutely no crimp in the pack:' As this is said, you naturally look down at the deck. It is at this moment that you spot the white end of the marked card, wherever it lies. With the right hand shift the pack into left-hand dealing position, quickly and quietly riffling up the inner end to the marked card. Catch a left fourth-finger break over this card. At the same time, you have estimated as closely as possible the depth of the card from the top. '''There is no possible way that I could know where your card is. But I'm going to count down thirty-four cards:' The number named is several less than you have estimated. This underestimate is purposeful, as will soon be seen. Begin dealing fairly and face-up, stud style, counting each card aloud as it is tabled. On the last count, thirty-four in this example, the right thumb digs into the left fourth-finger's break and takes all the cards above it as one. This block is turned face-up and laid on the tabled pile just as the previous single cards have been dealt. Take the top card of those that remain in the left hand face-down into the right, investing this action with some gravity. Look up at the spectator and ask that he name his card. Then turn it up and drop it before him. At times Mr. Vernon concludes this location in a different manner. As the deck is lowered into left-hand dealing position a fourth-finger break is caught below the marked selection. Then, as the deck is turned face-up, the identity of the card is learned through a pivot glimpse: The right hand, which is over the deck, grasps it at the left corners. The left fingers then pull gently down on the right edge of the pack, causing it to revolve on the tips of the right thumb and second finger. As they pull, the left fingertips closely follow the right side of the pack, maintaining contact with it. This is particularly true of the fourth finger. As the deck continues to turn, the tip of the fourth finger presses against the break it holds. When the deck reaches a nearly face-up position, the section of the pack originally above the break is forced to pivot slightly at the inner end as the break closes and the fourth fingertip flattens against the upper card of the lower portion of the pack. This anglejog makes it possible to sight the right inner index of the selection through the arch of the right thumb and forefinger, as shown from the performer's view in Figure 7. The left fingers immediately curl around the right side of the pack and square it.

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LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

FIGURE 7

The cards are now ribbon spread face-up and the location is concluded with "The Trick That Cannot be Explained" from More Inner Secrets of Card Magic (pp. 76-81). What should happen, however, if the force fails? Simply count the cards as they are spread, starting with that immediately below the marked card. When a card is removed and noted, have it returned to the same spot and square the deck. While the ensuant effect may not be as strong as that intended, you have a chosen card at a known distance from a visible key and can bring the trick to a successful conclusion in any number of satisfactory ways.

THE WALLET PUNCH This brilliant and eccentric method was not devised by Mr. Vernon, but rather by an itinerant bar-hustler who worked the ruse for drink money. His name is not known, but he was operating this bar challenge around rnid-1965 in France. Mr. Vernon learned the method and shared it with only a few confidants. It remained a well-kept secret for over twenty years, until Mr. Vernon released it to Jeff Busby for publication in his 1984 Epoptica Yearbook. It is redescribed in these pages not only because it was logged in the Castle Notebooks, but also to add several details that did not appear in Mr. Busby's otherwise admirable treatment. This method genuinely meets the ideal conditions for the perfect challenge-location. The deck may be borrowed; the spectator can shuffle it before, during and after selection, if he desires; and the performer does not touch the pack before the actual location of the card. There is little else can be asked of such a feat. The secret is a "punch". This principle, as applied to card cheating, dates back more than a century. The first published use of a punch to effect a card location appears in Roterberg's 1897 New Era Card Tricks (pp. 76-78) . 10

MORE LOST INNER SECRETS, VOLUME 2

The punch was attached to a sleeve-holdout device or a finger ring. In the version now under discussion, the punch is hidden in the performer's wallet. In the venue of a bar bet, the introduction of the wallet is perfectly natural. The wallet punch is quickly and easily made. The French itinerant merely stuck a thumbtack through one side of his hip-pocket wallet. (There seems no reason that a breast-pocket style wallet cannot be used; but such would have been obviously out of keeping with the appearance and environment of a drink hustler.) The wallet is opened to the main money-compartment and the thumbtack is forced through the outer wall of the compartment from the inside. The tack is placed at the bottom of the compartment and slightly to one side of the spine. When the wallet is folded closed the point of the tack should protrude from the inner bottom corner, as indicated in Figure 8.

\

Point of Tack

FIGURE 8

Once the tack is in position, place some bills in the compartment, with the bill you wish to wager on top of the stack so it may be withdrawn without fumbling. In 1965 our Frenchman used the equivalent of a $5.00 bill. In the 1980s a $10.00 or $20.00 bill might be more appropriate. The wallet, thus prepared, is carried normally in the pants pocket. Here arises a small problem that is not discussed in the original notes. It will be quickly appreciated that carrying the wallet with the tack side inward would be more than mildly uncomfortable. So it must be inserted into the pocket, tack side out. But even then there is a real danger of tearing the clothes or at the very least of snagging the wallet as it is withdrawn from the pocket. If wearing a coat the wallet might be hung over the pocket, half in and half out. However, even this expedient seems unsatisfactory. An obvious solution to the problem is to sheath the point of the tack with a flat disk of cork. This prevents any tearing or catching of the fabric or person. The cork disk can be easily knocked off the tack by the fingers as the wallet is removed from the pocket. 11

LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

With this problem solved we can proceed to the performance of the location. As stated, a borrowed deck may be used. In any case have a spectator shuffle the deck to his full satisfaction. Then have him remove any card he wishes, note it and place it in his outer breast-pocket. This is done, of course, in such a manner that the performer is not allowed the slightest glimpse of the face of the card. . Once the card is in the pocket, the wallet is brought out. The Frenchman would say, "Now look, I'm not a rich man, but I'm willing to give you this $5.00 bill if I fail to find the card you have in your pocket:' His actions emphasized his words: First he would flip open the wallet, remove the $5.00 bill and toss it down on the bar. Then he would dose the wallet and, exactly on the word "card", he would tap the wallet against his prospect's breast pocket. Actually, something more than a light tap is given, as the card in the man's pocket must be penetrated by the point of the tack. A fair amount of pressure can be created with a short snap of the wrist; yet the casual action will look and feel like a simple tap to add emphasis to your words. When the tap is made (Figure 9), the tack should be aimed as accurately as possible at the center of the pocketed card. If the card is missed, the $5.00 is forfeit; and if the punch-mark is too far off center it may be missed when later going through the pack. Also, it will be obvious that this trick should only be performed for a man wearing a coat or jacket. If he is in shirt sleeves the modus operandi will become painfully obvious.

FIGURE 9

With the hook baited, the bite is assured by the following conditions: "To make this as fair as possible, you can shuffle the deck before replacing your card. You can replace the card in the deck anywhere you want-and you can shuffle the deck again before giving it to me. I won't touch the cards until you are done. In fact, I won't even look at the cards when I find yours. I'll hold them behind my back:' Who could resist such a proposition?

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Once the terms of the bet are agreed upon, the gentleman is allowed to do just as suggested. The deck is shuffled, the card returned and the deck shuffled once more. Take the pack for the first time and put it behind your back. Once it is there, turn it face-up. It is now only a matter of going through the cards and brushing each face with the thumb to locate the pin-pricked card. (The punch will always be on the face, because the spectator must pocket his selection back-outward to keep its face hidden.) If the punch has been solidly put into the card, chances are fair that it can be cut to the face, the punch acting like a crimp or bridge. It is a chance worth taking; always give the face-up cards one cut behind your back, using a light touch, before beginning the search. Often enough the first card tried will be the selection.

This is how Mr. Vernon recalls the anonymous hustler's trick. In the bar its psychology is perfect. With some change in presentation it can be adapted to different surroundings. One approach would be to relate the witnessing of this feat in a bar by an unknown itinerant. The mystery was never explained. The location is then performed within the patter frame of recounting what was seen.

Dick Zimmerman, Dai Vernon, Bob Brown, and Jack McMillen, early 19608.

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DUAL TO THE DEATH EFFECT: Someone removes any two cards he likes from a deck he himself has thoroughly shuffled. These cards are remembered and then mixed with eleven others. Precautions are taken that the performer cannot know the identities of any of the thirteen cards in play. Only after the cards have been thoroughly mixed does he quickly examine their faces and make a rearrangement of their order. They are handed back to the spectator and he is asked to eliminate cards with a specific mixing and dealing procedure, until only two remain in his hands. He has the option of carrying out this procedure with the cards either face-up or face-down . Nonetheless, the two cards he finds himself with at the finish are the very two he selected.

METHOD: This is an exceptionally puzzling double location. Mr. Vernon's method of presentation assures this in a cunning manner. The deck is unprepared and may be borrowed. Someone is asked to shuffle it so that any suspicions of arrangements or key cards are eliminated.

"1 want you to remove a card from the deck. 111 tell you what. What is your favorite suit? Now, I don't mean you have to have a favorite suit from last week or last month-just one that strikes your fancy at the moment." The person is allowed to name any suit he wishes. (The reader should be warned that many people-and most magicians-will be unable to resist the obvious pun on "suit" that this question suggests; their answer: gabardine, seersucker, etc. One can either allow the inevitable jest and enjoy it; or spoil the fun by delivering it yourself.) For the sake of explanation, let's assume the person's reply is hearts. 'f\ll right, I want you to look through the deck and take out any heart that is easy for you to remember. Put it face-down on the table so that I can't see it ... Now you have one card that you can remember. There are three suits left. Which is your second favorite?" We will imagine the reply is spades. "Look through the deck and take out a spade then that is easy for you to remember. Put it on top of your first card. "Fine, now deal eleven cards face-down into a pile on the table. Cut the deck if you like, so that I can't possibly know what any of the cards are." When he has done this, take the balance of the pack from him and put it aside. "I'm going to tum my head. When I do I want you to cut these cards anywhere you like and bury your two cards in the middle." Face the spectator again only when this has been accomplished. "Now I want you to cut the cards ... and cut them again ... as often as you like." While this direction sounds perfectly guileless, a small bit of control is exercised during its delivery. It is desirable that the two selections be somewhere near the center of the packet. The previous instructions have subtly guided their placement there, and an even number of cuts will preserve the situation. Therefore, the request to cut the packet and to cut

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it again should be delivered in a manner that suggests the person's freedom to cut as often as he likes, while it secretly molds his actions to the requirements of the method. If it should happen that an odd number of cuts is given the packet, despite this management, a final cut can be made casually when the packet is taken from the spectator for the next sequence. "I'll take the cards from you now. This is the first time I've touched them and it is impossible that I can know what any of them are. You've lost your cards by cutting them among the others. However, your two cards may still be next to each other. I want to make sure they are separated and completely lost; so I'll mix the cards like this:' Here the packet is given a quick underand-down shuffle: The top card is transferred to the bottom of the packet, the next card is dealt onto the table, the third card is ducked under the packet, the fourth is dealt onto the tabled card, etc. This is continued until the stock in the hands has been exhausted and all cards have been dealt onto the tabled pile. As the shuffle is performed it is pointed out that "This method of mixing, as you can see, guarantees that any two cards lying beside each other must be completely separated. But, to make sure, 111 mix them even further:' The packet is picked up and the top six cards are dealt quickly into two rows of three each: The first three are dealt from left to right to form the top row and the fourth, fifth and sixth cards are dealt from left to right below the first three. To learn the following procedure, these cards should be thought of as cards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in just the order they are dealt. See Figure 10. Without a pause, the remaining seven cards are given a fast overhand-shuffle; actually all seven are run singly, reversing their order. These cards are then dealt onto the tabled six in this pattern: 2, 6, 3, 5, 1, 4, 2. Five pairs of cards are formed by this procedure, while the pile at position 2 contains three cards.

III III FIGURE 10

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LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

The packets are immediately gathered, seemingly in as haphazard a fashion as they were formed. However, the gathering pattern follows the dealing pattern: 2, 6, 3, 5, 1, 4. That is, the packet at position 2 is slapped onto that at position 6, these onto 3, etc. While all this mixing looks extremely random, the astonishing fact is that the packet has been restored to its original order. The pattern of dealing and gathering is quickly learned. However, the mixing must be done so that it looks spontaneous, not practiced or premeditated. Done in this manner it appears to be a completely random mixing of the cards. Gathering the packets simultaneously with both hands, the right hand collecting piles 2, 6, 3 and 5 while the left hand places 1 on 4, gives the procedure an even more casual appearance. "Now, for the first time I will look at the cards:' Fan the packet, faces toward you, and consider the cards for a few moments. During this brief inspection adjacent cards conforming to the spectator's choice of suits are sought. In this example one would look for a spade over a heart. Most often there will be only one such pair. However, if chance has created several, the spectator's pair may still be obvious. Recall that during the selection procedure it was urged that cards be chosen that could be easily remembered. Under these circumstances it is not uncommon to find that two like-valued cards have been picked, or some obvious combination of values. If such a clue is not in evidence, an elementary question can solve the problem. Some feature is chosen that distinguishes the pairs under consideration. Perhaps one of them contains a court card. Then, a question such as, ''You chose a court card, didn't you?" is directed at the spectator. His answer will identify the proper pair. A nice touch that Mr. Vernon uses with such "pumping" procedures is to wait until the person begins to answer. He then immediately interrupts the response: "Don't tell me now; I don't want to know anything:' Of course, this caution trails just an instant after the direction of the person's answer becomes evident to the performer. It is also wise to check the bottom and top cards for suit correspondence, just in case the spectator's cutting was eccentric enough to split the chosen pair.

With the proper pair identified, all that remains is to position the two cards, one third from the top of the packet, the other third from the bottom. An efficient way of managing this is to remove all cards but two immediately above the pair and slip these cards between the selections; then the same is done with all cards save two below the lowermost selection. The packet is squared and handed face-down to the spectator. "These cards have been thoroughly mixed and there is no way anyone could know a thing. I want you to take the cards in your own hands. Would you like to deal them face-down or face-up? It makes no difference to me:' It really does not. Should he choose the face-up option, he is told to turn the packet face-up.

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With the cards either face-up or face-down, he is instructed to perform the same under-and-down shuffle he saw performed earlier, stopping only when there are two cards left in his hands. These two cards will be his selections. This location may read like one of that brand of interminable counting and dealing tricks that bores rather than entertains. Such is not the case, however, if the action is kept lively. The patter aids the cause by constantly emphasizing the fairness of the selection and mixing procedures. Possible solutions are eliminated in quick succession. Notice how the somewhat peculiar procedure of the under-and-down shuffle is cleverly explained when it is required. In this context, the unorthodox method of mixing becomes a further condition of seeming fairness. The one clue that is openly given the performer-the suits of the selections-is most often forgotten by the spectators before the conclusion of the trick; particularly if the choice of suits is handled in a nonchalant manner. The final revelation of the cards is a strong one, since it occurs in the spectator's own hands. In all, this is a fine little mystery that defies reconstruction.

Dai Vernon's 87th birthday party; Jeff Semel, Max Maven, Jonathan Neal Brown, Daryl Martinez, Steve Freeman, Bill Bowers, Dai \-ernon, Irene Larsen

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BY ANY OTHER NAME The concept here is an old one. It is the approach that is interesting. There is extreme subtlety in it. It is also a good example of the way Mr. Vernon's mind works. The concept: The pack is arranged into two discrete banks of cards, making it possible to recognize any card or cards removed from one bank and introduced into the other. The earliest conceived and simplest division of the pack was to group the black cards separately from the reds. This is an efficient system, if unsophisticated. In its defense, it must be observed that, if used with intelligence, the red-black setup can still be a powerful tool. Michael Skinner, for one, has proven this point: He often uses this venerable stratagem to fool laymen and well-posted magicians alike. However, when this device became too widely known, someone thought of segregating the odd cards from the even. This was a distinct improvement, for now the faces of the cards could be displayed briefly without the system becoming obvious. The next step in disguising the principle was called "crooks and lines": Cards whose indices had a crook in their design-2s, 3s, 5s, 6s, 9s and jacks-were separated from those with lines. It would take a considerably astute person to recognize this arrangement. However, the Vernon solution to the problem is so simple and so subtle that detection is inconceivable. Having lived during the decades of the Thirties and Forties, when spelling effects were extremely popular, and having done no little work with such effects himself, Mr. Vernon decided to divide the deck into two groups of cards, one that contained only cards the names of which spelled with twelve or thirteen letters, and another that held all those that did not . There are exactly twenty-six cards, half the deck, that spell with twelve or thirteen letters: the ace, two, six and ten of diamonds; the three, seven, eight and queen of clubs; and the threes, fours, fives, sevens, eights, nines, jacks, queens and kings in hearts and spades. Given a familiarity with card spelling, any card removed from one group and inserted into the other can be quickly detected. The task of having a card or cards chosen from one half of the pack and returned to the other half as the deck is spread between the hands is hardly a difficult one. Adding a shuffle or two before and after the selections have been made can greatly increase the mystery. The Laurie Ireland red-black shuffle is still most deceptive: Overhand shuffle in a normal manner until you reach the center of the deck; as the division point between the two banks is neared, run single cards until safely past it; then shuffle off the balance casually. The Zarrow shuffle is another excellent method. Its description can be found in More Inner Secrets of Card Magic (pp. 49-51) and in other texts.

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MORE LOST INNER SECRETS, VOLUME 2

To retain two discrete banks of cards, rather than a full-deck order, the Zarrow shuffle need be done only once. Simply cut off something less than half the pack and shuffle this half under the top few cards. Of course, other false-shuffle methods can be used, at the discretion of the performer. The divided pack has fallen into disuse in recent years, perhaps because it has been so widely exposed. It is hoped that this extremely subtle twist may rekindle interest in the principle.

Classic Vernon : Dai Vernon & Debbie Martel, 1984

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THE SLAP TRICK EFFECT: A card is selected, noted and returned to the pack. The spectator is asked to name any number from one to fifty-two. When the number is spoken the performer gazes intently at the deck for a few seconds, as if he were willing something to happen. Suddenly he slaps the pack with his free hand. This action apparently has the desired effect, for when the chosen number of cards is counted from the top of the deck the selection is found at that very position.

METHOD: This has been one of Mr. Vernon's favorite tricks for years. Brief descriptions of it can be discovered in Dai Vernon: the First California Lecture (p. 2) and Dai \-ernon's Expanded Lecture Notes (pp. 9 and 39). Mr. Vernon has performed it at the Magic Castle hundreds upon hundreds of times. I can recall witnessing it twice, and being totally baffled on both occasions. It is the perfect effect for laymen: fast, simple, direct and astonishing. The plot of having a chosen card appear at any position called for in the pack is an intriguing one. Methods for accomplishing it began appearing in the English literature by 1871 (ref. Frikell and Cremer's The Secret Out, pp. 49-52 and 64-65) and have been published periodically ever since. In the early 1930s Laurie Ireland showed Mr. Vernon his method for the trick, which he eventually published in Ireland's New Card and Coin Manipulation, 1935 (see the entry succinctly titled ''A Most Unusual Experiment in Which a Chosen Card Appears Instantly at any Number in the Deck from 10 to 45': pp. 10-11). Mr. Ireland's method paralleled one used at the time by Mr. Vernon in the context of a spelling trick. Mr. Vernon admired the new application and, with permission, adopted it. What follows is the Vernon treatment of that trick, which embodies several refinements to the Ireland handling. It is begun by having a card freely selected and returned to the pack. That card is then efficiently controlled to a known position near the top of the deck. It can rest anywhere from fifth to tenth down. The position is left to the performer; but he must know the exact location of the card. (Mr. Vernon prefers it to rest tenth from the top.) Any convincing system of riffle or overhand shuffles may be used to reach this end; a pass is another alternative. Each performer will have his own preferred method. It is asked that any number be called, from one to fifty-two. When the number is named it is immediately subtracted from the number at which the selection is known to lie; e.g., if the selection is tenth from the top, and the number called is twenty-five, ten is subtracted from twenty-five, leaving fifteen. Sensing a challenge it is unlikely that any spectator will call for something less than ten, as this would be too close to the top of the pack.

At the time the number is named, Mr. Vernon holds the squared pack

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in his left hand, supported above the palm by the fingertips-thumb on the left edge, forefinger at the front end and the other fingers along the right edge. When the number has been announced, he stares pointedly at the inner end of the pack long enough to give an impression of intense concentration. As he does this he secretly pulls down a group of cards at their right inner corner with the tip of his left fourth-finger. This group is something slightly more than the number just calculated (in the above example, fifteen). The number of cards is estimated, but estimated purposely on the "heavy" side. While it would seem best to be exact, it is more important not to fall short in the estimate. That is why a few more cards are estimated than the calculated number. The little finger takes a break above this estimated packet as the right hand aids in lowering the pack back into left-hand dealing position. Then, when the moment is dramatically right, the right hand slaps the top of the pack and a classic pass is executed under cover of this sudden action. This brings the estimated block to the top. Mr. Vernon's motivation for slapping the pack is provided by his assertion that the selection will be found exactly at the number named. "I1l stake my life on it. I never miss-never miss:' Slap! His right hand hits the deck as physical emphasis of his certainty; and the pass is done. However, as the pass is completed, a left fourth-finger break is caught beneath the block. The selection may now be shown to lie at the chosen number. This is managed as follows: The counting is done cleanly and neatly. The cards are dealt face-up into a pile on the table. Each one is counted aloud as it is dealt. When the number previously calculated is reached, all the remaining cards above the break are taken and dealt as one. There should be no more than three or four cards if the estimation has been anything close to accurate. The left thumb pushes the block off to the right from the extreme left front corner. Light pressure and a little practice will allow the cards to be pushed over as a squared block. This thin packet is grasped at its front corner, between the right thumb, above, and the first two fingers, below. The right hand then turns palm-down with the packet, revolving it end for end and face-up as it is dealt. As the false deal is performed there must be no change in either the rhythm or the style of the dealing. The counting is continued with obvious fairness, and the pace of the deal is slowed to build suspense as the last few cards are taken. When the chosen number is finally reached, the selection is turned up and the trick concluded. This dealing procedure is wonderfully constructed: There is only one false maneuver, and it comes well before the moment when trickery is expected. If the rhythm is not varied, nothing unusual will be observed. As mentioned, the possibility of a number less than ten being called is 21

LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

most unlikely. However, the professional will always have some manner of proceeding with even such unusual requests, should they arise. Mr. Vernon's solution is straightforward. He simply says, 'That's too easy. There's no challenge in that. Give me a larger number." Larry Jennings, when he performs the trick, makes the choice of a low number even less attractive by saying, "Give me any number from one to fifty-two. Some magicians try to restrict your choice by asking for a small number, say from one to ten. But you may name any number you like:' A more physical solution would be to use the same method of false dealing used for larger numbers. In this circumstance no pass is required. Simply subtract two from the number at which the selection lies from the top, fourthfinger count this number of cards and take a break there. Then deal a block two counts before the chosen number is reached. Some will wonder why Mr. Vernon holds the pack at the fingertips during the left fourth-finger's estimation and pull-down? Why not simply leave it in dealing position on the palm? First, the fingertip grip gives a better view of the inner end of the deck; and second, with the deck in dealing grip, the action of the fourth finger causes a visible tension in the thumb and wrist which would not be present in a hand that was genuinely at rest. If standing while performing the trick, Mr. Vernon will create an extra element of misdirection at the time the pass is executed. He looks directly at the spectator and asks that he hold out his open palm as a surface on which the cards can be dealt. As the spectator complies the deck is slapped and the pass performed. This ploy is never used while seated at a table, of course, since there is no logical need to deal cards on a hand when the table is so obviously convenient. It should be understood that the moment of the pass is not fixed. Mr. Vernon on occasion delays the pass until sometime after the right hand's slap, when attention is momentarily diverted from the deck. The timing of the pass must be determined by each performer, judged upon considerations of personal style, expertise with the sleight, and performing circumstances. It should also be mentioned that Mr. Vernon will often simplify the plot even further by eliminating the selection of a card. He merely removes the ace of spades from the pack, shows it to the audience and shuffles it back into the deck (and into the required position). At times he will place the ace face-up in the deck so that its appearance at the selected number is immediate and startling.

Several points of historical interest might be inserted here. Two procedures used in this trick, the block push-off and the fourth-finger count, are today considered standard techniques. These techniques were discovered by Mr. Vernon as a young man. He developed the block push-off after having

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MORE LOST INNER SECRETS, VOLUME 2

watched Max Malini deal two cards as one onto the table. To do this Mr. Malini would pick off the top card, bring it up to his mouth and breathe heavily on its face while talking. When he set this card back onto the pack, the moisture that had condensed on its face would cause it to adhere to the card beneath. The two cards would stick together securely enough to allow Mr. Malini to thumb them off the pack as a single card. Mr. Vernon saw the advantages of being able to deal two or three cards as one and worked out several approaches to the block push-off procedure to accomplish this. This was one of the methods he came to New York with in 1913, and with which he fooled the most knowledgeable. However, it seems that other magicians of the period also developed this technique independently. The Reverend John Booth discovered the principle in the late 1920s and applied it to, among other uses, the false counting of a small packet. It became known for a time as the Booth Six-Card Repeat count, as Mr. Booth used the block push-off to perform the classic Tommy Tucker trick. His presentation for that trick and a method for executing the count (simplified at the request of Dr. Tarbell, to eliminate the push-off action) were published in the Tarbell Course in Magic (see Vol. 3, pp. 223-226, Tannen edition); also More Inner Secrets of Card Magic (pp. 84-85, for Mr. Vernon's handling). It is intriguing to note that, within the same context, the Rev. Booth also established another standard technique, the fourth-finger pull-down. Laurie Ireland developed a form of block push-off, which he used in the context of a false count from the top of the pack. His method, found on pages 8-9 of Ireland's New Card and Coin Manipulation, 1935, is the earliest published description of the principle, and is essentially the same as one Mr. Vernon developed while in Canada. E. G. Brown and Eric C. Lewis are said to have individually contrived the sleight as well. The discovery of the fourth-finger count came about through a mention in an English periodical that J. N. Hofzinser had invented a way to count cards secretly with one hand. Mr. Vernon puzzled over this. Knowing that Hofzinser had, as a youth, aspired to master the violin, Mr. Vernon wondered how a violinist might solve the problem of secretly counting cards? Picturing a violinist's fingers pressing on the strings led Mr. Vernon to the technique of pulling down with the fourth finger on the inner corner of the pack and quietly releasing single cards. He was never able to ascertain if he had solved the secret of Herr Hofzinser's method. It is possible that others may have independently discovered this method of counting, but Mr. Vernon never met or heard of another using the technique previous to him. "The Slap Trick" is a stunning effect because of its sheer simplicity. It is one of Mr. Vernon's favorite tricks. Master it and you will have in your possession a superb piece of card magic.

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ASHBIJkY COLLEG E FiR5T HOCI