Abraham, R.M.: Diversions and Pastimes A Second Series of Winter Nights Entertainments ©1933 R.M. Abraham, Constable and Company, London Hardcover, 152 pages ©1935 E.P. Dutton & Company, NY Hardcover ©1964 Dover Publications, Inc. Softcover, perfect-bound, 119 pages Tricks and Amusements ©1964 Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN (Dover): 0486211274

1933 Constable Edition Image courtesy WorldofRareBooks.com

Dover Edition Image from Magicref

Comments: From the latest Dover edition: "This Dover edition was first published in 1964 under the title Diversions and Pastimes. It is a revised edition of the work originally published under that title by Constable and Company in 1933."

Contents:

1 Section I: 1 to 66 Easy Problems
2 The Portrait
2 The Bag Of Farthings
2 Largest And Smallest Sum
2 Smith's Widow's Sister
3 Ten Noughts
3 Soldier And His Dog
3 A Paradoxical Wedding
3 Puzzle Punctuation
4 Two Friends
4 A Hectic Week
4 The Fly And The Cyclists
4 The Racehorse
5 Man Dreaming In Church
5 Bottle And Cork
5 Relations
6 Missing Words
6 Long Word
6 Alphabet Sentence
6 What Is It?
6 Translate This
6 Subtraction
6 Cats
7 The Scavenger
7 Chain Welding
7 The Portrait
7 Whiskey And Water
8 A Surprising Permutation
8 Rope And Pulley
8 Train Problem
8 The Lost Sacks
9 Constable Bosseye's Family
9 Motor Hire
9 A Ring Round The Earth
9 The Explorers
10 The Gamblers
10 Riddle By Lewis Carroll
10 Distance Problem
10 The Case Of Oranges
11 The Brick
11 The Bird Fancier
11 The Field
11 The Pensioner
12 The Library
12 Even Number
12 Weights Problem
12 The Eight-Gallon Cask
13 Measuring Problem
13 The Six Lumps Of Sugar
13 Cutting The Linoleum
13 One Hundred
13 One Hundred
14 Which And Why
14 Buying Whiskey
14. The Missionaries At The Ferry
14 Shunting Problem
14 The Manx Cat
15 The Fishermen
15 The Age Of The Jones's
15. Anns Age
15 Missing Words
16 Pawning The Ten-Dollar Postal Money Order
16 Adding Up To 100
16 Escaping Prisoner
16 Clock Face
17 The Patchwork Quilt
17 Selling Eggs

18 Section II: 67 to 100 Not so Easy Problems
19 The Column of Troops
19 Rectangular Field
19 The Cycle Race
20 The Four Fours
20 Ladder Problem
20 The Cannon Balls
20 Clock Problem
20 Mary And Jane
21 Nine Unknowns
21 Linoleum Cutting
21 Insurance
21 A Giddy Revolution
22 The Dog Fanciers
22 The Omnibus
22 The Ladder And Wall
23 Another Ladder
23 Purchase Of Shares
23 Four Cannon Balls
23 Five Cannon Balls
24 Triangle
24 A Fraction
24 Old Crocks Motor Race
24 The Motor Boat.
24 Money Fraction
25 Restoration Of Digits
25 Substitution Of Digits
25 Purchase Of Aeroplanes
26 The Five Casks Of Beer
26 Parcel Post
26 Catching A Horse
27 The Spider On The Floor
27 The Four Goats
27 Folding A Square From A Rectangle
28 Crossed Ladders

29 Section III: 101 to 154 Match and Coin Games
30 The Nine Dots
30 The Sixteen Dots
30 The Sixty-Four Dots
30 Nine Men's-Morris
31 Arrangements Of Counters
31 The Last Of Fifty Counters
31 Spinning A Coin
31 Six Coins In A Ring
32 Turning Over The Dime
32 The Eight-Pointed Star
32 Train Of Pennies
33 Match Squares
33 Match Triangles
33 Matches And Cork
33 Spinning A Half Dollar
33 Heads To Tails
34 Odd Or Even
34 Spinning A Coin
34 The Coin Cross
34 Eight Heads And Eight Tails
34 The Thirty-Two Coins
35 The Fifteen Match Game
35 Revolution Of One Penny Round Another
35 Simple Chess Problem
36 Reversing Numbered Counters
36 Knights' Moves
36 Reversing Six Counters
36 Coin Counting
37 Simple Pawn Game
37 Checkerboard Problem
37 Bridge Of Matches
38 Four Coins
38 The Five Peas
39 Two Pennies Under The Table
39 The Match Multiplying Lever
40 Quarter In The Lake
40 The Balanced Half Dollar
40 Josephus Problem
41 Coins On Elbow
41 How Many Are Left?
41 Electric Shock
42 The Kissing Match
42 Reversing The Match Box
42 Coins In Wine Glass
43 Half Dollars And Fingers
43 Lighting A Cigarette
43 Not Lighting A Cigarette
43 Half Dollar In Tumbler Of Water
44 Blowing A Coin Out Of A Wine Glass
44 Pennies In Tumbler Of Water

45 Section IV: 155 to 194 Strong Man Tricks
46 Scissors Cut Paper
46 Turning Over The Saucer Funny Face
47 Catching A Sheet Of Paper
47 Match-Box Fight
47 Picking Up A Match Box
48 Lighting A Cigarette
48 Picking Up A Cork
48 Round The Broomstick
49 Sun And Earth
49 Pencil And Buttonhole
49 Glass Of Water On The Ceiling
50 Burning A Lump Of Sugar
50 Rubber Band Trick
51 The Five-Knife Bridge
51 Lifting A Spoon
51 Revolving A Glass Of Water
52 Centrifugal Force
52 Lifting A Stool
52 Blowing Over A Big Dictionary
52 Ball Up An Incline
53 Lifting A Pair Of Tongs
53 Reversed Drawing
53 Seven Morning Exercises
54 The Walking Stick
55 Paper And Bottle
55 The Captive Loop
55 One Ball Or Two?
56 One Nose Or Two?
56 Heels Over Head
56 Kissing Your Thumb
56 Breaking Your Fore-Arm
57 Breaking Your Nose
57 Breaking Your Thumb

58 Section V: 195 to 248 Knots and String Games
59 Sailor's Knots
60 Flemish Loop
60 Sheet Bend Or Weaver's Knot
61 Three-Strand Diamond Knot
61 Four-Strand Diamond Knot
61 Timber Rustler's Knot
61 Double Crown Knot
61 Double Carrick Bend
62 Magnus Hitch
62 Multiple Overhand Knot
62 Whipping The End Of A Rope
62 Whipping The End Of A Rope
62 Ornamenting A Ring By Lark's Head Knots
63 Lark's Head Eyelet
63 Sheer Legs Knot
63 Japanese Fancy Knot
63 Button Knot
64 Three-Part Turk's Head
64 Four-Part Turk's Head
64 Japanese Fancy Knot
65 Chinese Flower Knot
65 Making A Twisted Cord
65 Man Rope Knot
65 Grummet Strop Or Quoit Ring
66 Ornamental Knot
66 Chinese Fancy Knots
66 Chinese Basket Knot
67 Chinese Combination Knot
67 Pointing A Rope
68 Three-Strand Flat Plait
68 Five-Strand Flat Plait
68 Seven-Strand Flat Plait
68 Four-Strand Lariat Or Square Plait
69 Six-Strand Half-Round Plait
69 Eight-Strand Lariat Plait
69 Crown Braid
69 Braid Watch Chain
70 Wall Knot
70 Wall And Crown Knot
70 Making A Fancy Cord
71 Cotton Reel Braid
72 String Twisting
72 Multiple Threading A Needle
73 Rings Off A String
73 Finger And Thumb String Release
73 Ring And Handcuffs
74 Knotting A Handkerchief With One Hand
74 Many Knots
75 Ring And String Knot
76 Blowing A Knot On A Handkerchief
76 The Tallow Candles
78 Rope Escape
79 String Release
80 Cut And Restored String

81 Section VI: 249 to 278 Games with Paper
82 Letter Dissection
82 Paper Square
82 Making A Right Angle
82 Paper Compasses
83 Paper Box
83 Five-Pointed Star
83 Hexagon Box
84 True Lovers' Knot
84 Head, Body And Legs
84 Cutting A Square Into Five Squares
85 Folding An Equilateral Triangle
85 Puzzle Triangle
85 Folding A Billet Doux
85 Wind Wheel
86 Pinhole-Illusion
86 Pin Upside Down
86 Card In Envelope
86 Troublewit
87 Crystal Models
87 Pyramid
88 Cube
88 Octahedron
88 Icosahedron
88 Dodecahedron
89 Rhombic Dodecahedron
89 Tetrahexahedron
89 Icosi Tetrahedron
90 Triakisoctahedron
90 Cube And Octahedron
90 Copper Sulphate

91 Section VII: 279 to 319 Miscellaneous Problems
92 The Magnetized Pencil
92 Telling The Time By The Pole Star
93 Three-Card Trick
93 To Find The Numbers On Two Dice Thrown
93 To Find The Numbers On Three Dice
94 To Find How Many Cards Are Left
94 To Give The Result Of A Calculation Without Asking Any Questions
94 Curious Multiplication
95 To Fit Large Cork In A Small Bottle
95 Crossed Out Digit
95 Book Trick
96 Stroboscopic Disc
96 Four-Edge Book
96 Spectrum
97 Transmission Of Sound
97 Sound Along A Plank Of Wood
97 Magic Figure
97 Arabic Numerals
97 Optical Illusion
98 Pythagoras In Dominoes
98 Tower Of Checkers
99 Benham's Colour Top
99 Simple Post-Card Cypher
100 Tanagram
100 The Four Cubes
101 Hexagon Dovetail
101 Interlocked Cards
102 The Triangular Dovetail
103 Kinematograph Dis
104 Finding A Number Thought Of
105 Magic Squares
105 Third-Order Square
105 Magic Square Totals
106 Third-Order Square To Count
107 Fifth-Order Magic Square
107 Super Magic Square
108 Constructing Fifth-Order Squares
108 Seventh-Order Symmetrical Square
109 Symmetrical Square
109 Simple Magic Square
110 Magic Square To Count To Any Given Number

111 Solutions to Easy Problems
116 Solution to Not So Easy Problems
118 Solutions to Match and Coin Games