Hoffmann, Professor: Tricks with Cards ©1889 Frederick Warne and Co Hardcover, 250 pages

Image courtesy eBay seller Imagi-Inc

Image courtesy eBay seller Imagi-Inc

 Comments (Philippe Noël): A classic book by Professor Hoffmann dedicated to card magic. In many cases, full descriptions of patter are given. Highly recommended. Not to be confused with a later, similarly titled Hoffmann book, which is a shorter extract of Card Tricks from Modern Magic.

Contents:

1 Chapter I: Introduction
1 Introductory

4 Chapter II: Principles Of Sleight Of Hand Applicable To Card Conjuring
4 To Make The Pass With Both Hands
6 Single-Handed Passes N°1
7 Single-Handed Passes N°2
9 Single-Handed Passes N°3
11 To Force A Card
12 To Force A Person To Think Of A Particular Card
13 An Other Method
14 Forcing Packs
15 To Force Three Cards Together
16 To Palm A Card
17 To Palm The Bottom Card Of The Pack
17 To Palm The Top Card With One Hand Only
18 To Get Sight Of A Card
19 To Change A Card (Various Methods)
21 Second Dealing
23 Hellis' Change(N°1) To Change A Given Card Without The Aid Of The Pack
24 Hellis' Change(N°2) To Change Several Cards At Once
25 To Slip A Card
26 False Shuffles (Various Methods)
30 The Bridge
31 The Ruffle
32 The Click
32 To Throw A Card
33 To Spring The Cards From Hand To Hand
34 To Change One Pack For Another
35 Pochettes And Profondes
36 Conjurers' Tables - The Servante
36 The Use Of The Magic Wand

38 Chapter III: Special Cards And Tricks Therewith
38 Long Or Wide Cards
38 Longs And Shorts
39 Biseauté Or Tapering Cards
41 Tricks With Long Cards
43 Tricks With Biseauté Cards
45 The Pocket-Picking Trick
45 Corner Cards
46 Changing Cards
47 The Walking Pip Card
48 Another Form Of Changing Card And Tricks Therewith

52 Chapter IV: Marked Cards And Tricks Therewith
52 To Distinguish The Suit Of Each Card
53 Various Systems Of Card-Marking
55 The Charlier System Of Card-Marking
58 Reading The Cards
60 The Charlier Dial And Method Of Using

68 Chapter V: Card Tricks Of A Simple Character, Not Necessitating Sleight Of Hand
68 Various Methods Of Discovering A Chosen Card
70 Different Modes Of Revealing The Card So Discovered
72 The Alternate Card Trick
75 The Spelling Trick
76 To Name All The Cards Of The Pack In Succession
78 The Whist Trick
79 Two Heaps Of Cards Having Been Placed On The Table, To Predict Which Pack A Spectator Will Choose
81 The Pack Being Divided Into Two Heaps On The Table And A Card Taken From Each Heap And Placed In The Other, To Discover Such Cards
82 The Queens Digging For Diamonds
83 A Row Of Cards Having Been Formed, Face Downwards, To Divine How many Have Been Moved From One End Of The Row To The Other
85 To Make A Card Thought Of By One Person Appear At Such Number In The Pack As An Other Person Shall Name
87 An Other Method
90 The Affectionate Quartette
92 To Discover A Chosen Card By The Throw Of A Pair Of Dice
93 The Whispering Trick
95 The Capital Q
97 To Pick Out A Chosen Card Under A Handkerchief

98 Chapter VI: Card Tricks Without Apparatus And Chiefly Dependent Upon Sleight Of Hand
98 Advice To The Neophyte
100 The Conjurer's Patter
103 The Obedient Aces
107 Conus' Ace Trick
110 The Shower Of Aces
111 To Turn Over The Pack
111 Bertram's Ace Trick
113 Clairvoyance By Touch
116 To Pass A Card Through A Hat
17 The Ladies' Looking-Glass
120 Everybody's Card
122 Cards Judged By Weight And The Multiplication Of Cards
125 Stop!: Three Cards Having Been Drawn By Three Different Persons, To Make Them Appear At Such Numbers In The Pack As The Drawers May Choose
127 The Cards Having Been Freely Shuffled And Cut Into Three Or Four Heaps, To Name The Top Card Of Each Heap
128 Thought Anticipated
129 A Person Having Secretly Thought Of A Card And The Pack Having Been Divided Into Three Heaps, To Declare In Which Of Such Heaps The Card Thought Of Will Be Found
130 To Invite A Person Secretly To Think Of A Card And Before Such Card Is Named To Pick It Out Of The Pack
132 A Card Having Been Thought Of By One Person To Offer The Pack To Another And Cause Him To Draw That Same Card
134 Thought Doubly Anticipated: To Place A Card Thought Of By One Person At Such Position In The Pack As An Other Person Shall Mentally Select

136 Chapter VII: Tricks With Apparatus Or Requiring Special Cards
136 Mechanical Aids To Card Conjuring
137 The Transforming Sevens
140 The Protean Pack
142 The Four Queens Changed To Kings
144 The Cards Passing Up The Sleeve
148 The Diminishing And Dissolving Cards
151 Card-Boxes Of Various Kinds
154 The Card And Bird-Box
156 The Card-Drawer
158 The Card-Table
159 Two Drawn Cards, Placed In Different Boxes, Made To Change Places At Command
160 A Drawn Card, Placed In A Closed Box, Made To Fly Back To The Pack, While Another Takes Its Place In The Box
162 Another Method
163 The Torn Card Trick
166 The Mechanical Torn Card
168 Jumping Cards: To Make Selected Cards Jump Out Of The Pack
171 The Sand Frame
172 Field's Card Frame
174 Conjurers' Pistols
175 The Magic Sword
178 A Chosen Card Caught On The End Of A Walking-Stick
179 The Magic Mirror
182 The Charmed Bullet And Black Cloth Target
185 The China Plate And Flying Cards
186 Importance Of Well-Made Apparatus
187 The Card Catching Plate
189 A Card Found In A Cigar
189 A Card Found In A Candle
191 Money-Producing Cards
192 How To Palm A Coin
194 A Pack Of Cards Changed To A Handkerchief
196 The Black Velvet Banner
198 The Multiplying And Vanishing Cards
 201 The Magic Star And Cabalistic Pointer

204 Chapter VIII: Stage Tricks
204 Conjurers' Tables- Pistons
206 The Fairy Star
210 The Cabalistic Star
211 The Rising Cards (La Houlette): Various Methods
219 The Crystal Houlette
219 The Houlette À La Main
221 Alberti's Method
223 The Wonderful Fan And Enchanted Card
225 The Card And Smoke Trick
227 Alternative Working
228 The Cascade Of Cards
229 The Pillar Of The Magi
231 The Sensation Card Trick: An Experiment In Thought-Reading
237 The Crystal Frame-For The Production Of Cards
238 The Black Velvet Frame
239 The Card In The Candle
241 The Card Bouquet

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