Leeming, Joseph: Games With Playing Cards and Tricks and Stunts ©1949 Franklin Watts, Inc Hardcover, 224 pages Tricks and Stunts With Playing Cards Plus Games of Solitaire (An abridgement of Games With Playing Cards) ©1949 Gramercy Pub. Co., NY Hardcover, w/dj, 8x10", 107 pages Games and Fun with Playing Cards ©1980 Dover Publishing Softcover, perfect-bound, 5.5x8.5", 184 pages

Dover Edition Image from Magicref

Gramercy Abridged Edition Image courtesy e-Bay seller RedChandler

Comments: This book seems to have come in at least three versions. The first (1949) version was the longest, including a chapter on contact bridge. The second version is one I owned as a child called Tricks and Stunts with Playing Cards (photo on right), which was a shorter excerpt of the original containing just the magic section and solitaire section. The Dover reprint (1980), includes all of the original book without the chapter on bridge. As a young magician, I found this book a lot of fun, because not only did it cover some effective but simple card magic tricks, it also had solitaire and card throwing. The Dover edition provides a lot for the money. The card magic is non-sleight of hand and suitable for beginners.

Contents: (Descriptions only provided for the "magic" portions of the book)

1 How We got Our Pack of Cards: a brief history and some of the associations with particular cards
5 Card Playing Terms and Procedures: such as Following Suit, Trumps

8 20 Solitaires
8 Canfield
11 Klondike
14 Elevens
14 Perpetual Motion
16 Even Up
16 Beehive
18 Gaps
19 Roll Call or Talkative
20 Idle Year
21 Round the Clock
22 Pirate Gold
24 Lazy Boy
25 Auld Lang Syne
26 Grandfather's Clock
28 Idiot's Delight
30 Streets and Alleys
32 Royal Marriage
33 Hidden Cards
35 Fifteens
37 Ten of Clubs

39 12 Games for Two Players
39 Rummy
43 Two-Ten-Jack
45 Fifteen
47 Two-Handed Hearts
47 War
50 Crazy Eights
52 Pounce
53 Casino
59 Stealing the Old Man's Bundle
59 Persian Pasha
60 Rolling Stone
62 Gin Rummy

67 14 Games for Three or Four Players
67 Twenty-Nine
69 Stay Away
70 Frogs In the Pond
72 Authors
73 Go Fish!
75 Last In
76 Donkey
78 Slapjack
79 Snap
80 Yukon
83 Hearts
84 Old Maid
86 Seven-Up or High-Low-Jack
89 Poker

101 12 Games for Large Groups
101 Stop-And-Go
103 Snip-Snap-Snorum
104 Giggle
105 Spade the Gardener
107 The Earl of Coventry
108 My Ship Sails
109 I Doubt It
111 Bango
112 Lottery
114 Animals
115 Concentration
116 Michigan

120 24 Stunts With Cards
120 Tossing Cards Into a Hat: card throwing
121 Magnetizing a Card: static cling
121 The Five Touching Cards: a puzzle
122 An Amusing Card Catch: another puzzle
123 The Six-Card Lift: lift 5 cards with one
123 The Old Army Game: one Jack can't join the Army (why?)
124 A Surprising Card Deal: spectator can't duplicate your deal
125 One Card Under the Other: another puzzle
125 The Master Aim: how to drop cards into a hat
126 To Make Four Fives Equal 16: Four five spots add up to 16...
126 The Thirty-Card Race: a gambling game you always win
127 The One-Two-Three Card Race: another version
127 Making a Card Invisible: another puzzle/gag
128 Standing a Card on Edge: another puzzle
128 The Whispering Queen: using an accomplice
129 You Can't Lose: you predict odd or even
129 Coin on Card Stunt: a clever stunt
130 Card Cross Stunt: a puzzle
131 All In Order: with a stacked deck
131 A Baffling Card Stunt: a mathematical trick
132 What's On Your Mind? spectator always gets three Queens
133 The Elevens Stunt: mathematical puzzle
134 Building Card Castles: physical skill!
135 Spelling Bee: a spelling act with a stacked deck

136 17 Magic Tricks With Cards
136 Telling a Chosen Card: a mathematical trick (can work with any number, not just a card value)
136 The Reversed Card: spectator reverses any card and the magician knows which one
137 Cut the Pack: simple cross cut force
138 The Lie Detector Trick: using a simple force
139 Instantaneous Reversal: the 7 and 8 instantly turn face up in the deck (must be done as a quickie!)
140 Mystic Tappit: the clock trick
141 Sure Way to Find a Chosen Card: the bottom card location
141 Four Ace Production: deck is mixed and placed in his pocket, but magician instantly removes the 4 Aces
142 The Three Friendly Queens: Three Queens are separated into the deck - bottom, top, and middle, yet they all come together
143 The Three-Card Answer: another mathematical trick
143 A Famous Four Ace Trick: the Four Aces are dispersed in the deck, yet they all come together
144 The Great "Stop!" Trick: magician determines selection without touching the deck
145 Magic Card Revelation: magician takes cards out of his pocket that add up to selection and show its value
145 Instant Card Location: Instantly find two cards moved from one half the deck to the other
146 Hit The Deck: a reversed card helps locate the selection
146 The Mahatma Marvel Card Trick: a good location using a simple technique
147 Miracle Spot Revelation: another trick using a mathematical principle

150 25 Puzzles With Cards: More puzzles to figure out using cards; solutions follow
150 Changing the Rows
151 The Add-to-18 Puzzle
152 Three-In-a-Row
152 The Sixteen-Card Puzzle
152 Alternate Cards
152 The Five-Kings Puzzle
153 The Noble Lords and the Commoners
154 Tricky Triangle
155 Face-Up
155 The Star Puzzle
155 The Jealous Kings
156 The Hourglass Puzzle
157 The Eighteen Card Circle
158 A Card Brain-Twister
158 How Can This Be?
159 Card Pick-Up Puzzle
160 Turn Over All But One
160 The Give-And-Take Puzzle
161 Odd or Even?
161 The Twenty-Four Card Puzzle
163 Silly Sam's Pack of Cards
163 The Reverse-Order Puzzle
164 Card Leapfrog Puzzle
165 Put-Them-In-Order Puzzle
166 Ace-Two-Three-Four Puzzle

168 Solutions to Puzzles With Cards
168 Changing the Rows
169 The Add-to-18 Puzzle
169 Three-In-a-Row
170 The Sixteen-Card Puzzle
170 Alternate Cards
171 The Five-Kings Puzzle
171 The Noble Lords and the Commoners
172 Tricky Triangle
172 Face-Up
173 The Star Puzzle
174 The Jealous Kings
174 The Hourglass Puzzle
175 The Eighteen Card Circle
175 A Card Brain-Twister
176 How Can This Be?
177 Card Pick-Up Puzzle
177 Turn Over All But One
178 The Give-And-Take Puzzle
178 Odd or Even?
179 Silly Sam's Pack of Cards
179 The Reverse-Order Puzzle
180 Card Leapfrog Puzzle
181 Put-Them-In-Order Puzzle
181 Ace-Two-Three-Four Puzzle