Ripley, G. Sherman: Magic for Boys ©1954 National Board of Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Association Press, NY Hardcover, w/dj, 183 pages

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Comments: Effects range from quick basic descriptions, to descriptions of commercial props, to some routines fully described with patter.

Contents:

1 Chapter 1 Magic Is Fun
2 A Great Hobby
2 A Service to Others
3 Benefit Shows
3 Magic - Fun for All
3 Where to Present Magic
4 Importance of the Right Program
4 Professional Apparatus
4 Meeting Any Situation
5 Problem of Physical Arrangements
6 Making the Best of It
6 Lights—Music—Curtain!

7 Chapter 2 Some Magical Secrets
7 Misdirection
8 Your Magic Wand
9 Art of Palming
11 Simple Passes
11 Finger Palm
12 Saying the Magic Word
1 Your Pockets and How to Use Them
13 Magical Tables and Accessories: servantes
15 Patter Versus Chatter
16 Using Stories
16 Use of Music
17 Dealing with Assistants
17 Some Magical Suggestions

19 Chapter 3 Magic With Familiar Objects
19 Washers from Cord
20 Flight of Postage Stamps: stamps vanish from cone to appear I previously empty book
20 Scissors from Cord
22 Fingertip Paper Tearing: torn and restored paper strip
23 Chinese Cash Release
23 Dancing Skeletons: paper tear
25 Color-Changing Knife: brief explanation of the working, no routine
25 Afghan Bands
26 Match to Flower: commercial product
26 Vanishing Coke Bottle: commercial product
26 Two Paper Cups: water poured into one cup vanishes to appeaer in the other, requires a table well
27 Thimble Magic: intro
28 Traveling Thimble
28 Flash Thimble Production
28 The Torn Dollar: dollar vanishes to be found in envelope with matching torn corner
29 The Magnetic Wand or Fan: floats from the hand, using IT
30 Washington Turns Over: Bill flips upside down while folding
30 Hard Money: breaking a pencil with a dollar bill
30 He Takes Your Shirt!: comedy with pre-arranged assistant
31 Production of a Wand or Large Pencil: from purse
31 Magic with Coins
31 - Palming Coins: what they are
31 - Hold My Wrist!: coin vanish and re-appearance
32 - The Impossible Vanish: using a pull
32 - You're Getting Old: grabbing a coin from the palm stunt
32 - Coin Through Silk
32 - The Nest of Boxes: vanished coin in nest of boxes

36 Chapter 4 After-Dinner Magic
37 Hole in the Table: a cracker or sugar cube through the table
37 Another Hole: how to repeat
37 Two After-Dinner Puzzles
38 Restored Napkin Explained: sucker effect
39 Rising Matchbox: on back of hand
39 Goblet of Water: appearance
41 The Lighted Match: commercial effect
41 Vanishing Saltcellar: salt shaker vanishes while trying to pass a coin through the table
42 Eleven Fingers: puzzle
42 Floating Sugar: sugar cube floats in coffee and sinks on command
43 Vanishing Salt: from shaker, commercial product
44 Magnetic Dinner Knife: clings to the fingers
45 Solid through Solid: lumps of sugar pass from one corner of a napkin to others
46 Paper Doilies: paper fold and cut
47 The Jumping Rabbit: napkin fold
47 The Mysterious Chinese Coins: a coin joins others in the hand, then coins multiply
49 The Acrobatic Rubber Band: jumps between fingers
49 Coin under Napkin: coin vanishes with aid of an accomplice

50 Chapter 5 Silken Sorcery
51 Silk Gadgets
51 - The Silk Vanisher or Pull
51 - The Hollow Ball
51 - The Mirror Glass
51 - The Silk Cabby
53 - The Changing Bag
53 Silk Productions and Vanishes
54 Hollow Finger
54 Hollow Ball
54 From the Empty Pocket
54 From a Matchbox
55 From Your Clothing
55 From the Hand
55 A Visible Production
55 Mirror Glass
56 Squared Circle: apparatus described
57 Phantom Tube
57 Double Bag or Cone
57 Hollow Ball
57 Into Your Pocket
58 How to Force a Color: two methods
58 Trick Knots:
58 - The One-Hand Tie
58 - The Gravity Knot
61 - The Multiplying Knot
61 - The Blow-Away Knot
61 - The Slip Knot
63 - The Friction Knot
63 “20th Century” Silks - Variations
64 Silk to Ball, Egg or Lemon
64 The Fake Egg Explanation
65 Silk to Confetti
65 Blendo
65 Patriotic Silks
66 Goldin’s Color Change: commercial effect
66 The Snake Silk: silk unties itself
67 Silk into Envelopes: chosen silk vanishes and is found in nest of envelopes
68 Any Color Called For: using a squared circle
68 Traveling Silk: combination feature
69 Drumhead Cup: making a drumhead tube with a paper cup
69 Story of the Three Little Pigs: full 20th Century” Silks routine
71 Changing Bag and Upper Pocket: for another 20th Century effect
71 Mohammedan Prayer Rugs: the Sympathetic Silks, full routine
74 Flash Finale: rainbow silk finale
74 Dyed Silks: white silks become colored
74 Japanese Box: production using commercial box
75 The Mutilated Handkerchief: as published in Genii

78 Chapter 6 Ball Tricks
78 Ball Sleights
79 Palming
79 Some Ball Passes
79 - French Drop
79 - Fist Pass
79 - Throw Pass
79 - Drop Pass
81 Ball Changeovers
81 - Cross-Body Changeover
81 - Vertical Changeover
81 Ball Productions and Vanishes
82 Color-Changing Ball
83 Another Color-Changing Ball
83 Color-Change with Shell
83 Diminishing Ball
83 The Multiplying Ball Trick: basic routine
85 Trick Ball Gadgets
85 Ball Through Silk
85 Patriotic Balls: 3 red, 3 blue, and 3 white balls become evenly mixed
86 Ball through the Knees
86 Balance on Fan
88 Balance on Parasol
88 Silk into Ball into Silk
88 Vanish from Glass: using special glass
89 Ball through Silk Color-Change
89 Ball through Silk

90 Chapter 7 With Ropes And Ribbons
90 The Magic Jumping Rope: cut and restored
91 Restored Rope: another version
91 Cut-and-Restored Necktie: using a stooge
92 Oriental Ribbon: cut and restored
93 Guillotine Cords: cords through the neck with variation
93 Chinese Tapes: burnt and restored
96 Hindu Turban: cut and restored
98 Magic Block: wooden block penetrates rope
100 Walking through a Ribbon

101 Chapter 8 Magic For Platform And Stage
102 About Magical Apparatus
102 Vanishing Wand: solid wand is torn up
102 Burned and Restored Paper
103 Confetti and Egg: Egg transposes with confetti in a glass
103 Patriotic Papers: white paper is burnt and found inside red and blue papers rolled up by the spectator
106 A Siamese Snowstorm: strips of paper fanned turn into a mass of confetti
106 Chinese Foo Can: commercial prop described
106 Oriental Ball on Rope: ball rolls along a rope without falling off
107 Magic Soda Fountain: clear water poured into different glasses changes different colors
107 Simplified Sun and Moon Trick: a full silk routine
110 Laundry Ticket: torn and restored
110 The Max Sterling Egg: commercial prop used to create an egg from tissue paper
112 Beads of India: beads and ribbon dropped into a glass become threaded
112 Milko—Improved Version: glass filled with milk and milk vanishes, with sucker explanation, full routine
116 Milkobox: a box you can make
117 The Milk Pitcher: commercial prop described with some applications
117 Bottle and Glass: presentation for the passe bottle and glass effect
120 Bottle, Silk, and Rice: combination trick
121 Chinese Rice Bowls: standard disc method
122 Egyptian Hand Productions: commercial effect by Lew Smith
126 Productions: quick intro
126 Recommended Apparatus: brief descriptions of commercial products
127 - The Chinese Rings
127 - Grant's Talking Skill
127 - The Phenomenal Hand - Egyptian Hand
127 - Rope-Cutting Routines
127 - Zombie
127 - The Hindu Clock
127 - The Chopper
127 - Water to Ink
127 - The Oriental Wands
128 - The Educated Duck

129 Chapter 9 Reading Your Mind
130 Telephone Telepathy
130 X-ray Mind: performer reveals which card is in three envelopes
131 A Book Test
132 Telephone Book Test
132 What Am I Thinking?: performer determines which of three cards a spectator thought of
133 Forcing Numbers: some suggestions
133 Sensitive Fingers: performer can remove four 6 cards from pocket by feel
133 Is It This?: simple two person code
134 The Domino Trick: performer predicts end dominoes in a game
134 Living or Dead: test using the center tear
135 Dated Coin: telling a coin date by feel
135 Christmas Candles: performer knows which candle placed in a tube
136 Spirit Slate: flap slate described
136 Message Reading: the one ahead principle
137 Mental Pictures: another two person code

139 Chapter 10 Productions
139 Squared Circle: reference to description under Silken Sorcery
139 The Easter Basket: how to make a production basket
139 Producing a Rabbit: general advice and suggestions for producing a live bunny
143 Dr Chang Flower Production: flower production from a Chinese hat
145 Coolie Hat: another version you can make
146 Japanese Box Production: box construction and use described
148 The Phantom Tube: metal tube briefly described
148 Production Apparatus: brief descriptions of commercial apparatus
148 - The Dove Pan
149 - The Stack of Bowls
149 - The Growth of Flowers
149 - The Grant Lota
150 - Riedel's Chinese Gong

151 Chapter 11 Campfire Magic
151 Time Your Show
152 Clothing Problems
152 Tables and Accessories
152 Importance of Lighting
153 Other Problems
153 Some Good Opening Effects: suggestions
153 - The Magic Firebowl
155 - Lighting the Campfire by Magic: chemical magic
155 - The Vanishing Wand
155 - The Guillotine Cord
155 - Silk Production, Hollow Finger
156 Main Items: trick suggestions for the main feature
156 - The Chinese Tapes
156 - The Hindu Turban
156 - Indian Mind Reading
156 - The Vanishing Coke Bottle
156 - He Takes Your Shirt
157 - Cut and Restored Rope and Necktie
157 - The Oriental Wands
157 - Chinese Laundry Ticket
157 - Fake Egg Explanation
157 - The Multiplying Ball Trick
157 - The 20th Century Silks
157 - The Snake Silk
157 - The Talking Skull
158 - Walking Through a Ribbon
158 Finales: suggestions for tricks to end your show
158 - Silk to Confetti
158 - Squared Circle Production
158 - Campfire Conclusion

159 Chapter 12 Just For Laughs
160 Proper Introduction: for spectators
160 The Thinker
160 That Which We Call a Rose
160 Necktie: using a stooge spectator
161 Baking a Cake: in stooge's hat
161 Egg in Pocket: confetti egg
161 Fly Trap
161 Reinforcement
161 The Watering Pot: running gag
162 Hot Seat
162 The Marksman
162 Big Hand
162 The Hard Way
162 Don’t Worry: with the hand chopper
164 Button, Button
164 Balloon Stunt: game
164 It Bounces: handkerchief
164 Color Blind: magician mis-names colors
164 Egg to Lemon
164 Anticlimax: finger gag
165 Skunk and Flower: spring skunk
165 Too Much Milk: using a milk pitcher
165 Real Magic: vanish revealed
165 “Now?” : assistant gag
165 Time Flies: word gag with assistant
166 Slight Error: handkerchief gag with stooge
166 Blind Date
166 Funnel Variation
166 Bon Voyage
166 The Headless Helper: balloon head

167 Chapter 13 Your Magic Workshop
168 Your Workshop: basic tools
168 Care of Tools
168 Dont's — with Apologies
169 Building Versus Buying
169 Some Easy-to-Make Items: a list
170 More Difficult Apparatus: a list
173 Illusions and Escapes: list of blueprints available on the market
174 Finishing Your Apparatus
176 Moving Parts — Visibility : maintenance tips
176 Have Fun

177 Chapter 14 A Magical Benefit Show
177 Everybody Gets into the Act
179 A Carnival of Magic
179 Committee Setup
180 Variety—Program Checkup
180 Closing Comments

181 Dealers