Severn, Bill: Bill Severn's Magic Workshop ©1976 Bill Severn, Henry Z. Walck, Inc. Hardcover, w/dj, 176 pages ©1976 Bill Severn, Stackpole Books, PA Softcover, perfect-bound, 176 pages ISBN: 0-8117-2528-6

Image courtesy e-Bay seller GoodandOlde

Paperback edition Image from Magicref

Comments: This is a nice beginner's book full of magic props that you can build yourself. Many of them are probably better suited toward children's shows, as some of the props certainly call out "gimmicked", but I know I always enjoyed these kinds of things as a kid, because it was fun trying to figure out how it might work. Plenty of line drawings.

Contents:

v Contents
ix Introduction:

1 Chapter 1: Cards and Tapes
1 The Long One: making a long card
2 Multiple Choice: another application of the long card
3 Controlling Groups of Cards: another use
3 Cutting the Aces: dealer cuts to the Aces each time
5 The Nose Knows: the chosen card rises with the aid of your nose!
5 Card at Any Number: card appears at the number chosen by the spectator (requires two deals)
6 Behind Your Back: chosen card is turned face up behind your back
6 Mind Spell: a spelling trick
7 A Simple Force: with a single cut
8 Other Ways to Make the Card: some other methods for making a long card
9 The Riffler: a gimmick to make a "peek" force
12 Sleight of Foot: selection vanishes from deck and appears in the shoe
13 Stringing Along: variation of the old Insurance Policy trick
15 Three Times One is Nothing: Three spectators each pick the Ace of Spades, but it doesn't exist in the pack
16 Flip Flaps: intro
16 Flip Top: A single card instantly changes to another one
18 Back Flip: as above, but a red backer changes to blue
19 Full Flip: another flip card, but can be shown full face and back both before and after
21 Double Change: more uses for the full flip
22 Pasteboard Acrobats: intro
22 The Twister: a playing card spins in your hand
25 The Two-Way Floater: a playing card floats both horizontally from the pack to your hand, and then vertically
29 The First Woman Astronaut: a presentation for the floater
29 I'll Do It Again: uses both the Riffler and the Floater - Queen vanishes from one pack and floats from the 2nd
31 The Anti-Gravity Cards: Cards are dealt from the pack, then the entire mess suspends from your hand

35 Chapter 2 Tin Can Trickery
35 A Simple Changing Canister: a cylinder you can make that changes one object for another
40 The Ribbon That Grows: a short ribbon turns into red ball, then the ball changes into a long ribbon (using the change can)
41 Pop Goes the Corn: unpopped corn is instantly popped with the aid of a youngster
42 Tip-Over Tube: This cylinder can vanish and/or change items.
44 Passing Colors: a white ball changes to red as it passes through the tube
46 Here, There and Where?: a quickie routine for the Tip Over Tube
47 Egg Foo Rice: use both props to make rice change to an egg, and an egg into rice
49 Drop-Through Production Tubes: Even though tubes can be dropped through each other to prove them empty, items can still be produced from them
53 Two-Handed Drop Through: a more effective way to show the tubes empty
54 What to Produce: some tips
55 Easy Liquid Production: cups of liquid!
56 The Magic Party: produce party hat, coils, whistle, etc.
57 Crush Away Glass and Liquid: utility to hide a glass so it can be vanished beneath a napkin
62 Shelf and Trap Can: an object can be dropped in and "trapped" with a 2nd object poured out.
66 Sand to Gold: Sand poured in, "gold nuggets" come out!
67 Stringing the Beads: loose beads and string poured in, strung beads come out.
68 The Long Chain of Paper Clips: loose paper clips poured in and a chain of connected clips poured out.

70 Chapter 3: Conjuring With Cardboard
70 The Ghost Frame: an empty picture frame is turned around and becomes filled with a photo
73 Another Way to Handle It: more tips
75 A Work of Art: Blank frame becomes filled with a work of Art - George Washington (a dollar bill)
76 The Invisible Mirror: a mirror appears in the frame to the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
76 Signed Card in Frame: signed card appears in the frame
78 Double Double Folder: Folder can be opened and can vanish or produce items
82 Sock Ending: a handkerchief is to be vanished but keep changing colors; then turns into a sock (uses the Double Double Folder)
84 Vanishing and Linking Ribbon Loops: three loops of colored ribbon vanish singly then appear looped together
85 Just One Wish: a birthday presentation using the Double Double Folder
86 Tilt a Tray: a clever tray that can vanish or add items as they are slid off the tray
90 Handling It With Cards: tips
90 The Cards Across: flight of two cards from one packet to another
93 Secretly Adding Cards to a Shuffled Pack
94 Using the Tray as a Switching Device: tips
94 The Dissolving Die: A large Die is placed in a cardboard tube and vanishes, to be replaced by a glass of white liquid (the dots liquefied!)
99 Other Ways to Use It: tips
99 The Goldfish Triangle: a four section panel is shown on all sides and formed into a triangle. A small goldfish bowl is removed from the center.
103 Unusual Things to Produce: tips

105 Chapter 4 Boxes, Cartons, and Tubes
105 The Matchless Matchbox: rigging a matchbox so it can be shown empty and then full
109 The Solitaire Addict: A story of the man whose cards are burnt up, but then he instantly recovers them (uses a matchbox large enough to hold a deck of cards)
110 Safe Hiding Place: another suggestion for the matchbox
111 The Turn Box: an open top box is rotated on all sides to show it is empty, yet items are produced from it
116 A Crowd of Ghosts: a routine for the Turn Box using silks and a ghost story
118 Make Mine Orange Juice: a juice carton turns into a milk carton, and an empty glass becomes full of juice
123 The Portable Well: creating a well for ditching magic items as necessary. This one is built into a box you can carry your items in.
128 With a Handkerchief: using the well to vanish a ball
130 With a Bottomless Cup or Bag: more suggestions
130 The Rip-apart Tube: a ball vanishes from inside a paper tube(using the well)
132 Big Bargain Offer: a spool of thread turns into cash (another application for the well)
133 Ring A Rod: afinger ring vanishes from an envelope and is found suspended on a rod that was placed between two cups previously

141 Chapter 5 Gadgets and Gimmicks
141 Thumb Sling Coin: a gimmicked coin that you can use to vanish or make a coin appear. You can't show your hands completely clean, though you can handle them fairly naturally
145 A Close Up Routine With the Sling Coin
146 Rising Coin Through Envelope: with the Sling Coin
149 Six Halves and a Dollar: Six half dollars are caught from the air, and the last one changes into a dollar bill (Sling Coin)
151 Convertible Hand Tube: utility to produce, vanish, or color change a handkerchief
152 Producing a Handkerchief
154 Secretly Getting the Tube on Your Thumb
155 Simple One-hand Production
156 Vanishing a Handkerchief
156 Color Changing Handkerchief
158 Handkerchief Hanger: how to make a holder that allows you to produce one or more handkerchiefs from the previously empty hands (must wear a jacket)
162 Another Way to Use It: to produce a handkerchief during another trick
162 The Bobby Clipper: a holder for playing cards or even coins
165 Hiding It In Other Places: other suggestions
166 Using it as a Double Holder
166 Using It With Other Things
167 Tip-Over Coin Holder: deliver up to 8 coins into your hand from your jacket without fumbling
169 Catching Coins from the Air: an application for the Coin Holder
173 Index