50 Tricks With A Thumb Tip (Milbourne Christopher)

Description Originally written by Milbourne Christopher with Hen Fetsch in 1948, Dariel Fitzkee’s review said, “It’s the best book on thumb tip magic I’ve seen.” Magic in this excellent compilation ranges from productions, vanishes, changes and restorations to thumb ties, spirit raps, billet work, a bank nite routine, and much more – all clearly explained in Christopher’s breezy writing style. Paul Fleming (1890-1976) had this to say about the book: The thumb-tip has been exposed so often in books, pamphlets, magazines, and even newspapers, that one might suppose that its usefulness was about ended. But its continued ability to render service, in the face of mistreatment both in print and on magicians’ thumbs, is a clear indication of the vitality of this good old fake, which, according to Milbourne Christopher, made its first appearance on the magic scene around the middle of the 1880’s. Used skillfully – which means, as Mr. Christopher points out, keeping it out of the audience’s view as much as possible – it will doubtless be a standard piece of conjuring equipment for decades or centuries to come. A good magic fake dies hard, and the thumb-tip is unquestionably good. Any doubts the reader might have on this score will be promptly dispelled by a careful examination of “50 Tricks with a Thumb Tip”. Here he will learn that the thumb-tip may be employed in burning and restoring a handkerchief, in producing a half-dozen dollar bills, in producing “spirit rappings,” in performing The Thumb-Tie Trick, in producing a vanished dollar bill from a selected banana, in transforming a cigarette into a piece of string, in burning and restoring a marked dollar bill, in producing a silk handkerchief, in stretching one’s thumb, and in doing many other queer things in which the modern wizard takes delight. Since fifty tricks are dealt with in twenty-four pages of text, many of the explanations given in this booklet are necessarily short; and yet they are quite clear, for Mr. Christopher has the knack of making a few lines of print speak volumes, as readers of his page in Hugard’s Magic Monthly are well aware. Occasionally, as in the feat called Burning a Handkerchief, he profligately gives a whole page to one trick; but even when he crowds three or four items on a single page the explanations are surprisingly complete and informative. Contents include: Introduction Thumb Tip Magic Burning A Handkerchief Making Money Ribbons From Nowhere Burning A Napkin Burning A Tablecloth Fire Proof Thumb Conjuring Up Candy Living Or Dead Cards Controlled Vanishing A Dime Indestructible Match Spirit Rapping Hand Thumb Tie With Rubber Bands Chapman’s Taped Thumbs Dollar In Banana Bill In Soft Roll Bill In Hard Crust Roll Reimer’s Ribbon Cut The Severed String Spirit Knots The Mysterious Cord Cigarette To String Silken Dollars Inflated Money Waterproof Greenback Waterproof Variation Burning A Dollar Spots That Pass Bill In Nested Envelopes Solid Sugar Silk Switch Quick Change Hen Fetsch’s Bank Night Annemann Move The Vanishing Card The Vanishing Cigarette Full-Sized Cigarette Vanish Flash Tip Silk Production Confetti To Silk Allen’s Tie Trick A Tannen Tip Knots Untied The Cut Restored Bill In Purse Amazing Prediction Thumb Stretching Bill In Shot Glass Bill In Egg Sealed Envelope Reading Inflated Money The Magicians Code Cigarette Through Handkerchief