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A NAME
ANNEM ANN
Th.
ook
Without a Name
'E y
THEO.
ANNEMANN
W ith Introduction by
A l. B a k e r
P U B L IS H E D BY
MAX H O L DE N
N
ew
Y ork
Copyright 1931
by
M
Printed in U.S.A.
First Edition
April,
1931
a x
o l d e n
h e
u t h o r
I n t r o d u c t i o n ...
It is the usual thing for a writer to go to a friend for an
introduction to his work, knowing well enough that the friend
will say all the nice things that the author would like to say
himself.
I have been approached several times by budding authors
to write an introduction for a book of new and original
creations.
A fter reading the manuscripts and finding the effects not
so 'new and not so 'original, I tactfully refrained from granting
requests because I feel that the market is already overcrowded
with magical plagiarism. Therefore, the fact that I have read
the manuscript of this book and am now writing the intro
duction speaks for itself.
Having seen Annemann do these effects and knowing of his
ability to get 'that something out of his presentation I can see
real value here for the performer who is looking for the greatest
effect from the simplest method. Annemann has a distinctly
different approach and way of presenting his effects and this
alone is the secret of why he is able to fool even magicians w ith
tricks they already know.
I think that if the reader will carefully study Annemanns
presentation as much as his method, he w ill get more real value
than if he hastily reads the book just to see 'how the tricks
are done.
A l Ba ker.
F o r e wo r d ...
The author must have his say even though it be little.
My ideas and conceptions differ a great deal from those of
some with whom I am acquainted. It is m y theory that any
effect to be successful must first be founded upon a simple
method and then be performed with a direct to-the-point
presentation. It is m y contention that the moment one deviates
from this straight-line, he is not doing what a genuine magician
or mind reader would do.
To follow the above rules I have had to renounce all of
the so-called performing ethics, inasmuch as I consider the effect
upon m y audience above everything.
So, to some, m y
and in a number of
ploring these facts,
ultimate effect is on
ann
I n d e x ...
The 'Really N ew Locator Card.........................................
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an Eight. Cut the second pile so a King is at the face. Cut the
third making a Three the face card. The fourth is cut to
bring the Ten up.
Starting from the left pick a card at a time from each pile
over and over placing them face up in left hand and do this
until all are picked up. Your deck is now completely arranged
in the correct order and from the time you start with a mixed
deck and separate the suits until you finish, this should not
take over three minutes.
I am not at liberty to mention his name, but one of the
best known men in magic has used this stack for years and
always had to set them one by one. I had the pleasure of setting
his deck several times when in a great rush, once on a subway
train, and thus I can be sure that in this case, at least, the 'find
has been more than welcome.
One in Fourteen...
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The card is selected from deck below these eleven arranged
cards and the performer breaks the pack so that the card is
replaced twenty-first from the top. I would suggest that in
first fanning the cards for the selection the performer count ten
or fifteen and then finish the count while apparently fanning
the cards a little more for the return. Some may prefer a
bridge or other means of getting twenty cards up so that the
chosen one may be replaced twenty-first. The rest works itself.
The first number must not be over ten and I usually ask
the party to silently think of any single figure and to count
down and turn that card over. Regardless of what the number
on the first card is, the second will always be the Ten and the
chosen card is tenth beyond that so they cant miss.
-C18
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stack his cards beforehand or know just how they are placed
so that when he deals them they w ill appear in the right places.
However, in this instance, the performer declares that he shall
allow the spectators themselves to arrange the cards in any order
and that he can thus prove the results due to his method of
skillful shuffling.
W hile talking the performer has taken 20 cards from the
deck, or just enough for four hands of poker. The cards are
the Tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces. He arranges them
with values together and holds them in a fan in his hand.
Three spectators are designated as players. In turn they
are asked to name some combination of five cards that they
might receive from the cards performer is holding. For example,
they may say, 'Three Jacks and two Aces, or 'A King, Queen,
Ten, and Two Jacks. They are asked not to call high hands,
like Straights, Flushes, etc., as the purpose of this first part is to
insure the cards being well mixed around. As the various hands
are called, the performer places them face up on table until he
is left w ith but five which he places before himself.
It is now explained that by knowing where various valuable
cards are laying in the deck, the performs: can expertly shuffle
them to another spot where they are ready for dealing. The
four hands are assembled and holding them faces down the
performer shuffles them and cuts them a few times.
Then after cutting, he deals the four hands and ends up
with a Royal Flush for himself while the others have but
ordinary or poor hands.
The tricky part comes in when the cards are first being
placed on table. The performer knows that he is going to
build himself the Hearts suit or any other suit. The others go
by values only.
Thus, in laying out the hands with the values called for,
he merely places the Heart suit to come out right. W e shall
assume the four face up hands spread before you. Follow
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Psychic Sympathy...
reading, this effect may sound rather daring to some,
A Tbutfirstafter
you think it over and then finally try it out, it
will be found that it really works and whats more is really
effective.
Tw o decks are shown. The performer selects a spectator
to assist and explains what he is to do. H e is to take one deck
and stand at a distance with same on his left hand. He is to
cut the deck at any spot, note the card, replace the cut and
square the deck up. Thats all.
When the spectator does this, the performer runs through
his deck and picks out one card. The party is asked to name
the card he is thinking of and the performer turns his card
around. It is the same! A t once the performer picks another
party and duplicates the feat once more.
I have several methods for this effect and any one of them
may be used at will and according to the likes of the performer.
The first method is making use of an old friend. Two
single kind force decks are obtained, all cards of each being
alike. I would suggest one a black picture card and the other
a red spot card. Each deck has a contrasting face card and
the top card of each deck has been taken from the opposite
deck. N ow read the presentation carefully.
The performer picks up one deck and as he talks shuffles
it. It is very easy to overhand shuffle the deck twice. The
top card is shuffled to bottom and the bottom to the top. Once
more and they are back in the same original positions. Or, it
is very easy to dovetail shuffle and leave top and bottom cards
in position.
The performer explains that the spectator is to hold deck
on hand and to cut somewhere and note a card. In explaining
this, the performer suits his words with actions and cuts the
deck several times towards himself as he talks. The 'patter
may go something like this: 'Dont look at three or four cards
and clutter up your mind w ith many, but make a clean cut
somewhere and remember the card you look at. Say, for
instance, the Seven of Hearts, or again, the Tw o of Clubs.
Just keep a picture of it in your mind rather than the words
of its name.
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New Pellet
Switch
The spectators pellet
is slid into the box
as it is placed on
hand for removal of
match. When bo* is
laid aside the dummy
pellet is left on
fingers from bottom
of bo*.
Note the
method for reading
the writing in back
of the pad.
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pencil writing which you alone can see. In chalking down your
numbers, cover the pencil writing and nothing can be seen by
the spectator who comes forward.
One very subtle point is that you use this first square
to aid you in making the next one although you are apparently
all through with it.
To keep everything clear please follow the rest of this with
pencil and paper on which you have written the first square.
You ask a spectator to name a number, say higher than
34 and up to 100. You put same down and T H E N make the
outline of the square. Make this deliberately AS THIS GIVES
Y O U AMPLE TIME T O MAKE Y O U R SLIGHT CALCULA
T IO N .
First, subtract 30 from the number given. Divide the
remainder by 4 and you get either a result, or a result and a
remainder. If you get an even result with no remainder you
merely subtract one from it and remember the result as your
key number.
If you get a result and a remainder, you think of them as
for instance 3-2; the first being the result and the latter the
remainder. In your mind you make a equation by subtracting
one from the result which gives you 2-2, and then a final
move o f adding both result and remainder to make a new
remainder which gives you as a key number 2-4. The above
tw o paragraphs are your complete rules.
When there is a remainder in the final key number, this
figure of the two applies only to the squares numbered 13, 14,
15 and 16 in the original diagram first made. The other 12
squares use the first of the two key numbers. When there is no
remainder, the single figure applies alike to every square.
When the spectator points to the various spaces on the
blank square you are keeping an eye on the filled in one near
it and can note instantly the corresponding square on the first
one. By adding the key number to the number in the first
square you arrive at the correct number to put down the square
you are working on.
We shall make an entire example from the illustration.
A fter the first part, the number given was 43. This was
written down and as the square was being drawn, the following
calculations were quickly made:
if
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talking you pick up the top copy by you and carelessly illustrate
but it must be carelessly done or not at all. Knowing the page
you can open quite near it but if you dont hit it, dont try to
get to it yet. You know it is only a few either way.
Personally I ink dotted the edge of the pages in fives so
I could practically hit it everytime and this is a good hint.
Remember that this must all be done as if you are en
treating him to keep the book up and so no one can see a thing.
When he has the page you tell them: "N ow when you have
the right page, just start in at the top and count one, two,
three and stop at the word at the second number. As you
talk you are actually doing it and you generally have the word
long before they get to it themselves.
This may have read very bold like but it is nothing at all.
To the audience you are making it clear what he is to do and
you are using the nearest object. In many cases the number
is not so large and you can get the word on the page with just
a glance and without going into further detail.
This should have a little practice to get the handling of
it learned well. W ith the pages marked and a few trials you
should never miss and it is all over in a second or two of
explaining.
And then besides, who would think that you actually were
looking it up in front of them?
cMental Qoloring.
Telepathy in Silk . . .
have always held a very important part in the Art
SILKS
of Mystery. However, their use, insofar as mental and mindreading effects have gone, has been restricted to very little. Thus
when Mr. Stuart Robson, a long ardent fiend for subtle ideas,
and likewise an important executive for Florenz Ziegfeld, gave
me the following item, I accepted it in all gratefulness as some
what of a rarity.
It is for two people, the performer himself and his assistant.
Six differently colored handkerchiefs are shown while the assistant
is taken from the room. In his or her absence the performer has
someone freely choose any one of the colored silks that they
may wish.
A t this time, it is very important that the performer
impress upon all that the selection is perfectly free and I have
found it very effective to tell them to change their mind
several times before naming the color desired.
When one has been picked, the spectator is asked to merely
hold-it in their closed hand and to keep it completely covered.
The assistant is sent for and the performer may leave the room
before they return.
Upon entering the room, the assistant walks directly to the
party and merely touching the back of their hand CORRECTLY
NAMES TH E COLOR OF TH E CHOSEN SILK!
This may seem much more of a mystery when I tell you
that there is nothing used but the silks and the spectator.
N othing is done secretly at all and the assistant gets no in
formation or help from the performer.
The secret only offers further proof of the greatest adage
of magic, that the simpler a method is, the more subtle and
practical it becomes.
The performer is standing near the handkerchiefs when one
is picked and he takes it up and over to the selector. W ithout
mentioning the particular hand, or in fact, anything about
hands, the performer asks the party, "W ont you just hold the
silk tight and so that none of it can be seen? As he says this,
the performer suits his words by putting the handkerchief into
->5{ 49 Is*
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52
The necessaries are one lock, six odd keys that w ill not
fit and seven that will. The bag is a changing bag and the
illustration is of the new P & L Spirit Bag which is the
daintiest and nicest bit of such work ever produced. I have
found no bag better for this effect. It looks rather silly to
drop seven keys into a bag big enough to change a rabbit and
this new type just fills the bill.
the
the
the
six
Show the lock and explain about the keys. The spectator
comes up. Ask him to try the six odd keys one by one and
as he finds they wont work he drops them singly into the empty
side of the bag you are holding. H e now tries the seventh and
the lock opens. Just at the moment the lock opens you change
hands with the bag and switch sides bringing the six duplicates
up. The spectator then removes the ribbon and drops the key
in among the others. As he drops it in, ask him to scoop them
out and count them in aloud again. Seven. And one of them
fits the lock. Really all seven do that very thing!
The performer now passes among the spectators and asks
a man to reach in and to take any one he wishes and keep it
in his closed fist. Your telling this first man what to do serves
as a slight pause and the bag is switched side for side again.
N ow the performer passes to six other people in turn and each
remove a key until the last is taken.
I advise doing this haphazardly and not in a straight
row. This is simply because the first selected key is always the
right one and you should be able to eventually pass one or two
duds before stopping at the correct one.
The selecting done, the tricky work is done and the finish
is played up as strongly as desired to a climax as of course,
the right party is known and the other six wont fit the lock.
Thus you start w ith seven unprepared keys and a lock and
end the same way. The use of the bag is merely incidental and
is never mentioned but just used and thats all.
57
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for identification. D ont try to stress the point that you have
two cards. The audience sees you use only tw o and telling
them things that they can see is superfluous and gives rise to
suspicion. Audiences are far from being as dumb as some per
formers seem to think.
Placing the tw o cards together aside for a moment or
dropping them in side pocket, the performer now writes on the
card in hand and actually writes what is on the other card.
Giving the audience a quick flash of writing on the card but
not allowing them to see it closely it is dropped into the
envelope and sealed. Taking the envelope, it is held in the
left hand with initialed side outward. The other card (tw o as
one) is taken from pocket and as the performer explains that
he is going to ask several people to think of things, the right
hand in gesture allows of both sides of this card being seen
BUT POSITIVELY N O M E N TIO N IS MADE OF TH E FACT
T H A T IT IS BLANK. It is placed on the envelope in hand
so that it can be written upon. As it is placed on back of
envelope, the right hand lifts it again in one further gesture
but in reality the left thumb on envelope has retained the top
blank card and when the card in right hand is replaced on top,
the writing previously placed there is now facing the performer.
The three things are named and each time the performer
writes them down but writes them in their proper spaces which
are ready for them. As the last one is written, the right
fingers pick up the card, reads the three things again and lays
the card on table for a second. In reality, the under or blank
card was picked off, looked at, and placed face down on table.
On the back of the envelope is the written upon card.
The right hand takes hold of the envelope from the top
with fingers in front and thumb in back holding the card and
left hand tears off the left end (performers left) of the
envelope. Blowing into this end, the left first and second
fingers are inserted while the thumb goes onto outside of back
and w ith one upward pull the card is apparently withdrawn
from w ithin and handed directly to spectator.
Immediately the envelope is dropped
right side pocket as performer steps to
again and looking at it reads the three
each spectator state that no one knew
select these things.
torn
table,
items
they
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