COMPILERS NOTE - In the pages of this book will be found an abundance of tricks, puzzles, and games of every sort and kind. The volume is indeed a mine of magic and amusement, rich enough to satisfy any one who loves to entertain or be entertained. No book of its kind has previously been published, and it would not have been possible to produce such a volume without drawing extensively on the work of such masters of their craft as Will Blyth, Nelson Downs, Louis Nikola, Arthur Ainslie, Harold C. King, John E. T. Clark, L. Widdop, J. K. Benson, Will Goldston, and Cyril Shields, the broadcasting conjurer. To these outstanding figures in the world of mystery and entertainment I offer my thanks. In choosing the tricks and puzzles for this book I have confined myself almost exclusively to those which require for their performance or solution no apparatus which cannot be found as part of the domestic equipment of the ordinary household. Matchsticks, water, paper, handkerchiefs, playing cards, coins-these are, for the most part, the only things needed. In the sections on Hand Shadows, Juggling, and Ventriloquism too, I have followed the same principle.
The tricks included range from those of the simplest kind to the rather more advanced type, though all are easily within the reach of the average person. Here is a wealth of fascinating material for many a score of winter nights and summer days...Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are now republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.