EFFECT:
We're at the close-up table. The magician has
been doing a series of tricks with a borrowed
pocket handkerchief. For a finale he picks up
one of the spectators glasses, containing a
drink. He covers the glass with the handkerchief
and holds it about one foot above the table.
He has a spectator place their left hand under
the covered glass on his hand, and their right
hand on top of his hand at the top of the glass.
Magi then slowly brings his hands together,
crushing the handkerchief. THE GLASS AND LIQUID
HAVE VANISHED! Explaining that when magicians
make things disappear, they sometimes go up
their sleeves, he reaches under his coat (towards
the armpit) and produces the glass of liquid.
METHOD:
You place the spectator's filled glass directly
in front of you on the table, the glass rests
about six inches from the table's edge. You
shake out the handkerchief and holding it by
the two top corners, show it on both sides.
The handkerchief is then draped over the glass,
and both hands are shown empty.
Your left hand reaches underneath
the handkerchief and gets a good grip on the
glass. Right hand is placed on top of the covered
glass as in figure 1. The three fingers are
on top, the thumb is resting on the right side
of the covered glass and the little finger is
resting on the left side of the covered glass.
If you press inwards with your thumb and little
fingers as you're bringing them up even with
the three fingers, you'll find that a tiny bit
of the handkerchief rides up with them. This
tiny fold of cloth is gripped on the right side
by your thumb and first finger and on the left
side by your third and little finger. Now cup
your right hand slightly and lift it and the
handkerchief about one half inch away from the
top of the glass. Look directly at the spectators
and say, "Did anyone notice if there was any
ice in the glass?"
As you say this "misdirection"
line, here's what happens. Both right and left
hands move the covered glass to the edge of
the table. When you get to the edge, the left
hand LOWERS THE GLASS right down between your
legs where it is held by a slight pressure of
one leg against the other. AT THE SAME TIME,
the right hand CONTINUES RISING UPWARDS AND
THEN OVER TO THE CENTER OF THE TABLE. By this
time your left hand is back up on the table
and you lean forward a bit and place your left
hand (cupped slightly) at the bottom of the
handkerchief. Thanks to the little folds of
cloth being pinched by the thumb and little
finger of the right hand, the illusion is damn
near perfect that the glass is still under the
handkerchief.
Have a spectator place their
hand under yours at the bottom of the glass,
and their other hand on top of yours at the
top of the glass. Now slowly, with all the showmanship
you can muster, push both of your hands together
as if you were squeezing and compressing the
glass right into "nothingness." The assisting
spectator will be audibly startled at the vanish
of the glass. To continue, crush the handkerchief
between both your hands, letting it end up in
the left hand. As you lean forward with your
left hand to return the handkerchief to its
owner, your right hand drops to your lap, gets
ahold of the glass and raises it right up under
your coat so that the glass is held right over
your heart. Just hold it there, sit back up
straight, and open your coat slightly with your
left hand, at the same time, your right hand
brings the glass into view from under your coat!
If you work on the timing,
you'll have what I consider to be my strongest
close-up trick. I borrow the handkerchief and
do a few folds with it, I then do the burned
and restored handkerchief from my lecture notes
(in this book), then I close with "Vanglass."
I've yet to find any trick that can rival it
for amazement and effectiveness at a close-up
performance.
