$40.00
ESTATE Condition fair
Wrinkles by S. Wilson Bailey and Harold A. Osborne is a classic, self-published vintage magic book first printed around 1910. Spanning roughly 62 pages, this booklet serves as a practical, illustrated guide for magicians, compiling a collection of sleight-of-hand routines, gimmicks, and illusion secrets that the authors considered to be the most effective of their era.
Rather than focusing on theatrical presentation, the text acts as a concise technical manual. It is structured into five distinct sections targeting specific disciplines of stage and close-up magic:
1. Handkerchiefs
This section explores routines using silk handkerchiefs, focusing heavily on secret gimmicks and folding techniques. Highlights include:
Methods for rolling and prepping silks for rapid production.
The use of fake fingers (like "The Cloth Finger" and a variation on the famous "Kellar Finger") to hide and vanish silks.
"Harnesses" designed to produce large flags, alongside classic visual tricks like passing a handkerchief safely through a candle flame.
2. Coins
Focuses on coin manipulation and utility devices. It details:
A grand finale routine for the classic Miser's Dream (where a magician continuously pulls coins out of thin air).
The mechanics of the "New Era Coin Tray"—a mechanical utility item used to secretly add or vanish coins.
Methods for clean, spectacular coin vanishes, including an improved method involving a glass of water.
3. Billiard Balls
Billiard ball manipulation was a staple of early 20th-century magic. This brief chapter teaches sleights and utility apparatuses for making solid balls multiply, vanish, or change color, specifically highlighting "Barton's Billiard Ball Box" and advanced vanish techniques.
4. Cards
This chapter features early handling techniques for card magicians. It covers:
Methods for cleanly vanishing a card.
Marking strategies and "A New Force" (a cross-the-cut forcing method to make a spectator pick a specific card).
Two distinct methods for "The Unique Rising Cards," where selected cards mysteriously rise on their own out of a deck or a glass container.
5. Miscellaneous Tricks
The final section covers a wide variety of parlor and stage illusions, emphasizing clever prop design and chemical secrets. Notable inclusions are:
Chemical recipes for creating safe fuel for a "Fire Bowl."
Stage production props like "Umbrella Flowers" and a specialized "Fish Pole" for appearing items.
Mentalism and parlor pieces, including a "Single Slate Message" (spirit writing) and a method for making a real glass and a lemon appear out of nowhere.
**OVER 100 years old and still a great book**