Number 14 opens with Walter Gibson offering his reworking of a billiard ball routine originally published in Hatton & Plate’s Magician’s Tricks. (Side note: originally published in 1910, this book was considered one of the ten basic books of magic.) In the Pocket is a nice ball routine that’s been updated and streamlined by Gibson. I’m not sure how easy finding the required props is today as one white ball and two red balls with a shell are required.
Over the Top is a close-up torn and restored cigarette paper credited to Karl Germain. The performer ends clean as the torn paper is cleverly ditched.
The issue has an advertisement for Clayton Rawson’s new book, No Coffin for the Corpse. The novel was the basis for the movie, The Man Who Wouldn’t Die. However they switched out The Great Merlini for detective Michael Shayne. Merlini is reduced to a bit character in one scene A collection of Rawson’s books by Neil Tobin is scheduled to be reprinted by Vanishing Inc sometime this year.
No Coffin for the Corpse, a card effect from Rawson follows. It’s an ingenious and clean method for a selected card effect where the magic goes wrong.
George Armstrong returns with a book test using a billet. I must be honest – I’ve never found book tests all that interesting.
The Gaglet Department reappears with an idea for the Baker Salt trick, a technique for slate writing using cleaning chemicals, and a stunt using an egg with a double yolk.
Bruce Elliott’s Backroom begins with a couple of Theodore Annemann’s effects. The second is offered without Theo’s secret to get the reader’s creative thinking flowing. He fills out the rest with some news and commentary.
