The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley - Volume I

426 Pages·2018·50.91 MB·English

by  Stephen Minch

Collected
Worlds of
e?t 'Etmstey
Volume I
Written by Stephen Mincfi
The Collected Works
of Alex Elmsley
Volume I
Between these covers a legend of
magic comes to life. Alex Elmsley,
inventor of the Elmsley count and such
classic tricks as "Between Your Palms",
"Puncture" and "Point of Departure",
has been a figure of mystery for
decades. His brilliant inventiveness
has been lauded within the inner
circles of close-up magic. Respected
professionals who witnessed his work
years ago still speak of it in awe. But
few magicians today are familiar with
the large body of exceptional magic this
man has originated.
This is partly because all but a few
of his published creations lie scattered
in old and obscure periodicals—and
much of his work has remained
unpublished. In The Collected Works of
Alex Elmsley the magic of this extra-
ordinary inventor is brought together
for the first time. Gathered here are the
published tricks, along with an equal
number of previously unpublished
items. Much of this material has been
jealously hoarded by the privileged of
magic. Some of it has been kept secret
from everyone for over thirty years. All
of it is innovative, baffling and
cunningly entertaining.
This volume contains over 110
original Elmsley tricks and sleights,
plus a ground-breaking essay by Mr.
Elmsley on presentation, psychology
and misdirection, which appears here
in its entirety for the first time.
Welcome to the secret world of Alex
Elmsley, creator of some of the most
outstanding magic of the twentieth
century.
Cover design: Shelley Fallon
The Collected Works
of
Alex Elmsley
Volume I
Alex Elmsley

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was made possible by the help and generosity of a great many
friends and acquaintances. Some of them provided considerable aid while
in the midst of demanding and turbulent lives. Gordon Bruce of Glasgow,
Scotland, and Milt Kort of Birmingham, Michigan, did immense amounts
of research, unearthing scores of articles in old journals and booklets. Jack
Avis also must be recognized among my major benefactors. Through his
notebooks and correspondence, he is responsible for the preservation of a
large portion of the previously unpublished material that appears here.
Those who volunteered rare and unpublished Elmsley items and
information are Gordon Bruce, Ron Bauer, Bobby Bernard, Dr. Edward
Brown, Roy Walton, Richard Kaufman, Jay Marshall, Ray Grismer, Anthony
Brahams, David Michael Evans, Roger Klause and Harvey Rosenthal.
Magic, Inc. of Chicago kindly granted permission to include in this volume
"The Elmsley Torn and Restored Newspaper" and 'The Four Card Trick",
for which they hold U.S. manufacturing rights. Likewise, Paul Stone of The
Ace Place in London, England graciously consented to the inclusion of 'The
Book of Fortunes"; and Supreme Magic of Devon, England, along with Hank
Lee's Magic Factory of Boston, Massachusetts, generously allowed 'The
Atomic Aces" to be described.
Of those who patiently answered and researched countless historical
points, foremost is Milt Kort, ably followed by Peter Warlock, Jack Avis, Roy
Walton, Francis Haxton and Edward Mario.
I also wish to thank my inexhaustible proofreaders, Max Maven, Darwin
Ortiz, David Michael Evans and Michael Weber, who saved me from scores
of errors and omissions.
Finally, of course, my profound thanks go to Alex Elmsley who, despite
his avowal to remain uninvolved in the production of this work, returned
to magic long enough to correct the text with painstaking care and to comb
through his yellowing notes from years past for unpublished items. To all
these individuals I owe an incalculable debt of gratitude.
Stephen Minch
FIRST EDITION
© Copyright 1991 by Louis Falanga.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval
system now known or to be invented, without the permission of the
publishers.
Printed and bound in the United States of America
6 5 43 2 1
CONTENTS
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER I
INTRODUCTION iii
CHAPTER ONE:
Alex Elmsley on the Theory and Practice of Magic 1
The Automatic Producer 11
On Misdirection 15
CHAPTER TWO: Spirited Counts and Revenant Tricks 19
The Four-card Trick (featuring the Elmsley count) 21
Flight to Witch Mountain 30
Shale Fellow Well Met 34
ARebours 41
Elmsley's Ghost 46
Hoftwister 49
Mini-Milton (featuring the five-as-five ghost count) 54
Mixed Marriages 59
Serendipity 61
One Poor Lion 65
The Great Pretender (featuring the everchange count) 69
Twister's Flush 77
Thoughts in Transit (featuring the neverchange count) 81
CHAPTER THREE: Sundry Sleights 89
Break Time 91
Battling the Bulge 91
A Bluff Hand-to-hand Transfer 91
Taking a Break in a Spread 93
Preparing for the Double Lift 94
Fan Shuffle Strategies 96
The Hook-strip Shift 99
Top and Bottom Card Interchanges 103
The Tabled Cover Reverse 104
The Tabled Top Change 107
Two Novel Slipcuts 109
The Swivel Slip Cut 109
The Undercut Slip 110
The Tipsy Turnover Pass 112
A Polished Push-off 114
A Biddle Displacement 116
The Thumb Palm Addition 119
A Card Fan Production 121
New Techniques for the Rear Palm 124
The Top-card Rear Palm 126
The Misdirection Rear Palm 128
The Tap Replacement 129
The Center-card Rear Palm 130
A One-handed Center Steal 133
Trouser-pocket Loading Technique 135
Variations on Erdnase's First Transformation 137
Transformation with Outjog 137
Erdnase's First Transformation as a Vanish 140
Flying Squad 141
The Misdirection Slide Palm 141
Two Pocket Deck Switches 143
The Climax Pack Switch 143
The Empty-handed Pack Switch 145
CHAPTER FOUR: Minus Fifty-two 147
Puncture! 149
The Nodding Skull 154
The Visual Torn and Restored Newspaper 157
Ring and Paper Clip 166
The Twister: A Puzzle 169
Two Thimble Changes 172
The Elmsley Color-changing Knife Routine 175
The Perpetual Cigarette 181
A Cigarette Vanish 185
A Production of Cigarettes in Holders 187
Magnetic Monte 192
Ring on Silk 195
Physical Medium 200
Sleeve Loading for the Cups and Balls 203
The Elmsley Cups and Balls Routine 205
CHAPTER FIVE: Twisted Classics 211
1002nd Aces 213
The Atomic Aces 217
Repulsive Aces 229
Double Finders 234
Apprentice Aces 236
Pick of the Litter 238
The Four Blanks 242
Five-card Sam 247
Bare-aced Hofzinser 253
A Minor Triumph 256
All Backs with Aces 259
A Triple Reverse 267
Infinity: Round Trip 269
Chosen Cards Across 271
Invisible Card in Cigarette 274
New Pieces to an Old Puzzle 280
Liar's Club 284
One at a Time Collectors 288
Snap Swap 291
Double Swap 293
Ambitious to the End 296
Ambitious Stranger 299
CHAPTER SIX: Down and Dirty Deals 307
7-16 309
A Double Prediction 311
Melbourne 314
Australian Self-help 317
Chance and Choice 319
CHAPTER SEVEN: Welcome Correspondences 323
Returned to the Nest 325
Arith-mate-ic 328
Pother 331
Brownwaves I 333
Shadowed 337
Buried Treasure I 340
The Memphis Matchmaker 343
The Right Place, the Right Time 345
The Book of Fortunes 347
CHAPTER EIGHT: Where It's At 353
Buried Treasure II 355
Hair Cut 358
CalcolateX2 361
Cross-25 363
Weight 366
Choosey 368
Rough Tracker 370
Card Hopper 371
Penny Plain 374
The Clock Runs Down 376
Mathematics and Mentalism 378
CHAPTER NINE: No Gamble 381
Misogynist's Monte 383
The Bridge Builder 388
Just Lucky 391
Aces Up 395
Pierce Arrow 397
Four Flusher 399
A Strange Story 401