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Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring
·
Professor Hoffmann
290
THE
HALF-CROWN
(OR
FLORIN)
WAND.--This
is
a
wand,
apparently
of
ebony,
but
really
of
brass,
japanned
black.
It
is
about
twelve
inches
in
length,
and
five-eighths
of
an
inch
in
diameter.
On
one
side
of
it,
and
so
placed
as
to
be
just
under
the
ball
of
the
thumb
when
the
wand
is
held
in
the
hand,
is
a
little
stud,
which
moves
backwards
and
forwards
for
a
short
distance
(about
an
inch
and
a
quarter),
like
the
sliding
ring
of
a
pencil-case.
When
this
stud
is
pressed
forward,
a
half-crown
or
florin,
as
the
case
may
be,
appears
on
the
opposite
end
of
the
wand
(see
Fig.
93),
retiring
within
it
when
the
stud
is
again
drawn
back.
The
half-crown
is
a
genuine
one,
but
is
cut
into
three
portions,
as
indicated
in
Fig.
94,
which
represents
a
transverse
section
of
it
at
right
angles
to
the
actual
cuts.
Each
of
the
three
segments
is
attached
to
a
piece
of
watch-spring,
and
from
the
direction
of
the
cuts
it
is
obvious
that,
when
these
pieces
of
watch-spring
are
pressed
together
(as
they
naturally
are
when
drawn
back
into
the
wand),
c
will
be
drawn
behind,
and
a
in
front
of
b.
(See
Fig.
95.)
[Illustration:
FIG.
93.
FIG.
94.
FIG.
95.
The
wand
is
used
as
follows:--The
performer
palms
in
his
left
hand
as
many
half-crowns
as
he
intends
to
produce.
Then,
taking
the
wand
in
the
right
hand,
and
lightly
touching
with
it
the
spot
whence
he
desires
to
(apparently)
produce
a
half-crown,
he
pushes
forward
the
stud,
and
the
split
coin
appears
on
the
opposite
end
of
the
wand.
He
now
draws
the
upper
part
of
the
wand
through
the
left
hand,
at
the
same
moment
pressing
back
the
stud,
and
causing
the
split
coin
to
retire
within
the
wand,
immediately
handing
for
examination
with
the
left
hand
one
of
the
half-crowns
already
placed
there,
and
which
by
this
gesture
he
appears
to
have
just
taken
from
the
top
of
the
wand.
This
is
again
repeated,
and
another
half-crown
exhibited,
till
the
stock
in
the
left
hand
is
exhausted.
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