Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

The trick is performed as follows:--You begin by announcing that you require the assistance of some gentleman who never believes anything that he is told. The audience generally take this as a joke, but for the purpose of this trick it is really rather an advantage to have the assistance of a person who will take nothing for granted, and will be satisfied with nothing short of ocular demonstration of any fact which you desire him to concede. Some little fun may be made in the selection, but a volunteer having at last been approved of, you request him to step forward to your table. Selecting from the pack the four aces, you ask him to say aloud what cards those are, at the same time holding them up that all may see them. Then laying the aces face upwards on the table, you hand him the remainder of the cards, and ask him to ascertain and state to the company, whether there is any peculiarity about the cards, and whether, in particular, there are any other aces in the pack. His reply is in the negative. You then ask whether any other person would like to examine the pack. All being satisfied, you take the pack, face downwards, in your left hand, and picking up the four aces with the right, place them on the top, at the same moment slightly ruffling the cards.