Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

The vanishing salver may be introduced with good effect in many tricks, as, for instance, that of the Multiplication of Money, above referred to, the coins to be magically added being placed upon the salver, whence they are taken off one by one, and commanded to pass into the hands of the person who holds the money. It may also be advantageously used in conjunction with the glass described at page 201, each coin, as it vanishes from the salver, being heard to drop into the glass. THE “CHANGING” PLATE.--The student has already been made acquainted with various methods of exchanging a marked coin, etc., for a substitute. There are still one or two appliances for this purpose remaining to be described, all taking the form of metal plates or trays, but greatly varying in their construction. The first, which we only mention for the sake of completeness, as it is now superseded by later and better inventions, consists of a small circular tin tray, with a round hole or well in the centre, of about an inch and a half in diameter and a quarter of an inch in depth. The lines of the pattern are so arranged as to make this cavity as little noticeable as possible. The well is moveable, forming, in fact, a portion of a sliding piece below the tray, in which sliding piece two such wells are excavated, the one or the other in turn corresponding to the opening in the tray, according as the sliding piece is pushed backwards or forwards. When the tray is required for use, the substitute coin is placed beforehand in one of the two wells, which is then pushed out of sight, and the other brought below the opening. The borrowed coin is received on the plate, and allowed to drop into the empty well. As soon as this is done, the operator, with his forefinger, which is naturally beneath the plate, draws back the slide, and brings the other coin in sight, while the genuine one drops into his hand. The construction of the plate, though simple enough in itself, is a little difficult to explain; but as we only allude to it in order to counsel the student to avoid it, any obscurity in our description is of little importance.