Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

We have above recommended you to keep the hands together as much as possible; but there are circumstances under which an ostentatious separation of the hands is equally effective. Thus, holding the cards as above directed, you may make the pass by (apparently) merely cutting the cards, lifting, in truth, the under instead of the upper half, the latter making way (by a slight and momentary extension of the left hand) to allow it to pass. You may also, when holding the cards as just cut (i.e., half the pack in each hand), make the pass in the act of bringing them together. To do this you should hold the right hand packet in such manner that the thumb and second finger may project a full inch beyond the face of the cards. At the moment of bringing the two packets together (which should be done with a sidelong motion of the right hand from right to left) this thumb and finger grip the other packet, and slide it out towards the left shoulder, leaving what was originally the right hand packet in the left hand. If this is done neatly, the movement is so subtle that the keenest eye cannot detect that the two packets have changed hands. Having effected the change, you may take your own time as to placing the now uppermost packet on the other. The circumstances of each trick will indicate the cases in which it may be desirable to adopt either of these variations.