Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

Third Method. (With both hands.)--This is very similar to the first method, but much less neat. Take the cards, as in the former case, face downwards in the left hand, but instead of the little finger, insert the second and third fingers immediately above those cards which are to be brought to the top of the pack, and draw the first and fourth fingers below the pack. (See Fig. 5.) In this position, the lower half of the pack is held as in a forceps between the second and third and the first and fourth fingers. Now cover the pack with the right hand as directed for making the pass by the first method, but in this instance grasp therewith (between the first and second fingers at top and the thumb at bottom) the upper half of the pack. Raise this upper half slightly, to allow room for the movement of the lower half, and at the same moment slightly extend the fingers of the left hand. (See Fig. 6.) This will make the lower packet describe a quarter of a circle. As soon as it is clear of the upper packet, by reversing the motion (i.e., closing the fingers of the left hand, and at the same time lowering the right hand), the two halves of the pack will be again brought together, but that half which was originally undermost will now be uppermost. The movement will be understood more clearly on an inspection of the diagrams a and b (Fig. 6), a representing an end view of the two portions of the pack in their original position, and b of the same in their transposed position, the original lower portion being in each case indicated by the darker shade.