Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

THE DRUMS FROM THE HAT.--In this trick the performer generally begins by producing from the hat a number of the multiplying balls described at page 307. He next produces a miniature drum, prettily ornamented, then another, then a third and a fourth, each being a shade larger than its predecessor, and the last of such a size as barely to be containable within the hat. With the reader’s present knowledge, he will readily conjecture that the drums are so constructed as to fit one within the other, the multiplying balls being packed within the smallest of the four. One end of each drum is loose, and falls inwards upon the opposite end, upon which it lies flat, thus giving space for the introduction of another drum, a size smaller. Across the loose end, and parallel to it, is fixed a wire, forming a handle whereby the performer may lift the drum out of the hat, the act of doing so raising the end into its proper position, and a wire rim round the inside of each drum preventing the loose end being drawn out altogether. Each drum is taken out with the loose end upwards; but the performer, in placing it on the table, turns it over, thus bringing the solid end up. In default of this precaution, the loose end would fall back again to its old position, and so betray the secret. The drums are usually made oval, rather than round, as they are thus better suited to the shape of a hat.