Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

It is obvious that in this form of the apparatus the two pillars, being joined by the cords at the points b c, cannot be completely separated, and the fact of their always being kept close together at the lower end is quite sufficient to betray to an acute observer the principle of the trick. There is, however, an improved form of the same apparatus, in which, after the apparent cutting of the cord, the two pillars are held wide apart, one in each hand of the performer, and yet, when they are again placed side by side, the string runs backwards and forwards merrily as ever. The pillars are, in this instance, of the form shown in Fig. 161. They are about six inches in length, of light and elegant shape, having at each end a ball or knob of about an inch and a quarter in diameter, flattened on one face to allow of the pillars being laid closely side by side. The cord, as in the former case, passes down the first pillar from a to b, but instead of passing out at b, it is rolled round a little pulley working in the lower knob of that pillar. (See Fig. 162, which gives a sectional view of the lower portion of each pillar.)