Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

It is not an uncommon thing to see a performer commit the gaucherie of handing all the rings, save only the key ring, to be examined in the first instance; the key ring being hidden under the breast or under the tail of the coat, and being added to the set in returning to the table. The spectators are thus needlessly made acquainted with the fact that certain of the rings are already linked together, and this once admitted, the trick loses nine-tenths of its effect. The set of twelve rings is less frequently seen, and is rather more complicated to manage, though in good hands it is capable of much more brilliant effects than the smaller number. The set consists of five single rings, a group of two, a group of three, and two key rings. These are held in the hands of the performer in the following order. First (i.e., innermost) a key ring, then the group of three, then the second key ring, then the group of two, and lastly the five single rings. The latter are distributed for examination. While they are still in the possession of the audience, the performer requests one of the spectators to link two of them together, and himself taking in his right hand the group of two, pretends to link the latter, as already described, and hands them for examination. The performer meanwhile takes in his right hand one of the key rings, and collects the single rings in his left. As soon as the group of two are handed back, he links one of them to the key ring in his right hand, thus forming a chain of three, with the key ring uppermost. Next linking the lowest ring into the key ring, he forms Fig. 238, which, by holding the two lower rings apart, assumes the shape of a triangle.