Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

The mode of working the trick will now be readily understood. The bottle which is brought forward has a second glass concealed within it, kept in position, while the bottle is brought in, by the pressure of the finger. The cover which is placed over this bottle is empty. The other cover, which is placed over the glass, contains the second bottle, which, being hollow below, enables the performer to rattle his wand within it, and thus (apparently) to prove the cover empty. Having covered the glass and bottle, he raises the cover of the first very lightly, leaving the glass concealed by the second bottle, but lifts the other with pressure, so carrying the bottle with it, and revealing the glass which has hitherto been concealed within it. By reversing the process, the bottle and glass are again made to appear, each under its original cover. Where it is desired to pour wine from either bottle, the performer takes care, in lifting it, to press the glass through the finger-hole, and thus lifts both together. For obvious reasons the glass into which the wine is poured should be a third glass, and not either of the two which play the principal part in the trick.