Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

The glove and rings, as the reader will probably conjecture, are exchanged at an early period of the trick. There are plenty of ways of effecting this exchange. Perhaps, as regards the rings, the expedient of having them collected on the performer’s wand by the assistant (see page 399) is as good as any. The assistant, having thus gained possession of the borrowed articles, arranges them as follows:--The glove is placed upon the end of a tube, which runs through the whole length of the column, terminating just within the cup at top, and is kept in position by an india-rubber ring slipped over it, and holding it tight to the tube. One of the borrowed rings is now placed over each of the fingers, and the glove thus prepared is pressed down into the cup, so as not to show above the rim. The column is now placed upon the table in such manner that the lower opening of the tube shall correspond with a small hole in the table, communicating by means of an india-rubber tube with a hollow ball of the same material, filled with air, and so placed as to be within reach of the hand or foot of the assistant. At the moment of firing a smart pressure is applied to the ball, thus causing a rush of air through the tube, and inflating the glove, which instantly springs up into a perpendicular position, with the rings upon it. The articles are now returned to the owners, and are identified as those which were borrowed.