Double Lift

The Double Lift is a sleight by which two cards are "lifted" and shown as a single card. It is referred to as a Double Turnover if the cards are immediately placed back on the deck.

The "concept" was first described in The Merry Companion; or Delights for the Ingenious, written by Richard Neve in 1716. The title was "To Fein to Change the Top Card of the pack to Another" (p. 141). Many magicians have published techniques for the Double Lift since.

Arthur Finley is generally recognized as the first to use a Double Turnover, where the cards are turned over and immediately placed on the pack.

Publications

Double Lifts and Turnovers

• The Double Lift (Jack McMillen, uncredited): Jean Hugard and Fred Braue, Expert Card Technique (1940, pp. 3-7).

• One Hand Double Turnover (Ed Marlo): Ed Marlo, Off the Top (1945, pp. 7-8).
  • Two Card Throw (Ed Marlo): Ed Marlo, Marlo in Spades (1947, pp. 5-6).
  • Push Off Lift (Dai Vernon): Lewis Ganson, Dai Vernon's Ultimate Secrets of Card Magic (1967, p. 54).

• The Braue Double Lift (Fred Braue): Jean Hugard and Fred Braue's Show Stoppers with Cards (1948, pp. 1-3).

• The Flip-Over Double-Lift (Paul Le Paul): Paul Le Paul, The Card Magic of Le Paul (1949, pp. 69-71).

• The Snap-Over Double-Lift (Paul Le Paul): Paul Le Paul, The Card Magic of Le Paul (1949, pp. 73-75).
  • Paul Le Paul, The Card Magic of Bro. John Hamman S.M. (1958, p. 28).

• The Double Lift (Dai Vernon): Stars of Magic, Series 5 No. 2 (1949, pp. 78-79).
  • Lewis Ganson, The Dai Vernon Book of Magic (1957, pp. 119-122).
  • The Finley-Vernon Double Turnover: Ron Bauer, The Mechanical Deck (Ron Bauer Private Studies Series, No. 11) (1999, pp. 19-30).

• Instantaneous Double Lift (Dr. Jacob Daley): Stars of Magic, Vol. 7 No. 2 (1950, pp. 108-109).
  • Daley Strike Double (Daryl Martinez): Stephen Minch, Secrets of a Puerto Rican Gambler (1980, pp. 48-49).
    • Stephen Minch, Daryl's Ambitious Card Omnibus (1987, pp. 5-7).
• Hit Double Lift (Ed Marlo): Ed Marlo, The Cardician (1953, pp. 52-53).
  • Crackling Turnover (Jon Racherbaumer): Jon Racherbaumer, Card Finesse (1982, pp. 61-62).
• Instant Double and Triple Turnover Technique (Brother John Hamman): Richard Kaufman, The Secrets of Brother John Hamman (1989, pp. 11-14).

• Double Lift (Nate Leipzig): Stars of Magic, Series 10 (1952, p. 143).
  • Lewis Ganson, Dai Vernon's Tribute to Nate Leipzig (1963, pp. 29-30).

• The Double Lift (Cy Endfield): Lewis Ganson, Cy Endfield's Entertaining Card Magic III (1958, pp. 53-58).

• The Push-Pull Double Lift (Cliff Green): Cliff Green, Professional Card Magic (1961, pp. 19-21).

• Double Lift (Harry Lorayne): Harry Lorayne, Close-Up Card Magic (1962, pp. 52-53).

• A Snappy Lift (Larry Jennings): The Gen, Vol. 20 No. 5 (September 1964, p. 130).
  • Mike Maxwell, The Classic Magic of Larry Jennings (1986, pp. 238-239).
  • Mike Maxwell, Larry Jennings' The Cardwright (1988, pp. 148-150).

• The "Kick" Double-Lift (Harry Lorayne): Harry Lorayne, Deck-Sterity (1967, pp. 8-11).

• The Altman Trap (Art Altman): Ed Marlo, Advanced Fingertip Control (1970, p. 147).

• The Drawback Double Lift (Paul Curry): Paul Curry, Paul Curry Presents (1974, p. 36).

• The Knock-Out Double Lift (Martin Nash): Stephen Minch, Ever So Sleightly (1975, pp. 17-27)

• The Natural Double Lift (Ken Krenzel): Harry Lorayne, The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel (1978, pp. 13-16).
  • A Heavenly Turnover (Steve Draun): Richard Kaufman, Secrets Draun From Underground (1993, pp. 19-21).

• The Drag Lift (Ken Krenzel): Harry Lorayne, The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel (1978, pp. 26-30).

• The Razor Lift (Gordon Bruce): Pabular, Vol. 7 No. 4 (May 1982, pp. 1024-1025).

• T. T. T. (Two-card Turnover Technique) (Ron Bauer): Genii, Vol. 46 No. 11 (November 1982, pp. 750-751).
  • Ron Bauer, The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture (2008, pp. 17-22).

• The DD Double Lift (Derek Dingle): Richard Kaufman, The Complete Works of Derek Dingle (1982, pp. 6-8).

• Pivot Turnover (Ken Simmons): Ken Simmons, Riffling the Pasteboards (1986, pp. 8-9).
  • Ken Simmons, Guarded Secrets Revealed (1988).

• Gordon Double Lift (Stuart Gordon): Mike Maxwell, Larry Jennings' The Cardwright (1988, pp. 114-115).
  • Darwin Ortiz, Cardshark (1995, pp. 105-106).
  • Richard Kaufman, Jennings '67 (1997, pp. 186-187).
  • Genii, Vol. 67 No. 5 (May 2004, pp. 61-62).
  • A Stuart Gordon Turnover Variation (Wesley James): Wesley James, Enchantments (2004, pp. 164-166).

• The Push-over Double (Roberto Giobbi): Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Vol. 3 (1998, pp. 573-574).

Replacement Moves

• The Esscee Double-lift (Stanley Collins): Stanley Collins, A Conjuring Melange (1947, pp. 94-97).
  • Pabular, Vol. 7 No. 4 (May 1982, pp. 1024-1025).
  • Peter Duffie, Duffie's Card Compulsions (1995, pp. 260-265).
  • Jon Racherbaumer, Lipstick Traces (2009, ebook, pp. 6, 18-19).

• The M.K. Double Lift Replacement (Max Katz): M-U-M, Vol. 47 No. 3 (August 1957, pp. 100-103).
• Vernon Replacement (Dai Vernon): Lewis Ganson, Dai Vernon's Further Inner Secrets of Card Magic (1960, pp. 69-70).
  • Frank Csuri, ed., Jacob Daley's Notebooks (1971, entry 22).
  • John Carney, Carneycopia (1991, p. 66).
  • Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Vol. 3 (1998, pp. 582-584).
  • Genii, Vol. 64 No. 12 (December 2001, pp. 53-54).
  • Jon Racherbaumer, Lipstick Traces (2009, ebook, p. 7).
• A Double Lift is a Double Lift (Doug Edwards): Apocalypse, Vol. 19 No. 5 (May 1996, p. 2648).
• The Ghost Switch (Martin Nash): Stephen Minch, Any Second Now (1977, pp. 152-153).

• The New Dai Vernon Double Lift (Dai Vernon): The Gen, Vol. 19 No. 7 (November 1963, pp. 175-176).

• A Double-Lift Finesse (Anonymous): Apocalypse, Vol. 2 No. 7 (July 1979, p. 222).
  • Jon Racherbaumer, Lipstick Traces (2009, ebook, p. 12-13).
• The Tamariz Turnover (Juan Tamariz): Pabular, Vol. 7 No. 1 (January 1982, pp. 970-972).
  • Juan Tamariz, Sonata (1989, pp. 57-61).
  • Roberto Giobbi, Card College, Vol. 3 (1998, pp. 580-581).
  • Jon Racherbaumer, Lipstick Traces (2009, ebook, p. 14-17).
  • The Ascanio Addition to the Tamariz Turnover (Arturo de Ascanio): Pabular, Vol. 7 No. 1 (January 1982, p. 972).
    • Juan Tamariz, Sonata (1989, pp. 61-62).
  • Touch for the Tamariz Turnover (Michael Close): Michael Close, Workers 4 (1994, p. 47).
• A Touch for the Double Lift (Gordon Bruce): Pabular, Vol. 7 No. 4 (May 1982, pp. 1025-1026).
  • Jon Racherbaumer, Lipstick Traces (2009, ebook, p. 21-22).
• An Ambitious Card Move (Frank Garcia): Frank Garcia, The Close-Up Magic of Frank Garcia, Part II (1982, pp. 25-27).
• The Braue Turndown (Fred Braue): Jeff Busby, ed., The Fred Braue Notebooks, Vol. 3 (1985, p. 25).
  • Jon Racherbaumer, Lipstick Traces (2009, ebook, pp. 10-11).
• Outjog Subtlety (Dai Vernon): Mike Maxwell, The Commercial Magic of J.C. Wagner (1987, p. 61).
• The Unload Subtlety (Wesley James): Wesley James, Enchantments (2004, pp. 167-169).

• Lipstick Traces (Jon Racherbaumer), 2009, ebook.
  • Esscee Double Unload (Stanley Collins)
  • Dai Vernon's Unloading Technique for a "Double" (Dai Vernon)
  • Braue Turndown (Fred Braue)
  • A Double-Lift Finesse (Anonymous)
  • Tamariz Turnover (Juan Tamariz)
  • A Touch for the Double Lift (Gordon Bruce)