The Modern Conjurer

The Modern Conjurer
Author	C. Lang Neil
Publisher	C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.
Publication Date	1902
Language	English
Pages	416

The Modern Conjurer and Drawing-Room Entertainer was written by C. Lang Neil. It explains and Illustrates Tricks by J. N. Maskelyne, Trewey, Charles Bertram, T. Nelson Downs, Mdlle. Patrice, Paul Valadon, H. De Manche, L. Graham Lewis, Frank Kennard, Ellis Stanyon and others.

It was one of the earliest magic books to use photographs, with over 500 of them. Neil was not the first to use photographs to illustrate a magic book, but he was the first to use them to convey body language and hand movements.

Charles Bertram withheld certain touches to his Four Ace trick that were later described in Expert Card Technique by Hugard and Braue, several decades later.

It was rated as one of the Ten basic books for a working library of conjuring by the historian and collector, H. Adrian Smith.

Chapters include:

• SLEIGHTS USED IN CARD TRICKS
  • Two-handed Pass
  • One-handed Pass
  • To Palm Cards
  • To Palm Cards from Bottom of Pack
  • Continuous Back and Front Palm
  • False Shuffle
  • To Force Cards
  • The Change
  • Dealing Seconds
  • Dealing Seconds from Bottom of Pack
  • To Change Front Card
• SIMPLE CARD TRICKS
  • Telling Cards Cut by Audience
  • Catching a Chosen Card from Pack in the Air
  • Novel Discovery of a Chosen Card
  • To Shake a Card through a Handkerchief
• ADVANCED CARD TRICKS
  • Manipulations with Cards
  • Passing Twelve Cards up Sleeve
  • The Diminishing Cards
  • Back Palming and Recovery of Four Cards
  • Discovering a Chosen Card Blindfolded
  • The Three Card Trick (a new method)
  • The Rising Cards
  • The "Thurston" Rising Cards
  • The Four-Ace Trick
  • Passing Cards from Pocket to Pocket
• SLEIGHTS USED IN COIN TRICKS
• TRICKS WITH COINS
• TRICKS WITH BALLS
• HANDKERCHIEF TRICKS
• MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS
• PARLOUR TRICKS
  • Plate Spinning
  • Chapeaugraphy
  • Paper Folding
  • Shadowgraphy

Editions

• 1902 - Lippincott The first British edition has Lang Neil's last name misspelt as "Niel" on the spine.
• 1911 - second edition
• 1922 - third edition
• 1937 - David Kemp & Company (New York)

References

• New York Times Nov 22, 1902 advertisement for book
• http://magicref.tripod.com/booksjr/neilmodernconjurer.htm

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