Thumb Tie

Thumb Tie is an escape where the performer’s thumbs are bound together but can instantly become released.

It was first described by Henri Decremps while exposing the tricks of Joseph Pinetti in Supplément à La Magie Blanche Devoilée (The Conjurer Unmasked) (1785) under the title Deux moyens différents, l'un ancien, l'autre nouveau, de se faire lier les pouces, et de se délier en un instant (Two different ways, one old and one new, to tie the thumbs, and get out in an instant). It was marketed around 1843 as “The Tied Thumbs” in London.

It did not catch on with magicians until the Japanese invented a method which was introduced to the United States around 1901 by Ten Ichi¹ when he came to over perform on vaudeville.

The Thumb Tie has been featured by many magicians include Carl Rosini (who was taught it by Ten Ichi), Paul Rosini, Harry Willard and Mac King.

Variations

• Sixteen Thumb Tie Gems by Max Andrews (1945)
• Jaspernese Thumb Tie, created by Jay Marshall used pipe cleaners (1939)
• Thumb Tie described in The Dai Vernon Book of Magic written by Lewis Ganson (1957)
• Tarbell Course in Magic, Vol. 4 (1945) has a whole section on thumb ties.
• Losander's Chain Breaker uses electrical tape.

References

¹You can find Ten Ichi and Pinetti's methods in The Old and the New Magic by Henry R. Evans (1906)