The Art of Jugling or Legerdemaine

The Art of Jugling or Legerdemaine (the introduction is signed as "Sa. Rid.") was a pamphlet published in 1612 by Samuel Rand.

The Art of Jugling or Legerdemaine
Author	Samuel Rowlands
Publisher	Samuel Rand
Publication Date	1612
Language	English
Pages	46

No one knows who wrote it. "Rid" may simply be a misprint of "Rnd" (the publisher)

It contains magic with cards, coins, balls, knives, and other objects. It even includes a packet trick with specially designed cards. Many of the effects are taken directly from Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft with two notable exceptions; a three-ball routine and an early use of specially printed cards in an Kings-to-Aces-to-blanks effect.

There are only four known copies of the first edition in the world.

(1) In Goldston's Magical Quarterly, Vol. 1, no. 4, Spring issue 1935, page 132, Harry Price wrote: "The title-page informs us that the author is "S.R." and it has been suggested that the work is by Samuel Rid or Robert Greens. But among bibliophiles the concensus of opinion is that the book is one of Samuel Rowlands' "poit-boilers". I am indebted to Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach for the inclusion of this great rarity in my collection."

Table of Contents

• 03: To the curteous Reader
• 04: The Art of Jugling or Legerdemaine
• 09: Notes and observations to be marked of such as desire to practise legerdemaine
• 10: Feates of Legerdemaine used with the Balls, with one or more
• 12: To make a little Ball swell in your hand till it be very great
• 12: To consume, (or rather convay) one or many Nalls into noting
• 13: An other pretty feat with Balls
• 13: A feat, tending chiefly to laughter and mirth
• 14: Of conveyance of mony
• 14: To convey mony out of one hand into the other, by Legerdemaine
• 15: To convert or transubstantiat money into Counters, or Counters into money
• 15: To put one Testor into one hand, and another into an other hand, and with words to brong them together
• 15: To put one testor into a strangers hand and an other in your owne hand, and to convay both into the strangers hand with words
• 16: To Throwe a peece of money away, and to finde it againe where you please
• 16: To make a testor or a groat, leap out of a potte, or run along upon a table with words
• 17: A very pretty trick to make a groate or a testor to sink thorow a table, and to vanish out of a hand kerchiefe very strangely
• 17: To convey one shilling being in one hand into an other, holding your armes abroad like to a roode
• 18: Of Cardes and Dice, with good cautious how to avoyde cosenage therein: speciall rules to convey and handle the cardes, and the manner and order ho< to accomplish all difficuly & strange stings wrought with cardes
• 21: A tricke by confederacy at Cardes
• 24: How to deliver out foure Aces, and to convert them into foure Knaves
• 25: How to tell one what Card he feeth in the bottome when the fame Carde is shuffled into the stock
• 25: A strange & excellent tricke to holde foure Kings in the hand, and by words to transforma them into foure Aces, and after to make them all blancke Cardes, one after another
• 28: Of publike confederacie and whereof it consisteth
• 28: To tell you how to know whether one caste Crosse or Piles by the ringing
• 29: How to tell where a stolne horse is become
• 29: To make one daunce naked
• 29: To make a pot or any such thing standing saft on a cupbord, to fall downe thence by vertue of words
• 30: Of Boxes to alter one graine into another, or to consume the graine or corne to nothing
• 30: How to convey (with words and charmes) the corne conteyned in one Box, into another
• 31: How to pull laces innumerable out of your mouth; of what colour or lenght you lift, and never any thing seene to be therein
• 32: To kill a Hen, chicken, or Capon and give it life againe
• 32: To eate a knife, and to setch it forth of another place
• 33: To thrust a bodkin through your head, without any hurt
• 33: To cut halfe your nose in sunder, and to heale it againe presently without any salve
• 34: To put a Ring through your cheeke
• 36: How an Alcumister cousomed a priest
• 37: A merry tale how a cosoning Alcumist deceaved a country Gentleman
• 42: A Charme to be said each morning by a Witch safting, or at least before she goe abroade
• 42: An olde womans Charme wherewith she did much good in the cuntrie and grew famous thereby

Editions

• 1612
• 1614
• Facsimilie reprint. Amsterdam, Norwood, New Jersey : Walter J. Johnson, Inc.; Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, Ltd., (1974) ISBN 9022106888
• Hardbound reprint Miracle Factory (2008)

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