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.Under the general heading of Concealment, the first principle on the list is Covering.Itincludes all processes in which one action or object serves to screen another from view.Thus, any device for passing one object behind another, or performing an action that isrequired not to be seen, under the cover of a different movement altogether, is includedin this type.Thus, dropping the hands while making the pass, or holding two cardstogether so as to appear but one only, may be cited in illustration of this principle.Disposal, the principle next in order, refers to processes by means of which objects arefinally put out of sight during the course of an experiment.Dropping an article into theprofonde, or other convenient receptacle, is a process of this type.Other examples willreadily occur to the reader's memory.Retaining, the last of this particular group, is the principle of withholding from transitany object which should normally pass from one position to another.Palming a coin inthe right hand, while appearing to place it in the left, is a process belonging to thiscategory.In the general type of processes grouped under the heading of Interposition, the firstprinciple set down is that of Loading.Interposition, of course, is the direct antithesis, ofConcealment.It has to do with bringing into play something not employed previously;whereas Concealment indicates the putting away of things already at hand.Theprinciple of Loading is eminently characteristic of its group.It is the most direct andmost obvious method of bringing new material into a magical experiment.To citeexamples in this instance would be superfluous.Even those who have but a noddingacquaintance with the principles of magic must well understand the nature of thisparticular item in our catalog.To prevent misunderstanding, however, we may point outthat the process of loading consists in transferring a load from its hiding-place to thereceptacle from which the contents of the load are to be produced.It does not consist inplacing a load in a place where it can be got at when the time comes for loading it intothe receptacle intended for it.A process of the latter type comes under the heading ofDisposition.It is well to make this point clear, as there appears to be a certain amountof confusion about it.A performer may sometimes find it convenient to say that a chair,for instance, has been loaded, when he means that a load has been set behind a chair,ready for loading.In actual fact, his statement is quite correct; but, in a magical sense, ithttp://thelearnedpig.com.pa/magos/books/ourmagic/023.htm (2 of 4) [4/23/2002 3:25:37 PM] Manipulative Principlesis not so.Still, so long as the point is clearly understood, and the disposition of a load isnot taken to be the same thing as the act of loading, there is no importance in merechoice of words.The only thing that matters is that the meaning of magical terms shallnot be subject to confusion, on account of the mixed medley in which their casual use isliable to involve them.We now come to the principle of Duplication.This includes all processes in which twoobjects are used where there is supposed to be only one.The familiar experiment inwhich a coin is apparently made to pass from one hand to another, usually through theperformer's knees, is a good example of the uses to which this principle is applied.The principle of Substitution is nearly allied to the foregoing.The actual differencebetween them is that, while Duplication interposes an additional object to be used inconjunction with one exactly resembling it, Substitution brings in a new object toreplace one that has been destroyed or otherwise put out of use.The experiment inwhich a card is torn up and apparently restored, with the exception of one piece held bya member of the audience, is based upon this principle.The last on the list of types comprised in manipulative magic is False Handling.Thoughnot so precisely defined as the other types in this order, it is still sufficiently definite towarrant its standing as a special subdivision.As a matter of fact, several of theprinciples which belong to other groups may be said to represent modes of falsehandling.The three principles-Forcing, Securing, and Transposition-are, however, sodistinctly different in their mode of application that they obviously form a separategroup.For the characteristic feature common to them all and denoting the type theyrepresent, we can find no better title than False Handling.Forcing is the principle of controlling the selection of a particular object from among anumber, while appearing to allow an entirely free choice to be made.It is, in fact, acovert form of "Hobson's choice"--take which you like, but you will only get the one Iintend you to have! Its most familiar application is the forcing of a certain card from apack, spread out fanwise.Another met-hod is that employed in what is called "The FourAce Trick," wherein a spectator is allowed to make a selection, and the performerinterprets the meaning of the choice to be either that the chosen cards shall be used orset aside, according to whether or not they are those he wants to use.Securing is the principle involved in all manipulative processes for insuring theavailability of a certain article in the event of its being required for use.It is closelyallied to the principle of Retaining, already discussed.The latter, however, is basedupon the concealment of an object; whereas the securing of an object does notnecessarily imply that it is concealed.Further, a retained object is merely held backwhen being apparently passed on, while a secured object is one that is covertly heldfast.Thus, when, in the act of passing a pack to be shuffled, certain stocked cards arepalmed off, those cards are said to be retained.In a false shuffle, on the other hand,when certain stocked cards are prevented from being mixed with the others, the cardsthus held in place are said to be secured.Again, in the trick known as "dealingseconds," the top card is secured, and by a process of substitution the second card ishttp://thelearnedpig.com.pa/magos/books/ourmagic/023.htm (3 of 4) [4/23/2002 3:25:37 PM] Manipulative Principlesdealt instead.The principle, of course, is not confined to tricks in the handling of cards.It is the basis of every manipulation in which the position of an object, or thearrangement of objects in a particular order, is prevented from changing.The last principle in this group is that of Transposition
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