POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07128

jJ(J4It'l [fIatt ~eiet4

THE WRITING ON THE WALL

POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

MASTER SLATE SECRETS PART III

FOREWORD

The story of Daniel in the Bible was written by a person unlmown but \-1ell versed in Magic. It was written from folklore, accounts handed down by word of mouth through the centuries. It's historical value is uncertain. King Nebuchadnezzar was not the father of Belshazzar but perhaps a distant relative. However, we are not here concerned with the accuracy of history but only with the devastating effect of "messages ll on slates, walls, etc.

This treatise has touched upon every type of trick slate extant and with Volume IV, it is hoped that the series will be complete and the reader's curiosity as to 'slate wizardry'will have been satiated.

Magicians have done well in developing slate magic. They have surpassed in wizardry and trickery the wildest ex­pectations ot the mediums. The workmanship employed in the manufacture ot trick slates for magicians has been tops so that it becomes a pleasure in the presentation of the art.

The original intent of the author to present new ideas in slate magic has been persued. However in order to present these new ideas it has been necessary to air out the older ones.

Volume IV will have a chapter on 'Fabulous Trick Slates' which wi~l touch on the 5-in-t slate, The Slate ot Fate, The Sardina ~late, to round off the study on slates.

Happy Slating

b/n/kg

MASTER SLATE SECRE'fS PAHT III

CW\,p'l',ca VI

INSrfANT HE3SAG~

"THE 'vffiITING ON THE T~IALL":

SLATE \tIIZARDRY

"In the same hour carne forth fingers of a man I s hand, end Hrote over a:~ainst the candle stick, upon the plaste::.'" on the Hall of the king I s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that 1-Irote." Book of Daniel

"And this is the uritins that Has 'Hritten, Jl1El.-JE, HEN:";;, TEKEL, UPHAILiliJ. 11

The visible appearance of messages attributed to su)erno.tural agency are something to reckon uith. In conse­quence, the cour8e of llorlcl event s have been chan~;ed and kingdoms have to-~)pled. Dulsi.lazzar I s kingdom Has toppled and he 'Has slain the same niGht after' the IHriting on the Hall. t

1

EOVl did t~-Le me 3 saGe appe ar on the Hall of king Belshazzar I s palace B-11.d by Hhat agency? HO't,J' Has the hand that wrote the messQGe made to appear?

The anS;-Jor to those two mysteries has been knO'tm from beforo tlle time of D:::miel to the prosent by all the mas­ters of the magic art. The same effect has been produced \m­

del'" different guise thrOUGllout history. l·:iessages have appeared on the ceilin~\s of rooms, on the sand, in midair, on paper, on slates, and on tablets of clay 2.!1d bronze, Hith devasta­ting results, ushering force nOH philosophies and ne1'l reli­gions with worlds of converts.

The exact modus operandi used by Daniel and his exclusive magic circle can almost be pinpointed since the same effect has survived to this day.

A most uncanny instant-spirit-messao;e effect Has used in a spook film made in Hexico City in the early 130s. A book Hhich 'Has fetched from the dusty and spidcr-'"rebbed shelf of a monastery Has openned and the message, "You shall die" burned itself unto the musty pases. The formula for this effect has appeared in print many times and is as folloHs: Dissolve a small runount (1/2 teaspoon) of gum arabic in a solution of potassium nitrate (2 teaspoon;3 in 1/3 class of Hater). Using the solution as ink Hrite the message on cardboard or paper and set aside to dry. 'fo produce the eff'cct touch a candle or lit match to the start of the message and tho message "rill burn itself on the cardboard or paper letter by letter.

Another rl1ethod appeared in Drug Store Hagic, by Ali B. Johnson and is as folloHs: Soak a string in a strong solution of potassium nitrate. Uhen the string is dry, paste on carboard fonning the letters of the message. To produce the effect set fire to the strine.

2 CEAPTEH VI

rnSTANT l1E3;:)AG~S •••• cont.

l'alcing D. closer look at the Babylonian court of King Belshazzar He find tho follo,dng: Dsnicl, :mn a master magi­cian '.rho had become i'ar:tous as an interprot)r of dreams under king Nebuchadnozzar, father of Belshazzar. Nebuchadnezzar had appointed JJaniel as master of all mac;icians and ruler of the province of Babylon. Daniel had t~..ree othc)r i~em.bers of his irmo:..'" ma::~ic circle, Eananiah, Hishael ~md Azariah Hho Here renamed by tho court, .:)hadrah, Heshach and Abed-nego and 'Hho became famous as tho ones that survived the fiery furnace. All four magicians held high posts in govornment and therefore ill d much influence in court. It can be safely assumed that they also had a number of shills or follo'.J8rs.

1'he Hoyal feast 1':0.:-; corrl.los ud of one tilousand guests plus their Hives and concubines. 'rhere Has much feasting and drinkin,:~ of Hine. The "vrriting on the vTall lJ appeared atter the guests Here a bit tipsy and it appeared "against the candle­stick. It 'l'his suggests that a chemical agent similar to the one mentioned above 'Has the method used.

One of the candles, after burning a ntoober of set hours, triggered off a fuse Hhich in turn trig8ered off the "Vlriting on the ",all. II This is ofcourse only a theory since Daniel did not tell us Hhat method he used.

Hm'I did the hand appear? If the reader has studied the reaction of the spectators in a seance room '\.·There 'tvriting appe ars letter by letter you Hill ImoH that many spectato rs state that they saw the hand that did the vrriting Hhen actually there Has no hand at all in most cases. Hallucinating a hand doing the \-Iriting is a natural reaction since the mind of man thinks in familiar patterns. The phenomena is comparable to picturing a horse pulling the carriage ru1ead of us Hhen actua­lly the horse is not visible yet HO knO'\.·l it is there.

In kin~ Balshazzar I s court anyone of the shills could have said that he Sm-I the hand and one hundred others of the feast Hould add fue 1 to the thought by sayinG that" they also Sa1.'I it.

liThe nOlUe of a spirit 'Has then 1'lri tten rapidly in 1 1 h t 1 . t'· " I' -f"r Ha i argo p_'lOSp _orescen etters J.n no aJ.r ---.'~r. I'. L. rr-son, editor of the Spiritualist.

'rhe above quotation is in referronce to an early seance held '.:ith famous mGlis}c mediums Herne and Hilliams in 1871.

Corinda gives us thJ method for the Hriting in mid air in his ninth stop of his flThinrteen StEms to Hentali­sm. II A mL,,::t1)J'e of lUr:1~~n()~lS Daint Hith bees,-:ax: is used to make a i<Iritinc: stick. 'l'!:lc) m~s:~r.~:;o in Hritten on a black board in tho darlronod seance room. l-1.:-;ase note here that in this sensational slate effec.t, t>e SlLl,tO in never soen and

MAST1:!:H SLATE SBC~1 :..TS lAH'i' III CIL-'l.PTER VI 3

a hand actually does t-h_e c·,ri tinge If the spectators say that they saw the hand doinC the ',Yriting they Hould be telling the truth. Althou~h the hand is not clearly seen in the darkened room, the shadm·] of it can be seen as some of the ,'Jri ting is covered by it. After the effoct, the slate is hidden.

Another trick of the mediums wan to paint their ~Jrit­inc; hand Hith luminous paint. In the dark only the hand was seen doing 1~itinG on a slate. This type of effect became quite popular 1dth the spectators and became an accepted be­lief. 'rhe statement by the spectators that they had actually seen the hand doing the Hriting became most common whether there Has a hand or not.

Chemical Spirits

Haking messages ap)ear instantly by chemical methods has been Hell covered by other Hriters. Burling Hull devoted many hours experimenting Hith chemicals to make messages appear letter by letter on slates and developed the art to a high degree. Unfortunately many of the old cherished methods of chemical Hriting are no lonGer feasable or really necessa­ry to the student •

.An old favorite is Hriting the message on the slate 't-d th sulfuric acid and then '.r2.shinS it off "Ti th sub-acetate of lead. The effect on t:l.w audience is good since the slate appears blank on both sides and later a message appears is chalk-Hhite color. 'fhe drm-lback is that you are dealing l-Tith dangerous chemicals. Sub-acetate of lead is a poison and sulpi.luric acid is a caustic and corrosive acid. Both chemicals are hard to get Hithout a doctor's proscription. The sulphuric acid also damages the slate surface. ,1

Another favorite chemical was Carbon .L:etrachloride 't-1hic~! is no lonGer sold to tho general public in tile USA. Carbon-tet gives off deadly fumes and has already caused a number of deaths. Carbon-tet must be used only in .-Jell venti­lated spaces and persons under t::-w influence of liqour must not inhale its fumes.

THE UNPREPARED CHEMICAL CHALK

If you l-:J.ust use the carbon-tet method here is a streamline version of it. You do not have to carry a messy little can to dip your chalk in just before the show. Instead prepare your slate at home by ,·.;rritinc; the message Hith an unprepared piece of chall{ and then spray the slate Hith Fix­atif, the fixing solution sold in art-supply stores.

Por t.i:lO presentation you must take a small bottle of carbon-tet, the slate and a felt eraser. Saturate your orasor \-lith the chemical and Hash off the slate. The message 'tfill

4 MASTER SLATE S';::;CREI'S PAaT III CHAPTER VI

'rEE UlTPREP.ARED Clt!l·nCAL CHALK •••• cont.

vanish and then reappear Hhen the chemical evaporates. The message can be disguised by scravTling letters or

numbers allover the slate. rrhat Hill give you a good excuse for 1.<Tashin:; off the slate. Since the desired message is fixed onto the slate it can be used seVeral times.

For the actual pra~.1entation, the slate is shOlm covered with chalk marks on both sidc:s. The unprepared side is cleaned first and then the prepa.rcd side is "lashed. The slate is then sh01·m devoid of 1.1ri ting on both sides and it is then Hrapped in neHSpapCl' or placed bet'.Ioen tHO other examined slates.

Since the message is fixed onto the slate, the opera­tor can rub off the marks viGorously ,-Ii til tJ~'le eraser \.Ji thout rubbing off tl1.e desired message •

.t"or the question c~,ll[)1.·roring act, several slates can be prepared just befol'e the shoH after the questions are known. 'rhe anr31-::rs are chalked onto the slates and then spra;,'ed Hi th Fixatif backstage. I lhe messages are then disguised if needed by HritinG over them, after the solution has dried lThic~ only takes seconu.s. The felt-ore.ser must be Hell saturated 1.uth carbon-tet just before cUl ... tcdn time. 'Lhis C8-'ll. be done by pla­cin:; the eraser in a m:;to..l ')O,n Hith the carbon-tet on the per­forraers stage table.

r.Il il:2; BLACK AND HEIT!i; SLATES

The Black and ;'lhite Slates by Professor Henri Hargrave arc described in Dunninger1s "The Complete l!hcyclopedia of Hagic" and refer2~1ence is made here by permission o:f Mrs. Joseph Dunninger.

Fig. 5LI- repr,~sents a large black board on an easel. !he black board measures approx. 24 by 36 inches in a 1.Jooden frame.

On the conmand of the operator, script writing appears letter by letter from left to Hrite exactly a3 if done by a human hand. The effect is atvesome 1 Fig. 54

The construction of Professor Har­gravels slate is very simple. The slate proper is com:oosod of tHO sheets of carboard, one black and the oth~r ",hite. The message desired is first cut out :from the black board. The \",hi te art board is n01.-T placed behind the black board so that the cut out letters appear vJhite like chalk v.Tri tinge To black out the Hhi to letters before the pre­sentation, black electrical tape is attached to the back of tho black board so as to cover the letters starting from the last letter of tho messar:e and proceedinG to the first letter.

PART III CHAPTER VI

INSTAN'r J:I~:3'AG:.ES -- T::E BLACE AiTD \17U'l'i: .3LA'l\~3 •••• cont.

A space in c..J.lo·,Ted betHoen the black and ,;hi te boards to allou the tape to movo freely, say about 1/4 inch of space.

Tho leading end of tho tape is nop passed throu;:;h a sli t in t}~c bac'~ 01' the sln.to and attached to a string which leads back stage to an assistant or to a motor-reel.

If a pull is nOH exe2ted on the string, the tape Hill uncover the letters one by one from left to right and the tape ,-rill dissappear backstage.

The blackboard may be cov3red Hith plexiglass and if the board is eXaI'lined aft"T' -GJ:1O effect it uill only deepen the mystery since the blacl(board is inaccessible fror:l front and back.

'l'l-x; slit on the back of' the board can be covered with a name label.

THE SUPERSONIC MESSAGE

The slate pictured in J:i'ig. 55 appeared in print at the turn of the century \-Then slate magic 1.·ms at the fore. The slate panel revolves about it's vertical axis and brings the backside of the panel into instant vie"l. In the presentation, a message is written on the back of the slate and then covored l.dth a flap. l'ho slate is shown to be blank on both sides. The flap is then dropped and at t:clO proper moment, the panel "lhich is held in place under tention by a catch, is released and a spring revolves the panel around instantly and snaps it into another catch to hold it in place.

The effect is that the message appears instantly Hhile the slate is held in full view of the audience with­out any suspicious moves.

The slate should be held so that thol'e is a black backdrop behind Fig. 55 it.

/mothor slate that produces instant messages is Ken Allen t s :;>late of mdor. Unfo.i.·tunately these slates are nOH only a collector lsi tem and c~:c'e no longer cal'ried by dealel'S. 'l'jlO slate of Endor is a self contained unit that prodaces a message visibly by a tl'igger Hhiel! reloc.sos a moving flap inside the slate. 'l.'he message is on the flap and comes into viell through a HindoH Hhich is invisible to the al:.dience. '.£'J:.e slate produces a different message on eaC~1 side of the slc.te, so that a boo1-: tent using tHO Hords can be pre­sented.

}lASTER SLATE S~Cnh'TS PArt'll III CHAPT.c2 VI

INSTANT MESSAGES ••••• cant.

The last ad for the Slate of Bndor appeared in the 1973 Linking l\ine sold by Jacl{ l'Iill()r ililterprisE?s, 119 l"eymouth Hd. Syracuse, H.Y., 1320:) and selling for $26.

6

Bill Nord's DIABOLO SLA'l'r,; was an elaboration of a method used by Woodhouse Pitman and can be found in Peter Harlock's "The Best Tricks ~Jith Slates," page 51. In Mr. Pitman's method, the desired message is "Tritten with chalk on black art paper and then the 1-lOrds of the message are carefully cut out and treated with an adhesive on the back. The slate is unpreparod and later placed over the 1-lords which adhere to the slate by the adhesive.

Bill Nord improved the method by using a magnetic slate and attaching pieces of shim metal to the back of the cut out ,mrds. 'rhe words were then hidden oval'" a book and were picked up by the slate \-lllen placed over the book.

THE PIHNACL~-:; 3LA'rE

JOr-ill COl'nelius' iirmacle Slate has eclipse both of the above methods. John is selling a pocket IlIl g;netic slate that is a beauty. Anyone of a nurn.oor of ESP designs or words can be mado to appear on the slate. The principle used is 'me. gnetic \,·;ri ting! I rrho slate is simply placed over a hid­den magnetic wire that bar.; been shaped like the design.

The Edmund Scientific Co. of Barrington, N.J. 08007, are selling a commercial larger version of this slate.

The Pilmacle Slate can be had for $20 from John Cornelius at L~30 Elrnl1ood, San Antonio Texas, 78212.

Tm commorcial version sells for ~13 and measures 8~ by 13 inches. '

MASTER SLATE SECRI~:TS PART III SLATE WIZARDRY

CHAPTER VII

THE MINDREADING SLATES

THE CLlf S~\TE: This is a prepared slate that takes the place or the much publicized mentalist's clip board.

1

Once the mentalist prepares an impression slate, he will probably never do a ShOV1 vTithout it. The impression slate, or "clip slate, il is one- of the fastest means of get­tine; the :i.nl}H'eS3ion of the si:ecta.tor I s thought and also one of the least suspectcd gimmicks. As will be seen here with

the description of the cli~) 31 ate to 1'0110\-1, the performer can get a [,;limpse at the impI'cssion almost automatically on his Hay back to the stage or platform.

'rho clii) slate Has 1.-1ell treated by George .Anderson in his book, "It Must Be Hindreading" and further simplyfied

by North Bigbee in his "40 He1.'T Hental Mysteries. II Other than that the literature on the clip slate is scanty.

~~. V. D. Barbour of Toledo Ohio, contributed a method for preparinc a tray to take impressions in the March 15, 1921 issue of tho Sphinx Vol. 20. The 'tray' resembled a slate or picture frame more than it did a tray. The gimmick was constructed in 1918 and vlaS Hell made. The bottom of the tray vms covered l",Ii th paper resembling wood, similar to the present day clip board. Till back of the tray openned up to glimpse the impressions. 1-lr. i:3arbour claimed that up to that time he had not seen the method in print or had heard of it.

CONS'l'RUCTING TH:c"; eLI}' SLA'llE: In constructing our clip slate He must strive to get as fa!' as possible from anything resembling a clip board. We must not use 'clips! regardless of the disguise and the slate must resemble a slate pure and simple. Please refer to Flig. 56. l'his ShOHS a school slate Hith the red trirnri!ing ar01.md -elle ed;-:,;es.Lt also ShOvlS 3 pie­ces of paper held in placc by button magnets!

Irne slate should meaSUI'e approx. 9 by 11 inches over­all. However fu"ly slate i·rill do. Neoded also is black art pa­per also called construction paper. Tho button magnets are obtainable at haI'dHare stores or at the houseware dept. stores. 'l'hey come in colors, rcd beinG the prcferred color. Tho best button magncts are ob­tainable at nardHare stores and como un­painted. Noed-.:d also are some razor blades some black carbon paper and \"hi te paper to take the impressions.

Fig. 57, ShOHS a sketch of how to put the parts together.

F'irst cut the black art paper to the exact size of the slate surface.

Fig. 56

MASTER SLATE SECR:B..'TS

THE HINDREADING _ SLATES

THE CLIP SLATE •••• cont.

PAH'f III

In 11'ig. 57 the arrows at "A" point to four razor blades that are cemented to the surfaco of the slate proper ri&;-1J.t next to the edge of the frame. A fifth razor blude is cemented to the bacle of the black art pc,per flap at lIB".

A sheet of black carbon paper' is next cemented to the back 01' the black art paper by spots of rubber cement at the four corners of the carbon pD_per. The carbon paper Hill cover the ruzor blade on the black art paper flap.

The flap is then cemented onto the

8 CHAPTER VII

Fig. 57

slate at the bottom only, as seen in the figure, by pl&cing rubber cement on a 1/4 inch strip at the bottom.

A. i'lhite piece of paper is nOi-[ either fixed on the slate Hi th rubber cement OR is allm-red to stay in place "Ii thout cementing depending of the presentation desired. 'l'he carbon paper vlhich is carbon side to the Hhi te paper vdll give the operator a good impression as is now obvious.

The slate is nOH ready and once the slips of paper and the button maro;nets are put in place the slate vJill look like in 111ig. 56.

THE OPE:RATION: The button mn@1ets hold the flap in plaoe. The center button magnet is attached only to the black paper flap. If the two button magnets on the side are moved to the middle so that all three magnets are attached to the razor blade on the flap, the flap vdll open up when the slate is tilted sli~~tly from the vertical! 1 The operation is there-for automatic once the mac;nets are moved. .

;rhe rna gnets can be moved on the way back to the stage taking care not to drop them, and once on t:le stage the flap is allovleci to sHing out, as you hold the slate in ~:/our left hand so that the flap drops on your coat sleeve. A quick glance at the back of t~~_e slate Hill give you all the im­formation needed.

For a fust design duplication effect, it is best to fix the Hhite sheet onto the slate. "::"or the question ansl-lering presentation the sheet should be placed loose on the slate so that the performer can rUllove it by simply inverting the slate and allOT::inS the Hhito sheet to fallout into his hand behind a tablet.

1"or the PR'::'::JBW.PA'fION, the slate is held behind the per­former 1 s back allOi>l"ing the spectator to dral-l or Hri te on the slips and then removing the slips, as I.-TaS recommended by George Anderson.

MASTER SLATE SECRE."TS PART III CHAPTER VII

THE IvIINDRSADING SLATES

THE CLIP ~:)LJ\.trE cont.

To make the black art-paper-flap resemble a slate surface, dust the paper Hith a dusty felt blackboard era­ser. It is best to cover both sides of the slate with black art paper. Hr. Anderson recor.unended to place chalk marks on the other side of t:~e slate to dispel preparedness.

q

Most persons are acquainted t<Tith button magnets as they have becoma household props and chD..l1.ces are that the slips of puper ,·rill be l'emoved Hi thout dislodGing the magnet but the performer cannot be su:ce. If the spectator pulls on the center magnet tlw flap Hill '00 lifted up, so it is best for tl10 performer, H11en holdinG the slate behind his back to press on the edge of the fla~) at tho cantor next to the cen­ter button to prevent a mishap.

If t>-e nrosentation docs not reauire irt1mediate excess to ti:w impressions, then the performer ·can dispense 'Hi th the magnets and ce:;nent the blaclc-paper-flap all around on the slate. The slate can then be given out 'Hithout the performer having to hold on to it. Back stage the flap can be dislodged and the impressions vie'Hed beforo the ShOH.

Iro got good impressions you Hill ofcourse use a short hard pencil and to be on the safe side for the light hand writers you should use very thin black art paper.

Ned Rutledge, in an excellent effect published in the NeH Pentagram, Vol. 2 No. 12, using the clip slate, mentions the use of black silhouette paper sold in art supply stores.

PLEASE NOIi'-'~: In figs. 56 and 57, the frames of the slate are shown v()ry '-lide. Actually the fr[,1l11es should be only 3/4 inch or one inch ,·ride at the most to prevent anyone from using the frame to i-Iri te on.

ANOTH&t IDEA: Hagnetic slates ,\-li th button magnets are very common cormnercially. Host of the commercial slates do not look like slates but look like boards in green color. The reader may Hish to similate these green boards by using green paper instead of black. T:le green board come wi til metal frames. Yet nothin;_~ beats a slate to attract the attention of an audience these days. The slato looks magical in t:ne hands of the magiCian and people pay more attention wondering "lhat miracle is about to be presented.

HASTES SL.Il..TE SECRNrS PART III CWl.rT.:R VII

THE HIND~{R;'DING SLA1l'ES

OCCLUDED THOUGH'rS

Under this title the author introduces another use for the Dr. Q Slates.

The Dr. Q Slates can be converted into a clip slate as follm-ls: The Dr. Q flap is replaced by a especially prepared flap as shmm in Fig. 57A.

A is a sheet of thin black art paper

B a sheet of black carbon paper C a sheet of tracinG paper D a piece of transparent plexi­

glass the same size as tI1.e original Dr. Q flap.

All the sheets are ~eld together uith drops of rubber cement on the cor­ners. This especie.l flap is added to one of the Dr. C~ Slates. Only the one slate is used.

Spectators aro allo"t-led to draH their Fig. 57A

chosen desir;ns on pieces of paper and the slate is used as a Hri ting board. 'rho s:,)ectatoX"s are given short nieces of hard pencil.

10

(.L1lle pe'fOrl>ler l"'eturns to the stage or platform, drops the flap on the table aIld t ~o dosigns ,.;ill be snm-ring through the plexic;lass. '111e lines ~,:ill be faint but legible.

No. 926-THA YER'S DR. "Q." SPIRIT SLATES Without a doubt the most perfect spirit slate writ­ing mystery that has ever been produced. A set of slates that can be taken directly into the audience, and submitted to the most critical inspection, yet may be produced full of writing at the will of the operator. Think of being able to place two examin­ed blank slates into a spectator's hand to hold, yet a moment later he finds them filled with written messages. The ultimate in perfect workmanship-a piece of apparatus you will be pleased to OWn.

Complete in every detail with full instructions .............. , ....................................... .......... $25:00

MASTER SLATE SECI1E'f PAl'1T III CHAPTER VII

TH:t.: NnmR&\.DIlTG SLATES

TEE 3-SLA'rE OFFICE TEST

One of the strongest slate tests that can be done close-up is knmm as the lvIedium1s 3-Slate Office 'l'est. The test is strictly for the private reader.

The test is brought about by the use at a gaffed slate, one of the three, called the X-Ray :'..lye Slate. Figs. 58 and 59 show tvlO kinds of X-ray slates, one is gimmicked at one end and tile other at the side.

In efi'ect, the slates arc used for a number of tests; telepathy, question answering and spirit messages.

'1'he effect is very strong on the spectator as eV61'ything happens Hhile he sits in front of the operator only t,,-TO fe et a"-Tay.

'I'm gaffed slate must be made only by a crafts­man as it must work Hith precission. The author I s X-ray Sla-tes "Here made by at'Tens Hagic and are perfect. As is shown

in the Figs., the entire slate panel s~dngs out pivoted

11

on pins at one end so that part of the frames st·lings out also. 'fm panel 1-Then in place in the frame has a tight fits a that it is held in :place by friction. A slight push Hi th a finger tip will dislodGe it.

]ll'F'ECT: The sitter is sh m·m 3 slates which ma7r be examined. 'file .";, slates are unmarked. Sitter is given ana slate and is told to 1,·rrite his question vlith chall{ or a slate pencil, secrotly. The sitter's slate is then sandHitched betHeen the other two slates and all three slates are tied together "lith rubber bands or ,,-rith paper.

'fhe performer divines the question and then ansvwrs tile auestion by H2:'i ting in one of the slates or ans,,"rsring the question verbally.

WORKING: 'fhe operator sho\-1s all 3 slates to be unmarked and gives ono to the sitter. Two of the 3 slates arc unpl'cj)ar'od and the gaffed slate looks unprepared to the sitter as the flap is in pl~ce.

The operator's table is covered t-1i th a soft cloth. lfuile the sitter is wri tinEs his question, t:-ie o,'crator places the gaffed slate on the table and dis­lodges the flap so that it will swing dm·mHards. Next, he places the other slate over the caffed one.

When the si t-ccr finishes ,",rri ting his question, he is told to place the slate Hriting side dm·m bet"leen the other tvJo. Performer immediately picks up the 3 slates standing them up on their ed(;c s, tho sHin-

Fig. 58

Fig. 59

12 CHAPTER VII

'I'll::': JliINDlL::.;\.DING 3LA'i'~S

'nr;; 3-SL.1\.'.r;,; 0_;""'-1C,;: '1'" it',';"_i1 t _ _ J.' ..... ""' • • • • •• COIl •

ging flap opens up and stays dO'em on ti:le table, the perfor­mer ir:rmediately reads tl~e message as he Gives some rubber bands to t~~e si. tter to tie [.round tho 3 slates. In the process the operator picks up t~-:e flap ond pushes it into place.

~rJhen tho slates have been tied ~V'ith tile rubber bands, the performer ShOHS tho slrd:;()s all around and says that it is important for the test that no light enters betHoen the slates. He then proceeds to divine the question by telepathy (?) ana. then Hrites out the answer Hhile the sitter is holding the tp~ee slates!

The X-ray Eye Slate is d-:scribed on page 26 of iiilliam E. Robinson 1 s lISpiri t Slate ',';ri tine; ---- II (1 (398).

CONVINCING SPIRITS

EF.B'ECT: A spirit message appears on a slate that has been examined, cleaned and marked, placed betuoen a stack of slates, tied and held down by various spectators.

'!'his effect is for the seance room, 'Hhere the lights may be turned off to accomodate the spirits.

An in~eniousset of gaffed slates is used to produce the effect. l'if;. 60 shm·rs a gimrn.icl-~ed stack of four slate empty frames held together by one bolted corner. '1.'here is also a section of the frames cut out from one side. It is quite obvious that if a straight slate is placed over the gimmick the whole thin[; uill look lil{e 0. stack of five slates.

'rhe ginnnick is completed by pl&cing an X-ray l!.'ye slate like tho one sho~·:n in Pig. 59 over tho four empty fr8Illes. and bolting the ,;hole thing toget:::o:;." at one corner only to make a unit out of the gimmick so that they look like a stack of fi ve slates. If the removable piece shmm in Fig. 60 is put in place the five-slate gimmicked can be seen from all angles with-out aro11sin::; any suspicion.

'rho svring:Lng panel of the X-ray Eye slate is placed so that the panel s1'rings dmmi-Jard Hi t:> .. in the feke.

TEl!: P[L3~NTATION: Place the 5-slate feke all. the table Hith the openning towards you. Give out a slate to be eXillllined or have the spectator furnish his m·m, provi­ded t',~e slate L.; the same size as the i'eke or larger, and have the slate marked.

Fig. 60

i\rO'l"l;:<'! J. .., Rn unL~hl"'ic::.od slate CC-l1 also bo added to the bottom of

t~e 5-sl2.te feke.

13 Y,-.d'.,L1 III CHAPTER VII

CONVINCI~G SPI~I7S • • • • cant.

rJ.'he eX[mlined ~~IE'.te is placed over the 5-;:Jlato feke, the operettor at t:}e same time pushes dm-In on the stoJinging panel to dislodge it and allm-red to droP.

/i.bout 3 or l~ more straight slates are next placed over the examined and marked slate and several spectators are told to p,lO-ce the'lr f'L"l.3c:p tips on the edges of the top slate touching each otho::." seance-cil'cle fashion.

The lights are next put out and tlle performer removes the piece from tile frames of the feke, sticks his hand into the feke 1,>[i th a piece of chalk are tvri tes on the rrn rked slate.

It isn't necessar~)i to write much. Just a feH Hords Hill suffice. The impact of the effect is that Hriting appears under impossible conditions.

NOTES: The X-Ray Rye Slate is not really necessary to l.·lOrk the above ef:"'ect. Over the L~-slate feke an ordinary slate can be placed but must latel' be r-omoved after the mr..rked slate is placed ave::.' it. l'his can be done under the pretext that there are too many slates. To Hark the effect correctly, the bottom slate of the feke must be a regular slate. 'l10 reveal the 1-1ri­ting after tho lights are turn on again, the HIlole stack of slates is turned ovaI' and trw 4-slate feke removed and the message Hill be exposed on t~le marked slate 1

The 5-s1 (:tte feke is bolted at one corner only so that the individual francs of tl'.e feke can move out and give the stack 2, haphazard look.

Mothe::- vorsion of this test is that the 4-slate feke does not have a cut-out scction but a~:,e just a stack of empty frrunes that are pJa ced on a table that has a t::.~ap door. The operator sticl::s his hand into the drm'ler of the table, drops the trap door and sticks !1is b.o..nd through the stack to do tho writing.

TO A SING1,E SI'l"fER nI L,IULL LImfr: The above test can of course be done in full liC;Jl.t but only to a. single sitter. The performer must engage the siVcer in conversation to misdirect his attention from tl-:e stack of slates after the mark slate is in the middle of the stack. During the conversation the operator does the secret ·Hriting. 1'110 Height of the slates over the marked slate is enoug..1-J. to hold it dm-m Hhile the performer wri tes "Ji th his r.icht hand. DiYa lights, burninc incense and soft music 1>:i11 help.

14 MASTEIl SLATE SSC!1E'fS PAd'i'_HII C~IAP'l'ER VII

THE MIND::tEADING ~)L!l.'l'SS

After Dr. ~I(mry ;:)lade retired from the spirit scene, Pierre L.O.A. Keeler becf...me his successor in t~le USA. His fame spread far and Hide and soon became the target for the expo­sers. Henry l1idgeley :;~va.'1.s, in his book, liThe Spirit \-Jorld Unmasked, 11 (1897, also :printed undor the title of If Hours with tlle Ghosts 11 ) gives the follm,ring account on page 81.

A Dr. L.H. 'llaylor, psychic invostigo.tor, ,-rho had already had some sittinr;s with Keeler, arranged for ano­ther sitting in I'Jashington D.C. for the purpose of further testing Keeler· s pm-lers.

He challenged Keeler to tell him in a spirit slate message the make and serial number of his watch. Dr. Taylor stated that he himself did not know the serial number so that there was no danger of telepathy being used, neither could he be asked to '!.-Trite it on a billet. After some lengthy conversation in '-lhich Keeler stated that the request was un­usual, Keeler asked Dr. Taylor to remove his 'VIatch and place it on a stack of slates to expedite the test.

The 'Hatch Has placed under a white hanlcerchief that was covering the top slate. Keeler next placed a black cloth covering over the 1:;hole thing. Dr. Taylor felt for his \fatch through the blncle cloth to ascertain that it Has still thore. After marc conversation, the slates i'lOre inspected and a message uo.s found on one telling the ma~ce of the '!.-ratch and the long serial number.

rr:ne effect HaD profound. Neither E.'vans or Dr. 'l'aylor had a solution for the mystery and no explanation was attempted althouc;h they surmised that a sHitch of Hatches had been made.

F'olloHing is my theor::r as to l:..oH Keeler \'rorl{ed the effect;

\ve 1010'.'; that Keeler £"hrays lcept 20 to 30 slates stacked bellind his chair in _ '.is o:;"i'ice. These slates Here visible to everyone as the ,- CD.r.le in for a sitting. The sitters assumed the slates to be ordinay. iCeeler of course knew his various slates by secret marl-:s and could put his hand on any desired trick slate.

After Dr. Taylor pro:posed the watch test, Keeler engaged him in a lengthy conve:c'sation during which time he took out a stack of felce slates similar to tbe 5-sla te feke referred to previously and placed the felce in front of him at the edge of the table. A HIli te hankerchief l·ras placed over the feke covering the X-ray slate and 1Jr. I:eaylor ,·ras asked to place his i.-latch 'lIDdnr tho hankerchief.

i'mother fact He lcnoH about Koeler is that he alvrays sat on a lo'ltl rockine chair which automatically placed his arms

MASTER SLA'l'E SECi~b~S PAliT III CHAPTER VII

THE MINDR~ADIHG SLA1'Li;S

K&;Li~ I S BA1"PLING SL"\'l'E TEST • ••• cont.

and hands out of niC;:lt under the tablo. 'rho table had a cloth covc)rin:--: ~Thich hnnc;od 1m! over t- 0 sicks of' tho tablo. Keeler did mo;;t 01""' JJ:L8 slate Hriting on his lap and mnde a habit of constant fidget~_ng and placing his h811ds into his pockets de­liber8.tely.

Keeler produced Q heavy black velvet cloth covering which contained one or more secret pocl{ets into ,-;ll.ich he had placed his own watch, and covered the stac1-c of slates Hith it. Keeler invi tc;d the iJ-i'. to fool for his ,;atch and at t;~o srune time Keeler ~~)ressed on tile sHinc;in[; ]Janel of the top slate which causecl the Dr. IS \Iatcll to slide dm-m into Keeler I slap silently.

Tne rest of the presentation Has child's play for Keeler. :tIe read the nake and serial number of the vlatch and wrote a message on another slate concealed behind the table, replaced the Dr. I S Hatch and lifted the slate panel in the act of 1ll1coverinG the slates. Tho Doctor took back his Hatch and Koeler added the messaGo-slate to t:'le stack in the act of coverin~; the slates again momentarilly.

The black cloth covering actually served a number of purposes. Besides the secret pockets to switch items, the cloth completel:I covl-~red t;le slates Hhich prevented anyone from cotmting the slates 'Used.

The messaee could have been Hritten on the X-ray slate throug.'rJ. the openning in t>.e feke Hhile the flap viaS down providing the X-ray slate Has not attached to the feke stack and further providing tho slate could be handed out. Keeler could reach behind tl:<.e cloth and remove til.e: X-ray slate toc;et>er ,-:ith the Dr. I S Hatch and hanci the 1-Thole thing to him Hhile t:-'.o black cloth covoring ste.yed behind to hide the f'eke slates.

MASTER SLA'r.c; Si£CHii."rS PART III

TE.2; NIND~1Z.~DING SLATES

'flU S INGIHG BLACKBOARD

In "Hentalistrix ilicore II the Amazing l1aurice (Harris Cohen) describes a bll).ckboo.rd mo.de from a shoet of alum.Lnum 8lld Hood fr3.r.1ing in the effoct co.lled Nova-Hento. 'll11e allJlninum is po.inted dead black and a paper sheet is then tacked on for tho writin~.

In the words' of' i·I.I'. Cohon, "- \-.Then the spectator draHs the dosic;n on the pa::1er, it (tho blackboard) fairly sin['~s out thl"'ouC;h the aluxnil111m. It

}\mazingly, c. f'clt-t ip inJ: m:1.rkcr mako 3 the man t noise on the 'singing blctckotu.rd.' 'v'f:1O could believe that a felt-tip markor is noisy? All the tests with .&SP designs and numoers are possible. 'l'he Hri tinG can be heard fran an adja­cent room if the door is sligll.tly openned.

16

The a:ct of SOlUld :;:-,lOntalism has appeared in print occasionally throu~h the ye[,r~",. It v[QS touched on in Corinda' s '13 Steps to Mento.llsm and 0.130 in Sam Dalal1s"Sound Hentalism ll

published bJ ti:.e Supreme ~~a,;ic Co. of mgland. 'rhe possibli ties of the 'sinc;inc blackboard I are

many_ A hearing devise can be c.ttached to it so that the sound is heard at a distC:U1ce. in essence, the performer is able to distinguish tIle various ESP designs as they are drawn on the board by the number of strokes; one stroke for the circle, two for the cross, etc. Sam Dalal in his book Hent a step further and treated on nlUnbers and printed letters.

Tim P:\3:.)1~l{Tj:..'rIOl:-r HUS'l' 13.1£ CLO,UG.W so that the method is not obvious to the spectators as they can also 'hear' the trick. 'rhe mentalist can avoid that by his own sho\-rnlanship. The effect cDn, for example,be presented as a prediction. The performer pretends to write something on a card, then tells the spectctor to drmJ' a design sight-1U1seen. The performer after knO\'1inc the design dr'c:t·m by tjlC sound dra-'.!S the same design on his c8.rd ~dth a s1'Iami gir.rrnicl:.

'fne singinC: black board SllOUld measure about 26 by 313 inches and sits on an easel.

'Ill,I.e; SnWDm SLA'l't;

'.L'ha follmdng conc ept has room fOl' furtl:..cr deve­L)pement. 'l'hc use of sound in l1wntal magic has not been exploi­ted enOUGh. '1',.'0 uutI-cor hG.3 rw.c;.c a slate that Gives diff·):eent sounds depondin:.::; on Hhat part of tJ"o slate is \"(ritten on. If the rende:" hu" a good sense of l1cfJ.:"ing >e s:'lOuld exp·.::r;mont on t~:e principle.

PiG. 61 on the next pco;o, 3::'0'.':s a slate 'H~ich measures 6~ by 14~2 inches. It is made Hitn a Hood fra'l'J1e and

MAS'.!.' ER SLAT E S.ECiUiJf S PAHT III

THE SINGiNG SLA~~ •••• cont.

divided into 4 cells. The slate re­sembles a pictUl'e frame and is used on one side only.

Section "A" behind cell 41 is backed by a piece of alwninum.

Next a piece of co~rucnted board is used to Cover the entire back of the slate.

A second piece of corru~ated cardboard is cemonted behind cells

17 ChAP'ri'.ll VII

c

..-------, t\ /

}

/ Z 1> 4-$

1/ ~

Fig. 61

3 and 4, !lB". and finall? a third piece of corrugated board is cemented behind cell 4, 'C II

•

'111e bacle of tJ:e slate ',:ill resemble a sot of steps. Cell 1f1 and 2 have only one layer of corrugated board. Gell if3 has tvlO layers and cell ;>4 has 3 layers.

'rhere are other conbino.tion of .t)ape!; material to expe­riment vii th such as ,sandpaper ovor the corrugated board or over t~'lf:: aluminum • .I..he fact is that Hhen anyone circles one of the digits a distinct sound is heal"'d, comparable to musical notes. 'r11e cell '\.Jith 3 layerG of corrugated board gives a higher sound than the one lJith only tHO layer-G. The cell with the alu­minum backing gives oi'f tll0 hig~est sound.

To farther distinguish between the sounds, cell 113 has a piece of fine '-lire cemented in a vertical position. This is SllOi-ffi by the Havy lines in the·3 cell in It'ig. 61. The Hire makes a brealdn[s or tripping s01md when the ink marker is passed ove::::' it. The Hire gimmick is fror:l an idea of Ned Rutledge.

Cell ,:'L:. has a piece of rough sand paper rubber­cemented roug~,l side down OVGr t.he corrugated board. '1':le "11101e Hritinc su::eface of the slate :L3 then covered Hitl: l,,~l"dte vJTi­ting po.pe::::' cut to size. 'rhe verticHl lines or drm·m on the paper and then the munbcrs 1 to 4.

ivith practice the o')erator con learn to distinguish each individual sound. 1'he corruc;ated-board cells 2 and 3 will develope deeper indento.tio!l:J 1'li t',1 use, or the operator can en­large t~ ... o indent~'.tions beforo cov·.;rinc the squaros by pressing the lines \'li th a pen cap.

'ro cover the preparedness on tlw back of the slate, COVf)r the entil"'e back Hi th t~1in \'lhi te art board or colored board. #1 square vlill nOH [;i ve a smooth singing sound over

the aluminum 'Hhen the spectator draws a circle arott.."1d the 1.

.!.L3 'it

square \-1ill give off tlie 'bumpy sound I due to the corrugated board bo.cking. square Hill give out the definite tripping noise and also the bumpy s01md.

MASTER SLATE 3;~CHl?rS PA£{'l' III CHAPTER VII

TH.b; 11INDiL~il..l)ING SLA'r,1S

"4 1:=

• • • • cont •

square Hill give out a cracldn[:; noise due to the sand paper 'I,·rhich '\.-Tas rubber-cemented all around the edces only.

THE ANALYI'IGAL BOOK 'l'l£ST

18

This effect is designed to give the operator several avenues for success. The ef':fect is exellent for the dravdng room or club type presentation. 'rhree spectators take part which makes everything more interesting to the audience and also furnishes the performor ~:i th a number of Heak links, the snaP:9i_nr~ of 81lyone being surficiont to the success of the test.

3pectator )1 is ~iven n book of about 250 pages. :Jpoctator ,;2 is :';i ven tjc sin:~ing slate and an ink

marl:cr, ;:)pectc,tor ,:3 is:ivon G. '.T2:'itinr.; pad and an ink

marker.

Instruct spectatol' ..."2 to 1001:: at:.lis slate ~d to mentally tr:Link of a page number betlJeen 100 and 250 • .Jince the booll: only has 250 the pase number must begin Hi th a 1 or a 2.

Unknown to the spectators, they only have the choice of 12 pages: 123

124 132 134 11.~2 11!-3

213 214 231 234 2L~1 243

Spectator 712 must use only the digits on the slate to formulate the !)age number, and t.he digits C~D only be used once.

Performer states to spectator if2, 111 want you to think of tho first digit of tl1e page and when I say I Go I I want you to draw a circle around that digit on the slate. II

On ti!.e '/JOrd 1 Go I, the spectator drm'lS the circle around the diC;i t and the performer ;.[ri tes dOvffi his impression on a pad. If tile performer is not surc, al thou.Sh he knoHs it is a 1 or a 2, he ',Trites on hi:") pad 111 or 211.

Performer next inst:;,:'ucts sncct tOl~ )3, to vrri te the circled ciigi t on :1is pad. 'J.'his gives tne per-formel" a second cllanco at gettinr; the fiI'st cli;jit. 'l'ho felt-tip marll:er also 1 sin:';s I 1',Then it \'11'i tc s on tilO pe.d and tho::·.~ can be no mL;tuke in d ivi:."ling t:le c1igi t t~,i s t li'::o. 'l';1.u sound 1:ill ei tlL:,' sound liko !3. single stroll:8 for tile '1, ,or scv(;ral strokes for the 2.

lL;xt tell spectator' ;/2 to tlJ.inlc of t:.e next digit and to drmoJ a circle around it n.t; tile: '.'::~rd ' GO.' PerfOr!110r also i·:rites his :ix.l~)rossion c,f t;'c cii;it a~1d. then tells spec-

19 HASTE::{ SLA'l.'E; S}':;Cil:;TS C F..APTi<:L1 VI I

'fnE HINDR3;'\.:)I:i~G .3LA'J.I .t::S

THE ANALY'fI CAL BOOK TEd'r •••• cont.

tator ,>3 to 11rite tl'le die;i t on hin pad. '.L1he sarne routine is repeated pith the third diSit. After the third digit is cir­cled and noted, tell spect~·tor,;J to ShOH the page number to spects_tor i/1, Hho has the book and tell spectator i;~1 to open the book to that page.

,ere the performer has a third chance of divining the chosen numburs. Surely the performer can tell whether the book 1·;as openned to the 100 numbered pages or the 200 numbers. He will also knQ1.J if the page is a left hand or a right hand page, so he Hill knOH if the last digit is odd or even. If the book :'3 openned to the 100's puges, the performer has another advantago. If the spectator is looking at the right hand or odd numbored page, the performer can tell if the spec­tator 1.1aS turned to page 123 or p1 go 1Li-~~. :rage 1 Lt-3 appears to be in the center of the Iko1\: so t~la0 tile book Hill be openned at about the centor.

J:f the perfo:;-'~llCr iE3 SUl'O of tile page, he tells spectator ,;'1 to us 0 t~l:;.e X'er~o.in-!-nL; digit and to co-mt to that worci CillO. to circlo t-,e ',-;ol'cl '·.'i th a pencil.

The performer- has c_ prom;,tor' list of t,~ 12 '-lOrds Dossible anci co.n therefore pur.r~) for morc information if neDd­ed such {~s tr~-in[; to divine the fil'~)t letter of t::~o Hord, etc. If all els8 1'o.ils the pe:::fcc: lOl' can resort to ot~ler' methods of gett:i.n;:~ the '-lOrd, center' t~)-_:.." , etc.

~uccess is assureci as a careful study of the 12 possible ,lords 1-..rill ShOH. If t~i,e book holder is looking at the 200 nurnbers anci at tho left l:l&nd paco, the operator knOHS that there a:('o only t1'JO IJOssible ci,oicos, pages 214 and. 234. ;I'he performer \w'J.ld c3.11 out the likeliest v:ord first, if he mis­ses than he knoHs it is kw other \·;ord. If it is an odd number page that 'Has chosen tilen there are four poss i bili ties, etc.

of

i-inother excellent concLlsion is t11e prediction angle. 'll}'e performer con prC;)G.l'e 12 sealed-envelope pre­dictions, Hi til the odd-nrunbcI'ed page s of the 100' s in the left tro':sers pocket and tile even numbered on the coat pocket, the 200 t S nu.rnbcI's Hill be placed like't·rise into the rir;ht pocl:ets.

If page 211-l- 'Vere:; ciwsen, t~~e pl"odiction vJOuld be the 3rd >-;ord of tlle page, c t c.

N.AS'r BH SLATE s::;crrers PAHT III SLA'l' E WIZARDRY

CEAPTKl VIII

TIlE MEN'TAL CHOICE 3LA'l'1£3

'l':Lis chapter will cover prepared slates used for pre­dicting one of a multiple c1:.oice of items as cb.osen by the spectators.

U. ii'. Grant's Slat 0 of lUnd: .c'·J.r;. 62 Shows a facsimile of ~antls slate. Six cards are clipped on the sides of the slate backs to audience. lmy card C~lOsen is cr::ms­fel""'red to the top of the slate. 'vlhen the slate is turned around, all tIlC cards ShOH

a different face and the card at the top is the predicted card as soen by the chalked prediction on tho slate.

'111e gil1uick ,·:ere dividod cards, 11'ig. 62 The hidden halves of the cards Here all

20

alike, say the four of spade s. 'i'he chosen card is turned end­for-end Hhen transi'el'red to tho to}) of the slate. The predic­tion is thOl"efor oTt,rays tlh; snne unless a neH set of divided cards are used ·,·.Thich forces a different card.

The Slate of Hind \-Jas improved by The Great Aldini and sold through Grant. In Aldini's Version, called "Any cards Slate of Hind, II regular cards Here used which ,·./'ere later scaled into the audience. Th3 girnmicl\: was a foldinG card with an en­velope on it I S back half the size of the card. 'rhe slate is held Hi th t;:~c folded card folded and out of sight facing the perforYl~er. ','illen the chosen co.ro. is transferred to the top of the slate in goes into the envel01)e behind the folded car·d. All the performer has to do next, b(3fore turning the slate arolJnd is to prop up tllC folde d ce,rd so that it cover's t:!1e cho­sen c2.l"d. 'rhe prediction of courso matches the gi..'nrnicked card. T:re tHO ce.rds can be hold to;:;etb;2.' by magiciD.n' s ·.1DX..

THE H .. :~Nll'AL CHOICE JLA'l'JJ;

A furtiler im.provement to Casan t '3 Slate of l'Iind Has put out by Audley \-JalsD. and Geor:'o .0r8.nd culled flThe Nental Choice Slate.:1 This slate came Fi t;~ 1.1 ::; l;and so that it could be stood upric;ht, J~t measures 9 by 11 ],~ inch.es and is r.w.dc of' heavy wood construction Hiti"l paint:d bord:r:J. 'rhere are four slots on eac~-!. slde of the slate to D.ccomodate 8 cards. Mother slot is orl the top ed,~~e of' the slate vIi th a special builtin gimmick that automatically exchanGes 0118 card for another. The card in the gimmick is of CO',11"se nrodicted on t~'.e unseen sid::.~ of the slate. The routine is th~ sarne as in Grant1s Slate of 11ind.

HAS T Et; SLAT:ci: SEC1{~:;'l'S CHAP'L::.-q VIII

T:iE l1ENT.t,: .. L Cl-lOIG]~ SLA'rE • • • •• cont.

As depicted in Fig. 63 showing the Mental Choice Slate, envelopes can be substi tutee' for cards for the question-ans,'Ier-ing act.

'l'.'n.e ingeni ous gi:mmi cl{ used in this slate, in embedded on the top edge of the slate. It is made of cloth in the shane of a "WI and Horks like a see:'sc,H or up and dOim elevator. 'rre force co.:.. ... d is hidden on one side of tI1e "\z!l. When the selected ca~d is insorted on tho otho:..' side and pushed do~·m the force c::.rd pops up in front of it and com};lctc:ly covers the selec­ted card. ;,illcn the slate is tU:i.'ned around, only tl::'C 1'o:""c8 c8.j:'d Sl101·TS.

I I ? 5_ •

:2 ~II 3 7

=1< 8m ~

1"ig. 63

21

·~·Jhen using envelo~)es for the Q-A act, a chosen en­velope is transfe2:'red to the top and exchanged for another Hho I s contents arc lmmm. ;l'lD nC~J envelope is then initialed and both envelopes a!'e removed [1.S one after the per'fo:'mer has challenge anyone in the audience to tell for certain Hhat the contents al'e. The rest of' the onvelones are also removed or deal t Hi th one at a time aft,.:}' tlle initialed onvelope is ans­wered.

. Syd Bergson I s Arcane Board and Roydon's l1ental Mi-racle Slate, ,·:hich are still available, are two more devises used for the multiple choice effect. In both a cross mark ap­pears by one of five items on the b()ard, names of states, coun­tries, etc. as a prediction. 'l'he mark is supposedly placed there by thG performer .,-;1 th chalk. 'l'hese boards can dcmble as slates. '.£'h l ;;;- arc also 11lar~netic so tllat a magnetic card or cards or a r.1a;-::ne~ic onvelo;)E) cin bc: picked up secretly.

AB:i30'I"l'10 H:j·iT .1L 3LA'l' E

A 'Mental Slate' vns sold by ;~bbott (catalogue ,; 13) as s~::.o~-m in Pig 64. l'lJlis slate has a motc,l cross-mark attached to the ri:.:ht cdc;e of the slate panel and

can be move(l up or dm-m. 'rIle slate panel i:J r:.. bit looso \·:ithin t;·c j~'rQ,r1Gn and can be r:lOVeQ ab out -} IL;. in c 1:.. sid .;"·;[;ys. '.ehe advantage ove:." othel' slates is mat the crOS[J-l-:J.arl-:: can slide dowm·mrds by gl'c.vitation and the peI'­former I s hand is ne\Ter near the mark for the presentation. '1.'he performer holds tl"'..e slate \-lith his left :CJ.and only, pretends to make a chalk mark and ';;rlen tho spectator anounces his

i"ig. 6L~

NAS'I' EJ.\ SLA. 'l'.~ S~CRETS 1) .JlT III CIiJ\.PTER VIII

TE~ M~NTAL CHOICE SLATE • • • • cont.

choice, allovls the mark to slide dmm to the proper place simply by releasing pressure on the slate frame.

'rHE FANTA.BOLO SLATE

The excollent slate shown in Fig. 65, is made and sold by the Supreme Hagic Co. of London, called 'r11.C F'antabolo Slate.

'l':(1.e 1'oto.:_,~.~aph shoHs the slate on it I S stond and a see-through houlette in 1'ront of it ·.·lit~l a CD.l'li.

partly in it. In effect, the spect;·.tor is

sb.O\·m several giant sized cards. '1'he CO.l'ds are tJlen mixed fu"'1.d sl~o\·m backs-out 1'01' a choice of one. The chosen card is then nlaced into the houlette, back out. ~he slate is then turned ar01..U1d to ShOH a pre­diction chalked on it and the houlette is also turned to shm-l the c£trd in it Hhich m8.tc~:es the prediction. Fig. 6.5

T~:e black-art principle is used to do t11e tl'ick.

22

The principle for t:le ljlantaoolo Slate is explained in Hugard' s :Hagic Honthly for Oct. 19LrJ-l-, Vol. 2 No • .5 in "A 'dinning \Vager" by George Kaplan. A modified version of Kaplan's ef1'c;ct is in Nelson's Hire.cles of Hentalism titled 1!A Sensational Pre­diction" by Dr. If·1m. '1'. Palchanis. 'I'he slate is 0.1 so described in Grant's £I'abulous Feats of I-Iental Llagic, called Space Thought. rn GI'unt' s ef:;:\~ct, design cards are used •

. /01' the presentation, the slate is plnced flat on the table ~Jhile the houlette is shown. 'l'he performer can stick his hand througb the houlette to shoH it empty. Several cards are then shOlm and placed into ti"le houletto. One of the cards is painted slate color on it's back. The slate is then picked up and a prediction is cllulked on one side and the slate is proped up in it I s slot bellind the houlette.

All the cards from tlle houlettc are nOH removed ex­cept the slate color one lJ~lic~: stays behind and Ll not noticed as it appears as paI't of the slate. (rIlo cards are shmm backs­out and one i~~ ch~)sen bv t'ilO aU6.icnco and placed into tho houlette. Naturall:. "'Ihe~ the }'loulotte is turnod around vhat '-ill b:~ see'.l i" ths f~'.co of tile forco card i-Ihich is slate color on it's othor side.

in Illig. 65 it appears that the slatL; is seon through the hm.u.ette but Hhat is seen is the slate-color back of the force card.

23 MAs'rZR SLATE SECH.:i.':rS }>t .. l~'r III SLA'.t'S IvIZARDHY

CHAP'i' E.-: IX

THE ESP SLA'rES

Haldn;j tHO correct guesses out of five \-1itf1 a deck of cards Hhich has only 5 diff'erent designs repeated 5 times does not sound lil<:e much of a f'eat. Yet according to science tlIO correct guesses out of' five, or even 3 out of ten, proves the existence of' Extra Sensory Perception. hven more amazing is the fact that an entire ne~'l branch of science was born f'rom this as SUITl') ti on, Parapsychology! ':rhe experi:nents into !.!SP and it I s publicity made popular the Zennor cards, bettor knovm as ESP cards Hhich consist of only 5 d':;signs: Circle, cross, Havy lines, square and star. 'rheso desiGns arc rc:?eatod 5 times to make a deck of 25 cards. 'rhis dock of capds, \-1hic11 can be increa$ed to 50 cards by plc'.cinC bro d,'cks toc·;ether, have creo.ted a new crop of magical and mentel effects for magicians. Hm-lever magicirms lJEH'O n,')t content Hi trl thc two guesses out of five. 'J.lhey insist:d in five co::. ..... r;ct hits out of five. So 'l'ony Uorinda introducod his v.r:; clover Khan Slate '.cest.

'l'jL; lGIA.N :3LA'r.:; .r'Hr:NCIPL~

COI'inda t s Khan .s1D. to is des-cri?ed in Burlinc :iull t s .0ict:i.onary of hentalism, Vol. 1. 'i'lB principle of the slate is also used in Corindats 13 Steps to Nentalism wi til ::li8 "In_ credible Slate 'l'ost, 11 page 3109.

Fig. 66 shm·:s the lilian Slate principle usinG onl'Jr 3 cc.rc.ls. THO strips of \-lhi te elastic band [>.re riveted to the back of the slate. The center sectiorn of the cards are next cut out and cemented to the lillderside of the elastic only but not to the slate. ~his side of th0 slate with tho cimmicks is not Sh01-ffi to the audience until all t~~e cards Lave b,~;en insortd into tho tb.ree places and properly aligned. It is Quite obvious that no matter what card is selected and placed -in any chosen spot sight-unseen, only tho gill1l11icl: contl~r3 of thi.~ three cards will show, which will exactly match the pe2.'.fol"mer I s chalked in prediction. In l,li,?;. 66 the card on the left ShNTS a circle, but th? card be: .... ind it can be any of the other 3 desisns.

Other clever variations o.f tho Khan Slate princi­ple are us ed in David Hoy IS II Dr • fEline Outdone /I and in Tannen IS "Clearly Hental" by rrony :';pina.

~ KBAB SLATE PRINCIPLg EXPANDED

David Hoy l s IIDr. Hhine Outdone I! is very three ca.:rds 8.1'0 used ins Lead of five, maldn; short and sv.rcot nnd perfect for tJ~e opening gular size ca:'''ds are used, tilG ap~)arat;us can the coat pocket.

good as only the effect number. If re­be carx'ied in

'l'ony .:.»))ina t s tlClecTly Hental H has added the feature of see-through plL~.stic bOf'.:cc.s. 'l'1:!is creates th:; illusion that the cards con be plainly soen from both sides!

In the author's vorsion of tllis fine effect it appears t:hat eve;::y time tl"c spectator chooses tho cards the l'esults are difi'o!.:'ent! Actually t::ce effect is limited to only a fev.! variations, but the audience docs not knO'toJ that.

'1.'0 create tile effoct He Hill use letter cards ins­tead of the .c;SP cards, together \:i tll the l\J:11n Slate principle and tho see-through boards.

li'ig. 67 shows the audience vie, ... of the see-through board. The squares ,dt}~ tho numbers 1 to L~ are position-d,c.::signations so that tho spectator can callout any number he wishes for the placing of the cards, backs out and sight-unseen. ',[lhese squares ac tually hide the gimmicks on the other si<1o of tho board, a vorJ( clever idea used by Tony Spina in his 1I0learl ~i Bontal 11 ,) .

Fig. 68 ShOHS the other side of the board ,.'i th the gimmicks sn01dng tho Hard !l snovr " but in alternate squar~s.

For t~e presentation, the perfor­mer Sh01,TS t:.10 board Hi th all t~lO let tel's in place as s}:lo'.m in Fie. 09. ,Jhi18 tho letters a:.:' .. ; facin:~ t:~,; 2.uc;.ience, tho perfo:;:>mer removes bIle t1 s I! Oi. t:~e l>ig~,t side. '.L'he:::'e' s no gil1nnick behinci this liS II so tho audience cl).n see right tJ:l..rough tl~.e plastic board anci i t a'I~!un.rs to­tally unproliaj:'ed. 'rhe pel'fo:':'nlcl' cem of course remove all trw i~. caY'as in the 0.1 te:cna to un­prepared places and hand then to tile specta­tor. I'c;,'former then turns the board aro"ll1d to remove t~10 rest of th'~ cards vlhich .• 'e keep::; and shuffles anC!. places then back on tlle unprepax'ed squares. 'rhe sljectator is then tol(.< to choose any c[, .. 1'd sight-uns:Jcn and to call out lVhat number to put it in, etc.

Due to the gimmicks cemented to the elastic bands the result;, Hill alirays be the sarne as in ,rilig. 69.

~ -1-

"--

L-" f-±. 1

Fig. 67

~

2 f-

Ii I--

0 !---

I-." I-

l·'ig. 68

PAH'l' IiI

rl)ll~ ESF SLATl~S

'rEr:; KHAN SLA~.',,~ ••••• cont.

'Ehe boards shmm in i"igs. 67 is made of clear plastic sheet lid th black elastic ribbon riveted to tho bOD.rd. '1'he alphabet cards used must not have any indexes at tho corners.

Since the letters S, N, 0, nnd W, alternate on the board, other words can be formed to create n diff0rent re­sul t al togethor. l"ig. 70 shows what the

C I! PT i.:.:R IX

Fig. 69

performer can do b;/ pl8.cing different letters on t:ne unpre­pared places. Aftor tho first eff ct has been completed the perfor:ncr can t[Jce out all t:~c G cards and place thom back into the decle and ti-:en give tile spoct:tor four otIlor cards H:dch also spell lIsnoHIl or any of tl:-..'" Horc"s like "stop 11 or II • II -.L. 1- 1 I ' ane.-I • .Ll- roa .Ly C oesn t Yllatte:r' wnat cards the spect~-'.tor gets since his cards Hill all-lays spoIl out the letters repre­sented b:" the Gimmicks. Ho'.:evor it is best to give t e spectator the letters rrsno~,:jJ as he mcty choose b" coincidence t::1e srulle letter for t2,e COl':,~ect place in Hhich case t.",e D~:;rformer '1'1£13110'3' that card to t::-ce audionce befo:c' plac:i.n:; it behind 'c; LC gir:1!',1i ck Hhi ch it mat che s •

'1'~1e perforner choose8 th:.~ lett,:;rs lIatep II and places tl'.em into tile 1L"'1i,)l"epar'ocJ. places. The spectators lett,:!rs go behind the gimrnicks for the final result shown in Pig. 71. 'These two 1'Jord~) the performer has predicted in a s~)al~_ci .onvelope irhich hQS buen given to someone to hold!! ! !

Ot~H)l" 1.!Ords crm bo formed sim­ply by turninc t~,:ce board u}~sid; dO'.m so that t:le lette .. 's s-n-O-"I Hill look like m-o-n-s. If tl~e boaI'd as Sl'1mm in Fig. 68 is turned Ul)sido dm·m, the performer can creato the Hords "mint II and Ittoss. " Other ''lords arc "mend" and I/lots, II etc.

Bear in mind that a prediction of these h'ords is a pOHerful 1,!eapon if the read':r is t~-l,C type of mentalist that

s

w

predicts ev,:mtc; tJ.:.at '.·dll tnko place during his ShOH. Add the~c pr8dictions to ot~r effcts in your act liku the book test, a nUlub.:;l', etc. for 2.. s:.12..shing finishl

26 I-lASTER SLATE SECHi?rS .PART III

T~;E KHAN SLATE . . . . . cant • .l." ics. 6') to 71 s>m'l lr}ttO:2S t}1at arc verticle on hori-zontal cards. '.r:'ese cards can be made by inking the letters on blanle playing cards. If dealer alphabet cards are to

be used then t~~e board must be ri :r;ed

"jl"

of as shm-m in Fig. 72. The handlin;_~ the boards l"emains the S DIlle. 'll~',e asterisks in t!.2e 1~'iC;. desi;,!,nate the cards Hi th t!:.e ,·;iF1I'licks.

Tl:e Util-il-h-'op slato l."ig. 72

'llhis slate is still available. It is expensive and Hell made. It can be usod a~) a slate, a tray and a sldtching devise. It svlitches five cards on display on a stand for fivG force cards therefor it can be used for the ESP test. In lil{e f'a­shion it can sHitch f'ive soaled envelopes for five planted ones.

TllO flap Hi th t:lG .5 exposed co..:c'ds f'alls

d01·m to uncove:-.:> .5 other cards.

ljlig. 72A

lwrr:,-~: r.rho 5-in-1 s1 ate Hill bo treated in Part IV' tmder 2o.bulous 'i.'ric1c Sl;:>,te3.

27 l"'AH'l' III

FOURTH Dn~ENSIONAL HATH

Hath has beon used to create baffling effects through­out tho history 0::"" magic anci more especially in mental magic. ~leginald :Jcot ~~n Clla:)ter 14, boo': 13 of his "Discovor:Le of iiitcLlcraft rr sD_id, II _ it 'Hill inc~uc() great adr:1iration to the bollOldors; npocio.llio H11e11 t~"le:r :',_,'0 before amazed and abused by sarno expori1:c.:mts of no. tur8_11 mc.ci1:o, ari tbmoticall con­clusi ons, or legierdemaine. II Published, 1 581.~1

:~ brain buntinc; ef:'ect \,Ti th numbers that 'is used by many ra~',giciD.J."ls is the 16-digi t effect 'Thich invol vas the substi tutiun of a S)t 01' pI"c-pecorded nurno,,;rs for tho set of numbers chosen by tho audience.

'rho inventor of this effect is no doubt lost to histo­ry. It is an elo.bc'ration of a more simpler addition test. The sarne effect can be created by using only L~ single digits and switchinz the problem. By using 16 digits, or four numbers of Lt digits each, the audience is ha.rd put keeping track of the n'mubors given end the problel'1 is far mOl~e impl"'essive.

In 1902, Leon Hermann ''.'pote in the Sphinx, Vol. 1, /;10, in refe1"l'cmce to the 1 6-digi t effect, "This is one of the fincst eXl)erimcnts eVGr performed in the parlor. rrhe com­bin2.tion is a nC~L_one _apd .h~s., }:!eyeF_,.:!2.09}1.. _€?_)C.p..o.s_e~.l, __ • II

'rhe combination referred to is a sHitch of numbers 'Hri tten on a slip of papor. 'rile porformer IS numoors are on the illlderside of the slip. 'l'h, total of the forc:: nlJln'~)r;rs Has chalked backt.,ards on a shoot of ne1'Tspaner. The slate is shovm blank and then-17:rQJ)ped in tlw no'.;spa:pei~. '.l'lw neHS lapel" is pressed aGainst t~18 slate surface Hhich transfurs the chalk marks to the slate for the prediction of the total.

'rho s':ri tclling of u set of num-oors for 8. force sot is as old as tir:lO in the magic Horld. 'rhe trick of pas2.ing a chalked messaGe from a nGl-rspal)er to a slate 1;as eXl)Oscd by German maC;ician Carl ~-Jil1mann in 1877 in his boo}~ Hod:rn '.lonc1r.

DUNNIUG EH 'S HIRACLE SU'rE

In tile early 1920 IS JOSOlJh Dunninc;ur introduced to tlre magic Horlel >is I'P.ro.cle Sla to for t~lC pur~loso of sHi tching numbers for tl~0 1 G-di[;i t or.,'oct i:hich Has c. foature ~Ln his act.

D'lY'1~n~n0''''rl", "'l'1te ;'" s',o''''''' ;n 1.';,_, 72 'f)'he ~lato·, . L.":'J.,!....L l,J""" "......)~. ..J..i:J .... - •• J..L. .1...... - ...L.(.). • .L._.. _ ,

has a 'Hood f'ra:<1e Hit};, n. hr'lf-flo.p ':~:i.n:..';o6_ 0_'0 the center of the slate so that tl1.e flo.:) ccn fold ci tIler 1.1' or clmm. ~jlor t2~e pre­sentation, tho flo.p i::: ht;lc~ foldod up '\;i tIl D. sot of force num­ber's beh:tnd ~. t and hidden 1):.- til,: i'lD_P. r,£lhe 31 ate t},1c.'efore ap­pears unmal"kcd.;?01..1.r l!.-diC:i. t YJ,Ul"1-:)Ol"'S t'..s cullod by t:ClO audionce al~e t~L:m cllo.llccc1 0!1 tlle s12cJce to form an addition problem.

28 111\.3'1', ::1; SLATE S~~C,.( ~'rs

l-i'OU.F{'l'~~ DII-{·;lTJIUlT'·:.L E .'T' c nt • • • • a •

'1'he perfo::.-"ner (~ro~)s t:'nc f'lap on t>c Hil:'" to gi vc t':c ::-;lc.tc to sono person to 8.dd tho number s. '1'lle p~r',' son adds tilE) force nUl'Tlber s and o.:;:'],'i ves at tho pI'edict8d total.

force numbers

Al 3alrer added an b1!:oro'ler;1:nt to tho Niracle SlD.te by having t':1J; flap lock after

cho.sen numbors

it ,·ras droDDed so that t}:c slate could be safely pas'sed out to anyone for adding the force numbers 1'Ji thout eX':IOS :Lnr~ the method. Tl1.e slate is also called tILe; .n Bakor Sla to.

Harry Dobrin improv:d the slate furtho:i.' by having tho flap lock in oit:t1.er position up or down. This slate is the mure popular of the number slates sold today called, "Dobrints Double Locldn[~; Slate." 'Tho Dobrin slate comes without lines naintod OD. it so that the performer can either' challc in lines for the 16-digit effect or use the slate for the appe8.l'ance of a Hord massaGe. 'rhe slate is also [;()od to use as prompter' d,.wise or to :1ido [0'.. mirror for t:1.0 lkmtal 'i'elevision effoct or to shl'itch on onvolo~)e.

J'i.nothor version of the TI'l..L'nbel" slato is known f18 tIle .3a1{el'l-Dunnin[;sr slate S1101111. in li'iG.

Fig.

73. T>e botton half of the slate panol is a sli6.inC: flap. '1'ho force numb81's a:ec hidden under t::"is half-flap. l'11e chosen number s 0.1'0 ~;ri tton on t~l(; tOD half of th:; 31[;. te. The performor then turns the [)Lct~e arol)nd, end-for-end and alloHs the flnp to slide to t'.13 ot~lcr end \-Thich c1isclo:.;es the force numbers.i.'ho slate is then giVC~l to any· no to add up the fi­gures for tho predicted toto.l.

73

'.e.~:e correct handling is )lacing the slate undor the arm fu"l.(~, 81io.in" the flap l-1it~l t::l,O tlTl11ilb c.t tIle same thole. 'rhe TI'l.ll':lboj:'s u.-n..de:'.,'l the fl9.}) 0.1"0 upside do~.J:'."l in relntion to tho ex-

U. iiI. GRANT I S i-II.L(ACLE SLA'1'E

'llllt1(:' mo..rc}lOs oni ~Te'\: ideas c.:!."e born maldng tlle old ones obsolete. 00 along conos U. }? Gl"nnt 1-:ith 11is 1-1iro..clo Jla to l1Ild indood it is a :';liPflcle slD,tc. '1'11'-) slate is used for tho 1 (i-di;it of.:"oct e.z.copt 'eili,t ~:i t~, it thel"le Js--.!!.C? exchange of nl)~:lbt?_~. 'rhe l1ll1n',)Ol'S C!lO:;r;:rl by the aUd.ionce are the same numbors that are added by :'nyone and tll.: total of those num­bers is t:.'.0 predicted totD.l. Sounds fcmtr.stic? It is! 1 i

29 Cli,A,FT l£:l X

FOURT~: DIEji:I~:3IONAL IL.'rn

• • • • cant.

'rhe princi:?le for Gro.nt 1 s Hiracle slate C8...'l'1 be found in "l1a~~ic of tlle Hind" by Lm~is Gr'.11son called "Total Prediction II by Gerald Kosky. imd more precisely in the 'farbell Course in l1agic, Vol 6, j)age 216, called Gerald Kosky I s Prediction.

Grant 1 s Hiracle Slate is shO\·m in Fig. 74. rrhe slate has a section cut out from the panel at tho top end, marked "All in th,e ,;,:"ig. This makes a see-through open 'VJindoH. It also has the slJinging half-flap like tho Dunninger slate. However the swinGing flap is used for a different ~)'llrpOSe as ~;ill be seen. A. set of feke numbers ~;ith a total arc chalked in under the flap ~d hidden by it. These numbers are Fig. 74 not force nUmiJ01'S but aro 3 imply dummy nl.uubeI's 'Hl1ich arn later i'lccshod to the audience unside dm-m oncl Hhich D.ro ta!,:en to bo the c.ctua~.- n1Jmbers.

Grant1s slate usod ~. p2..ece of thic~~ paper that covor'ocl the 1rind:Y.J on both sides of the slate and hold in ple.ce by l'>uhber bonds. rrhis kept the ':rindo'H hidden fran tho audience and also pl"'etencled to hide tho prodicted . total. If the slato is turnod a:r'ound end-for­end it resembles the slate shoHn in li'i[::. 75

The stage presentati on ~~i th Grant I s l."ig. 75 slG.te is extremely clever. First the slate is shm·r,n as in Fig. 71 1, but r,d th tho HindoH

8

covered and shoHinf:; 5 blo.nl[ lined spaces. Next tho performer turns t>e slate OV8I' end-for-ond and shaHS the slate as' in Fig. 75. '..!..'ho perfor:mer states that under the paper is Hri tten his prediction of a total of nUJ'lbeI's to be called by tho audience. The slate is again turned end-far-end as the performer calls for L~-diGit numbcl's. li'our .I:.-di: . .;it numb.);:,s arc called for and chalked on the ~31['cte sto.rting on space liB" as shm-m in Fig. 7L~. 'I'~:1e four )'.-dir:it n<11"11bors arc tl~en added 8l1d the total 'Hritten on space IIC II. ~

If the mdnGing half-flc..p ~Tith the total on line "C" is nm~ S';rtL'I1:-:; up, the total 'rill S}'..OH on tho othc:r side through HindO'i'~ "AliI 'Eo ravcal tho total the pOrfOl"';llel'" turns the slate over end-for-end 2nd 0..1101'113 tho flap to !:nrin::; OVOl'" at the same ti.111e. ~'!hon tho 1,Japel' is removed the pOl'fOl"lller holds tho flap in plnce to 8h01:; the: tot[!.l. Next the porfor-mer places tho slate over his hoo.d holdin::; it ,:ith both h2nds and turns it around, but not end-for-ond. The audienco sees the feke numbers cover­ing tho entiro slate but since the numbc:rs aro upside dm'll1, they c8.nnot tell tho numbers have b,;:on substituted and every­th:Lnss looks nat'lu'al. '.1..'110 illusion is pe:::fect.

11ASTEH SLATH; ;:;) ~C~tETS

1:i'OUHTE DIHi§JSIU1T,I.L I,LTIt

'l'llis :1.s the author l s improvements to U. F. Grant's lIiracle Slate.

In this version, the predicted total appears in the conter of the back of the slate instead of tho extreme bottom odge. 'l'ho pre­diction is covered on one sido only as it should be. '1'11ere arn no fel(e D11mbers to spea..1( of so tllat the actual numbers chosen by the audience can be flQshed ri~jht-side up I

l?ir:. 76 ShO~TS the outline of the Hiraclc Sl<l.te Deluxe. It is di vid,::d into six spacos. :1'0 fourth sPQce f'rOli1 'elL) top is tile vrindOi·[. 'Ill'l.e flap is only l~'.rc;o enOUGh to 'hrrito in t:lO toto.l '>rhich iG later SH1.L'I1g up DO that tr:o total can be seen through tl:'e Hindmr.

201" the prc::;ontat,.'on, tllo folding flap is dOHn and coverinr~ the fifth Sl)aCe fror;1 tho top. '.2b.oPO is a' 1.1.-diC;i t folce ntJ.m0er behind tLe fJ.(~.p cbalked in on it 1 s underside. 'l'}-lG space covered by the fla~), tl'le fifth space, is 1 eft bla.1J.J;;:.

'.i.\:; :.l:i.de the 'HindoH o. pieco of feke slate is uscd 8l1d cemented to tlie 1·!hi te piece of art board i1;-;.ich covers tlle prediction on the othor side of the slate. ri'~~o fol:e is shOl.-m ~.n Fig. 78. 1:[n.en the piece of .. ·;hi te art board is placed, presumably ovor tho predic­tion, the feke piece of slato S:10~'S .through the Hindm'r, so that trw slate 1001:s normal to the audience. The board is cliPl;cd onto the slate Hith dog clips as shm·m.

frEE PlL~3 :.,;lrl'.W ION : ~'Ii th Vne f el;: c in 1 h · "i'. r17 ... ' p ace as s m·m In J. lG. I , P0;I'lorn;;:;.'" 811011S

the slate on bot~il. sides [1n(~ tells the audience that he has 1·.'1. ... i t -Con a Pl',-.:clic tiol'l under the

,30

Fig. 76

Fig. 7 7

i?ig. 78

Hhi te card or boa.rd. Ii'our-cl:Lgi t n1JJ1b::.~l's 8.1'0 then called for. 'l'11e first l:.-digit numb,)r called is chall::ed in tho top space of the slate (A). '1111ree mo:r'c l!.-difjit n1JJilbo:;.'s are called for. r.rl~o fourtb. 1:.-diG5.t number i:': Cllo.lkod on the feke. Performer adds the total andalso as.lCJ someone in tllO audiece to do the

same Hi t~!. pencil and ~paper. -"'e pel"'former l:i th the sl ate to­Hards himself urites in tho total and at the sarne time copies the total again on tho space l.LYld,;l' t:'..o f'la.p and then compares totals 1.:i t:: tile 3:gect~tor. 'll11e slc.te is then turned end-for-

A

:fAH'l' III OI-rAP'I'1£.{ X

•••• cont.

end. 1'110 ~)e:"-1fonner 0..110H3 t~~e flap to sHing over 8ecrotly, removes tl1C) dog clips and S!.lOHS his prediction. Nm-r if the slate is turned over again end-for-end the Hhole problem as chosen by t:ne audience is Doon toc;cthc:r Hit!'. tho total

)1

* except for ti'lO fourth lin.:; :;:'1'0(.: t>.e top Hhich ShOHS the feke number 021 tho flo.). (1'l1O p-erf'ormel'l at this time C.rn.:·r::1 a circle arOlL'1l:. the toto.l, or just d:rrnrs cupved lino s avo:' nnd l.Uldol'l

it. r1'>e slate in t}:.e~c turnod ilr01md acain to sho:~ tho ~Jl'C­diction. End of i-liraclo! (* see .foot note on page 34)

lT01'Ji:! T~.le slate fel~e sh01,m in."ig. 78, is ~lad:; out of art b--ard, }JD.intod sls,to color Il.'l.cl. c:::cntecl "GO tD.e larger piece of 1}:;:li to art boar::1 • '~'!W foke is just l2.ree enougn to fit into t~e window.

A rtpge size v,~:rsion of t~.~c EirQ.cle Slate should :rncas~.;J.'e abl)ut 17 by 2~) it:.cil:::s.:..ny .~;'cd carpentol'l can lnaJ:::e t},.: frr.:'.lne f'C,I' it ·:i th Jche::!.'opcr:yo ;ves. '1:';,e slate ~~)anel can bo mo.c~e out of light m8t;:.'.1 !ll2tOl' :!.fd or plexi[J;lass and pD.inted slc.te color. The D'.rinc;illG flc.'-1 0>0'.1.16. be nad~: out of metal (shc:et) ',:iti.l "tubs of nails Helded to t:.:o to)) sides to il1;):)Z't ::.: 'c:~, 'c>, sL'.te frame o.t the .sides to Qct as pi­vots.

Hothods for doinG tl:e 16-di,3it effect 1-Ji th lL'l.pro}Jared slates have appeared in pract:Lcally every book on magic. 'vJhen the effect 1ms made popular by Dun:-:!.inger and otDers, mo.gicia..l'ls burned 11 lot of midnig..1'1t oil i'i~~urinG out methods. TJ:.ore are fi ve methods in one book alone, liThe i:-Iagic 36" by ~·lm. S. Hough­ton. Another half-dozen 8.pi.)ear in Annena!U1 1 s f'Practical I,'rental Effects."

Analysin;::; all the methods that have appeared in print, brin:~;~ to li,-'l1t n 1'e;,'I basic Si~ililD.ri tios. 1"L'st, t:.:'O sui tch of m.un·1J 'rs,is the nost yO',)l~:J_ar ::ir:Click, done ,~ith paper slips and pc.els. uccond is tho use of con:f.'ederates, Hhet~ler "lilling or unvilJ.in:: • .Ll~lirdly, tl:.o:c() ar'3 1'o::'ce of nu.Yl1bers or l1lat~'.ema­tical -:;::,'5.nc i~)le s not too . :011 ~:~10~T:'tl 1)," tf~e audience.

,\.ftc):c' [',. J.ot of th()'l-F:ht the autJlor succeeded in per­fectin,~ o. mot:.i.od tl.::,".t is hi:;~ll~~" recor:llTIonded to tl~~e reader. The ef.t"'ect 1:as callod IIAddithots If and i,ras first -orint,:;d in 02.Il1 Dalal' s ";3ITaJ,li II fro;:: Go.lcuttc. india. Thfortunately the ori­ginal version ~' .. ad a flo.1-1 L').:.t. 'j.':le co~'rocted and nuch im­proved v<~2:'si(jn follm:s.

I"rASTER SLATE Sl<.:C.L.::rS PAnT III .32 T',:: '1' T r .L~. j" ........ _

of This mot: ,od :la1:06 t:.e s\1:Ltchin, of nurr1b:e;I's, tho use

coni'cc1e:'"'atos and mGCha~lical sl~l.tcs l.U1neCcssary.

J~ .\i':G)'.i.': J.'}1rco spectators (mel the p01'fo1'"'2.",10r each Ch()03~; 0. ,I!._(:i_.:;:i.t nrl'::::)or. '.c~!eso m)l~l:)·.)r's c.:.'e combined to form. a fine.l t(,t~J. -.,-hich 112.3 b·;)en prc.:dictocl. by t:l" pc:..'fu::'lner.

'11>0 strong :,t.)oint of' t!~e effect is that t:le tJ.lree spcct:'.tops are liCi timatc ;.110. they OJ"; free to choose nny 4-digi t nu.."11l)Or as instJ.'ucto-:) by tllo nej,"'former.

The instructions g:L von by the performer aro very im~)orto.nt f01" the SUCC(3S3 of t.e t~;st. '11~~e first spectator called nAil is told to choose fL"ly m.l!11b....£l:..-betHeen 1000 and

](100. Soectators "13 11 and IIC:! ar'e told to choose nny :11..1Illbe1'"' bet":eel}_3000 and .5..000.

THO squares of frameless sl ate boards or laminated white art boards divided into 20 squares are used as shown in l·'ig. 79. If the white art boa::,:'ds are used they are co­vered with Hyler material for lruninating it so t1.1at a black grease pencil is used ,\fl~ich can be erased allowing the boards to be used again. '.rhe Hylar laminatinG Y:lUtorial is sold in stationery stores. '1';-e boards should measure approx. 7 by 11 inc;les.

2§.2.9.

At s number --­l~erf()rT:1er t s _-­rl10tal of' above _

Board ,/1

;J '3 ~ I '1 g

1.4f I I

!J-

S !O

Board 1>2

B's number CiS number r.rotal B &; C

(Add) B ~ CIS total -- 7 4- .1- 1 Subtract

'I'otal of 0.11 four numbors less 1st dir';it

P _ C::;,;i ;:;1'i~.(,1 ",'I' I ON :

I 5 ~ ;l PiL3DIC'fION!

Ti'l" r;- 79 - b·

1. Pe!'forrn.or pic1.:s up ooard ,,1 8....11.Q asks spectator "A II to callout any n',;m~)or bet~·:cen 1000 and 3000. ':'ay he eLlls ;2325 vrhic!'. t: ~e performer H:':Ltos in tho t!)P line.

2. !30f<I'd }2 iS~):~8secl out te' silecta-cors,tB II and

11l0un'l'h DHli;NSrOi-iAL H\ '.L'i~

.tIL HAHH' S ADDI'.2EO'i\S . . -. cont •

"ell 1'1ho a:po instructed to choose nl..U'llOCrS

betHoen 3000 :md 5000 <md to vJri te them in the top t1W 11.n.;8 end t:~en add them.

3. '.1hile spect~.~tor' s 13 and e '\'n"'ite in tJ:~.eir nunbcrs, pe~.'fo::,'::;cr takes back t:Lle first board and ~!ri t; S in his OHn number. 'fhe pe"fo:'H1C::" I 3 nl .. Wl()e:L' must equal to 4110 !:llen added to ;'~\.'Sll number. '.L'his is easily done by pl: Cint; diz;its from right to left und:n'" A's nwnbcr so tha'c each digit so pla.ced Hill equal to 10 when added to the above digit, except on the last digit at the left 'Hj~ich must equal to 3 iinen added to the above left i::.and digit.

EX.AM:eL.l!:: A's number = 2325

7 1

5 G

4ffO 'l'11e performer therefore writes in 1785 as his

chosen number.

Pe:"former calls 1'01' B nnd e' s total "'hich he '.,pi tes in t' e fourt~l space on ii1 board under L~11 O. Performer adds :3 and e's total, H~~ich in this case :Ls 7L~22 to Ll.11 ;,. to a]'ri ve at

33

11532. -::-Howevc..r.. sinc.Q..J:;he boarA. onl~LJ1~:':'s-.lh spacQ.s_tg.l2:1.ie_i!Ltll.L~si·1 .. (}r, th~oPf..oTr.lCr: dO,~,n<?t :;ri t§.. .. j.:.'l the __ I-:.i..r .. st nurnboT_p_'t:I,t, only 1 ")321 Tre first digit of' the total is dropped •

.5. J:'erformer tells spectc,tors B and C to add 1532 to t:-leir total to arrive at 5890 Hhicll is tho predicted tot~ll !

NO'l',S: 'llhe predicted number 5(}90 plus 1.\-110 equal to 10,000. Once tlw p::,'inci~)le i:.; 1mderstood nfter eloin : the effect [c. nVlnoer of' times, ti!.e pOrfOrl.10r can c}:wnce t:.:.e predicted number sim:ply by c,dding or subtracting fl"om your chosen numbeI' • lim-rever tho effect ll.as such an impact on an audience tj.lat no one asks to repeat it.

MAST J1 SLATE Sj.ECi{ ~.TS

cont.

He:"'0 is another exanple 1'or arri vin;:, tlt L~ 110:

:::io... ::p ectC'.tor "A" C~lOOSeG 2001

1

9 o

2 4ffO

l;erformor's nurilber is:

2109

In the above exrunple performer first places a 9 under the first di;-:i t at te rir;ht to toal 10.

Next the perfo:::'lncr must place a 10 under the above o to [pt 10. 00 he places a zepo und.;r tl:.e zero and carries 1 •

Next he must aGain !)lace a 10 illlder the above zero

34

plus the the zoro

1 ca:cried Hhich equals to 11. So he places a 1 lUlder and again carries a 1.

carried. Under the 2 he must place a 1 to ma}{e 3 plus the 1 Therefore he l;rites a 2 l~ncier the 2.

In actual practice the problem is quJ. 'Ce easy. Just keep in mind that ".'\. 'I sit nv.r::bc:I' })lus the perforrneI" s number must equal to l!J 1 O.

If someone notices tl~ti.t the first digit 1-TaS dropped on the final total of tho first board, just sa;," that four diGi ts is all tl'.at is needed.

* NOTE re: The Miracle Slate Deluxe. T.m feke number on the underside of the swinging flap is not necessary. This space can be left blank until the spectators callout the fourth 4-digit number which the performer chalks in on the feke through the window, the 4th space fram the toP. Then the per­former secrotly flips up the flap and writes in the same num­ber again on the back of the flap. The flap is lowered for the addition of all the digits and the prediction 1s again written on the fifth space under the flap, the flap is flipped up and the slate is ready to show to the audience with the entire problem and total and the prediction is in palce l

NA.STEl1 SLATE SECREES l)A~(rl' III ::L A1'';''; HIZA:im.itY

CHAl-'rrER XI

IN FUTURUH

PREDICTING THE FUTURE ON SLATES: A prediction made on LC slate is a feu notches ahec..d of one 1'1ritten on pa­per and sonled in an envelope. lli t]:l an env:)lo:;;e, sleight of }land is 8..l\;ays suspected.

A trick slate thc,t il8.S become a classic Hith :rm gicians for makin.; prodictions is Hen Fetch 1 s Nental :Spic Slate. l,"ig. 80 ShOHS a sketcll of the Epic Slate. It is di­vided into six squares. ~he top tl~ee squares, A, B and C are the prediction squares in vrhich tho performer chalks in three ~;redictions, a numbol", 8. Hard and a card, for example. The three predictions Ct.ret;~lon coverod 'Hi tl'. square car'ds befopc shO'.rin.: t:"-c slate to tl-;,o audience. '1hroo spectator's aY'c thon asked to callout a 3-di.:;it l1unocp, 8:-"':.y Hard 2l1d the name of a card froely cr-wsen. '1'hose aro chall::od in on the tj::,o'~; bottom squaros of t~·.e slate. 1.'ho3 pel"fo:r'r:Ln' tl10n r'emov(:)s tho c:)V,:rs fron his predictions ",hich prove '~o be identical to the iter:13

A

D

, "-.B , ,

E

, "--,0 , ':£I" " "

chosen ";:)\" t~~e audience. F' 80 " 1'J:l8.t is tilG o1'1'eo t on t.:~e au- 19.

dience and it i:]. f. Good one.

1'he gir,1II1ick that creatos t;:w mil'Qcle is Q sliding panel that; cove::"s tHO of the top squares end slides left Dnd riGht as neect';d.

.

'l'hc slate is prepm'cd by first lrri ting the nL'crne of a playin:'~ c2.rd to be fo:>ced Inter, in square "e". '1'he panel is then positioned so that it covers squnres Band C. ':("10

slate co..rl no~'; bc shovm to tJ.le audience anc~ is seen to be un-marked. "th t t' f t d t . t :.' or .:. 0 prosen alan , pOl" ormer pro en s 0 Hr1 e a prodiction on square "A II and then covers 1 t ~ii t~l 0. piece of' ca:;:>dboc~.rd. ACtl.l2.1ly ~:e \'rri tes ['nythinc or notilin:; at all. A spoct,'.tOl" is then asked to callout 2ny 3-diGit number 1·:hich is ch[ll.ked in square IID".

~)orform8r next pI'otcnds to VJri te in a second pre­diction in square IIElI but actually Hrites in the 3-digit num­ber called [lnd covel'S tj 1e OOUU1'U -,·:i th a soc and 'Dicc, of card. A socond spect~'.tor is aSke6. --to choose ill'lY small- \.Tord from a book. 'J..'1:'Q cho.sen Hard in chall:ud in square II Err •

l;orfo:C'l-:1.Cl" aGain pl'~~tund.s to "rr'ite in a. ::)rediction in square IIC II but 'tn'i tes the Hard just co..llcd, slides the panel vlhich uncovers the name of the cP.l'd to bo 1:01'ccd DnQ at t!ce srune time moves the first tl';O ")rodictions so that the',' are rlO\-J properly ali,";nod :~i til t~16 butt;: i squa:;:'es. ;l'he pel"i'orm'e::> ae;ain covers tI'le tIC II S(1uare uith 8. t .. il>d piece of card.

CEl.PT.:iLl XI

• • • •• cort •

~iOH the perfo:crrlc::,' nU~;l:; :Lorce Ci. )lc,ying card to make tllC predictions come out r·>~11t. 1'~'10 cl,:_2'm:-:: follo1-1s.

The necessity of l~2.ving to force a playing card on the t:i:lird pax'ty for the success of the effect has always appeared incongrqous to the tempo of the presentation. The perfOl""'lner had to lay down tho slate in order to tal{e out the deck of ca:-'ds or if the deck ,;-as already on ti'18 t[.~ble, the card bad to be retrieved ::1:;: eel' it Has chosen. '1to m,any magi­cians t~ 'e introduction of n decle of cards seemed to mar the other'.rise pure r.1ental aspect of the effect desh-'ed.

In consequence many excc;llent 0.1 tel'nati vos ~'iOre in­ventod. '1'ile le,te Dr. Stanley Jaks used a clever ruse. lie l':ould Hri te the Hord IIlion:r on the third square. ~,lor the third choic8, he lTov.ld tell the spectator to t:i."':/ to I'ead the perfoJ>!',ler I s mind. .;.'0.() spectator HD.S told that the performeI' Has thinkiug 01' a ferocious "beast of t},o jungle.: r

mlatever the snectator said after that proyed to 'oe "b n 1" I' t'ne p"-'rf 1'; I' T.c> tho "'pect'· .1-'01> SC'i d 1111· on 11 o. 00 () . ,,0 _110 • .).1. __ '.~ U. iJ _ <.<.- ,

it proved h01'l smart the perfcn'TIler 1~,"'-8 to leD.(J. tho spectator to that one thousht. If t:~e ~)l)e ct2,to:.. ... miss eO. it p:c'oved tll3.t not ov"rybod;,c can l'ead minds. '1'L'l,e perfo::.>mor Ho.S right in the first tHO tests.

AN INFALLAI3LE FORC.t:

T:b_l"'ough repeatod ,;e,'formancos, tr:e author has un­cove:;.""ed l·l::at mi::ht be considc_'od an inafallo.ble fOI'ce. It has not failed yet al though t~le ~)ossL")ili t~} of failure is not ab­sent. Assuminr; that S01-:1e\'I11e::.'o on tho magician I s table or else­where, the five ESP designs are on display, havinG been used on a previous efl'oct. One requisite is that the five ESP de­sisns must be on a horizontal line reading from. left to right:

o + ~ 0 * One spoct~-tO!:' is invited to try to read the perfol"'l"i1er I s mind. Le is told t~,-at the porformer is thinking of one of tl:.o dosigns. ':fnich one? So far tL~e spectator h[>.s all'lays [u1SVlOl"'od, 1I'l'hc3tar. II

T~.'!O NLll:c3:.:L{S: '-nother id:)a uilich al,peared in the S . . 'V 1 r::' C' (1 90' ), f" ,. - r 11 rr- t t . pn1nx, 0.:..> :1/ b oy v.:',as. ,.>. \'.0 er: .ne spec c.. cr 1S asked to think of a nU::r1.bor 0::" tNO diGits. 13 Jfore t:~e spectator has had 2~ chcncc to think, tl,le porformor says, "Oh yes! your phone number, the L~.st tllO (Eei ts, that I s fine. l'lease con­cenJerc.te on t;~e last tHO digits of your phone nU1l1bDr. II

37

• • • • cowr • 'l'!:·.u audience assumes t;'lat t~!le performer has read the

thousht about the phone number. The spectator is not al·rare that his phone n'U.r.1oer is knmJD by the performer,

i;Jorld famous mentc..list Haurice li'o:;el from J:fug1and also has D. vcry clevor third c::oice, Ee tells the third spec­tator to t~iinlc of a IIcircle, 8. square or a triangle, II The spectator only hu.s one choice in three, r1'.'1On the spectc.tor is told to doli'uui'atoly cho.n::;e ::.is mind to one of' tho other t't-TO desi[}ls. '1' :--:'0 perf'ormer D.,:.s drC-1·m 0. t:c'iangle on the third square and on his hand he l10Ids a t\'lO-Hay envelope Hi th the other tHO predictions, ::en one compartment of' tno double enve­lope, the prediction reads, llyou will change your nlind to a CIHCLE. II In the othor cOYrlpartment t:l0 predictions rei'cds, lIyou will change your mind to the SQUA.C:::. H No i~latter 't{hat the spec­tator does, the performer's prediction will prove correct,

If the s}')ectr·.tor settles on the triang1e~ then the double envelope is not used. But if he decides on one design of the othor tH'O, the pcrfo:t'mer uncovers t~::.o third square which shovJS a. trianc;le and sa.ys, lIyou did change your mind to somethin[; else and here it is in this envelope, I predicted it since before the sho·vJ. II One l"oquisite is that tl::.e specta­tor mu~.t. change his mind,.

The above force s for the tn.ird force are tops J since the porformor do\'3s not have to introduce cards, books, etc. Performc;r "lorks directly Hi th tne S'pic sl ate and a piece of cha11(, Do not use different color chalk, Your audience cou1d­not care less 'Hhat color CIl.cc1k is used, On a blac}( board no­thing 1001es bettc;r than Hhite chalk,

All tile above forces are indeed infaI1ab1e since the perforl:lcI' C8l1llot f:::dl, Onl~! t::c ,;'Joctator fails, sometimes!

CI'rATION: '1'0 six-s(1uc.r·,~-slete idea used in the 1>1en­tal Epic slate no dov.bt is 0. "val'iation of U. l~'. Grant's Ci­tation effect lJllicll wJed a b18.cl~ boo.:,,·d Hit:.: six circles paint­ed on Ol-:e side. 'I'lY; Cit2.tion ei'i'ec0 \;8.;:, tr:o same as t?1c Hon-tal ~pic effect but Hithout tlJJ; usc of t~~e slidinG panel. 'l'he

one-D.:-:.ca(: system Has :~'oso"ted to and a co..l~6 hao. to be forced. 'rhe pcri'o.'r.l',;:e T S :lo.nd ,·;nen bohind tho boa:::>dnl'otenc3ed to '·.rri te in ono circle Hhon actually i·~ri tin['; on t>~.C onc to t'~e left of it. "Oi tation!l is inclUded in Grant I s }?abu1ous ll'eat s of l'-L:mta1 Hagic, 'l.'ne sliding panel i(~.:)a has been around fOI> some time. Carl :LIortz (18S l;I-1924) had ~: tl~iclc slate t::at em~')layed the sliding penel, rl'~1e front p2.Ylcl of tlle slate loms fixed but had a HindoH cut out. 'l'llG back panel of tho slate moved up or dO't-ffi into recesses in the fr@TIes of the slate, A messaGe chalked on the back panel came into ViOH 11:1en tIle panel "JaS slid dOHn­Ha:t>d, 'Llis .:;late is described in 'dill Goldston's Great Hagi­cians 'l'ricks (1931).

J:'A.i{'I' III 38

TEE E?IC SLA'I'E • • • • cont.

Peter Harlock in his excellent book, Patterns for Psychics, introduced the sliding :rn nel to present t~"-e three predictions as is nOH done 1-lith t::,e Bental l£pic Slate. In his eff'ect, :rTi'..e 'l'aped Slate,1I an ordinary school slate is used. '1'he sliding panel, Hhich covors 2/3rds of the slate, slides dOWD.Hard and the predictions are '-Tritten and then co­vered 'Vlith tape. Before the tapes arc removed to ctisclose the predictions, the panel is moved upl<rards. A card. force is used for the third c~-r,oice.

G:1AHT 13 STRiW·iLnn CITA'rIOlJ: 1i'ie. 81 S:lO~JS the stroilll11ine oitation slGte. IJ..'jI) predictions are Hritten on the OEl.c1>:: of the slate lThich if.; 2.1so divided into three squares. A slidinG panel tlK,t cOV,.:1'8 tHO of the squares is also useG. like in the jlontal :.c..""pic slate. 'r~)0 slr,te measures 92 oy 13~2 inches. '1'he effect is the somo as the hentLl.I .i':;pic effeot ex­cel)t that tl1G predicti01;,S do not ::,:,vo to be co­vered GS the bacle of tho slc.to is not sh01·m till the last. ll.t first the slidinG panel covers the to}) t'tw sQU8.:'cs. Performer !,!rGtcmds to ,;ri te a prediction on the bottom S(1uare on the back of the clate, and then the one-al'!.::ad systen is used and a force is done for the third c~'.oice. '111"e pa.'rlel is then slid dmID ~·:~!.ich uncovers the pre-viously 'Hri tten force item on tho top square. l"ig. 81

FINAL BPIC

A descri})tion of a Nental l:!.pic type slato that requires no forcing for the third choice appeared in the IISHomi tr Vol. 1 no.8, called IIIi'inal }.!:pic ll by Alan ShctXon.

;1'1'1e principle of tlw Hental j<.:pic vms retained and a neH refinement added Hhic}1, consisted of a second sliding panel. The second panel cove~1 s only one square and moves up or dOlm ove"::' squares "C lI Qnd tlptln..s in Fig. 80. The ponel Hl1en dm-m OVer square rJ:L;l!1 is ~lOJcl in place} by a spring CD.tch.,f~':8:1 t;-o catch is :ecl-::c,' 'cel tho panel is pulled up by "'1:1 e1 ""cd-loC cr-"(td to co~'("(O ~(\l':l'''('' :1(,11 (.'-. _<. ... ..:.J U ....,,_ oJ ,~.. \.) J .• L •• l.' _J •

... 'lo£',:;e r,_,fur back to 1,li:~ •. :(). it s>-o~~s tho hori­zontnl sl;.dinr.', ponel over soue.rcs lilY' ond "C" bv tho do,sh '- _ (-

lines. 'l'ho 3in':1e })unol ir; covoI'in:; SCluare "Ii'". Il'o !irC80nt t he e·r"·? .. ··ct J-'(10 o'·)"'r~"''''' ')""'''''''nd'' t'o T'lrlOte ~ll. '" pror1 J."ct lOon ..... . .. 1..., 11_ ::: __ , .. ·.'-"0_ J..&o .~, l.l(,!oJ ~ .. c..;... • .......

on square rAil n.n(~. then COVirs it ,dth a piece of cardboard. A number is then called 1'011 t'nd this is vrri tten in sauc.re tiD". l'o,fo:L....-;'l·r tl'.Cl~ \-Trites 8.. socond pl"ec.iction in B square but actu[';.ll;! "'rite!3 in the n','J:fDor end cov;~rs it \dth 8!lOt~10:"'" pie co of cc.:i.~(ibc:~·.1od. j.'i. l;ord is then cc.J_loo, for which is Hl'it-

,t'_'U'_' IIi CH-\P'.L'ER XI 39

•• 0 o. con t.

ten in squc.ro lIj:;II. PerforncI' t:'.'on 1,1"'1 'Ces in the last predic-.L.. lin;! t 11 0,-" 0 " dO. 11 d uJ.on on squnro " ::cc UO. ___ :( 1':l'l'u:!_Yl,; :'-:1 t;110 Hor Just; co. o. Tm; horizontal panel is moved to t>c left to matC1:1 tho first tHO predictions Gnd sell-w,re !IC II i8 covered ',Ii th cm~dboard.

lT8xt the perforr,loJ.~ calls for a geometrical design H}'~ich is chal}:ccl in squaro "F II hOVlove:~ tl1e performer \VTi tes in the desi;;n tHice as he activates t~,l.O panel to move up to

I'C" 1. 1 ·t ° t' "0 0 ° II'~II square me Hr1 os 1n .f,0 Qes1gn ag[un 1n squaI'e .J: •

1~11 the predictionfJ n.l'0 nOH n.lic;ncd and Hill provo cor:::'oct \,:11en uncovu~.'ed.

'.rho li'inal Epic 31o.to is sold in the USA as the Bent al Broadcastin:; Slato.

A B },li r,: 0 81 j\.

!' ... is the 1-1onto.1 BrocJLcc.stinc; Slate '3 is t~lC I,lent 8.1 :~9ic .:nate

THE TRIPLE PSYCHOMETRY SLATE by David Hemingway: This slate is sold by the Inte~national ~~gic Studio at London and c~ried by other dealers. This slate has a clever devise that moves three cards around so that the third card be­cames the first and the first c~d moves to second place and the second c~d moves to third place. It is excellent if you do a c~d act. The effect is that the pertor.mer ohooses three cards and places them on the slate backs out. The spectator then chooses three other c~ds which are placed alongside the peri'ormer I s cards. The c~ds match! The one­ahead principle is used.

HASTER SLArfE SECHEl'S PART III CHAPTER XI 40 A BONUS

BLUE RIBBON SLATE PRl-IDICTION

}£.j'FEC'f: On GtaGo (sou j\:LL_~. 82) t:lO pe:c'formor calls attention to tHO slates suspend.c(~ in tHO separate cloth bags by colored ribbons "Thich strotc::: ~'..cross tho stace and are in full vi81'r at all times. r1'ho 31 ntcs are out of reach Dnd can only be rotrieved by the usc of n step ladder.

Hembors of tho audienco next callout ony name a city ond a L~-digi t m'lUDe!'. ,"nother s})octator chooses a i-lOrd from n book. r1'ho slates arc t:wn ta!:on dm·m ['.nd are found to contc.in pr~dictions of the same i toms e.s cLosen by the D.udience.

TlJe effect is strong ::L1'1d no amount of lo[;ical thin..ldn: can uncover the luodus operandi •

.1 .. 1 • 19.

11'>e effect L; done Hi t~;. ungir.nnicked slates. ~!e basic principle used to bring this miracle

about av,peared in tho Sphinx, Vol. 1l), iJ2 for .April 15, 1917 called IBarnbcr::r, t s i!:nvelope liiY:3tGl'Y. tr The method ho.s also been credited to Jardin ~~lis.

'1'110 metilOd as used with onvelopes has appeared in print many times. It C::.11. be found in Hagic of the Hind, by LevJis G2.1lS on, on pa[J3 16, called "Phonomonal ':"'orecast II by Jack Cook. In Gems of Nental J.lagic by Cool~ and Buckley it appears on page 9 as, "It t S n Small Horld. II

In it I S orici~l.c.l net- .od, only ono onvelo1")e end one ribbon lJere uf:Jed and a chair UD.::; used to 8tep onto end retrieve tr..e envelo~")e. In our slc,to prc:sentation, He Hill use tHO cloth bD.gS of different color, blue and red, susp~nded from tHO individual and soparD.tc ribbons also blue and red.

~Each bag contains c. slate ~d tll only the top edge of the slate s~owin~. Tho ribbons ~re sowed onto the

HAST.:~\ SLli.'l'E SBCrL:..TS i'AliT III CE/iP'i\~ .. ( XI

• • • • cont.

cloth bD·C8 f)Q t;\C_t '.Then rot:2iovillC; t.;~o b,2GS ;. t Hill 00 no­

cessary to cut t>.o rii)bons ,:;itll scissors. '11ho action ,Jill

leave about two inch030f ~ibbon attachod to the bag on

each side as sh01-m in l"i~" d1 C). - __ I. ':llho slates aro GUs:",:md_od about 8 fe-Jet above tho floor

of tl:'.c staGe and 2.ro se~)[~Pi'.~o<i ni.)out <3 foet.

'(,1-1.0 bluo bo'b ['.!lei. ribbon 2~'O on tOo -oorformer t s riC;~lt 2,nd tho

red bo.:; <md rii)bo~l n:;.y 0:, ~l:i.:~ le;:'t." Insteod

of a c}1.G.ir to step on, ~_'e Hill use [',4ft.

or 6 foot stop la~der to cO~9ly with safe­

ty resuL'.tionG. r3:110 ladc.~.er is 3lropared

ui th a clip :2Ild .'" ervante Fi.~ich is out of

sir;J-l.t at itt s back and covered by 8n added

panel. 'l'he cl:'!.}) Hill be used to hold n

tJ:lird slo.te in a duplicate bluo b::::.g ,·;:lich

also >·(1S piec'.;s of 'olue r::U)bon attac~nod to it liko in l"ig. 83. r.L':~c slc.to in t>o r:Q 1x:. r; contains a message uilich

predicts 2. Hord fpcy'[ c. boole ~'lhicll Hill bo forced 10. tel". 'J! ho slato in tLo b1:l0 b:~ g contains a dummy prediction.

An assi,.;tL"..nt is oacl~ staLe holding the third slate

and ready to chall: in tho items as called by the aidience.

TH1~ PRESEIT'J:1A'lIOlT: iorf()l~:~.r calls attention to the

slates in the bags suspended iYl l"1.id air. lie states that the

slates contain messaGes 1'J'b.ic; Hill be s~:.O\m to the audience

presently. l'erformcr forces the Hord in a book. He next calls

for a name, a city and a Ll.-clic;it number. Assistant backstage

uri tes d01·ffi tho nrone, city and number on his slate, places

the slate iii tile bag and placos ti.1e bag on the clip over the

servante •. _'1..ftor 2.. bit of patter the performer calls for the

assistant to retrieve the slates. Assistant talces t::1C ladder

front to audience to hide the servante and openly retrieves

the red bc.g by cutting tho I'ib~Jon \·ri th scissors and directly

passes the s18.te to tho pOI'formcr. "ililo tho performer i;j tn.lkin:; to t}-w audience about

the prediction of th,; 1:Tord fro:n t >.c buok 8l1Q shaHS the slate,

the assistant is busy romovin~ th.() blue bac; '·;!.lich he cuts off

Hi th tho s ci~.:; sors, climb~5 <3.o;;n th.; l~H3.c1er and in the procoss

sHitcho3 the slates by (i.ropin,:, the ;}late in hL: :land into the

servante and to.l:in.:: tho nr(),;8.roo. slc.tc f'ror.l the clip. The

miracle is done! F~:':':Cor,:,~~)rtcl;:or3 til:) second slato e.nd proves

his predictions.

'.£1::0 pr es cmtc.ioll ai'f'o::'ds for per'fect misdirection.