Page:Magic (Ellis Stanyon).djvu/29

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
Sleight of Hand Applicable to Small Objects
27

portions of the hand. Continue to practise this until you can safely turn the hand over without any fear of letting the coin fall.

When you can accomplish this with ease, lay the coin on the tips of the second and third fingers, steadying it with the thumb as in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.—Palming Coin
Then moving the thumb aside, to the right, bend the fingers, and pass coin up along side of the thumb into the palm, which should open to receive it, and where, if you have followed the previous instructions, you will find no difficulty in retaining it.

As soon as you can do this with the hand at rest, practise the same movement with the right hand in motion toward the left, as if you really intended to place the coin in that hand. To get this movement perfect, it is advisable to work in front of a mirror. Take the coin in the right hand and actually place it in the left several times; then study to execute the same movement exactly, with the exception that you retain the coin in the right hand by palming.