Eggs, as apparatus, are the subject of this lesson--a delicate subject, and one which must be handled with care. I have, therefore, very carefully and thoroughly analyzed the effects in this lesson. I have made them simple and clear so that you can learn to do them easily and quickly.

Eggs have played a big part in successful Magic. The extremely puzzling effect which the experiments with eggs have on the audience are due to the nature of the material used. Eggs are so fragile and difficult to handle that spectators marvel at the Magician as he produces eggs and vanishes them in the most nonchalant manner.

In this lesson I teach you how to handle one egg at a time. Later on I teach you how to produce a quantity of eggs from an empty hat--an experiment which keeps an audience roaring with laughter.

Comedy is, of course, closely associated with eggs. In these effects which you learn today, there is opportunity for much good comedy.

1. HUMPTY DUMPTY OUTDONE

This effect used to be quite a favorite of mine as it is a bit unusual and very puzzling.

EFFECT:

Performer passes his handkerchief and an egg around for examination, then asks a spectator to bring them back to him and assist him in the experiment. Magician then grasps handkerchief by the corners and tells assistant to drop egg into it. The egg, of course, falls to the center of the handkerchief. Spectator is told to feel of the egg through the handkerchief, then to BREAK the egg. The crushing of the egg is heard and all believe it to be smashed. Performer then asks assistant to reach inside the handkerchief and remove the egg. Assistant hesitates for a broken egg is rather a messy thing to pick up. He finally does reach in, however, and brings out the egg wholly restored to the amazement of himself and the rest of the spectators. Handkerchief is opened wide and shown empty.

PARAPHERNALIA:

1 -- A man's white handkerchief. This should be as heavy and as nearly opaque as possible. A freshly laundered handkerchief will be more satisfactory for this reason.

2 -- An egg.

3 -- An egg shell. This is easily prepared by making a small hole in each end of an egg, inserting a toothpick to break the yoke, and then expelling the contents through one hole by blowing through the other.

4 -- A small piece of white cloth. Part of an old handkerchief will do for this. Size: about 6-1/2 x 2-3/4 inches.

5 -- A pin, a small piece of white string, and a needle and white thread.

SECRET AND PATTER:

To Prepare:

Make a small bag of the white piece of cloth. This must be large enough to hold the egg shell.

Fold the cloth over in two to make the bag about 3-1/4 inches long. Sew the two edges together as shown in Figure 1. Then trim off the edges close to the seam. Fold the top edges down all around about three-eighths of an inch, insert the white string under the fold, and sew this fold down. Tie a knot in the ends of the string close to the bag. Figure 2.

Turn bag inside out. Take the pin and bend the end of it over about three-eighths of an inch. Run it through top edge of one side of bag, pushing it up until head is close to bag on inside and little hook extends up. Figure 3. Place empty egg shell inside the bag and draw the string tight to close bag and keep fragments of shell, when it is broken, from falling out. Tuck loose ends of string into inside of bag. Figure 4.

Take bag and insert point of pin into upper edge of upper left vest pocket. Figure 5.

Your coat covers bag completely and no one is aware, of course, that you have this arrangement of the bag under it.

Have handkerchief and whole egg in some convenient place, and you are ready for the experiment.

To Perform:

Come forward with egg and handkerchief.

"You have no doubt, heard of the famous egg called Humpty Dumpty. 'Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.'

Well, this is one of his descendants." Show the egg, and hand it to a spectator.

"Would you mind, sir, holding Humpty Junior?"

Turn to another spectator and give him the handkerchief.

"And would you mind giving this handkerchief the once over? I think you will agree that there is enough material to make Humpty a nice wedding dress in case he ever needed one."

Take handkerchief from gentleman and hold it in left hand as shown in Figure 6. THE WAY YOU GRIP THE HANDKERCHIEF IS VERY IMPORTANT. Hold it against base of thumb with second, third, and fourth fingers gripping it tight on under side. Top edge is gripped between index finger on under side and thumb on top. Handkerchief must be drawn taut between the two grips.

To spectator holding egg:

"Will you please come up with me here and act as guardian over the egg?"

Turn your back to the audience and walk towards your stage or place where you are performing. The moment your back is turned, reach inside of coat with right hand. Grasp head of pin on bag firmly between tips of thumb and first finger. Remove bag from vest. Figure 7.

Bring left hand with handkerchief in front of you and quickly pin the bag to handkerchief. Insert pin about four inches from upper corner of handkerchief. It is easy to do this if you hold handkerchief taut in your left hand. Perform this move of attaching bag very quickly. Figure 8.

Extend left arm a little toward left so that audience sees handkerchief and back of left hand. They cannot see bag with egg shell as it is on palm side of hand. Figure 9.

Now you have reached the place where you are going to perform and turn left to face your audience. Be careful not to expose bag as you turn. Gradually in making your turn, bring your left hand in front of you with back of it toward audience. Figure 10.

To all appearances you merely took the handkerchief from the spectator who examined it, went back to the stage, and then turned around to start the experiment.

The spectator holding the egg has followed you. Have him stand to your right and a little forward so that he cannot see the bag on the back of the handkerchief. Keep the handkerchief near your body to screen bag.

"I shall ask you, sir, to stand right there."

Take upper corner A between your teeth. Hold out the two side corners B and C with your right and left hands. This is done to show the handkerchief empty without saying that it is. The little bag is, of course, concealed behind the handkerchief. Figure 11, next page.

Bring corners B and C up with each hand to corner A. Grasp corner A with left forefinger and thumb. Figure 12.

Remove corner from mouth, holding the three corners A, B, and C with thumb and first two fingers of left hand. Grasp corner D with right hand. Hold handkerchief as shown in Figure 13.

Ask assistant to place egg in the handkerchief as shown in illustration.

"You are quite certain, sir, that you have an egg? All right. Then place the egg in the handkerchief."

After assistant has done this, bring up corner D and place it with the other three corners. Grasp it in left hand as in Figure 14. This illustration also shows position of the bag containing the egg shell and the whole egg.

Place right hand around center of handkerchief which is hanging down and the egg in it. This brings egg into palm of right hand and thumb of right hand behind egg shell. Figure 15.

With right thumb push the egg shell in the bag upwards. Be careful to conceal whole egg in right hand by turning back of hand to audience. The effect is that you are merely grasping one end of the handkerchief with your right hand and the other end with your left, and that the egg is brought up under the handkerchief between your hands. Figure 16.

"Will you please feel it now and see that the egg is safe within the handkerchief?"

Have assistant feel the egg. He believes, of course, that he is feeling the egg which he placed there. The audience, too, believes this.

"Please break the egg. You needn't have any fear of the consequence. It is wrapped in the handkerchief, and as it's my handkerchief, all is well. So just go ahead and break."

Have assistant grasp egg shell and break it. The crushing of the shell is heard by the assistant and the audience so that they do not doubt that the egg has been broken. Figure 17.

"There certainly isn't any doubt about your breaking the egg."

Drop handkerchief again to position shown in Figure 15. Then release hold with right hand and hold handkerchief as in Figure 14. Now open corner D a little with right hand.

"Will you please reach inside the handkerchief and take out the egg? You would, no doubt, like to have it as a souvenir for this momentous occasion of our little tete-a-tete."

This gets a laugh from audience as they think egg is broken and a mess inside the handkerchief. Assistant, too, usually hesitates about reaching in.

"Of course, you remember that old Humpty Dumpty fell off a wall and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. Personally, I don't see what horses had to do with it--unless it was a horse on the king, as we commonly say."

Assistant reaches into handkerchief and, to his surprise and the surprise of everyone, removes the egg whole.

"However, Humpty Junior is different. He lives in this more modern age of flippers and flappers, so a mere squashing means nothing in his young life. He just pulls himself together again. I believe you will find the egg fully restored."

As you say this, hold corner A with thumb and first finger of left hand and corner B with right hand. Pull hands apart, allowing corner C to drop down. Be sure to have little bag at back of handkerchief. Hold handkerchief spread out before audience to show it empty. Figure 18 shows view nearest to performer and away from audience.

Fold up handkerchief with bag concealed inside and place it aside or in pocket.

"I know, sir, that you will find this experiment very useful should you order scrambled eggs and then suddenly decide that you want them soft boiled."

If you desire, you may break egg into a saucer to prove that it is a real egg. Or you may just put egg aside and start with another trick, or you may use this egg for the next experiment with the egg bag.

NOTE:

A borrowed handkerchief may be used for this experiment. If you use a borrowed handkerchief, palm off the little bag from it after you have completed the effect. You can crush the bag up small in your palm as the egg shell is broken. As you go to return handkerchief, held in left hand, place bag in your pocket with your right hand.

2. THE EGG BAG

The experiment in which an egg disappears and reappears in a small cloth bag has come down through the ages to us. It has been worked by many methods and in various versions, and it has always been a popular number on magicians' programs. It affords the audience much amusement, especially if there are children present.

This version which I teach you is fool-proof and very effective. In combination with it you also learn how to vanish an egg from a handkerchief and how to produce funny articles from the coat of the boy who is helping you. The handkerchief and egg bag vanishes can be applied to other articles as well as an egg -- articles, such as a watch, a ball, a glove, etc. The production of articles from the boy's coat gives you a good chance for comedy. Any number and variety of articles may be produced, once you have mastered the principle of getting a "load" of articles up under the back of his coat for production.

EFFECT:

Performer gets a boy and girl to assist him. He shows a small cloth bag to be absolutely empty and gives it to the boy to hold. He then shows a colored handkerchief, brings its four corners together and asks the girl to hold them. Magician now shows an egg and drops that into the handkerchief. The little assistants feel the egg to make sure it is there. However, when performer takes the handkerchief into his own hands, the egg suddenly vanishes. Next the egg is produced from the bag held by the boy. Magician replaces the egg in the bag and then mysteriously causes it to disappear from the bag. A suspicious movement toward his right trouser's pocket by the performer leads the audience to suspect that he dropped the egg in his pocket. The excitement has started and the performer must turn out all his pockets to satisfy the crowd that they are empty. And great is the bewilderment of the audience when the egg is now found in the bag again. Magician now gives an explanation of the effect, with the result that the audience knows less than ever. This explanation is merely a ruse so that experiment can be concluded in a most puzzling manner. Suddenly while performer holds the egg, he is surprised to find that he does not have it. The boy and girl deny that they have it. Magician pats the boy's coat and feels around for the egg. He reaches in suddenly and pulls out from the boy's coat a lady's stocking, then a pair of baby's stockings, and finally some baby clothes.

PARAPHERNALIA:

1 -- Two eggs.

2 -- Two colored opaque handkerchiefs, exactly alike. The best size is 17 inches square. Get ordinary colored bandanna handkerchiefs. Launder them.

3 -- A piece of colored flannelette or some other soft, opaque material for the egg bag. I use a dark red material for my bag, but you may use any dark color you desire.

4 -- A needle and thread (thread as near same color of bag as possible, or darker).

5 -- Pins.

6 -- A lady's stocking, preferably bright colored. A pair of baby's stockings. Some small baby clothes, such as a dress, a shirt, and a baby bonnet.

SECRET AND PATTER:

To Prepare:

HANDKERCHIEF--

Take the two colored handkerchiefs and sew them together, carefully matching the edges and sewing close to the edges. Half the length of one side leave an opening between the handkerchiefs. At corner of handkerchief near this opening sew a mark with white thread, pointing parallel with the opening so that you can easily find it. Sew this mark on both sides of the double handkerchief. Figure 19.

Wash and iron the handkerchiefs to remove their stiffening and make them soft and easy to handle.

EGG BAG--

This is easy to make. It is just a small cloth bag with one side double. The size is 9 inches wide by 8 inches deep.

Cut out one piece of cloth, 10 x 17 inches, and another, 10 x 8-1/2 inches.

Hem the edges all around to keep them from raveling, turning them about a quarter of an inch. Fold the larger piece of cloth in two. The smaller piece will now exactly fit over the larger doubled piece. Place smaller piece on the folded piece and sew carefully around three of the sides, leaving the fourth side free for the opening of the bag. Now sew top of smaller piece to top of side of bag nearest to it. Use thread of the same color or a little darker than the material, never lighter.

Now measure up 2-1/4 inches from the bottom of the bag. Sew across the bag on this line, catching the smaller piece of cloth and the side of the bag nearest to it. Cut a slit four inches long in the smaller piece of cloth, just above the stitching. Sew the edges of this opening to prevent raveling. Figure 20.

Turn bag inside out. This brings trick opening on inside of bag. Figure 21 shows bag as it looks to audience.

Figure 22 shows trick opening inside of bag. You notice that top of extra partition of bag is sewed to top of one side of the bag proper. About one-third way up from bottom of bag this partition is again sewed to side of bag, except for the four-inch opening which you left above the stitching. If an egg were inserted in the trick opening it would come into position between partition and side of bag as shown in Figure 23.

BODY LOAD--

The articles you are going to produce we shall call the Body Load. Take the baby bonnet, shirt, and dress, and roll them up tight. Around this bundle wrap a pair of baby's stockings. Then around all this wrap the lady's stocking and hold the end in place with a pin. This gives you a small compact package which is easy to unwrap when the pin is removed.

On edge of bundle fasten a pin. Through middle of pin place a loop of black thread about an inch or two long. This thread should be strong enough to hold the bundle but not so strong that it cannot be broken easily when pulled.

Pin other end of loop to left side of vest, high enough up so that bundle hangs in the hollow of the waist. When coat hangs down naturally this bundle cannot be seen. Figure 24.

The detail diagram at the upper right corner of Figure 24 shows the arrangement of the pin on the end of the bundle, the loop, and the pin on the vest.

Now to get ready for your experiment--Have the body load in place. Put an egg into the trick opening in the egg bag, turn bag upside down and let egg drop to top of bag, directly above trick opening. Egg is now between partition and one side of bag at the top. Fold bag and lay it aside, being careful that form of egg does not show. Have the other egg in right coat pocket. Fold prepared handkerchief and have it handy. If you are doing a club show, have handkerchief and egg bag in your grip, and all you have to do is to reach in for them when you need them.

To Perform:

Come forward with prepared handkerchief.

"I want a nice little girl to hold this magic handkerchief."

Pick out some little girl in the audience and give her the handkerchief to hold. "That's it. Hold it up high. Now, can I get a boy to hold this egg?" Reach into pocket and take out egg. Give it to boy.

If you desire, you may produce the egg in this way. While attention is directed to the girl holding the handkerchief, reach into your right coat pocket, palm the egg, and then produce it from a lady's hair or some gentleman's ear. Keep back of hand uppermost until production is made so that egg will not be exposed.

Productions of this kind, of course, add to the comedy of an effect. As you take the egg, say,

"Pardon me, but may I use this egg?" Then give egg to boy and say,

"Hold the egg up high. Can everyone in the back see? Well, maybe you had both better come forward a

bit."

With a hand on each of your little assistants lead them to the stage. Some children hesitate about coming up, so you must help them along with little remarks and a little leading.

Place the girl at your left and the boy at your right. Ask their names and introduce them to each other. Let us assume that her name is Frances and his name is John.

"I don't suppose you have ever held a magic handkerchief before, have you, Frances?" Unfold the handkerchief and hold it by two corners, showing both sides.

"There isn't really any difference between a magic handkerchief and the kind we usually have as far as looks are concerned. The only difference is that when you tell it to do something, it will do that thing. If I should drop this handkerchief on the floor and tell it to dance, it, being a magic handkerchief, would have to dance. That would be rather funny, wouldn't it, Frances, to see a handkerchief dance?"

Gather up the four corners of the handkerchief this way: First get handkerchief into position between your two hands so that white thread mark is in left hand and opening between handkerchiefs is on top. Right hand holds the other top corner.

Now place the right-hand corner over with the left, bring up the lower right-hand corner and finally the lower left-hand corner. Hold all four corners in your left hand, Figure 25.

Reach into the opening, indicated by the arrow in the above illustration, and spread it out so that it looks like one of the spaces between the corners of the handkerchief.

"Now, I'll just gather the handkerchief by the corners and let you hold it as am, Frances." Give handkerchief to Frances to hold by the four corners, keeping prepared opening toward John.

Get the Egg Bag.

"John, I suppose you still believe in fairies and brownies and all that sort of thing; but you would, no doubt, be surprised anyway if a fairy princess came tripping put of this bag which I have here and tapped you with her magic wand. I guess we'd all be surprised."

Unfold bag and hold it with the OPENING DOWNWARD so that the egg will not fall out through trick opening and into the bag. Be sure to have double side of bag containing the egg nearest you.

Now turn bag around so that double side comes toward audience, screening egg with right fingers. Reach into each side of bag with thumbs and turn bag inside out, Figure 26.

This brings the double side of bag nearest you again with the egg concealed in it against your right palm, Figure 27.

"Well, there is no need to be surprised for there is nothing inside the bag."

Turn bag inside out and back to outside again quickly several times. The trick opening in the double side of bag is not visible to audience. As you turn bag, it is stretched a little and there are folds in it so that the opening cannot be seen.

Now with trick opening again on inside, roll up bag. Hold egg in right hand and strike left hand several times with other end of bag. This is to prove that bag is empty, Figure 28.

Unfold bag again, keeping double side nearest you. Hold bag now with opening at top as you would naturally. The egg automatically drops down through trick opening into the bag. Fold the bag again.

"John, if you hold the egg in your left hand, I will give you this bag to hold in your right. Then you will be doing it RIGHT."

Give folded bag to boy to hold at the top. He cannot feel egg inside as this is at the bottom, Figure 29.

"By the way, John, were you ever a magician?"

He will, of course, shake his head or say, "No."

"You were. That's fine. Then I can let you do this trick instead of me. Frances, you don't mind if John does the trick, do you? Oh, you'll help him? Well, that's better yet. All right, John, bring the egg over and drop it into the handkerchief. First hold it up and show it to the audience and then drop it into the handkerchief."

Have John drop egg into opening you have prepared between the two. handkerchiefs. You can open it wider as he goes to drop egg in so that he will have no difficulty in getting it into the right place, Figure 30.

To all appearances he has dropped egg into center of handkerchief, but in reality he dropped it between the two handkerchiefs through the fake opening.

"Yes, you dropped it all right. I can feel it. Frances, do you feel the egg resting so cozily here in the bottom of the handkerchief?"

Let her feel the egg through the handkerchief, Figure 31.

Reach over and take the MARKED corner of handkerchief between your left thumb and forefinger and take the next corner with your right thumb and forefinger. Be careful that you take the right corner in your right hand to keep opening of handkerchiefs at the top. Do not remove handkerchief from Frances' hands yet.

"Now, Frances, if you will take the egg."

Now take the handkerchief. Let the other two corners of handkerchief, which you do not hold, fall down so that handkerchief is spread out between your hands before the audience. The egg falls to the bottom between the two handkerchiefs. It seems that the egg has vanished into the air. Show both sides of handkerchief, Figure 32.

"That's strange! I thought we had an egg."

Crumple up handkerchief in right hand and place it in coat pocket or some other convenient place where egg will not be visible.

"Oh, I forgot that was a magic handkerchief and that the egg, not being an Easter egg, would not stay in the magic handkerchief. John, give me that bag."

Take bag from John and open it. Be careful to show hands empty. Hold bag with opening upward by your finger tips.

"Now, John, reach inside."

John reaches in and takes out the egg.

Then you take the egg in your right hand, Figure 33.

"There's the egg! John, I congratulate you. I forgot you were a master magician and so you played a trick on Frances and me. Now, Frances, suppose I show John a trick. Watch me closely. Here is a bag and here is an egg."

Bag is in left hand and egg in right hand. Show both freely.

"I will place the egg inside of the bag."

Hold bag in left hand as shown in Figure 34. Double side is nearest you. With right hand place the egg inside the bag and into the trick opening.

Turn open end of bag downward, letting the egg fall between the partition and outside of bag just opposite the trick opening.

Position of bag and egg is shown in Figure 34A.

"And when I say, 'Go,' the egg will disappear. Are you ready? One, two, three -- Go!"

Remove right hand quickly from bag, keeping back of hand to audience. Shake bag up and down, keeping your eyes on it. Then suddenly reach into right trouser's pocket with right hand and quickly withdraw hand.

The effect you are trying to create to the audience is that you took the egg from the bag and placed it in your pocket and that you tried to do this unobserved.

"See, it is gone."

Turn bag inside out and back again several times.