Conjuring Credits

The Origins of Wonder

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Muscle Pass

This coin sleight was first described in Buckley's Principles and Deceptions, 1948, p. 48. There are at least two pieces of evidence suggesting that this sleight is much older, as Adelaide Herrmann, in her biography, Adelaide Herrmann Queen of Magic, published posthumously in 2012, reports that her husband, Alexander used it in the 1890s. Supporting this is the following passage from an obituary of Herrmann that appeared in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle on Dec. 12, 1896, p. 3 (reprinted from the New York Journal).

“The muscles of the palm could also move things and propel them in a mysterious way. For instance, a coin laid on his upturned palm he would cause to jump up in the air by the action of some obscure muscles. He had the same power in the muscles of his wrist, and he would cause a coin to move from his fingers to the wrist and then disappear altogether without any movement of the hand perceptible to the ordinary human eye.” (Discovered by Bill Mullins)