Whaley credits Dr. Elliott with the invention of this trick, but bases that on a reference in Clarke that assigns to Elliott the invention of the “Anti-Gravity Wand”. Under that heading in Whaley's Encyclopedia, he assures us that despite the nomenclature, Clarke is referring to the Rising Wand but neglects to mention how he knows this. Clearly, the basic idea and its mechanical composition (i.e., thread) is related to the far older Climbing Ring effect (wherein a ring rises on a wand or pencil), so it is difficult to believe this only goes back to the early twentieth century. Whatever the case may be, a reference to note “The Wonderful Rising Wand” in New Ideas in Magic by W. H. J. Shaw (1902), which is possibly the first version to use elastic, since the rubber band itself didn't appear until 1845.