Bending Single Card For Glimpse

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Bob Farmer
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Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Bob Farmer » January 11th, 2022, 10:21 am

Does anyone know the origin of the following glimpse:

You are holding a single face-down card in Biddle Grip. You squeeze the card so it bends up allowing you to see the index at the inner end as you place it face down in the spectator's palm-up hand.

I may have been shown this by Bill Goldman many years ago.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 11th, 2022, 10:56 am

Ancient.
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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 11th, 2022, 5:17 pm

When I was a little boy, in the fifties, I learn this glimpse and I simply bent the card hold by the ends.

But some years later, someone (?) show me a tip to do this glimpse in a more subtle way.

You hold the card with the right hand, and with your left forefinger, you brush the face of the card, saying, if I brush my finger on the card, I can read its name. And during my "brushing", I bend the card and see its inner index.

VOILA !

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Bob Farmer » January 11th, 2022, 6:15 pm

Nice idea. I can't use it for my purposes since I will be holding a card in each hand.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Tarotist » January 11th, 2022, 7:04 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:Ancient.


I know a really, really ancient method of glimpsing a card. So ancient I forget what ancient book I read it in. Probably authored by Victor Farelli.

In fact the glimpse is so ancient that it is new again since nobody has ever heard about it because they don't read old books. I wrote it up in my most wondrous "Annotated Royal Road to Card Magic" in the backslip chapter. It is really the backslip without doing the backslip.

I know that doesn't sound terribly logical but you will have to excuse me. I spent a lot of time in Ireland where logic is considered socially unacceptable. Besides, it would take too long to describe it. Those of you who own the book will find it on page something or other in the Backslip chapter. It really is a terrific move.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 12th, 2022, 4:07 am

You are right for Farelli who explains the glimpse and refers to the Magic Wand No. 112, december 1921 for a first explanation by C. Brownlow (who doesn't write he is the creator)

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Tarotist » January 12th, 2022, 12:11 pm

I rather like Farelli's books. They are really detailed. I imagine they are all out of print by now and hard to come by.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Zig Zagger » January 12th, 2022, 3:46 pm

You can get all or most of them easily over at Lybrary.com...
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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby MagicbyAlfred » January 12th, 2022, 4:38 pm

Philippe Billot wrote:When I was a little boy, in the fifties, I learn this glimpse and I simply bent the card hold by the ends.

But some years later, someone (?) show me a tip to do this glimpse in a more subtle way.

You hold the card with the right hand, and with your left forefinger, you brush the face of the card, saying, if I brush my finger on the card, I can read its name. And during my "brushing", I bend the card and see its inner index.

VOILA !


That is a nice subtlety, Phillipe. Thanks for sharing that. I just tried it. I would imagine it would flow nicely in the situation where you ask a spectator to touch any card in the spread. Then you can out-jog the card they touch, square up and remove the out-jogged card with the right hand, then proceed as you described.

A couple more touches/subtleties perhaps worth considering would be (1) immediately after the left forefinger brushes/bends the card and the glimpse is gotten, then, a split second after the glimpse -- almost simultaneously with it -- move the right hand forward towards the spectator, creating the illusion that the card was always far away from you and the face of it thereby clearly out of sight; (2) turn the head away immediately after the glimpse, and as you move the card forward towards the spectator, as if you were looking away all along. Perhaps that would be a good time to say, "Please remember the card you selected," as it would provide good misdirection for the head turn, since they will be focused on the card, and if they did happen to notice you moved the card forward, there is a justification for doing so. Meanwhile they will then see your head turned away, as if you were being eminently fair in not wanting to see the card, and not suspecting that the dirty work has already been done.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 13th, 2022, 3:29 am

Bob Farmer wrote:Nice idea. I can't use it for my purposes since I will be holding a card in each hand.


you can take inspiration from the "vertical peek" technique like Marlo. See page 67 of Revolutionary Card Technique, 2003 edition

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 13th, 2022, 10:44 am

Tarotist wrote:I rather like Farelli's books. They are really detailed. I imagine they are all out of print by now and hard to come by.


You can find Farelli's Card Magic on PDF in the Net.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 13th, 2022, 12:52 pm

It's a "last resort" if you can't find the book and you can print it.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Tarotist » January 13th, 2022, 1:44 pm

At least I am glad to see that the books have not disappeared forever, whatever form they take. I think he was a very good and interesting writer. Thorough descriptions.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 13th, 2022, 5:42 pm

The two parts of Farelli's Card Magic are excellent books in any form.
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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby MagicbyAlfred » January 14th, 2022, 7:04 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:The two parts of Farelli's Card Magic are excellent books in any form.


Until I did a little reading up, I didn't realize that Farelli was a student of Devant. I'm not usually a fan of download Ebooks, but Vanishing Inc. is offering both parts, in that format, for a grand total of $5.99!
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/ebook ... ard-magic/

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Tarotist » January 14th, 2022, 9:33 am

I didn't realise he was born in Dublin. I always thought he was Scottish. Anyway, I just discovered this. I had no idea he had written so many books! First time I have heard of some of them!

https://www.lybrary.com/victor-farelli-m-331.html

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 14th, 2022, 11:12 am

And besides, he was really a "magician of his time" because he was able to quote the tricks and ideas of other magicians he met in Europe.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Grippo's Wish » January 18th, 2022, 12:18 am

Bob Farmer wrote:Does anyone know the origin of the following glimpse:

You are holding a single face-down card in Biddle Grip. You squeeze the card so it bends up allowing you to see the index at the inner end as you place it face down in the spectator's palm-up hand.

I may have been shown this by Bill Goldman many years ago.


I learned it centuries ago and I always wanted to know the source. Thanks for asking.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 18th, 2022, 2:55 am

I do not despair of finding the source of this technique but I doubt to find to whom to attribute it.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 18th, 2022, 3:30 am

I have one reference:

The Magician Monthly, Vol. 28, no. 5, April 1932, page 59, Card Reading by James Russell:

"When he takes the next card-second finger at top and thumb at the bottom-he bends the card for the smallest fraction of a second and so gets a glimpse of the index at the bottom left-hand corner. This rnethod is not easy-that is to say, it is not easy if you wish it to be quite effective."


this reference is not listed in Potter's index

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 18th, 2022, 3:38 am

Grippo's Wish wrote:
Bob Farmer wrote:Does anyone know the origin of the following glimpse:

You are holding a single face-down card in Biddle Grip. You squeeze the card so it bends up allowing you to see the index at the inner end as you place it face down in the spectator's palm-up hand.

I may have been shown this by Bill Goldman many years ago.


I learned it centuries ago and I always wanted to know the source. Thanks for asking.


Sorry Grippo's Wish, my reference is only 90 years...but but I don't despair of finding an older one!

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 18th, 2022, 4:10 am

I just remember another old glimpse when you hold a card vertically with one hand:

Hold the card by its lower right corner, thumb back and forefinger in front. Second finger is just under the thumb and touch the back of the card.

You are going to do the flourish named “the snap”, that is to produce a noise with your second finger as you extend it.

And as you do this, the card tilts backward and if you hold it quite low, almost at waist level, you can see “in a fraction of second” the index of the card.

I don't remember who created it, and when and where I read or see it.

If someone can help me...

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 18th, 2022, 10:48 am

If you hold the card as noted and squeeze it so it buckles downward in the center, you will Glimpse the inner left corner. But if you buckle it upward in the center, you will glimpse the outer right corner and this is even better.

Philippe: the Glimpse you mention in the post directly above this one is, I think, in one of Harry Lorayne's books. Rimshots or Afterthoughts. It was taught to him by Tony Mulle.
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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Philippe Billot » January 18th, 2022, 11:34 am

Thanks Richard.

That's it! Page 78.

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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Barefoot Boy » February 3rd, 2022, 10:06 pm

I vaguely recall watching Jon Tremaine using something similar. As part of a parlour-type show I believe he riffled down the corner of a face down deck in his hands and asked someone across the room to stop. He then lifted all the cards cleanly above the break with his thumb at one end and his fingers at the other. He displayed the face of the card to the person while giving the half pack quite a bend against his palm allowing him to glimpse the bottom index on the left side of the card being shown.

He did this with multiple people and appeared to cleanly read their minds afterwards.

Done correctly, I can see this being a clever technique and one not so commonly used.
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Re: Bending Single Card For Glimpse

Postby Tarotist » February 4th, 2022, 2:16 pm

I wonder if Jon Tremaine is still around. He must be ancient by now. Very talented mentalist and magician. He had a fantastic three card monte routine. I think he called it the Scarlet Pimpernel or something. When I was a teenage schoolboy I used to watch him demonstrating magic in Ellisdons, a big joke and trick shop in London that had several floors. I still remember Tony Corinda coming to visit him in the store and he performed the centre tear exactly as he described it in the 13 Steps to Mentalism.

I learned how to do the trick where you produce little balls of aluminium from the mouth by watching him do it.. I think it was based on Ramseys little beans trick. I still do it to this day. He also wrote a book on card tricks for the public. I think it was aimed at young people. He described a terrific 3 cards across presentation which I have been using for years. Another trick I learned from him was Voodoo Spirit using blank cards.

Yes. I think I learned quite a lot from Jon Tremaine.


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