Effect
Mystery of the Burning Cigarette
Harlan Tarbell · The Tarbell Course, 1926
- Time
- 1 min read + 10 min practice
- Materials
- In the library
- Prerequisites
- None
Take care. Working with these objects and effects is inherently dangerous; anyone who attempts them does so at their own risk. Anybody under 18 is advised to undertake them only with a parent's permission and supervision.
Magician borrows a handkerchief and lays it over his left hand, fist closed and thumb side up. He shows his right hand empty and with his right thumb tucks handkerchief a short way into his left fist.
He next borrows a piece of lighted cigarette and drops it burning end down into the little well he made in the handkerchief with his right thumb. The smoke curls upward from the handkerchief. The audience holds its breath, thinking that the handkerchief is being burned. The Magician then sprinkles the magic “woofle dust” over the handkerchief and pulls it off his hand. The handkerchief is undamaged and the cigarette has vanished.
How it is done
The method and all it needs, inside the library.
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