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Sleight of hand, also known as 'prestidigitation' ("quick fingers") or léger de main (from the French for "lightness of hand"), is the set of techniques used by a magician (or card sharp) to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... “Illusionist” redirects here. ... The Cardsharps, c. ...

Sleight of hand is not a separate branch of magic, but rather one of the means used by a magician to produce an effect. It can be contrasted with the flourish, where the magician intentionally displays skills, such as the ability to cut cards one handed, which is akin to juggling. It has been suggested that Floryshe be merged into this article or section. ... Juggling is a form of skillful, often artful, object manipulation. ...

Advanced sleight of hand requires months or years of practice before it can be performed proficiently in front of spectators. Sleight of hand is mostly employed in close-up magic, but it can also be used in stage magic. There are hundreds of different sleights at the performer's disposal, but they can generally be classified into groups: switches, changes, the pass, the false deal, the double lift, the false shuffle, etc. Not to be confused with Double-deck elevator. ...

There are several stories about magicians using sleight of hand in real life, such as the one about American illusionist David Copperfield using sleight-of-hand to fool a mugger into thinking he had no wallet in his pockets. David Copperfield (born David Seth Kotkin) is a multi Emmy Award winning, American magician and illusionist best known for his combination of illusions and storytelling. ...

Etymology

Sleight, meaning dexterity or deceptiveness, comes from the Old Norse slœgð. Sleight of hand is often mistakenly written as slight of hand, where slight meaning slender or frail comes from the Old Norse slettr. Apart from their pronunciation they have nothing else in common.^[1] Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ...

Sleight of hand in Close-up magic

Sleight of hand is often used in close-up magic, performed with the audience close to the magician, usually within three or four meters, possibly in physical contact. It often makes use of everyday items as props, such as cards and coins. The guiding principle of sleight-of-hand, articulated by legendary close-up magician Dai Vernon, is "be natural." A well-performed sleight looks like an ordinary, natural and completely innocent gesture, change in hand position or body posture. Magician redirects here. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Dai Vernon (11 June 1894 – August 21, 1992) was a Canadian magician. ...

It is commonly believed that sleight of hand works because “the hand is quicker than the eye” but this is usually not the case. In addition to manual dexterity, sleight of hand depends on the use of psychology, misdirection, and natural choreography in accomplishing a magical effect. Misdirection is perhaps the most important component of the art of sleight of hand. The magician choreographs his actions so that even the critical and observant spectators are likely to look where the magician wants them to. (More importantly, they do not look where they should not.) Two types of misdirection are time and movement. Time is simple; by allowing a small amount of time to pass after an action, events are skewed in the viewer's mind. Movement is a little more complicated. A phrase often used is "A larger action covers a smaller action." But care must be used to not make the larger action so big it is suspicious. Misdirection is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another. ...

Another common misconception is that close-up magic must utilize either sleight of hand or some kind of gimmicked apparatus. However, as Henry Hay's Cyclopedia of Magic says,

"Many small tricks, especially card tricks, require neither apparatus nor sleight of hand; much apparatus of the "gimmick" type does not require sleight of hand. Illusions, because they deal with objects too big to hold in the hand, are one class of magic that seldom require sleight of hand--though even here sleight of hand "forcing" may be called into play. There are successful illusionists and apparatus conjurers who can do no sleight of hand at all, but their difficulties and restrictions deserve our sympathy rather than our scorn."

The Seven Principles of Sleight of Hand

The magicians Penn & Teller have been known to, as part of their act, explain sleight of hand while demonstrating it with a performance by Teller, appearing to only light a cigarette. While Teller performs, Penn describes what he is doing, and explains the seven principles of Sleight of Hand. Penn & Teller at the 1988 Emmy Awards Penn & Teller are Las Vegas headliners whose act is an amalgam of illusion and comedy. ... Two unlit filtered cigarettes. ...

The Seven Principles are:

1. Palm - To hold an object in an apparently empty hand. Palming is a technique for holding or concealing an object in the hand. ...

2. Switch - To secretly exchange one object for another.

3. Misdirection - To lead attention away from a secret move. Misdirection is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another. ...

4. Simulation - To give the impression that something that hasn't happened, has. This article is about the general term. ...

5. Load - To secretly move a needed object to where it is needed.

6. Steal - To secretly obtain a needed object.

7. Ditch - To secretly dispose of an unneeded object.

Deceit

Sleight-of-hand techniques can also be used to cheat in gambling games, in street con games such as the three-shell game, to steal, or, in some cases, to claim supernatural powers, as in the performances of 19th century and early 20th century spirit mediums.^{[citation needed]} For this reason the term "sleight of hand" frequently carries negative associations of dishonesty and deceit, and is also used metaphorically outside the above contexts. The techniques used by gamblers, however, are often very different from those employed by magicians; similarly, the techniques used by self-proclaimed psychics or spirit mediums are often different from those found in "straight" close-up magic and mentalism.^{[citation needed]} The differences, however, are due to the different working conditions and the different degrees of proximity between spectators and performer; the same basic techniques and approaches are common in all the areas of deception mentioned. Caravaggio, The Cardsharps, c. ... Confidence Man redirects here. ... A shell game is performed with bottle caps on a cardboard box, on Fulton Street in New York City The Conjurer by Hieronymus Bosch. ... In spirituality, a medium or spirit medium (plural mediums) is an individual who possesses the ability to receive messages from spirits (discorporate entities), or claims that he or she can channel such entities — that is, write or speak in the voice of these entities rather than in the mediums... Parapsychology is the study of the evidence involving phenomena where a person seems to affect or gain information about something through a means not currently explainable within the framework of mainstream, conventional science. ... In spirituality, a medium or spirit medium (plural mediums) is an individual who possesses the ability to receive messages from spirits (discorporate entities), or claims that he or she can channel such entities — that is, write or speak in the voice of these entities rather than in the mediums... Magician redirects here. ... This article is about the performing art. ...

Performers

Some of the most influential figures in sleight of hand and close up magic have been Cardini, Tony Slydini, Dai Vernon, Don Alan, Wes Sheild, David Roth, Ed Marlo, Tommy Wonder, Don England, Fred Kaps, J.N. Hofzinser and Larry Jennings. Other well known performers are Brother John Hammon, Michael Ammar, Andy Dallas, Jerad Nolin, Mike Close, Lee Asher, Bill Malone, Dean Dill, Ricky Jay, Paul Daniels, and most recently, Max Darwin, Criss Angel, David Blaine, and Teller of Penn & Teller,Armando Lucero[1]Onehandshuffle [2], Denis Behr [3], MATHIEU BICH [4], Joachim Solberg[5], Roberto Giobbi [6]. Richard Cardini Pitchford (1895-1973) was a master magician whose career spanned almost half a century. ... Slydini (born 1901, Italy, died 1991) was a world renowned magician. ... Dai Vernon (11 June 1894 – August 21, 1992) was a Canadian magician. ... David Roth (b. ... Ed Marlo (born Edward Malkowski in Chicago, Illinois, October 10, 1913 - November 7, 1991) was a legendary cardician. ... Tommy Wonder is the stage name of Jacobus Maria Bemelman (born 1953), a Dutch magician who performs both close-up and stage magic. ... Fred Kaps (official name Abraham Pieter Adrianus Bongers), (June 8, 1926 – July 22, 1980) was a Dutch magician, famous for being the only magician to become FISM world champion three times. ... Michael Ammar (b. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Ricky Jay Ricky Jay (b. ... Paul Daniels (born Newton Edward Daniels, 6 April 1938) is a British magician and television performer. ... Criss Angel (born Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos on December 19, 1967) is an American magician, musician, mentalist, hypnotist, escapologist, stunt performer, and actor. ... David Blaine (born David Blaine White on April 4, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American illusionist and stunt performer. ... Teller (born Raymond Joseph Teller) February 14, 1948) is an American magician, best known as the smaller (59/1. ... Penn & Teller at the 1988 Emmy Awards Penn & Teller are Las Vegas headliners whose act is an amalgam of illusion and comedy. ...

Performers often encourage their audience to believe they have expect sleight of hand when they are actually using another principle or gimmic as means of misdirecting the audience. For example if one is performing something as simple as the appearing/disappearing coins using a thumb tip, the trick lies in the gimmic but the audience are led to believe the performer has done something very complex to hide the coins, this stops them from thinking of a method as simple as the TT.

References

1. ^ Bill Bryson. "Troublesome words", Penguin. 

“Illusionist” redirects here. ... “Illusionist” redirects here. ... 2700BC - The first known performance of a conjuring effect (cups and balls) by the magician Dedi in ancient Egypt 100AD - The Acetabularii performed the Cups and balls in ancient Rome using stones and small vinegar cups (hence the name Acetabularii) 1584 - Reginald Scott publishes The Discoverie of Witchcraft (sic) a... Parlor magic is done for larger audiences than close-up magic (which is for a few people or even one person) and for smaller audiences than stage magic. ... There are numerous manufacturers of and designers of magic tricks. ... A card manipulator performing a flourish with a deck of playing cards. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the performing art. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Harry Houdini, a famous escapologist and magician. ... Exposure in magic refers to the practice of making magical methods (the secrets of how magic tricks are performed) available to those who are not magicians. ... This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ... // A magicians assistant is a performer whose role during a magic act is to hold the props that are used by a magician, to transport props onto and off the stage, and to serve as a prop in illusions that involve manipulation of the human body. ... The following is a list of terms used by magicians, sorted alphabetically. ... This page contains a list of magic tricks. ...

External Reference

• Penn & Teller explain Sleight of Hand (YouTube)