Joe Mogar has specialized in thimble magic for the last fifty years, and this book represents his life’s work and his love. He has reinvented this branch of the art, blazing a trail through previously uncharted territory. Now, using props that fit in a single pocket, you will be able to perform new effects that will fool and entertain several to several hundred.

In addition to diabolically clever sleights, effects and methods, there are dozens of ideas on how to introduce thimbles into your act and how to present the material. Multiple presentational hooks are included which can be interchanged with related effects. There is even an innovative Routine Builder, which will help you bring the individual parts together into a cohesive and flowing whole.

This is the first truly comprehensive manual on thimble magic. It will take you from a beginner to expert in 230-plus pages. The book was designed to make your journey enjoyable. Although the material is technical by necessity, it is presented in an entertaining manner. If you want innovative thimble magic, the best pathway is now at your fingertips.

Contents:

13 Introduction. Thimble magic in general

17 Part 1: Getting Started
17 How to Read This Book: how to practice
19 The Care & Feeding of Thimbles: and why Joe’s thimbles are recommended
20 A Word about Words: presentation
24 The Hand: and how the fingers are referred to in the book

27 Part 2: The Basics
27 Palms, Grips, Holds, and Clips
30 The Basic Vanish & Reproduction
33 Cleaned: both hands shown empty
34 The Vacuum: “pop” goes the thimble
35 Thimbles – It’s an Attitude Thing: essay

39 Part 3: Moves
39 Multiple Palm
42 Lock & Load: from a stack
43 The Explosion Move: stack to 4 fingers
46 The 2nd Explosion
48 Implosion: Fingers to stack
49 Switching Channels: Bobo switch
50 Bait & Switch: another switch

53 Part 4: Productions
53 Duck & Tuck: production from bare(?) hands
55 The Grabber: grabbed from the air
56 Power Thimbles: appearance of 4 thimbles
59 Simple Silk: production under a silk
60 Rag Production: 4 thimbles from silk, Joe’s favorite
65 The Deep Squat Production: handful of thimbles from handkerchief
66 Milking the Silk: any number of thimbles
68 Bare handed: from silk
70 Super Star: 5 thimbles one at a time from the air
73 The Thimble Monster: expansion of Super Star
75 TNT Production: 4 at the fingertips one at a time
76 It’s a “Guy Thing”: essay

79 Part 5: Vanishes
79 The Volley: coin type move
80 The Macho Vanish: 4 thimbles vanish one at a time
82 The Belcher: Thimbles tucked into fist vanish
84 Declining Balance: as above
85 Double Declining Balance: as above
86 You Can Call Me Al: Strong & easy vanish from right fingertips
87 Protologist Vanish: from under silk
89 Meat & Potatoes Vanish: under silk
90 A Fistful of Nothing: Thimbles tucked into handkerchief vanish
91 Stack & Steal: similar to above
92 Tuck, Tuck, and Away: tucked into silk and vanish
93 Tuckered Out: locking feature
94 Tubular Steal: Dye Tube type method
95 The Death Vanish: tucked one at time into fist and vanish
97 The Testosterone Vanish: bare handed vanish
99 Four by Four: Easy multiple vanish
101 Sucker Punch: as above
102 Thimble Apocalypse: another as above
103 One Way Vanish: vanish from the fingertips

107 Part 6: Color Changes
107 The Wave
109 The Big Dipper. Bare bones color change
111 Thumb Screws: Big Dipper follow up
113 The Paintbrush: Brushing thimble with silk changes color
114 Back Stabber: Color change while hand turns
116 The Lineup: White on 4 fingers, change to red 1 by 1 and all vanish
117 Finger Painting: multiple color changes
120 Isolation Change: straightforward change of thimble on extended index finger
122 A Tribute to Mr. Hugard: humorous discussion of Hugard’s Thimble Magic

125 Part 7: Singularities
125 The Drill: thimble penetrates silk
127 Silk Starters: Starting a routine with a silk, several ideas
128 Stolen & Recovered: Lightning quick vanish and restore with silk
129 Poker: Another penetration of thimble through handkerchief
131 Powdered Thimbles: thimbles are ground into confetti
132 The Peakcock Production: instantaneous production of four thimbles on fingertips
133 A Card Trick (finally!): 4 thimbles produced behind cards
135 Presidential Opener: Starter; producing a thimble from a dollar bill, and instant multiple climax.

141 Part 8: Gimmicks
141 Gimmicks: discussion
143 Half a Trick: Bare handed production and vanish: almost too perfect
145 Toasted: Thimble melted
146 Hanging Around: gimmicking a thimble for a complete vanish
147 Thimbles Lite: using glowing thimbles
148 Holding Your Own: a discussion of holders
150 Smell Shocked: Use of shells

152 Part 9: Flourishes
152 Up The Arm: thimble travels through arm to finger
153 Killer Thimbles: Flourish: thimble caught on fingertip in mid air
154 The Chorus Line: Four thimbles on left, jump to right one by one
156 Overdrive: Thimbles jump from hand to hand in a different manner
159 Leapfrog: Thimble jumps from finger to finger under a silk
164 The Travelers: Magician tries to remove thimble but it jumps to other fingers
166 As four thimbles are placed on the fingertips, a rubber finger drops from one
167 Reproduction Finesse: recovering four thimbles one by one
168 The Chaser: Thimbles jump from finger to finger in patter about digits
171 The Trapdoor: How You Know They Don’t Like Your Show

175 Part 10: Sound Effects
175 Sound FX: making the sound
176 Snapper: thimble production with a snap
177 The Dismount: thimbles pop as they are removed, last needs a shake
179 Pop Test: another method of the above
181 Wind Up: using the watch winder
182 Feedback: suggestions for sounds in other routines
183 Popping Off: Basic vanish with sound

187 Part 11: Sleeving
187 Sleeving: a discussion
188 Sleeving Thimbles: A primer
189 The Black Hole Vanish: vanishing a stack
190 Silk Sleeve: retrieval, changeover, deposit in other sleeve
191 Silk Opener: recovering a stack
192 Flash Production: hands shown clean, one thimble appears, then many
194 The Dirty Dozen: using sleeving to link effects into a routine

199 Part 12: Routines
199 Easy Opener: Thimble produced from silk, vanished, produced and jumps around
200 The One Two Punch: Four thimbles jump to opposite hand one by one, then all back again

203 Part 13: The Big Pocket:
203 The Big Pocket: a Topit type accessory

207 Part 14: Leftovers
207 The Complete History of Thimble Magic (Revised, and then revised again): as unwound in the Electronic Grymoire…
213 Subscriber News Service: FISM officials looking for zinc steroids before card competition…
215 Thanksgiven: Deserved thanks
217 Thimble Magic: Suggested Reading (lots of references)

221 Part 15: Routine Builder
221: A table of items, type of effect, and ending position to help you build a routine