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CIGAR CONJURATIONS
“O, finer far
Than fame, or riches, are
The graceful smoke-wreaths of this free cigar.”
George Arnold—Beer.
Because of the difference in its size, shape, and color, the cigar has not attained the vogue of the cigarette for stage purposes. However, for intimate work, or for parlor and club performances, it can be employed with very fine effect.
As a general rule ordinary cigars are too large to be handled easily unless one has a very large hand and, for this reason, many performers use small, faked cigars of wood, shaped and colored appropriately. These are very easy to handle, but unfortunately they will not bear close inspection and they do not look like real cigars. A genuine cigar can be prepared very easily for manipulative work so that it will last for an indefinite period without deteriorating.
Choose a cigar about four inches in length, one that can be held comfortably in the finger palm; that is to say, with one end pressed against the end of the middle finger and the other end against the base of the thumb or the palm. Cut a large wooden safety match in half, sharpen one end, and push this carefully into the point of the cigar. Prepare a, strip of brown paper with good library paste and roll it round the cigar spirally, finishing off by covering the match point carefully. Roll the cigar on a table with the palm of the hand to make sure that the paper adheres throughout. When this coat is dry, paste another strip over it in the same way and let this dry thoroughly. Then rub the surface smooth with very fine sandpaper, give the whole cigar a final coat of shellac, and paste a band in the usual position. You will then have a cigar that can be handled easily, thanks to the match point, and that will last indefinitely (Fig. 1).
I. SLEIGHTS
Several of the methods already explained for cigarettes—such as the thumb grip, the finger palm, and the tip tilt—are equally applicable to cigars. There are, however, some special methods peculiar to cigars.
1st Method. Hold the cigar vertically on the left palm, supporting it by placing the right middle finger on the pointed end (Fig. 2). Move the right hand downwards and the left hand upwards to bring the tips of the two middle fingers together, with the point of the cigar between them, and cause the cigar to tilt up into the right hand, which secures it in the finger palm (Fig. 3). At the same time close the fingers of the left hand, turning the hand over inwards and bringing its back to the front. Move the closed hand away to the left, agitating the fingers, and vanish the cigar in the usual way.
An effective recovery is from the back of the left knee. Apply the right hand to the back of the knee, bend the knee, grip the outer end of the cigar in the bend, slide the fingers back along the cigar to the other end, and pull it into view slowly.
2d Method. Hold the point of the cigar between the thumb and fingers of the right hand and place it on the palm of the left hand (Fig. 4). Close the left fingers on it and push the cigar into the fist with the tip of the right middle finger (Fig. 5) as the hands turn over inwards. At the moment when the left fingers are about to close on the cigar, press on the point with the right middle fingertip and tilt it back into the finger palm in the right hand. Close the left hand completely and move it away, pointing to it with the left forefinger. It should not now be necessary to reiterate that you follow the left hand with your eyes. Complete the vanish in the usual way.
3d Method. Show the palms of the hands empty and place the cigar against the left palm, the hands held vertically, supporting it by the tips of the right fingers; roll it between the hands, the right hand moving outwards and the left hand inwards, bringing the cigar against the right palm supported by the tips of the left fingers. Repeat the action several times and at the third roll seize the end of the cigar in the left thumb grip, continuing the outward movement of the right hand without any hesitation and closing it, apparently on the cigar, as its palm reaches the fingertips of the left hand. Move the right hand away, following it with your eyes, and drop the left hand to the side with a natural gesture. Complete the vanish as usual.
4th Method. Complete vanish in the vest. Hold the cigar by the blunt end between the tips of the right thumb and forefinger and place the left hand, closed, against the vest buttons at one of the openings (Fig. 6). Push the cigar into the left fist, the point really going into the vest between two of the buttons. When it is fully inserted under the vest, move the right hand away and make the vanish from the left hand in the prescribed manner. Finally show both hands empty.
5th Method. Prepared cigar. Pierce two holes in one of the prepared cigars and with a fine, flesh-colored thread make two loops, as shown in. Fig. 7, large enough for the insertion of the mp joints of the first and third fingers.
Thus prepared, the cigar can be held concealed along the middle finger, at either the front or the back of the hand, supported by the loops on the first and third fingers. To produce the cigar from the back of the hand, for example, you have only to bend the top joint of the middle finger under the point and grip this against the tip of the thumb; the cigar then extends straight out from the fingers and is apparently caught from the air. Place it in a hat or other receptacle and, as soon as the hand is out of sight, pass the end of the middle finger under the point of the cigar, stretch out the finger, and it will again be hidden at the back of the hand. Bring this out of the receptacle with the palm toward the audience and repeat the catch.
An effective “Cigar Chase” can be made by using this cigar only. It is advisable to vary the catches, making some of them with the back of the hand to the front, the action, of course, being just the reverse of that described in the preceding paragraph. Finally the cigar can be palmed, or sleeved, after the last catch and a pretense of throwing the hat full of cigars to the spectators, the hat, of course, proving to be empty. Or again, a supply of cigars can be loaded into the hat beforehand and a real distribution made, which is always a popular feature.
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