Description

H. C. Mole and Percy Naldrett here join forces to offer not just moments of mystery, but a full evening’s entertainment. Mole presents an explanation of his complete act, which embraces everything from a baffling thought-reading experiment to novel “plant pot conjuring”. His opening effect, which he labels “An Original Card Drama in Three Acts”, will be of interest both to historians and performers, as it sees the magician deal through an apparently shuffled packet of cards while recounting an entertaining narrative; this is an early example of a Story Deck routine, and the explanation here includes a very easy but nevertheless deceptive deck switch. Effects with flags, cards and a copy of the Daily Mail follow, before Percy Naldrett assumes authorship, contributing a range of effects and suggestions, many of which are presented as topical novelties and themed around the Great War, which was in its infancy when Moments of Mystery was first published. This fifty-six page booklet is more than a historical curiosity, however, and contains a variety of ideas that could serve the modern magician well.