More Card Manipulations

More Card Manipulations, Volumes 1–4 by Jean Hugard

The complete four-volume classic — collected in one edition. Originally published individually between 1938 and 1941, More Card Manipulations stands as one of the most respected practical card magic references of the 20th century, expanding on Hugard’s earlier Card Manipulations series with over 120 additional sleights, flourishes, and complete tricks.

Jean Hugard was renowned not just as a performer but as magic’s finest technical writer — and this collection shows why. Every sleight is broken into clear numbered steps, illustrated with period line drawings showing exact hand and finger positions, and followed by the complete trick routines that put the technique to use. Cross-references throughout make advanced material accessible even to intermediate students, while alternate handlings, historical notes, and troubleshooting tips are woven into nearly every entry.

What’s inside across the four volumes:

• Volume 1 — Eleven complete card effects with contributions from Dr H. Walter Grote, Audley V. Walsh, Hal Haber, Jack McMillen, and others, plus foundational sleights including the Riffle Pass and several practical card controls, and three flourishes including a striking visible colour change.
• Volume 2 — Continues the series with further practical, apparatus-free sleights and routines in Hugard’s signature format of effect-then-method.
• Volume 3 — A standout blend of classic and gambling-inspired card magic: the Faced Deck, the Gambler’s Table Change, the Spread Pass, the Carlyle False Count, and Joseph Cottone’s Spider-Grip False Cut, alongside full routines including Mene, Tekel, Upharsin (with Robert-Houdin’s method) and material from a young Paul Curry.
• Volume 4 — Perhaps the richest of the four: the Hugard Card Control, a simplified left-hand bottom palm, multiple riffle and count forces (including L. Vosburgh Lyons’ ingenious handkerchief force), Frederick Braue’s Cut Pass, the Grote Instantaneous Palm, Cottone’s Snap and Visible Color Changes, R. M. Jamison’s practical thread-based rising card routine, and Robert-Houdin’s classic Diminishing Cards — presented in both a pure sleight-of-hand version and Charles Miller’s mechanical method.

Featured contributors include Frederick Braue, Bert Allerton, Charles Miller, Joseph Cottone, R. M. Jamison, Deane Moore, L. Vosburgh Lyons, Paul Curry, and Paul LePaul — a genuine who’s-who of mid-century card craft, with Hugard himself curating, refining, and often improving on their original ideas.

Whether you’re a working close-up performer building a deeper repertoire or a serious student of card magic history, this complete edition delivers exactly what made Hugard’s name synonymous with quality: real, performable technique, explained without padding or filler. A cornerstone reference for any serious conjuring library.