Foreward

Written by Marty Jacobs

Robert "Bob" Hummer (1906-1981) was an eccentric semi-professional magician from Chicago. He earned his living through performing magic, often by busking in bars and passing the hat around. Bob had a fondness for the company of his fellow magicians, as he loved to share his novel magic tricks and tell terrible jokes. He performed across the Midwest region but never became a star; he was not driven by money and only worked when needed. 

Bob Hummer was a true inventive genius who created simple yet impressive magic tricks based on clever mathematical principles. One such trick is his "Mathematical Three-Card Monte", which has inspired countless variations.

Although famous for his easy, self-working card tricks, Bob was a skilled sleight-of-hand artist. He also invented the very popular Whirling Card, in which a regular playing card floats, hovers, spins and then flies around the magician's body in a seemingly impossible manner.

Half-A-Dozen Hummers was first published in 1940 by Samuel Berland, a Chicago magician and printer who co-owned the Princess Magic Shop on Clark Street near Jackson Boulevard during the 1920s. One of his most famous customers was the illusionist and escapologist Harry Houdini, who often visited the shop when he was performing in Chicago.

The six card tricks in this slim booklet don't read particularly well. However, if you try them, you'll find them to be very effective pieces of entertainment. His "Two Card Transpo" includes a practical, no-palm method for stealing a chosen card from the deck, which can be used in all manner of Card-To-Pocket routines.

The original text of the booklet has been lightly edited to make some of the descriptions easier to understand. I hope you enjoy learning the wonderful card magic of Bob Hummer.

Yours Magically,

Marty