Hocus Pocus Junior: The Anatomie of Legerdemain

In Short

Printed in 1635, Hocus Pocus Junior: The Anatomie of Legerdemain is a foundational English manual on sleight-of-hand magic. Written by an anonymous practitioner, it opens by debunking the myth that illusion stems from dark arts or foreign sorcery, attributing it instead to physical dexterity and misdirection. The text systematically unpacks classic tricks using cups, balls, coins, strings, and tricked props, giving step-by-step physical instructions and bogus Latin incantations to fool spectators. It has endured as a historical milestone, laying bare the mechanics of early modern street magic while capturing the bustling, theatrical spirit of Bartholomew Fair.

The Story

The book opens with an address to the reader and an origin story for legerdemain in England, setting a grounded, explanatory tone. The author explains how travelling groups initially introduced these tricks across the kingdom, misleading the public until parliament intervened with strict statutes. Having cleared away the mystery and false claims of supernatural power, the manual moves directly to demystifying the art itself. It establishes that the juggler’s true secret lies not in devilry or real magic, but in precise physical control, hand speed, and calculated misdirection.

From this foundation, the author systematically moves through a wide array of deceptive routines. The narrative of instruction begins with fundamental tabletop sleights. It details how to position oneself at a carpeted table to deaden sound and catch hidden items in a lap, running through elaborate ball-and-cup routines. Here, the performer uses rhythmic commands—such as Meredin, Benedic, and Presto John—to mask the secret retention or transfer of wooden balls while convincing the audience that objects are vanishing into thin air or passing through solid wood.

As the book progresses, the tricks grow increasingly dramatic and varied. The author explains how to make heavy stones seem to vanish into the sky by directing the audience’s gaze upward at the crucial moment, how to appear to swallow knives or tin puddings, and how to construct special mechanical props. The text details how to build trick boxes for vanishing counters or seemingly melting coins, double-layered funnels for endless liquid, painted trick books that change images when flipped, and double-sided mirrors that multiply a face a thousand times.

Toward its conclusion, the manual exposes the social tricks of the trade, demonstrating how coin passes, marked cards, loaded dice, and secret confederates in the crowd are used to engineer seemingly impossible feats. The author reveals how theatrical horrors like the "Decollation of John Baptist"—where a severed head appears on a platter—are achieved purely through hidden holes in tables and clever staging with two actors. The book finishes with a brief catalog of vocal illusions, such as imitating fighting animals, leaving the reader with a complete taxonomy of early street performance.

How It Unfolds

The origins are exposed The text begins by detailing how sleight-of-hand entered England and was eventually regulated by parliament. It strips away mystical claims, defining legerdemain as a craft of pure practice, nimbleness, and misdirection.

The magician takes the table The author sets up the basic workspace—a carpeted table to muffle sound and a wide lap to catch dropped items. The iconic cups-and-balls routine is broken down step by step, showing how to secretly retain balls while chanting nonsense phrases.

Sleights turn into theater The focus shifts to dramatic physical illusions meant to shock or amuse spectators. Instructions explain how to fake eating a knife, swallow a collapsible tin pudding, or slip a padlock onto a spectator’s cheek during a banter-filled wager.

Mechanical props are constructed The manual details the construction of specialized trick devices. The reader learns how to build false-bottom boxes for coins, double-layered funnels for liquid tricks, and faceted mirrors that multiply an image a thousand times.

The crowd is manipulated The text reveals the mechanics of cards, dice, and secret helpers hidden in the audience. It demonstrates how planted confederates perform coordinated signals to fake mind-reading or coin-teleportation before ending on vocal tricks and stagecraft.

The People

The Juggler The central figure of the text is the performer, who seeks to earn a living at fairs by captivating crowds and securing wagers. What stands in the juggler’s way is spectator scrutiny, bad lighting, and clumsy hands. Through practice, bold composure, and swift palming, the juggler transforms simple wooden balls and coins into instruments of sheer wonder.

The Spectator The eager fairgoer wants to be entertained or to catch the performer in a lie. Standing in their way is their own natural susceptibility to misdirection—such as looking up when the juggler looks up—and their ignorance of mechanical props. They end up thoroughly duped, often losing a small wager or laughing at a neighbor tricked by a planted confederate.

The Confederate An accomplice hidden in the crowd who pretends to be a curious, neutral stranger. The confederate wants to help the juggler execute complex tricks without raising suspicion. By using secret hand signals or carrying identical marked coins, they make impossible feats seem like magic, leaving the audience none the wiser.

In Its Own Voice

"Would you know whence it first came? why, from Bartholomew Fayre: would you know whither it's bent? for the Fayre againe..."

The author framed the volume in its preface as an unpretentious street manual born from the energy of English open-air markets.

"...hold them orderly and nimbly, but with a bold and audacious countenance, for that must be the grace of all your trickes..."

In explaining how to operate a trick picture book, the writer reminded the reader that confidence is just as crucial to an illusion as mechanical skill.

"Your looking up will make them to looke up, in which time you may take the stone againe in the other hand, and slip it into your pocket."

While outlining a basic vanishing-stone illusion, the manual pinpointed the foundational rule of misdirection: where the performer looks, the audience follows.

What It's Really About

Beneath its collection of tavern wagers and cup tricks, the book is an early treatise on human perception and the nature of belief. It argues that sight is easily manipulated; what people assume to be sorcery or demonic aid is actually the product of physical skill, swift motion, and psychological timing. By exposing how a well-placed phrase, a hidden confederate, or a glance into the air can completely control an audience's focus, the manual illustrates how easily human senses are deceived. It presents deception not as a sin, but as a deliberate craft—a blend of theater, mechanics, and psychology meant to entertain rather than corrupt.

Why Read It Today

Hocus Pocus Junior is a fascinating read for historians, magicians, and anyone curious about the history of popular entertainment. Reading it feels like looking over the shoulder of a seventeenth-century street artist as they unpack their bag of tricks after a long day at Bartholomew Fair. The language is direct, practical, and filled with vibrant period phrasing, offering an authentic glimpse into early modern English popular culture.

Modern readers must navigate archaic spelling, obsolete vocabulary, and historical terminology. Some period attitudes and practical jokes—such as tricks designed to messily stain a friend's face or poke fun at cuckolds—reflect the rough-edged humor of the 1600s rather than modern sensibilities. Additionally, readers expecting smooth literary prose will instead find a functional, instructional text filled with dense physical directions and crude woodcut references. Yet for those who push past the early modern English, the book delivers a vivid, hands-on look at the foundational mechanics of stage magic that are still used by illusionists today.