The strip of paper is torn in half and in half again, until the magician is holding a bundle of torn pieces which he fans open at his finger tips.
The magician squares up the torn pieces and suddenly pulls his hands apart to reveal that the strip of paper has been restored to its original state. Again, his hands are seen to be otherwise empty.
Props & Setup
Needed are paper paste and sheets of heavy tissue paper or any other light weight, pliable and easily torn paper. Avoid paper that tends to crack or break at the folds.
Cut the tissue paper sheets into strips 1 inch / 2.5 cm wide and about 3 feet / 90 cm long. The easiest way to do this is to roll the sheet of paper snuggly around a small diameter dowel, pull it off the dowel keeping the layers flush at the ends, then cut off sections of the proper width.
Two strips of paper are used for each performance: the strip to be torn and the strip eventually exhibited in its place as the restored strip.
To prepare the restored strip, fold it zigzag fashion so each folded section is about 3 inches / 7.6 cm long. This length generally matching the final torn lengths of the original strip.
Fold over one end of the original strip and paste the end of the folded over strip to the strip proper to create an open sided pocket into which the restore strip is placed prior to the performance. The restore strip should fit snugly into this pocket.
As you work with this, you may want to modify the paper strip dimensions. Working closer up, the strip can be half the width and of a shorter length.
Handling
The restore strip is neatly pleated zig-zag fashion into a compact package.
One end of the tear strip is folded up and taped or pasted closed to create an open-sided pocket into which the folded restore strip is placed.
Above left, the folded restore strip inside the tear strip pocket, ready for performance.
The tear strip is displayed between the hands, the end containing the restore strip held loosely in the left hand.
Stanyon's handling continuously folds the tear strip in half, running the finger up to its center to break it.
As the tear strips are torn in half again and again, the torn pieces are approximately the same length.
The torn strips, now about the length of the folded restore strip, are kept in front of the folded restore strip until the strips switch hands.
The pocket holding the restore strip is torn open and the fingers appear to begin to spread the torn strips apart. See the presentation below for the handling details.
In fact, the fingers and thumb pull the torn pieces into the hand, crumpling them together.
The tops of the restore strip folds are fanned out. From a distance they appear to be the torn strips.
The paper strip fan is closed and the hands brought together. The right fingers take hold of one end of the restore strip.
The hands spread apart to show the torn strip of paper magically restored.
Presentation
Pick up and display the strip of paper. The gaffed end is held in the left hand, the left thumb and fingers pressing on the pocket, the hands open to show they are empty.
With the right hand, tear the paper in half and in half again, continuing this process until the torn strips are approximately the length of the folded restore strip.
As this tearing proceeds, the end of the strip with the pocket should be kept at the back of the torn strips. The torn pieces and the pocket end are displayed at the tips of the left fingers.
The final tear is actually not a tear at all.
Insert the right finger in the top of the pocket and break it open, then swing that section down and then up and around the torn pieces.
Move the torn stock and restore strip from the left to the right hand, in the process turning the papers around so that the restored packet is now at the front toward the audience.
Fan out the top ends of the folded restore strip.
Once this fan is made, the right hand can steal the torn stock and hold it crumpled in the hand as the fan of paper is moved to the left hand.
The concealed torn pieces can be gotten rid of at this point by picking up a wand or other magical object, dumping the torn stock at the same time, and touching the fanned strip in the left hand.
Or it can simply be held concealed in the right hand until the end of the effect.
Close the fanned out strip, take hold of the ends and spread the arms apart to reveal the restoration of the strip of paper. The restored strip should be held with some tension so that the creases caused by the folds are not visible.
In putting away the restored strip, do not crumple it up or fold it, rather drape it across a table or chair before proceeding to the next effect.
Performance Notes
Once upon a time a magician from Asia performing on a music hall stage in London tore a long, thin strip of paper into several pieces then instantly restored the paper to its original state.
This late 19th Century illusion was quickly appropriated by Western magicians and has, in the ensuing hundred years, resulted in several minor industries. One industry was based on the gimmick used. What was called at the time a finger thimble is today the thumb tip which is available in various shapes and sizes from every magic dealer. Another industry was based on the effect. The torn and restored paper strip evolved into a variety of paper tears as magicians began tearing up tissue squares, paper napkins, magazines and newspapers with abandon.
In the early days of this theft of method and effect, several magicians concentrated on simplifying the working by eliminating the need for the finger thimble. The method presented here is based on a description by Ellis Stanyon tucked away in a treatise on paper tearing he wrote in 1904. It is the earliest example I've found of the use of a pocket in the paper to conceal the duplicate paper. In this case it is the restore paper that is hidden in a pocket to start, rather than the torn paper hidden in a pocket to finish.
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