Don't Forget to Point!
The history of pointing begins with Mark Wilson, who is credited for pointing out
the importance of this gesture to the magic fraternity in his popular Mark Wilson
Course in Magic. Another school of thought popularized by that classic master
of magic, Dai Vernon, emphasizes that you must "be natural" (a notion Vernon
learned from Dr. Elliott).
The following anecdote exemplifies the collision of these two theories:
One day Mark Wilson asks Dai Vernon to give his son a private lesson on
the principles of close-up magic. Vernon agrees and they hold the lesson
at the Close-Up Gallery of the Magic Castle.
There, Vernon asks his new pupil to do a French Drop. Afterward, Vernon gives
advice on how to do the move more naturally: "First of all, you have to motivate
the awkward position of the coin in your hand, so show the date on the coin to
some spectators. Second, you have to have a reason for transferring the coin
from one hand to the other, so push an ashtray away, or remove some dust
from the table, whatever action suits you. Oh-and please, don't point.
Pointing is a ridiculous gesture in the context of close-up magic, so
please don't point."
They continue the lesson and, after an hour, the elder Wilson enters the room
to ask how things are going. His son responds: "Dad, look what I learned
today," and demonstrates a technically perfect and natural French Drop.
Mark Wilson is impressed and says: "Not bad son, but you forgot to
point." Dai Vernon announces: "The lesson is over."
Inspired by this story we have done some research concerning the
evolution of this special gesture and the interesting findings are
presented throughout the book as an "illustrated history of pointing."
