Anderson, A.: How To Do Mechanical Tricks ©1902 Frank Tousey, NY Softcover, stapled, 4.5x6.5", 64 pages

Image courtesy eBay seller RaolsonMagic

Comments: Part of the Frank Tousey Ten Cent Hand Books. Number 71. "Containing complete instruction for performing over sixty ingenious Mechanical Tricks" A series of science experiments, some with application to magic.

Contents (from book):

3 The Pile of Draughtsmen: an experiment in inertia with checkers
4 The Decanter, Card and Coin: coin falls into bottle when card shot out
5 A Clever Blow: a stick breaks without harming clay pipes
5 The Obedient Coin: stunt to get a coin from outside a matchbox to inside without touching it
6 To Cut a String With Your Hands
7 The Rebound: an experiment in inertia with a cork in a bottle
8 A Fiery Catapult: betcha for what will happen with burning matches
9 To Make an Exact Balance: how to make your own weighing device
11 The Recomposition of Light: optical illusion of a disc of color looking white
12 The Mysterious Apple: an apple obeys the command to lower or stop on a string
13 Economical Letter Scales: using a watch spring
14 Tracing a Spiral: how to draw an accurate spiral
15 the Inclined Plane: a simple marble toy rolls down the plane
16 To Cut a Bottle With a String
17 Equilibrium of a Knife in Mid-Air: balancing stunt
17 A Tick With Four Matches: lifting three matches with one
18 The Distance of an Inaccessible Point: a lesson in angles and degrees
21 Practical Tracing of a Meridian Line
23 To Measure the Height of a Mountain
24 To Take Up Four Knives With One: challenge
25 The Tack in the Ceiling: putting a tack in the ceiling without a hammer
26 The Jumping Pea: a toy made from a straw
27 To Acquire a True Eye: shooting one match into another stunt
27 The Air-Tight Stopper: making a cork fit a bottle
28 The Fusee Rocket: rocketing a match
29 A Novel Table Mat: a knife balancing stunt
30 Geometrical Paper Band: puzzle with a paper band
31 Photographic Camera: construct a simple camera
33 The Phantom Needle: a reflection experiment with a needle and water
34 Amphitrite: a stage illusion illustrated
35 Optical Illusions: a set of optical illusions illustrated
38 The Insensible Coin: dropping a coin on top of a loop of paper into a bottle
39 The Asses' Bridge: proving the hypotenuse of a right angle theorem
41 Another Way to Prove the Preceding Theorem
41 Indented Angles: an experiment in surface area
44 A Cheap Shooting Gallery: using a whalebone and steel nibs
45 The Coin in Equilibrium: coin balancing on a glass
46 The Submerged Coin: removing a coin from water on a plate without getting wet
47 The Smoke Rings: making smoke rings
49 The Walking Cork: toy cork walks down a ramp
50 The Obstinate Cork: demonstration of atmospheric pressure with a glass tube and cork
51 Petroleum Pulverizer: petroleum comes out of container as a fire
52 Electric Attraction and Repulsion: balancing magnetic toy
53 The Bust of the Sage: a mirror illusion of a guillotine
54 The Witcher of the Hand: sheet of paper moves mysteriously on a pin
55 The Perspectograph: a sketching tool
58 Camphor in Water: experiment
58 A Simple Multiplier: a basic photo copy experiment
58 The Drawing Room Mirror: using a mirror for drawing
59 Elementary Gas-Burner: using sawdust and a small container
60 Rapid Vegetation: growing plants in a sponge
62 Miniature Volcanoes: using porcelain or glazed earthenware
63 Ads: for Useful and Instructive Books, to page 64