A topit
[Sometimes spelled ''top-it'' or ''toppit''.] (), also called a poacher's pouch, is a pocket installed inside a jacket for use by
magicians
Magician or The Magician may refer to:
Performers
* A practitioner of magic (supernatural)
* A practitioner of magic (illusion)
* Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context
Entertainment
Books
* ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...
in disposing of objects secretly. Used while standing up and popular in closeup magic, it plays a similar role in the magician's toolkit to pulls, holdouts,
servantes, and techniques such as
sleeving or
lapping
Lapping is a machining process in which two surfaces are rubbed together with an abrasive between them, by hand movement or using a machine.
Lapping often follows other subtractive processes with more aggressive material removal as a first ste ...
.
History of use
Poachers' pouches were employed by
pickpocket
Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...
s and thieves in the nineteenth century.
The use of poachers' pouches then developed, like many other forms of magic, in
symbiotic relationship
Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...
between magicians and
grifters, both
sleight of hand
Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' () comprises fine motor skills used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card fl ...
artists.
Topits were first widely introduced to magic by Harold Comden in the 1920s, under the name "The 'Topit' Vanisher". Magician
Pat Page popularized them in his booklet ''The Topit Handbook'' (1966), and
Michael Ammar
Michael Ammar (born June 25, 1956) is an American close-up magician.
Background
Ammar was born in Logan, West Virginia.
His father's background was Syrian.
Ammar earned a degree from West Virginia University in business administration in 1978 ...
further refined topit technique in ''The Topit Book'' (1983) and ''The Topit Book 2.0'' (2014), inspiring a number of closeup magicians to adopt their use.
References
Magic (illusion)
{{Magic-stub