Sock gag for use with the vanishing wand trick

The vanishing wand trick was very popular in the early to mid 20th century. The magician takes a solid magic wand and rolls it up in a piece of paper. The paper is then crumpled up, proving that the wand has vanished. The wand can then be produced from a place of the magician’s choosing. One approach used by (male) magicians was to pull up a trouser leg to reveal the wand tucked into his sock. In this comedy version the magician wears this colourful sock, which gets a laugh because such socks are not worn with a dinner jacket. A second laugh can be obtained by not wearing a sock at all on the other foot. This allows the magician to say: “Do you like my sock – unfortunately I’ve only got one of them” – as he shows the lack of any sock on his other foot. This was a gag used by Gus Davenport who always got a good response to it.