Month: January 2018

I was so impressed with the basic version of Box Ninety-Eight that I contacted Dan (or Dannicus as he is known) to see if he could build me a pro version.  And boy did he ever!  Dan created a limited edition of one for this beautiful box in Bubinga (Brazilian Rosewood) with ebony inlays.   It’s hand finished with 8 coats of boiled Linseed oil, beeswax and buffed.

This box is slightly smaller than the basic version and fits in the hand even easier.  It works like a dream and if you wonder what sort of items I keep in my collection – well this is one of them.  Perfect in every way and such a clever and secret mechanism.

Working with Dan was a pleasure and I look forward to buying more from his great company  Handcrafted Miracles in the future.  Thank-you Dan for giving so much to the craft, it is always a pleasure working with a genuine craftsman who appreciates the art of magic.

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What a clean and beautiful effect this is from one of Magic’s best dealer/demonstrators: Mark Mason.  There is no doubt if you perform this item it will flaw your audience.  The special gimmicks, set-up and tips have been honed over decades of performances and it is surprisingly easy to perform.  Having said that there is no quick reset and you need a fresh deck each time you perform it so it is not great for a walk around performance.  However, if you want to save it for the head table you’ll slay them every time!

Highly Recommended if you’re looking for that one card effect to make your reputation.

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Wow this card box is so thin – you really can’t believe it can hold a full deck in it’s case. Some real fine work by the amazing Dave Powell for sure. It makes a great companion to Dave’s Two Deck Box, which is also amazingly small.  Looks beautiful and with the loose flap you can perform all of the miracles you can do with a regular card box, often twice the size.

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What a clever idea this is from one of the original coin masters: Eddie Gibson.  The amazing Zambini Box!  You show the box with the pound coin stamp in the two halves and you add one of the blank brass disks and after a suitable gesture you open the Zambini Box to show the disk has now been transformed into a bonafide coin.  Looks great and easy to do of course.  Comes complete with all the coins you need to perform the effect out of the box.

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I missed this item when I first received it and finally had time to take some new photos and read the instructions properly. What a great idea this is! Watch the video and see Daniel Cros perform some amazing miracles, not one shell is involved, and nothing is added or taken away – everything you see is in plain sight. I really would like to spend time to get to do justice to this routine because it seems very doable even for a nervous fumbler like myself!

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I’ve always loved the flash appearance of cold hard cash in a crystal casket, and I think audiences love it too!  The first box I purchased was the 6″ square Crystal Casket by Ickle Pickle back in 2000 and I’ve tried various others since.  My most recent performance was in 2012 with Dave Powell’s Victorian Balloon To Dove Chest, and although I really like the look of Dave’s chest, I found the remote feature temperamental.  Luckily the manual release works perfectly every time 🙂

So recently when I saw a great deal on an original Crystal Money Chest by Owen Magic Supreme I had to leap on it.  This is easily the best money chest on the market.  Loading is a breeze – I loaded over 100 bills into this bad boy without issue.  Try that on any other chest and you’ll struggle for sure.  Although this is not a close-up item, I created a quick demo video to show how good it looks stripped right back with no frills.  Now imagine in a real performance setting on stage with some music or patter and you have an utter miracle on your hands.

Highly Recommended for everyone who loves getting gasps from the audience!

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This was originally devised by British magician, inventor and craftsman Ron Pilkingon aka Scott Christian (for Scottie’s Workshop) c. 1950 and was based on an effect called Bow Wow tie in a 1940’s Demon Telegraph.  This version was built c. 1996 and sold through Practical Magic in the UK.  When Practical Magic showed the whole line of Scottie’s Workshop at their first ever IBM convention in Eastbourne they won the Best Dealer Stand prize because the range of props was so colorful and unique.

This item is similar in effect to Harries Bow-Tie Mystery or Supreme’s Tiddly-Hi-Tie but was devised before those items and the method is different and in this version the tie disappears from the box and appears attached to Tommy’s neck as he stands embarrassed behind a toadstool (or lily leaf – you could choose either, this one came with a toadstool).  The vanish and appearance work very well and are easy to do.

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My good friend George Robinson is still producing beautiful magic after over 45 years.  I hope you’ll keep doing it for many more years George as I love your creations!  This wonderful little box is a perfect melding of two of his best items:  The Euro Card Box and Psychic Sword.  It works perfectly and is always under your control.

Highly Recommended for lovers of quality magic everywhere 🙂

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Another well made beauty from the highly productive Magic Wagon team.  If you are a fan of the amazing matchbox penetration you will love this bad boy.  There is no denying this effect is very well made, clever and a fooler.  The only issue I have with it is finding a routine that makes it entertaining instead of just a clever puzzle.  The matchbox penetration has the  exact same issue – coming up with a interesting routine is the tricky part.

Still for lovers of beautiful apparatus that doesn’t require any sleights or moves you can’t go wrong with this item.

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So I’ve seen quite a few switch board effects and I must say how much I like this one.  I’ve used the Wellington one many times with great impact but even the close-up version is fairly large.  What I like about the PVL Switch Box is that it is small and easily fits in my close-up case and yet the routine is interesting and really quite amazing.

Also, because the box is clear and can easily be handled by the audience members there really is very little heat on the box.  It just does amazing things.  This is truly one of the few electronic items I will work with these days and works perfectly every time.  It does take a little more memory work than the Wellington one, but not by much and after a few rounds you’ll quickly get used to it.

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