Month: December 2018

This is a very impressive creation from Dave Powell in conjunction with Stevens Magic. Based upon a coin casket created by New York craftsman Otto Mauer in th 1870’s to vanish four silver coins one at a time when the lid was closed. Otto’s customers and friends included: Trewey, Imro Fox, Horace Goldin, De Bier, Ducrot, Hermann, T. Nelson Downs, Houdini and Thurston!

The coin casket that Dave based his one on was well over 100 years old with over 60 individual parts involving a complex mechanism of solid brass parts and springs, and it still worked perfectly. All handmade and fitted into a decorated wooden box with antique brass fittings! It took over six months to get this project to fruition. Four half dollars, one at a time, are put into the four slots on top of the inner casket. Upon closing the door one coin vanishes! This is repeated three more times until all four coins have vanished!

I’ve included four genuine Silver Walking Liberty Half Dollar Coins because something this beautiful needs the best coins. This casket is significantly nicer than the versions created by George Richbark and the most reliable Coin Casket I have handled – though I have not seen the Original Otto Mauer which I suspect is still going strong.

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John Dahms was a master carpenter by trade and when he retired he started creating some amazing magic c. 1986. This is a small, but fine example of the classic Color Vision Box invented by New York Mentalist/Dealer: Martin “Kismet” Sunshine c. 1930. It was so successfully marketed by Adams and Co. that it became one of the most popular and pervasive magic props ever, and you’ll find one in pretty much every magic set and magicians drawer ever since.

It is the perfect divination effect. Always ready, you carry the neat box in your pocket. Anybody secretly places the cube in the box, closes the lid and hands it to you. Holding it behind your back, you instantly name the color uppermost. Uncanny, certain and undetectable.

This version from John Dahms is likely one of the prettiest you will ever see, with beautiful inlay work in the lid and a smooth feel to the box.

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The legendary British Inventor, Craftsman, and Dealer, Jack Hughes, invented this item c. 1938.

One of the finest vanishes of a card you will ever see! A card is placed in a small frame, open back and front and with a flick of a silk handkerchief it vanishes without trace! A wonderful utility prop that can be used to vanish or change cards. It can be used to vanish a card for later production in Jack Hughes’ invented TV Card Frame. A very clever idea that you will be very pleased with.

According to Eric Lewis in The Crowning Miracles (pg 194) the original Card Go was in fact also invented by The Great Norman but he sold the rights to manufacture to Jack Hughes, and since then it has been attributed to Jack Hughes.  The Great Norman’s real name was Norman Hazeldene and he grew up just outside Manchester in Stockport, Cheshire, England. But I wonder if this was the effect that Eric Lewis is referring to, because it is similar to Card Go, but not the same (hence Improved). I have found nothing else to say that Jack Hughes did not invent Card Go, including many ads from the 1940’s, and of course Jack Hughes’ World of Magic Books.

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Ben Stone invented the Two Hole Wrist Chopper c. 1949 and although Joe Karson (of Zombie fame) might want to lay claim to it (and it is still called the Karson Wrist Chopper on the Owen’s site) – he did not invent it, but Ben Stone did and it is clearly documented by Michael Rose in his book Joe Karson – Beyond Zombie (Chapter 11).

This is one of my favorite illusions. Unlike most chopper illusions this defies explanation because at the end the blade which can be examined is clearly surrounding the wrists with no explanation at all how it could have penetrated them. If you are looking to spice up your parlor or stage act this is large enough to see and amaze, but small enough to pack!

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Ben Stone created this c. 1980 and it was has a great twist on the Tenyo’s What’s Next (c. 1969) theme. During his lifetime Ben made about 500 of these.

Every time you turn it around it has different spots on each side. You repeat this and the spectators are given the standard false explanation and then you hit them with the impossible at the end of the standard routine by actually vanishing one of the spots which leaves a 2″ diameter hole in the Delben Domino.

Of all the What’s Next type effects I like this one from Ben Stone of DelBen magic the best. Built from metal not cardboard or plastic, it will last a lifetime. The surprise ending where you have an actual hole going through the metal card: “But where did the hole come from?” is priceless!

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I purchased this at the IBM Magic Convention in Brighton c. 1979. I have never been able to track down who the manufacturer was but recently saw a photo in a 1978 issue of Supreme’s Magicram which looks a dead-ringer for this chopper, so for now at least I am going to attribute this chopper to Supreme Magic Company. Let me know if you have any more details about this chopper.

I don’t know if I would still perform this effect, but I’ve always used it as a lie detector and never really talk about it as a head chopper and as long as the spectator doesn’t lie they are going to be fine.

For many years this was a big hit of my show and a perfect size to transport to your next show. The Wellington See-Thru Guillotine might be one of the most impressive choppers ever created, but it is a pain to transport, whereas this bad boy folds up small and is easy to carry under one arm.

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The Jumbo Card Guillotine was an invention of Eric Lewis in the 1930s.

A number of craftsmen have created versions including Bob Kline (for personal use), Milson-Worth, and Tabman. According to a letter from Martin Lewis dated 2/18/1992 Tabman’s version is the only one with permission to manufacture the Jumbo Card Guillotine for resale. This Milson-Worth version, of which only 35 were made, was one of their most sought after items.

The spectator is offered a choice of cards from a jumbo deck. He or she is given a pen so they can boldly sign the face of the card. The card is returned to the middle of the pack and placed in a wooden houlette which is then placed between the uprights of a mahogany guillotine. After some byplay the blade is dropped. The blade slams into the houlette and the front of the houlette drops scattering cards on the table. You guessed it, behind the blade is the spectators signed card.

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A wonderful utility item for the mentalist c. 1958 from Nelson Enterprises in Columbus, Ohio created by Robert A. Nelson and Syd Bergson.

A universal gimmick for every mentalist. As important as the Nail Writer, or the clip board, provides a perfect way to switch billets, notes, and folded cards. An innocent appearing prop, utilized in a natural manner, the Mental-Gimic greatly enhances the value of countless standard mental effects. Excellent for predictions, ESP work and mental telepathy.

This version uses a metal spring as opposed to the original Bulldog switch clip created by Bob Ostin c. 1953 which uses a rubber band. See Bulldog Switch Clip for more details.

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The idea to use a bulldog clip as a switch device is credited to Bob Ostin c. 1953. See Bulldog Switch Clip for more details.

Along comes the inventive Steve Dusheck c. 1981 and takes Bob’s idea to the next level by introducing a half dollar that visually changes into two quarters as it drops into the spectator’s hands. Howie + Bob reintroduced this wonderful item through The Trickery c. 2002 with Steve Dusheck’s permission.

This is a really perfect piece of magic to watch!

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This was my second Alan Warner piece c. 1979 and really what began my love affair with beautiful and clever magic props.

The performer displays a small square tube, at either end of which is a window, A die is then placed into one end of the tube where the number uppermost on the die is clearly visible through the first window. With the aid of a small wand, the performer now moves the die through the tube to the opposite: window where the number uppermost on the die is seen to be the same as before

The die is removed and again placed into the tube and viewed through the first window. The performer then pushes the die through the tube with the wand, but when it reaches the second window this time, the number on top of the die has changed to a different one.

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