Year: 2021

Dominique Duvivier created this effect c. 1997 and it was also known as Les Jokers Translucides. It was released by Jeff Busby shortly after as Translucent Jokers and Jeff wrote very detailed instructions for it.  It is not a difficult routine to master but it will take some time and practice to do it well. 

In 2020 Airship Magic released this version in a Limited Edition of 24 sets.  It remains faithful to the original with a nice quality Himber wallet included.  The only issue I had with the wallet was that things were a little snug, but I’m guessing that would improve quite quickly over time if you perform (or practice) the effect.

A very different and visual routine that slips into your pocket and is ready to go to amaze and amuse them all.  Airship include the Jeff Busby instructions – a full 13 page spread.

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Since 2016, Mad Jake Jr. and his brother Frederick have been growing their company Airship Magic into a successful magic manufacturing and distribution company.  Jake focuses mainly on the metal and coin work and Frederick on the wood work and turning.  They also collaborate with smaller, and often unknown, craftsmen to bring a unique line of magic that you rarely find elsewhere in the industry.  Their commitment to quality and innovation is high and I’ve been very happy with the products I have purchased from them directly and through Stevens Magic. Just browsing through their website you will find all sorts of cool items that you won’t find elsewhere.

This item is my favorite version of Magiro’s beautiful classic Hydro Die and unlike many of the others that have been released over the years this version stays true to the small form factor that is so key to the success of this illusion.    Although some builders, notably Magic Wagon and also Jake Jr. himself have created some very popular versions, to my mind they are too ornate and large which detracts from the actual simplicity and beauty of the illusion.

This one built by Frederick is perfect and works smoother than even the original.  It uses a nice blood wood base and lid to keep collectors happy, but otherwise closely follows Magiro’s original.  It works perfectly.

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Since 2016, Mad Jake Jr. and his brother Frederick have been growing their company Airship Magic into a successful magic manufacturing and distribution company.  Jake focuses mainly on the metal and coin work and Frederick on the wood work and turning.  They also collaborate with smaller, and often unknown, craftsmen to bring a unique line of magic that you rarely find elsewhere in the industry.  Their commitment to quality and innovation is high and I’ve been very happy with the products I have purchased from them directly and through Stevens Magic. Just browsing through their website you will find all sorts of cool items that you won’t find elsewhere.

Mike Gallo published his Ball & Vase routine in the November 1983 issue of  Richard Kaufman’s Almanac.  The routine does not use any shells and was performed using the trusty Adams Ball and Vase sets.  Mad Jake Sr. turned a beautiful Rosewood Ball & Vase for Mike Gallo c. 2006.  This design by Mad Jake Sr.’s son, Frederick, follows his fathers design and is made in Exotic African Mahogany. And what a beauty it is.  Comes with no routine just the vase and two red balls and one black ball.

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Since 2016, Mad Jake Jr. and his brother Frederick have been growing their company Airship Magic into a successful magic manufacturing and distribution company.  Jake focuses mainly on the metal and coin work and Frederick on the wood work and turning.  They also collaborate with smaller, and often unknown, craftsmen to bring a unique line of magic that you rarely find elsewhere in the industry.  Their commitment to quality and innovation is high and I’ve been very happy with the products I have purchased from them directly and through Stevens Magic. Just browsing through their website you will find all sorts of cool items that you won’t find elsewhere.

This is the first classic effect that Airship Magic released and to date they have sold almost 6000 units world wide. It is a remake of an effect released by Abbott’s c. 1947 called Sixth Sense and built for Abbott’s by A&B Magic (Alexander Great).  This version by Airship Magic is better quality than the Abbott’s version and completely made here in the USA 🙂

This is really quite amazing how it works – it is like real magic.  John M. Talbot has a wonderful routine called Press The Flesh that really takes the basic effect to the next level.  This is one of those beauties you’ll keep around for years.  (I have three sets lying around here somewhere!)

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This is Eddy’s beautifully smooth version of Ian Adair’s Paddle Waggle. It is my all time favorite paddle effect and is easily the smoothest version I have tried. The action is even smoother than than Willi Wessel’s beautiful version.  As is so often with Eddy Taytelbaum’s items, when he builds his version, everyone else is left to play catch-up 🙂

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When you look at the effort companies like MeTal Writing have gone to to come up with a perfect version of Koran’s Gold Medallion it makes you wonder why they did not look again at this beauty released by Tannen’s c. 1972.  It is easy to do, easy to set, and the “engraved” medallion looks really good.

I just tried it three times using up most of the original gold leaf that was shipped with the product and it worked pretty much perfectly each time.  You can see how good the number looks in the photo.  I have just ordered some more Gold Leaf to play with it some more.  But I would forget all the others and stick with this clean and smooth method from almost fifty years ago 🙂

The other neat thing about this item is the ease with which you can get the prepared medallion – the pad itself is cleverly gimmicked to load it right into your hand when you need it.

Includes:

• The two medallions (only one is needed for the effect but an extra is supplied – one with a blackened reverse and one with a brass reverse).
• The clever plastic notepad (holdout) device to hold the medallion.
• The Jewelry box to reveal the medallion.
• Plenty of spare (and fresh) Gold Leaf
• A fresh note pad

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This is Steve Dusheck’s entry in the Book Test market and it was inspired by effects created by Phil Goldstein and Larry Becker. Very well produced, It is a little bold, but some of the best magic is.

The book cannot be examined, but if you follow Steve’s simple suggestions and routine you have in your hands a clean and convincing book test that will fool even the most knowledgeable spectators and some magicians too 🙂

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This is a highly upgraded version of Tony Lackner’s Princess Qianlong created by the multi-talented Ottavio Belli and his N8 Quality Magic.  Ottavio’s work is breathtaking to be sure – I have two of his other items which I will add soon.  I’m adding this before the others because I wanted to relate the amazing customer service I have received from both Ottavio and the USA dealer I purchased this through: Joe Long …

Having purchased two other items from Ottavio (also through Joe) I had high expectations of this beauty.  I was very familiar with the original Lackner item and in fact really like it, though clearly it is not in the same league as The Mystery of Horus but I like the story and the simplicity of the method.  When Horus arrived I was keen to try out the electronics.  When I first tried it, the method did not work 100% of the time.  I assumed I was doing something wrong and promptly contacted the long suffering, but vital to contemporary magic collectors like myself, Joe Long.  Joe got back to me with a video of the unit working perfectly before he shipped it and I shared with him my video, which was less than perfect – clearly something bad had happened in shipping … 🙁

Joe contacted Ottavio  who was very upset that the item was not working, but he quickly went on to not only fix the issue, but to redesign it to basically remove the chance of it happening again.  I just received the final version and it not only works perfectly it also looks even better.  I must stress that I believe I had the only unit that had issues, everyone else was very happy with theirs, but Ottavio  still went ahead and addressed my issues.  It was one of those freak occurrences that produced an even better result.  If you look at the last two photos you’ll see the difference in the two platforms – a simple change that makes all the difference 🙂

So onto the magic 🙂  This unit not only looks stunning, but it works perfectly.  Although it is electronic in operation, it uses readily available batteries that can be easily found and that are easy to replace.  Also, Ottavio has included some features that make it very easy to turn off the whole system to save battery life, without having to constantly remove batteries between performances – which is necessary so often with electronic magic. 

So bottom line:

• Looks amazing and very unique;
• Can detect at a glance where the Horus has been placed (even yards away from the base);
• There are no visible switches or mechanisms for the spectator to find – everything looks clean and above board.
• Uses readily available and easily changed batteries;
• Has secret switch mechanism that significantly extends the battery life;
• Amazing Customer Service;
• What else could you ask for?

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This is another wonderful and interesting looking puzzle effect from Alan.  His two previous items: Red Chinese Puzzle and  The Oracle are quite different to Rainbow Puzzle and all have a place in your collection.  This starts of as a simple geometric rearrangement of the puzzle pieces from one complete puzzle to one with a missing piece.  Then the missing piece disappears from one box and ends up embedded in the puzzle in the other closed box.

Easy to do and easy to reset and remember with Alan’s clever visual aids 🙂 Never underestimate the power of a visual aid when it comes to setting magic props.  Alan uses the lid to remind you the order of the puzzle pieces and a black dot in the corners of the pieces to tell you which direction each piece should go.  It doesn’t sound much, but once you read the simple rule you’ll be able to create either puzzle without once referring back to the instructions – which is always a welcome feature in my book.

If you don’t have this one in your collection then it is time you did.

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What can I say about this beauty?  One of my all time favorite effects in magic is The Wandering Mummy and although Eddy Taytelbaum’s version is the most desirable I have owned many others.

Magic Wagon’s version is perhaps one of the cleanest version I have seen and works perfectly. What is unique about this version is that the two sarcophaguses nest together. This is a nice touch as you don’t need an extra box to carry the mummy’s in.

Magic Wagon have also taken care of all sounds that often accompany this effect and the routine can easily be performed without a hitch.  Quite amazingly I could not find one video demo of this item on YouTube,  which for such a popular and easy to perform effect is pretty surprising.

(Click here for more history about The Wandering Mummy)

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