Sand and Sugar (Chrome) by Abbott’s, Louis Histed

1 review for Sand and Sugar (Chrome) by Abbott’s, Louis Histed

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Andy Martin – July 29, 2022

   This wonderful effect was invented by Louis Histed.  There was some controversy when this was released (stolen) by Abbott’s as the instructions and adverts said that Dr. H Park Shackleton was the inventor.  Dr Shackleton may have been the first person to perform it in the USA (though Jack Le Dair performed it regularly in the UK years before this).  Anyway, later ads and editorials in Abbott’s own Tops magazine admitted it was Louis Histed so there is no doubt who created it.

   It is a great trick and the Chrome version by Abbott’s is a real beauty.  Performance does require about 1.5lbs of white sugar/salt and 1.5lbs of sand or colored salt – partly depends on what your patter will be and what you can obtain.  For my photos and demo I used fine ornamental sand in white and yellow.

   You can always spot when a clever inventor is at work because they think about a lot of things, and there are few inventors at the level of Louis Histed.  With Sand and Sugar you will see all of these elements at work:

   • Reuse of materials – yes you will loose a few ozs of sand and sugar each time you perform this but a lot less than you might imagine, particularly if you are careful.
   • Clean-up – anything dealing with sand is going to be a little messy, but if you have a tray you’ll find it pretty easy to empty out the containers and reset for the next show without too much effort.  There is a convenient hole on the bottom of the large canister which lets the sand flow out freely from the bottom when you are done.
   • Effectiveness of illusion – the pouring of the sand/sugar from the small canister to the large is perfect, it takes time (though not too much time) and looks like a lot of grains.
   • Simplicity of Method – although there is a lot going on with the effect, the mechanics are surprisingly simple and robust.

   You rarely see effects these days with this much thought and with props built so well.  Another really fine effect from almost ninety years ago – they certainly don’t make them like this anymore 🙂