Reviews

Wow!  What an wonderful effect from Damir Djanis!  This is the eighth item from the talented Damir Djanis in conjunction with George Robinson at Viking Mfg. This is my second favorite of the seven items I have on my site, the first was Intangibility.

What I like about this release:

• the effect it is very clean without any apparent funny moves;
• the props are beautifully made;
• the method is clever and innovative;
• nothing is added or taken away;
• there are no angle issues;
• it is easy to perform;
• even the patter story actually makes sense 🙂

So what is not to love. Great job Damir and George 🙂

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This is Murphy’s excellent new version of Anverdi’s Spirit Bell from 1969 though it is questionable how closely related to the original it is.  Murphy’s have created two versions of the bell: Spirit Bell and this one, Spirit Bell Deluxe, and they both are based on the same internal mechanism but with quite different visuals. The Spirit Bell Deluxe is closer to the original Anverdi version as it has the swinging arm.

Both versions have two modes: the instant and the five second timed release.  This version works perfectly and although the audience in 2025 might not be so impressed as they were back in the 1960’s and 1970’s with the right performance and routine you could certainly entertain your audience.

The mechanism works well and is very reliable once you have it assembled correctly and lined up.

I know that the Anverdi name is more for marketing than anything else but I’d like to think he’d be pretty happy that over 55 years later that this bad boy  still carries his name 🙂

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This is Murphy’s excellent new version of Anverdi’s Spirit Bell from 1969 though apart from the effect there is little real relationship between the two.  Murphy’s have created two versions of the bell: this one, Spirit Bell, and Spirit Bell Deluxe and they both are based on the same internal mechanism but with quite different visuals. The Spirit Bell Deluxe is closer to the original Anverdi version as it has the swinging arm.

Both versions have two modes: the instant and the five second timed release.  This version works perfectly and although the audience in 2025 might not be so impressed as they were back in the 1960’s and 1970’s with the right performance and routine you could certainly entertain your audience.

The mechanism works well and is very reliable once you have it assembled it correctly and lined everything up.

I know that the Anverdi name is more for marketing than anything else but I’d like to think he’d be pretty happy that over 55 years later that this bad boy  still carries his name 🙂

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I wish I could have seen Lou Tannen perform this. It sounds amazing from the ad copy 🙂

After reading the instructions it sounds easy enough but I’m not sure how effective it is until I see a Speed Demo of this bad boy, and I hope to spend some time on this soon to produce one.  I think if you practiced this for a couple of hours you would be able to get the timing down pretty smoothly.  I didn’t have that amount of time for the Speed Demo and it is not perfect but it is ok. If I was performing this on a regular basis I think it would become second nature, but not this time.

The props are well made and this certainly has the potential to be more amazing than an earlier version of this effect called Magic Welding by Louis Nikola, though it does require a couple of moves to achieve the same effect.

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Mel’s rainbow version of the Die Box, is based on an old Thayer design as referenced in Dr Albo Book II as a Thayer Rainbow or Multicolor Die Box.  This style of Rainbow Die box was popularized by Richard Himber’s Rainbow Die Box c. 1955 including an entry in Bart Whaley’s Who’s Who in Magic and many ads in Genii, Hugard’s Magic Monthly.

This is surely the best Die Box Mel has ever made. As with his standard Die Box, the weight and feel of the box is perfect. You have to hold it to really appreciate how well it sits and works in your hands. All the actions are incredibly smooth.

Now for the extra features – the doors and ends of the box have inlayed wood panels which truly look beautiful. In addition you are supplied with two brightly colored and superbly painted dice, which during the course of the routine change places and finally change into two dice of totally different color.

I tried to think of a routine that made sense and I based my Speed Demo on the routine created by Larry Wilfong c. 2006.  I changed a few things and I really like the use of the colored post-it notes.  But the basic routine is all Larry Wilfong.  Thanks Larry!

For the money Mel Babcock probably makes the best die boxes anywhere.

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Here is the final item for now in the “Cleopatra Series” from the talented Dietmar Willert the four that I have are not all that he made but they are the more popular ones (see the final photo for a much larger collection).  This seems to be the rarest of the more common items and is another effect based on an old Wolfgang Grosskopf c. 1965 called ” Der Geheimnisvolle Sarkophag” that first appeared in Zauberkunst #5/65, p6. 13.

When you first read how it works it seems a little complicated but once you try it once it all becomes very clear.  It is a clever idea and employs two different methods to bring about the full effect. This is certainly one that could fool them.

All four of the items made by Dietmar Willert show here are a joy to behold whether you are collecting them or performing them I’m sure you will have plenty of fun with them 🙂

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This is the signature prop from the original Rings ‘n’ Things and although the classic Rice, Orange, and Checkers effect and its variants has been made by many manufacturers,  this is one of the most stunning version ever made.

This version comes with a very a well made travel case built by Rocky Clements with individual slots for each piece to keep them safe which is a perfect addition. The case was not part of the original set, but when Rocky owned this actual set he created the travel case and if you’ve seen Rocky’s work you know how good he is.

The checkers are made of metal and they all move independently which was a first at the time and I’m not sure if they have been made the same way by any others since, it is certainly uncommon. Being able to move, even slightly, all the checkers is a nice convincer they are real.

It is a classic routine for a reason and has stood the test of time 🙂

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Finding the Conway Cigarette Case is getting harder and harder these days which is a shame because they are perfect little switching boxes and do not work like any other card box you have seen as there are no flaps … yet you can do pretty much anything any other card box can do, but in a much more natural and clean way 🙂

The Conway Cigarette Case is based upon the effect The Card and Cigarette Case by American Close-up Magician Bert Allerton in his book The Close-up Magician  c. 1958. However, Bert Allerton’s idea used an ungimmicked Cigarette Case.

Pat Conway created the perfect gaff to make the case still look normal, but also much easier and more convincing to perform. Although, a similar gimmicked cigarette case was released by Harry Stanley and attributed to Al Koran as The Unique Cigarette Case c. 1947. In fact, when The Conway was released Harry Stanley took out an ad in Abra commenting on the “Re-Invention”. And this was not the only predecessor.  Edgar Ralston released an item called the Cig-Card Case c. 1948 which was a sturdy, smart looking polished plastic cigarette case that does everything a card box can do and carries your cigarette’s too.

Ken Brooke purchased the rights to Pat’s approach and produced this beautiful and innocent looking Cigarette Case.  The early versions sold by Ken required an elastic band to be used but Fred Lowe suggested a modification which removed the need.  This is the final version after all the improvements and suggestions and it is perfect and easily one of the best items produced by Ken Brooke 🙂

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Here we have another fine Egyptian styled item from Dietmar Willert, this time a wonderful box that allows you to see the position of a clock dial selected by the spectator.   On the bottom it shows “12/87”.  This does not mean #12 of 87 made but #12 and the year it was manufactured: 1987.

Other props have used similar methods including Bob Kline’s Spirit Time, Martin Breese’s Cyclops Box, Hardini’s Mental Chess,  Jack Ruda’s Temple of Goo, even John Cornelius’ Thought Transmitter and I’m sure there are many others.  Much of Dietmar Willert’s work was based on the work of Jan Gol and I believe this effect was based on his: “The Miracle Clock of the Desert Rabbit“.

The Tomb of Cleopatra is a beautiful looking prop, expertly crafted by hand and works flawlessly.  My collection of Dietmar Willert Cleopatra themed props is almost complete now and what a fine mini-collection they make 🙂

Combine this with something like Larry Becker’s Versadex Wallet and you have an absolute miracle!

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