Review by Andy Martin for The Art of the Pickpocket by Francois Danis
5 out of 5
The Chinese Coin Trick is an old effect (well over one hundred years – the first ad I found for it was from Martinka’s in 1914) and has been known also as The Miracle of Confucius (in Illustrated Magic by Ottokar Fischer).
Francois Danis has created a very pretty version. The coins and cord fit perfectly in a beautifully crafted and decorated box. The routine requires two simple moves but everything is covered well by the props and routine. And as a result everything can be examined at the end.
This is a real fooler and once you try it a few times you will quickly fall in love with it too.
Review by Andy Martin for Impress = X by Johnson Products
5 out of 5
Johnson Precision Magic or Johnson Products are well known for their fake coins and brass coin gimmicks. But this was one of their early non-coin effects, that was made as equally well as any of their coin work.
This has been long unavailable which is a shame because it really is a wonderful effect. The props are well made and it has a clean simple method that will impress you.
Review by Andy Martin for Mind Chips (Mind Chip) by Mikame Craft, Tony Lackner
5 out of 5
This is basically a copy of the the effect created by Tony Lackner and Eckhard Boettcher called Mental Chips and used in Bank Night Gone Wrong. I have added some envelopes with stickers so you can perform almost the same Bank Night effect as the original. Of course you can also use it as a basic prediction or even a color force.
Review by Jon Wilson for Clairvoyant Card Box by Limited Edition Magic, Magiro
5 out of 5
Usually if I am interested in a piece of magic over the years, I refer to Andy as I know Andy is professional as a collector and magician. I recently acquired one of these boxes that he has had before in one of his auctions that I have only thought about adding into my magic collection, but, never committed, but always interested in this piece. I must say I am not disappointed in Andy’s review or recommendation on this one. It really is a beautiful and tricky little box originally created by Magiro and this one from Limited Edition Magic.
I was very lucky to find this one honestly. You can do the two stage trick that Andy demos in one of his speed demos or as the instructions say, just do a 3 card prediction that will just fry your spectators. I haven’t actually put this out there in a real world performance yet because I am not a performer. But, I will tell you this, this little box is capable of some pretty amazing things I believe with cards and it will be very easy to use.
Review by Andy Martin for Pegasus Page (Classics Version) by Arthur Emerson, Herbert Milton
5 out of 5
This is based upon Herbert Milton’s original idea: A Page of Mystery first published by Percy Naldrett in his book Collected Magic Volume Six (c. 1925). Mr. Emerson extends Mr. Milton’s idea by using three books instead of one and replacing the sand frame for two laminated sheets which are used to write the page and name of the book.
This comes with three classic books, so you can perform this miracle out of the box:
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea – Jules Verne
Sense & Sensibility – Jane Austen
Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
Of course you can use your own books. Once you have the right type of book it takes about 30 minutes to alter all three books after ordering a certain supply from your favorite online store.
When performed well it is a truly stunning effect. The props are a bit on the cheap side, but only magic collectors worry about that, and if anything they enhance the magic. What I like about this effect is it is so clean, you walk in and are ready to perform this at any time during your show. The only props you use are the three books, two laminated sheets and marker – nothing is added or taken away. You can hand them to the spectator to hold and move straight into the routine. Reset is also almost instant.
Review by Andy Martin for Umbrella Production (Junior) by Magic Hands
5 out of 5
These umbrellas are very colorful and beautifully made. I was always a big fan of The Magic Hands from Germany. They consistently made high quality magic and had some great ideas.
The Junior Umbrella Production was was one of their big sellers and the quality is amazing. What is neat about it is you really do start by showing what appears to be each silk very cleanly. They go the extra mile to make it extra easy and convincing.
The biggest issue when producing these umbrellas is where to place them 🙂
Review by Andy Martin for Dr. Q Spirit Hand (Early) by Owen Magic Supreme
5 out of 5
Owen’s consistently produced some of the most amazing magic for over 100 years from small pocket tricks to large stage sized illusions they are always held up as the standard to beat.
I’ve always loved the Spirit Hand effect and although I’ve tried a few the best ones come from Thayer Quality Magic and Owen Magic Supreme. The key to this effect is it has to look authentic. The props, the mechanism and the movement. The early Owen versions look better than the later boards from Owen’s because the board isn’t as quite as fancy and new.
This board just looks perfect, with just the right amount of distress and it works perfectly. The board is clean and nothing is added or taken away, and yet the hand raps on demand.
If you ever wanted to perform some sort of seance or communicate with the other side, this is the tool to use. Highly Recommended!
Review by Andy Martin for Little Chapel by Supreme Magic Company
5 out of 5
Here is a unique Silk Cabby from Supreme Magic. It really is a beauty and like the advert says does work smoothly. However, since this was created in the 1960’s it still uses the more traditional elevator approach for the gimmick, rather than the even smoother approach employed by some modern Silk Cabbies such as Michael Baker’s here.
Even so it is a solid and convincing prop and the use of a church adds an extra element to enhance various routines.
I was pleasantly surprised by this old Supreme Magic prop when they used to make some really nice wood effects 🙂
Review by Andy Martin for Passe Passe Bottles by Morrissey Magic
5 out of 5
This Passe Passe Bottles from Canada’s Morrissey Magic is a really nice set. The bottles look great and it comes with three bottles so you can do the extra gag part where the stooge steals away the bottle in the hope to break the trick. The third bottle also has the space for the liquid so you can pour a glass to start with.
Another really nice feature of this set is everything packs into one tube. That is certainly something you don’t see everyday – Herb Morrissey knew he had to ship everything from Canada so wisely made this prop pack down as much as possible 🙂
Review by Andy Martin for Cube Penetration by Sunil Batra
5 out of 5
This is quite a unique block penetration. It certainly has a basis in the classic Vampire Block however there are two benefits:
The tube opens up and is cleanly shown on inside and out.
When locked inside you can see the block from both sides.
However, due to the ability to cleanly open and show the inside of the tube, the mechanism is not quite automatic when impaling the block inside with the sword. A secret motion of the finger is required. It is an easy thing to do and you have 100% cover because you can freely show both sides where the block clearly is. But it is an extra move not required with the Vampire Block.
The quality of construction is first rate and this will be something you will use. The block is hollow but still plenty solid.
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