Reviews

What a great item from Mike O’Dowd. Although Cube-A-Libre type effects are popular with collector’s and dealers I’m not sure how popular they are with most lay people – to my mind there are just too many blocks to keep track of. Which is why I love this effect. Just three blocks and the moves are easy to learn and understand.

This is quite different from other similar effects and works differently too.  It is easy to do though there are a few angle issues and this is not really a close-up effect, but a parlor effect.   But I think Mike squeezes a lot from this set-up and hopefully my Speed Demo will demonstrate that 🙂

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The legendary British Inventor, Craftsman, and Dealer Jack Hughes invented many staples in magic that we take for granted today (including: TV Card Frame (1936), Coins in Glass (before Copenetro) (1939), Clatter Box (1951) and many more. He also invented this beauty, Attaboy, c. 1937.

Both of these versions were made by Abbott’s in Colon, Michigan, who own the exclusive USA manufacturing rights.  The Attaboy on the left is one of the very earliest releases, though both versions would be considered vintage.  The main differences between these two versions are:

• the earlier one had more detailed artwork.
• the earlier one had a smaller base.
• the earlier one only worked with bridge sized cards *

*Notice: even though Harry (the later one) takes Poker sized cards I found Bridge sized cards worked smoother all around and that is what I used for my Speed Demo.

I noticed I had these two Attaboy’s in my closet so spoke to my good friend, Paul Richards (of old Elmwood Magic fame), and we came up with what I think is a great routine that gives this beautiful idea and prop the extra kick it needs.  I hope you like it 🙂

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The problem with classic magic utility props like a Silk Cabby is that there are many versions out there but very few specific routines designed to use them.  I held off purchasing the beautiful Silk Cabby Deluxe from Viking Mfg. because I couldn’t think of anything new to perform with it.

Luckily as I was researching the prop I came across the wonderful routine in The Berg Book by Joe Berg called Berg’s Silk Cabby Routine on page 259 which is just what I was looking for and this routine is based on Joe’s idea.

I chose the silks and wand to perfectly complement the Silk cabby.  The main differences with the original routine was I used silk ribbons instead of ropes and I placed the wand through the two holes at the ends instead of cutting new holes in the front and back of the Cabby.

This is about as good as you’ll get when it comes to effects with the Silk Cabby. The routine name is not very inspired but I’m confident you will love the routine 🙂

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Normally I would not expect to be raving about a Silk Cabby from India, but this beauty designed by and built for George Robinson at Viking Mfg. by Sunil Batra in India is a real beauty.   It reminds me a little of the quality and finish produced by Milson-Worth and the price is certainly reasonable for what you get.  You would never guess this came from India unless it was mentioned in the description 🙂

The cabby mechanism works perfectly and is smooth and quiet with no fumbling.  However, the problem with this Silk Cabby is coming up with a routine that is a little different.  Luckily Joe Berg has a great routine in The Berg Book which I detail here.

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What a wonderful item from Anthony Yap’s Retro Rocketeers all the way down under in Australia 🙂 If you’ve been looking for one of Magic Wagon’s Mini Phantom’s from 2013 but have been unable to find one at any price, then this is your closest alternative.  Anthony does a great good job blending 3D printed items with real wood (in this case Jarrah Eucalyptus). Although, in my opinion, you’ll never truly compete with fine hard woods and brass, Casino Phantom comes close enough for all but the real die-hard fans 🙂

This item comes with two sets of chips: wooden chips and standard poker chips.  I personally found the standard poker chips the better choice for real performances – they contrast better and look more familiar.  However, having both choices is a wonderful touch and the wooden chips do allow you to perform a quicker version of the same effect with chips due to their thickness.

For someone who spends way too many hours researching the history of magic props, I’m pleased to see Anthony has taken the time to give a detailed and accurate historic account of  this effect on his website and video introduction.  Of course this item primarily began with Erhard Liebenow’s Chip Lift.

Retro Rocketeers have a growing product-line that is sure to interest many of you looking for your cool magic fix so I would check them out when you have a spare moment.

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You can’t keep a good Mummy down!  Inzani-Henley released at least three versions of their wandering mummy that I have been able to track down so far.

The first time the Wandering Mummy was available from a Magic dealer was in the mid 1950’s from the German Magic Dealer Joe Wildon.  These were manufactured by Oskar Rey and were similar to the set produced by Inzani-Henley in England but more detailed, gold in color, and about five years earlier.

Remo Inzani and John Henley obtained the rights in the late 50’s to craft and sell The Wandering Mummy in their own catalog. The first mention of Inzani-Henley’s mummy was in The Magic Circular September 1959, then in Abra November 1959 and in their own catalog in 1964. The first sets sold by Inzani-Henley were made for them by Oskar Rey, and later sets where made for Inzani-Henley by a craftsman in Devon, England.  This set is a later set made in Devon as can be seen by the Green figures and less detailed and more comic like features on the mummies themselves.

This version has a number of differences from the standard Mummy released by Inzani-Henley:

• The mummies are stained darker than the standard version.
• A neat presentation case houses both of the sarcophagi with padded foam and felt to stop them moving around when closed. These mummies are securely protected.  This case is not part of the original set, but looks and works perfectly.
• The instructions have been re-typeset and printed on vintage antique stationary, instead of the usual poorly printed photo copy that I have seen three times now.  This is a good thing because the instructions provided by Inzani-Henley are one of the best sets of instructions you will find.  They are so good in fact that Dr. Albo directly copies them in Dr. Albo Vol. 7 when he describes The Mummy (pg. 42).

There is no doubt the Oskar Rey version is the best version released by Inzani-Henley but this set works perfectly and you can’t go wrong with any of their Mummy sets 🙂

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What a beautiful set of Dizzy Dominoes from the talented Dutch craftsman Gerard Scanlan who runs Gallus Magic in Holland.

I’ve tried quite a few variations of Dizzy Dominoes over the years and to make a good set of dizzy dominoes the contrast between the dots and background has to be clear, but also not reflect the light too much.  Plus they have to be the right size to be easily seen and handled.  These beauties are very smooth and flow between the moves perfectly and they come in a beautiful presentation case that also allows you to end clean too if you desire.  Also the color of the oak is the same all the way through so, unlike painted sets, the color will not wear off even with intensive use.

Gerard includes his routine for a streamlined performance that anyone would be comfortable performing.

This is my first item from Gallus Magic and I hope there will be more to come in the years that follow.  Great job Gerard 🙂

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Arcane is crafted by Louis Paul Productions and it is a really beautiful version of Harold Voit’s Magic Puzzle often known as Merlin’s Magic Elixir.  This effect is often confused with Winston’s Freer’s Tile Puzzle or Tile Deal, and although the effect is almost the same the method is quite different.

When comparing Arcane with the original Voit Magic Puzzle, this set by Louis is truly unparalleled. If you’ve ever wondered why people adore effects crafted from wood, just take these beauties in your hands and play with them—you’ll instantly understand. Not only are they stunning, but even the accompanying carry bag is well-made and high quality.

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The Abacus was first created by George Kirkendall c. 1977 and it is a novel and fun way to reveal a playing card.  Louis Paul’s version is perfection of course.  It not only looks great, with a clearly discernible final card production, but  it will last a lifetime.

You do need to force a card using your favorite method, but the routine is easy and entertaining.  When was the last time you saw someone pull out an Abacus to check their calculations 🙂

The whole outfit comes in a simple heavy-duty cloth carry bag.

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