Reviews

Daggering was invented by Fred Lowe c. 1964.  This version was released by Repro 71 c. 1975 with no mention of Fred Lowe anywhere.  In addition, as released, Repro 71 did not even include the Dagger itself or even an oriental stick.

I added the “dagger” for completeness.  What you cannot see in the photos, of course, is the gimmick that makes it all work.  Unfortunately, I have not seen an original Fred Lowe gimmick so cannot comment on how close Repro 71’s is.  However, Repro 71 do provide a well constructed gimmick which works perfectly for the effect.  It just would have been nice to have some mention of Fred Lowe 🙁

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This little box was made in Germany and it is a bit like a poor man’s Jewels of Shah Jahan – you can perform the same effect for a fraction of the cost.  I am not sure if Bert Wheeler’s Hollywood Magic were the first company to import this item, but they were the earliest ad I could find.  It was also sold by Paul Diamond, Tannen’s and others under the name Color Clairvoyance.

Although the box is made from plastic it is good quality and works very well.  The mechanism is easy to operate and difficult to detect.

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This wonderful kids item was invented by Jimmy Fingers and released by Max Andrews under his Vampire Magic brand. It has a lot going for it with brightly colored wooden props, an interesting patter line, and some great magic where the piggies vanish even though they are apparently tied up for all to see and produced later from a sty that was clearly empty before.

This is the later improved model where both windows are on hinges and open individually which make for a more convincing show that the pigs are locked in place.

You don’t see kids magic like this anymore that is for sure: great props, a fun engaging story coupled with some strong magic 🙂

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This is basically the same effect released by Jack Hughes’  called The Roamin’ Rabbit by Johnny Geddes c. 1979, but performed with a dog instead of a rabbit. Jack’s version is detailed in Volume two of his wonderful World of Magic series. Paul Howard’s version is not made as well as the Hughes version. Unfortunately, I don’t have one on my site though I did own an original back in England before I moved to Texas.

However, even though the build quality is not up to Jack’s standards it is a fun routine for the young ones, and I’m sure you’ll have them all screaming with this one.

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This entertaining kids routine was first published by David Kite in Abracadabra (Feb. 1st, 1969) then released by Roy Baker c. 1970.

It has a lot going on with classic sucker turn-it-around action and visual changes and a surprise ending that really flaws the kids 🙂

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What a wonderful effect from Gene Elmo and the routine designed by David Ginn and published in M.U.M. (October 1981) and later in David’s book School Show Presentations is priceless. Although Test Tube Bunny is basically a version of of U.F. Grants Crystal Silk Cylinder the design and routine take it to the next level for sure.

Like most collectors (and performers for that matter) I don’t have a real bunny but I found the closest cuddly bunny I could find that matches the picture on the silk.  If you look at the photo closely it is almost the spitting image of the picture on the silk.  It is these attentions to detail that make all the difference and you know we have your back in The Porcupine 🙂

Notice: This is in good used condition.  There is some scuffing on the interior gimmick, but if you like the video you’ll see it does not impact the effect at all.  This does not come with the original instructions but I have included the full routine from David Ginn and a copy of Grants’ instructions for Crystal Silk Cylinder.

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Ben Stone invented the Two Hole Wrist Chopper and although Joe Karson (of Zombie fame) might want to lay claim to it (and it is still called the Karson Wrist Chopper on the Owen’s site) – he did not invent it, but Ben Stone did and it is clearly documented by Michael Rose in his wonderful book Joe Karson – Beyond Zombie (Chapter 11).

This version is a really beautiful version of Ben’s signature effect.

Rumor has it, these were made about 1990 by an East Coast magic dealer. Ben Stone was actually shown this and asked if he made it, he said, “No, but I’m still the original creator.”  Ben admired the workmanship behind it.  If you know who created this please contact me here.

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U.F. Grant took the Pagoda Mystery from Thayer and created a double load version and it works very well.  This is the Mak magic one and it really is solidly made.

If you wanted to maximize your output and surprise factor you could do very well with this outfit.

Includes:

• Grant’s Double Load Pagoda (Large) by Mak Magic
• 36″ Rice Silk ($55 retail bonus.)
• Large bouquet of Spring flowers (bonus.)
• Appearing Teddy Bear ($96 retail bonus.)

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This is a really great idea and it looks amazing. The prop is well made and really does pack small.

But for me the prop is just too loud for any sort of performance I would make. Please watch my video to hear how really loud this bear is!!!

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What a very clean and impressive effect by Hathaway.  The Abbott’s version is quite different and a lot larger than the Haenchen version here.

I do really like this effect but it has one major problem – every time you perform this you need to destroy the handkerchief. This is not a problem if you can get them cheaply but when I worked with this I needed a 17″ handkerchief to cover the space, and those are harder to find.  In addition the handkerchiefs that work best are silk not cotton – cotton can get too bulky.

Also, of course, if you use silk handkerchiefs good luck borrowing one from a spectator.  I think these days you can rarely assume someone has a white handkerchief readily available anyway.  So I would not even attempt to borrow the hanky.  So now you just need to find cheap silks for repeat performances, which I think is possible.  For my tests I was paying $15 per silk so I could not do many live tests.

But I think if you use the correct handkerchief’s this is quite an amazing illusion.  But it takes work, sourcing, and practice to get it right.

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