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One of my earliest Mikame Craft purchases back in 2001. What I really like about this little production box is the cool routine that Mr. Mikame demonstrates in the video. Instead of showing the box empty then producing something, which is how tip over trunks are normally presented, he switches the whole routine around and gets a better and more magical result using the exact same box:

• Begin by showing the box filled with brightly colored silks
• Close the box and snap your fingers
• Open it up and produce the spring flowers (or spring bills would work well too)
• Show the box clearly empty – the silks have vanished!
• Now close the box and snap your fingers again.
• When you open again it is now filled with silks again 🙂

As I see more and more magic and crank out more of my infamous Speed Demos it becomes so clear how simple changes to routines can make the difference between a winner and a dud.  I think this is a great routine and really shines for this little box.

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It has been 22 years since Bazar de Magic released Murphy’s Chest c. 1998 and this is their follow-up.  I really like it, I know it is not a cool wooden box which collector’s like the best, but as a practical and suspicion free lock box for a Seven Keys type of effect it is hard to beat.  It is easy to perform with no hidden switches or set-up and can be freely handled by the spectator.  Even the keys are actually different which is pretty rare with this type of effect.  When I look at the various boxes and locks I have tried for this effect, this even rivals my favorite Anverdi item. 

What I most like about this box is that it really looks like a normal, everyday petty cash box that you can buy at amazon.  The method is very easy to learn and with minimal audience control you can give the box to the spectators to try each key and if you want you can even have them open the box with the final key too.

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When Jim Simon of Worth Magic (before Milson-Worth) created the Astro-Ball Cabinet c. 1965 it caused quite a stir because Jim basically took Phase 1 of Stewart James’ Sefalaljia (which was a ground breaking five phase routine when it appeared in issue 69 of The Jinx December 2, 1939). As Stewart James himself said in an interview with Jeff Busby in 1987: “I expect the originality in that version was the use of a cocktail glass.” Ouch!

I think that Stewart James would be happier with Ottavio Belli’s routine because he has really amped up the handling and by giving up the ability for the cabinet to be minutely examined (it is clearly empty so why push it!) allows you to perform the transposition twice without any reset.  If you watch the video you almost can’t imagine it works the same way as the standard Astro-Ball Cabinet. Ottavio  is very fluid with the props and when he performs the transportation into the glass the second time it is all over for the normal handling.

A beautiful cabinet with a great routine and this item is quite rare – so what more are you looking for 🙂

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The Escaping Vampire (or Vampire Block or Vampire Die or Visible Vampire as this type of block penetration is often known as today) was created by Ben Wallace c. 1945. 

This one was built by Homer Hudson and it looks great and works perfectly.  Homer Hudson was a prolific builder of magic props for most of his life.  He was best known for his silk screened novelty side tables and die boxes.  He originally worked for Floyd Thayer in the 1930’s and 1940’s. He created most of the props marketed by Golden’s Magic Wand of Southern California during the 1950’s and 1960’s and then sold directly as himself and through major dealers from the late 1960’s until his retirement in 1995.

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The Travelling Blocks, Baffling Blocks, or ABC Blocks began life as The Filtering Block Illusion manufactured by Floyd Thayer c. 1929 and invented by William Wisnewski c. 1928. It has been a popular item with many craftsmen and dealers ever since including: Conradi-Horster, Okito, Abbott’s, Mel Babcock, and Viking Mfg.

This set was built by Homer Hudson in Southern California.  It looks great and works perfectly. 

Homer Hudson was a prolific builder of magic props for most of his life.  He was best known for his silk screened novelty side tables and die boxes.  He originally worked for Floyd Thayer in the 1930’s and 1940’s. He created most of the props marketed by Golden’s Magic Wand of Southern California during the 1950’s and 1960’s and then sold directly as himself and through major dealers from the late 1960’s until his retirement in 1995.

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This is one of the most well known items built by Homer Hudson in Southern California and for years it was the small die box to beat.  It looks great and works perfectly. 

Homer Hudson was a prolific builder of magic props for most of his life.  He was best known for his silk screened novelty side tables and die boxes.  He originally worked for Floyd Thayer in the 1930’s and 1940’s. He created most of the props marketed by Golden’s Magic Wand of Southern California during the 1950’s and 1960’s and then sold directly as himself and through major dealers from the late 1960’s until his retirement in 1995.

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You always know you have an easy to do Magic Wagon item when there are 3 or more videos to choose from 🙂  This is a great item that is easy to do and as long as it is not rushed it produces a quiet, clean and amazing penetration.  The method is very similar to Ed Massey’s AmazRing though unlike  Massey’s original product Meridian Ring Cabinet cannot be examined.

As usual there are a umber of ideas on the Magic Cafe and John M. Talbot has come up with one of the best routines for this effect called The Choice. If you’re not tired of ring penetrations from Magic Wagon I’m sure you’ll love this …

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Since my early teenage years, like thousands of magicians before me, I saw the incredible entertainment value of Harry Leat’s masterpiece, Run Rabbit Run, when working with children of all ages.  To this day I think it is one of the best children’s effects ever devised and I have owned many versions. 

This version from Future Magic in Germany is very solidly made in wood and plastic with bright colors and clearly visible across the room.  It looks amazing.  It comes with two moveable bunnies, one that pops out at the side and one that runs back and forth.  All four doors can be removed to clearly show the rabbit has disappeared.

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The Pom-Pom Prayer Stick was invented by Louis Histed and published in his book The Magic of Louis S. Histed c. 1947 as the effect Papyrus (pg 55). The effect was made famous and very popular by the great Ali Bongo (William Oliver Wallace: 1829-2009). You can read more details about the origins here. It is really a beautiful effect full of comedy and mystery.

This high-end version of the prayer stick expertly crafted by Carl Williams is beautiful and perfect for walk around and even parlor settings.  At just 9″ long it fits neatly inside your jacket pocket and can be seen by a good sized audience.  It can do everything the standard prayer stick can do.  It is the first version I have seen since Milson Worth’s Wizard Wand that uses actual pulley’s for the cords to flow smoothly on inside the stick.  Ickle-Pickle also released their own Boo-Boo-Bar but it is much smaller and lighter and nothing like the quality of Carl Williams’ version.  I believe that Carl Williams released the first version and Ickle-Pickle produced their version a few years later using the same instructions.

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In 2015 Magic Wagon released their first version of this chest using electronics. This version uses no electronics and it basically allows you to have any six items chosen and a prediction for that item will appear effortlessly in the box. It looks great and once you follow the instructions works smoothly every time.

However, the problem with this type of chest, and Prediction Chests in general, is that the prediction is often tiny compared with the box that delivers it. So the question that any sane lay person would ask is “Why do you use such a big box for such a small piece of paper, is it because the box is doing something fishy?” And the answer is always yes 🙁

So when you have such a nice box like this you have to find a way to add more into the box to hide the size disparity. There are a number of ideas that Magic Wagon enthusiasts have come up with and here is my rough routine (You will need one of El Duco’s Your Personal Key):

“Good Evening. I spent the weekend in a boutique hotel in a small village in the Texas Hill Country. It was a lovely village and they had at least six cool looking hotels in the center of downtown – and here they are. I don’t recall all the names so I have numbered them 1-6 for simplicity. In a moment I am going to ask you to pick any hotel and then pick any room # from 1-99 in the hotel and I feel confident you will choose precisely the ones I am already thinking of 🙂

Just in case you doubt my word (how rude!) I have placed inside this box a key with the room number I stayed in and a rolled up piece of paper with the hotel number which I will leave in full view right here.

 I first want you to think of a room number – it can be any number from 1-99. I have a little pad here and I will draw a picture of door to really impress it upon your memory. What was the number you were thinking of? number 46, do you mean like this? (Show them the pad). That is great. Ok, now I want you to think of the hotel number … number 4 … ok! So Hotel 4, Room 46. Is that correct?

This box has been here in full view all of this time and I have not touched it since we began. (Open the draw). Please reach in and remove the building number first and reveal the Hotel number. While they are unrolling this you pull out the key and (do the move) and place the fob face down in front of them.

They now show that you picked Hotel 4 – a perfect match

And now turn over the fob to reveal Room number also matches 46. Amazing!

What I like about this approach:

1. Justifies the larger box.
2. Takes the heat of the one move with El Duco’s Your Personal Key because the first prediction gives you a beat to place the key down when they are still impressed by the first reveal.
3. Allows you to add some extra interest to the story as you talk about the hotel, village, etc.  This is just the bare bones.

Whether you use this approach or one of the other ones suggested, it is important to dress up the small prediction, otherwise you won’t reach the full potential of this wonderful piece of mechanics.

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