5 Stars

The Supalok was released by Mick Hanzlik in the UK c. 2004.  Mick eventually created three different sizes (Standard, Midi, and Maxi).  This is the Midi one and at about 3″ x 2″ it is the perfect size for most routines.  What I particularly like about this lock is that the whole effect is done in the spectators hands.  They handle the keys the lock and all magic still happens in their hands 🙂

The only downside was that the lock only comes with a few rudimentary ideas for routines.  Luckily after reading Steve Cook’s book Fake Genius this all changed because on page 26 there is a Harry and Bess Houdini  routine featuring Supalok and it is perfect.  So I decided to bring all the pieces together for this description.

This is easy to do, with a wonderful routine and a truly wonderfully engineered lock that is very hard to find these days.  I think you’ll love it 🙂

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A really wonderful impossible vanish from the clever mind of Wolfgang Grosskopf.  This is the original version that Wolfgang created c. 1974 and it even has his hallmark “WG” on the base.  This tower is much more detailed than the later ones released by Vienna Magic.

The other thing that is interesting about this original version is the routine is different – instead of a ring penetration, as the later ones were billed as, this is a ring vanish and reproduction from impossible location.  You could do either but I actually prefer the presentation where the ring just completely vanishes and is found somewhere else as I think it gives less clues as to what possibly could have happened.

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According to Dr. Albo in The Ultimate Thayer on Disc 7  what looks exactly like this tray was first introduced by Floyd Thayer in the 1913 catalog.  However,  in both the 1913 Magical Woodcraft catalog (Thayer & Christianer) and the 1916 Magical Woodcraft  No. 3 (Thayer) the only coin trays are the more traditional Multiplying Coin Trays.  I could not find a reference to this specific tray until 1925 in Thayer’s catalog #6 and it was called The Master Coin Tray, so that is the date I’m going with for now.

This beautiful mahogany coin tray is very different from typical coin trays because this doesn’t allow you just to secretly add coins, but you can vanish and exchange them too.  This means you can perform a clever routine where signed coins can vanish from one location and appear in a second location, even if you never touch the coins.

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The Flip-Over Vanish was invented by Jack Gwynne c.1928 , and first marketed by Thayer c.1933 and first published in The Sphinx in March 1935 (Jack Gwynne by David Charvet).

Though some claim that Gwynne did not invent the box at all. For example, Okito (Theo. Bamberg) wrote a letter to Alton Sharpe on Jan. 15, 1953 claiming it was absolutely untrue that Jack Gwynne invented the Flip-Over box (Potter & Potter Winter Magic Auction, Feb 2nd, 2013, lot 235). So as is often the case when tracking down the originators of these classic effects there is often some controversy.

Which might be why Jack says in the first paragraph of the Sphinx description:

“Although the fundamental principle is not entirely new in this effect, the method of presentation and the clean cut effect given, overcomes this fact and makes a startling trick.”

In David Charvet’s fascinating book about Jack he states (pg. 209):

“The Okito version, as explained in Dr. Robert Albo’s book The Oriental Magic of The Bambergs, was different in principle than the Gwynne version, with an expending load chamber used to conceal the birds; although the effect to the audience was the same. It is the author’s opinion, (his prejudice toward Jack Gwynne, notwithstanding!) that Jack was the originator of the Flip-Over effect and the Okito version was the first successful improvement on the original Gwynne concept.”

What I particularly like about this box is although it is often used to vanish livestock it is way more flexible than that. See some of the effects below for some ideas.  Interestingly Okito was also quite critical of the standard vanish that he says Gwynne did not invent and his criticisms are detailed in Dr. Albo 1 (pg. 92).  However, even though most versions of the prop do not have Okito’s improvements it doesn’t seemed to have harmed the success or adoption of the box as a classic way to vanish things.

In the video the routine I do is called Unfriendly Silks by Tan Hock Chuan, The Sphinx, Jan. 1937 pg. 317 (Effect 5 below). I read it and thought that was a novel use of this prop and thought you might like to see something different from a basic vanish 🙂

This is a beautiful, high quality version of the classic effect and made at a quality that will make you smile.  Whether it was Worth Magic or Milson-Worth later on, they both created the gold standard for parlor props that has rarely been improved upon since.

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There is no doubt Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is Clifton Mitchell’s signature effect and even before the 3rd build, collector’s and performers alike were talking about it. With this most recent release Clifton has truly created his masterpiece 🙂

One of Magic Wagon’s most sought after releases is Diceolation but it has nothing on Clift’s Choice, Chance, or Coincidence.  The later version, Mini Dicolation, is a better and much more practical effect.  I understand that Dicelocation is still very collectible and receives high prices, but it does little for me, and like a lot of Magic Wagon’s items it is mostly a Magician’s trick.

Clift has never actually handled either version of Diceloation, but he is aware of both effects and acknowledges their influence on his version.  He also correctly identifies that the effect that started this whole craze off was way before even Collectors’ Workshop’s Badlands Bob.  It was Marvillo’s Rota Die c. 1968 (though I filled in the earlier date and the actual creator and independently came across Rota Die as I was researching another item).

Once you hold one of these cigar boxes you know you have something special in your hands. But it is easy to drone on about an effect, I have lots of Five Star reviews on my site, what makes this different?

The reasons that Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is so much better than Diceolation include:

• The Outer box uses a genuine cigar box.  This is a brilliant idea because each box is different, looks beautiful, blends in, and has zero suspicion by the audience.
• You can perform the effect two times in a row (or more if so desired – though two is the optimum).
• You don’t even have to put the smaller box inside the cigar box for the second effect making it seem even more unnecessary, and simply window dressing.
• The smaller box can be fully examined and even has a brass pin to open up the whole thing for even closer examination.
• By the time the audience is done they believe they have examined everything they need to and are left speechless with no idea how you could have predicted the die correctly both times.
• The small box has been designed in such a way you could do a third round where instead of predicting you divine what they selected using a Color Vision technique.  It is another great idea contributing to why this release is such a marvel.
• The motion to make this work is tiny and works very cleanly.

When I first saw this I was so blown away I asked Clift to send me the best one that would look great in The Porcupine. Well Clift was not sure so he sent me three different sets to make up my own mind.

When the package arrived and I opened it up, my heart skipped a beat and instead of choosing one I chose all three 🙂

Each box has found a place in The Porcupine just ready for the next impromptu performance (one on the bar, one on a table, and one behind the bar).  This is the most excited I have been about a new magic prop for years.

Clift your new Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is an amazing beauty that I will treasure for many years to come. Thank-you 🙂

Click here for more information.

There is no doubt Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is Clifton Mitchell’s signature effect and even before the 3rd build, collector’s and performers alike were talking about it. With this most recent release Clifton has truly created his masterpiece 🙂

One of Magic Wagon’s most sought after releases is Diceolation but it has nothing on Clift’s Choice, Chance, or Coincidence.  The later version, Mini Dicolation, is a better and much more practical effect.  I understand that Dicelocation is still very collectible and receives high prices, but it does little for me, and like a lot of Magic Wagon’s items it is mostly a Magician’s trick.

Clift has never actually handled either version of Diceloation, but he is aware of both effects and acknowledges their influence on his version.  He also correctly identifies that the effect that started this whole craze off was way before even Collectors’ Workshop’s Badlands Bob.  It was Marvillo’s Rota Die c. 1968 (though I filled in the earlier date and the actual creator and independently came across Rota Die as I was researching another item).

Once you hold one of these cigar boxes you know you have something special in your hands. But it is easy to drone on about an effect, I have lots of Five Star reviews on my site, what makes this different?

The reasons that Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is so much better than Diceolation include:

• The Outer box uses a genuine cigar box.  This is a brilliant idea because each box is different, looks beautiful, blends in, and has zero suspicion by the audience.
• You can perform the effect two times in a row (or more if so desired – though two is the optimum).
• You don’t even have to put the smaller box inside the cigar box for the second effect making it seem even more unnecessary, and simply window dressing.
• The smaller box can be fully examined and even has a brass pin to open up the whole thing for even closer examination.
• By the time the audience is done they believe they have examined everything they need to and are left speechless with no idea how you could have predicted the die correctly both times.
• The small box has been designed in such a way you could do a third round where instead of predicting you divine what they selected using a Color Vision technique.  It is another great idea contributing to why this release is such a marvel.
• The motion to make this work is tiny and works very cleanly.

When I first saw this I was so blown away I asked Clift to send me the best one that would look great in The Porcupine. Well Clift was not sure so he sent me three different sets to make up my own mind.

When the package arrived and I opened it up, my heart skipped a beat and instead of choosing one I chose all three 🙂

Each box has found a place in The Porcupine just ready for the next impromptu performance (one on the bar, one on a table, and one behind the bar).  This is the most excited I have been about a new magic prop for years.

Clift your new Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is an amazing beauty that I will treasure for many years to come. Thank-you 🙂

Click here for more information.

There is no doubt Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is Clifton Mitchell’s signature effect and even before the 3rd build, collector’s and performers alike were talking about it. With this most recent release Clifton has truly created his masterpiece 🙂

One of Magic Wagon’s most sought after releases is Diceolation but it has nothing on Clift’s Choice, Chance, or Coincidence.  The later version, Mini Dicolation, is a better and much more practical effect.  I understand that Dicelocation is still very collectible and receives high prices, but it does little for me, and like a lot of Magic Wagon’s items it is mostly a Magician’s trick.

Clift has never actually handled either version of Diceloation, but he is aware of both effects and acknowledges their influence on his version.  He also correctly identifies that the effect that started this whole craze off was way before even Collectors’ Workshop’s Badlands Bob.  It was Marvillo’s Rota Die c. 1968 (though I filled in the earlier date and the actual creator and independently came across Rota Die as I was researching another item).

Once you hold one of these cigar boxes you know you have something special in your hands. But it is easy to drone on about an effect, I have lots of Five Star reviews on my site, what makes this different?

The reasons that Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is so much better than Diceolation include:

• The Outer box uses a genuine cigar box.  This is a brilliant idea because each box is different, looks beautiful, blends in, and has zero suspicion by the audience.
• You can perform the effect two times in a row (or more if so desired – though two is the optimum).
• You don’t even have to put the smaller box inside the cigar box for the second effect making it seem even more unnecessary, and simply window dressing.
• The smaller box can be fully examined and even has a brass pin to open up the whole thing for even closer examination.
• By the time the audience is done they believe they have examined everything they need to and are left speechless with no idea how you could have predicted the die correctly both times.
• The small box has been designed in such a way you could do a third round where instead of predicting you divine what they selected using a Color Vision technique.  It is another great idea contributing to why this release is such a marvel.
• The motion to make this work is tiny and works very cleanly.

When I first saw this I was so blown away I asked Clift to send me the best one that would look great in The Porcupine. Well Clift was not sure so he sent me three different sets to make up my own mind.

When the package arrived and I opened it up, my heart skipped a beat and instead of choosing one I chose all three 🙂

Each box has found a place in The Porcupine just ready for the next impromptu performance (one on the bar, one on a table, and one behind the bar).  This is the most excited I have been about a new magic prop for years.

Clift your new Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is an amazing beauty that I will treasure for many years to come. Thank-you 🙂

Click here for more information.

This beautiful and clever effect was invented by R.S. Glover and first released by National Magic Company c. 1940.  The original version did not have the later improvement (c. 1947) where the backs of tubes open up too.  This is a very good improvement because it really seals  the deal that the correct color blocks went inside the desired tube.

Unfortunately, when this prop arrived although it was functional the paint job left quite a lot to be desired.  Some of the issue was age and some of it was in fact the original paint job itself.  It used a mottled finish which meant that the two tubes could quite easily be distinguished.  But because I liked the effect so much I contacted Rick Heath, the “Magician with a Paintbrush“,  for a full refurbishment. Rick’s beautiful work is not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Not only did Rick do a perfect job (without straying too far from the original design), and now it looks better than it did when it was new.

This is a really wonderful magical prop and you clearly show both blocks in the correct tubes all the way up until the end when the miraculous transformation takes place 🙂

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This is a variation of Anverdi’s Electronic Surprise Box using a cute little hand  🙂

It works perfectly and just uses two AA batteries.  The other thing I was impressed with this was how deep the deck of cards can go before the spectator’s card.  In tests I got to at least forty cards dealt, well that will cover every situation I can imagine.

I wasn’t happy with the routine (in Dutch) that I received with this so I created my own which is below, and now I love this little gem 🙂

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What a lovely effect and set of props from Jeff Busby and Dominique Duvivier.  The craftsman-made pair of miniature blackboards (4.5″ x 3.5″) with mitered mahogany frames work perfectly and look amazing. But what really brings this set home for me is not just the main routine, but the other three routines from:

• Gaëtan Bloom,
• Jon Gordon and John Hotowka,
• Nathan Phillips

and the 20 pages of instructions with tips, history, and all sorts of details that Jeff Busby was famous for.  By reading through each routine you might decide to choose a single routine or pick and choose from multiple routines.

For me I was drawn to Nathan Phillips routine with the production of the mini coke bottle as the final kicker so the first thing I did was to track down the perfect coke bottle (which I did).

If you are looking for a unique item to perform that is easy to do, magical, entertaining, comical and a little different, but is also an outstanding collectible you need look no further, Einstein’s Blackboards has it all 🙂

Click here for more information.