Review by Thomas Holbrook for Tarbell Scrapbook, A by Richard Kaufman
5 out of 5
Tarbell scrapbook by Kaufman
As a collector and Historian on Dr. Harlan E. Tarbell. I know how rare and hard to find the wonderful historic info and items contained inside. Here the reader will see items from nearly 100 years ago from rare file of Edwards Monthly ( a magic magazine that ran from 1909-1910 ), items from the original Tarbell System (1927) not avail in the vols on the market. Fantastic articles and writtings of and about Tarbell,delightful copies of the wonderful booklets given out durring Tarbell’s teaching lectures his life and work in magic and more. A bounty of fun reading and an interesting look back at some of the magicial offerings and more that Tarbell has left us. Note this book by Kaufman is very limited and only 100 copies were produced. Making it a bit hard to find as the historic info contained inside it’s pages. If one is interested in magic and it’s history they would enjoy this book very much.
Just a note… I am always looking to add to my historic timeline and display on Tarbell’s life and work.
Review by Andy Martin for ABC Gumball Recycler by Chance Wolf
5 out of 5
Chance Wolf has a wonderful line of Magic!
This is a marvellous effect from Chance Wolf. In fact, I don’t ever remember seeing a Children’s effect that visually looks more appealing to kids. The routine is also instantly recognizable as a winner. It deals with Already Been Chewed (ABC) gum which is icky enough to make even the most doubting child smile.
It is based on the old Square Circle, but has a number of key features that really hide that. In addition, the routine is so good and well thought out that it puts the whole effect into another league.
These are pretty hard to come by, but if you can buy one, you won’t be disappointed.
Review by Andy Martin for Blow Yur Stack by Chance Wolf
5 out of 5
Another Winner from Wolf’s Magic!
Another beautiful effect from Chance Wolf.
This item is to be redesigned this summer. I don’t know what the changes are but I do know this is a wonderfully unique effect that visually looks stunning, and plays like a scream too!
It’s a Do-As-I-Do effect, but with stacking cups. Try as the child may they never seem to get it right. Just as the kids are going crazy your secret little helper pops up and you can create even more thrills with a Run Rabbit Run type effect at the end. Where is that mouse?
I think this is beautifully made and looks wonderful. It makes a great follow-up to the ABC Gumball.
In a world of inferior props and old ideas, Wolf’s Magic is producing a very fine line of new and original magic. Keep up the good work Chance!
Review by Andy Martin for Hand of Cleopatra by Tony Lackner
5 out of 5
Ah Original, Quality Magic!
Harold Voit has marketed some great magic. This item and one of my other favorites, the Wandering Mummies, are both beautifully made, effective, and clever – a collector’s dream.
This particular piece, made by the German Master Craftsman Tony Lackner, is really a utility item, in that you can control what the hand points to – and it can be different each spin. But when you dress it up like this, the performance and story aspects really incease and you can perform some very impressive, and scary, magic. Perfect for bizarre performances, or any Alan Warner collector who is inspired by his Equptian themes.
Briefly the effect is: 6 items are chosen – these can be anything within reason, and laid around the stand. A spectator selects one and is handed the box with Cleoptra’s hand encased. The spectator removes the hand and plaecs it on the base. They then spin it and as it spins it slowly comes to a stop and points to their chosen card. The key thing is that the spectator places and spins the hand themself without any interaction from the magician.
A very beautiful effect. Be wary of cheap knock-offs that have recently been offered, get the original if you can. (But, of course, that warning could be on all high quality magic available today.)
Review by Andy Martin for Classic Secrets of Magic by Bruce Elliott
5 out of 5
If you could choose just one book on magic …
… I believe this would be a very worthy contender. Bruce Elliott’s Classic Secrets of Magic is a small book by modern standards: it has only twelve fairly short chapters, with each chapter focusing on a single basic effect and some variations. However, if you were to thoroughly study and learn the magic and routines contained within these chapters and nothing more, ever, you would have enough material to last a lifetime of magical performances.
Very few props are required, the sleights are straight forward, and the magic is beautiful.
In my magical youth I used to perform three card routines from Chapter 1 (the Spectator’s Card is Produced) with the highlight being the Card on the Ceiling; the rice bowls from Chapter 3 (Water, Water, Everywhere!); two paddle routines from Chapter 4 (The Very Peripatetic Paddle); the four ace routine from Chapter 5 (Those Four Aces!); the Egg Bag from Chapter 7 (The Egg Bag, Well Done); two matrix type effects from Chapter 8 (The Two Covers, and the Four Objects …); some simple billiard ball moves from Chapter 9 (Billiards, Magic Style); and the Ambitious Card from Chapter 11 (The Ambitous Card!). I also dreamed of performing effects with Razors, Money and the Cups and Balls from the other remaining chapters.
If you bought this book today and spent one month on each chapter and spent say $100 on props you really could be in the top 1% of magicians in the world after just twelve months. Of this I have absolutely no doubt – provided you were committed to the task, and focused just solely on each chapter of this book.
Of course if everyone did this a lot of magic dealers would go out of business. And you wouldn’t have the excitement of trying out 100’s of different tricks, gimmicks, gadgets, fine wooden and brass collector’s pieces in a vain attempt to find the ultimate effects. This book contains them all, but where is the fun in that? One book, hardly any props to buy and just reading and practicing the same routines for a year? That doesn’t sound very magical does it.
Maybe the true secret of magic is that buying magic props from dealers won’t make you a good magician, knowing 100’s of tricks won’t make you a good magician, but learning just twelve effects really well will.
Like so many magicians before me I have fallen into the trap of thinking more props will allow me to create routines for all occaisions. In reality of course, just twelve effects are needed. I know it’s fun collecting magic. I have been doing it for over thirty years. But in fact if I just had the balls to stick with the Classic Secrets of Magic, I would be more rewarded, save a fortune, and give back a lot more to the art.
Well it’s something to think about at least as we enter the new year!
Review by Andy Martin for The Wonder Clock by Taurus Magic Supply
5 out of 5
So much better than Magic Makers!
This is not the original version (which came from a German manufactuer), but it is still much nicer than the Magic Makers version. A very clean and clever way of detrmining what hour the spectator chose, even though you are turned away and the clock face is covered up.
This really could be the basis of a very powerful close-up effect. Tie it in with Larry Becker’s Versadex Wallet and you now have an incredible prediction effect!
Review by Andy Martin for Penny Pour by Definitive Magic
5 out of 5
What a Wonderful Paddle and Routine!
So I saw this new paddle on allmagic.com pioneer, Richard Robinson, is great fun and very magical.
It will take some practice to make this appear smooth and effective, but it does come with everything you need to perform, and with the solid routining from those Bad Boys in New Jersey, you’ll be on your way to performing this sooner than you think.
I am really looking forward to seeing the other new items that these guys come up with, now that they have finally found a craftsman who can do justice to their ideas. Go Howie & Bob!
Review by Andy Martin for Isolated Incident by Dexter
5 out of 5
A Great Utility for the Mentalist!
This is a very convicing and useful mentalism utility box that allows you to peform one of three routines: Burnt Bill, Headline Prediction, and Signed and Torn and Restored card. The box is made of acrylic and is well made.
I purchased this well made,colorfull,professional piece of equipment about 2 years ago for only $180 at The Magic Shop In Hicksville NY.I got an AMAZING buy.It had a price sticker of $180 on the box,which I think was an old sticker that was never updated.They now have another one, but I believe it is priced at around $300 or so.I also see this selling anywhere from $300 to $475 online and I am Amazed at what a great buy I recieved!It is a beautifully made illusion and still looks as new as when I purchased it.
Review by Anonymous for Annotated Erdnase by Darwin Ortiz
5 out of 5
Review for The Annotated Erdnase
Ed Marlo felt magicians have very short memory. We often use concepts without knowing where they originated from. I can testify to that fact because recently I met a magician who could not vocalize the proper terms for each sleight-of-hand technique he used. Whenever he wanted me to realize what move he was thinking about, he just did it and said "that one." Furthermore, whenever I spoke the magic language, he always asked me to show the move so he could say "oh that!"
The Annotated Erdnase is your reference to all of the sleights created since "Expert At The Card Table" was written (back in 1902). It is simply a copy of "Expert At The Card Table" with additional sidenotes from Darwin Ortiz. For those of you who don’t know, "Expert At The Card Table" is an extraordinary book offering technical description on gambling sleights such as false cuts, false shuffles, and shifts (what magicians call the pass). These sleights described however assumes the performance is at the card table. Because it was written back a century ago, it needed an update. What the reader will find valuable is the references to many other modern, variant sleights created since then. Let me tell you, this book is loaded with information. This is one book card conjurors need in their library. If you wanted to know everything related to the slip cut, this book will let you in on that! I should mention a different book called "Revelations." The format is the same only it was written by the "Professor" Dai Vernon. In that book the focus was on the technical moves themselves, providing tips overlooked by the original author.
The Annotated Erdnase isn’t just a reference guide; it also contains informational tidbits regarding the book itself (like how many technical errors the author of "Expert At The Card Table" made). Also included is documents from Martin Gardner concerning the identity of the original author, who we still don’t know. If you’re interested on that topic, I know that new research has been done that is not in this book. Check out Genii and Magic Magazine – I believe sometime in 1999-2000.
I give this book also an A+ because it is readable, rereadable, and loaded with essential information. It will appeal to people who are interested in the history of sleight-of-hand as well as people who are looking for gambling techniques. If you’re a flashy, finger-flinging type of magician wondering if the sleight-of-hand in this book is good, look elsewhere. The sleight-of-hand techniques described have their roots in gambling.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
