5 Stars

Here is Vol. 1 of Keep the Wheels Turning collection. Now you can read the story of Carl Owen, the man whose magical artistry and mechanical inventions were the foundation of quality magic.

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Here is the long anticipated Vol. 2 of Keep the Wheels Turning collection. Now you can read the story of Floyd Thayer too in this fabulous companion volume.

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A high quality silk Pistol that is very reliable and looks and sounds like a real pistol. This was the first design by Magic Hands and was changed later to this style.  As long as you use a 9″ silk it works perfectly and it easy to set.  I have tried 12″ silks and the diagonal cut ones but 9″ is definitely the best and most reliable to vanish.

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I was born in England in the 1960’s and it wasn’t until 1990 that I emigrated to America so much of my early magic dealer experience was with Ron MacMillan, Supreme Magic Company, Jack Hughes, and Alan Warner.  I hadn’t really heard of U.F. Grant or MAK magic before I came to America. But it didn’t take long after I arrived in Texas before I started to purchase the classic MAK and U.F. Grant magic.

I found the DVD’s talking about Grant very fascinating and particularly enjoyed the various Demos that Grant performs in various formats.  It is clear U.F. Grant was doing Speed Demos decades before I began 🙂

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This effect was invented by Jack Hughes’ c. 1947 as The Lady Vanishes.  Jack based it upon an earlier similar effect with a glass he also invented called Back Stage Beaker Vanish c. 1946. Both of these effects have been widely copied over the years with the names often switched (as in the case of the Viking release).

Sometimes the manufacturers have credited Jack Hughes (for example Abbott’s), but often not. Viking’s instructions say that this effect is based upon Aldini’s Backstage c. 1975, but Aldini’s effect is clearly the same as Jack’s The Lady Vanishes.

That being said I don’t think there is a prettier or better made version than the Viking release – bright colors, smooth vanish and easily attached drape.

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This beautiful item was created by Owen’s c. 1973 as a limited edition. It is a truly beautiful prop and an amazing production item. In essence this is a oversize version of the classic Bran Vase first described by Ponsin c. 1853 and later described in Professor Hoffmann  c. 1876 (The Bran and Orange Trick). The effect was improved by Paul Fox c. 1930 as the Paul Fox Candy Bowl.

The challenge for me was not only finding some suitable confetti and a sensible load but also finding a container that I could reach into to add the confetti. Due to the size of the bowl you need a fairly large container to hide the action.  I settled on a 12″ x 12″ x 12″ black gift bag which packs flat when not being used and provides plenty of room to load the confetti and doesn’t look out of place in your act.

I have included instructions for a Bran Vase routine from Tarbell and Thayer but now that I have gone to the trouble of getting the necessary equipment it is easy to piece together from my Demo.  The Speed Demo should be here soon. 

You’ll probably never perform this but it will look amazing in your magic collection 🙂

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Another beauty from the Dutch magic dealer and craftsman Harry Keyl.  This is a wonderful piece of mentalism that fits neatly in your pocket and is always ready to go.  It does not require any memory work or special moves.  You follow a simple procedure and can predict the chosen number every time. It looks very convincing and the spectator can chose different numbers each time and yet the prediction is correct every time.  Also, the final prediction can be different each time too if you desire.

This effect is a very clever version of Bob Mason’s Predicta Total but to be honest you probably won’t even realize this even if you are familiar with Bob’s effect because Mental Tiles is so clean and simple to use, it hides the method even better than the original effect.

Harry Keyl’s work looks very similar to the work of the Dutch master Eddy Taytelbaum and are very rarely seen these days.

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As a teenager this was my favorite close-up trick. I performed it more than any other item and just loved it. The final change from three colors to all yellow always amazed them – it changes right in front of their eyes!

Finding the orignal Tricks Co. versions is difficult these days.

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Another great classic Tricks. Co item that looks very clean, is easy to do and can be fully examined before and after the effect.

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This is a wonderful new approach to the standard paddle effect and shows off the clever thinking that went into the early Tricks Co. effects. A totally new take on the paddle move.

Another classic effect from the now hard to find Tricks Co. line with original box and instructions.

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