5 Stars

The Cork Penetration was invented by Eddy Taytelbaum and there have been many versions over the years including these ones  (though I’m missing the wonderful version released by the talented Frenchman François Danis).  As is often the case Eddy’s version is still the gold standard but this is a very nice set from the talented Michael Baker. 

Most versions have a hole in the card but it is not always the case and Michael’s uses a complete card.  I also added a card with a hole just in case you wanted to perform it the more standard way.

This looks great in your collection and works perfectly too.

Click here for more information.

This effect was invented by Harlan Tarbell and built by Ireland Magic c. 1941.  It was first described in book form in Vol. 4 of The Tarbell Course c. 1945.  This adorable version follows Harlan’s description closely and is made perfectly by Michael Baker.  The Ireland Magic version was made in metal and Michal Baker’s is made from wood (the last two images show the Ireland version). 

It is a wonderful effect that is not seen very often.  Once neat thing about the design is you can store the cards and other items for you show inside the house for transportation if you so desire, making this effect practical and magical 🙂

Click here for more information.

The fourth item in Thomas’ Egyptian Series is a very perplexing penetration with exotic looking props.  When I watched the video and received the item I could not figure out how this bad boy worked until I watched Thomas’ explanation video. The penetration is very clean and has a quick reset too – this will fool most people not in the know.  Even if you think you know how it works you are unlikely to be fully able to explain how it is actually accomplished.

This is one of the cleanest and surprising penetrations I have seen in a while.  A very nice job Thomas 🙂

Click here for more information.

If you like the street con type of effects you’ll love this effect.  This is the first release that Meir released c. 2019 and includes the wooden base and the DVD.  It is easy to perform and you’ll have lots of fun with this bad boy!

Click here for more information.

Slate of mind was created by U.F.Grant c. 1949, and it was later improved by Aldini. Grant was influenced by Dr. Jaks’ Supersonic Card Prediction.

This is Richard Osterlind’s high end version, it is not as pretty as Carl Williams’ paddle version but it is still one of the best looking and smoothest versions produced.

Click here for more information.

The Conway Cigarette Case is based upon the effect The Card and Cigarette Case by American Close-up Magician Bert Allerton in his book The Close-up Magician  c. 1958. However, Bert Allerton’s idea used an ungimmicked Cigarette Case. Pat Conway created the perfect gaff to make the case still look normal, but also much easier and more convincing to perform. 

Ken Brooke purchased the rights to Pat’s approach and produced this beautiful and innocent looking Cigarette Case.  The early versions sold by Ken required an elastic band to be used but Fred Lowe suggested a modification which removed the need.  This is the final version after all the improvements and suggestions and it is perfect and easily one of the best items produced by Ken Brooke 🙂

I’ve always wanted to get one of these but had no clue how cool it was until I received it.  It does not work like any other card box you have seen and there are no flaps … yet you can do pretty much anything any other card box can do, but in a much more natural and clean way 🙂

I’ve included the full Card in Chewing Gum instructions from Roy Johnson’s amazing book The Roy Johnson Experience and along with some extra tweaks that are included with the instructions for the Conway you will have the perfect routine you’ll use in every show.

The only problem I had is that I don’t smoke and the last thing I wanted to do was buy some real cigarettes to perform this.  Luckily Amazon came to the rescue and I was able to get a pack of herbal cigarettes that are tobacco and nicotine free and look and work perfectly.

Included:

• The amazing Conway Cigarette Case in like new condition.
• Six pages of tips and instructions.
• The full six page routine for Card in Chewing Gum from Roy’s book.
• A pack of herbal cigarettes which look perfect (of course you can use real cigarettes too!).

This is really an amazing and innocent looking switching device for cards, billets, cash, business cards and anything else that will fit inside the case that you will find many uses for.

Click here for more information.

You can always rely on the amazing Eddy Taytelbaum to produce a beautiful version of a standard effect.  Here he takes on the Coin Slide and in this version Eddy has created one with no moving parts. In fact the slide can be examined if desired 🙂

It is a simple effect, but Eddy still manages to create a work of art from it.  The secret to appreciating Eddy’s items is not just to look a them, but to hold them and use them.  You’ll find most of the time that they work as beautifully and flawlessly as they look.  This little slide is no exception.

Thayer’s Mystic Coin Slide c. 1921 appears to have been the first version of this type of effect, followed by Carl Brema’s Coin Slide or Magic Mint c. 1925. The term “coin slide” should not be confused with the gimmick used to load a coin into the center of a ball of wool (or in nest of box routines) which was used much earlier.

Click here for more information.

First there was Otto, then Jo-Anne and Gwendolyn, and along with many others I finally have tracked down Jack Hughes’ wonderful Fifi 🙂 

Fifi is bold and beautiful and quite a lot larger than the modern day standard duck: Warren Hamilton’s Jo-Anne, though they both weigh about the same (approximately  1 lb.), and I’ve included a photo at the end for comparison.

Fifi uses a different approach to picking the cards, with no moving parts or stickness, which works surprisingly well – I had a few issues at first until I got the knack of it.  It is easier to grab more than one card, but that is true of all ducks depending on the state of the cards.  Fifi is designed for bridge sized playing cards (which I include) – many items from the UK use bridge sized decks because that was certainly much more common last century (and I expect it still is).

I do think the colors and size make Fifi a little more fun, but as I have mentioned before the Card Duck appeal primarily stems from the interaction of the performer with the duck – it could be a sock puppet and you could get just as much out of it.  But for collectors Fifi will look amazing in your collection 🙂

Click here for more information.

This is really a simple and useful switching stand for Jumbo cards.  It can be used for a clean Four Aces effect or for the transformation to any desired set of a few cards.  According to Verrall Wass (Tomorrow’s Devant, The Sphinx, August 1944, pg. 154) this effect was actually invented by Ned Williams (Robert Harbin) and although Ned is not credited he is mentioned in the ad.  This also was known as Four of a Kind (well at least the instructions that came with it say that, but I have found no other reference to it being called that name).

To perform it requires two decks of Jumbo cards, and with this effect the new style, thinner Jumbo Bicycles work better than the old thicker ones so I have included two brand new decks of current Bicycle Jumbo Cards.

Possible Presentations:

• A demo of this effect is performed by Dr. Albo on Disc 9 of The Ultimate Thayer. However, Dr. Albo uses random indifferent cards rather than the A, 2, 3, 4 of each suit as mentioned in the effect below.   Using A, 2, 3, 4 is a really nice way of performing the Four Aces, and makes it easier to spot the movement of the aces.  In addition with the A, 2, 3, 4 presentation the other three aces actually move to the designated pile rather than being replaced with an indifferent 4th card. So you end up with 3 cards in each pile (2,3,4) and only the aces pile has 4 cards.  Of course you can perform it the more traditional way too – the system is very flexible.
• Another presentation is to mention that whatever number they choose all of the cards at that number will appear at the chosen spot.  They say “3”, and at location “3” are all four 3’s, and then the magician also shows that all the A’s are in location “1”, all the 2’s in location “2”, and all the 4’s in location “4”.
• You could use it to produce multiple chosen (forced) cards,
• Change indifferent cards to Poker hands and you get the winning hand.
• It could be used with jumbo flash cards and other cards that fit in the slots.

In the ad copy it states: “invite the audience to select or designate any one of the four piles” that is Dealer Speak for “Magician’s Choice” 🙂  Or you can simply mishear and say “Pile 2” did you say?

This is a very fine looking prop that looks great, has the flexibility to perform multiple effects, and can be used in small parlors and stage settings.

Click here for more information.