This beautifully clever checker penetration was invented by U.F. Grant c. 1954 and if you are familiar with other approaches this one will certainly fool you. I know I was not expecting the props and the moves. This is the Mak Magic version c. 1981.
If you have not seen this beauty before you are in for a real treat and a genuine surprise. When it comes to collecting magic those are the best kind 🙂
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The first version of this remarkable illusion was invented by Okito c. 1904 (Dr Albo Vol 1, pg 103). Among others, variations have also been built by Thayer, National Magic Company, Henry Bohlen and Town House Magic (Deluxe Visible Block Penetration c. 1946), Richard Gerlitz, Mel Babcock, Magic Wagon, Mikame Craft, and Nielsen Magic. It is performed by Dr. Albo in the Ultimate Okito.
However, not all Visible Block Penetrations use the same Okito method. The key tell tale sign in performance is “slow-motion”: can the penetration be done slowly and visibly? If it can then it is most likely based on the same method. If it is visible but almost instant it is probably not using the same method.
This beautiful close-up version follows the Okito method was created by an unknown German Craftsman c. 1980 and acquired by the great German Craftsman himself Willi Wessel. When I purchased this from Willi earlier this year unfortunately Willi did not know who the creator was. It is made very well and the small size makes it particularly useful since many of these slow motion visible block penetrations are designed for stage and parlor.
The one difference with this version is that that it uses a solid block throughout instead of a shell. This means without some extra moves it is not possible to show the tube completely empty at the beginning. However, you can at the end as explained by Willi in the quick video explanation he created especially for the lucky winner 🙂
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The Linking Rings were the product that gave Mike Brazill’s company it’s name. In 1969 Mike Brazill started making some beautiful Chinese Linking Ring sets in his basement in Jennings, Missouri – in his first year alone Mike and a helper turned out over a thousand sets of his “new design” Linking Rings. The following year Mike teamed up with Harry Montieth and they designed a new set of metal Cups and Balls. Miss Sandy Byrne was also hired to take care of the Office while Mike ran the Plant, Sandy’s passion for keeping the orders flowing and the customers happy was only matched by Mike’s talent for metal craft. That year the organization produced nearly three thousand sets of rings, six hundred sets of cups and over a thousand dove pans. They were now making “Rings … and things.” By 1972 Mike Brazill incorporated the fledgling company and officially named it: Rings ‘N Things Magic Co. (Jay Malbrough – Genii Magazine, November 1977)
This is an amazing set of Liquor Multiplying Bottles from the Original Rings ‘N’ Things and 47 years later they still look amazing after all these years.
The tubes are typical Rings ‘N Things quality with no seams to be found, rolled rims and accents, Mike Brazill’s exclusive epoxy-baked miracle finish, realistic labels, basically they’re perfectly made. You won’t find any passe passe bottles better than these.
The Liquor Bottles were more plentiful than the Bubble-Up (7-Up copies) but both sets are rare, meticulously made and are minor miracles. These bottles are pure perfection.
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The electronics work of Marcelo and Victor Contento is second to none. If you are looking for 100% reliability then their brand will never fail you. Their version of the Jumbo Rising Cards is regarded by many, including myself, as the best version ever created. It is very reliable, with advanced features and incredibly easy to use.
You press a single button once to go up and a single button once to go down from almost anywhere in the room. The cards will then rise or fall to the right height and automatically stop. This was the model that Billy McComb used for years and two of his routines are featured with the instructions.
What I really like about this model is how reliable it is. That being said over time the cards themselves can get worn out. When this unit arrived the cards that rose were in a pretty bad way and would stick sometimes. As long as you replace them with the old style, thick bicycle Jumbo cards you should be fine. The other thing to keep an eye on is how many cards you need to place in the houlette. It has a clever spring in front to maintain the correct tension, but you still must make sure you don’t over fill it with cards, otherwise they can stick. If you read the instructions, which I know is tricky sometimes, it tells you precisely the right amount of cards to use so this is not hard to achieve. But if you are having issues it could be because your cards are dirty or you have too many cards jammed in front.
The routines that Billy supplies come with a decent deck switch, which is easy to do and works well, but even Billy himself stopped using the switch over time and just used a small deck for the selection. This streamlines the operation even more.
The routine I am using is a combination of Billy’s and Marcello’s and I’m very happy with it. So much so that I might even feature this routine for my Holiday shows this Christmas 🙂
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I love this little plastic top 🙂
This was released by Sam c. 2008 and it was based on an earlier device (quite possibly this one) but Sam did not invent it. He modified his version slightly and thought it would be more useful with colors rather than numbers. I agree 100% with him, there are plenty of dice you can use to force a number from 1 to 6, but when it comes to colors your options are limited.
When you need to force a color this could not be a simpler approach – just have the spectator spin the top and it will end up on the color you want every time. It is instant to set and can be handed to the spectator to spin without worrying that they will figure anything out.
When I need to force a color this is the perfect little device I know you will love, thank-you Sam Dalal!
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The Chinese Coin Trick is an old effect (well over one hundred years – the first ad I found for it was from Martinka’s in 1914) and has been known also as The Miracle of Confucius (in Illustrated Magic by Ottokar Fischer).
Francois Danis has created a very pretty version. The coins and cord fit perfectly in a beautifully crafted and decorated box. The routine requires two simple moves but everything is covered well by the props and routine. And as a result everything can be examined at the end.
This is a real fooler and once you try it a few times you will quickly fall in love with it too.
Great job Francois 🙂
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Johnson Precision Magic or Johnson Products are well known for their fake coins and brass coin gimmicks. But this was one of their early non-coin effects, that was made as equally well as any of their coin work.
This has been long unavailable which is a shame because it really is a wonderful effect. The props are well made and it has a clean simple method that will impress you.
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This is basically a copy of the the effect created by Tony Lackner and Eckhard Boettcher called Mental Chips and used in Bank Night Gone Wrong. I have added some envelopes with stickers so you can perform almost the same Bank Night effect as the original. Of course you can also use it as a basic prediction or even a color force.
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This is based upon Herbert Milton’s original idea: A Page of Mystery first published by Percy Naldrett in his book Collected Magic Volume Six (c. 1925). Mr. Emerson extends Mr. Milton’s idea by using three books instead of one and replacing the sand frame for two laminated sheets which are used to write the page and name of the book.
You might have seen this on the last set of DVD’s from Richard Osterlind – the impact on the audience is amazing!
This comes with three classic books, so you can perform this miracle out of the box:
Of course you can use your own books. Once you have the right type of book it takes about 30 minutes to alter all three books after ordering a certain supply from your favorite online store.
When performed well it is a truly stunning effect. The props are a bit on the cheap side, but only magic collectors worry about that, and if anything they enhance the magic. What I like about this effect is it is so clean, you walk in and are ready to perform this at any time during your show. The only props you use are the three books, two laminated sheets and marker – nothing is added or taken away. You can hand them to the spectator to hold and move straight into the routine. Reset is also almost instant.
This is an effect you will surely perform :
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These umbrellas are very colorful and beautifully made. I was always a big fan of The Magic Hands from Germany. They consistently made high quality magic and had some great ideas.
The Junior Umbrella Production was was one of their big sellers and the quality is amazing. What is neat about it is you really do start by showing what appears to be each silk very cleanly. They go the extra mile to make it extra easy and convincing.
The biggest issue when producing these umbrellas is where to place them 🙂
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