Andy Martin

This clever and beautiful prop was created by Joe Porper and R. Paul Wilson in 2004, and as with most of Joe’s items it is made perfectly with some ingenious ideas.

I’ve always liked the idea of the Miser’s dream but most coin ladder’s and similar devices that try to make the work simple do a great job of display and sound but don’t do too much to remove the skill and sleight of hand element. Also they are large and require a stage to perform on.  Some people really like Bob Solari’s Miser Miracle but the downside is you don’t actually get to see lots of coins 🙁

Joe Porper and R. Paul Wilson have done a really good job here to provide the props to perform an entertaining routine with almost no sleight of hand in a relatively close-up situation.  You have to be able to pull off a vanish and appearance of a coin which does take some practice, but if you put in 30 minutes a day for a week you’d be golden.

The cocktail shaker itself is a work of art and really is well constructed with a clever way to deliver nine coins with or without any sleights.  The dropper is another innovative design that works very smoothly.  The coin wand is perfect for the task, and even the rattle gimmick is very clever.  I did not use it in the video because it was one more thing for me to practice and I was pushing my limits in the time I had already

My video performance had me practicing for about 2 hours total – so I could certainly do more, but it is starting to get fairly smooth – another week I think it would look even better 🙂Click here for more information.

These are really beautiful looking coins from Meir Yedid and designed by Akemi Yoshida.  They look and feel amazing.  It also comes with a really great coins across routine that would be worth mastering if you wanted to get real about your coin magic 🙂

Great job Meir and Akemi 🙂

Click here for more information.

Perfection attained 🙂

In 1997, to celebrate 25 years of Alan Warner Mini Magic, the Flight of the Falcon was created as a limited edition of just 25 units.  To this day Flight of The Falcon is my favorite single piece of Alan’s magic.  In my opinion it best demonstrates his incredible craftsmanship, design talent, and ingenuity.

The wood work is exquisite as always, but more intricate than usual with some incredible inlay work.  There is lots of color too and it is securely housed in a beautiful presentation case.

The effect is simple: any one of the 3 chosen falcons disappear from the casket and reappear in the Reliquary.  No force is involved and it can be repeated with a different outcome on another occasion.

Apart from the sheer beauty of this item I like how Alan came up with an elegant way to start with the lid on the casket and use it as  a way to show the falcon in the reliquary.  It achieves two things and although it seems simple and even obvious when you see it, I don’t think other creators would have necessarily created such an elegant solution to the problem.

I am glad to be able to add this incredible item back into my collection after an absence of twenty years and finally able to update my photos and add a video from when I first purchased this in 2002. My heart still skips a beat when I see those wings on the casket.

Alan, you have created more impressive collections of magic, but for me this is you at your very best, I love this beautiful effect 🙂

Click here for more information.

What a unique and clever item from Charles T. Jordan.  It was first released directly by Jordan c. 1923 and then published in Jinx c. 1935 and then Max Holden released it c. 1943.  This appears to be the version released by Max Holden c, 1943.

It is well made and the effect is easy to do.  There are three different cards that can appear (yes you do need to force a card, but even the Cross-Cut Force will work well here due to the time misdirection) and each thread has a different force card.  I like the fact they can choose any spool of thread.

If you’re looking for a card revelation that is colorful, easy to do, self contained, and very different you’ve found it 🙂

Click here for more information.

This wonderful and colorful effect was invented by Eric Lewis as Peacock Fantasy and was inspired by an effect written by Larsen and Wright called “How the Finch Got Her Colors” in a 1928 booklet called the L.W. Mysteries for Children.  You can read full details of the original Lewis version in his book A Continuation of Miracles (pg. 125).  Eric Lewis sold the rights to Jack Hughes a few years later and c. 1952 Jack released Peacock Phantasy which is shown here.  It is described in World of Magic Vol. 2 (pg. 134).

It is a very intriguing effect and perfect for younger children with an interesting story and lots of color and action on stage.

Click here for more information.

What a real beauty and this version works better too! I’m a big fan of Gimpy’s Light and Heavy boxes, and think the original Mighty Mini is amazing. So imagine my joy when I opened this bad boy up. Hopefully from the pictures you can see how beautiful it looks, all decked out in solid Walnut and veneered in a rare Ash Burl.

What surprised me the most is how much better it appears to work.  Maybe I’m fooling myself, but the mechanism seems to be more precise and easy to use. Gimpy says that he has tweaked the gimmick, and whatever he did it certainly makes a difference. There are only twenty of these so get them before they all disappear.

This is truly a beautiful item.  I purchased one back in 2009 when they were first released but picked up one recently as I came up with a routine that I thought would work well in the Porcupine 🙂

Click here for more information.

What a lovely prop and effect this is from Rocky Clements. Very well made, easy to do and very convincing. The quality on this item is very impressive.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I ordered it but I’m very pleased I did. Most magicians, including myself, struggle with th*** work but this is so easy and all the hard stuff is hidden – even from fairly close-up the audience won’t see a thing.  When you see as much magic as I do it is nice to be pleasantly surprised.

This item is under-priced and under appreciated. I look forward to performing this in the Porucpine one day very soon. Great Job guys 🙂

Click here for more information.

It is always a joy to add a new item from the wacky magic master himself: Chance Wolf at Wolf’s Magic. This is Chance’s take on the wonderful Owen’s Rabbit Rising Cards.  As cute as the original Owen’s was, there is no doubt Chance’s new version is even cuter and more adorable.

The method and set-up is very simple, and works perfectly.  As with all of Chance’s creation it is solidly made and with some basic care will last for years of performances.  Chance tries to scare you in the set-up video (don’t do this, don’t do that, and for heaven’s sake don’t press it here!), but I think once you have set this up once or twice you’ll be able to do it in your sleep 🙂

Chance also includes a great routine that will work well with children of all ages.  If I was performing children’s shows today this is precisely the sort of prop and routine I would look for.  Great job Chance.

Click here for more information.

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 🙂

Click here for more information.

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.

Click here for more information.