Andy Martin

A Beautiful Box and Routine!

This is the Viking version of this effect and is certainly better than the original. Although, it comes with a clean prediction of any card that the spectator chooses using the sword it has many other uses where a card box is required. It has a unique release mechanism for the transformation which means the box can be handled by the spectator before the transformation if so desired.

The only real downside with this effect as it arrives from the dealer is that the sword it comes with does not fit in the box! This is quite annoying because one of the real justifications of having the box in the first place is to store the knife, deck of cards, and prediction.

However, after a quick look on ebay I found this great little 6" sword that looks the part and fits the box perfectly. If you look at the original version of this box you’ll see how the knob on the lid has this big wide brass ring where the knob is, and on the newer version that does not exist. It’s this sort of attention to detail that makes George Robinson such a fine craftsman!

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Now this is a Coin Stand!

This is the finest Coin Stand I have owned. It looks deceptive, works very smoothly and has the unique ability to produce 4 coins back on the stand at the end! The holes drilled beneath each coin make the illusion even more convincing.

The coaster idea for making the coins appear in the glass is also a winner – not quite as effective as Copenetro or Hughes’ Coins in Glass – but given the simplicity it still scores high.

This was a real pleasant surprise when it arrived on my doorstep. Another really winner from Mikame Craft!

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Surprisingly well made for MAK!

This is a simple mini guillotine effect that is surprizingly well made for MAK. There are a few glue marks near the base – shades of NIck "Glue Master" de Palma, but otherwise a very well priced mini guillotine.

The problem with this mini version, as with the large 7 foot stage one is that I’m not sure how convincing it is. What you really want is a Guillotine designed where the blade tips are at the outside of the stocks too, and you see it fall through the finger. Then it would be a lot more convincing.

But played for laughs you can still have fun with this … and for the price its a bargain.

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Good old Howie!

Well this is something I have only see advertised on the site of the cuddly and honest dealer: to check this out and other exclusives that Howie is carrying. You won’t be dissappointed with what you find!

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This is great fun and really works!

Well this is way more than the old pin the queen trick. I did it on my kids over the weekend and they loved it. You can keep pinning the queen they cannot, and then in the end you ask them to close their eyes and they finally do pin the queen, but only because it has changed to one jumbo queen.

I love this trick!

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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.

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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!

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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.)

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Amusing anecdotes and great Kid Show Advice

This is the second book I’ve read by Frances Ireland (Marshall) written in 1952. It’s not as informative or detailed as her other one, You Don’t Have To Be Crazy, but it still makes for interesting, light reading.

It has many anecdotes of famous and not so famous magicians which help you relive the past golden years of magic. I don’t know if such things continue to happen as the magic community has been watered down over the last twenty years or so but I hope there are similar parallels today.

Of particular interest is the section on the Chicago Magic Bar scene which gives a glimpse into a world that I certainly have never experienced and would like to.

Also, there is a very helpful section on performing to kids. This section is certainly filled with the real meat and potatoes for performing to children and is worth checking out if you plan on performing to this difficult, but rewarding, age group.

Overall a worthwhile relaxing read, from one of the most wonderful ladies in Magic.

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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!

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