Andy Martin

Sometimes you can sell too much!

Most magicians I have known have, at one time or another, sold a prop that they never used only to really regret it later. Dean’s Box is one of those for me.

I don’t really know why I sold it, but I’m glad to have purchased a new one. Interestingly enough, the cloth has changed color from red to black since the first time I purchased this effect.

This is a beatifully made box with a really wonderful series of three effects with some rope and a ring. It is easy to do, though it takes some handling practice.

Highly recommended, and this time I won’t sell it!

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What can you say! Simply Amazing!

I’m not going to fool anyone if I say I have read the whole of this book – it is huge and heavy. However, it holds nearly all of the known published miracles of Ted Annemann and it is a book that I am very eager to read from cover to cover.

Ted Annemann was one of the real heavyweights in magic thought and creation, and its hard to imagine anyone not getting a truck load of wonderful ideas from this book.

I know this doesn’t do justice to the man or the book, so buy it yourself and post a review for us all to read! Beautifully produced and Highly recommended!

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The Perfect Book for the Beginner

The Complete Magician by Marvin Kaye (or the Stein & Day Handbook of Magic as it was known in the USA) is a wonderful book for the serious beginner who wants to perform magic as a hobby or as a profession.

What I liked most about this book when I first read it 27 years ago was that it didn’t just focus on tricks and sleights. It did provide some great routines in each of the main areas of magic, including a wonderful section on Children’s magic which I was performing most of at the time, but it also had chapters on patter, style, perparing for the big Stage show, routining and all the other things that make up a real performance. These other aspects of magic are often overlooked by the beginner.

The book also ends many chapters with a brief description of commercially available effects and gives sources of dealers and magical publications. As a budding young magician these of course inspired me to want to save up my paper round money to buy more magic!

I found this book a wonderful entry into performing magic for real audiences and for many many years used ideas and magic directly from it. Soon I will read it again and feel sure it will still provide me with some useful tips and ideas that I have forgotten.

(Notice: Although the printed word is basically the same in both versions of this book, the Complete Magician is a far superior quality book, with a bigger format, better quality paper and numerous black and white photographs. So if you can, get the Complete Magician instead of the Stein and Day Handbook of Magic.)

Click here for more information.

The Perfect Book for the Beginner

The Complete Magician by Marvin Kaye (or the Stein & Day Handbook of Magic as it is known in the USA) is a wonderful book for the serious beginner who wants to perform magic as a hobby or as a profession.

What I liked most about this book when I first read it 27 years ago was that it didn’t just focus on tricks and sleights. It did provide some great routines in each of the main areas of magic, including a wonderful section on Children’s magic which I was performing most of at the time, but it also had chapters on patter, style, perparing for the big Stage show, routining and all the other things that make up a real performance. These other aspects of magic are often overlooked by the beginner.

The book also ends many chapters with a brief description of commercially available effects and gives sources of dealers and magical publications. As a budding young magician these of course inspired me to want to save up my paper round money to buy more magic!

I found this book a wonderful entry into performing magic for real audiences and for many many years used ideas and magic directly from it. Soon I will read it again and feel sure it will still provide me with some useful tips and ideas that I have forgotten.

(Notice: Although the printed word is basically the same in both versions of this book, the Complete Magician is a far superior quality book, with a bigger format, better quality paper and numerous black and white photographs. So if you can, get the Complete Magician instead of the Stein and Day Handbook of Magic.)

Click here for more information.

Almost The Best Cash Paddle Around

Jay Leslie makes some fine wood and brass effects. This cash paddle is no exception. Great feel to it and the mirror is nice and shiny – not those cheap old things you see elsewhere.

I think you need to keep an eye on young Jay since his stuff has a very nice feel of high quality to it!

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The Best Money Paddle!

This is easily the best Money Paddle I have owned. Better than the Jay Leslie one, which I thought was real nice too.

Its made of black aluminum and the mirror is shiny and real looking, and its very well machined, with notches for the rubber bands and a good weight to it. Joe Porper makes some real nice pieces!

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More than just Out of This World!

I read this book initially over 25 years ago, and remembered to this day the story that Mr. Curry relates about the time Winston Churchill was late for a War Cabinet meeting because he was busy watching a magician perform "Out of This World". But this book has so much more than Curry’s most famous card trick, which is does indeed explain.

I guess it was aimed at the layman or beginner in magic, but as a performer and collector of magic for over 30 years I still found it a very interesting and rewarding read. He has chapters on many aspects of our art relating all the way back to the Cups and Balls. He covers stage illusions, close-up, escapes, seances, mentalism, and more.

One of the things I really like about this book is that Mr Curry will detail some historical effect or principle and then describe a more up to date and easy to do version of the effect or principle that can be perfomed. Most of the magic in the book is possible to perform without complex sleight of hand or specialised props.

It is a mix of history, showmanship and magical effects, by one of the true greats in the art of magic. I for one believe this should be on every beginners and advanced magic list!

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Eye witness tales about Magicians all around the world

Written in 1932 this book by John Mulholland takes you on a virtual tour of many distant lands as he tells tales of magicians from almost every culture and part of the world.

It is quite amazing to think how much Mr. Mulholland travelled with magic so long ago. It has some great stories and anecdotes that are very entertaining reading. It is not a book of tricks, but rather of cultures and people and the types of magic they have performed.

I’m sure 75 years on much of this is no longer quite the same, but it is still a thrill to read about the old days when you can help thinking there was a bit more "art" to our magic. One quote by Jack Gwynne is worth repeating:
"Mr. Gwynne, I have seen your act and I think it is perfect."
"Thank-you," Gwynne replied, "I’m glad you liked it. I feel that it has many flaws, but after all it should run smoothly, for it takes but twelve minutes to do and I have worked twelve years on that act. Allowing a year’s rehearsal for every minute’s performance it would be astounding if it were not smooth".

Can you imagine a modern magician spending so much time on one act? Maybe this is one of the reasons, that there are so many bad performances out there …

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Simple and Effective Penetration

This clever piece of Mini-Magic represents the completion of my Alan Warner Mini-Magic collection that can be viewed in all its glory here. It is a old chestnut, and one of Alan’s earliest Teak pieces, but very well made by the master craftsman himself.

In this version there are no funny moves or sleights. The block is loaded, the bar locks the block in place, and then on the command of the magician the block falls!

Its nice to complete the collection Alan, thanks for making it all possible!

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All other mummies pale next to these Beauties!

So with great anticipation I received my Mystic Mummy from Richard Gerlitz yesterday. I was unfortunately put off by something that no one else sees, the bottom of the base was unfinished. Richard, of course, immediately rectified that and the very next day shipped out a painted and finished base – which all subsequent bases will have. That is service the Gerlitz way!

Now that I have the base out of my head I can sit down and really take in these beautiful Mummies. And they really are beautiful. I have taken 6 sets of photos so far and still not happy with them. But the ones I have will have to do! Not only do they look like a work of art, but there are no moving slides or switches, and no sounds to worry about. My wife loves them too!

This is the last Gerlitz piece I can afford for a while, but what a way to go! Richard Gerlitz really has created the best version of this effect that I have seen. Compare these with the Taytelbaum Mummies that susposedly sold for $3500 a few weeks ago on ebay and I’d take these any day of the week.

Richard you are a beautiful man! Thanks for your quality and dedication to your art!

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