Andy Martin

This is a nicer looking version of the Fantasio’s Deck Switcher.  It is not great quality if you get in really close, but from a few feet it looks great and it works perfectly.  The best quality version of this type of switch is still Peter Scarlett’s Pimpernel Card Box but the problem with Peter’s version is that it is too small to fit the card case.  This version handles the card case just right.

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The original version of this effect was created by Jose M. Llacer for Selecciones Magicas c. 1995. This is Sam Dalal’s version which I remember I was really impressed with when I purchased it in Las Vegas in 1998.

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This is a wonderful find from the great German craftsman Willi Wessel. He made this deluxe set originally for himself and then just three other sets for close friends.  He did not offer this to his normal customers and I only obtained this because Willi sold me his one earlier this year 🙂

The presentation case has been upgraded (complete with a real inlaid Chinese design on the top of the box) and includes an extra paddle that has the Chinese writing on both sides.  There is a special recess in the box to allow the easy switch for the second paddle on the off-beat as you show the color change of the chips.  In my routine I chose to load the paddle with a $100 final impact but you could just switch it out so that the paddle can be examined. I’m sure other variations will spring to mind.

What I like about Willi’s routines is that he extracts every inch of magic from his props.  This set comes with the routine by Howard Schwarzman and Willi’s original instructions in German.  I will also include a link to a special video from Willi explaining the switch.  He talks about a switch based on an idea by Larry Jennings. I ended up using a slightly different switch in my video, but you can use either approach.  Because the heat is off the switch it really is quite straight forward.

The other thing I like about this particular routine is that you sometimes use the paddle move and sometimes don’t and so it reinforces the legitimacy of the moves.

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Sam Dalal’s nice version of the Jack Hughes’ Classic effect Card Go.  This is for jumbo sized cards and looks good and works smoothly.

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This is a clever trick with fairly cheap chips from Sam Dalal.  What is particularly interesting from a historical perspective is the chips use the same methods that the great Danish Chip Master magician Per Clausen and others such as El Duco use to create some really wonderful effects.  As far as I know Sam Dalal was the first to use this method, and although Per Clausen became famous for his brass chip effects there is no doubt they began with Sam Dalal.

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In 1999 my wife and I had just become American Citizens (I was born in England and she in Canada) and had a party for our friends to celebrate and I was the main entertainment 🙂

I ended the show with my wife by my side and produced this wonderful American flag from Sam Dalal and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house 🙂

This flag works very smoothly and is amazing quality for the price.

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In 1999 my wife and I had just become American Citizens (I was born in England and she in Canada) and had a party for our friends to celebrate and I was the main entertainment 🙂

I ended the show with my wife by my side and produced this wonderful American flag from Sam Dalal and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house 🙂

This flag works very smoothly and is amazing quality for the price.

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This effect dates back to 1827. After being unseen for some decades The Great Carmo reintroduced it in the UK c. 1932 and it is still often referred to as the Carmo Beads in the UK.  The rights to Carmo’s was purchased by Davenport’s from The Great Carmo c. 1938 and they marketed it at The Great Carmo Bead Mystery.  This did not stop U.F. Grant releasing it as The Arabian Bead Mystery c. 1939 and it became a pet effect of Jay Marshall. John Fedko re-titled it as The Beads of Prussia and that is the current term in the USA.

Sam has created a very nice quality one with sold plastic beads and tube.  The gimmick also works very well.

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The legendary British Inventor, Craftsman, and Dealer Jack Hughes invented many staples in magic that we take for granted today (including: TV Card Frame (1936), Coins in Glass (before Copenetro) (1939), Clatter Box (1951) and many more.

He also invented this beauty, Attaboy, c. 1937. This version was manufactured by Sam Dalal in India and is probably not authorized and although it looks good from a distance it does not work anywhere near as well as the Abbott’s version.

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The original Buried Treasure effect was invented by Ed Massey c. 1957.  This improved version was built by Arturo (Glenn Babbs) c. 1964 and sold by Abbott’s and  U.F. Grant. This particular item was sold by Abbott’s.

The improved Arturo version is easier to set and the effect is more impressive because the signed coin vanishes and appears inside a third box that is sealed inside a second box which is surrounded by beans, as opposed to just one box as in the original effect.  There have been a number of versions built by various builders including very pretty ones by Mel Babcock and Louis Gaynor. However, one of the features of these original Arturo made boxes is that the large outer red box dismantles further which makes it easier to set-up.

In the Abbott’s advert it talks about tying the outer and inner box with a ribbon – this is certainly possible, but because of the astonishment created by pulling the tiny box out of all of the beans I don’t think it adds anything to the effect and just slows down the pace.  But of course you could use ribbons if you wanted to (and I even include some for you).

This is a truly amazing effect which will amaze your audience and is easy to do 🙂

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