Andy Martin

What a very clean and impressive effect by Hathaway.  The Abbott’s version is quite different and a lot larger than the Haenchen version here.

I do really like this effect but it has one major problem – every time you perform this you need to destroy the handkerchief. This is not a problem if you can get them cheaply but when I worked with this I needed a 17″ handkerchief to cover the space, and those are harder to find.  In addition the handkerchiefs that work best are silk not cotton – cotton can get too bulky.

Also, of course, if you use silk handkerchiefs good luck borrowing one from a spectator.  I think these days you can rarely assume someone has a white handkerchief readily available anyway.  So I would not even attempt to borrow the hanky.  So now you just need to find cheap silks for repeat performances, which I think is possible.  For my tests I was paying $15 per silk so I could not do many live tests.

But I think if you use the correct handkerchief’s this is quite an amazing illusion.  But it takes work, sourcing, and practice to get it right.

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The idea of The Chicken Sandwich (a spring chicken between two slices of bread) dates back at least to Don Alan c. 1960 in his first show on the Sullivan Show May 22nd. This wonderful version was professional created by David Martinez and sold exclusively by Stevens’ Magic c. 2013.

It is a beautifully made from wood, all hand cut, sanded, panted and assembled by hand.

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What an adorable version of the classic Thieves and Sheep or Cops and Robbers theme by the great German craftsman Tony Lackner, routined perfectly by Eckhard Boettcher.

This is a good time to remember the producers of magic – so often we think of the craftsmen who make these wonderful effects, but often there are other people involved that create the routine, patter, and bring the item to market.  With the possible exception of Ken Brooke and his right hand man Roy Johnson,  I don’t think there has been anyone finer than Eckhard Boettcher in this regard.  So many of the effects he works on start of as good and become real miracles after he has finished.

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A great little outfit created by Joe Berg and Charles Miller that was very popular in the early days of the Princess Magic Shop in Chicago. It can be adapted to many effects, and includes three as released.

I had a few issues with the cork and it does take some practice to be quiet, but it probably needs a different size cork to the one supplied (which is likely not the original, given that this effect is almost 100 years old). But I think if you find the correct cork and spend an afternoon playing with it this could be a real winner and you’ll have something the other guy does not.

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The Curious Cubes was invented by Eric Lewis c. 1934 and originally produced by Magikraft. It has been recreated by a number of manufacturers, most notably Milson-Worth.

This is a perfect example of this fantastic effect and one of the most popular props created by Milson-Worth.  I was really struggling to come up with a routine that would do justice to this perfect prop, and into my lap landed Jeff Prace’s Random Card Generator and the routine all came together.

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Another great stage item from Magic House of Babcock, better known as Shenanigan’s Die Box or Bud West’s Die Box and it was originally invented by Bud West and sold by Abbott’s c. 1971.

Mel apparently made less than a dozen of these natural wood versions and it is perfect. Mel really has created the gold standard for Die Boxes of all shapes and sizes.

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This wonderful item is from the British lock expert Mick Hanzlik and what a unique item it is.  I don’t believe Mick had these custom manufactured (particularly based on the original price), so my best guess is he saw found in a store and immediately saw the potential for a card effect.  What is interesting is you have to handle the deck slightly differently from how you normally do to get the best out of the movement.  So Mick clearly spent some time with it once he found it.  I could be completely wrong, here but it seems like the sort of item you could find around Halloween and Mick was smart enough to see the potential 🙂

Depending on how you spread the cards and where precisely you place the hand down on the cards you can get better results.  In fact, when I was just posing it for photos I had the hand moving more cards than I did in my video.

The effect is not is not hard to do at all, but if you play with it you can maximize the number of cards that are moved.  Something a little different to keep them on their toes 🙂

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Reincarnation is one of the most popular and unique items created by El Duco. It is one of those items that seems like it will be harder to perform than it is. A switch is required right in front of the audience after all. However, there is not really any heat on you at the time of move as no one is suspecting anything yet.

Once you do it to real spectators you might be surprised of their reaction and that will diminish how big the move is in your mind until you can do it without guilt or fear 🙂

The reset is very fast and I could see performing this a lot once you got over the first time.  In that regard it reminds me a lot of John Kennedy’s Mystery Box – I put off performing that for years, but after I did it the first time the result was so strong the effect became one of my most popular live items and I still perform it today.

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This is an updated version of the Steve Dusheck and Jim Hill effect: Cases of Metamorphosis c. 1984.  All of these effects are versions of Al Baker’s Cherchez la Femme.

This is a finely made version by Viking Mfg. for Howie at The Trickery. The Jumbo frames are very substantial and long lasting. The real problem with this effect, is the routine is over too quickly and there is no real meat to it.  This is not true Baker’s original because you have the by play of finding where the queen is. 

To overcome this I suggest you using just a single frame in conjunction with a McCombical Deck to make the routine a little more interesting as I demonstrate in the Speed Demo.

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The Escaping Vampire (or Vampire Block or Vampire Die or Visible Vampire as this type of block penetration is often known as today) was created by Ben Wallace c. 1945.

This is a one of a kind stage version of the custom Vampire’s built in 2020 especially for Hocus Pocus  by a good friend and craftsmen.  It is more detailed than the regular size and stands almost 17″ high with a 4″ block.  It is quite impressive to behold.  And of course works perfectly.  The tower is sturdy and interesting, the block is heavy and solid with a strong brass chain, and the spike is also hefty and memorable.

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