Andy Martin

Anverdi’s Surprise Box is one of his finest creations. It came in a number of versions, also built by various dealers other than Anverdi.  This fine version was sold by Mephisto-Huis and I believe it was built by them too.  However,  it might have been made by Anverdi and just sold by Mephisto-Huis, since it is almost identical to the version that appears in the Anverdi book. Also it looks quite different from the one that I do believe was built by Mephisto-Huis here.  The cards that came with it were in fact made in Belgium (the home of Mephisto-Huis), but I replaced them with Bicycles for your performing pleasure 🙂  Also, the Anverdi book was in fact published by Mephisto-Huis so maybe they used some of their creations for the photos.  Without any other input I am going to assume this was actually built by Mephisto-Huis, but if you have any more information let me know.

Either way it came with a clear lid which was a nice touch.  The opaque lid version can be seen here.

In the ads that ran with this they say you can deal out from 2-50 cards.  In my tests things become less reliable after about 25-30 cards.  It can work but it is much more reliable before 25.  It is easy enough to ensure that happens so I don’t consider this an issue.

This version is very reliable and as long as the batteries are fresh and you don’t add too many cards works cleanly every time.

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Eddy Taytelbaum has no equal and inspired the mini-magic line that Alan Warner took on as the next generation with splendid results. Eddy invented this effect and like many of his creations, including his amazing Mummy, it is the gold standard.  It is hard to always tell by photos alone, but with every single Taytelbaum effect I have owned they always work so smoothly.  This particularly effect is no different.

I have seen others copy this effect, but there is clearly NO comparison to the original. The slide is so elegant as only Eddy can handcraft. It’s all wood with a beautifully applied dark green paint and his signature gold striping on the edges. The paint job is so smooth I can only think of Milson-Worth as the only other builder with such excellent results. It is hinged so it can be opened to expel any suspicions (the slide is ungimmicked). A brass hinge at one end keeps the slide locked closed.

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One of my favorite glass penetrations is the Glass (Quadruple) Penetration that was invented by Peter Warlock in 1937. It is sometimes known as the English Glass Penetration and there have been a number of versions created, even as recently as 2020 when Magic Wagon created their Atomic Glass Penetration.

This is a very nice version of the Warlock effect created by Abbott’s – sadly although it is the exact same method as Peter Warlock’s version there is no mention of the inventor online or in the instructions.  I always find it sad when  a large company like Abbott’s chooses not to acknowledge the inventor of a well known effect such as this.  Even the name, Soft Glass, which sounds kind of cool, is not Abbott’s idea – it came when Jim Sherman of N.M.C. released their own version of Peter Warlock’s Glass Penetration (with permission from Davenport’s who held the rights at the time).  However, in N.M.C.’s catalog they did at least acknowledge the inventor as Peter Warlock (though early adverts did not).

Abbott’s original released this c. 1946 and this is a surprisingly good version by Abbott’s re-released in 2021.  It works very well and looks amazing.  The current routine that Abbott’s uses is a little different from many other Warlock versions – instead of having four needles to push through each hole they thread the needle through each one. I actually like this presentation and it flows quite well.

I think it helps to also begin by tapping the glass to show it solid with a full size magic wand as an extra convincer.

Includes:

• • The Soft Glass frame (complete with real glass).
  • A wooden needle with long ribbon.
  • A stylish wand (bonus: $49 retail).
  • Four metal needles with ribbons (bonus: should you want to do the Warlock presentation)

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This is another rare Jack Hughes classic and is a great way to finish Card Go.

It is a great idea, but I found this a little tricky to do smoothly but we’ll see how it looks in the video after I’ve had some more practice.  It could easily be the age of the unit (almost 80 years!).

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The legendary British Inventor, Craftsman, and Dealer, Jack Hughes, invented Card Go c. 1938 when he was building magic for Davenport’s. 

This is a very rare find and the first time I have seen this improved version from Jack Hughes. This is even better and smoother than the original Jack Hughes version.

• It works with both Bridge and Poker sized cards
• Allows for more than one card to be vanished with zero reset.  You can vanish one after the other up to ten cards (not that you would want that many, but multiple vanishes does look good).
• The release uses two prongs made from clock springs, one on either side, which are very reliable and make for a clean vanish almost every time.
• Easy load – just drop the card in the frame (as though it was just a frame!).
• No premature Vanishes.
• The Vanish does not require visual queues, you can stare at the audience the whole time.
• Never misses – some versions of Card Go can miss and seeing a card flutter to the floor maybe funny but it is not very magical.
• Almost silent operation.

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This was created by Bob King c. 1990 using an improved version of the Modulo Arithmetic Principle.  Liam Montier has reworked it to use the ‘game-show’ presentation and suggested added the buzzer.

I started performing this effect this holiday season and I love it.  I changed the routine a little so that the spectator would always win something. It was a big hit with a wonderful surprise ending.

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This is one of best effects that Paul Richards has ever created! The gimmick is based upon Michael Pizzolla’s Synchronicity III c. 1987.  Though the gimmick that Michael uses was originally invented by Richard Himber and released as Thought Control c. 1957.  Luckily, Paul revamps the gimmick and takes the routine into quite a different place and creates a very unique and entertaining routine.

It looks different, has many uses and the cards can be freely examined if you desire at the end. The selection process could not be cleaner and you can make up your own stories to suit your performance.

I found that taking real book covers and altering the titles to match the words worked very well for me and I heard some gasps in the audience on the final reveals – “no way!”

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Although Okito almost certainly didn’t invent this type of production tube he did feature it in his act and Michael based his beautiful version on Okito’s versions featured in Dr. Albo’s books: The Oriental Magic of The Bambergs and The Ultimate Okito.

It makes for a wonderful production device because it can be used anytime during the act, is self-contained, easy to do and has a large load capacity.

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This is an Haenchen Die Box made in Honduras Mahogany. It has a single door gimmick and a fairly unique feature that of: controllable sliding sound. This means you can control when the sound is made or not as you tip the box from side to side. I have not seen this feature on any other Die Box I’ve owned and really like it 🙂

The locking single door gimmick allows you to show a die on the box or not.  Haenchen produced boxes with no gimick, a single door gimmick (like this one), and a double door gimmick.

This is a nicely made box that will last for many years.  These are not as exotic as some of the Mel Babcock beauties, but still a fine prop.

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Magic Wagon had another great year in 2021 and as I look at the items they produced this year I continue to be amazed how they keep coming up with new ideas and have also managed to maintain their quality even during the pandemic.

Ghost Glass looks amazing and has a very clever mechanism that fans of Magic Wagon will love. It is based on larger stage item by Collectors’ Workshop called Toast of The Town c. 1997.  I particularly like the presentation by the always interesting Madison Hagler.   You can use any small object that fits inside the “glass” container and because there is no switch involved a wide variety of presentations could be developed if you want to spend some time playing with this.

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