Andy Martin

For more details on Willi Wessel’s unique Alan Warner collection click here.

This effect originally called Bloxo, was invented by John Rice and sold by Harry Stanley c. 1960.  Eddy Taytelbaum created an exquisite version c. 1968 which many of the modern day versions emulate because they use a rod instead of a ribbon to secure the blocks.

This was my third Alan Warner effect when I was a teenager and really what began my love affair with beautiful and clever magic props. As a teenager I used to perform this all the time. 

There is no reset and everything can be examined and yet you are able to amaze them with magic in their very own hands.  You should see the look on their faces when they lift the miniature pagoda up and out drop their two freely chosen blocks and yet the metal spike is still securely held in their fingers.

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For more details on Willi Wessel’s unique Alan Warner collection click here.

There has never been any doubt about how beautiful Alan’s work is, but where he equally scores top marks is how he thinks through all the nuances of a relatively simple effect.  This is easily one of the cleanest and easiest multiple out predictions I have seen.  What is so good about it is that whatever color they choose the result almost looks the same and no matter what color they choose the result is shown directly and it looks perfect every time.

This is a wonderful combination of clever gimmicked props and a cleverly thought out routine. With this beautiful prop the spectator is asked to select any one of the 4 colors shown on the front of the fine teak holder. Then without any strange moves you simply take all 4 dominoes out and there predicted is the one chosen by the spectator. The dominoes can be replaced and are instantly ready for the next performance. It must be noted, that although there is no force of the colors the seemingly clean method of revelation of the color does not bear repeating to the same audience.

What strikes me with all of Alan’s magic is how he makes use of every chance to help the performer. In this case, the holder itself with the layout of the colors provides a subtle reminder how to remove the dominoes.

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One of Alan’s most popular items. It looks mystical and magical and is open to a number of bizarre and standard patter themes. No matter which three holes the spectator freely pegs the manikin inside the box always matches without any funny business or change in procedure.

The clever mechanism that Alan uses is itself quite magical because even though the instructions explain what is going on inside the box it is still a little hard to fathom how this crazy box actually works 🙂

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About twenty years ago Shamrock Magic were making beautiful wands and then they disappeared from the scene.  But now they are back as cloistersales on ebay with wands that are better than ever!

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This is a really well made gimmick from Greg Wilson and if I wanted to do a rubik cube effect this would be the one I would choose.

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About twenty years ago Shamrock Magic were making beautiful wands and then they disappeared from the scene.  But now they are back as cloistersales on ebay with wands that are better than ever! I really love this two piece wand – how could you not possess magical powers with one of these bad boys in your jacket pocket 🙂

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For more details on Willi Wessel’s unique Alan Warner collection click here.

I’ve always liked the look of these beautiful teak boxes. They are compact and strong and with the red and blue Chinese symbols look very striking. What is even better about these boxes is that they are a general switching device, anything that fits in one box can be transported into the other box: cards, billets, letters, colors, etc. You could use them in forces, do as I do effects, mind reading effects – the list is long!

There are no switches, flaps or external devices – the boxes are totally self contained and the method is just so very clever and very convincing. You will love how they look and how they operate – very different from any other card boxes I have seen.

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For more details on Willi Wessel’s unique Alan Warner collection click here.

As Willi Wessel created his unique custom boxes for each of his Alan Warner items he also created four Collections where he grouped together multiple pieces to form Mini Collections all contained in their own custom box.

I cannot think of anyone who has spent so much time and effort to store, protect and display Alan Warner’s magic or dare I say anyone else’s.  It is such a treat to see all of the effort Willi went to for one of his biggest influences: Alan Warner.

_EF  This first Mini Collection includes the following items:

• Li Chang’s Boxes
• Flim Flam
• Interchange
• Twister

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For more details on Willi Wessel’s unique Alan Warner collection click here.

Although Alan’s magic is beautiful, meticulously thought out and often very clever, for the most part it is not really suitable for Strolling or Walk-Around Magic. The props either require a table, have a fairly complicated set-up, or are simply too ornate to put up with the rigors of this type of Magic.

Not so with this lovely piece. The basic routine that Alan supplies is easy to do, works well, with some magical surprises and a kicker ending. It has a quick reset and requires no table and is always ready to go.

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For more details on Willi Wessel’s unique Alan Warner collection click here.

Interchange is an interesting and novel paddle effect that gets away from the usual paddle sequence by using an additional cover and plaque which works directly with the paddle. So although the paddle move is used, by the time you are done you are way past the move and can even leave the paddle and plaque in their hands at the end.

The idea to combine both effects into one is quite unique and when I look at all of the paddle effects I have owned there is nothing that combines a paddle with another prop in this way.

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