Andy Martin

In 1939 the Englishman Harry Leat invented what became one of the best and most enduring children’s effects of all time: Run Rabbit Run. Like the Die Box, with which it bears some obvious similarities, it has inspired craftsmen and dealers ever since.

I have tried many versions over the years, but all of them use the same basic mechanism to move the rabbit and perform the vanish.  Dan Wolfe has changed that with a refreshing face lift on this 80 year old effect.  Firstly, he has made it so that you can change the theme easily from Rabbits to Santa, Elephants and Monkeys (you have to purchase the extra skins from Dan directly).  Secondly, and most dramatically he has complete rethought the rabbit movement and vanish.  The rabbit that you see go back and forth is actually the rabbit that vanishes in the end and it is a very clean and satisfying approach and unlike any other version on the market.

The unit is quite a lot larger than most standard outfits and even comes with a stand should you need it.  It is made exceptionally well and will last most likely a lifetime. The set-up is quick and with Dan’s very clear and well produced video you will be fooling the kids in no time. 

This is a real beauty Dan, great job 🙂

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I was twelve years old when I first saw this effect demonstrated at Ron MacMillan’s International Unique Magic Studio on Leather Lane in London. Along with seeing Eddie Gibson’s Coin Unique for the first time this visit to Ron’s studio on my birthday remains with me because I had never seen such amazing magic before.; These tricks were truly unbelievable to my young mind. Over the years I have seen many versions of Ribbon Fantastique and it continues to amaze me how simple it is to accomplish something so clean and surprising. The phrase “it’s a fooler” does not even get close to how wonderful this effect is. Invented by the genius Ed Massey c. 1945, it remains to this day one of his most effective creations.

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Francois Danis is a big paddle fan and over the years has created some real beauties. His latest offering, Hyottoko’s Journey, is probably his most ambitious, beautiful, and amazing yet.

Like all great men Francois has also taken advantage of his wife’s (Pascaline) talents by protecting the paddles in a beautiful, embroidered case, hand-crafted by Pascaline. It really complements the paddles perfectly and I hope to see more of Pascaline’s talents on display in future projects from Francois 🙂  In fact, I’m ordering some of Pascaline’s beautiful handmade stitched gifts from her store right now!

For the story teller what is really neat about this set is that instead of being a collection of three separate paddles Francois has created a routine that brings together all of the paddles flowing from one to the next.

You receive:

• A paddle with three fans.
• A paddle with a sleeve and paper lanterns.
• A mechanical paddle with Noh’s masks.
• A small display stand with Hyottoko’s face.
• A unique embroidered case to store them all.

There are three sections to the included patter:

• The Fans Paddle – a five phase routine
• The Paper Lantern’s Paddle – a three phase routine
• The Noh Masks Paddle – a three phase routine

These are all brought together in an adorable story called The Concubine Story, and what is neat is the embroidered case is featured throughout the story as you remove and replace the paddles from the case.  You set everything up in the case before you start and you are off to the races.  What a great idea that makes it easy to manage the paddles and also gives the audience something pretty to focus on too 🙂

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Thayer’s Mystic Coin Slide c. 1921 appears to have been the first version of this type of effect, followed by Carl Brema’s Coin Slide or Magic Mint c. 1925.  The term “coin slide” should not be confused with the gimmick used to load a coin into the center of a ball of wool (or in nest of box routines) which was used much earlier.

This is Clarence’s wonderful version and not only do you get a pretty little box, adorned with a cute little rabbit, it comes with two wonderful routines (and a variation) which make it seem much more than just a pretty slide. So often with a coin slide it is kind of a one off routine – you change the coin from one coin to another, but with Clarence’s routines this simple effect is turned into a feature effect. And only 17 of these beauties were made.

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This lovely and unique effect was invented by the Dutch Magician Dick Koornwinder in the 1960’s and you can read about the original version here.  Tenyo is the only company that Mr. Koornwinder has officially licensed his creation to, regardless of all the versions you might have seen.

Tenyo’s version is different from the original because it has a locking mechanism with a memory, which adds a new dimension to an already perfect effect.

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Chris Taylor (aka Chris Doc Strange) has written a really entertaining and useful book here.  To be honest I have zero interest in being a hypnotist (in my early twenties I read a few books on self-hypnosis, but that was a long time ago and I haven’t really thought about it since), but I found this book not only a really good primer on pretty much everything to do with becoming a professional stage hypnotist, but it provides a good grounding for anyone performing to the public, and in fact has some good advice on life in general.

Chris holds no punches and it is quite refreshing to read a book in the magic related arts that is so honest, humble and to the point.  Chris does not oversell anything here, including his performances and experience, and comes over as someone who genuinely cares about the art and human beings in general.  He certainly is not in it just for the money!  

If you are serious about learning to become a professional Stage Hypnotist  this is the perfect place to start.  Chris takes you through how to start, all the pitfalls, and provides tons of real world examples.  He also talks about things like insurance and the stage equipment required.  It is all here and should you still want to read more you could also try out Ormond McGill’s work: The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism.  But I would start with Chris’s book, it is much easier to get into and you’ll learn something about life and performing even if you never hypnotize anyone.

Find out more about Chris here: www.DocStrange.co.uk

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This is the original pen used by John Cornelius, a Mont Blanc style thick black pen which was later changed to a cross style pen as it was cheaper to produce and easier to compete with a number of rip-offs that were quickly appearing on the market place. Also, there was a key update to this idea c. 1996 that did not require a switch called The Perfect Pen here.

This was the effect that caused a flood of imitators but you can’t go wrong with this beautiful and clean original from the amazing and inventive mind of John Cornelius.

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Lubor Fiedler invented this effect c. 1972 when it was released as Dosen mit Zeitzündung. It was independently invented by Phil Matlin of Canada as Silver Sanctum c. 1979, and later released c. 1985 by Viking Mfg. as Sorcerer’s Stone and again c. 2007 by Viking as Sorcerer’s Stone Improved.  It was also released by Howard Schwarzmann Limited Editions c. 1991 as Lubor Fiedler’s Time Control Capsules, and again by Hank Lee c. 2002 when he purchased the Schwarzmann line.

As with so many of Lubor Fiedler’s ideas it is a brilliant and fundamental idea with many applications.  And based on the number of times it has been released and improved it clearly has some legs and has inspired some great minds.

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I don’t know if I ever will perform any Cups and Balls routine, but I thought I’d should at least get a set of these heavy, beautiful bad boys and a copy of Brian Watson’s Anytime Anywhere Cups & Balls Book and Brian Watson’s Anytime Anywhere Cups & Balls – Double DVD.  This way I’ll have no excuse and maybe if I can hold on to these amazing cups I’ll break down and read or watch the routine and the rest will be history.  Only time will tell, but I’m hopeful 🙂

The cups themselves are amazing, and they won’t come around too often so this is where they will stay for a while.

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This was released through Busby-Corin, Inc. which was the Oakland, California company formed when Jeff Busby joined forces with the talented Close-up performer, Matt Corin, from 1979 to 1981.

It is hard to believe this amazing electronic beauty was released in 1981, as it looks and feels like it is from a later period, it is that well designed.  There are no signs of any electronics or switches and there is nothing added or taken away.  No remotes to worry about or lose either.  This is unit #04 and is the only one I’ve ever seen of this fine effect so I don’t believe there are many of these lying around and they certainly don’t come for sale very often.

A very rare beauty created by a master craftsmen for sure. They really don’t make them like this anymore. The woodwork and the electronics are perfect, and work flawlessly almost forty years later! Try that with some of the modern so-called electronic miracles.

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