Andy Martin

This is probably the best version of electronic mental die type effects that began with the Dutch inventor Anverdi c. 1977 (over 41 years ago). It looks great, fits neatly in the pocket, and works flawlessly. The dice themselves are a good size being almost 1″, so they can be seen easily and they feel good when held in the hands.

However, I have one issue with this and in fact many of the creations by Marc Antoine and even LabcoMagic – they use rechargeable batteries that are not easy to replace. Now, they may last for two, four, or even ten years. But none of them will last 41 years like the Anverdi version which used standard batteries. There are a lot of battery options today and even if you use rechargeable batteries please use ones that can easily be replaced without sending them back to the creator or requiring a soldering iron!

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If there is one effect that seems to capture the imagination of all Magic Collectors surely it is The Mummy or Wandering Mummy routine.   The finest example of The Mummy has to be this amazing beauty created by Eddy Taytelbaum.

Between 1964 and 1966 Eddy Taytelbaum was shown either Inzani-Henley’s or Oskar Rey’s set by a friend and was requested to create a unique version. Which of course Eddy did, producing what many collectors consider not only the finest Mummy version, but arguably one of the prettiest and most collectible examples of micro magic ever produced.

(Click here for more history about The Wandering Mummy)

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This is one of Alan’s finest hours and over 40 years later still remains one of his most cherished effects.

In 1973, Alan Warner was approached by Max Randegger to design a version of the Mummy.  Max was given the routines, notes, and details for the fabrication of the Mummy by the widow of Oscar Rey.  Max supplied Alan with an Oskar Rey set and details and created and advertised his first version of The Mummy in 1974.  What is noteworthy is this was Alan’s first piece of Mini-Magic made in Teak, which of course became his primary focus in subsequent years.  Unlike the Oskar Rey, Inzani-Henley, and Eddy Taytelbaum versions Alan chose a different mechanism for the release and was the first to use a 3-D Mummy instead of a flat Mummy.  Alan, ever the perfectionist, was not fully happy with the release and so discontinued production of his Mummy until 2003/4 when he released Mummy II.

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This is Richard Gerlitz’s beautiful re-imagination of Loyd’s wonderful Jewel Chest of Ching See that was first advertised for $25 in Genii Magazine in November 1944 (Vol. 9 – No. 3). The Chest of Ching See itself is most likely derived from the Phantom Die Cabinet offered by Thayer Quality Magic as far back as 1912. In the Thayer Catalog #8 of 1936 the price for the Phantom Die was just $12.50. Owen’s also have produced an outstanding Phantom Die Cabinet that was advertised in the 1997 catalog for $650. Mike O’Dowd also created a version of the Jewel Chest of Ching See c. 1979.

But all of them pale to this rare and magnificent treasure released by Richard Gerlitz in 2002. This was one of Richard’s early releases and he only created ten sets. This Jewel Chest and Richard’s stunning Butterfly Boxes are by far my favorites. Not only has Richard created a stunning piece of apparatus to look at, he has also improved the mechanics and made it smoother and quieter and created a significantly more interesting routine involving the theft of Sea-Ling’s treasure.

These almost never come up for sale because there are only ten in the world and there are way more avid Gerlitz collectors out there, so when they do become available you need to move. Hard to believe in 2002 these only cost $795. Expect to pay a lot more than that today.

Highly Recommended for anyone who loves perfect and beautiful apparatus that will last a lifetime and appreciate in value too.

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If you think that rampant piracy in magic is a new thing, think again. In 1948 William W. Larsen, Sr. (the owner of Thayer Mfg. Co.) took out an impassioned full page ad in Genii Magazine expressing his disdain for the inscrutable magic dealers pirating Thayer’s Prediction Chest (which retailed at the time for $250). Mr Larsen’s solution was to introduce the beautiful and practical Dr. Q Prediction Chest for a fraction of the price of its bigger brother (just $12.50 then) in the hope that the pirates would wholesale the Dr. Q instead of ripping the bigger one off, and that the average magician would purchase from Thayer directly. I don’t know how successful Mr. Larsen was in his endeavor of stopping the ripoffs, but I am thankful for the introduction of this amazing and versatile prediction chest.

This is the Owen Magic Supreme version and although I’ve seen a painted one from the Carl Owen period I prefer this one as is more natural and closer to the original Thayer version. Although some of the double box and key loader systems for prediction chests are cool and James Bond like, for my money you can’t go wrong with the Dr. Q Prediction Chest. It is a manual load but the secret is hidden so well, and the box is made so well it really goes above suspicion, looks perfect when you reveal a full size prediction, and never fails on you.

If I had to choose between my other favorite Prediction Chest by Tim Star and the Dr. Q it would be real close and the Dr. Q is five times cheaper and more versatile. I think you’ll love it as much as me!

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The Ball Vase was first described over 250 years ago in Dean’s The Whole Art of Legerdemain (1763). The Ball Vase is probably one of the most common effects in every Children’s Magic Set and for this reason it quickly gets ignored because we’ve all seen them before.

However, when you pick up a Ball Vase from Richard Spencer everything changes. These beauties are breathtaking and look and work flawlessly! As much as I love the work created by my friend Kent Bergmann at 3D Magic Works you’re never going to compete with the almost primal attraction many of us older guys have to real wood. The touch, weight and smell just trigger something that synthetic materials can’t – solid wood just feels right (although I will say Kent is getting closer on each release!).

These Ball Vases in Mesquite are at a price point that you don’t need to break the bank to purchase one. However, you have to ask yourself when you see something this beautiful how long will it be before you are stampeding for one of these bad boys? I don’t think it will be very long at all.

These are perfect. Highly Recommended for Magic Collector’s and Lovers of Fine Art everywhere.

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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 2008 when Magic Wagon created their Mod Quad Penetration. It is a wonderful illusion and a real fooler for sure.

The Miracle Mirror Penetration invented by Magiro and enhanced by his good friend Lothar Vogt with these features:

Mirror:

• It’s not a plastic window; it’s a real mirror (with a hole)
• You can hang it at a wall/septum
• The top is closed (but you can remove the mirror)
• The words on the back are a good reason to show the back of the mirror. You can remove them.
• And others

Shell/Sleeve:

• The back of the original is fully black.
• The four yellow squares in front and back
• The big hole in front, so you see always the mirror
• The cover for the hole – hold with magnets
• The cover for the long hole at the back. So you can show front and back!
• And others

was an amazing mirror penetration. Magiro’s idea uses a similar underlying method to the Warlock version, but it has a number of key changes and improvements that make it even more perplexing. The biggest change is that instead of just penetrating a pane of glass the penetration occurs to a framed mirror that is 100% isolated from the world with a solid cover which can be shown from all sides at any time. Nothing is added or taken away and it really is one of the cleanest penetrations you will ever see.

Magiro’s mirror is being reproduced here by the talented Paul Lembo with guidance from the principle of the Limited Edition Magic line, Joe Long. This is the strictly limited Deluxe Hardwood version and only six of them exist.

(Notice in the Paul Lembo video above he forgets to remove the cover at the end to show the mirror in place, which is a key part to showing the effectiveness of the illusion.)

Highly Recommended to lovers of perplexing and beautiful magic everywhere.

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In 1989 this amazing beauty was created by the talented German craftsman Thomas Pohle and sold by Eckhard Boettcher as a limited edition. I have only ever seen one of these before and when you see it in person you can see how much extra effort Thomas put into this bad boy.  The pieces are solid and perfectly made.

Not only are the props exquisite there is a lot of magic packed into the routine which is also simple to do.

• A tall wooden tower is displayed with three removable doors. The drawer of a small cabinet is opened and a large yellow Chinese “coin” is removed. The cabinet is clearly empty and the drawer is slid shut.
• The coin is dropped into the top of the tower where it is seen to fall freely to the bottom. It’s removed. Two solid wooden blades are now inserted into the tower dividing it into three separate sections. The doors of the tower are slid shut.
• The coin is dropped into the top section, stopping on the solid blade which prevents it from falling. At the performer’s command, the coin penetrates through the first blade … and then the second blade!
• All is clearly displayed. For the kicker ending, the coin is dropped again into the top of the tower, but this time when the doors are removed, it’s seen to have vanished completely!
• The small drawer box is once again opened and the coin is seen to have returned.

The magic is achieved with three different mechanical features secretly and seamlessly built into the apparatus with nothing added or taken away and reset is a snap.

Highly Recommended for collectors and performers of clever close-up magic.

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In 1995, consummate magic collector William H. McIlhany  commissioned the master craftsman and inventor Martin Lewis of Magickraft Studios to create this beauty.  And what a wonderful and rare piece of real magic  it is.  The effect comes from Martin’s father’s (Eric C. Lewis) book The Crowning Miracles  (1983, pg: 176-179), and according to a letter from Martin Lewis there were only seven created.

Not only is this a beautiful prop the way it works is truly magical. There are no buttons to press, nothing to replace after each performance, no electronics and barely any sounds. You fill the elegant wine glass, place it on the tray, briefly show the inside of the wooden chimney, and place it over the glass, and in just a few seconds nearly all of the liquid disappears.  Really a clever piece of magic from an idea by Louis Histed.

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A beautiful set of dominoes were custom created for Victor and Marcelo Contento by a real Domino manufacturer in 1998 to showcase this effect by Kirk Charles.  A standard set of dominoes is displayed and a prediction is made.  The dominoes are placed into the velvet bag, shaken and spilled on the table.  All the face down dominoes are removed.  The remaining face up dominoes are collected, placed in the bag and the process is repeated until just one domino remains – it always matches the prediction – which can be different for repeat performances.

I love this easy to do effect and it has been unavailable for almost twenty years and these dominoes will last a lifetime.  They also match the other domino effect released by Victor and Marcelo: Crazy Dominoes.

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