George Guerra

Christmas came early and what a surprise!

This is the latest from that remarkable craftsman, Richard Gerlitz, and, believe me, this new release is so much better up close than the photos that Richard put up on his site, and that includes my own. For some reason, the vibrancy of the apparatus is not captured. It clearly is a showpiece and the mechanics is to feast on for cleverness. The working is smooth and effortless, so you can stir up quite a presentation for a truly magical experience. Every detail has been carefully thought out and meticulously carried out in the construction of this apparatus.

The felt mounts at the base of each column provides perfect alignment and steadies each cover tube; no fussing needed. Use of small screws with opposite side signaling has subtleness and the action is imperceptible to the spectator on resting the orb. The smooth flatness of the material on the orb holder camouflages any triggering mechanism…no suspicious bulge there. Transparency in the glass columns removes any thoughts of being gimmicked. These are only a few fine points from a man known for perfecting his magic creations. Any faults…I can’t find any.


With the last three releases, Richard has outdone himself in the realm of mini-magic and I consider myself quite fortunate to be among the small band of loyal buyers able to acquire a Gerlitz magical piece on its initial release. I have written accolades on Richard’s magic over the years, and, yet, he still surprises me with every new release.

Quite simply…AMAZING!

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These little guys are the coolest!

WOW!…this is one cute little version of the classic "Square Circle" and it is the first wacky piece (actually that’s four as I bought the set) I’ve owned from Chance. It’s definitely quite unique, to say the least. The added touch with the back wall is splendid. Overall, it’s a beautiful piece and I love the routine on incorporating the Micro Funhouse and the Micro Take-Apart.

Keep up the great work, Chance, and don’t just stop with these four.

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Another cute little guy!

OK, this is the second review on the new Wolf Micro-Whaky magic set I received today. Normally, I wouldn’t buy a "production box", but this little one is so loveable to hold, I am sure that it’s big brother may be much more versatile due to its size, but there is potential with this one, too…again, I like the routine incorporating two other pieces and, hey, use one’s imagination and this is one bright little prop.

Beside, it looks cute on my collection shelf with my other stuff.

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Small, quite cute, and still packs a punch

So, this is another member of the new Wolf Micro-Wacky line. It is well built as expected from Chance’s workshop, colorful, and odd angled shaped…oh, it is suppposed to be "wacky". When I first saw it, I wondered what can I vanish in this little thing, but the routine with the other props solved that initial misconception. I am sure as I find more use for it, it will become quite a desireable little tool…assuming I can stop just staring and admiring my new set.

I did miss the "GONE!" under the bottom, but smiled to see the gold handwritten Wolf signature and serial number.

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Absolutely gorgeous little hip hop set

I have always had a love for this effect and thought the Collectors’ Workshop Rabbits were the cutest mini-version of it. Well, the Wacky Wolf has released the one to contend for the BEST! The use of magnets sure makes the operation automatic, but I will need to carefully read the instruction and practice as those little magnets are strong.

Though I love the entire set of his Micro-Wacky line, the Micro Hip Hop Magician is clearly my favorite…perhaps, it has to do with a wish I asked of Chance when the BIG version first appeared from Chance’s workshop…I recall I may have even offered to pay a reasonable sum for a custom smaller version at that time. Well, patience finally payed off…thanks, Chance for the wonderful magic.

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Can it get any better than this?

Having been off the buying spree for Gerlitz magic on 4 consecutive releases (with regrets on two), I am ecstatic with the last two from Richard. It was impossible not to desire True Love, but when I first saw the images of Modern Math on Richard’s site, I knew I was seeing something extra special. Where does Richard get the inspiration and vision for his magic is beyond me…a magical genius are the words I hear describing him and that may be it.

Mental addition tricks have abounded in various presentations. Owen provides us with their Miracle Slate and Mel Babcock has Psychic Arithmetic. Now, along comes Richard to take this trick to a grand level and showcasing it in gorgeous museum quality props. For any avid collector of Mini-Magic, Richard will have you drooling over Modern Math. It’s, without doubt, one of the most beautiful example of Mini-Magic I ever seen to date (but Richard could surprise me with his next release).

The mechanics are carefree and smooth. He thinks of everything…True Love being a good example. Whether the spectator uses 2, 3 or all 4 inner tubes, you have the total sum already predicted before the last inner tube is even assembled onto the apparatus. You don’t even have to look at any of the numbers at all and you can be at quite a distance from the props when you write down the final predicted total.

One problem I do see is waiting now in anticipation over the next several months for Richard’s next masterpiece. It’s not going to be easy, more so to the growing number of collectors who would love to be among the lucky few to acquire these very limited released magical treasures.

I just don’t know what I can add that others have already said on this man, other than thanks for raising magic building to a level very few have attained.

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What really started it all!

I must confess that it was the Gerlitz-Stull Prediction Watch that drew my initial attention to Richard’s magic back in 2001. Having been fascinated by clock tricks through Collectors’ Workshop, I seriously looked into Richard’s watch when I discovered both Richard as a builder of magic and this particular piece on Andy’s site.

Eventually, Richard sold me R101, the first in the series for public sale (he kept R100, the prototype, for himself). All his pocket watches are gold filled, which means it has a heavy gold layer on brass. A year later he sold the very first SOLID gold Prediction Watch, 14K2. The thought of a solid gold watch intrigued me and Richard was very helpful in searching for a beautiful, prime example to sell me. That became 14K3…he almost kept it to himself.

I don’t need to go into the Prediction Watch effect itself, as it’s been well told to great reviews by other fortunate owners, but of all my Gerlitz pieces in my collection, this watch is the "pride and joy" of my collection.

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How does the mechanics fit in here?

So, Richard Gerlitz has clearly established himself with his limited edition magic…the lucky few who are regular customers of his magic must consider themselves the luckiest collectors of magic on this planet. I know I am. Not too long ago, I was fortunate to acquire this little very early Gerlitz piece from Andy Martin. Only 10 were ever sold and I have been wanting to add my comments on this little guy.

As an admirer of beautiful woodworked magic (see my Alan Warner collection), this is quite an impressive piece. The craftsmanship is impeccable. Though it is called "Miniature", it does use a regular bridge size card. The "miniature" may allude to the fact that extremely close tolerances in the construction were involved in the installation of the mechanism to perform the effect. Whenever I handle the frame, I still can’t believe how everything fits in there. I am not sure what wood Richard used, but it looks like African Padauk to me. The effect works flawlessly and is a beautiful part of my Gerlitz collection. One sold recently on ebay for $3700. Though tempting, it will stay with me, even my wife advised I never sell it, which really surprised me.

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Alan Warner at his very best!

Normally I would not bother to ask Andy to put up an Alan Warner item on this site as I reserve all my Warner items for the Warner sites dedicated to his magic, but this one is special. For some time Andy has been telling me to get this item for my collection. Well, it’s easier said than done as this item was long ago discontinued and practically impossible to find on sale.

Fortunately, Alan’s wife recently found several mint painted mini-magic items stored away for years and long forgotten in a storage area of their home. Now, that is one true treasure find. I was most fortunate to get a chance to acquire these items and now that I own this piece, I can see why Andy was so excited about it.

It’s a clean cut and restored ribbbon effect, but what beautiful and ingenious little chest to accomplish the effect. The workmanship is superb and the method so clever that, when I first unwrapped the item from the parcel I took a good amount of time to just marvel at the construction and mechanics. One observation I need to mention is that the cute dragon design on the chest is NOT a decal, but actually entirely HAND-PAINTED! Thanks Andy for a great recommendation and to Alan for the great magic.

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The Undisputed King of Prediction Clocks

When George Robinson e-mailed me that he had one Gift of Time ready for sale, I hesitated to answer for a brief moment. Yes, I had asked to be notified if the effect ever became available some long time ago after reading positive comments on this piece, especially from John Mendoza, but I had just recently spent over $2000 for Nick Ruggiero’s Perfect Card. I just couldn’t see myself spending over $2000 again, but I gave in and ordered it. What a beautiful piece of magic!!

George handmade the cabinet for this BIG mantle clock out of SOLID Walnut in his own workshop…NO off the shelf clock here, folks, and the quality shows. He has updated the workings with "21st Century" technology that makes the first original Gift of Time from the old CW look like a joke, though to Nick’s credit, he promptly improved the design. The prediction setting is quicker than the eye can follow. The clock has a "Normal" mode, functioning as a normal clock keeping accurate time and George has also incorporated an on-off "Tic-Toc Sound" for old fashion realism. When the clock is in "Prediction" mode, normal time is being maintained and updated. The new version also has on-off "Half-Speed", "Double-Speed", and "Run Backwards" capabilities, though I haven’t discovered the advantages of these new features, yet.

The clock weighs in over 11 lbs, measures 13 1/2 (w) by 12 1/2" (h) by 6 1/2" (d). It looks like a $1000 mantle clock. It has an extensive self-testing and reporting capabilty so the performer is assured of a proper performance every time. For those in the know, the old models used that something that was extremely bulky and, in my opinion, impractical, but George has miniaturized it to 2 3/4" by 1 1/2" by 3/8". All comes well stored in an ATA case measuring 16 1/2" by 18 1/2" by 9 1/2". George and the craftsmen at Viking/CW have outdid themself with this legendary apparatus from Collectors’ Workshop and delivered the best version to date. It’s accurate, fast, easy to perform, and a miracle maker. It’s too bad, Andy limits the best rating to only 5 stars because there is no large enough star number to rate this beauty.

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