Eli’s Die Box by Thayer Quality Magic, Ralph E. Hackman

This clever little beauty invented by Ralph Elias “Eli” Hackman c. 1920 and beautiful crafted in mahogany by Floyd Thayer c. 1921 and appeared in various forms from other dealers over the years. It should not be confused with a sure-shot die box which looks similar but uses a very different method.

The supplied effect is easy to do and in fact at first I didn’t believe it would work, but it works perfectly if you follow the instructions exactly as provided.  You do need to be able to add and subtract from 21, but otherwise nothing is added or taken away.

Effect: A neat circular mahogany box with a lid and three ordinary celluloid dice are shown and examined. The performer allows any spectator to place the dice in the box and write down the uppermost total after the box has been vigorously shaken.

This is repeated until a grand total of three shakes has been added. The performer never sees the dice or figures after they are written down, yet he instantly names the total, even before the spectator has time to add them. Or if desired, the number may be predicted beforehand, or caused to appear on slates held by the audience.

Positively no trick dice are used. Easy to do and a knockout. This box is beautifully made and finished in the finest possible grade. Box, dice and instructions.

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