Tag by Chastain Criswell, Joseph Kolar

This is a version of the Kolar Card Trick invented by Joseph Kolar in the early 1920’s and used by him in his vaudeville act before it was first released exclusively by Thayer Quality Magic c. 1927.  It was also published as The Card and Ribbon Trick in Greater Magic (pg 505) and in J.G. Thompson’s My Best c. 1945.  Joseph Kolar was also the magician who invented the effect that became known as Seven Keys to Baldpate and Clippo. 

The one big difference between Tag and the original Kolar effect is you destroy a card every time you perform it which was not necessary with the Kolar Card Trick  as it used a gummed sticker with a ribbon instead of a tag and a hole punch.  Jack Chanin created a similar effect with a different, and slightly harder to execute, method called Card on The Line that was first published in The Gen, October 1952 described by Lewis Ganson and also later appeared in the Routined Manipulations Finale c. 1954.

These days playing cards are cheap and plentiful and punching the hole and leaving the card with the spectator and a tag (or business card as suggested by Mark Mason in the later DVD) is more memorable and a nice keep sake for the audience. There is no credit to Joseph Kolar in the Tag instructions, but there is no doubt it is the same effect and method so I’m including the credit here.

Effect: You’ll perform Tag for the rest of your life. Have any card freely selected, signed and returned into the deck. The magician then removes any card from the deck.

A GENUINE hole is punched through the incorrect card. Next a tag is passed through the hole and tied so the card is fastened to the tag.

• NO FAKE TAGS etc. IMPOSSIBLE Magic!
• The spectator takes hold of the tag as the card is returned to the deck.
• The spectator never lets go of the tag.
• The deck is spread and the spectator pulls the tag from the deck.
• The card FASTENED to the tag is now their SIGNED CARD!
• This can be given away as a souvenir, the tag is permanently fastened to their card.

Complete with gimmick and tags (any tags).

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