Electronic Chess Piece Divination by Bob Koch, Jeff Busby, Matt Corin

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.

Here are some details from the instructions:

Effect: As you are undoubtedly aware, there have been many electronic divination effects placed on the market in the past few years, but none so innocent looking and reliable as Bob’s “Electronic Chess Piece Divination”.  Too many of the recently introduced electronic “marvels” look like gaudy faked pieces of apparatus. On top of that, many of the previous electronic devices marketed used electronic ideas which are twenty years out of date and there was no guarantee of the prop working 100% of the time.

The “Electronic Chess Piece Divination” is 100% reliable and is a completely natural looking prop. In this effect, the performer shows a elegant polished Walnut box designed to hold six plastic Chess pieces. Six spectators from your audience are invited to open the lid of the box and secretly select one of the Chess pieces while your back is turned. You then turn your back and each spectator selects a piece and hides it on his person. An important point to note is that ANY spectator may remove a piece, CHANGE HIS MIND, and REPLACE that piece and SELECT ANOTHER PIECE. Each spectator has a free choice of which piece he will select. You are then able to turn around and divine which piece each spectator has chosen, and also whether or not they changed their minds when they selected the piece. The use of six pieces, rather than the limited choice of three objects normally offered, allows you to combine the divination effect with a “Pseudo Psychometry” theme, if you wish. It truly is a masterpiece of electronic mentalism.

It’s all self-contained within the natural looking box. The electronics are completely computer controlled and expertly made. The readout is a bright L.E.D. readout which can be read under any conditions and is ingeniously concealed within the construction of the box, which can be examined by the spectators. The readout is reached with a simple natural movement when you pick up the empty box. The electronics switch on and clear automatically as soon as the sliding lid of the box is removed and placed aside. The functioning electronics are completely concealed within the very thin (%” thick) wood walls and lid of the box. As soon as the box is opened, the effect is ready to work. There is never an unnecessary drain on the battery supply, not only because of the automatic on/off feature, but also because even when the box is in action, a built in battery saver will automatically drop the level of power required and then restore the full L.E.D. readout when you need it. The set of six Chess pieces are composed of one each of black and white Pawns, Rooks (or Castles), and Knights, form fitted into the box. The Chess pieces are made from the highest quality regular Chess pieces available. The box is completely hand-made by Bob from select Walnut, with a satin hand-rubbed finish. It is a prop that speaks elegance and taste while looking ever so natural.

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