The Chest of Ching See by O’Dowd Mfg., Mike O’Dowd

After a number of negative comments that I have read about Mike O’Dowd’s version of Loyd’s Jewel Chest of Ching See I was expecting this to be a real dog.  But when  I received it I was pleasantly surprised.  It looks good and works very smoothly.  I did have to clean the mechanism but now it works perfectly and even though it is 40 years old the die vanishes with an instant swoosh!  I’m not sure why Mike O’Dowd dropped the Jewel from the title but that is how it shows up in the magazines of the time. 

Is Mike O’Dowd’s chest as nice as a Loyd or an Owen for that matter?  No, but it is also nowhere near as bad as I was led to believe it would be and the price is right too. It is also about $2000 less than Richard Gertlitz’s incredible Jewel Chest of Sea-Ling so if you were interested in owning one of the versions of this clever effect and don’t have any of the others, it would be a good place to start.

Effect: A Beautiful Mini-Illusion Suitable for Platform Or Stage; Club or Auditorium.

A lacquered wooden block is placed in a beautiful Mahogany cabinet. Cabinet has a large window opening in its front, top, and back. (See lllus.) A polished BRASS rod is placed through the cabinet and the block, locking the block in the cabinet.

Audience sees block in the cabinet RIGHT UP TO THE STARTLING CLIMAX. A hat is placed on top of cabinet. (As in Illustration.) BLOCK VISIBLY RAISES OUT OF CABINET AND INTO HAT, PENETRATING BRASS ROD AND HAT. Block is removed from hat. Cabinet can be shown all around, there is no block in cabinet. Block placed in cabinet is SAME BLOCK REMOVED FROM HAT!! USE ANY HAT. Easy to do. Easy to carry. Patter included. A great trick.

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