The Great Leon Glass Penetration by Merv Taylor, The Great Leon

This amazing penetration was invented by The Great Leon  (Leon Levy, NY 1876-1951) and manufactured perfectly by Merv Taylor c. 1945.

It really is remarkable how effective this looks and how easy it is to perform. When this was first released in August 1945 it was advertised as The Great Leon’s Improved Glass Penetration, but the instructions were called “The Great Leon Glass Penetration.”   The original version came with 6 spikes, ribbon and skewer. However,  by 1955 a couple of further improvements were made and the instructions were now called “The Great Leon’s Improved Glass Penetration.” It was released with 11 spikes and an external release for the gimmick.

In the instructions they talk about threading the ribbon in and out of the holes in addition to the spikes.  To be honest I had mixed success with this because it takes extra time to thread the ribbon and I don’t think it looks as good as the spikes.  So I added another 6 spikes and use 12 spikes and don’t spend much time with the ribbon.

This version is the original version and I have replaced the original cheaper 6 spikes with 12 golden colored galvanized steel spikes which blend perfectly with the color of the box.

In 2017 Magic Wagon released their version of this effect called Penetration 360 and in true Magic Wagon parlance they say their version was inspired by Merv Taylor’s version.  Magic Wagon did not make any significant changes to the method.  They describe how their version allows 14 spikes to penetrate the box.  It is true this is not possible in the Merv Taylor version but this is simply because in the Merv Taylor routine he focuses on the ribbon going to and fro in the last few holes rather than all the spikes to add some extra interest.  If Merv had wanted to put all the spikes through it would have been easy to do by changing the location of the center holes of the top.  The way Magic Wagon describe this “ingenious addition” makes you think they did something special, whereas in fact all they did was reduce the size of the box.  Now Magic Wagon did create a wonderful version and I would not take away from that, but I do wish they would not take so much credit for the effects they recreate when what they frequently do is use the exact same method with improved materials or fabrication techniques and aesthetic changes to the design.

Effect: The box is shown to have a slot in the top with grooves cut down the sides that will receive a solid piece of glass. Which, when placed in the box, makes a glass partition dividing the box in the center. This allows skewers to be inserted into the box from top to bottom, and from side to side running parallel in both cases to the glass. However, the impossible is achieved when, with skewers still in place, others are pushed through the box from back to front.

A ribbon can be threaded through and there are skewers and ribbon each direction through the box leaving no apparent place for the glass to remain solid.

Yet, when the doors are opened the glass is still intact.

Found something wrong? Help us improve things by clicking here!