5 Stars

This wonderful and colorful effect was invented by Eric Lewis as Peacock Fantasy and was inspired by an effect written by Larsen and Wright called “How the Finch Got Her Colors” in a 1928 booklet called the L.W. Mysteries for Children.  You can read full details of the original Lewis version in his book A Continuation of Miracles (pg. 125).  Eric Lewis sold the rights to Jack Hughes a few years later and c. 1952 Jack released Peacock Phantasy which is shown here.  It is described in World of Magic Vol. 2 (pg. 134).

It is a very intriguing effect and perfect for younger children with an interesting story and lots of color and action on stage.

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What a real beauty and this version works better too! I’m a big fan of Gimpy’s Light and Heavy boxes, and think the original Mighty Mini is amazing. So imagine my joy when I opened this bad boy up. Hopefully from the pictures you can see how beautiful it looks, all decked out in solid Walnut and veneered in a rare Ash Burl.

What surprised me the most is how much better it appears to work.  Maybe I’m fooling myself, but the mechanism seems to be more precise and easy to use. Gimpy says that he has tweaked the gimmick, and whatever he did it certainly makes a difference. There are only twenty of these so get them before they all disappear.

This is truly a beautiful item.  I purchased one back in 2009 when they were first released but picked up one recently as I came up with a routine that I thought would work well in the Porcupine 🙂

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What a lovely prop and effect this is from Rocky Clements. Very well made, easy to do and very convincing. The quality on this item is very impressive.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I ordered it but I’m very pleased I did. Most magicians, including myself, struggle with th*** work but this is so easy and all the hard stuff is hidden – even from fairly close-up the audience won’t see a thing.  When you see as much magic as I do it is nice to be pleasantly surprised.

This item is under-priced and under appreciated. I look forward to performing this in the Porucpine one day very soon. Great Job guys 🙂

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It is always a joy to add a new item from the wacky magic master himself: Chance Wolf at Wolf’s Magic. This is Chance’s take on the wonderful Owen’s Rabbit Rising Cards.  As cute as the original Owen’s was, there is no doubt Chance’s new version is even cuter and more adorable.

The method and set-up is very simple, and works perfectly.  As with all of Chance’s creation it is solidly made and with some basic care will last for years of performances.  Chance tries to scare you in the set-up video (don’t do this, don’t do that, and for heaven’s sake don’t press it here!), but I think once you have set this up once or twice you’ll be able to do it in your sleep 🙂

Chance also includes a great routine that will work well with children of all ages.  If I was performing children’s shows today this is precisely the sort of prop and routine I would look for.  Great job Chance.

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The Supalok was released by Mick Hanzlik in the UK c. 2004.  Mick eventually created three different sizes (Standard, Midi, and Maxi).  This is the Midi one and at about 3″ x 2″ it is the perfect size for most routines.  What I particularly like about this lock is that the whole effect is done in the spectators hands.  They handle the keys the lock and all magic still happens in their hands 🙂

The only downside was that the lock only comes with a few rudimentary ideas for routines.  Luckily after reading Steve Cook’s book Fake Genius this all changed because on page 26 there is a Harry and Bess Houdini  routine featuring Supalok and it is perfect.  So I decided to bring all the pieces together for this description.

This is easy to do, with a wonderful routine and a truly wonderfully engineered lock that is very hard to find these days.  I think you’ll love it 🙂

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A really wonderful impossible vanish from the clever mind of Wolfgang Grosskopf.  This is the original version that Wolfgang created c. 1974 and it even has his hallmark “WG” on the base.  This tower is much more detailed than the later ones released by Vienna Magic.

The other thing that is interesting about this original version is the routine is different – instead of a ring penetration, as the later ones were billed as, this is a ring vanish and reproduction from impossible location.  You could do either but I actually prefer the presentation where the ring just completely vanishes and is found somewhere else as I think it gives less clues as to what possibly could have happened.

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According to Dr. Albo in The Ultimate Thayer on Disc 7  what looks exactly like this tray was first introduced by Floyd Thayer in the 1913 catalog.  However,  in both the 1913 Magical Woodcraft catalog (Thayer & Christianer) and the 1916 Magical Woodcraft  No. 3 (Thayer) the only coin trays are the more traditional Multiplying Coin Trays.  I could not find a reference to this specific tray until 1925 in Thayer’s catalog #6 and it was called The Master Coin Tray, so that is the date I’m going with for now.

This beautiful mahogany coin tray is very different from typical coin trays because this doesn’t allow you just to secretly add coins, but you can vanish and exchange them too.  This means you can perform a clever routine where signed coins can vanish from one location and appear in a second location, even if you never touch the coins.

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The Flip-Over Vanish was invented by Jack Gwynne c.1928 , and first marketed by Thayer c.1933 and first published in The Sphinx in March 1935 (Jack Gwynne by David Charvet).

Though some claim that Gwynne did not invent the box at all. For example, Okito (Theo. Bamberg) wrote a letter to Alton Sharpe on Jan. 15, 1953 claiming it was absolutely untrue that Jack Gwynne invented the Flip-Over box (Potter & Potter Winter Magic Auction, Feb 2nd, 2013, lot 235). So as is often the case when tracking down the originators of these classic effects there is often some controversy.

Which might be why Jack says in the first paragraph of the Sphinx description:

“Although the fundamental principle is not entirely new in this effect, the method of presentation and the clean cut effect given, overcomes this fact and makes a startling trick.”

In David Charvet’s fascinating book about Jack he states (pg. 209):

“The Okito version, as explained in Dr. Robert Albo’s book The Oriental Magic of The Bambergs, was different in principle than the Gwynne version, with an expending load chamber used to conceal the birds; although the effect to the audience was the same. It is the author’s opinion, (his prejudice toward Jack Gwynne, notwithstanding!) that Jack was the originator of the Flip-Over effect and the Okito version was the first successful improvement on the original Gwynne concept.”

What I particularly like about this box is although it is often used to vanish livestock it is way more flexible than that. See some of the effects below for some ideas.  Interestingly Okito was also quite critical of the standard vanish that he says Gwynne did not invent and his criticisms are detailed in Dr. Albo 1 (pg. 92).  However, even though most versions of the prop do not have Okito’s improvements it doesn’t seemed to have harmed the success or adoption of the box as a classic way to vanish things.

In the video the routine I do is called Unfriendly Silks by Tan Hock Chuan, The Sphinx, Jan. 1937 pg. 317 (Effect 5 below). I read it and thought that was a novel use of this prop and thought you might like to see something different from a basic vanish 🙂

This is a beautiful, high quality version of the classic effect and made at a quality that will make you smile.  Whether it was Worth Magic or Milson-Worth later on, they both created the gold standard for parlor props that has rarely been improved upon since.

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There is no doubt Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is Clifton Mitchell’s signature effect and even before the 3rd build, collector’s and performers alike were talking about it. With this most recent release Clifton has truly created his masterpiece 🙂

One of Magic Wagon’s most sought after releases is Diceolation but it has nothing on Clift’s Choice, Chance, or Coincidence.  The later version, Mini Dicolation, is a better and much more practical effect.  I understand that Dicelocation is still very collectible and receives high prices, but it does little for me, and like a lot of Magic Wagon’s items it is mostly a Magician’s trick.

Clift has never actually handled either version of Diceloation, but he is aware of both effects and acknowledges their influence on his version.  He also correctly identifies that the effect that started this whole craze off was way before even Collectors’ Workshop’s Badlands Bob.  It was Marvillo’s Rota Die c. 1968 (though I filled in the earlier date and the actual creator and independently came across Rota Die as I was researching another item).

Once you hold one of these cigar boxes you know you have something special in your hands. But it is easy to drone on about an effect, I have lots of Five Star reviews on my site, what makes this different?

The reasons that Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is so much better than Diceolation include:

• The Outer box uses a genuine cigar box.  This is a brilliant idea because each box is different, looks beautiful, blends in, and has zero suspicion by the audience.
• You can perform the effect two times in a row (or more if so desired – though two is the optimum).
• You don’t even have to put the smaller box inside the cigar box for the second effect making it seem even more unnecessary, and simply window dressing.
• The smaller box can be fully examined and even has a brass pin to open up the whole thing for even closer examination.
• By the time the audience is done they believe they have examined everything they need to and are left speechless with no idea how you could have predicted the die correctly both times.
• The small box has been designed in such a way you could do a third round where instead of predicting you divine what they selected using a Color Vision technique.  It is another great idea contributing to why this release is such a marvel.
• The motion to make this work is tiny and works very cleanly.

When I first saw this I was so blown away I asked Clift to send me the best one that would look great in The Porcupine. Well Clift was not sure so he sent me three different sets to make up my own mind.

When the package arrived and I opened it up, my heart skipped a beat and instead of choosing one I chose all three 🙂

Each box has found a place in The Porcupine just ready for the next impromptu performance (one on the bar, one on a table, and one behind the bar).  This is the most excited I have been about a new magic prop for years.

Clift your new Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is an amazing beauty that I will treasure for many years to come. Thank-you 🙂

Click here for more information.

There is no doubt Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is Clifton Mitchell’s signature effect and even before the 3rd build, collector’s and performers alike were talking about it. With this most recent release Clifton has truly created his masterpiece 🙂

One of Magic Wagon’s most sought after releases is Diceolation but it has nothing on Clift’s Choice, Chance, or Coincidence.  The later version, Mini Dicolation, is a better and much more practical effect.  I understand that Dicelocation is still very collectible and receives high prices, but it does little for me, and like a lot of Magic Wagon’s items it is mostly a Magician’s trick.

Clift has never actually handled either version of Diceloation, but he is aware of both effects and acknowledges their influence on his version.  He also correctly identifies that the effect that started this whole craze off was way before even Collectors’ Workshop’s Badlands Bob.  It was Marvillo’s Rota Die c. 1968 (though I filled in the earlier date and the actual creator and independently came across Rota Die as I was researching another item).

Once you hold one of these cigar boxes you know you have something special in your hands. But it is easy to drone on about an effect, I have lots of Five Star reviews on my site, what makes this different?

The reasons that Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is so much better than Diceolation include:

• The Outer box uses a genuine cigar box.  This is a brilliant idea because each box is different, looks beautiful, blends in, and has zero suspicion by the audience.
• You can perform the effect two times in a row (or more if so desired – though two is the optimum).
• You don’t even have to put the smaller box inside the cigar box for the second effect making it seem even more unnecessary, and simply window dressing.
• The smaller box can be fully examined and even has a brass pin to open up the whole thing for even closer examination.
• By the time the audience is done they believe they have examined everything they need to and are left speechless with no idea how you could have predicted the die correctly both times.
• The small box has been designed in such a way you could do a third round where instead of predicting you divine what they selected using a Color Vision technique.  It is another great idea contributing to why this release is such a marvel.
• The motion to make this work is tiny and works very cleanly.

When I first saw this I was so blown away I asked Clift to send me the best one that would look great in The Porcupine. Well Clift was not sure so he sent me three different sets to make up my own mind.

When the package arrived and I opened it up, my heart skipped a beat and instead of choosing one I chose all three 🙂

Each box has found a place in The Porcupine just ready for the next impromptu performance (one on the bar, one on a table, and one behind the bar).  This is the most excited I have been about a new magic prop for years.

Clift your new Choice, Chance, or Coincidence is an amazing beauty that I will treasure for many years to come. Thank-you 🙂

Click here for more information.