5 Stars

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 🙂

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This beautiful and clever effect was invented by R.S. Glover and first released by National Magic Company c. 1940.  The original version did not have the later improvement (c. 1947) where the backs of tubes open up too.  This is a very good improvement because it really seals  the deal that the correct color blocks went inside the desired tube.

Unfortunately, when this prop arrived although it was functional the paint job left quite a lot to be desired.  Some of the issue was age and some of it was in fact the original paint job itself.  It used a mottled finish which meant that the two tubes could quite easily be distinguished.  But because I liked the effect so much I contacted Rick Heath, the “Magician with a Paintbrush“,  for a full refurbishment. Rick’s beautiful work is not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Not only did Rick do a perfect job (without straying too far from the original design), and now it looks better than it did when it was new.

This is a really wonderful magical prop and you clearly show both blocks in the correct tubes all the way up until the end when the miraculous transformation takes place 🙂

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This is a variation of Anverdi’s Electronic Surprise Box using a cute little hand  🙂

It works perfectly and just uses two AA batteries.  The other thing I was impressed with this was how deep the deck of cards can go before the spectator’s card.  In tests I got to at least forty cards dealt, well that will cover every situation I can imagine.

I wasn’t happy with the routine (in Dutch) that I received with this so I created my own which is below, and now I love this little gem 🙂

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What a lovely effect and set of props from Jeff Busby and Dominique Duvivier.  The craftsman-made pair of miniature blackboards (4.5″ x 3.5″) with mitered mahogany frames work perfectly and look amazing. But what really brings this set home for me is not just the main routine, but the other three routines from:

• Gaëtan Bloom,
• Jon Gordon and John Hotowka,
• Nathan Phillips

and the 20 pages of instructions with tips, history, and all sorts of details that Jeff Busby was famous for.  By reading through each routine you might decide to choose a single routine or pick and choose from multiple routines.

For me I was drawn to Nathan Phillips routine with the production of the mini coke bottle as the final kicker so the first thing I did was to track down the perfect coke bottle (which I did).

If you are looking for a unique item to perform that is easy to do, magical, entertaining, comical and a little different, but is also an outstanding collectible you need look no further, Einstein’s Blackboards has it all 🙂

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This is Willi’s stunning version of Tenyo’s highly sought after Paddle collection. Willi has reproduced each of the paddles in the original set but made them in wood and they are perfectly beautiful 🙂

Also included are the 19 page of instructions written by Phil Goldstein and illustrated by Teruhide Sonoda. This was not an official release from Willi (or even sanctioned by Tenyo), Willi just created a very few sets for friends. So although the original Tenyo versions are rare and in great demand this set is even rarer.

The paddles are housed in a custom designed wooden case and each paddle is perfectly safe and secure in it’s slot.  By pushing lightly down on the end of a paddle the other end raises making it easy to remove the paddles from the box for performance.

These paddles are a Collector’s dream and you can’t help but love Willi for creating such a wonderful set 🙂

I have read through the clearly written and well illustrated instructions multiple times and attempted to perform each of the 11 effects presented and here are a few brief comments.  When you first look at the ten paddles you think what a cute set of bar paddles, but each of the paddles has a very specific purpose and it is quite incredible how amazing some of the routines are thanks to the placement of gems in certain locations.  Although none of the paddles has any sliding parts or items added or removed, if you bother to read through the routines I’m quite sure you will find some effects that appeal to you and are easy to perform.

Brief comments (see some effect details below):

1. Warm-Up: Easy to do and short and sweet. (*)
2. Solo: Easy to do and quite a step up from the warm-up. (*)
3. Duet: More involved but with a little extra practice this is a very baffling and interesting routine. (*)
4. Trio I: This one sounds very interesting and does not seem particularly difficult. I was able to do the basic moves but I am not convinced I could ever make this look good, spectators would want to see more of the paddle.  For those with more talent maybe this would be amazing, but I would need to see it to be convinced. It relies on covering up one of 4 gems in the center of the paddle and I am uanble to do that without screaming: “What is under your thumb!” 🙁
5. Trio II: This is very different from Trio I (using a different paddle) but I like it.  Takes a little more practice but still possible and amazing how much they can get out of a single fixed paddle. (*)
6. Trio III : This is based on Trio I and does not work for me for the same reason.  I am not sure this would look convincing without seeing it.
7. Quartet I: This is too tricky for me to do well.  Done well I’m sure it is amazing but I don’t have the time to put in or possibly the ability to make it look good. 🙁
8. Quartet II: This is certainly easier than Quartet I.  It requires some fluid handing but is not difficult and with some practice you have a great little routine that is different. (*)
9. Sextet: This is the popular Hot Rod effect with an improved force of the red spot. This is not a bad idea but it doesn’t do much for me.
10. Canon: This is another effect that requires quite a lot of motion with the hands being in the right place at the right time.  With effort probably looks good, but not for me.
11. Concerto: This is probably the most involved effect I would (or could) perform and it is quite an amazing sequence of events for sure. (*)

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According to Dr. Albo in (Albo 11, pg. 85 and The Ultimate Thayer, pg. 166)  this very clever Drawer Box was devised by Floyd Thayer c. 1930 and then later produced by Owen Magic Supreme.  It became known as the Joss House Drawer Box c. 1950 and was featured in Owen Brothers List #3 c. 1951.

The distinct stencil work is very clearly by Carl Owen, and this one is stamped Owen on the bottom. Based on the style of the earlier ones shown  in the Albo books it is most likely that even the ones sold by Thayer Quality Magic were also made by Carl Owen too when he worked there.

As far as Drawer Box evolution is concerned this came after the Hinged Open Back Drawer Box and before the Sesame Drawer Box and in my opinion the Joss House Drawer Box is the more versatile and most amazing production item.

When choosing the two loads to get the most out of this box you want to use silks and more solid items for the first load, to show some volume and then come back with some spring items for the second production as the second load is much smaller than the first.  Loading the second load can be a bit of a challenge too so choosing the spring items has to be done with some care.  I found spring flowers to be perfect.

Although it is close, this is not the prettiest Drawer Box I have seen, that honor goes to Milson-Worth’s stunning Sesame Drawer Box but it is certainly the most convincing one I have seen.

An amazing Double production 🙂

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This is a great looking and useful toolkit for the hobbyist and professional card worker.  It takes a little bit of practice to get smooth, but it is not difficult.  The key thing to remember is line everything up using the well designed jigs and change your blades regularly.

This unit has a lot of flexibility and although for full decks of short cards I prefer this type of Card Trimmer, if your budget is tight or you want one tool to do a wide variety of  cards The Nibbler is your solution.

The thing I was most impressed with was the corner short tool on the trimmed cards – I was creating some short cards for an effect and after I had used the corner short tool, I could not tell the card had been trimmed.  It looks perfect 🙂

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This may look like  a simple mini drawer box, but you would be wrong.  This is truly amazing precision quality.  The mechanism works perfectly and the inside of the draw is actually a metal insert which make the tolerances seem impossible and also means the gimmick it is pretty much undetectable.

Though I’ve seen a lot of neat and clever Mini Drawer Boxes, I’ve never seen one quite as unassuming but still amazing as this bad boy.  I shouldn’t have been surprised, after it is a Milson-Worth item.  Milson-Worth has always created some of the most amazing parlor and close-up items available.

The problem with a utility device like this that is so well made you want to create a routine worthy of the prop. Below I have included my routine which I tried to really maximize to do justice to the work put into this beauty.  The big stumbling point for me was coming up with a card effect that has some meat and was a little more than just producing or vanishing a deck of cards.  I’m pretty happy with my final routine which hopefully will show up as a video in the Porcupine soon.

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