5 Stars

Another clean and interesting release from Magic Wagon.  On the cafe there are some comments about the use of the segmented block, but to be honest, if you are concerned about the block looking strange, you probably should be concerned about the whole trick, which is also something I’ve never seen. If the block concerns you perform Blok-Kord with no gimmicks and no strange props 🙂

I love the patter Madison uses to justify the block in his innovative and amusing presentation – “The World’s Easiest Rubik’s Cube.”

If you like clever, self-working props that look good this should be right up your alley 🙂

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This is Magic Wagon’s version of John Pomeroy’s 50/50 Prediction Chest that John first discussed in his 1973 book Mentology.  It was first released by John Pomeroy’s GEM Magic c. 1983.  All rights of the GEM Magic line were purchased by George Robinson of Viking Mfg. c. 1999 and in fact George was planning on releasing a version this year, even before I told him about the Magic Wagon release.  Production has been delayed but hopefully George’s  official version will be available in 2023.  The original GEM Magic box was larger and more ornate than the Magic Wagon re-release and I’ve included a couple of photos of the original as the last two photos in the photo gallery.

Thanks to discussions about this box with George Robinson I can also describe that John Pomeroy had the idea for this effect from an old item featured in Professor Hoffmann’s Modern Magic called The Card and Bird Box.

Magic Wagon say they were inspired by Pomeroy’s original idea, but it is not clear that they have added anything new, so “inspired” is generous. However, their box works very well and what is new and not mentioned in the original GEM instructions is Madison’s idea to use the box as a billet switch box.  This is a really great idea and as Madison says – “the Best routine” for this clever box.

This is my favorite effect from Magic Wagon so far this year and this was very much aided by Madison’s wonderful presentation – Go Team Madison 🙂

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Ed Massey invented this clever and original effect. The initial version of Squeeze Away Block first appeared in Blackstone’s Annual of Magic c. 1929 in a contribution written and illustrated by Massey. Commercial versions started appearing c. 1946.

This is rare item from Willi Wessel.  Unlike Tony Lackner and Thomas Pohle who have marketed their magic worldwide, Willi was never a full time magic creator and sold most of his magic to collectors in Germany, so finding his items is much harder.  This is a real beauty from the 1980’s.

Willi purchased a stage version from Milson-Worth, but he found it was not as effective due to the performing distance. He altered the routine to fit a close-up version and fooled many magicians at conventions.  Included in the instructions are details of how to make the yellow block reappear back inside an inverted glass which looks interesting.

You’ll love this beautiful version which looks amazing and works perfectly 🙂

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Talk about authentic – this beautiful creation from Outlaw Effects is perfect for that mysterious night in The Porcupine when The Macallan is flowing freely.  The Spiritas unit itself is 100% self contained  but this one also comes with the optional antique oak travel case with an extra drawer.   You can easily load this bad boy up with your whole act and be ready for some true wonders.

The Spiritas very cleverly hides two separate and powerful electro coils that combined can do all sorts of PK Effects.  Out of the box it comes with a wonderfully effective Spirit Bell which looks as clean as a whistle.  The bell can do single chimes or multiple chimes when you really want to get their attention (think Hector Salamanca in Breaking Bad). The bell hangs from a rig that can be set-up right in front of their noses. The small Spiritas  can have items in the drawer or not but when they look inside they’ll find nothing fishy.  There are no switches on the box and although they cannot take the box apart from any angle it looks perfectly clean.

There is also a Pendulum that can make use of the same rig used for the bell and this allows for answers to yes/no questions.  It looks quite eerie to watch the pendulum swing back and forth in two different directions, which is only possible because of the two coils instead of one.

The electro coils on this are amazingly powerful and you can make PK items jump, fly off the top or knock down stacked piles of blocks.  It is fun to play with and see what you can achieve and how far certain things can fly 🙂

The other good thing about this unit is it uses standard AAA batteries and has two remotes: one for the hand and one to be operated by your foot.  So this should keep running for many years to come.

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This clever little beauty invented by Ralph Elias “Eli” Hackman c. 1920 and beautiful crafted in mahogany by Floyd Thayer c. 1921 and appeared in various forms from other dealers over the years. It should not be confused with a sure-shot die box which looks similar but uses a very different method.

The supplied effect is easy to do and in fact at first I didn’t believe it would work, but it works perfectly if you follow the instructions exactly as provided.  You do need to be able to add and subtract from 21, but otherwise nothing is added or taken away.

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This was invented by Al Baker c. 1940 and sold by him and later Tannen’s and others.  An improved version was introduced by Al c. 1947 with a revised gimmick.  This was easier to use but unfortunately has a tendency to yellow and split after 80 years as I found when working on this 🙁

I was able to use the original gimmick and that is what I’m using for these photos and I also had a new one fabricated using a 3D printer and it works better than ever.

Regardless of the aging or gimmick this is a clever idea that is easy to do and looks very effective to the audience, and of course no TT’s are used 🙂

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This wonderful effect was invented by Louis Histed c. 1932. The sole manufacturing rights were granted to Davenport’s c. 1941 but this has not stopped other manufacturers building this over the years.  It is often called Sugar and Sand so be wary when doing searches since both titles seem to be used quite freely even in the same instructions 🙂

This Davenport’s version most closely follows Histed’s original designs and is very different from the Abbott’s version shown here.  Abbott’s uses a much simpler method but until I had seen the Davenport’s version I had no idea of the differences.  Apart from taking the idea without permission Abbott’s were criticized for their “mighty poor imitation” but to be honest the Abbott’s version is the more practical to use for repeat performances.  The clean-up is much easier, though at first glance you would think that the Davenport’s version would be easier – the main issue is friction, the sand, salt or sugar (whichever you use) gets in the way and makes it trickier to separate the pieces for clean-up.  With the Abbott’s version there are a lot less moving parts, which means less to get jammed up with sand 🙂  Another nice feature of the Abbott’s version is reuse is easier though if you are careful it is still quite possible with the Davenport’s version. Finally, the pouring with the Abbott’s one is more regulated so it appears there is more sand from the small container as you can pour for longer.

That being said the Davenport’s version does permit a cleaner more hands off performance which I hope to show you in a video soon …  Also, if you watch the Abbott’s video you’ll notice I have to do some “strange moves”  a couple of times to ensure that the mechanism is activated.  This is not an issue with the Davenport’s version.

You rarely see effects these days with this much thought and with props built so well.  Instead of the plain red of the original version issued by Davenport’s (see final photo) these have been repainted in the style of Voisin and look amazing. Another really fine effect from almost eighty years ago – they certainly don’t make them like this anymore 🙂

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This beautiful piece was made out of wood and hand-painted by German craftsman Dietmar Willert c. 1987. Dietmar made a series of Egyptian themed pieces and all are beautiful and highly collectible. The Windblown sands was made in a limited edition of 87 units with each set numbered on the base – this is # 34 of 87. Joe Stevens marketed these c. 1989 and included an English patter story by Bill Palmer.

As pretty and clever as this routine is, it feels much more like a collector’s effect as it stands and I think it needs something more to bring it home. And I think I have the perfect effect: Tony Lackner’s Hand of Cleopatra. 

This is a collectible and cute piece of magic but it probably won’t fool anyone who has lived in last fifty years. Bill Palmer’s story is good, but something is missing for this to really entertain. However, by doing this first and then moving into the custom Hand of Cleopatra you can demonstrate two levels of control – first the sand and then the movement of the hand itself, which can leave to a satisfying complete routine.

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One of the cleanest Per Clausen effects available which is easy to do with multiple phases.

The two playing cards were my addition, but I really like them and it makes the effect easier and more amazing in my opinion.  I include a set to use if you want to 🙂

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This wonderful effect was invented by Edwin Hooper and released by Jack Hughes c. 1953. This version was released by Supreme Magic under license from Jack Hughes c. 1968.

It is a really well made prop when Supreme used to make good quality wooden props and this still looks amazing all these years later. The house, frame, and stand are wood with thick and varnished High-Gloss Jumbo cards.

The routine is perfect for younger children – when I used to do children’s magic this would have been precisely the sort of  effect I would perform:

• It has a simple recognizable plot.
• There is lots of interaction with the children.
• The props are large, bright and colorful.
• There is a clear ending for the children to clap.

What a wonderful effect for the young ones 🙂

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