What a beautiful set of Dizzy Dominoes from the talented Dutch craftsman Gerard Scanlan who runs Gallus Magic in Holland. I’ve tried quite a few variations of Dizzy Dominoes over the years and to make a good set of dizzy dominoes the contrast between the dots and background has to be clear, but also not reflect the light too much.  Plus they have to be the right size to be easily seen and handled.  These beauties are very smooth and flow between the moves perfectly and they come in a beautiful presentation case that also allows you to end clean too if you desire.  Also the color ..read more

You can’t keep a good Mummy down!  Inzani-Henley released at least three versions of their wandering mummy that I have been able to track down so far. The first time the Wandering Mummy was available from a Magic dealer was in the mid 1950’s from the German Magic Dealer Joe Wildon.  These were manufactured by Oskar Rey and were similar to the set produced by Inzani-Henley in England but more detailed, gold in color, and about five years earlier. Remo Inzani and John Henley obtained the rights in the late 50’s to craft and sell The Wandering Mummy in their own catalog. The first menti ..read more

The Abacus was first created by George Kirkendall c. 1977 and it is a novel and fun way to reveal a playing card.  Louis Paul’s version is perfection of course.  It not only looks great, with a clearly discernible final card production, but  it will last a lifetime. You do need to force a card using your favorite method, but the routine is easy and entertaining.  When was the last time you saw someone pull out an Abacus to check their calculations The whole outfit comes in a simple heavy-duty cloth carry bag. _EF An amusing and novel way to reveal a spectator chosen card a ..read more

Arcane is crafted by Louis Paul Productions and it is a really beautiful version of Harold Voit’s Magic Puzzle often known as Merlin’s Magic Elixir.  This effect is often confused with Winston’s Freer’s Tile Puzzle or Tile Deal, and although the effect is almost the same the method is quite different. When comparing Arcane with the original Voit Magic Puzzle, this set by Louis is truly unparalleled. If you’ve ever wondered why people adore effects crafted from wood, just take these beauties in your hands and play with them—you’ll instantly understand. Not only are they stunning, but even ..read more

This clever item created by Floyd Thayer first appeared in the Thayer Catalog No. 5  c. 1921 and although the props can be thoroughly examined both before and after the effect this little miracle is easy to do. There is one simple switch but it is done when their guard is totally down and there is zero heat on you.  The practice required is to make the actual appearance under the hanky as quick as possible – you want to try to avoid to be under there for too long I will say this is the second Thayer prop I have added (the previous one being Baffo) requiring a borrowed ring and the a ..read more

Cocktail Shaker styled Niffin tubes were made in the 1930/40’s by Thayer Quality Magic and Stull too. The first one was invented by American magician Paul Fox (real name Paul Fuchs) in 1935 and debuted by him at the 1936 IBM Convention in Lima, Ohio. This Thermo Canister by Thayer is a real beauty and certainly looks like some sort of thermos bottle instead of an obvious magician’s prop. I dressed up the routine and added a storage box that also provides ample coverage for the move when required which is always a welcome bonus, instead of having to introduce other props for cover. Includes: T ..read more

I really like Baffo, sometimes known by it’s longer name “The Baffo Orange and Ring Box“, and was hoping to demonstrate it this weekend.  Sadly, the main gimmick broke and I have been unable to fix it.  The problem with 100 year old props is sometimes when you actually try to use them, they break Anyway, this is a very clever idea created by Floyd Thayer and the method is certainly a fooler. Milson-Worth created a similar effect with their Orange Cabinet about sixty years later and although it uses a very different method (which has its good points and its bad) I prefer Baffo in mos ..read more

The most convincing switching device I have ever seen is the amazing Devil’s Mail Box by Thayer and later by Owen’s.  It is so clean you really can’t believe anything has happened.  After the initial success of the original design Thayer released a new version attributed to Lew Sewell and called The Devil’s Card Rise (sometimes the Mysterious Card Rise).  This new device really is a marvel. When I received this item it was a little worse for wear and did not include any instructions so I created my own based on the the original Devil’s Mail Box instructions, the advert and Thaye ..read more

I love this little plastic top When you need to force a color this could not be a simpler approach – just have the spectator spin the top and it will end up on the color you want every time.  It is instant to set and can be handed to the spectator to spin without worrying that they will figure anything out. When I need to force a color this is the perfect little device I know you will love, thank-you Sam Dalal! _EF This is a very simple and very effective color force with a very novel prop. It will permit you to “set” your “force color” right in front of the audience, and change this as ..read more

Thayer’s Great Ballot Box Mystery c. 1916 was hailed as The Wonder Trick of 1916 and what a beauty it was.  Louis Gaynor reproduced one of these for Stevens Magic here. This version was one of the first items created by Thomas Pohle when he was sharing a workshop with fellow countryman Willi Wessel in Berlin in the early 1980’s.  This was owned by Willi and I recently purchased it from him.  As far as I know this is the only one that Thomas made. Notice: Although this device works, the handle is quite delicate and I would not recommend using it for more than basic demonstrations ..read more