Greetings from all of us here at Hank Lee's Magic Factory. We are definitely gearing up for the holiday season, in a big way!
The Holiday Extra is at the printer's right now, and will be in the mail in about 10 days. Lots of great new stuff. So, keep an eye on your snail mail box.
We have been talking with two fantastic acts for next year's Conclave. And, if things go the way they should, we will have both James Dimmare and Johnny Thompson with us. I hope you have already marked the dates, April 20-22nd, 2007. And, remember, it's never too early to register. You might want to do it today! Just click on the Conclave Button at www.magicfact.com.
For those of you who have been counting along with me, this week I dropped a little over four pounds. Hard to believe but true. The total so far is 31 pounds.
I asked Jonah, the father-in-law elf and a veteran of WWII (the big one) what he would really like this year for Veteran's Day. He said,
FREE SHIPPING: For the next 7 days, until Thursday the 16th of November at midnight, we are offering free ground shipping to anywhere in the US, including Alaska and Hawaii! Just enter the special code SHIPMEFREE in the Discount Coupon Box at the bottom of the first page of the online checkout at www.magicfact.com. We will happily pick up the ground shipping charges on your order. Of course, if you want your order sent Fedex Three Day (Express Saver), Second Day or Next Day, you will just have to pay the difference. Overseas customers will save as well! We will pay one-half of the Air Post shipping charges on your orders for the next 7 days! Just remember to enter the special code SHIPMEFREE in the Discount Coupon Box, or let the person taking your phone order know when you place your order at 800 874 7400.
Now, let's take a look at all the great magic in this week's Hotlist.
Snow Animator 4.0: Have the most spectacular Holiday season ever! Kevin James presents The Snow Animator 4.0!
This version of the Snow Animator is the best model to date. Using new technology, Kevin has been able to shrink the size and weight of the props. The sound is lower and the snow goes higher!
The 4.0 is designed to look like a common napkin holder on a very thin table. This design is simple, elegant and sets up in 2 minutes.
How much would you pay for a great finale to your show?
Comes with:
Napkin Holder and Table
One package of Confetti. Refills are available.
Poly carrying case (about the size of a hat box)
Instructional DVD with 15 years of performance experience and Kevin’s real work on how to make his special confetti loads.
Battery Charger. $1500.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8536&cat=0&page=1)
Hook's Chest: This authentic looking Captain Hook miniature pirate treasure chest will enable you to make a borrowed ring or signed coin vanish in full view of the spectators.
It can also be used for the production of a previously vanished small object.
The chest has a locking mechanism built into its floor which is made of brass to give many years of trouble free service.
Each chest is hand rubbed and finished to display its natural rich teak wood lines.
More than 70 tiny brass nails have been used, along with a genuine Sterling Silver antique look skull fitting.
The inside floor is lined with black baize for perfectly silent operation.
This beautiful little chest measures approximately 2-7/8 inches wide, 1-5/8 inches high and 2-1/8 inches deep.
Collector quality, each unique piece is individually numbered. $290.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8539&cat=0&page=1)
Bruised: Bruised just might be the most powerful way to reveal someone's thoughts!
It is a great new way to reveal a chosen or thought of card but it is much more than that. It can be used with coin tricks, ESP tricks, to reveal a number, name, initials, or word and so on.
Believe it or not, the actual ESP symbol, card, or word appears in a bruise on your body or someone else's body.
Imagine vanishing a coin and having it reappear in the form of a bruise on your arm.
Have a spectator throw a deck of cards at you and after declaring that you bruise easily and he threw it too hard, you roll up your sleeve to show the chosen card bruised on your body.
Or just have someone squeeze your wrist and send a thought to you.
The best part about this is it can be used as an impromptu trick with no setup. It takes less than a minute to apply and once the bruise is on you it lasts for days.
These are the exact same type of bruises used in the film industry and, believe it or not, you don't have to mess with makeup. These are made just like temporary tattoos, only they are made by a company out of Los Angeles that does this for all the major movies. When you put one of these on, it looks like you are really bruised.
Bruised comes with 15 Bruised cards (more than 50 bruises - letters, numbers, pips, a quarter etc.) and a DVD with a few routines plus endless ideas to help you come up with your own routines as well.
I put one on my arm, did the trick for Bonnie, and she thought the elves were beating me up! It looks so real! $29.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8544&cat=0&page=1)
Cesaral Psychokinetic Twig: The newest miracle from Cesaral Magic. The Psychokinetic Twig.
A twig is balanced on the edge of a table, on top of a glass, or in a spectator's hand. You then to the other side of the room. After exerting tremendous mental powers directed at the twig, it slowly moves and finally falls onto the floor! The spectator can immediately pick it up and examine it.
A nice presentation idea:
"I was walking around and found that someone cut some branches from a tree. Some of them had some kind of strange blood; they seemed to have suffered from the cut! I took one little twig from one of those branches with me, and I cleaned it carefully at home. Then I discovered that the twig behaved in a strange way. I put the twig in my hand and noticed how it tried to reach a glass of water that was on my table. I had the twig in my hand just as you will have it now (you put the twig in the spectators hand), and the twig tried to reach its needed nourishment of the water... the twig was trying to revive! You will now feel the twig’s same needs while it is in your hands (then the twig moves slowly on the spectator’s hand, until in falls on the floor, close to a glass of water, for example)!"
An uncanny display of your mental powers done with an "ordinary" twig!
No need to switch the twig
You can do the effect in the spectator's hand, then, without any reset, on a glass (for example).
You can combine it with Cesaral Psychokinetic Pencil and the Cesaral Psychokinetic Pen
The twig can be fully examined, as an incredible secret mechanism is used!
Fast reset to do the effect in any situation
It uses no threads or magnets in performance
No sleights are needed to do this effect!?Comes complete with gimmicked wooden twig, a powerful magnet (Which can also be used in many other effects), and an instruction manual.
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8537&cat=0&page=1)
Secret Life of Houdini - William Kalush & Larry Sloman: Handcuff King. Escape Artist. International Superstar. Since his death eighty years ago, Harry Houdini's life has been chronicled in books, in film, and on television. Now, in this groundbreaking biography, renowned magic expert William Kalush and best-selling writer Larry Sloman team up to find the man behind the myth. Drawing from millions of pages of research, they describe in vivid detail the passions that drove Houdini to perform ever-more-dangerous feats, his secret life as a spy, and a pernicious plot to subvert his legacy.
After years of struggling on the dime museum circuit, Harry Houdini got a break that put him on the front page of a Chicago newspaper. He never looked back. Soon Houdini was performing for royalty, commanding vast sums, and exploring the new power of Hollywood to expand on his legend.
At a time when spy agencies frequently co-opted amateurs, Houdini went to London and developed a relationship with a man who would run MI-5. For the next several years, the world's most famous magician traveled to Germany and Russia and routinely reported his findings.
After World War I was successfully concluded, Houdini embarked on a battle of his own. He created a group of disguised field operatives to infiltrate the seamy world of fake spirit mediums. In doing so, Houdini triggered the wrath of fanatical Spiritualists, led by the esteemed British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Death threats became an everyday occurrence, but the group would pose an even greater danger to Houdini's legacy.
Rigorously researched, and as exciting as a good thriller, The Secret Life of Houdini traces the arc of the master magician's life from desperate poverty to worldwide legend, initiating the reader along the way into the arcane world of professional magic. In this remarkable book, Kalush and Sloman decode a life based on deception, providing an intimate and riveting portrayal of Houdini, the man and the legend. $29.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8538&cat=0&page=1)
Portable Asrah: At last, an illusion that lives up to the term, “Packs Flat-Plays Big!”
If there were awards in magic for design and vision, Julio Lipan would be a sure winner for his Portable Asrah.
Your assistant, standing at your side, is covered by a cloth. Within seconds, she begins to float, first vertically and then horizontally!
Your hands are free as your assistant continues floating; you even see her feet moving!
Suddenly, she vanishes into thin air!
The traditional Asrah version requires bulky apparatus, equipment hung from the theatre grating and several assistants.
With Julio Lipan’s Portable Asrah, you can forget the apparatus, big stages and other helpers. The effect is the same, but much more practical now that everything is handled by you, the performer.
Using only one assistant, you can perform the Asrah illusion in a ballroom or even a living room! This is a great illusion that can be carried in a small suitcase. It folds down to 18" X 10" X 6". When the Asrah is fully extended it is 5’3" tall. What’s even more magical is that the entire illusion weighs only about four pounds! A perfect banquet illusion!
Don’t let the low price fool you. It’s a fantastic illusion! $795.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8540&cat=0&page=1)
Portable Hindu Basket: Could this be the first Portable Hindu Basket ever?
Julio Lipan has constructed what has to be another reputation-making effect. A full-size stage illusion that is easily portable! This illusion will hold most assistants without a problem.
The illusion is performed in the traditional manner. The assistant enters the basket. Bamboo poles are thrust through the sides of the basket. The poles are removed, and, as the assistant reappears, the sides of the basket fall open like the petals of a lotus flower.
What an advantage to be able to perform an illusion like this and not have to carry a large, heavy case! Making a portable illusion is one trick in itself. However, making sure it looks like it’s not portable is what Julio has accomplished. There is no sacrifice in quality. This is a beautiful piece of equipment! Comes with four bamboo poles, one sword and the stand.
The complete unit fits inside a case 36” x 21” x 9” and weighs 53 pounds. The whole thing will fit in your back seat. The base converts into the carrying case and everything comes apart and fits inside the case. This illusion takes only five minutes to assemble. $1185.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8541&cat=0&page=1)
Excalibur Block: When Anverdi first brought the Enchanted Ring to the United States, it was an immediate hit. We sold a ton of them. But, time passed and this wonderful item became unavailable. Now, from Europe, the most recent incarnation of the Enchanted Ring, the Excaliber Block & Sword.
While you tell the tale of the legendary sword known as Excalibur, you display a metal plinth with a slot from side to side, and a hole at right angles to the slot. ?
Place the ring, previously examined by the audience, in the slot. Then push Excalibur, the sword with magical powers, through the hole so that the ring is trapped in the slot.
Place the plinth on a spectator’s hand. Slowly lift the ring, which magically passes through the sword and is released!
But that is not all: Again, place the ring in the slot and it can only be released by removing the sword.
Wonderfully crafted props and a real fooler of an effect. Oh, and everything is examinable! $95.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8543&cat=0&page=1)
Floating Rose DVD: Kevin James presents Floating Rose The DVD, as performed by David Copperfield!!
A paper ball becomes animated on a spectator's arm! The ball twists into the shape of a rose which then levitates! The rose is lit on fire and changes into a real rose for the spectator!! Wow!!
The DVD contains Kevin James performing the Floating Rose from his award winning act. Plus David Copperfield's personal handling and adaptations. Plus several other invisible thread effects and moves! There is also a special section on invisible thread theory and technique. This section alone is worth the price of the DVD! $49.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=3186&cat=0&page=1)
Dancing Spring Table: This is a wonderful table that outsells the rest ten to one. It is the most popular. Very strong, smart looking, laminated top, heavy chrome bumper molding on edge, strong chrome plated castors, will hold 150 lb. Fast and easy break down for packing!
Dimensions: Approximately 36" height (16"x24" Rectangle table top) $240.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8542&cat=0&page=1)
And that's all the great new stuff for this week. A week closer to the big holidays! I have to tell you that it is not easy typing on the computer while running on the treadmill. But, I am getting better at it every week.
I hope you will find some time to spend with us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at our delightful retail store at 112 South Street in Boston. Either way, we welcome you with open arms, and, as you already know, we love the company!
Hank Lee
