Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. It’s school vacation week here in Boston, and what an absolutely beautiful week it has been! Bright sunshine. Balmy temperatures. Red Sox winning like there’s no tomorrow. It’s all good.
Lucas took advantage of the time off from school to take a quick trip to Oberlin College. He wanted to take a lesson with a couple of the voice professors, check out the dorm rooms, take a shower in the co-ed bathroom and just generally see what life is like at the college. He came back with glowing reports, and has decided (I believe) that Oberlin is his choice for September. Bonnie and I are very pleased, as Oberlin has a wonderful reputation, on both the academic side and the conservatory side. He will have a fabulous four years. Right now, we are planning a major bank heist to pay for the first year’s tuition. You’ll read about it in the newspaper, I’m sure. Nothing better than buying a new Lexus every year for four years. Better make that a Mercedes S Class, as Aron is going to be in school as well. And, I thought diapers were expensive. Buy more magic, please.
For those of you with eagle eyes, you will notice a new Category in the Category list of the online catalog at www.magicfact.com. The Clearance Category. After more than 30 years in business, there are some items that we find ourselves really overstocked with. These are good items that we just happen to have a ton of. So, we have reduced the price on these items by a lot, some of them as much as 40%. Check these items out. The savings really is mind-boggling on all of them. Buy several and give them as gifts or bring them to the club meeting for an auction. At this price you, can’t afford not to buy some!
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s excitement!
The Quik-Sale continues until Saturday night, but then it’s FREE SHIPPING: Until Thursday the 1st of May at midnight, we are offering free ground shipping on any order over $25.00 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. Note: Your email confirmation from our online system will still list the shipping as free, but we will charge the difference when we ship your order. Overseas customers will save as well! We will pay one-half of the Air Post shipping charges on your orders until the 1st! 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 this week’s Hotlist!
Matrix: Mickael Chatelain’s latest, Matrix, will knock your socks off!
The effect is straightforward and visual. Using a single Bicycle card with four holes punched in it, you present the classic Matrix effect.
Under your control, the holes move around the card and finally gather in one spot. The card is then handed out for examination! Unbelievable, to say the least
* Visual, self-working and totally amazing
* Presented on television by Bernard Bilis
* A new principle, never before used in this type of effect.
Comes complete with performance and instructional DVD. $84.95 (30.1329)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9398&cat=0&page=1)
Electronic Psychic Die: The large three inch colorful die fits into a beautiful black ebony case. Spectators choose any number on the die, place it into the case with that number up and close the box.
You are out of the room while this is done and yet you are instantly able to reveal the chosen number!
You do not handle the black box. No vibrations. All done quickly and efficiently. Know the number within seconds!
In the 1960s the famous Anverdi Die Box was ahead of its time. Since then, there have been several versions of this great effect on the market, but none at such reasonable price as this one!
Easy to carry and easy to perform. Great for trade shows as well as close-up. You will have fun with this one! Color of die may vary from one featured in this photo.
$475.00 (40.629)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9391&cat=0&page=1)
Bikers – Gordon Bean: A packet trick that actually makes sense!
Have you ever looked at the Joker in a Bicycle deck? I mean really looked—close enough to see that the royal figure out for a ride isn’t just any royal figure; he’s the King of Spades.
Based on this observation, the effect of Bikers is crystal clear and progressively more amazing.
Four Jokers are slowly displayed, and then, one after the other, three of them “get off their bikes,” transforming into Kings as the cards are openly spread between the magician’s hands. As a climax, the last change occurs in the spectator’s hand, leaving a fully examinable card.
Legitimately using only four cards, the method allows each card to be shown front and back, and requires only basic sleight of hand.
Finally, like everything from Gordon Bean—including his last release, the best-selling Entourage—this is designed for the real world, not just a static video camera. No table is needed, no cards are stuck together, and the reset is automatic. As a bonus, there are multiple handlings for finishing with four examinable cards.
Also included is Gordon’s last-minute creation Seven Kings, an eye-popping transposition between kings and jokers that ends with four examinable kings on the spectator's palm. Fully described in a special insert, Seven Kings is tailored for the walk-around performer, combining high impact with total reliability and instant reset. It also has the advantage of requiring no false counts, and only a bare minimum of card handling ability.
Comes complete with all necessary cards custom printed by the U.S. Playing Card Company. $20.00 (30.1328)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9396&cat=0&page=1)
Long Salt Pour: Roy Benson, Fred Kaps, Jeff Hobson, and Jerry Andrus have all been inspirations to the Long Salt Pour. You not only two beautifully made long pour salt gimmicks, one large and one small, but you also get Reed McClintock's creative take on this classic effect.
Reed McClintock's Sands of Time
Begin by telling a story about once being a watch repairman and luckily enough you still have your repair kit. Remove your watch for all to see, placing it in your hand and pulling a hammer out of your kit. Act as if you're going to smash your hand, but explain that it's just a joke. Squeeze the hand that's holding the watch and a rush of sand falls to the floor. Reach into your pocket to stop the flow and then pull your hand out to show it empty.
A seemingly endless flow of sand is now pouring out of your other hand. Once the sand stops pouring you show your hands empty. Then, use the hammer as a wand, waving it over your arm. Pull your sleeve back to show the watch has reappeared on your wrist. Accept your applause and show both hands empty. One final time, sand pours out of both hands. You take another bow as you show your hands completely empty again. $225.00 (60.1517)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9402&cat=0&page=1)
Eject – Mathieu Bich:
The magic happens by itself...literally!
A card is freely selected and placed back into the deck. The magician places the deck onto the table. After a few magic words, the deck ejects a single card - the signed card!
The routine can be done by staying away from the deck of cards. There is no connection between you and the cards. Easy to do! Many routines shown for various effects. $28.00 (30.1330)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9400&cat=0&page=1)
Blindfolded Car – Devin Knight:
Are you ready to take your magic to the next level? Enhance your magic with one of the most amazing publicity stunts every created. The Blindfold Car Drive is unsurpassed for getting front-page publicity.
This isn’t your normal blindfold drive. Not only do you drive a car blindfolded, but the windshield is covered with newspaper! People may suspect you could see through a blindfold, but how can you drive with the windshield covered? You can even have a reporter ride in the car with you and have no clue as to how you are driving the car!
This new book by Devin Knight, an the early innovator of the Blindfolded Car, reveals all the secrets he has used to garner millions of dollars worth of free publicity.
Four different methods are revealed! How to drive a car with its windshield painted solid black. How to drive a car with a sunshade over the windshield blocking the view. Two ways to drive a car with cardboard or newspaper taped over the windshield!
The Speedway Drive is taught. Learn how to drive a car with its windshield covered at speeds up to 70MPH around a speedway. This stunt can be sold to a speedway as a pre-race event for hundreds of dollars.
Some of these secrets have baffled the smartest minds in magic. Some have never appeared in print before and many of these secrets are revealed for the first time. Devin holds nothing back and reveals how to do this. This book covers all the legalities of doing this.
Not only is this a great publicity stunt, but this book shows you how to get paid hundreds of dollars for doing it! The book is full of tips and ideas for adding comedy. The handcuff drive is fully explained in the book, adding an element of danger to any blindfold drive.
The Blindfolded Car feat appears totally impossible, but you will learn the secrets just by reading this book. Even if you never do the feat, the secrets will fascinate you and add to your magic knowledge. No gimmicks. No electronic devices. No special car needed.
Bonus Effect: Stopping a car with your mind. Learn Devin’s secret of letting a reporter drive your car and causing the car’s engine to stall just by concentrating. And you can make another car passing you stall in the road. The secret is ingenious.
8.5 x 11 comb-bound book with 43 pages full of illustrations detailing everything you need to know. Please note these feats should only be done on closed roads, fairgrounds and parking lots. Never on open highways.
Sold for educational purposes only. Use this information at your own risk.
Learn to drive the way Bonnie has been driving for years! $29.95 (40.630)
“I found this book to be fascinating as it gives the reader a feeling about what the real work in such feats is like. It is real, nitty gritty stuff. If you are a serious mentalist, it is something you should have in your library. You never know when you may need this information. The practicality of these feats should open your mind up to similar mentalism effects. I do recommend this book highly.” - Richard Osterlind
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9393&cat=0&page=1)
Rainbow Deck With Instructional DVD: The most fantastic deck of cards ever made.
For years professional performers “in the know” have spent over $100 per deck in search of the perfect Rainbow Deck: a poker sized, white bordered deck with 52 completely different back designs. Yet, a quality deck has never been available until now!
Imagine the look on your audience's faces when the apparently normal deck you have been using is ribbon spread to reveal 52 different colored back designs in an explosion of breathtaking color and beauty!
Printed and produced by the U.S. Playing Card Company on genuine Bicycle stock, this deck has no equal in shock value and color.
A knockout closing routine that cannot be followed
The deck is poker-size, has genuine Bicycle faces and white borders.
Comes complete with an instructional DVD. Perfect for any color-changing deck routine! $39.95 (30.484)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1432&cat=0&page=1)
C3B (Bounce No Bounce Colored Balls) - Akira Fujii:
Show three colored balls.
The balls are thrown onto the table one by one. Each bouncing ball is caught by your opposite hand.
Ask the spectator to do the same thing. However, when it comes to the last ball, he cannot catch it! It doesn’t bounce, it just lays on the table!
* Spectator can practice several times.
* At the end, both of your hands are empty.
* Colored balls specially made in Japan. $18.00 (10.1450)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9403&cat=0&page=1)
Timecard – Gordon Bean: Gordon Bean has become known for his classic packet tricks, starting with The Limited Edition and extending all the way up to Entourage, one of the best-selling items of recent years. With Timecard—his first marketed full deck trick in over a decade—Gordon has come up with an effect that will be talked about long after its performance:
The magician locates a selected card—and then reveals that a freely named time is written on its back!
The conditions are formidable:
1) The card is selected in a very fair manner, with spectators having the chance to change their minds as many times as they like before settling on a choice.
2) The time is selected by simply being named, with no force used—or even possible.
3) The time may be chosen before the card, or the card before the time—it works either way.
4) The writing on the back of the card is large and bold, seemingly with no explanation as to its appearance.
5) Backs and fronts of the rest of the deck are visible throughout the routine.
Finally—and most importantly—this is a method designed for the real world:
1) Automatic reset
2) No table needed; perfect for walk-around, yet suitable for stage work.
3) Long-lasting. (No rough and smooth.)
4) No sleight of hand or memory work.
5) Professionally manufactured from standard Bicycle brand playing cards.
$30.0 (30.1327)
The trick is fantastic – just the coolest thing. I’m going to do it in my shows at the bar. Bravo, bravo! - David Regal
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9395&cat=0&page=1)
Frank Chapman: The Elegant Phantom CD - Frank Chapman:
* Over 300 pages of material!
* More than 200 effects
* The complete 24 issues of Chap’s Scrapbook
* Nine Chapman booklets including his nail-writer work and stellar close-up routines
* Fifty Chapman articles from Genii magazine
* Fifteen Chapman routines from magic journals
* Chapman's manuscript on the bill tube
* Biography of Frank Chapman
* Convenient PDF format on CD
* Indexed for easy access
* A must for the close-up magician!
Early close-up innovator Frank M. Chapman (1901-1954) published some of magic's most stylish close-up publications in the 1930s, including his charming magazine Chap's Scrapbook, which featured top-flight material by names like Charlie Miller and Nate Leipzig. His pioneering work with nail writers and thumb tips were a highlight of the classy little booklets he self-published.
William W. Larsen called Chapman "one of the finest magicians of the ages." Now you can find out why.
This CD features more than 200 close-up and stage effects, with reproductions of the complete file of Chap's Scrapbook, several privately published booklets, fifty of his "Chap's Corner" Genii columns, his premium booklets for the public, and over 15 effects from magazines. You will be enchanted by the style of his works and the practicality of the effects you will find here! $29.95 (CD0059)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9392&cat=0&page=1)
Wild Poker Trick – Boris Wild: The improved, Texas Hold ‘Em version of Very Wild!
An amazing, visual and magical transformation that will leave your audience speechless!
Five cards are shown to your audience. They represent your poker hand - and a poor one, at that. With a deft turn of the wrist and a snap of the fingers, the mis-matched cards instantly and visibly change into the winning hand - a Royal Flush in Spades!
Easy to do, no sleights required. A very clean, direct effect from FISM card champion Boris Wild. Included is a DVD with step-by-step instructions from Boris himself, and all the necessary cards printed on Bicycle stock from the U.S. Playing Card Company. $14.95 (30.1326)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9394&cat=0&page=1)
The Adventures of Winston Freer CD:
Long-lost impossibilities from magic's genius inventor
Winston Freer (1910-1981) was one of magic's cleverest inventors. Current innovators like Gaetan Bloom consider him a genius and a hero. U. F. Grant said Freer was fifty years ahead of the rest of the magic world.
In this collection of rare material, you will learn some of Winston Freer's most famous secrets: freezing ice in his bare hand, his no-key Linking Rings, his uncanny rope methods, growing a real tree by magic, and other impossibilities.
The Adventures of Winston Freer collects 200 pages of material with 50 effects, combining Freer's booklets and articles, an incredible collection of his letters, memorabilia, news items, sketches, and notes to provide an unprecedented look at this brilliant creator. You'll even see a brief video of Freer performing his suspension in 1941! This CD will reveal the man behind some of the most daring and creative magic of our time. $30.00 (CD0061)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9397&cat=0&page=1)
And, wowie wow wow, that’s all of this week’s hot stuff! Lots of great magic for you to choose from. Lots of ways to help us pay next semester’s tuition. By the way, we really aren’t going to rob a bank, so don’t get worried, OK?
As always, I am hoping upon hope that you will find some time to spend with us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at our still shiny and new showroom at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we love the company.
Hank
