Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory, and a very happy Fourth of July weekend to everyone. A weekend to celebrate independence.
I, Hank Lee, am very proud to be an American. Not every day. Not when our government does really stupid things to stir the world pot. But, most days I love America. I think this is a pretty amazing country. I don’t know of too many places where a kid who starts with nothing can succeed beyond his or her wildest dreams. And, it happens all the time. Don’t be fooled. The streets here are not paved in gold. But, if you have a good idea and work harder than hard, you just might make it. Which is a lot better than working harder than hard and knowing that you have no chance in the world of succeeding. America, what a country!
Speaking of the country (what a segue) this Fourth of July, we are heading up country to Vermont to spend the weekend with Bonnie’s brother’s family. I am really looking forward to the fireworks, both inside and out. I am going to get a lot of grief from my darling wife for that remark. But, what the heck, I thought it was funny. Seriously, it should be a terrific weekend. How bad can it be when one of the highlights is a tour of the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory. Chubby Hubby, indeed.
An important note to our wonderful European customers. Right now, the Euro is at the highest it has ever been against the US Dollar. You should be taking advantage of the exchange rate. Since we quote all of our prices in US Dollars, you can buy magic from us right now at what amounts to a 40% discount. It’s crazy! Before this fall’s election and before the Dollar starts to get stronger, you should order all the stuff you ever wanted. You will never get it at a lower price. And, speaking of a lower price, check out this week’s excitement.
FOURTH OF JULY SALES EVENT For the next seven days, from the very moment you receive this email until Thursday, July 10th at midnight, everything (well, almost everything) is on sale at 25% off the retail price. All you need to do is enter the special code JULYFOURTH in the Discount Coupon Box of the online checkout at www.magicfact.com and we will automatically deduct 25% from your order total. If you are calling your order in to the Toll Free Order Line at 800 874 7400, FAXing your order to us at 781 395 2034 or emailing us your order to magicfact@aol.com make sure and mention the special code so you can save a huge 25%!
• The minimum order to use the 25% off discount is $25.00.
• The 25% is deducted from the retail price of the item. No intermediate discounts (such as HankoGram pricing) may be applied. In the case of sets, such as DVDs and Videos, the 25% is deducted from the retail price of each item and not from the set price.
• Certain items, due to contractual restrictions, are not included in this sale. All Joe Porper items, Viking/CW items, Kennedy Enterprises items, Colin Rose items, Mike Caveney Books, Johnson Products items, MagicSmith items, Mikame Craft items, Greater Magic Teach-In DVDs, One Of A Kind Collectors' Items and a few other items are not included in the sale.
• If you place an order for an item that is not on this list or not noted in our online catalog, but is excluded from the sale, we will let you know before processing your order.
• Coupons will be deducted from the order total before the discount is applied.
• As the discount is automatically generated, you must put the special code JULYFOURTH in the Discount Coupon Box. You may have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the box, but it is there. If you are not sure how to do this, please phone your order in to our toll-free order line at 800 874 7400, and we will take care of you. We cannot offer discounts retroactively.
And that's it. It could not be easier. So, get your order together and save yourself some serious money! But, act quickly. The sale ends Thursday the 10th at midnight!
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s Hotlist!
Definitive Atomic Ball: A game of chance played by the wealthy and powerful. One world leader plays against another. The end result is all or nothing.
In a formal and elegant table setting a small box is opened to reveal a pair of dice, two metal cylinders and the Atomic Ball, a shining silver sphere. The dice and cylinders are removed from the box and placed on the table for inspection.
What happens next depends on a simple roll of the dice.
You remove a center block from the box that holds the Atomic Ball, carefully remove the ball and place it gently in the hand of an audience member. The empty block is placed back in the box and the box is closed.
One of the dice with the 1 spot showing is placed on the box top. The die is covered with one of the metal cylinders. The Atomic Ball is gently placed atop the die.
The second metal cylinder is stacked on top forming a small tube.
The second die is now placed atop the Atomic Ball. This die has 5 spots showing. It protrudes from the top of the tube due to the Atomic Ball.
Of course the combination of numbers, 1 and 5 do not make for a winning outcome. As you explain this, you turn the top die so the 6 is showing, creating a lucky 7 combination, and place it back atop the Atomic Ball.
Suddenly the top die sinks into the tube. You dismantle the tube and clearly show the dice and cylinders. The Atomic Ball is gone.
With empty hands you unlock the box and open its lid. Lo and behold, the Atomic Ball has returned safely to its secure block within the box.
The new Atomic Ball is truly the definitive version of this prop. The box is fabricated from exotic Zebra woods. Nothing has been spared in the construction of this effect. Highly polished aluminum cylinders designed to nest perfectly together form the tube. You are provided with a third die for switching in and out if desired.
Our thanks go out to our friends at Magic Wagon & The Trickery for their help re-crafting this fine piece of collectible magic. We love it and know you will, too. $195.00 (10.1459)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9495&cat=0&page=1)
Cesaral’s Soundmaster: One of the most exciting systems we have seen for playing different sounds and high fidelity music, all under your remote command! A giant leap forward in technology! The system is flexible, and the sound you need will be delivered at the specific moment you need it. The audience will not know how you have such and exact control over those sounds, and will be amazed by your presentation.
Cesaral’s Soundmaster allows very easy and fast access to 100 Random audio files and to hundreds of sequential audio files.
The Soundmaster system consists of:
(1) A small Central Unit that is connected to an amplifier or sound system thru a standard stereo jack..
2) A Remote Control Unit. There are four different Control Units that can be used to control the Central Unit (some are optional):
a) Innocent Pen Marker (Sharpie) with 12 hidden buttons arranged in such a way that you canl access the needed functions in a very easy way. This unit is included in the basic Soundmaster set.
b) Small (38mm x 85mm x 15,7mm) 5 button transmitter (fits into a card box). This unit is included in the basic Soundmaster set.
c) Innocent Magic Wand with 12 hidden buttons arranged in such a way that you can access the needed functions in a very easy way (optional item not included in the basic set)
d) Three button Thumb Tip control unit (optional item not included in the basic set)
Important points:
Operates over 100 Random sounds at the exact instant you want them.
Operates in a very easy and practical way two unlimited sequential tracks.
Many operation combinations; just take the one you like, or ask for a specific operation.
Small enough to be concealed in many places, like a small book
Lifetime guarantee.
Change tracks on the fly.
Sound effects and music stored in a SD card. You can store thousands of files
Includes an SD card full of sound effects, and examples.
Great for kids magic, talking book test, quiz show, vent work, and so much more!
If you have always wanted a remote controlled sound system that would do everything and then some, this is the one! $1490.00 (70.965)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9499&cat=0&page=1)
Conjuring Cola DVD: On this DVD you will learn how to perform simple, easy and fun magic tricks with soda cans and soda bottles.
Learn how to:
• Force a borrowed coin through the bottom of any soda can. This handling of a classic effect is worth the price of the DVD!
• Have a signed card appear in a selected soda can.
• Multiply a can of soda. Nice effect to hand a buddy a can of soda.
• Bite into a can of soda, drain it and then restore it. A version of Gerald Kirchner's Dra-Cola.
• Make a soda can vanish or appear in any newspaper.
• Make a soda can appear from nowhere.
• Read your spectator's mind on which soda they will choose.
Featured trick:
Dra-Cola: Image if you will: You’re hanging out with friends and someone offers you a can of soda (ungimmicked!). You gladly accept and mention that strangely enough you may be a descendent of the infamous Dracula. Suddenly, you bite into the can. Soda shoots everywhere, even squirting you and the spectators. After a few seconds of sucking the cola from the can you remove your lips to show that the can is crushed, empty and the top is still sealed!
Wipe your mouth clean with your sleeve and remind your spectators of the vampire's dark ability to resurrect his victims. Well, we don't resurrect, we recycle. You begin to rotate the can and "Pow," "Pop," "Bang," the can begins to expand. The can completely expands to its original size and shape, you pop the top and "shhhh" goes the fizz and out pours a complete can of cola!
This DVD contains a special section just for kids. $22.95 (DVD00899)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=5411&cat=0&page=1)
Secrets of The Gypsy Thread DVD: World's Greatest Magic By The World's Greatest Magicians - This benchmark collection features just about all of magic’s most enduring and classic effects and routines. It’s a fabulous compendium with many of the top masters in the world of magic teaching their handlings and routines for some of magic’s classics. Each volume covers a specific subject and features new, old, and sometimes rare footage by some of the top video producers in magic.
The effect that is commonly referred to as Gypsy Thread was first introduced into the literature of magic in 1584 by Provost and ever since, magicians – and presumably their audiences – have been fascinated and enchanted by the simple yet profound concept of a simple strand of thread being broken into small pieces and restored at the magician’s fingertips.
On this DVD, you’ll see six different interpretations of this straightforward and beautiful trick. Daryl begins with the classic version, complete with several significant Al Baker touches. Geoffrey Buckingham offers tips on how to make the Gypsy Thread the perfect cabaret trick while Bob Read adds his comedic genius. Henry Evans demonstrates his flashy – and completely clean – ending while Cellini teaches a stunning version using yards of thread that could play not only on the street, but in the biggest theater. Finally, Eugene Burger performs a highly theatrical trick using the thread as an insightful metaphor.
Gypsy Thread is an iconic trick that can express different things in the hands of different performers and now, with the help of the gifted performers presented here, you’ll be able to add this classic of magic to your own act.
$19.95 (DVD00892)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9500&cat=0&page=1)
Golden Shells DVD - Bob Kohler:
Works with any shell set
Absolutely angle proof
Bob Kohler’s routine for the Shell Game has become legendary. Why? Because Bob’s routine is used by more professional magicians than any other routine of its kind. Bob’s routine has been honed through thousands of live performances for paying audiences.
What makes it so great? The psychology is built in. Bob’s choreography and patter are designed so that the performer knows which shell the spectator will choose each and every time! This lets you concentrate on the performance so you get the standing ovation you deserve.
Features
* Easy To Do
* Hilarious Patter
* Packs Small Plays Big
* Stunning Visuals
* Psychological Perfection
$25.00 (DVD00891)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9496&cat=0&page=1)
Miracles DVD Set – James Swain: The material contained in these four DVDs has entertained laymen and fooled magicians for nearly 40 years. These are not simply tricks, but time-tested miracles that will leave a lasting impression on your audiences for years to come. Many have been performed on television — including CBS Sunday Morning and FOX TV — while the rest have been tested on audiences during thousands of performances. I hope you enjoy them.
— James Swain
DVD #1 - The Gambling Act
This act was the cornerstone of my performances for five years, and has fooled the best in the business. Learn this act, and audiences will believe you’re the best card mechanic in the world!
Gambling Act Routines:
Opening Flourishes
Four Ace Revelation
Aces to Royal Flush
Dealing Demonstration
(with the best pseudo center deal ever)
Playing Heavy (a mind-blower)
Poker Demonstration
Steering
Weighing the Cards
Tells Part I
Tells Part II
Bonus Routine: Cheating at Texas Hold ’Em
$34.95 (DVD00895)
DVD #2
Perfect Triumph (the ending is killer)
Ultimate Interchange (the perfect TV trick)
Don’t Play with the Pros
Shuffle Tracking (a magician fooler)
Three Card Monte (the real work)
How Fast! (mind blowing!)
K.I.S.S. POKER DEAL
Showdown
Swindle (performance only)
Steve Forte’s Read ’Em & Weep
Steve Forte’s Poker Deal (the best poker deal ever) $34.95 (DVD00896)
DVD #3
The Chop Cup (Jim’s masterpiece)
Tampa Opener
Four What?
Cool Out Move
The Stop Trick (featuring the legendary Cool Out Move)
Double Stop Trick
Super Bowl Aces (Bill Malone’s favorite trick)
Out of this Universe
Vanishing Aces (a mind-blower, including Jim’s handling of the Riffle Pass)
Capitulating Cards (one of the greatest packet tricks ever)
Aces from Nowhere
Look an Illusion
Lie Detector
The Matching Trick (Jim’s personal favorite) 34.95 (DVD00897)
DVD #4
Psychic Aces (the best Ace Assembly ever)
Cavorting Aces (Dr. Daley’s classic revisited)
Invisible Palm
Ambitious Classic Revisited
Universal Mystery Card
5-7-10 (Fred Kaps’ lost miracle)
Bureau de Exchange
Anastasia (the trick that baffled Larry Jennings, with a detailed
explanation of Jim’s handling of the Pass Palm)
Convention Trick (a magician fooler)
Coin Cut
Collins Aces (Swain’s handling of this classic routine)
Ghost Ace Production $34.95 (DVD00898)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9505&cat=0&page=1)
“Jim Swain’s magic is the perfect combination of great skill and great thinking. One can only benefit from studying his work.”
—Darwin Ortiz
No Chance - Wayne Dobson:
Dobson has done it again!
The audience is shown 3 leather holders each containing a different colored envelope.
Explain that one of the envelopes contains a banknote and the other two contain nothing of value.
Ask two spectators to each freely select either the red, blue or yellow envelope. No force of any kind. Really.
After they check the contents of their envelopes and find only your business card, you reveal that the remaining envelope contains the banknote.
The effect comes complete with special leather holders, envelopes and detailed instructions.
A most modern handling of a magical classic! $60.00 (40.640)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9503&cat=0&page=1)
Secrets of Magic With Business Cards: World's Greatest Magic By The World's Greatest Magicians - A magician should leave a lasting impression, and one of the best ways to do that is to hand out your business card in a magical way. Your prospective client will not only remember you but will also get to keep tangible evidence of your magical abilities that just happens to have your contact information!
On this DVD, you’ll meet nine performers with ten different ways to utilize your business cards in a magical way. John Guastaferro causes random spots on the back of his card to magically transform into the name of a selected playing card while Banachek uses just four cards to demonstrate an uncanny ability to know a spectator’s choice in advance. Michael Ammar’s business cards hand themselves out via a very eerie self-animation while Michael Close causes an initialed card to turn up in an impossible place. Dan Harlan recreates a classic of rope magic with an initialed business card while Jeff McBride causes his card to simply appear in the spectator’s outstretched hands. Daryl turns his business card into an uncannily accurate prediction of the future while Raj Madhok takes a card magic classic and turns it into an amazing communion with the spirits. Finally, Greg Wilson demonstrates a pen that can magically write in any color named while Michael Ammar returns with business cards that can print themselves.
For any working professional who uses business cards, these effects can literally mean the difference between your card being tossed into a pile (or into the legendary “circular file”) or cherished by its recipient and even shown around to others for perhaps years after as evidence of an unbelievable, magical encounter with a very special person – you! $19.95 (DVD00893)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9501&cat=0&page=1)
McGrip Tip Super Card Shooter – Jeff McBride:
The best tool for card shooting. Jeff Mcbride has set world records using this secret device and it will help you gain distance and speed. $12.00 (70.963)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9497&cat=0&page=1)
Secrets of The Cannibal Cards: World’s Greatest Magic By The World’s Greatest Magicians - The Cannibal Cards plot was devised by Lin Searles in the late 1950’s and this decidedly unusual plot has been capturing the imaginations of card magicians ever since. The original Searles approach utilized special cards. However, on this DVD, you’ll see seven pasteboard masters, each with their own individual spins on this now-classic effect where a succession of playing cards seem to disappear when placed between other cards, apparently eaten by the “cannibal” cards – and all use ordinary cards.
Michael Ammar begins with the classic plot combined with Frank Garcia’s “Apex Aces” and a “collectors” finish that provides three minutes of solid entertainment while Bill Malone follows with a typically hilarious presentation and a few red herrings thrown in that are guaranteed to even fool magicians. Juan Tamariz turns the trick into a piece of magical theater, complete with audience sing-alongs while J. J. Sanvert follows the classic plot right up until his amazing surprise ending. Larry Jennings, as would be expected, offers a classic and elegant handling while Michael Skinner demonstrates the version he used for over 25 years while he was the magician in residence at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. Finally, Eugene Burger presents a streamlined rendition that will, again, mystify everyone but particularly those who are familiar with the original, classic handling.
Since its conception, the Cannibal Cards plot has been a favorite of magicians and their audiences. As Dan Huffman observed in The Linking Ring, “And, why not, when one considers the delightful combination of snappy card magic and the consumption of raw, human flesh.” $19.95 (DVD00894)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9502&cat=0&page=1)
And that, is this week’s Hotlist. Hotter than a firecracker on the 4th of July, as the saying goes. I have personally reviewed each of the items in this week’s Hotlist and can promise you that they are all excellent.
As always, I hope that you will find some time during this busy holiday weekend to come and visit us online at www.magicfact.com. We’ll be waiting for you, with a Mint Julep and a bunch of sparklers. Oh, and if you’re in the Boston area over the 4th, stop in and visit us at 102 North Street in Medford. We’ll all be dressed in our most patriotic garb!
Hank
