Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. I can tell you that this place is just plain buzzin.’ You might think I mean that we’re so busy fillings orders that we are buzzin.’ But, what I really mean is that everyone in the place is buzzin’ from drinking so much coffee. Dunkin Donuts, a major donut and coffee emporium here in the East (and I think they have spread all over the country by now) is running a Bases Loaded promotion. Every cup of iced coffee comes with a sticker that you peel off to win valuable prizes like $1.00 off your next iced coffee or $1.00 off a personal pizza or flatbread sandwich. Or a free flatbread sandwich when you buy a medium iced coffee. The offices are littered with these stickers. But, the real deal is that under each sticker is a special secret code that allows you to play the Bases Loaded game online. You can win prizes like a TV or an Xbox system. So every time you get an iced coffee you can play the game. And, every time you play the game you strike out and get bubkas. But, we sure are playing a lot, and that means we’re drinking a lot of coffee. The result is self-explanatory. Buzzzzzzzzz.
When I’m not drinking iced coffee, I have been thinking about what life is going to be like at the beginning of September. Aron will be at the University of Florida and Lucas will be at Oberlin College. Which leaves just Bonnie, Bones and me at home. The classic empty nest. I have to be honest. I am not prepared for the empty nest. No kids coming and going at all hours. No one to watch Heroes with. We planned it all wrong. It is critical to have your kids five years apart. That way, when the second one is starting college, the first one has already moved back “just until they can get a job and find an apartment.” Having two kids in college and no kids at home is an error. I can’t fix this one for myself, but I am happy to pass the information on to those of you just starting a family. I will need to find a hobby. Fishing, Knitting, Fly-Tying, Hankie The Magic Clown birthday shows. Just something to fill up those empty hours. Wish me luck.
And now, to this week’s excitement. The elves and I put our shoulders to the wheel and our noses to the grindstone (ouch) and we have successfully turned back time! Today, the 21 Days of Savings discount percentage should be 18%. But, since we were able to turn the clock back, we reset the discount to 25% and started the clock again!
21 Days Of Savings Sales Event. There are only 14 days left in July (give or take). Despite this, we present, for your entertainment pleasure: The 21 Days Of Savings!
Here’s how it works: No matter what day in July you purchase from us at Hank Lee’s, you will save money. But, as you may have heard, the early bird gets the worm! So, today, Friday, you will save 25% on your entire order, subject to the rules below. On Saturday you will save 24%. On Sunday you will save 23%. And on it goes. We will reduce the discount by 1% each day until the end of the month. Except that we have reset the discount to 25% starting today! All you need to do is enter the special code TWENTYONEDAYS in the Discount Coupon Box of the online checkout at www.magicfact.com and we will automatically deduct the correct amount 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 to mention the special code so you can save!
There are a few rules that apply, as with all things in life.
• The minimum order to use this discount is $25.00.
• The discount 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 discount 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, Paul Harris Prime Time Magic items, Viking/CW items, Kennedy Enterprises items, Colin Rose items, Mike Caveney Books, MagicSmith, Martin Breese, 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 and Reward Points will be deducted from the order total before the discount is applied.
• As the discount is automatically generated, you must put the special code TWENTYONEDAYS 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 sooner you act, the more you save!
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s Hotlist!
Card Star – Deluxe Mahogany: From the Golden Age of Magic comes one of the most startling effects you will ever see.
Display a beautiful mahogany five pointed star, attached to a turned mahogany base. Both the star and the base are inlaid, making the prop look truly elegant.
Five cards are randomly selected from a shuffled deck, then returned. The deck is shuffled once again, and a spectator is asked to toss the deck at the Card Star, which you hold at arm’s length.
The cards fly everywhere, and when the last card has hit the ground, the audience will be amazed to see one card attached to each of the five points of the star! Of course, they are the selected cards! It looks incredible. Totally visual!
Instead of cards, you can use coins. Five vanished coins instantly appear, attached to the five points of the star.
The Card Star is meticulously crafted in the U.S. by the same gentleman who makes our Square Circle Deluxe. So, you know the quality is second to none. A perfect prop to use in your show, and a beautiful item to display in your home. Extremely limited supply. $329.95 (60.1534)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9522&cat=0&page=1)
Flow: Dan Hauss has discovered a rare piece of “strange” that brilliantly abuses the laws of nature, allowing you to mysteriously and from a distance stop and start the flow of liquid from an innocent bottle of designer water.
Your spectator actually experiences the entire astonishment in her own hands! You never touch the bottle-or water-throughout the entire effect. All can be immediately examined: the empty bottle, the spectator, you, the water, the street, everything!
Dan Hauss' Flow uses a completely original crazy new principle that will leave you gushing with delight!
Comes Complete with:
* Flow Gimmick
* DVD
* Bonus Effects
Prepare any bottle in under ten seconds! Works with bottled soda, tea, and most other beverages. No discs or caps used. Nothing to hide, steal or get rid of. Perform Flow completely surrounded. Once the effect starts the performer never touches the bottle, the water or the spectator. $34.95 (60.1533)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9516&cat=0&page=1)
Card On Tie – Quick Change: The Card On Tie has always been a very popular effect. Audiences just love seeing a playing card appear on a magician’s tie. It’s so much more attractive than a food stain. Well, leave it to Quick Change Artist Lex Schoppi and Close-Up Wizard Manuel Muerte to create the ultimate Card On Tie.
A card chosen by a spectator vanishes from the deck and appears in a flash on your tie What could be more visual or direct?
The effect is based on the transformation of a tie without exchanging it. Material has been specially woven and finished for this effect from the finest cloth with a design which is not commercially available. The playing card which appears is wovven into the fabric of the tie. Hand-made by a professional in high quality according to strict specifications. High class quality - made in Germany.
You get:
* The tie with all you need for the Quick Change.
* A self vanishing force card (4H)
* Two routines from Manuel Muerte with several bonus tips.
* Plus, the back of the tie is an ESP Symbol for Mentalists.
Imported from Germany. $88.00 (30.1350)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9514&cat=0&page=1)
Cork Stopper: The magician wraps a cork with a bill, and fixes it using a rubber band. The bill is rolled up like a tube, and the space inside is divided by the cork into the upper space and the lower space. The magician puts four coins into the upper space of the tube. The coins, one by one, are dropped to the table, penetrating the cork. For the last coin, the magician puts it into his pocket, but it appears from the tube. Everything is examinable after the effect. $28.00 (20.393)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9513&cat=0&page=1)
Royal Flush Tonte - Bob Sheets:
Ton Onosaka is a legend in magic and this routine shows you why.
Now made with Jumbo cards and taught by Bob Sheets. All the moves and hysterical patter are included.
The classic Game of "3-Card Monte" with a new twist!
Three cards are shown: two indifferent cards, and a court card. The spectator is asked to "find the picture card," but that's not possible, for now the performer holds three indifferent cards. The court card is found inside the magician's pocket!
The game is repeated with the four-card set. Again, the spectator is unable to find the court card. The packet now consists of four indifferent cards; the court card is again inside the magician's pocket!
The performer suggests that a five card game is too difficult, so one card is set aside. The remaining cards are mixed. The spectator is asked to locate the court card, and of course, suspects that the card put aside is the court card. In fact, that card turns out to be an indifferent card. The performer finally comments, "Perhaps Monte is not your game…" He turns the cards over to display a Royal Straight Flush in Spades! "You should try Poker, instead!"
Includes the Jumbo cards, complete illustrated instructions, and DVD. $34.95 (30.1352)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9524&cat=0&page=1)
Palms of Steel 4 DVD - Cashablanca - Curtis Kam:
From all over the world, coin tricks come to Cashablanca, fleeing the Gaffed Coin Gestapo and the tyranny of the EZ to Master race. Here, they struggle to become pure sleight-of-hand Magic; earning their passage to audiences in the free world. Hidden away from the distractions of a phony studio audience, Curtis Kam performs and explains the tricks that have earned their letters of transit:
Ilsa's Appearance:
The audience is teased into watching you pull invisible coins from the air, and spread them into a fan. Just when they're convinced that your hands are empty and you're pulling their legs, BAM--three silver dollars pop into view.
Cashablanca Coins Across:
Follow Ilsa with the perfect working man's coins across--three ordinary coins, no risky moves. Do it standing, sleeveless, table-less, topless, for brooding loners or the whole German army. Features the latest in American edge grip technology, (but the angles are 100% practical) the revolutionary "In Closing" steal, and a new breed of retention pass that fools the mind, not the eye.
Three Coins Across, sweet and simple. Americans love simple things with money. Paris Hilton, for example. We'll always have Paris.
The Greatest ($3) Show on Earth:
Three coins take the stage like clowns from a tiny car. The youngest tumbles and rolls; his brothers do a fingertip trapeze act. Put away in your pockets, they jump back to the stage then fly like human cannonballs, appearing under, on top of, and inside a coin purse. A full routine with all the action of a three-ring circus, daring new techniques, and a built-in storyline that can be either circus or Cirque, as you wish.
Play It Again, Kam (Another Hard Way) / Excellent Birds:
Seven coins ooze out of your empty hands, into a nifty display position, no less. From there, you perform the classic "Flying Eagles" with an upgrade to the 21st century. A new take on a classic, with killer convincers and a Harbottle finish.
I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little coins don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. But seven coins, now that gets my attention.
Triple Alliance 2.0:
This advanced, enhanced handling of Triple Alliance (from Palms of Steel 3: Silverado) is the only Copper/Silver/Brass where the audience hears the first transpo, sees the second, feels the third, and then experiences the rare and elusive triple transposition. Brought to you through virtuoso routining and the simplest of gaffs, it's a visual, audible, tactile feast for the senses that stops short of total sensory immersion only because the coins all taste about the same.
BONUS: International Solid ThreeFly (Reed McClintock):
Three different coins fly from the fingertips of one hand to the other. That simply. No moves, no feints, no pauses, no dumb gags, no trips to the pockets, all visible, and when the last coin goes, you're clean. Reed figures that the only reason to use a gaff is if it produces an illusion this good. Why pay more for gaffed coins that do less?
If you don't get this video, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life. Here's looking at you, kid. $34.95 (DVD00905)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9523&cat=0&page=1)
Grab That Pinhead - Bob Sheets and Dan Garrett:
Impossible magic that happens right under their noses, literally! Imagine taking two ordinary metal safety pins and causing them to melt through each other, linking and unlinking again and again and again, even in the spectator's hands.
Dan Garrett's ultimate version of the classic linking pins uses ordinary pins to recreate effects heretofore only possible with the Andrus linking pin gimmick. Bob Sheets adds his own thoughts and moves and laugh lines to Dan's routine, as Bob has performed on TV. You'll see two ultimate versions honed over 25 years and hundreds of real-life performances.
A tour-de-force close-up masterpiece that you can carry in your pocket, perform anytime and anywhere, and really pack a punch with any audience $25.00 (10.1462)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9525&cat=0&page=1)
Impromptu Card Magic DVD Set – Vol. 4-6 – Aldo Colombini:
After the tremendous reception Volumes 1-3 of the Impromptu Card Magic series received, we decided to release three more volumes with 45 additional impromptu card routines that you can do anytime, anywhere, at a moment's notice.
All you need is any deck of cards and you're ready to perform high-impact card magic. Many of the routines have never been published before and all of the routines are easy to learn and easy to perform. No gimmicks, no setups, no difficult sleight of hand.
Join the charming and entertaining Aldo Colombini as he teaches impromptu card magic that you can easily learn and perform no matter what level of skill you've achieved. Total running time: Approximately 3 hours and 50 minutes. (Sold separately for $34.95 each).
$94.95 (DVD00902A)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9517&cat=0&page=1)
Card Marx - Steven Schneiderman & Meir Yedid:
Easy magic with a surprise ending that is guaranteed to get a great reaction.
Four aces are displayed face-up. Suddenly each one begins to magically turn face down and up again. What makes this special is at the end when the cards are turned face down all the backs have changed color and now possess pictures of the Marx Brothers on them. Proving that it was done with marked cards — which are now examinable.
The elegant routining makes the magic easy, visual and allows the Marx Brothers cards to be examined at the end.
Comes complete with photo-illustrated instructions and four attractive Marx Brothers stickers. Use your own deck.
$10.00 (30.1351)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9515&cat=0&page=1)
Color Choice: Show a small white plastic panel. On one side are four colored spots. On the other side, the numbers 1-2-3-4.
Bring out a black disc and set it on the table. Explain that your prediction is on the other side. You can even let a spectator hold the disc.
Now, have a spectator name a number from 1 to 4. They can change their mind as often as they like. There is no verbal manipulation and no force of any kind. The number they choose is the number. Plain and simple.
Let’s say they choose the number “3.”
Turn the plastic panel over and the colored spot that corresponds to their number is green. There is no counting or spelling or turning the panel this way or that. The colored dot is directly behind their selected number.
Turn over the prediction chip. It is also green! A miracle!
Do not let the low price of this item fool you. It is a powerful piece of close-up magic that will fool everyone who sees it. The method is really practical, and the props are incredibly well made. There is no way you can go wrong for this lower than low price! $9.95 (10.1461)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9521&cat=0&page=1)
Stars Of Magic: Considered by many to be the best book ever written about close-up magic, featuring some of the finest creations from the leading magicians of the first half of the 20th century. Originally released by Stars of Magic, Inc. as separate manuscripts that sold in the 1940s and 1950s for around $5 each, they later were bound in this hardcover edition by Louis Tannen, Inc. The rights to the monumental work were later purchased by D. Robbins & Co. and in September 2003 Meir Yedid Magic acquired the rights to the original and current editions.
Written/Edited by George Starke with photographic interpretation by George Karger, this is a 165 page, oversize hardcover book with dozens of black and white photographs.
Below are the original manuscript descriptions as they appeared more than half a century ago:
Series 1, No. 1: John Scarne's Classic Ball Routine:
Series 1, No. 2: John Scarne's Triple Coincidence:
Series 1, No. 3: John Scarne's Silver And Copper Trick:
Series 2, No. 1: Dai Vernon's Triumph:
Series 2, No. 2: Dai Vernon's Cutting The Aces:
Series 2, No. 3: Dai Vernon's Spellbound:
Series 2, No. 4: Dai Vernon's Kangaroo Coins:
Series 3, No. 1: Bert Allerton's Pump Room Phantasy:
Series 3, No. 2: Bert Allerton's Bamboozle:
Series 3, No. 3: S. Leo Horowitz's Malini-Bey Chink a Chink:
Series 3, No. 4: S. Leo Horowitz's The Egyptian Ball Mystery:
Series 3, No. 5: Jarrow's Hanky-Panky:
Series 4, No. 1: Francis Carlyle's Decapitation:
Series 4, No. 2: Francis Carlyle's Homing Card:
Series 4, No. 3: Francis Carlyle's Wrist Watch Steal:
Series 5, No. 1: Dai Vernon's Impromptu Cups And Balls:
Series 5, No. 2: Dai Vernon's Ambitious Card:
Series 5, No. 3: Dai Vernon's Mental Card Miracle:
Series 6, No. 1: Dai Vernon's The Ring On The Wand:
Series 6, No. 2: Dai Vernon's Slow-Motion Four Aces:
Series 6, No. 3: Dai Vernon's The Travelers:
Series 7, No. 1: Dr. Jacob Daley's Cards Up The Sleeve:
Series 7, No. 2: Dr. Jacob Daley's The Itinerant Pasteboards:
Series 7, No. 3: Dr. Jacob Daley's The Cavorting Aces:
Series 8, No. 1: Slydini's Cigarette Miracle:
Series 8, No. 2: Slydini's Flight Of The Paper Balls:
Series 8, No. 3: Slydini's Flyaway Coin Routine:
Series 9, No. 1: Ross Bertram On Coins:
Series 10: Vernon On Leipzig:
Series 11: Vernon On Malini:
Lesson 1--Dai Vernon:
Lesson 1--Tony Slydini:
If this was the only book on magic you ever owned, and if you learned half of the material in this book, you would have enough in your repertoire to enjoy a most successful career in magic.
This was the very first magic book I ever owned, and it is still my favorite. The price of this book is far too low considering the quality of the material. Meir has done a fine job upgrading the photos and producing a first class job.
$35.00 (BK00518)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=6423&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s this weeks hot, hot, hot Hotlist. All great stuff. Something for everyone. I would like to hang around and keep on writing, but I’ve got a bunch of labels to peel!
I hope you will find some time to spend with us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we do love the company.
Hank
