Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory, where the winter that may never end continues. Looking out the window, I can tell you that yes, we did get more snow this week. Sheesh
As of the beginning of the week, the kids are both out of the house and back at school. Lucas was home for an extended winter break during which he did an internship with Opera Boston. But, he is now back, and the house is very quiet. Just Bonnie, Bones The Dog and me. It will take a little getting used to, but I think the three of us can handle it.
I forgot to mention that Aron the elder son has pledged a fraternity at UF. I think it is Etta Bitta Pi. Get it, Eat A Bit Of Pie? I always wanted to use that joke, and finally I have the opportunity. But, seriously, he has joined a fraternity. The kid I thought would never be a frat boy is now on his way to learning the High Sign and the Secret Handshake. And, I know he will never let me in on any of the secrets.
On the good news front, the True Astonishment DVD Sets have come in stock and all the back orders have been shipped. Wait until you see this! An absolutely amazing set. And, I just heard from Mathieu Bich that Spreadwave is coming back in stock in about a week. So, if you have Spreadwave on back order, yours will be shipped really soon!
I hate to bring it up, but are you still getting the weekly Newsletter in text only format? Why? Just drop me an email and I will hook you up with the oh, so much cooler html format. You’ll get pictures and everything!
Have you registered for this year’s Conclave? If not, why not? It is going to be one of the best conventions we every produced. The talent lineup is nothing short of extraordinary. And you should be there! You can register online by clicking on the Conclave Button at www.magicfact.com or you can call us toll free at 800 874 7400 to register. I hope we’ll see you there.
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s excitement!
VALENTINES SALES EVENT: It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and to show you just how much we love you, we are having an unbelievable sales event! It’s a two-part event, so read it closely.
• 29% Discount! For the next 24 hours, until Saturday morning, February 7th, we are offering you an unbelievable 29% discount on almost everything in stock (subject to the rules below). This is a crazy sale, and it’s only for one day. All you need to do is enter the special code VALENTINESAVINGS in the Discount Coupon Box at the bottom of the first page of the online checkout at www.magicfact.com and we will automatically deduct 29% from your order total. It’s only for 24 hours, so get moving!
• 25% Discount! For the next six days, from Saturday morning until Thursday, February 12th 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 VALENTINESAVINGS in the Discount Coupon Box at the bottom of the first page 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 ton!
• The minimum order to use the 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, 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 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 VALENTINESAVINGS in the Discount Coupon Box. You may have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the box, but it is there. (Hint: If you use your browser to page ahead and then back, you will lose the Discount Coupon Box. If this happens, close the browser and start again). 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 12th at midnight!
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s Hotlist.
In Your Face: New from Wayne Rogers, creator of the Appearing Ladder and so many other wonderful effects!
The spectator chooses one of six "Smiley Face" emotion cards while the magician’s back is turned. The other cards are placed out of sight in a large envelope and the selection is held face down, against their chest.
The spectator is asked to "feel" the emotion depicted and try to put that same expression on his or her own face. The other audience members are asked to remain poker faced while this is happening. Choose the right on-stage helper and this bit of business gets a load of laughs.
Next, the performer takes his pad and begins to draw the emotion being acted out behind his back .Finally the performer finishes his drawing and brings the spectator forward to comically reveal the chosen "emotion." The performer's drawing matches the selection. There is no force. Plays big, packs flat and garners loads of laughs
Fully self-contained. No extra gimmicks or batteries required! It is supplied with six different "Smiley" type face cards measuring 51/2" x 81/2" (14cm x 21.5cm). Cards are laminated for years of use. Supply your own drawing pad and a large envelope and you're ready to perform at any time. $34.95 (60.1576)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=7515&cat=0&page=1)
Flaming Credit Card - Peter Austin:
Reach into your wallet or pocket and take out a credit card.
Suddenly, the credit card is on fire! Exclaim that you have money to burn!
Blow out the flame and the credit card ignites again.
Finally, you blow out the flame and it stays blown out. $99.50 (60.1574)
Because of the nature of t his effect, it cannot be sold to anyone under 18.
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9821&cat=0&page=1)
Around The World With A Magician And A Juggler – H.J. Burlingame: Originally published in 1891, this has become a sought-after title, a genuine scarcity. First editions regularly sell for $500 at auction.
Now reprinted, this seminal text by H.J. Burlingame includes biographies of two important magicians, Baron Hartwig Seeman and William D’Alvini (who toured with Alexander Herrmann, as well as his own show). Information on Ernest Patrizio and Bellachini (including Bellachini’s presentation and method for the Eggs from Mouth effect, which he is said to have originated) rounds out the volume. Also included is Max Dessoir’s essay on the “Psychology of the Art of Conjuring,” making this book a delight for students of the art as well as collectors.
Hardbound, with a new introduction by Barrie Richardson. Limited edition of 300 copies produced. $45.00 (BK01632)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9826&cat=0&page=1)
Monkeyshines Vol. 1 – Doc Dixon: A variety of routines for the close-up and platform performer. Performers of all types will be able to learn something from this book, as the ten routines vary in skill level.
Part I: Close-Up Magic For Strolling & The Table
Memory Aces
About ten cards are cut off the deck. The face card of the cut-off packet is shown and the packet is immediately tabled. This is done four times. The four packets have indifferent cards at their faces. When the packets are turned over, each indifferent card has changed into an Ace.
JHD Sandwich
An unknown card is sandwiched amidst the Aces. Another card is selected and signed. The unknown card is revealed to be the signed selection. The Ace packet and the deck never come into contact after the packet is first set down. There is no palming.
Sally Rand
A hilarious, contorted, and beaten-up version of the Princess Card Trick that ends with a huge laugh. No skill required. It will instantly become a part of your comedy repertoire.
My First Coin Trick
A trick with a penny and a silver dollar that Doc has been doing for over thirty years
The Tantalizer Lives!
Entertain while dealing 104 cards.
Part II: Bits O’ Business & The Business O’ Bits
McCombical Redux
A touch on the McCombical Prediction
Al Baker? We’re All Bakers!
An easy way to magically produce cake for the restaurant performer.
Part III: Mental Magic & Platform Conjuring
Double Duty – The Almost Ultimate Think Of A Card
A card is reversed in the middle of the deck. The cards are spread, one spectator looking at the side with the single reversed card. The other spectator looks at the other side and freely chooses one of the face-up cards. Magician divines both cards immediately without any fishing or pumping.
Deep & Meaningful Infatuation
You tell them what they are thinking and you tell them what they are feeling.
Snack Food
A signed beer bottle vanishes and reappears inside a sealed can of Pringles®.
Bottle Sock - A routine so old Doc was doing it when long white tube socks with blue stripes walked the land. An extra clean version of the vanishing beer bottle where the bag is tossed into the audience at the end of the routine ... and you don't lose a bottle every time you do it.
Part IV: From Everything Is Still Funnier With Monkeys
Reshuffled
A favorite son: the original self-resetting version of Unshuffled.
$25.00 (BK01632)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9823&cat=0&page=1)
Diminishing Bills – John Blake: Inspired by the late Fred Kaps.
Show five dollar bills. Fold them in half, give them a squeeze and fan out five smaller bills.
Again, squeeze the smaller bills and fan them out to show the bills are even smaller.
Once more, squeeze the smallest bills, and they change into five dollar size coins. The perfect lead-in to any coin routine!
There are no hidden pockets or stealing away of bills. Everything is self-contained. Each unit is hand-made. You just need to supply your own coins.
$37.50 (60.1575)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9822&cat=0&page=1)
Finding Dariel Fitzkee – Book and DVD Combo - Dariel Fitzkee:
The definitive work on Dariel Fitzkee - The Man with the Trick Brain
The documentary DVD contains actual footage of Dariel performing, selections from the original IMIA Show, an illustrated interview with Dick Mossey who saw the show several times, David Goodsell's Magic Live Fitzkee lecture and a video interview with Dariel Fitzkee's daughter, Marcia.
The book is everything you ever wanted to know about Dariel Fitzkee.
• Author of the Fitzkee Trilogy: Magic By Misdirection, Showmanship For Magicians and The Trick Brain
• Chautauqua Performer
• Stage designer and inventor
• Produced the best show of its time, but it failed. Why?
• Wrote 15 books on magic...but turned his back on magic. Why
• Was S.A.M. National 1st Vice President but never became National President. Why
• World famous scientist?
• Why did he change his name?
• Did he believe in spiritualism?
• Foreword by Barrie Richardson
• 41 pages of Fitzkee's Magic.
288 pages. Over 240 photographs. Hardbound with dust jacket
$89.00 (BK01630)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=5971&cat=0&page=1)
Foiled Again: What could be more yummy than a delicious chocolate coin? I know! A Jumbo chocolate coin!
Imagine producing a jumbo coin in the middle of your favorite coin routine, peeling the top of it down and showing it's yummy chocolaty goodness underneath.
Of course, being a benevolent magi, you're willing to share.
You return the coin to it's beginning stages, dropping it on the table with a loud CLANG! It is found to be cold hard steel and fully examinable.
You receive a custom made gaff that works with most any 3-inch jumbo coin. (We recommend Half Dollar style) Easy to use, easy to handle.
$20.00 (20.410)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=2391&cat=0&page=1)
Spellochange - Jesse Feinberg:
A written prediction visually changes on a pack of cards.
A card is selected and returned to the deck. The magician takes the card box and writes a prediction on it. When it is revealed, the prediction doesn't make any sense. It looks like random lines.
Give the box a shake, and the lines slowly form into a correct prediction! This is super visual, and very customizable. The concept is new, and there is nothing else like it!
Comes complete with pre-made gaffs, and full color instructions. $20.00 (30.1411)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9820&cat=0&page=1)
Reel Magic Episode 9 – Richard Turner:
Features:
Caught on Tape: Richard Turner
Kozmo talks with Richard Turner about his remarkable life
Columns:
Garrett Thomas Try This At Home
The shell is tougher than you think
Simon Lovell Simon Said It!
Combining comedy and magic
David Kaye/Silly Billy Kid Show FUNdamentals
Don't get stung by a sucker trick
Jon Armstrong Small Things, Big Difference
Finer points of the classic force
Wayne Kawamoto Choice Cuts
It takes muscle to review the best new DVDs
David Regal Tricks of the Trade
Tricks that make him go WOW!
Bonus Tricks:
John Van Der Put "Thinking of you"
Cameron Francis "In-Tens"
Steve Dobson ”The Otherworld Poker Hand”
Move Monkeys:
Aaron De Long "Displaysia"
Jason Dean "Kelly Bottom Pop Out Move"
Magick "One Card, One Box"
$9.95 (DVD00969)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9824&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s this week’s amazing array of magical goodies. A Hotlist fit for a king. Check out all the wonderful new items. I am sure you will find some that you just can’t be without!
As always, we really appreciate your finding some time in your busy schedules to visit us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we do love the company.
Hank
