Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. A big week, all around!
This week, Bonnie and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary. The Silver Anniversary. Over the years, I have made a lot of little jokes about Bonnie, but the truth is I cannot imagine my life without her. Actually, I can imagine it, and it’s not such a pretty picture. We celebrated by having dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Il Casale. And I gave her a very special Twenty Five Year Service Pin (the joke but not really a joke gift) and a very nice bracelet (silver of course). A nice day, for sure.
On the magic front, this week we received samples of the new 2010 Tenyo Magic line. This is always a good time, as we get to play with the toys! This year, there are five new items. Our favorite is Angelo Carbone’s Floating Card. This one looks like a real miracle, and is so well made, you won’t believe your eyes. One of the items, the China Surprise, we will be carrying in very limited numbers, because none of us think it is an item our customers would like. But, if you are a Tenyo collector, you will want one to keep your collection up to date. I am not listing in the Hot List, because of its limited appeal, but here’s a link to check it out:
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9925&cat=&page=1)
All of the Tenyo items will be delivered to us in late December, perhaps in time for the holidays. The first shipment will be in limited numbers, so you might consider ordering early.
As you read this email Newsletter, Bonnie and are on the way to Oberlin, Ohio for Parents’ Weekend. Out of town two weekends in a row! Of course, we’re very excited to see Lucas The Singing Son, and spend some time together. We love visiting Oberlin. It’s such a swinging town!
Last weekend we were in Philadelphia, visiting with Harry and Elizabeth Anderson. Harry had a show at the Mutter Museum of Medical Anomalies. If you find yourself in Philadelphia, this museum is a must. I have never, ever seen anything like it in life. To be honest, it’s a little weird, but really interesting. The show was great. The reception after the show was fun. And, spending time with the Andersons was the best. I had not been to Philadelphia for thirty years, and I can tell you that it is a great town. We did all the sightseeing stuff. Bonnie even went to the Diana Exhibit at the Constitution Center. I drew the line at that, but did check out the other exhibits in the center. I was blown away by the life size bronze sculptures of all of the signers of The Constitution. We had Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches for lunch (what’s all the hub-bub with this, anyway?). And, we were home on Sunday evening.
And that’s all the news from here. Time to check out this week’s Excitement.
BUY ONE GET ONE AT 60% OFF SALES EVENT: By far the most popular sale we ever held was the Buy One Get One At Half Price Sale. When that event ran, we were inundated with orders. We have now juiced that sales event up by offering a gigantic 60% off the second item. That’s right, 60% off! Here's how it works. For the next 6 days, from right this very moment, until Wednesday, November 11th at midnight, you can save like crazy. How does it work? Simple, really. For every item you buy, you get the second item at 60% off. That's right, a full 60% off. So, if you buy a Harbin Suspension for $549.00 and a Sword Thru Neck for $199.95, you will get the Sword Thru Neck for $79.98! What a deal!!
The rules are also simple. We deduct the 60% from the lower priced of the two items. You can buy as many items as you want, we will do the math and you will save a bundle. There are a few items that are not included in this promotion. Very few. If you order one of those items, we will let you know before we process your order.
Note: Since this is a somewhat complicated sale, the online system will not do the math. We will do it here before we process your order. Your email confirmation will show the full price for each item, but we will figure the discounts before you are charged, and reimburse your credit card.
In order to take advantage of this outrageous sale, you must put the words BUY ONE GET ONE in the Customer Notes Box of the online checkout at www.magicfact.com. If you are calling your order in to our toll free number at 800 874 7400, give the order person the special code. If you are FAXing your order to 781 395 2034 or emailing it to magicfact@aol.com, just remember to include the special code, BUY ONE GET ONE and you will get the biggest discount ever! So, hop to it and save some serious dough!
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s Hotlist!
(1) U.F. Grant DVD Set – 3 DVDs: The magic, the inventions and the story of U.F. Grant. Growing up in the 1950’s, it was hard to find an effect in the magic shop that didn’t have U.F. Grant’s name on it. It is amazing that so many of those effects are still available today. They are truly “old school” magic. Genuine classics.
Included on the DVDs:
• Rare lost film lectures
• Original drawings of Grant’s illusions
• Vintage film footage with U.F. Grant, Jay & Francis Marshall and other greats
• Interviews with people who knew Grant
• Color film footage of Grant demonstrating his creations
Experience the history of this most amazing magician, inventor and teacher. There are also a host of special features you will want to see including downloadable copies of Grant's most popular manuscripts and a slide show tour showing how the effects came to be. You have to watch the video demo for this one! $79.00 (DVD01070)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9917&cat=0&page=1)
(2) Floating Card – Angelo Carbone: From Tenyo’s World’s Greatest Magic Series comes Angelo Carbone’s Floating Card.
Show a deck of cards and ask a spectator to freely select one card. Place that card face-up onto the deck.
Magically, the card slowly floats upward!
The selected card slowly returns to the deck. You can immediately spread the deck to show the faces of all the cards.
The new concept incorporated in this levitation leaves audiences wondering now a gimmick could possibly be involved.
This is our absolute favorite of all the new Tenyo for 2010 items!
The package contains everything you need, including a deck of Bicycle cards. $43.95 (30.1453)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9919&cat=0&page=1)
(3) Perfect Match: A great routine for any audience: kids, adults, families. And, dare I say it? It packs small and plays big. Really big.
The routine uses 13 large cards. Each specially printed and laminated so they will last forever.
You have six cards. The spectator has six cards, which exactly match your six. And, there is one card which reads “Magic Show Now Is Happening.”
With your cards face down, you spell the word “Magic” by moving one card from top to bottom.
The spectator can stop you at any time and spell the next letter or letters.
You can stop him as he is spelling and complete the spelling.
Each time a word is spelled, both you and the spectator turn over your cards. The two cards match exactly. Every time!
Repeat it five more times, and the cards will match each and every time. No matter who does the spelling, the cards will match.
Even better, the effect is completely self-working!
Comes complete with everything you need. $37.95 (40.697)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9912&cat=0&page=1)
(4) Illusion Truck: Number two in the 2010 Tenyo line of great new magic!
Remove a lion figurine from the miniature circus truck.
Drop the lion inside the folds of a handkerchief. In a wink, the lion disappears!
Suddenly, the lion reappears back inside the truck! It looks oh, so magical!
The truck contains an exquisitely designed gimmick that enables you to perform a stage illusion right on your table top! $47.95 (10.1544)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9922&cat=0&page=1)
(5) Ultimate Oil and Water – Anthony Owen: Anthony's acclaimed Oil and Water routine in which red and black cards are repeatedly mixed and magically separate. Finally the magic happens even with the cards face-up!
For the first time on DVD Anthony goes into the full details of his routine plus gives you several suggestions, improvements and additional handlings, including some which have never appeared in print or on film before! The DVD comes complete with the special cards necessary for you to master this right away and Anthony even explains how you can make up the cards yourself in the future.
Contents include:
Anthony's Ultimate Oil and Water routine and full explanation.
Sebastien Clergue's handling for the final phase.
Anthony's improved handling for the second phase; never before revealed!
Anthony's stand up handling; never before revealed in print or on film! $30.00 (DVD01068)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9916&cat=0&page=1)
Derren Brown said, "Anthony's Oil and Water is the cleanest you'll ever see."
Daryl said, "Looks terrific - like real magic!"
Marc De Souza said, "One of the cleanest, most magical looking handlings for the classic effect I've seen. An entertaining presentation, with an instant reset and no difficult sleights."
(6) The Complete Oracle CDROM: Volumes 1, 2 and 3 Plus The Larry White Memorial Issue - In recent years magic has experienced a renewed and keen interest in mental, bizarre and storytelling magic, magic that does more than just fool the eyes and mind, magic that tugs on the heart strings, that stirs arcane fears and longings, magic that grabs the audience and won't let go. Sometimes the experience is light and airy, sometimes it probes a bit deeper and provokes self analysis and even resolve, sometimes it is just plain spooky!
David Goodsell and the late Larry White spent three years of their lives gathering the best of this kind of magic in their unique printed page/web page Oracle Magic Magazine, acclaimed as one of the best "little" magazines ever published. The quality of the magic as well as the artwork and creative design made every issue a unique experience. The material deserves to be archived and shared with a much larger audience.
David Goodsell has gathered all of the printed and web materials from Volumes 1, 2 and 3 and has added a special all-new Larry White Memorial Issue of Oracle Magic Magazine all on one CD. Over 1100 pages, 100 routines, and 85 contributors including names like Robert Neale, Jeff McBride, Larry White, Cody Fisher, Master Payne, Brother Shadow, Larry Becker, David Parr, Barrie Richardson and so many more. Your magic library will not be complete without this electronic magazine. $39.95 (BK01677)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9914&cat=0&page=1)
(7) Millionaire’s Dream: Another new one from the 2010 Tenyo line!
Coins continuously appear from nowhere, with a startling climax!
Fold up a dollar bill. A Quarter magically rises up from inside!
Produce Quarter after Quarter from the same dollar bill.
The last Quarter that appears magically changes into another dollar!
Tenyo has made the popular Miser’s Dream effect easy to learn, by incorporating two gimmicks, one hidden in the dollar bill and the other within the paper bag.
The structure of the dollar bill gimmick is identical to one published by Mike Bornstein about 30 years ago. However, it has been improved so that your dollar bill is not damaged during the simple preparation of the bill. The paper bag allows you to finish the routine with a solid climax, worthy of professional magicians!
$45.95 (20.436)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9923&cat=0&page=1)
(8) Quick Change Book Vol. 2 – Lex Schoppi: In this specialty book you will gain a deep insight into the complexity of this Quick Change act and experience its creation in the form of a diary. The latest technical knowledge flowed into this presentation and is elaborately described. Both the costumes and the props are described in detail. The techniques applied here are the real work and allow for the speediest costume changes.
From the Preface: Quick Change as an art should suggest to the audience that you are actually able to dress and undress very quickly. It is not a question of changing the color of the costume. It is also not a question of changing the most costumes. It is foremost the harmonious interaction between the choreography, the rapid costume changes and above all the enhancing decoration which makes an arousing show out of the mundane change of a dress. The eyes are purposefully over stimulated to charge the human brain, and so an optical firework is created from a simple effect.
Background: At the end of the year 2008 Lex Schoppi & Alina created a television act which amazed a television audience of more than 10 million. Now Lex Schoppi has put pen to paper and allows the reader a complete insight into the complexity of the whole Quick Change act. You will see the effects from behind the curtain and understand what really happens within seconds. Apart from the technical subtleties, the author details the correct presentation of the effects described. You will see how a complete Quick Change act of 12 costumes was developed, how the costumes work, exactly why they performed in that way and how the difficulties were overcome. The techniques described in this book allowed the split second costume changes to be performed faultlessly.
144 pages. Hardbound. 171 diagrams, drawings and photos. English edition translation by Lee Alex. $85.00 (BK01678)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9915&cat=0&page=1)
(9) Cataclysm – Brian Caswell: From the creative mind behind the best selling card effect, Trilogy, comes what has been called Brian Caswells greatest creation ever!
Imagine showing a deck of Bicycle brand playing cards. Each card has a number written on its back. Your spectator names 3 playing cards and these are removed from the face up deck and placed on the table.
A photograph is shown to contain 3 face down playing cards each bearing a different number on its back. Unbelievable as it sounds, when the cards are turned over the numbers match!
Yes, it really is that clean!
Easy To Do
No Sleight Of Hand
No Funny Moves
No Rough and Smooth
No Duplicate Cards
No Thin Cards
Instant Reset!
You will absolutely love Cataclysm! It really is the cleanest effect of it's kind. Requires a regular red Bicycle deck. $24.50 (30.1452)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9913&cat=0&page=1)
(10) The Magic In Books - Leo Behnke: One of magic's most gifted (and prolific!) writers has finally written the story of his life in the twin worlds of magic and books, and how he has often succeeded in combining his two passions. Leo was Steve Martin's first boss (and mentor!) at the newly opened Disneyland, was one of the very first magicians hired by the newly opened Magic Castle, and worked closely with Ricky Jay and later David Copperfield to develop and maintain one of the premier magic collections in the world. Others featured prominently in his story include Gene Finnell, John Daniels, Owen Magic, Mark Wilson, Bill and Milt Larsen, John Gaughan, Johnny Carson, Jay Marshall, Clarke "The Senator" Crandall, Don and Joan Lawton, Jay Ose, Bev Bergeron, Alan Wakeling, Lynn Searles, Ray Bradbury, C. A. George Newmann, Mike Caveney, Shari Lewis, Harry Blackstone, Jr., Steve Forte, Burton Sperber, Dr. Stanley Jaks and Leo's wife, Pat. A bibliography of all the books Leo has authored, edited and/or designed is included as an appendix. This is sure to delight the many fans, old and new, of Leo Behnke! Foreword by Steve Martin. 120 pages. Hardbound. $30.00 (BK01679)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9921&cat=0&page=1)
(11) Shrinking Pen: You are going to love Tenyo’s Shrinking Pen! The pen shrinks while being held by the spectator!
Show a pen to your audience.
Ask the spectator to pinch the pen through the cloth of a handkerchief. As she pushes downward, she feels the pen shrinking smaller and smaller.
When the handkerchief is removed, the pen is seen to have really shrunk! And, you can write with the little pen!
$41.95 (10.1545)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9924&cat=0&page=1)
(12) Inside Their Pockets Number One – The Tie Steal DVD: Get in! Get out! Steal all you can! Number one in the amazing Inside Their Pockets series is the up close and personal Tie Steal!
Long coveted as one of the most difficult steals in the art of pick pocketing, The Tie Steal is shown here in simple detail.
In less than ten minutes, you'll be a thief!
What takes an eternity to tie, is yours in seconds!
On this wonderful volume, you'll learn how to remove a complete stranger's tie right from under their nose. It's easy if you know how, and you will learn all the ins and outs of the tie steal, leaving nothing to the imagination! $10.00 (DVD01069)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9920&cat=0&page=1)
(13) Fart-Toon: What can you say about a trick called Fart-Toon? It’s a gas! It’s not a stinker. It’ll blow you away?
If you loved Dan Harlan’s original Card-Toon and you feel the urge to perform something a little less than tasteful, Fart-Toon is for you!
A spectator is asked to name any card.
Bring out a deck with a drawing of a stick-figure magician printed on it.
As you riffle the edge of the deck, the figure comes to life! He reaches into his hat, brings out a super-sized taco and eats it.
Now for the part you are bound to like. The little stick guy sticks his pointy behind out and a mysterious cloud of gas appears.
When the smoke clears, the spectator’s freely chosen card is seen floating in midair! A miracle!
Let’s face it. Fart-Toon is not for everyone. Women will hate it. Kids will love it. Guys in bars will think it’s hilarious. Don’t do it in your church-basement show. Do it at bachelor parties or sports bars.
Get it? Fart-Toon is great in the right place. Personally, I laughed when I saw it. Of course, Bonnie wasn’t with me.
$15.00 (30.644)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1216&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s this week’s Hotlist. What can you say about a list that includes four (actually five!) new Tenyo items. I can say it is mighty hot!
As always, we appreciate your finding time to spend with us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we love the company!
Hank
