Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. It’s been just a fine week here. I am finally caught up on my work. Although, it’s a little like shoveling the ocean. There’s always more coming in! This is by no means a complaint. I would much rather be busy with work to do than not.
As you know, I am constantly amazed at how much new product comes in the door. Last week, we had a ton of new stuff, including the 2011 Tenyo line. This week, we have even more terrific new items to tell you about. And, it’s not just the quantity of new items, but the quality. Honestly, this week’s new magic is very special!
On the home front, Aron has finally moved to Maryland. As with most things government, there was a little delay. But, he is now in the DC area, and having a fine time. I believe he starts work at the Smithsonian on the 25th, but, as with most things government, this could be subject to change. Notice any theme here?
Lucas arrives home on Saturday for his October break. A mystery that I cannot solve. Back in school for a month, and already they get a one week break. With the cost of tuition, they should be going 52 weeks a year. But it just doesn’t work that way. Of course, we will be thrilled to see him, and if he did go to school 52 weeks a year, we would miss him a lot. So, maybe the break is for the parents. Never thought of it that way.
Bonnie and I are planning a little trip for our anniversary in November. We are taking the train from Boston to Chicago. Ever since I saw what a great time the Ricardos and Mertzes had on their train trip from New York to Los Angeles (am I dating myself here?) I always wanted to take a trip like that. So, we are going to do it. It all sounds like so much fun to me. Overnight in a sleeping car. Dining in the dining car. It’s all so retro. I had to do some serious arm twisting to get Bonnie to go along with it. But, we worked out a compromise. We will train out to Chicago, but fly back. Now, we have to decide where to stay. I already booked a room at the famous Palmer House, but I think Bonnie has other ideas. We shall see.
And now to this week’s excitement. And, it’s a new one!
BOOK DEAL: We currently carry well over 1700 book titles! It’s a huge number of books. And, it’s really important for people to read. That’s what I think, anyway. So, from right now until Thursday, October 28th, at midnight, you have the opportunity to get books for free! But, you have to get them the old fashioned way. You must earn them.
Here's the way it works:
For every order of $100 or more, you get one free book (your choice of any book that sells for $35.00 or less). If you spend $200 or more, you get two free books (again, your choice, up to $70.00 in books). $300 or more gets you three free books. And on it goes. The more you buy, the more you get for free! In order to claim your free book, just put the name of the book in the Customer Notes Box at the bottom of the second page of the online checkout (after you fill in your name, address, etc.) at www.magicfact.com. If you phone your order in to our toll free number at 800 874 7400, just let the order-person know what free book(s) you want. If you FAX the order to us at 781 395 2034, same thing. Just let us know which ones you want. Remember, the giveaway ends on Thursday, October 28th, at midnight!
Now, let’s take a peek at this week’s Hotlist!
(1) Hindu Basket Illusion: In stock for immediate shipment! A wonderful illusion that can be done virtually anywhere! In a living room. On the biggest stage. Surrounded! The custom made basket is so deceptive, it will fool them all!
Made of finest quality rattan fiber material with natural finish, comes complete with 4 gleaming stainless steel swords, a nice wooden natural color wand, a nice looking large cloth, & small square rattan panels on each side. All of the props fit inside the basket!
The effect is classic. The basket is shown all around, inside and out. Your assistant steps into the basket. She tries to get down inside, but has trouble due to the small size of the basket. Toss the large cloth over your assistant, and gently push her down inside.
Remove the cloth and toss it aside. No way the girl is hidden in the cloth.
Now, thrust four swords through the lid and out the four sides. Finally, plunge the large wooden wand down through the center of the lid, all the way to the bottom of the basket.
Remove the swords and wooden wand. Step into the basket and stomp all around to prove that it is empty!
Toss the cloth over the basket. Suddenly it begins to rise. Whisk the cloth away and your assistant has re-appeared!
A great illusion!
Designed to easily fit in the back seat or trunk of a car. Packs easily, plays really big!
Size of the basket: 33" long x 26" wide x 16" height
Weight: 15 Kgs for the complete set
$1200.00 (60.1701)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1615&cat=0&page=1)
(2) Speed – Mickael Chatelain: A spectator selects a playing card and signs it. You then lose the card in the deck. Turn the top card over and show it back and front. Now, hit the deck with this card and instantly and visibly the spectator's chosen card appears on top of the deck! The spectator can freely examine his card and it is indeed the original one!
You can use a playing card, a credit card or a telephone card to hit the deck. The chosen card will appear back on top of the deck in 1 second!
* No Flap
* No Thread
* No Elastic
$45.00 (30.1542)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10484&cat=0&page=1)
(3) Kings Crossing – Jason Palter: From Jason Palter, the Ultimate Jumbo Cards Across.
Kings Crossing is Cards Across on steroids: Jumbo cards! No sleight-of-hand. No palming. No false counts. Absolutely clean!!!
The routine possibilities for “Kings Crossing” are limitless. This is a no-nonsense and literally self-working version of the classic effect, and allows you to concentrate on your presentation while fooling the pants off of your audience!
The Effect:
Here is the basic routine that you can do with Kings Crossing.
Show a stack of 20 Jumbo cards, and explain how you are going to simply transfer a “bit of love” in your show. Bring a couple of star-crossed lovers—or in a pinch, a married couple onto the stage.
Very fairly, deliberately, and separately, count out the 20 jumbo cards onto the table—there are no false counts or sleights.
Spread the top 10 cards in a fan, and show everyone including the volunteers that they are all King of Spades. Everyone can clearly see 10 separate King of Spades. Close up the spread and give them to the man to hold safely in his hands, against his heart—all in the name of love!
Now, spread the other 10 cards in a fan, and show them all to be Ace of Diamonds. Again the volunteers and audience can clearly see 10 separate Ace of Diamonds.
Close up this spread and give them to the woman, who also holds them in her hands, against her heart.
From this point on, you do not touch the cards again!
After a series of funny bits, you declare that you have now transferred 3 cards from the man’s pile to the woman’s.
To prove this, the man himself now counts the cards one at a time onto the table. There are only 7 cards!
The woman is now invited to count her cards onto the table, and incredibly there are 13!
As a stunning kicker, she herself picks up the 13 cards and spreads through them, showing them to the audience. Incredibly everyone will see that there are now 3 King of Spades mixed into her spread—they are interspersed between the 10 Aces of Diamonds!
An amazing and baffling magical transposition with a fun and interactive presentation has just taken place!
Important points to remember:
* After the cards are introduced and counted out, the performer does not touch them again!
* At the end of the trick, the 3 Kings are actually interspersed separately within the spread of Aces.
* No false counts or sleight-of-hand; completely self-contained.
* Tons of opportunity for audience participation, ad-libs, and even some risqué scripting!
* Perfect for stage and parlor, but you can actually do Kings Crossing close-up as well!
* Comes complete with 20 custom jumbo-sized cards, instructional DVD, and multiple bonus ideas and routines.
$60.00 (60.1702)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8759&cat=0&page=1)
(4) Sports – Dean Dill: Five cards are shown, each with a picture of a ball from 5 different sports. Baseball, Football, Pool Ball, Tennis Ball and a Basketball. The magician snaps the chosen card and the picture magically jumps off of the card. Where the picture was, the card is now blank. A real ball ends up in your spectator's hand or bouncing off the table!
Special gaffed cards make the handling easy. The force is simple, deceptive and well motivated.
You can perform Sports strolling or at a table. It resets easily and is very practical. Dean's handling of the ball production is fantastic. He offers a basic method which is very easy but extremely effective. He also gives alternative handling the pros are sure to appreciate!
Included:
Five special cards.
Performance and instructional DVD showing all the work.
A regulation "Eight Ball" for the surprise production.
The sports theme is always topical and your patter can be customized according to the sports season or current events.
Audience participation and a surprise production make this a great trick.
Nothing gets a better reaction than when that ball hits the table with a big thud
As with all of Dean's effects, you get quality props and all the handling has been worked out to the finest detail. It's audience tested and a sure winner. And, you don't have to be a sports fan to love this trick!
$45.00 (30.1538)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10478&cat=0&page=1)
(5) Above The Fold – Rich Aviles: From the foreword by Daniel Garcia: "Some of the most clever, modern card thinking I have ever seen."
This is the debut collection from one of magic's most exciting new talents: Rich Aviles. In this intelligent, praiseworthy collection of card and close-up material, Aviles details thirteen effects and seven moves, each one explained with equal parts clarity and wit.
Here are some highlights:
Fax Machine: A card animates, moving on its own power, and changes into another card as it moves through the deck. It's kind of like an ungimmicked rising card effect ex- cept... a card doesn't rise.
Ballerina Change: With a flourish, the top card is extended away from the deck. A wave of the hand and it changes into a different card. It only lasts a couple seconds, though, until it visibly changes back to the first card without any cover.
Pocket Protectors: This trick is extremely rare in that it will completely fool magician audiences and entertain non-magicians!
Bystander: Adhering to the strict rules of the International Brotherhood of Magic People, the magician is forced to take a break from performing. In the meantime, the deck is handed over to a spectator who unwittingly does the impossible. The magician then discloses that he predicted the spectator's every move.
Full contents:
Moves: 1. Fax Machine, 2. Comic Change, 3. Riffle Revolve, 4. Ballerina Change, 5. Replica Control, 6. Vanilla Extract, 7. Razor Burn Switch.
Effects: 1. Pocket Protectors, 2. Oops, I Did It Again, 3. Middle Man, 4. Bystander, 5. Subwich, 6. Speedo, 7. 2 Legit, 8. Big Black Arrow, 9. Two Wrongs, 10. Asher Twitch, 11. Troubleshooting: The Forgotten Card, 12. Troubleshooting: An Ending For Torn & Restored Card
Super Awesome Mega Bonus: D.I.Y. Fire Wallet
74 pages. Softbound. $25.00 (BK01734)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10479&cat=0&page=1)
(6) Travelogue – Richard Pinner: The next generation of diary tricks. Direct and powerful mindreading.
You can perform Travelogue close-up at tables, strolling, in parlor, cabaret or full stage.
This is exactly what happens:
Show a diary with lots of locations which you hand to your participant.
Show an envelope that you explain contains a postcard from one of these places.
The participant looks up a date.
The postcard in the envelope is from the place on that date.
Obviously you can take a little longer over this and fill the performance with your own wit and charm!
Important points to remember:
Only 1 diary.
Only 1 envelope.
There is nothing to remember.
No mathematics
You don't even need to know the date.
It really couldn't get any easier.
What you get:
Beautifully produced diary
Specially printed postcards
Cleverly gimmicked envelope
Instructional DVD Including high quality artwork to make a stage version.
$62.50 (40.757)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8299&cat=0&page=1)
"That's brilliant, when can I have one?" - Graham Jolley
"Wow, I've no idea how you did that" - Marc Oberon
(7) Transformer Card: The crazy card that turns itself inside out and upside down.
J B Magic presents the Transformer Card by Dan Burgess. This is the crazy card that no only turns itself inside out and back to front but also at the same time changes from one card into another.
A prediction card inside an envelope is placed on the table. A card is selected from a deck, let's assume it's the King of Spades.
The prediction card is removed from inside the envelope; it's the 10 of Hearts. It does not match the selection.
The magician now starts to fold the card not once, twice or even three times but six times. This visually twists the card inside out. The card still has a full bicycle back yet the face is now a totally different card, its now the King of Spades; it matches the selected card.
Without any switch, the same Transformer Card now gets even stranger as the card really turns inside out. The face of the King is now back to front!
Next the 10 of Hearts reappears upside down. The spectator can even fold the card. It really is inside out and upside down.
Finally with no moves of any kind the transformer card corrects itself, so it once again matches the selected card.
You will love this. It's easy to do but really hard to put down. The Transformer Card is hand made from Bicycle playing cards; it come complete with a step by step instructional DVD.
The DVD features 3 routines:
Transformer card
It's always the ?
Inside out.
Extra handling tips and ideas.
$20.00 (30.1543)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9469&cat=0&page=1)
(8) Shattered Reality – Lance Richardson: Illustrates the psychology of magic where the magician uses sight, sound and even touch to create the illusion of a solid mirror being smashed to pieces, then restored.
In this unique effect, a framed mirror is inspected and touched by an audience member moments before the magician inflicts a damaging blow, making the mirror shards spill onto the floor.
When the damage is done, the magician pulls back the protective cover revealing that all but one of the mirror pieces have been smashed out. A quick shake of the frame makes the last piece fall to the floor with that all-too-familiar sound of broken glass echoing through the theater.
After the magician picks up the broken pieces in a bag, he flips it open to reveal the fully restored mirror, showing that the pieces have disappeared, only to have returned to the once empty frame.
The focus of this Mockup Series is to present new magical effects in full detail. A working mockup/prototype is built and photographed from every angle, providing a clear look at the featured effect. Along with over a dozen pictures, there is a complete set of workshop plans with all the measurements required and written details on performance, routine and building. You will find this the most comprehensive set of workshop plans out there.
Self Contained
Extremely Visual
Packs Small Plays Big
No Assistants Required
Detailed routine, story line & performance tips
24 pages. 8.5" x 11." $35.00 (BK01735)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10481&cat=0&page=1)
"Lance Richardson has developed a great series of effects, big ideas in small packages, and then described them beautifully. These inspiring books deserve the attention of magicians." - Jim Steinmeyer
(9) Signed Card Thru Window – Jean Pierre Vallarino: For the first time in the “card through window” effect, the card is signed and ends clean on the other side of the window. Performed live without the assistance of anyone else.
Have a spectator freely pick a card from a regular deck of Bicycle cards. Once the card is chosen and signed, the card is lost in the deck.
You place a piece of tape on the back of one card, the one you believe to be the chosen signed card. Stick that card on a window, facing the spectators.
Unfortunately, it is not the selected card.
So, you take a silk or a napkin and wipe the window clean.
Amazingly, the card instantly transforms into the spectator’s signed card, and they then can retrieve the card themselves.
All the action happens on the back of the window.
Everything can be given for examination!
And the spectator can keep the card as a souvenir
Key Points:
- Nearly self working and very easy to perform,
- You end totally clean.
- The spectator can get the card themselves from the other side of the window.
- No force of any kind, the card is freely chosen.
- Resets in seconds.
- Self contained, no need for the help of an assistant
- Contains all props to perform the effect, except a regular deck of cards and a Sharpie to sign the card
Performed by Eric Leblon and Jean-Pierre Vallarino.
$49.95 (30.1541)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8923&cat=0&page=1)
(10) Twilight Angels Full Deck: This is Paul Harris' all time favorite effect from True Astonishments. This classic effect is finally available with a full deck of 52 different refills, so you can give away a different value card every time you do Twilight Angels!
Each 56 card deck also includes two double backers and two sample bonus-effect cards: "Plucked " and "Mandolin Moves.”
Each deck includes a download link to free instructions and full performance video.
$20.00 (30.1539)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10480&cat=0&page=1)
(11) Trick Photography – Steve Gore:
There are lots of iPhone tricks out there, mainly apps, but this could be the best iPhone trick ever!
Perfect for all magicians, equally at home on the street or as a stand-alone close-up routine for mix and mingle performers. The DVD features 5 routines using freely selected playing cards, bank notes, credit cards and even a borrowed driver’s license! All are easy to do and explained in intricate detail by the creator, Steve Gore. Best of all, you don't even need to own an iPhone to perform this trick, just borrow one!
Contents:
Stick ‘em Up
Imagine having a card selected from a regular deck, signed and then ripped in two, one piece to be kept by the spectator. A sticker is now placed on the back of the playing card and the name of the card is written on the it for all to see. The magician now borrows any iPhone and takes a photo of the selected card
The magician takes the card and shows the back containing the sticker. He now places a lighter flame over the card and magically the letters morph into the word GONE. When the card is turned around it is now blank. The card really has vanished!
The magician explains that the only proof their card ever existed is inside their phone on the photograph taken a minute earlier. Taking the phone, he rips the card from the photo into 3-dimensional reality, leaving just an empty hand on their phone! They match the card with the piece that was torn from it and it matches! The magician now gives then their phone back with a lasting and memorable souvenir!
Gone with the Force
The original knockout presentation. A card is chosen, signed, torn, photographed on a borrowed iPhone and then cleanly placed into a small envelope. The name of the chosen card is written clearly on the front of the envelope and then sealed inside. A lighter is now waved over the card name on the front of the envelope and mysteriously the name changes to the word GONE! The envelope is opened by the spectator and the card has indeed vanished!
The magician now picks up the borrowed phone and magically rips the photographed card out into 3-dimensional reality. The card and phone are given back to the spectator to keep as a memorable souvenir.
Plus:
Freely Gone, Cashed Out, When I’m Calling You
You Get: Instructional DVD with 5 routines, Envelopes, Blank Bicycle Playing Card, Labels and a Special Pen.
$30.00 (DVD01200)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10483&cat=0&page=1)
(12) Vodkard – Rey Ben: Show an empty clear hip flask.
Cover it with a handkerchief and give it to a spectator to hold
A card is chosen and magically it flies into the hipflask!
Finally, you turn the bottle upside down and the card falls out of the bottle and onto the table! Gimmick included. $29.95 (30.1540)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10482&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s this week’s Hotlist. Some of the best magic we have seen in a long time. I am loving the quality of the new magic being added to our catalog every week. And, I hope you are as well!
As always, I want to personally thank you for taking time out to visit with us, either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we love the company!
Hank
