Review by Joe Long for Number Miracle, The

If you enjoy number predictions like Jack Hughes’ Figures of Foo, Number Logs, or Gerlitz’ Modern Math, then you’ll absolutely love this beautiful piece of imported micro magic. There’s an added twist to the second phase of the routine which would fool those “in the know”. You display a small stand with a solid cover that has the number 933120 affixed to the front. The cover is removed to reveal six blocks with various numbers printed on all four sides. The blocks may be removed, mixed about and placed back in any order/orientation. You explain that the number on the cover is the actual number of possible combinations in which the blocks may be positioned. A spectator is told to rearrange the blocks as they wish. This is done while your back is turned. You then instruct them to use a calculator to add the rows of numbers formed. As they begin, you turn around and instantly write down a 7 digit number on a piece of paper. When they finally have their total, you show that your lightning calculation total is correct! Impressive, but the second phase is even better.

Show that the cover you removed earlier is solid and completely opaque. This time instruct the spectator to mix the blocks in any order while your back is turned, add the numbers formed to get a new total and then place the cover back over the blocks before you turn around. This is done. When you turn to face the spectator, you slowly call out a number one digit at a time (or all at once)…and once again you’re correct! This time having mentally divined the total.

The apparatus is beautifully made. The gaff for the second phase is very clever and well concealed. The effect is very easy to do, as no real mental gymnastics are required.

Click here for more information.

Review by Joe Long for Missing Thought

A baffling multi-phase mental magic effect using a very thin drawer with cover and three chips with ESP symbols. The three chips are placed into the drawer which is closed. One of the symbols is chosen … no force or equivoque. When the drawer is removed from the cover, the chip matching the freely chosen symbol is now missing and is shown to be the one you predicted they would select.

The mechanical drawer is cleverly designed. You can make whichever chip needed vanish while closed. Perfectly crafted as usual by Thomas.

Click here for more information.

Review by Joe Long for Jewel Cupboard

Another beauty from Thomas Pohle in the 90’s. A very clever penetration of three solid blocks held in place by wooden swords inside a small “jewel cupboard”. The blocks are shown locked in place until the moment of release. The cabinet is shown completely empty, and the blocks and swords may be handed for examination

Click here for more information.

Review by Joe Long for Continuous Coin Slide

A thin drawer is removed from an equally thin wooden cover. On one end of the drawer a quarter is found in a recess. The quarter is dumped out and the drawer is shown cleanly on both sides…there’s only the empty recess on one side. The drawer is slid back into the cover. When the drawer is slid out again, there is another quarter in the recess! It’s dumped out and placed in the performer’s pocket … and the effect & production of quarters can be repeated continuously!

This would puzzle many magicians. There are no coins hidden in the cover at any time. Because of how the slide is handled and openly shown at the start, it just seems impossible. Not self-working, but not difficult either.

Click here for more information.

Review by Joe Long for Chinese Coin Production

This is a very deceptive piece of apparatus imported from Germany years ago and long unavailable. What appears to be a standard coin slide hardly thick enough to conceal one coin, will produce SEVEN “chinese coins” during the routine. The craftsmanship on this is amazing. Without the enclosed instructions you’d never figure out the method. Nicely decorated in yellow and black, the “coins” are what appear to be thin discs finished in red and gold.

Click here for more information.

Review by Joe Long for China Tunnel

This is a multi-phase routine:

Three Chips in different colors are pushed through a flat “tunnel”, one Chip that has been selected by a spectator disappears and only two chips come out the other side. The performer explains that the vanish of the chip has to do with the “Chinese wishing formula’ that is engraved in the plate used to push the chips through the tunnel. The two remaining Chips are placed in the tunnel and pushed through with the plate, but now those two disappear without trace as well.

Suddenly the “Chinese Wishing formula’ disappears from the plate which can be shown on both sides. A magic spell and the chips appear back in the tunnel but this time they have Chinese symbols on them.

The tube is approx. 4.5×2″ and the chips are approx. 1 3/8″ diameter

Click here for more information.

Review by Joe Long for Chinese Cube Mystery

This is a fooler that would puzzle most magicians familiar with the working of similar block penetrations … as there’s no black art used. A yellow block decorated with Oriental characters is displayed cleanly, all sides shown. It’s banged on the table and even tossed in the air! It’s completely solid except for a hole running through it from one side to the other. A thin walled cabinet consisting of only two sides and base, no front back or top, is also freely shown together with a small magic wand. There are holes in the walls of the cabinet similar to the ones through the block. The wand is inserted through the holes so it now runs across the cabinet.

The block is placed (or dropped!) into the cabinet where it’s seen resting on the wand. A spectator is asked to push on the block, but it doesn’t move as the solid wand is blocking it’s path. The block is once again shown all around and then placed back on the wand. This time the performer uses a single finger and slowly pushes the block through the wand to the bottom of the cabinet….visibly penetrating the wand! For the killer ending, the entire cabinet is turned upside down. The block hanging at the top still locked in place by the wand which runs through both the block and cabinet. The performer now takes the block and pulls it down….through the wand and free of the cabinet! The block is immediately shown all around once again with nothing to find.

The craftsmanship is outstanding. The work is completely invisible. The method is unique and a fooler.

Click here for more information.