One of the prizes of magic will be published soon. I’ve promised not to reveal details this month, but this informative book is hand set, hand printed, and hand bound by its author who has been one of the ‘behind the scene’ masters of magic. Very seldom, if ever, has his name appeared in magic literature, but he has originated and built more illusions for both magical and theatrical productions than any other man. Over one hundred pages have been completed and there will be over twenty pages of illustrations. There is dynamite between those covers to be, especially in those spots where the author has spouted his knowledge of ‘inside’ feuds and farces. It will be far from ‘pink tea’ stuff.
In Havana I accidentally met a former assistant of the Great Raymond, Grover George, and Li Ho Chang. We had quite a gabfest about illusions and personalities. Sid Lewis, for over three years with these performers, is now tourist guiding around the Cuban capitol instead of ‘flying’ the Asrah form. — Richiardi, the Spanish illusionist lately around New York has been touring Canada with the Johnny Jones shows. His idea of the buzz saw illusion is quite in keeping with present day activities in Spain. The little lady is on her back instead of stomach, and as the saw buzzes merrily through, innards and such are seen to gush forth, much like a freshly opened chicken. Incidentally, Richiardi wears throughout a blood stained surgeon’s outfit. Gory enough for you, you and you ? — That sudden plane flight to Mexico by Sam Margules, the S.A.M. Annual Hospital Show impresario, is explained by a N.Y. member’s interest in Dave Bamberg’s magic show. It seems that the son of Okito itches to conquer the states and has interested local backing. Sam was sent to Mexico pronto on the q.t. to do the check up. At the moment, however, the deal hangs quite a bit above the fire.
Tom Bowyer reviewed Jinx #24 and said that Miraskill had been on the market. The funny part is that this trick, which has resulted in too many letters of applause, was first done at the 1935 I.B.M. convention and won a prize. Shortly afterwards Mr James advertised it in the Linking Ring, BUT DIDN’T SELL AS MANY AS ONE ! I used it because I thought it excellent (and so did many others) and because although advertised I can’t see how it was marketed. The moment I saw it, I contacted the originator and obtained the story and permission. Are you sorry, Tommy ? — Down in Nassau Bahamas I ran into Arthur Lloyd on the one main street and it being my first time there, he took me around. We climbed the Queen’s staircases and while walking around the old Fort he told me how the Miraskill effect could be patterized along political lines. Explain that a magician would be very useful to either party at election time. Then have the spectator designate the red and black cards as Democrats or Republicans. Ask them which they want to win and it works out that way. Then repeat and show that the result can be made to work the other way or become a tie. It makes a very topical trick and even if Arthur did ruin my sightseeing sensibilities by talking magic, he has done right by our Jinx with the idea.
Glen Pope has come back to America without his beautiful sister for an assistant. Tommy Martin met up with the lass in England and proceeded to woo and win her for his own. Glen opens at the Ritz-Carleton in New York as this issue goes to press.
Charles Blake, who came to the same city disguised as a magician and did a nice job of working as such has thrown off his cloak of mystery and become a legit actor and understudy in the play Dead End. — “Gen” Grant will leave Pittsfield, Mass. in the spring and locate in New York. — I marvel at that lecturer-magician asking $1500 per week in the Rainbow Room and Cocktail lounge at Radio City. However, ASKING was as far as it went. — Peggy Horan, one of last year’s Sally Rand Unit girls is still carrying a vanishing bird cage and a lot of “those funny fake thumbs” in her trunk. Jarrow staged the routine in Chicago but the idea was a flopola. Few girls can seem to get the magic sense through their heads. I had the same trouble trying to teach a line of six to catch coins in unison. I even sat in front of them and tossed Green River coins a them so they’d get the idea of catching naturally. Even that didn’t worked because THEY KNEW THE MONEY WASN’T REAL.
Here’s a good tip for nightclub magi. Use the plume production as in Sach’s Sleight-of-Hand. The continuous production of plume after plume is very beautiful. I just saw a program of Macallister dated October 22, 1851 in Boston and he is shown doing the trick. It would be very NEW today, and if someone starts doing it, you’ll see all the magic stores selling plumes. It just seems as though the boys will wait until someone else does the head work. — Dai Vernon’s second offspring is called Nepi in memory of John Nepimonk Hoffzinser. — Liberty magazine, for October 10th, carried a Vox Pop argument between Frank Lane and Mickey MacDougall over the latter’s expose of a bridge cheating method. In the late summer of 1932 I spent some time in Boston and Frank made a deal for some material. I got some cash and the bridge secret which he said was known to only one other. Later, he used it in his manuscripts and then Mickey used it. Outside of that, I don’t know from nothing. — Joseph Dunninger’s collection of Chinese antiques runs into many thousands of what it takes. He’d rather buy a rare print than a magic book any day. — Hardeen is negotiating with Paramount for a redoing of The Master Mystery, the Arthur B. Reeve story silently screened with Houdini. He has just finished the second of a series of six shorts at the Astoria studios. No exposing of magic. — Harry Blackstone is telling the boys that he got sixty thousand for the series of 7 Sunday Roto exposures. — Larry Gray is back from England after four years. His comedy magic still tops anything today. — Special tip : The cocktail picks now being used in lounges and cocktail rooms are perfect for the paddle trick. I think they are obtainable in bunches at the five and dime emporiums. With a sharp pointed drawing pencil you can fake them up on the spot and befuddle the inebriates.
The Mystic Thirteen of Los Angeles have come into the fold and subscribe to The Jinx in a body. More and more are finding out daily that although they may not like all Jinx tricks, the ones they do like will work. That’s something.
Dr Irving Calkins is sincerely trying to get a line on exposure sentiment and possible remedies. Send him your answers to these questions; (1) What constitutes exposure ? (2) How much harm do you think exposure does ? (3) Can you offer any remedies that have teeth in them ? (4) Should exposure be completely ignored? Address Dr Irving Calkins, 200 Central St., Springfield, Mass. — The second issue of The Genii went the first even better. Your dollar for a year’s sub should go in immediately before the inevitable price rise. The quality of contents and the typography are both superb. — Both The Sphinx and The Genii did right well with Houdini’s memory on the tenth anniversary of his death. I wonder why Mr Ernst didn’t give any credit to Valentine Sanders when talking about safe work ? — Robert Doidge, the magic publisher, is finishing up the most complete and practical treatise on two person telepathy with articles, names and pictures ever assembled. Over twenty systems have been turned inside out for their best features and several basic principles are being introduced for speed and ease in learning. He’ll probably make about ten cents an hour for the time he has spent on it all. His collection of Zancig data alone is quite awe-inspiring.
Johnny Platt of Chicago uses the Grant Cocktail cup to fine advantage. Ice cubes in each glass gives double the usual amount of glasses filled even if it is taking magical license with cocktails to have ice in them. Then he produces cherries for each glass, and finally loads in beer which he pours out for himself. — Dai Vernon has returned to New York from the West, but the Jinx bowling club has not yet resumed its weekly meetings. Jud Cole’s idea of suspended animation is Dai at 10 A.M. — I understand that the high spot in costuming was reached at the Bridgeport convention when Proskauer did the Nomah sword cabinet wearing Hardeen’s rubber boots. Page Mr Esquire ! — And did one magus get a surprise when he put the rising cards in upside down and the ‘in-between’ pasteboards came up ? And when Bill Williston, the Milton Berle of magic, said what he didn’t like about Hardeen’s act, he discovered he was talking to Hardeen’s daughter ! I’m sorry I missed the convention. There must have been a lot of interesting things to report that others have left out of their reviews.
Have you a little frigidaire in your home ? If so, you can present a very screwey (but effective) mystery entitled The Problem of the Ice Cube. The effect as you can do it at your next bridge party goes about as follows : A card is chosen and the corner torn out. However, instead of the usual procedure of giving the corner to the spectator, you give them the card and keep the corner yourself. Borrowing a handkerchief, the corner is wrapped in the center and caused to vanish. At this time the good wife is asked to retire to the kitchen and bring in an ice tray. You take the value of the card chosen and count to that cube. On close inspection by your amazed friends, a bit of card is seen to be frozen in that particular cube. The selector of the card melts the cube, and the corner is found to fit perfectly the card he selected and has been holding ! Cute ?
The idea came while getting ice cubes for the shaking up of a set of Jinx Zippers. What a drink ! In the first place you must have a duplicate card to match the deck. Tear one corner out and wedge it diagonally into the space in tray to correspond with its value. Now fill the tray with water and put away to freeze. Put the card minus the corner on top of the deck with the torn out part (index corner) near you. On top of this put the duplicate card. Have a thumb tip in your pocket.
Force the top card any way, my method being a mere riffle to stop and then using the side slip to the top of the bottom section. The spectator removes the card and you close the deck, taking the card back with your right hand. Put it face down on the top of the deck after showing it to everybody so that it overlaps to the front and right. Now tear out the index corner and toss it to the table. The left thumb pulls the top card back squarely on the deck, and the right thumb now apparently takes the top card off and hands it face up to the spectator. YOU MERELY DO A SECOND BECAUSE OF THE TORN OUT CORNER OF THE TOP CARD, AND THE SPECTATOR GETS THE SECOND FROM THE TOP CARD ALSO WITH A CORNER OUT ! It being the same card, everything looks fair, and you pocket the deck with your right hand, which gets the thumb tip on. Borrow the handkerchief, throw it over the left fist, poke it in with the thumb leaving the tip, pick up the corner from the table, put it in hank and into the tip, steal out, twist the pocket into a little bunch and someone else holds the hank by the ends. On command they shake it out and the corner is gone.
Now call for a tray of ice, say that you will use the number of the card and count to that space. Now pass the tray around and let all see the corner inside. Let the spectator melt the cube and the corner fits. Real magic in the home ! General Electric should send me a new ice box for that.
Among the good things of the month is Audley Walsh’s publication of Sponge Ball Manipulation. I wish purchasers of his methods and routine were able to see him do the work personally. In cold print it’s hard to visualise the perfection of his operations. Many will buy it, read it, and lay it aside. Then when they see Mr Walsh or someone else do it, they’ll remark “I have that information, but I didn’t know it was so good.” James Wobensmith’s Ultimate Rope and Ring stunt is my idea of clean-cut magic. It’s a vastly improved and modern version of an old idea of Jordan’s and well worth putting in any small audience program. Again I’m talking about something I’ve seen myself rather than just hearsay.
We ‘muffed’ a chance during the past two months to enlarge The Jinx and take advertising. It may be, though, that it is just as well, because we are still independent and running opposition to no one. We’ve never plugged a trick we haven’t seen and liked, and we’ve never plugged a book we haven’t read on our own initiative. The Jinx has sold (so far) because of the practical tricks and advices it contains. We hope it keeps on selling for that reason.