A MAGAZINE OF INNOVATION EDITED BY
WILLIAM P. MIESEL
PUBLISHED BY
unikorn magik
P R E C U R S O R
X X X I
This is PRECURSOR XXXI and is published in June 1991. The editorial offices are at 2215 Myrtle Street, Erie, Pennsylvania 16502. PRECURSOR will be pub lished at least three times a year, and i t w i l l be sold for $16.00 (U.S.) for three issues. Outside the United States, Canada, and Mexico, three issues are sent Air Mail for $19.00 (U.S.). Michael DeMarco's "Ace-Sembly" is another handling of Dai Vernon's "One At A Time Ace Assembly" that uses some very well-known techniques to accomplish i t , but as Michael says, "It's fun!" Paul C r i t e l l i ' s "Controlling A Key Card" breaks away from generally accepted procedures. Usually, a card is selected and is then returned next to a key card and, thus, can be found at a l a t e r time. In t h i s case, the selected card never moves, and the key card is brought to it to assist in a later disclosure. Al Thatcher's "Self-Stacking Gambling Demonstration" is the kind of routine that my old friends Rusduck and Charlie Hudson would have enjoyed. If you are thinking about doing some "Memorized Deck" work, this might be a good starting point. Since the stock is only t h i r t y cards, that leaves twenty-two other cards for different set-ups. John Quine's cards that I entertaining anyone to try
"The feel for and
Geiger Counter Plus" is a rather complex revelation of two is basically "Magic for Magicians". Even though it could be a lay audience, i t s strong feature is the d i f f i c u l t y for go back and reconstruct the routine.
The "Last Coin Through The Table" is Warren Stephens's handling of the final coin in a "Coins Throught The Table" routine. Warren always felt that the last coin should be the most convincing pass, but in most routines, this is not the case. Generally, the last coin is lapped, and the empty hand is held up as it holding it at the fingertips - not completely r e a l i s t i c . The performer t r i e s to convince himself that the spectator believes that he sees the coin because this move is constantly repeated throughout the routine. More than likely, because the routine is very repititious, the spectator knows what is coming so he is looking closely, and he sees the empty hand but is probably too polite to say anything. In "this handling, the spectator actually does see the coin right up to the instant that it passes through the table. Howard Port poses an interesting theory along the lines of forcing one of three objects in "Improving The Odds". The theory makes a lot of sense, but since I am no longer a performer, I have not had to opportunity t e s t i t myself. Back in Howard's college days, he was a regular performer at the Forks Hotel, and he directed his magic towards the female of the couple, following the axiom that if you can please the g i r l , her date is pleased. Under the conditions that he
worked, I don't doubt that he had over a 90% success r a t e , but, as with any of these psychological theories, it depends upon the conditions. Del Copley's "R. J. C. Ace Cutting" is a very simple version of Hary Riser's "Almost Legitimate Cutting The Aces" that eliminates a l l stocks. Actually, though, I would prefer to use Ed Mario's "Immediate Bottom Deal" from the Pallbearer's Review, 1968 Folio, in place of Larry Jennings's "Stud Bottom Deal". Nick Trost's "A Small Gil-Breath Of Spring" is an i n t e r e s t i n g effect that is based on a mixture of "Stay-Stack" and "Gilbreath Principle". Actually, a l l of these elements are part of what is known as the "Gilbreath Second Principle", see The Linking Ring, Vol. 46, No. 6. Other recent ideas where s u i t s are used in effects of t h i s type are Bob King's "Gambler's Touch" from PRECURSOR XXVI and Ed Mario's "Gilbreath Can Be A Bore" in PRECURSOR XXVII. There is a real renaissance in the work of "Erdnase" at this time, so there is probably a need for t h i s a r t i c l e . Those of you who are into "Erdnase" should compare Thomas Gaudette's handling of the Bottom Palm" with that of Erdnase in THE EXPERT AT THE CARD TABLE. I t h a s a l o t i n i t s f a v o r . At the time I was studying "Erdnase", I had real d i f f i c u l t y trying to get the "Bottom Palm" and came up with a rather easy "bastardized" version that I didn't really appreciate - it seemed too easy - u n t i l I read almost the same thing on page 139 of Mario's Magazine, Volume 5. I then realized that if it was good enough for Mario, it surely should be good enough for me. This is not meant as a put-down to any of the above mentioned handlings, but different hands can do different things, and I am trying to give different views so that you can make the right choice for you. The "Bottom Palm" is a very potent weapon in the arsenal of the Card Conjuror and needs further exposure.
Two Reviews Every year there seems to be more and more books being published. Some of these books are very good, and others are nothing more than a rehash. Fortunately, this year there have been some excellent books, and I would like to mention a couple of them here. I am truly excited about THAVAHT by Phil Goldstein. If you liked the material that Phil had in his recent one-man issue of PRECURSOR, then you will love THAVAMT. I especially enjoyed the material that utilized ESP cards even though all of
the m a t e r i a l is b r i l l i a n t l y thought out. but THAVAHT is best of a l l .
P h i l ' s "Lisp" s e r i e s is a l l g r e a t ,
THAVAHT is puiblished by Hermetic Press at Box 20383, S e a t t l e , Washington 98102, and it is priced at $12.00. I would imagine that postage would be about $3.00. The other item that I would like to mention is CARD TO WALLET - THE BOOK. Even though t h i s is a one-effect book, the e f f e c t , "The Card To Wallet", is one of the most exciting effects in Card Magic. Remember, John Scarne made his reputation with two effects - "Cutting The Aces" and "The Card To Wallet". If you are already performing "The Card To Wallet", then t h i s book, with a l l the various routines, will be a great aid in developing that routine which is just perfect for you. If you are just thinking about performing "The Card To Wallet", then this book would be indispensable. You w i l l find out how a l l of the different gimmicked wallets will work, what they will do, and under what conditions. CARD TO WALLET - THE BOOK is published by Magic Methods, P.O. Box 4105, Greenv i l l e , South Carolina 29608 at $39.50 plus $3.00 postage. I give my highest recommendation to these two books as long as you understand what they are about. If you l i k e playing around with the "way-out" stuff, THAVANT can't be beat, and if you want to include "The Card To Wallet" to your repertoire, then Jerry's book is a necessity. William P. Miesel
The twenty-first edition of as usual, there were more spaces. This was the l a s t Obie is searching for a new will remain as the official
Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolics is history, and, attendees than there were s i t t i n g and standing year for FFFF to be held at The Forks Hotel, and venue in the same general area. The Exit 53 Motel headquarters.
There was some speculation regarding who would be the l a s t performer at the l a s t FFFF at The Forks. I t would be a p o s i t i o n of honor, to be sure. Some time during the convention, the idea came that Eddie Fechter should be the last performer, and the search for a video of" Eddie was begun. And one was found. Lou Gallo brought it in, and when the Saturday night show drew to the close of the l i v e performers, the TV s e t s were readied, Keith Walker handled the VCR, and Eddie was once again a part of the f e s t i v i t i e s . Watching Eddie work with coins and cards brought back so many memories to so many of us. And when the video ended, the upstairs room thundered with applause. Thanks, Eddie. Ed Eckl