Hello everyone!
Today’s topics are: Addendum to El mundo mágico de Tamariz; Roth Remembers… (anecdote); Deck Switch Sitting Down; Charles T. Jordan; Answer to Roth Remembers.
These are The Magic Memories 136, gone online Sunday, August 6th, 2023, at 0:07h sharp.
All The Magic Memories from 2021, 2022, including the Magic Advent Calendar from 2020, can be found HERE.
Addendum to El mundo mágico de Tamariz
The Magic Memories 135 with a clip of Juan Tamariz doing a juggling routine instead of magic, brought in a few lovely comments.
My dear friend Roland Heuer, from Stuttgart, Germany, who is the only one to send in a “thank you” and a few comments for every The Magic Memories (no exception up to now!), points out that all videos of Tamariz’s El mundo mágico de Tamariz are available on YouTube. Remember that these are videos that accompanied publications and magic sets directed at a lay audience and that were sold at stationary stores in Spain, so the material is directed to laypeople.
Here are the links:
Roth Remembers…
In a video clip on the homepage of CARC, David Roth relates a discussion he had with Larry Jennings about what category of effect it is when in Dai Vernon’s Cups & Balles the wand is introduced into the cup to show that the inside is deeper than the outside.
To watch and hear the anecdote, plus the amusing punchline, CLICK HERE.
Now, what category do you think does this effect belong to?
Do “a little think” before checking my answer at the end of these The Magic Memories.
A little help: in Sharing Secrets, chapter “The Lists”, paragraph “List of Phenomena”, p. 142/143, it is item 23 🙂
Deck Switch Sitting Down
Recently someone made a comment on the Penguin webshop in reference to my book The Art of Switching Decks , which read:
“Unfortunately he did not go over any switch that you can do while sitting down.”
(This is not true, as there are two…).
I found the comment amusing and interesting, simply because most of the switches described in the book can be done standing up, with or without jacket, and of course also while seated, or easily adapted to when you are seated, you just have to apply a minimum of thinking…
The question reflects an attitude typical of those who are more interested in methods than effects.
Why on earth would you want to do a deck switch seated (unless you’re a dishonest card player…), very probably having to use your lap, or a topit, or having to conceal the deck in a hand that might be too small, when you can elegantly use a performance piece, or a ruse, or take advantage of an off-beat moment, to switch a deck imperceptibly and without risk whatsoever (these are the decks switches described in The Art of Switching Decks, not the ones a sane real-world performer would never use…).
Lest I forget…
And yes, for those who asked, Penguin just reprinted The Art of Switching Decks for the third time, so we are in our fourth printing, which is quite extraordinary for any magic book, let alone for a magic book on such a specialized subject (if my publishers informed me correctly we talk about a first printing of 2’000, and then 1’000 for each reprint).
The book used to contain a physical DVD with my lecture on the subject at the Genii Convention; this has now been replaced by a link, which allows you to download the MP4-file directly to your device for easy viewing and storing.
NOTE ON DOWNLOADS
Remember to save downloads that are important to you on an external hard disc, USB-stick and/or cloud service! Even if a site tells you that a download-link will never expire, well, the homepage’s owner may die, the company go out of business, etc., briefly: Any homepage may go down at any moment. So, SAVE the downloads dear to you!
Charles T. Jordan
Charles T. Jordan (1888 – 1944) was one of the brightest minds in magic; he came up with many ingenious, deceptive and practical ideas, and there is quite a bit of his output out there, most in print.
His work is worth being studied even by the younger generation, but obviously you’ll have to “use your head”, as Dai Vernon, the Professor, used to say, because you’ll have to interpret and adapt, but that’s the fun, and it is were you can practice creativity.
Remember: To be creative doesn’t mean you must be an inventor of things, for that is “first degree of creativity”; it is as meritorious to dwell on the “second degree of creativity”, which is personal interpretation, and adaptation to modern times.
If you’re not familiar with Jordan’s work, you might want to try Charles Jordan’s Best Card Tricks by Karl Fulves, which appeared in the Dover series of paperback reprints; these are very well printed and bound publications at a very affordable price. You can find it, and many other titles by Fulves and other authors, at your favorite dealer, or at Amazon (I use Amazon only as a last resort, for I want to support the magic shops, not bring more money to someone who is already a billionaire…).
However, the reason I mention all this, is that CARC, “The Conjuring Arts Research Center”, regularly offers free downloads to anyone who is interested. This week it is a series of hard to find small publications of Jordan’s.
Here is what the description on the CARC webshop reads:
This collection brings together all five booklets from the “Ten New Tricks” series that the enigmatic genius Charles Jordan published in 1920. It includes baffling impromptu card material, as well as a range of novel effects using ropes, coins, poker chips and even an umbrella. Brilliant magic from one of the most creative thinkers in the history of the art.
The Complete “Ten Tricks Series” is a fully searchable PDF that combines Ten New Impromptu Card Tricks, Ten New Sleight of Hand Card Tricks, Ten New Miscellaneous Tricks, Ten New Prepared Card Tricks and Ten New Pocket Tricks.
To get to the CARC Webshop and download the Jordan booklets for free CLICK HERE.
You might also consider becoming a member of CARC and get their superb publication Gibecière twice a year (you’ll find more information on their site).
Answer to Roth Remembers
Welcome back:-)
Did you find an answer to the question?
Here is the one I would have given to David if he had asked me: It is a Topological Illusion, and in the same category as Lubor Fiedler’s “Gozinta Box”, or Terry Roger’s “Stargate”, or Roy Walton’s “Card Warp” or Paul Harris’s “Immaculate Connection”, to name just a few.
Do you agree?
Wish you all an excellent week!
Roberto Giobbi
Bonjour,
encore de bonnes pistes , merci .
S
Pardon me for commenting on a post that isn’t directly relevant, but your news of the deck switch book reminded me to offer this feedback.
I’m confused by terminology used to refer to Sharing Secrets. Is the book a second edition? If so, what has changed from the first edition?
Or, is the book a second printing? That is, identical in content to the first printing.
(which I very much enjoyed, by the way.)
“Edition” and “Printing” have two very different meanings for bibliophiles and I’m seeing references to both. (In addition to “2.0,” which in software terms, would also imply there have been changes.