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WALLET WALLOP
HEN FETSCH

The spectator peeks at a card. It immediately vanishes from the deck and is found in the magician's wallet.

The magician gathers up the cards and asks the spectator to peek at another card.

Again it immediately vanishes from the deck. The spectator picks up and opens the magician's wallet, inside is the selected card.

Hen Fetsch's 'Wallet Wallop' plays pretty much the way it reads. The handling is very straight forward. The cards are over hand shuffled until the spectator says stop, at which point the deck is cut, the top stock placed on the table, the magician lifting the top card of the bottom stock so the spectator can get a peek at it. The wallet is a simple leather ID wallet with a transparent compartment on each side. The cards are plainly seen in the wallet.

In fact the spectator can open the wallet each time and remove the card, although in the routine supplied the magician removes the card the first time, the spectator doing so the second time.

Hen Fetsch was something of a magical phenomenon during his lifetime, producing a significant body of work, much of which showed a deep appreciation for the integration of prop, gimmick and routine

At the same time, Fetsch had a talent for maintaining simplicity of presentation. Many contemporary magic creators could learn a thing or two from Fetsch who generally avoided using a routine to disguise the inherent weakness of a bad idea.

Wallet Wallop is an easy routine for the spectator to follow and the magician to work. Two innocuous gaffs are used, there is one action between the first and second revelation that must be done smoothly, overall the handling is remarkably straight forward making Wallet Wallop very performable.

Wallet Wallop comes with an attractive ID wallet in soft black leather, the necessary gaffs and detailed instructions which explain method, setup, presentation, handling and some of Fetsch's variations for use once the effect is mastered.

Fetsch takes a different approach to the card in wallet, eliminating much of the rigamarole by the simple expedient of having the effect happen twice in a row. Those looking for high impact and low maintenance should consider this well produced effect from Elmwood Magic.

'Hen Fetsch's Wallet Wallop,' Elmwood Magic.
$ 19.95 US

IT'S A MATCH

Twenty matchbooks in a bowl or glass. Hand the spectator a credit card type room key before the trick starts. Spectator selects a matchbook and it matches the name on the key. Based on Larry Becker's Casino Royale. Easy top perform for maximum impact. Price: $25.00

BY CHOICE & BY CHANCE

The spectator examines a dictionary containing thousands of words plus a pair of un-gaffed dice. A word will be chosen by chance. The spectator rolls the dice to get a set of random numbers. Adding the numbers will give us page 5 and 4 will make it 54 or 45 or whatever the spectator wants it to be or rolls the dice again. The book is opened to that page and the first word is chosen. The magician either predicts the word or "reads the spectator's mind" to divine the chosen word . This is a book test that can be carried in your pocket, Book is real. We supply a book, pad and dice so there is nothing more to add than the showmanship. Price: $15.50

Hen Fetch's SYMBOLOGIC

An ESP psychic connection demonstration uses two sets of 5 ESP symbols. You can always predict what card the spectator will place down. One at a time you will be perfectly correct with 100% accuracy- No tough moves or sleights, No forces or outs.
Price: $10.00

THE COMPACT COMPASS
JAY SANKEY

The magician shows three black cards, each with a bright yellow arrow printed on it. Admitting that the cards look very much like cards with arrows printed on them, he says that appearances can be deceptive. In fact the cards have all the properties of a compass, but are obviously more compact.

The spectators seem skeptical so the magician offers to give a practical demonstration.

He takes out a small horse shoe magnet and positions it on the table a few inches away from the cards.

Picking up the cards he now demonstrates how sensitive the printed arrows are to the magnet field. Holding the cards in his hands, he turns the arrows every which way. Yet as if by magic, or magnetic attration, the arrows continually change direction to point at the magnet.

While there are obvious advantages to these very compact compass cards, the magician says care must be taken not to have the cards get too close to the magnet. If a card should touch the magnet the arrow will become confused, trying to point in every direction at once.

He moves a card toward the magnet and to prove his point the arrow printed on the card is now a twisted blur.

Jay Sankey's 'The Compact Compass' is an amusing effect that uses a combination of unusual (the compass cards) and familiar (the magnet) objects along with a blatantly impossible explanation to create amusing magic.

The Compact Compass is supplied with three nicely printed arrow cards. These poker size cards are a glossy black with the large arrows a vibrant yellow to white gradient and a points of the compass back design. So the compass cards resemble playing cards only in size and shape, making this a non card trick from the spectatorsl side of the table.

Of course this is a card routine so far as the handling is concerned. Sankey has a talent for clearly and tersely explaining a routine. The learner may have to read slowly and carefully the first few times, but with cards in hand should get up to speed with a few run throughs.

While Sankey described all the moves as the routine unfolds, the absolute novice will probably not get far. If there's an advanced beginner category for card works, I'd say that is entry level for this effect.

The Compact Compass is an entertaing close-up routine that should be especially appealing if you're looking for a visual effect with an amusing line of chat. Those who do repeat performances for the same audiences might also keep it in mind as it uses skills you already have with difference results as far as the spectators are concerned.

Jay Sankey's The Compact Compass,' Jay Sankey, Elmwood Magic.
$ 14.95 US