U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

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MagicbyAlfred
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » February 15th, 2018, 10:04 am

[quote="MagicbyAlfred"]Joe, thanks for bringing that diabolically clever control to our attention. I was not previously aware of it, but I really have taken to it and will use it. The only thing about it, and this is my own personal quirk, is that I prefer not to indicate to a spectator where to replace a card that they have withdrawn from the deck. Therefore, in lieu of the swing cut and asking the spectator to place his card on top of the cut-off cards, I am inclined to instead begin a Hindu Shuffle, asking them to tell me when to stop, and having them replace the card at that point. Then just place the rest of the cards and of course the reversed key card on top of their selection.

Then I got to thinking that a potential weakness in my procedure might be that this would be the second time in the trick they have been asked to say stop (i.e. first for the selection, and then for the replacement). So I am thinking why not just spread the cards (carefully, of course), have them run a finger across the spread and to "touch any card" they are drawn to for the selection (different than the trite and likely-to-be familiar "pick a card")? Then have them withdraw the card look at it, show it around, have the card replaced per the Hindu shuffle, as described above, and proceed with the ruse and control as originally devised.

Joe Mckay
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 15th, 2018, 11:51 am

This control has a lot going for it.

First of all - I would be tempted to use the advertising/poker rules card that comes with most decks of playing cards. It is usually a double-sided card, and you can pretend you left it in there by mistake. You would then cut the card to the top and remove it. Thus secretly bringing the selection to the top of the deck.

Also - I would hand the deck out for shuffling as well. There is about an 80% chance that the two cards will still be together after the shuffle. I just love the idea of adding an extra layer of sneakiness to this already sneaky card control.

Now everyone forget you read this.

MagicbyAlfred
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » February 15th, 2018, 2:35 pm

Finally, a practical use for those dang advertising cards. Excellent idea.

Whoops, I forgot that I ws supposed to forget...

MagicbyAlfred
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » February 15th, 2018, 2:35 pm

MagicbyAlfred wrote:Finally, a practical use for those dang advertising cards. Excellent idea.

Whoops, I forgot that I was supposed to forget...

Joe Mckay
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 15th, 2018, 3:14 pm

Remember To Forget next time. :-)

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 15th, 2018, 3:21 pm


Joe Mckay
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 15th, 2018, 4:53 pm

U.F. Grant's Cheek-To-Cheek deck is interesting. Not so much for the U.F. Grant version but for the routine using it that Michael Weber put together. It is one of the strongest tricks in magic.

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Jonathan Townsend » February 16th, 2018, 8:55 am

Joe Mckay wrote:... the routine using it that Michael Weber put together. It is one of the strongest tricks in magic.


URL or citation?
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

Joe Mckay
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 16th, 2018, 1:00 pm

http://www.conjuringarchive.com/list/search?keyword=weber+photocopier

Goodness I am giving away all the good stuff in this thread! Please forget I ever mentioned this trick.

Thankyou.

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Jonathan Townsend » February 16th, 2018, 1:25 pm

So you carry a full page scanner/photocopier in your closeup kit - what an idea for an act. Bravo! :)

Though these days phones have a 'selfie' mode so you could capture a video ;)
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Evan Shuster » February 18th, 2018, 12:34 pm

I took Brad's advice and tracked down a copy of the DVD set put out by MAK. What a great collection!
In addition to the 5-plus hours of video content (over three DVDs) there is also a folder containing a large variety of his published work, including:

6 Modern Levitations
Brilliant Card Magic
The Encyclopedia of U. F. Grant Magic
Fabulous Feats of Mental Magic
The Devil's Bride
The Flying Carpet Illusion
Illusion Secrets
Magic Made Easy (pts. 1 & 2)
Magical Treasures
Manual of Magic
The Victory Carton Illusion
Center Tear Methods
Snip, Snip Want Ad Test
Miscellaneous Card Tricks
Sleight of Hand Rope Trick
Svengali Routine
Zella Copper & Silver
Chinese Magic & Illusions
GIMAC
Grant in Tarbell
Grant's 1952 Lecture Notes
Rope, Chain and Box Escapes
Secret Service

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Bob Farmer » February 19th, 2018, 11:13 am

I forget where this effect is, but it's great. Three different coins are dropped in a glass of water. Spectator chooses one and it penetrates the bottom of the glass leaving the other two in the glass.

You show the coins and as they are dropped in the glass, you hold back one, then immediately place the glass on your palm and over the stolen coin. When the spectators look in the glass, they see three coins. Use Equivoque to force the stolen coin.

Update: I found the reference, it's "Half-Quarter-Nickel,", pp. 63-64, LR March 1979. The original effect is a bit more complicated than I've described. My version is much simpler; the original had a transposition of the chosen coin for a poker chip, and used a silk, as well as an envelope. I never did it this way.

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 23rd, 2018, 8:32 am

In the same issue of the Linking Ring that Bob mentions above - there is a nice trick called Grant's Triple Stop With Cards. It is an application of the Roshomon principle most commonly seen in versions of the Tossed Out deck.

A deck of cards is shuffled - 3 cards are freely chosen and then shuffled back in the deck.

2 other decks are shown and all 3 decks are shuffled - and dealt through until the spectators in the audience call out stop when their chosen card appears. Apparently all three decks stop at the same time at each freely chosen card.

I love bold tricks like this.
Last edited by Joe Mckay on February 23rd, 2018, 8:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

Joe Mckay
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 23rd, 2018, 8:38 am

Here is something else from the Linking Ring issue mentioned before. It uses a Si Stebbins stack - although of course you memorized deck freakz can use a memorized deck instead.

--------------

A magician leaves the room and a spectator cuts the deck and places the first card cut to in their left pocket and the following card cut to in their right pocket.

Magician returns and offers to demonstrate how difficult this magic business is. He has another spectator guess the name of the card in the left pocket.

If they guess correctly - you have a miracle on your hands.

And if they do not - you now know what card is in the right pocket. Since it will be the next card in sequence.

I love tricks like this. It is clean and sneaky. And also gives you a shot at a real miracle which is always nice.

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 23rd, 2018, 8:44 am

Here is another trick from the same issue.

Have a bank of 13 cards in Ace to King order but in different suits at the bottom of the deck.

Have a card selected - avoiding the 13 cards at the bottom of the deck.

Cut off about 2/3 of the deck and have the card returned.

This places the selected card underneath the bank of 13 cards. And the bank of 13 cards is now in the middle of the deck.

Have the deck wrapped in paper and give the spectator a knife to stab into the middle of the deck.

They will cut into the bank of 13 cards. And the card cut to will be a locator card (eg a 5). You then count down 5 cards to find their selected card.

Joe Mckay
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 23rd, 2018, 8:58 am

The same issue has a handling for Paul Curry's Touch effect that turns it into a telephone trick using any randomly called spectators.

It is always interesting how much more effective a trick can be when using spectators over the phone for part of it. This is also one of the best ways to perform the Invisible Deck as well.

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 23rd, 2018, 4:36 pm

The book Grant's Secret Service tips a sneaky method that Houdini used to escape from handcuffs that he felt were impossible to open.

U.F. Grant also tips a clever principle for finding a hidden object under challenge conditions that I have not seen before. He once used it to fool Houdini at a party.

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby MagicbyAlfred » February 23rd, 2018, 6:36 pm

Joe Wrote: "It is always interesting how much more effective a trick can be when using spectators over the phone for part of it. This is also one of the best ways to perform the Invisible Deck as well."

Agreed. And the second best way to perform the ID other than the one I've finally come up with after wasting my entire life thinking of a way to do the revelation without first asking them what the card was. (Spectator: "You mean you want me to tell you?")

This one I would take to the grave - well, if I didn't believe that death was only an illusion - which I do...

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » February 26th, 2018, 12:22 am

I just finished reading The Medium's Scrapbook by U.F. Grant. There is a lovely use of a stooge in this book. I can't work out if it combines the stooge with the one-ahead principle or the two-behind principle.

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » March 5th, 2018, 2:14 pm

The Encyclopedia of Rope Magic by Stewart James contains a great handling of the Grandmother's Necklace principle by U.F. Grant.

Believe it or not - this version makes use of doughnuts!

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Zig Zagger » March 11th, 2018, 5:17 am

The other day, I got Grant's "Tricks for Kid Shows" from Lybrary. Some funny ideas in there!

The first trick already cracked me up. It's called "The Atomic Bomb".
From the effect description:
The performer picks up an atomic bomb from the table—his latest discovery, so he says. A boy is asked forward to hold the bomb and is then asked to drop it into a can on the table so that the bomb will not explode. (...)

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby lybrary » March 11th, 2018, 9:05 am

For all Grant fans, I have made another of his booklets "Grant's Thirteen Mysteries" available as PDF. https://www.lybrary.com/grants-thirteen ... 22410.html
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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Mr. Charming » March 25th, 2018, 2:51 am

In the introduction to "Scarne's Magic Tricks", Scarne gives thanks to Grant for contributing many effects to the book.

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Re: U.F. Grant - a creative genius!

Postby Joe Mckay » April 13th, 2018, 6:12 pm

Here is a video of U.F. Grant's Sacred Altar Lights illusion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXOiFwt-WJA

It is for sale here:

https://www.lybrary.com/sacred-altar-lights-p-893256.html


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