The Genii Forum

I would be grateful if anyone who ever saw the legendary Fred Kaps perform his Card to Wallet routine recount it here. What was his presentation? I suspect that it was simple, direct, and devastating.

I understand that Kap's routine is described in Ken Brooke's Magic House , but this is a hard text to locate. Is it described anywhere else in print?

The anthology compiled and edited by Anthony Brahams, Ken Brooke's Magic Place is terrific, and well worth the effort to find a copy. There are several other books of Ken's magic (Derek Lever's " Ken Brooke & Friends" (1986) and Harry Stanley's "Ken Broke's Magic - The Unique Years" (1980). Anthony Brahams says in his introduction:

Nevertheless in spite of the wealth of material in the above books I felt that the superb abundance from "The Magic Place" should be recorded in book form. I do not just refer to the instruction sheets inssued but also to any other "output" from Ken Brooke that could be traced - the "After Sales Service", both officially, in the form of additional instruction sheets, and informally, by letters and personal tuition or information hints given by Ken.

But, that having been said, the description therin of The Working Performer's Card in Wallet will not give you any insight into Fred Kaps's presentation. It is a description of the Kaps wallet and how to use it; no routine is suggested.

There is a biography of Fred Kaps compiled by Freddie Jelsma call Fred Kaps, A Retrospective , but I don't think describes the routine. Does anyone know if his routine is included on the Fred Kaps DVD or his Lecture CD ?

Here are three useful references for more information on card-to-wallet:

• Card To Wallet Buyer\'s Guide
• Card to Wallet Article
• Card to Wallet and Other Magic Wallets Reference List

Pete Biro, can you help us out with more Fred Kaps info?

-Jon

I'd like to but... in all the years I never saw Fred to the Card in Wallet.

My guess... based on the way he did things like that is he would have had difficulty finding a chosen card, and in looking through his pockets he would just take the wallet out and set it down, the keep looking and finally open the wallet under the pretense of maybe paying the spectator for his time...

But again, this is an assumption.

My suggestion is to see if you can get an answer from Dick Koornwinder.

Jon,

I can confirm that the routine is not on the lecture cd, don't know if it is on the dvd or not.

best,

N.
IllusionArtistry.com

Not on the DVD. I have a feeling Fred really only used it on laymen.... :genii:

Thanks Pete, Jon , and Nathan--I know this question is a toughie. Kaps is connected with this effect, yet his routine has vanished like a ghost... :genii: