The Genii Forum

I'm at a point in my magic venture that I am looking to purchase a "Himber" style wallet. In my quest, I have become more confused than ever. Since this piece of equipment is somewhat pricey, I was hoping to get it right the first time for a change. Any experience with particular manufacturers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

My Himber Wallet was made by Johnson Products and is 30 yearsd old and still looks great. I highly recommend their wallets. Another excellent leather source for magicians is Roy Roth (R.A.R.Magic) who makes some of the best wallets around.
PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat
http://www.mindguy.com

Paul,
Thanks so much, I appreciate your advice. I will look in to both of those products.

The best Himber type wallet I ever saw was the one owned by George Schindler. It was unusual in that it had a 1" leather snap fastener in the middle; (and a zipper I believe?). I've never seen one before or since and I believe George said they're not available anymore. If I could find anything remotely similar I would love to purchase it. Georges' was really worn and is still the very best Himber wallet I ever saw.

You might find the Magic Reference Project has some information that will help.

Click here to read an article on trick wallets.

The Magic Reference Project was a great deal of help and clarifed several issues for me. Many thanks!

A prop that does the same thing and is catching on are the Buddha Papers. There are two sides and therefore you can make things disappear or appear or change. If you eliminate the smallest folded papers inside each side, playing cards will fit and therefore, instead of coins which are the most used items, you can make cards appear disappear or change. It is almost as if the Buddha Papers are so old that they became forgotten and are now new again. (And cheaper than a Himber Wallet)

webbmaster wrote:A prop that does the same thing and is catching on are the Buddha Papers. There are two sides and ...

The paper switch item might predate Himber's Wallet.

I think the secret of the classic Himber wallet has been widely exposed, both in children's toys, late night television ads, crafters websites, and stores like JCrew. I was even in a well-known luggage shop (recommended by Rick Steves) in Florence last year, and they had stacks of "magic wallets" for sale. The saleslady said the "feature" was there so you could fool potential muggers and hide your money--a dubious proposition at best, IMHO.

I always thought the little straps always looked weird so I typically favor other switch wallet designs (i.e., Z, Shogun, etc.)

Finally, my favorite Himber effect is Scotty York's "Escape from Bulgaria" as published in Genii.

erdnasephile wrote:I think the secret of the classic Himber wallet has been widely exposed, both in children's toys, late night television ads, crafters websites, and stores like JCrew. I was even in a well-known luggage shop (recommended by Rick Steves) in Florence last year, and they had stacks of "magic wallets" for sale. The saleslady said the "feature" was there so you could fool potential muggers and hide your money--a dubious proposition at best, IMHO.

That's an interesting observation although I've never seen the Himber wallet travel beyond magic shops and auction sites, much less a luggage shop in Florence. I believe the Himber is best used with restraint as a passive switch wallet. The idea of placing blank banknotes into the wallet and magically turning them into real bills won't fool a small child.

The Z fold doesn't use straps but needs a bit more care in handling.

There are better switch wallets than those that are mentioned here.Magic for the most part has not progressed much beyond the basic strap style Humber and the zip fold and Shogun.

I don't know if they are still available, but David Solomon's "Time Warp Wallet" is well worth looking into.