Chop Chop's routine for the Chop Cup

A place where beginners can participate, ask questions, and post their views. However, beginners typically ask a lot of questions about sources, tricks, books, and so on. In fact, all magicians are interested (or should be) in the provenance of tricks, ideas, and related matters. This department will service these needs.
Bill Wheeler
Posts: 172
Joined: March 14th, 2008, 10:22 am
Location: Downers Grove, IL

Chop Chop's routine for the Chop Cup

Postby Bill Wheeler » July 8th, 2008, 11:31 am

Is Chop Chop's routine for the chop cup in print? I was sort of curious to see how it may differ from what we see today.
Driver: Callaway FT-5
Irons: Titlest AP-1
Wedges: Vokey 52,58,64
Putter: i-series Black #9

User avatar
Steve Bryant
Posts: 1947
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Ballantine
Location: Bloomington IN
Contact:

Re: Chop Chop's routine for the Chop Cup

Postby Steve Bryant » July 8th, 2008, 8:48 pm

A great question, and I'd love to know the complete details of the answer. The original marketed version seems to have been of bamboo. Here is some text from a Chop Chop ad in Genii 1957:

Beauty, in the appearance of the hand-polished, imported, bamboo cup. Beauty, in the durable simplicity of its mechanism. Just imagine, a ball is placed beneath an innocent looking cup. It disappears! . . . Reappears! - - - Becomes a lemon! . . . as it obeys your every wish. In the hands of one who really loves
magic, this new cup-and-ball set has unlimited possibilities!



and some text from a Joe Berg ad for the same product, also 1957:

Magicians have been waiting many years for this
trick to come out on the market Now It's Ready!
A single one-inch Black Ball APPEARS, VANISHES
and REAPPEARS under a beautiful Bamboo RUM
CUP (size of cup 3"x4"). Ball can be removed from
cup; shown empty and inverted mouth down ball
is caused to vanish and spectator may pick up the
cup, ball is discovered under it. UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES FOR ROUTINES. Comes to you complete with illustrated directions, polished Bamboo
(unbreakable), Cup.

$9.50 from Chop Chop, $9.00 from Berg.

User avatar
Richard Kaufman
Posts: 27047
Joined: July 18th, 2001, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Theodore DeLand
Location: Washington DC
Contact:

Re: Chop Chop's routine for the Chop Cup

Postby Richard Kaufman » July 8th, 2008, 9:04 pm

Yes, they were (or appeared to be) bamboo. Have seen them before.
Subscribe today to Genii Magazine

Bill Palmer
Posts: 719
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Houston TX
Contact:

Re: Chop Chop's routine for the Chop Cup

Postby Bill Palmer » July 13th, 2008, 8:27 pm

That's right. There is one in the cups and balls museum.

That part about unbreakable shows Joe Berg's wit. ;)
Bill Palmer, MIMC


Return to “Reference Room”