Search found 39 matches

by Stephen Burton
March 28th, 2024, 12:24 pm
Forum: Collector's Marketplace
Topic: Merv Taylor ORB-ETERNAL LINKING RINGS on eBay
Replies: 0
Views: 93

Merv Taylor ORB-ETERNAL LINKING RINGS on eBay

I'm offering this week on eBay my set of Merv Taylor's Orb-Eternal Linking Rings, 10 inch size with original box and instructions. You can find it at https://www.ebay.com/itm/196313868206 or by searching "Taylor Orb Eternal" on the site. This set of linking rings is circa 1950 and notable ...
by Stephen Burton
November 22nd, 2023, 3:57 pm
Forum: Collector's Marketplace
Topic: Michael Perovich's THE VERNON COMPANION
Replies: 0
Views: 1914

Michael Perovich's THE VERNON COMPANION

I'm offering Michael Perovich's great collection of anecdotes and observations on Dai Vernon and The Magic Castle on eBay. The title is THE VERNON COMPANION and it's at https://www.ebay.com/itm/196093435569 A truly sumptuous book with sewn in ribbon bookmark, cloth binding designed to match a first ...
by Stephen Burton
August 20th, 2023, 8:28 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Mr. Andrews is on the Cover of the September 2023 Issue of Genii
Replies: 22
Views: 3159

Re: Mr. Andrews is on the Cover of the September 2023 Issue of Genii

What an extraordinary article! I think this issue has made magic history.
by Stephen Burton
August 3rd, 2023, 6:44 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

Was anyone else as laugh out loud amused as I was with Episode 5 of “Good Omens” on Prime?
The Erdnase reference happens around the 4 minute mark.
by Stephen Burton
July 18th, 2023, 5:25 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

After Thomas published his excellent book, and highlighted in detail why M.F. Andrews was very likely not S.W. Erdnase ... the thinking as it related to the identity of Erdnase changed radically"[/i]. The disagreement with Busby and Whaley's conclusions were making the rounds as soon as the bo...
by Stephen Burton
July 9th, 2023, 4:53 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

This, from David Alexander (who later argued strongly the case for W.E. Sanders), I found more than a little ironic: “I don’t think there is any question that Andrews was Erdnase. It is not just circumstantial evidence, but overwhelming circumstantial evidence developed by several investigators tha...
by Stephen Burton
June 9th, 2023, 4:38 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

Professor Evans' research should be investigated by everyone interested in the mystery of Erdnase. It's a fascinating account. Friends with Houdini? Perhaps rubbing elbows with Vernon? Amazing!
by Stephen Burton
May 26th, 2023, 6:18 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

It's the truncated version with only 178 pages so not as collectible as other Drake copies. Indeed, because it's not often mentioned in the ongoing conversation, I wonder how many folks realize that there's 30 or so pages of card tricks missing from this particular Drake edition? Yes, if the last t...
by Stephen Burton
May 25th, 2023, 7:21 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

Richard Evans: Sounds great! On another topic, I just saw this on eBay, a 1934 (on title page) Erdnase. It has some pencil markings, but still I doubt that the book will be there for long: https://www.ebay.com/itm/235024731701/ —Tom It's the truncated version with only 178 pages so not as collectib...
by Stephen Burton
October 10th, 2022, 4:56 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Marked Cards - on edges
Replies: 15
Views: 2189

Re: Marked Cards - on edges

The Devil's Deck, Tarbell's take on the edge-marked deck, can be found in Volume Eight, page 140, of the Tarbell Course. It was also in the original Tarbell System from 1927. Richard, as most of you know, did an admirable job creating this final volume of Tarbell. I came up with the two color variat...
by Stephen Burton
October 28th, 2021, 4:59 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Amoralman
Replies: 6
Views: 5897

Re: Amoralman

One of the biggest questions on my mind after reading Amoralman is, "Who was Grayson?"
by Stephen Burton
May 19th, 2020, 12:10 am
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Swindle Cut Aces
Replies: 72
Views: 15545

Re: Swindle Cut Aces

My favorite version of this routine is Breakless Aces by Patrick Stenberg which is in the December 2005 issue of Magic Magazine , page 96. As indicated in the title you don't need to hold a break in the initial cutting sequence and it's quite fair in that regard. The turnover of the four Aces never ...
by Stephen Burton
February 17th, 2020, 3:34 pm
Forum: Light from the Lamp ONLINE.
Topic: The Big Book of Rising Cards by Claude Klingsor
Replies: 31
Views: 21277

Re: The Big Book of Rising Cards by Claude Klingsor

As an addendum to this thread, The Rising Card does not appear in the first edition (1634) of Hocus Pocus Junior, The Art of Legerdemain Discovered . An early variant does appear in Henry Dean's Whole Art of Legerdemain or Hocus Pocus in Perfection . Although even that description (1795, 11th editio...
by Stephen Burton
October 31st, 2019, 4:29 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Today I Will Meet The Great Pumpkin
Replies: 9
Views: 2977

Re: Today I Will Meet The Great Pumpkin

You have a pumpkin patch? I'm jealous.
by Stephen Burton
August 12th, 2019, 6:08 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Dai Vernon on the "mem deck"?
Replies: 25
Views: 7694

Re: Dai Vernon on the "mem deck"?

In Volume Eleven of The Vernon Revelations videos and dvds, Vernon describes his method of memorizing a deck of cards and describes an effect where a card is removed and, due to the memory cues, determined which card was missing. So, yes, Vernon did use a memorized pack.
by Stephen Burton
August 30th, 2018, 5:09 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

After doing some research I’ve concluded that the word “from” in the Erdnase description of the Eight Kings setup is indeed an error. The following books from before and after the publication of The Expert at the Card Table all show “for one sick knave” as the last four words in the doggerel. The on...
by Stephen Burton
August 23rd, 2018, 4:58 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

The description of the Eight Kings set-up should be noted as another Erdnase error. He wrote, "Eight Kings threatened to save Ninety-five Queens from one sick Knave" which should be "for one sick Knave." There is no "right" or "wrong" way to utilize the mnemo...
by Stephen Burton
August 22nd, 2018, 4:32 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

The description of the Eight Kings set-up should be noted as another Erdnase error. He wrote, "Eight Kings threatened to save Ninety-five Queens from one sick Knave" which should be "for one sick Knave."
by Stephen Burton
July 30th, 2018, 12:38 pm
Forum: General
Topic: H.G. Wells wrote a magic book
Replies: 7
Views: 2740

Re: H.G. Wells wrote a magic book

He also had another great story with a conjuring theme entitled, The Magic Shop.

You can find it here: http://www.searchengine.org.uk/ebooks/59/83.pdf
by Stephen Burton
May 8th, 2018, 6:31 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: multiple cards to pocket
Replies: 21
Views: 9675

Re: multiple cards to pocket

Jimmy Grippo's version is very direct and worth looking at as well. It's on page 59 of The Magic of Jimmy Grippo.
by Stephen Burton
March 14th, 2018, 4:01 pm
Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
Topic: Tarbell and Buckley
Replies: 0
Views: 3934

Tarbell and Buckley

Greetings!

Does anyone have information on the relationship between Harlan Tarbell and Arthur Buckley? Or perhaps know anyone who does?
I'm aware they were close friends but I'm looking for some facts on their joint business enterprises.
Thanks!
by Stephen Burton
February 8th, 2018, 5:26 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Most Issues of MAGIC Magazine are Now Live in the Genii Archive
Replies: 31
Views: 6797

Re: Most Issues of MAGIC Magazine are Now Live in the Genii Archive

Worked well on my iPad as well, including opening the issues and perusing their contents. What a fantastic resource!! After years of collecting these issues and seeing them stack up endlessly I can now for the price of Genii subscription have access to all the Magic and Genii issues ever printed! I'...
by Stephen Burton
January 24th, 2018, 4:02 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Your opinions wanted: what do new magicians need to know about the history of magic?
Replies: 50
Views: 9236

Re: Your opinions wanted: what do new magicians need to know about the history of magic?

Susan- You ask an important question and one we should address. The history of conjuring really is an important topic for young magicians and I do understand if they're confused about it because of lack of knowledge. When I was researching Tarbell in what was later to become (with Richard Kaufman's ...
by Stephen Burton
January 24th, 2018, 3:49 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: A Brief History of Magic on the Internet
Replies: 3
Views: 1797

Re: A Brief History of Magic on the Internet

Thank you, Scott, for your reply and I do appreciate you mentioning me by name. My clarification was to include Martin Lewis and Bill Palmer who also founded the forum, call it by its actual name and give it a timeline. And to comment further, it wasn't just a BBS (bulletin board system) it was a fo...
by Stephen Burton
January 22nd, 2018, 5:00 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: A Brief History of Magic on the Internet
Replies: 3
Views: 1797

Re: A Brief History of Magic on the Internet

A notable omission from your dialogue with Jim Sisti was The Magicon , a forum for magicians begun by myself, Martin Lewis and Bill Palmer in 1986. This was initially a chat group but we expanded to our own forum BBS system where I published the first online magic newsletter, Abracadata . We had mor...
by Stephen Burton
December 13th, 2017, 1:14 am
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

Tom Sawyer wrote: The "and Ruse" part is good, and I suspect that TMWWE might have mentioned that, if the authors had known about it. Both Whaley and Busby did know about it, they were members of the Magicon in 1989. They even mention it in The Man Who Was Erdnase but totally ignore the &q...
by Stephen Burton
December 11th, 2017, 3:57 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12386480

Re: ERDNASE

Richard Hatch recently got in touch with me about an essay I wrote in 1989, Thoughts on the Identity of Erdnase . It was originally published on The Magicon , a pre-Web magician's forum on CompuServe. I looked at the title page as a type of puzzle and put together an observation on the graphically l...
by Stephen Burton
April 10th, 2017, 2:35 pm
Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
Topic: When Have You Disagreed With A Magic Icon?
Replies: 51
Views: 15739

Re: When Have You Disagreed With A Magic Icon?

Mr. Burton, I can only surmise that you are referring to my post on another active thread (re ordinary everyday objects) where I commented that: "The discussion about the pocket knife reminded me of an encounter I had at the Bar recently that was both amusing and kind of scary at the same time...
by Stephen Burton
April 9th, 2017, 3:32 pm
Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
Topic: When Have You Disagreed With A Magic Icon?
Replies: 51
Views: 15739

Re: When Have You Disagreed With A Magic Icon?

I disagree with the ploy used by Ron Wilson (and others) to break the ice for walk-around performers by "finding" something lying on the floor and asking if someone lost it. First of all, why would you want to pick up something off the floor, let alone handle it and hand it to people? It w...
by Stephen Burton
April 6th, 2017, 4:08 pm
Forum: Collector's Marketplace
Topic: Steranko
Replies: 24
Views: 19308

Re: Steranko

I follow him on Twitter and every Sunday evening he hosts an interesting talk with his followers that he calls his "henchmen." This week he'll be at the AMAZICON in Wilmington DE. His handle is @iamsteranko on Twitter and the Amazicon site is www.amazicon.net.
by Stephen Burton
March 21st, 2017, 3:53 pm
Forum: Collector's Marketplace
Topic: Ebay estate auction of BOOKS.
Replies: 4
Views: 2811

Re: Ebay estate auction of BOOKS.

Does anyone know whose collection this was? The seller is from St. Louis and he writes that it was from a large collection he purchased.
by Stephen Burton
February 27th, 2017, 3:23 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Daryl's Death at The Magic Castle
Replies: 180
Views: 67273

Re: Daryl's Death at The Magic Castle

Performing artists are especially vulnerable to depression. After a show the adrenaline leaves the body and causes us to feel flat, exhausted and depleted. Health.com reported it this way: Artists, entertainers, writers These jobs can bring irregular paychecks, uncertain hours, and isolation. Creati...
by Stephen Burton
September 1st, 2016, 5:51 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: The Fortune Teller's Book of Days
Replies: 10
Views: 4577

Re: The Fortune Teller's Book of Days

Here's a wonderful tip on this effect, check out John Luka's LINT for a fantastic (and sneaky) way of immediately repeating the effect. Page 83.
by Stephen Burton
August 30th, 2016, 4:11 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: The Fortune Teller's Book of Days
Replies: 10
Views: 4577

Re: The Fortune Teller's Book of Days

I noticed something peculiar about that effect. The card used are the first cards in the Si Stebbins arrangement but there is no mention of that in the instructions to the routine.
by Stephen Burton
August 22nd, 2016, 4:55 pm
Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
Topic: milk pitcher principle
Replies: 9
Views: 4655

Re: milk pitcher principle

Nikola gives the credit for the beginning of the concept to another magician, Roy Enoc, in Magical Masterpieces , page 112. "As far back as one can remember, there was an old toy consisting of a double-walled drinking glass containing a fluid between the inner and outer walls, the idea presumab...
by Stephen Burton
August 19th, 2016, 12:45 am
Forum: General
Topic: Most Influential Card Magician of 20th Century
Replies: 50
Views: 16849

Re: Most Influential Card Magician of 20th Century

There is an argument to be made for Jean Hugard as well.
by Stephen Burton
March 10th, 2016, 1:52 pm
Forum: General
Topic: This New Blue Board
Replies: 70
Views: 19456

Re: This New Blue Board

Really like the new look! Very fast on my Mac, thank you!
by Stephen Burton
February 5th, 2016, 6:55 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Jerry Mentzer passed away
Replies: 9
Views: 5034

Re: Jerry Mentzer passed away

I too thought Jerry was a wonderful magician who will be missed. He was the first person I ever saw who could handle a deck of cards and make it look like real magic. This was at a "Day of Magic" in Galion, Ohio around 1971 and though he was running a dealer's booth, he said, "What th...
by Stephen Burton
August 28th, 2015, 3:10 pm
Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
Topic: Another Erdnase error
Replies: 1
Views: 1394

Another Erdnase error

Here's an error that I have not seen in any of the lists so far. On page 179, under the heading "TRICKS WITH THE PREARRANGED DECK," he wrote the doggerel for the Eight Kings set-up as follows: "Eight Kings threatened to save Ninety-five Queens from one sick knave." I believe that...

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