Jay Sankey's Stuff

[Guest]

I am considering buying some of his marketed effects. Could you be so kind as to tell me if in your opinion these are worth it? I know that the effects depend on what kind of magician you are, but any opinion would be appreciated. Thanks.
The effects I am most intrigued by arethe following:
In A Flash (I am pretty sure about this one, even if the mechanics are pretty clear), Quick Copy, Locomotion, Slay Bells, Hole Hop, Lightning Bolt, Earplugs.

[Guest]

Jet-

I personally love Jay's material, but instead of jumping on the individual effects why not try out one of his books, lecture notes or even video's. You would get a lot more bang for your buck.

Hope it helps.

[Mark Jensen]

I'd highly recommend Sankey Pankey and now that it's back in print, it is much easier to find. Among other things, it contains his fantastic Airtight.

Mark

[Bob Farmer]

"In A Flash" is a trick DAvid Ben and I invented, "Journey To The Center of the Deck." Jay added only flash paper. The original routine can be found in the LR and in David's lecture notes (reference not to hand). David's routine is much superior to Jay's.

[Steve Hook]

C'mon, Bob: Let's hear what's <really> on your mind!

Steve H

ps: I do remember that routine in the LR. Thanks for bringing it up.

[Bob Farmer]

After some heated discussion, Jay and I agreed his effect is an independent reinvention. The Farmer/Ben version appears in a 1983 LR and later versions appear in some of David's lecture notes.

I don't think either my original version of the trick, or Sankey's, is a very good trick. In my version the coin slowly sinks into the deck leaving a coin-sized hole (the deck is off-square and as it is slowly squared the holes line up). Sankey wraps the coin in flash paper. The method is way too obvious in both versions.

David Ben's idea is so much better -- the deck, with coin on top, is placed in the spectator's hands and covered with a silk. The spectator is invited to "imagine" the coin is sinking into the deck. When the silk is removed, there is a big hole -- and a big surprise.

Bill Goodwin has been closing his act with his take on the Ben version for years.

I invented my version in 1981. Around 1979/80, Meir Yedid had a trick where a Pac Man eats its way through the deck leaving a finger-sized hole -- it ends on the selection. He used 26 cards with a finger-sized hole.

I used a coin and coin-sized hole -- I wanted the coin to visibly penetrate the deck and land on the selection (I was unaware of Meir's trick, at the time. I was probably thinking of Bob Driebeck's, "Tosheroon" where a coin vanishes and is found on top of a selected card).

So, the line of invention goes, Driebeck (coin appears on card) - Yedid (26 holes, finger size, no coin) - Farmer (26 holes, coin-size, hole appears gradually and visibly) - Ben (hole appears under silk in spectator's hands) - Sankey (coin warapped in flash paper, hole appears as flash paper burns).

[Bob Farmer]

Craig Petty just demoed this trick on Youtube and once again David Ben and I are not mentioned. David's handling is so much more magical than Jay's and it's too bad the Sankey version is the only one known.

[Philippe Billot]

"Journey to the Center of the Deck" is in The Linking Ring, Vol. 63, no. 9, september 1983, page 73 and you can do The (W)holey Triumph by David Ben with the same deck

[Richard Kaufman]

I remember being impressed with Meir's trick when it came out.