The Genii Forum

I was lucky enough to acquire this at an Estate sale at our local magic shop..it is the original Ken Brooke/Ace Place version with the 4 leather wallets. It did not come with instructions but the shop owner was pretty sure the instructions were in one of either Ken Brooke's Magic Place or Ken Brooke: The Unique Years books. I have both...however, it turns out it is in neither.

Any help acquiring a set/copy of the original instructions would be super appreciated. Feel free to reply, message or contact me directly at msagent86@yahoo.com

Thanks in advance for any help here!

Mitch

It's simple. Use a Himber wallet with two envelopes, each containing a double-faced card. The card is forced using the Koran 101 deck-the spectator deals cards face up onto your hand and stops at any point.

It's all presentation!

Thanks Richard. I actually have the wallets that have the names of the force cards embossed on them vs the version with the Himber Wallet. Your version (thanks again) will work..but seeking the routine and original instructions for this particular version/set of wallets. Also, I believe the original instructions also had a version with a regular deck.

In any event...much appreciated..but still looking

Mitch

I have never seen John Thompson use a regular deck for this trick. And you don't want to. it really isn't anywhere near as good. In his pro work, John always uses the Himber wallet, never the four wallets with the embossing.

You are probably correct. There appear to be two versions of this...one with a Himber wallet as you describe and one with 4 wallets with the imprints. I found a thread that brings up the two versions here:

viewtopic.php?t=14973

In addition to the original instructions (which I believe were 7 pages!!) Paul Green mentioned in the thread that Ken Brooke offered an extra after sheet of instructions that allowed a regular deck of cards to be used.

I'll reach out to Paul and perhaps Pete Biro separately as they seem to be good sources...but in the mean time hopefully I can find a source here.

Here you can see the presentation:

https://www.stevensmagic.com/shop/nemo-1500-ken-brooke/

Have everything I need now. Big thanks to all that helped!

Mitch

A quick addendum -

Towards the end, Ken quit carrying Nemo 1500 due to the cost of the wallets. He issued a trick called "Locked", I believe, where a prediction was secured by a padlock in a holder. The spectator was given the key for the lock and the prediction said (look in the key fob". I used it for years. (Note the instruction sheet is titled "Locked", but he seems to refer to it as "The Locked Prediction".)

Threads like this can be fun, but my productivity goes to zero when I feel compelled to pull out my files to make sure my memory is basically correct. Ken mentioned that Doug Henning performed Nemo 1,500 and the Kaps' version of Sidewalk Shuffle on Carson. Now I need to look that up and also get my Chinatown half out and work on the "Chines Bit" from Ken's instructions.

Fun Stuff!

Steve Mills wrote:... get my Chinatown half out and work on the "Chines Bit" fro Ken's instructions.

Fun Stuff!

You'd need a special version of the Chinatown gaff to do that - also an English Penney shell with a custom post and silver rim... but go for it. Yank and RAF buddy go to a bar and find... not sure how PC that patter is today.

To resurrect a zombie thread:

Is anyone aware of a source for the style of Himber wallet (with the snap on top) that Johnny used for the Nemo prediction.

Best,

Nathan

Paul Stone offered the 5 Star Wallet which doesn’t use a snap but a flap that tucks to close it and mark the location for the spec to open.

As I noted in my book, The Bammo Gaffus Maximus, Harry Lorayne was the inventor of the Koran 101 Deck, Koran had nothing to do with it.

Bob, where and when?

Using scientific research, I created the ultimate "101 Deck" (the force cards are hard to remember, the dummy cards are easy to remember) and described it in The Bammo Gaffus Maximus book (available only from Bammomagic@cogeco.ca). Here is an excerpt:

What has become known as the “1-0-1 Deck,” is described in, “Five Star Prediction,” Al Koran’s Legacy by Hugh Miller, Repro 71, 1972, pp.19-25. It is a force deck consisting of four force cards repeated in sequence with an indifferent card between each force card. It was invented by Harry Lorayne. Denis Behr offers the earliest reference: p. 32 of Frederick Montague's Westminster Wizardry (1928). Force cards with a value of 10 are alternated with random cards to force the number 10. Cards are taken off the deck face down, one by one and dropped on the floor until "Stop" is called. If the card in the hand is a 10, that is interpreted as the selection; if not, it's the card on top of the deck.

Denis also cites: Edward Bagshawe's, “Sealed Mystery,” in Twenty Magical Novelties (1930, p. 26); "Curious Coincidence" in Jean Hugard's Card Manipulations No. 5 (1936, P.149); and, S. Leo Horowitz's "Psychological Discovery," in Greater Magic (1938, p.549).

All of these use a regular deck and a small number of force cards. No duplicate cards are used.

Harry Lorayne started with a similar idea, a regular deck and a small number of force cards as described in his 1958 booklet, Best Of Bill-Fooled, but then he went on to suggest a full deck stack with four force cards repeated. In 1998, Harry published The Himber Wallet Book, which is an update of all of his Himber Wallet material. Harry says this at page 30:

“In BEST OF BILL-FOOLED, I devoted quite a few pages to methods for doing the same thing with a completely set-up or gaffed deck. Simple really. The deck consisted of the eight cards repeated throughout.”

I think that nails it: Harry Lorayne invented the “1-0-1 Deck.”

At page 65, Harry writes:

“I knew Al Koran (was introduced to him by Richard Himber, as a matter of fact) ....”

Koran knew a good idea when he saw it. The trick he is most associated with using the “1-0-1 Deck,” was also invented by Harry. See, "Five Star Miracle" in The Hundred Dollar Book, reprinted in the Himber book at pp.27-31.

:O

Paul Vigil had the wallets custom made to John’s exact specifications, and they are stunning. There was a limited run of 40, and 25 were made available. These were only offered through Paul’s private Facebook magic group.

If there is enough interest, there may be a second run. Those who are interested, send John an email and let him know! tomsoniandco@aol.com

- Alpen Nacar