Just a heads-up for you connoisseurs out there........

There is a set of ORIGINAL Ken Brooke Multiplying Bottles available for sale now at Denny & Lee Magic Studio in Baltimore in excellent, almost-new condition. These are arguably THE BEST multiplying bottles ever made, and come complete with original tubes, labels and instructions

If I didn't have a 12-bottle Rings and Things set, I'd snatch them up myself. I talked to Denny today on the phone and told him that I thought they were a bit underpriced.......he agreed and said he'd give them a week or so for someone to get them at a good price, and then the price would go up....

Here's a link for those who are interested:

http://dennymagic.com/store/original-ken......les.html

Yes, that's an excellent price for a set of KB bottles. The only problem is, the color on those bottles wouldn't fool Stevie Wonder. I own four sets and I've had them all repainted and labelled so they actually look like real wine bottles. These are mine:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HpDdcp......THg=s125

I beg to differ, my green Ken Brook bottles are perfect match to the real Martini bottles, as a matter of fact, I use real Martini bottles along side them.

Doug Arden, yours repaint job looks excellent, but doing so has lessened the value greatly as being an original set.

The original intension for the props, is, they are intended to entertain audiences, and if they do that, they have served their purpose.

Bill:

Of course you can differ and you're entitled to your opinion. If you're able to entertain and amaze your audiences with bottles that look like that, then that's awesome. I'm not trying to talk you or anyone else out of using them. My personal preference is to use bottles that look more realistic, if that's the right word.

IMHO, the real value in the KB bottles is the unique lip design. Anyone who owns a set will know exactly what I mean. The fact that I've had them refinished may or may not lessen their value. If I ever want to sell them, the marketplace will dictate that. In any event I don't really care, I do what works for me.

Here is a better photo for those who may be interested in looking:

http://s298.photobucket.com/user/rreidma......jpg.html

Doug, by all means use your creative abilities on your props, and what you like and enjoy.

My only point was I perform the original bottles along side real glass bottles from the liquor store and they have passed so far for me.

The set referenced at Denny Magic, do look dull for some reason. Mine has a shine to them just like glass.

If it so to poor storage, of which I keep finding with so many magic props, it is shame, in my opinion.

Yes, the color on those bottles is not very good and really quite dull. A couple of my sets looked that bad as well, before I had them refinished. I'm not sure if it was due to improper storage or some other reason.

The Martini bottles I've seen are all a very dark green color and if I put them up against a set of KB bottles with the original paint, there was a very stark contrast. Maybe the Martini bottles are different shades of green in different countries, I don't know?

The work on Doug's bottles looks fantastic. Thanks Doug for the larger photo, they look genuine.

Thanks, Leo, I appreciate it!

I can't take credit for the workmanship though. I don't have the skill set to do anything even remotely close to that. The refinishing was done by someone whom I consider to be a master craftsman. In fact he's working on a set for me now, with one more left.

Doug Arden:

That's a MAGNIFICENT finish on those bottles! I have a question........What technique did you master craftsman use to do that?

Rainboguy;

Thank you, I couldn't agree more, the finish really is exceptional.

To be very honest with you I have no idea what techniques he employs to achieve this result, as I never got into that discussion with him. I do know that's it's a time consuming and lengthy process, and I'm fortunate that he agreed to take on my "projects."

The Ken Brooke bottles were made by Peter Diamond.

He made some wonderful props during his lifetime.

These are my newly acquired set of Ken Brooke bottles, anodized:

Interesting. I don't think I've ever seen any black anodized ANYTHING before......I guess they hold up better, yes?

These are a deep brown, nearly black color. They have a brownish/amberish sheen. They are a coloration of the aluminum itself, creating a dark, scratch resistant coating.

I'll let you know how well it works after I've used them a bit.

There does not seem to be much tolerance between the different-sized bottles for thick paint plus labels.

Pop, BEAUTIFUL!

Gorgeous labels, I wonder if Pop is going into the liquor business.

I have been since 1902.

Just medicinal whiskey. Not meant for recreational use.

Consider using brown paper bags (the size used by liquor stores) instead of tubes. In fact, using just one single bag to produce ALL the bottles (with a switch in the routine) works even better. It requires some "sleight of bottle" or "sleight of bag" moves to pull it off, if you know what I mean, but it takes it out of the "magic store prop category" and makes it more of a mystery. If you can insert a few real glass bottle look-alikes into the routine, you can allow a spectator to reach into the bag to produce those.