Hello Guys,
I am doing a project on coin assemblies and am trying to track down credits to who ceated concepts in coin assemblies. like:
The first one was done by hank yoe in ??????? book
Muhammad Bey performed it with sugar cubes stars of magic.
david roth performed it with coins with no cover
first backfire
first instant assembly

all that good stuff.

If anyone has the full history it would be very helpful to me.

Thank You

Joe Rindfleisch

Joe,

Yank Hoe's "Sympathetic Coins" is in Bobo's.

Muhammad Bey's "Chink-a-Chink" is in "Stars of Magic" and is performed with the hands as cover.

David Roth's routine is base on the Bey routine (I think).

The backfire assembly was originated by Paul Gertner and can be found in "Steel and Silver".

I have an entire file on the "Sympathetic Coins" but it isn't handy at the moment. That is what I can think of off the top of my head. I will get back to you later with more information. There are some very knowledgable people here that will fill you in.

I will get back to you,
-Karl

Posted: Mar 22, 2006 11:22pm

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Joe,

Here is a little more information:

Yank Hoe's original "Sympathetic Coins" was published in 1909 in T Nelson Downs' "The Art of Magic".

The sugar cubes idea is credited to Nate Leipzig in Hilliard's "Greater Magic". The Bey routine came after.

The name "Matrix" is the name of Al Schnider's routine which was published in Genii magazine in 1972. Unfortunately, many people refer to any "Sympathetic Coins" or "Chink-a-chink" routine as a "matrix", but that is simply wrong. "Matrix is the name of Al Schnider's routine and his routine alone. It is too bad so many people don't do their homework.

-Karl

Joe, check out Hillard's summary of the situation in Greater Magic, especially:

"Time has proved that Yank Hoe's routine was perfect. In the years which have passed since I gave this perfect trick to the conjuring world no one has added a cubit to its stature or changed its routine. It stands as one of the perfect sleight of hand effects with coins. To be sure magicians have changed the trick insofar as the materials are concerned. Some, notably Nate Leipzig, use cubes of sugar and cover the cubes with their hands. Others use paper balls, and some perform the trick with cigarettes, using two hats as covers....But whatever materials may be used it is worth recording in every case that is no departure from the original Yank Hoe routine. It is not given to every magician to bequeath a perfect trick to posterity."

Clearly, Hillard at least belived that the Yank Hoe assembly came first, then "Chink-a-chink". Also, Hillard also believes that his description of the effect in "The Art of Magic" was the first.

More interestingly, he claims that the number of covers or, or the lack of covers is of little consequence. So long as the Yank Hoe routine is followed, (presumably a basic assembly?) it is Yank Hoe's effect. I suppose that in Hillard's eyes, therefore, "Sympathetic Coins" is the same effect as "Chink-a-Chink" but not the same as a "Reverse Assembly", since that involves a different routine.

By the way, as you know, Paul Gertner's "Reverse Assembly" appeared in Apocalypse long before "Steel and Silver" was written.

Lefler's backfire may have predated Gertner's, but I'm not sure if it's in print...anyone know?

Where does homer lewags flash risce fit into the picture was that the first instant assembly?

I thought Lefler's backfire was a Translocation backfire, not a matrix (excuse my terminoligy Karl ) backfire.

The terminoligy I typically use to describe the different type of tabled coin effects are, "Matrix", "Assembly", and "Transolocation".

Traditionally “Matrix” routines (originated by Al Schneider) have four coins arranged in a square and then covered by cards. One at a time, the coins assemble under one of the cards. “Assembly” routines such as David Roth’s “Chink-A-Chink” have four coins arranged in a square. The coins are covered by the magician’s hands and one at a time the coins assemble into one of the corners. The last traditional type of routine is a “Translocation” (originated by John Kennedy) whereby four coins are arranged in a straight vertical line on one side of the close up pad. The coins travel one at a time from under the magician’s one hand to under the magician’s other hand on the close up pad.

Might well be the first instant barehanded assembly in print.

Dan, I agree with your terms-of-art, but my comment about Lefler was in relation to the general term "assembly" instead of the specific terms-of-art. I'm interested in knowing who created the first backfire period (whether it was for a Translocation effect, a Matrix effect, an in-the-hands coins across effect, etc.)?

Larry, interesting question. I'm thinking Ross Bertram for the first "Backfire" Coins across ("Passing the Half Bucks") which appeared in Stars of Magic, which preceded Bobo's.

Thanks Curtis! Time to pull out my Stars of Magic.

Larry not 100% But think M. Lefflers reverse Assembly was in Richards Almanac

Yes, Mark Lefler's reverse assembly (with two cards, called "Reversi") appears in the introduction to the Collected Almanac. It was slated to appear in the Almanac itself in 1983, but did not see print until it appeared in the New York Magic Symposium Collection No. 2 (1983)

Mr. Lefler's "backfire" ending to John Kennedy's "Translocation" appears in Kennedy's lecture notes along with "Translocation" itself. I don't have a date for these notes, but I think they appeared in the early `80's as well.

Harry Levine's 'All-American Reverse Matrix' was published in "Encore III" (1983):

"A reverse Matrix using four different coins which uses no extra coins".