Thanks Rick, It will be my first time to Colon and I expect to have some fun.

Ian,
I remember George doing a small lecture at a friends house here in Lubbock, TX in '88. I bought every lecture note and book he had for sale. I loved his lecture. I agree with you, everytime I see a move that is one of his creations, I just wonder why they don't give him credit for it. It's aggravating. I appreciate the magician's who do give proper credit and if they don't know, at least to have tried to research and find out, but still give credit that it is not their own move but someone elses. Anyway, I love all of George Sands rope moves, subtleties and routines, but what got me worse than any of his other effects was a card effect he did. I was the volunteer on that one, and I must have had a puzzled look on my face because all of the other magicians were laughing at me. I thought maybe they were all in the know and I was the only one that wasn't but I found out later that they were simply laughing because I thought I was very knowledgeable about a lot of magic and that one really got me. LOL! I guess if I had seen myself, I would have been laughing also. It was a cards across effect where I counted the cards out myself, laid them on the table myself, and it still happened. There were were suddenly 3 cards missing from my original pile and ended up in the other pile. George admitted the trick itself wasn't his, but the move that caused it to happen was his own version. It was great. I purchased everything I could from him after that. He was a great lecturer!

Ian...
I'm SO with you on this one!

I was very excited to get Fiber Optics as I heard everyone talking about it as the latest and greatest. Now keep in mind I've done a LOT of rope work including Sandsational and Ropesational as well as my handling on the Professor's Nightmare (Which was released in the early 80's as "The Ultimate Nightmare" and soon to come out on Video) So I eagerly watched the DVD and waited patiently for most of the handling to be attributed to George Sands and Ropesational... but nothing! The body of the routine has MANY exact moves.

Now Richard does have some original moves and handling in there, but there are so many of George's moves that I wondered how he got permission to release them!

I LOVE the way George Sands single handedly changed the face of rope magic. The rest are just coasting on that legacy.

I have very much enjoyed reading this thread on George Sands. I love magic but I am a total "closet performer." In the 1980s I joined the magic club here in Phoenix and saw George perform his ropes. I was flabbergasted! I bought both Sandsational and Ropesational and spent hours in front of the mirror practicing. Then I called George up and asked if I could come to his apartment and show him what I was doing and ask him to critiqe me. (After all--I wanted to do justice to his rope magic.) He was so gracious! I spent the afternoon with he and his wife, Arlene, and worked on my ropes and and listened to George talk about one idea after another for all kinds of magic tricks. Everything was either hand drawn into little picture or typed out. I have never seen anyone enjoy creation as much as George. Soon after I invited he and his wife to our home for dinner as a way of thanking him. My wife had a turkey in the oven and asked me to baste it. She had to run to the store. As a practical joke I had purchased a cornish hen and had it ready to put into the oven as soon as she left in place of the turkey which I hid in the laundry room. When she came back George and Arlene were there and this cornish hen was being basted on a large turkey platter. We told her the turkey had shrunk! It was the beginning of a great evening.
I just went to my closet and found two books signed by George. One is 50 years of Magic and the other is 51 years of magic. I am so honored to be able to add my comments to those of you who knew him. I also loved playing chess with George when we would occasionally get together. Thanks Guys!

Msg from Alan Sands:
"Well the book and DVD, "George Sands Ropes" is out and available. With the gifts I gave to immediate family, and the order of 150 books by Murphy's Magic, and the 20+ I have sold, I have only 300 copies left.

If you'd like a numbered copy of this release, I sign and number the first 100 - and none of these numbered copies have gone to family or Murphy's - so you can still get one of the first 100 books off the press."
PM him, or
http://www.alansands.com/store/sandsrope.html

Yeah, let me get that thread up again. My own little routine was greatly influenced by Sand's work.

Great story. Thanks!!

My personal discovery of Mr. Sands' work came about backwards, after first viewing most of the modern routines that are on DVD, and working with Tabary's book. It really is amazing to watch old video of him now and recognize so many moves that are taught on the newer DVDs. Even the verbal gags he used during performance still pop up regularly.

The move he used to close Ropesational actually made it into the basic Cub Scout Bear manual as badge requirement 22e (not sure if Sands originated it).

So nice of everyone to keep this thread alive. My purpose in starting this was to honor George Sands work. Secondly, to make a point to those who have made a lot of money on his work.
The modern magic buyer sees a great DVD with "credentials" and quickly becomes a fan of the "new magic" and is not aware of the history behind the effect. The analogy is to see a remake of an older classic movie by adding color, special effects, and a prettier face with the classic script untouched. The credits say "based on the novel by...", and the screenplay goes to the new "author". The popularity goes to the actor who can base his carreer on his performance.
There are entirely too many great ideas and performances that have been emulated or copied and it can be very brave to point out the origins of an effect when the new performer has a loyal following. Thanks for staying with me on this, and keep the stories coming.

Fascinating how someone can dream up a sequence like that and make it look so effortless.

George inspired me so much, that after seeing his lecture in 1977, I wrote my own first booklet on rope. An original sequence is tough enough, the implementation and flow of a routine must then be conveyed on paper.
I have virtually had dreams where I worked out a rope sequence, so your comment of "dreaming up" an effect is truer than you might think. Luckily, I immediately video the sequence, sometimes in the middle of the night (4 am in my jockey shorts). (sorry for the visual).
Then there is the separation of moves so as not to cover previous routines that have come before us. That involves a deliberate blank slate rather than a jumping off point from another rope artist.
The modern rope artists have been lucky in not having been caught, due mostly to the fact that the old effects were only in print and harder to research.
With Sands, it wasn't only a routine, there were innovative techniques that just did not exist in order to do the routine and had to be invented.

Many songwriters work that way too. You have to record that idea immediately or its gone. Like it resides in the space between thoughts. If there was a reliable way to tap that, who knows where our civilization would be.

Re: the new Sands book. Has anyone else noticed that some of the illustrations don't match the instructions? I absolutely hate that, and it's probably the number one (unclear or contradictory instructions) reason why some people prefer DVDs to books. This is basic editing and proofreading, folks...

Last I heard George sold the routine to magic city and they own the original routine now. However that is rumor.

As far as I know. Alan Sands did not sell the rights to magic city.
Magic City distribution is maybe fifth at best on the magic scene.
The original routine rights will be in the Sands family forever.

I just watched a new DVD promo featuring Marc Desousa and he was doing A "full circle" routine with George Sands and Tabary moves. Along with other professors nightmare moves by other artists, including Finney and Tong. I guess there is a need to teach other peoples work.

Hello Gentlemen:

I want to thank ALL of you for keeping my father's legacy alive. It was what all of you had to say about him that motivated me to republish his rope routines more professionally. Next will be a compilation called, "Cards", George Sands MasterWorks Vol. 2.

Please tell me page #'s that need editing. I'd appreciate the critique very much. My graphic Artist is not a magician, I know the routines so well that it's difficult for me to catch the subtle errors when proofing & Arlene Sands also is in a similar boat as me.

Without going into a long recitation; my recollection and additional research leads me to believe anyone who has made claims to owning a copyright that pertains to any of my father's material never fulfilled any agreement. Putting "Copyright" into a pamphlet does not constitute actual ownership. I have exclusive control of all the rights to ALL my father's material.

If anyone has further questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me directly. If you want on my mailing list, simply ask. alan@AlanSands.com. For the rope book and DVD visit http://www.alansands.com/ropebook

Click here to view attached image.

Where can I find out about the George Sands Prime Number Force please ?

Doctormong:

Regarding the George Sands Prime Number Force:

See if this link helps...

http://books.google.com/books?id=d6-pJ8Z......&f=false