Looks like "The Trickery" (Howard Baltus) has closed??

http://www.thetrickery.com/


Is this old news?

I do not know the gentleman personally who owned/ran the above trickery web site, but that is a pretty solemn (somber, almost scary) posting there. I hope somebody who knows him checks up on him to make sure he is personally ok.

Discussed here:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&forum=8

"Magic and illusion long part of my life.
That seems no match for the constant strife..."

Another one bites the dust...

Doug

The site is back online. But just a few things of interest. Not the actual site from before.

Man I hope that Howard brings it back!

I loved The Trickery!

I miss Mr. Baltus.

From his 2nd best customer,

Joel

Great shop and humble owner.

Dead link, click bait, don't click on "thetrickery.com" link.

Actually, there are some pretty nice videos on the "Show Theater" site that it links to. Lots more Henning and Houdini than you'll find on other sites. I have no clue who's behind it, but it's worth checking out.

I believe he will be back with awesome items. As always he selling all good and works props and some are collector items.
Cant hardly wait to see them....

I don't think The Trickery will be back unfortunately. Howard has moved on simply because his standards were too high for the low expectations and demands of the masses.

In my opinion it may be discussed in the future that Howard Baltus was one of magic's visionaries. I don't mean that from a performing or creating standpoint, but rather from an almost philosophical standpoint. I followed and supported The Trickery for quite awhile and was an extremely satisfied customer. Howard showed us what buying and experiencing magic could be like on the internet. Its potential. One didn't need to compromise quality. One didn't need to compromise customer service. Yes, there was the loss of the brick and mortar experience, but Howard was showing us ways in which many of those benefits could be reaped in the virtual world.

To describe The Trickery I would use words like: discerning, innovative, approachable, involved, interactive, responsive, creative, and unique.

Howard's work with Bob Solari in creating the "Spy Before You Buy" videos which were available via VHS and later online were my favorites...and groundbreaking. Howard and Bob would demonstrate dozens of higher-end magic props (which The Trickery was known for...Howard had a critical eye for attractive and well-made wood and metal props, and Bob's history of creating some of those same well-made bits of magic made them a suitable super team), in barely or seemingly unedited performance videos that were endearing, but also very informative. The clarity of movement and lack of "creative" camera work made the demonstrations honest. Indeed, you were spying before buying.

Mr. Baltus also championed the practice of a retailer partnering with magic creators to produce unique magic props exclusive to that dealer. Not a new idea. In fact, very old...more established dealers like Tannen's Magic and Stevens Magic Emporium had been partnering with unique magic creators for years, but Howard brought it to the internet, and with style and vigor. He put his specialty items in the forefront of his inventory, ahead of commodity magic, so The Trickery became known as one of the main go-to sources for online quality performance and collectible props. His early partnerships with the then fledgling Magic Wagon and other craftsmen proves this point ( http://www.thebestmagic.com/content/trickery and http://www.martinsmagic.com/?s=the+trick......=product ).

Howard also picked up the phone. A rarity these days. Hocus Pocus still does, and I'm sure a few others...but they are indeed becoming fewer and fewer. In fact I remember Howard calling me at work a couple of times, and I believe I was rather dismissive. Not deliberately, but he called me concerning an order and it was during business hours...of course...and I work in an open-office setting so I don't really operate privately. His call took me off guard. An online magic dealer calling me for specifics about my order? Yet, Howard was once again defining what online magic meant. It didn't mean disconnect. It meant re-connect. Online meant ON LINE with Howard, not OFF LINE. It meant being in the present. Knowing your customer. Understanding their needs and meeting those needs. And in his mind those needs were high-quality magic, high-quality service...in a high-speed world. My mindset was the same. Sadly, there weren't enough similar minds to keep the mindset seated.

Howard went on to create Mandoras.com, a high-end furnishings and collectables site...which was quite wonderful...but he looks to be getting back to his roots with WebAuthorings... http://www.webauthorings.com

He seems to be a life long entrepreneur. There are many. They are inventive souls who never seem to be quite grounded. And for magic, that's just about right. Howard will be just fine. Magic...it will be fine too. Ever stepping forward...thanks to innovators like Howard Baltus, who took the time to make the steps.

I miss Howard!!!!
Man he did so much for magic.

Wish he would just have the site back up for us to look and enjoy at least the videos.

I loved how he did the spider vanish. I think it was the wonder coin box. I watched that daily for months!!!

And his demo of Beyond Okito.
Howard was awesome.

Come back Trickery!!!!! Or at least the Theatre!!!!

GRAND OL' HOWARD! I have his film canister chop cup that produces a 35mm film roll for the final load.