According to this month's (November) Genii, the Invisible Deck is now being marketed by a toy company, joining Strippers, Svengali, et al.

OK, so it's dressed up a bit (there's a hankie to wrap around it, and some gizmo in the hankie to make a noise or some such thing).

But the upshot is that it seems like the stupendous Invisible Deck will very soon be in the hands of Uncle Jim and a million-and-one schoolboys.

The excellent Simon Lovell is behind it all. What a shame.

Unless, of course, I have grasped entirely the wrong end of the tree up which I am barking. Which has been known...

I'm not surprised. A lot of the effects that are used so commonly get ripped off at one point or another. Look at what happened to the Balducci levitation. Or the cig thru coin. The list goes on and on...

This is what happens when tricks are mass marketed. They start to get snapped up by toy companies and mass manufactured even further in cheaply made versions as TOYS. I remember some years ago seeing an all plastic finger chopper made in Taiwan and labeled "For ages 4 and up."

This is why smaller, independent dealers who manufacture and sell their OWN items should be supported.

Paul.

About a year ago I was at my local 50/50 store and there was a mesh Christmas stocking that visibly contained cheap versions of a TT, Hot Rod, Stripper, Svengali, Multiplying Sponge Rabbits and Professor's Nightmare.

Very sad indeed.

If we carry on with this thread we are going to get depressed.

Paul.

You mean you aren't already, Paul?

Seriously though, it's a good thing magic is a constantly evolving art with brilliant people coming up with effects that revolutionize the art. Otherwise it'd turn into a manufactured h***.

It amazes me how everyone gets so surprised every time this happens. And, yes, it's happened many, many times before! In fact, if it hadn't happened about 50 or 60 years ago, I might never have got into magic!

So, before we bemoan the "exposure", think of the number of new magicians this will (not "might") help create. After all, the REAL secret of magic is not in the props.

And the number of minutes some of them will be in magic before leaving, then caring not about telling people how things are done... when you are performing the Invisible Deck or using a fake coin. Awww go on Peter, let us have a little moan. I'm sure even the masked magician shows created a few new magicians...

re:
You mean you aren't already, Paul?

OK, I admit it, the smile for my picture had to be super glued into place. It has started to get embarrassing though when people tell me their relatives have died.

Paul

Peter is right...However, being in the Magic Business the Majority of my life, I have found that these things run their course. None of these knock-offs hurt the business of Magic or Magicians.

Who knows? Maybe a kid picking up the toy will actually become engaged and become the next Angel or Henning or Dunninger. They had to start somewhere.

Boy, I was getting worried until I realised this thread is four years old. So far no one's seen my invisible deck and told me they got the same thing from a dollar store ... so I think we're okay.

I believe that Mr. Marucci and I have always agreed on this issue. Disclosure only hurts those who are less proficient and practiced in the craft. As soon as I press a silk into my closed fist I begin to hear whispers of "Oh, I know this one" and "watch his thumb" and it becomes the greatest sucker trick of all when they never see the tip. I use the Invisible Deck regularly and have no fear of being caught because I don't use it the way it was designed to be used. Gimmicks are tools that support my skill, routining and showmanship. If you lack these basic traits, then continue to be afraid...be very afraid of disclosure. If you're a polished and practiced professional...relax. Your act is safe.

I have always taught basic, unskilled bits to interested lay folk...and will continue to do so. It enhances a genuine interest in magic, promotes the entertainment quality of the art and removes the "He-thinks-he's-so-hot" and "Magic-is-for-geeks!" stigma that enshrouds the art. Following the example of Doug Henning and David Copperfield...I feel that places me in pretty good company.

I really don't see what the big deal is here. I bought a mass market invisible deck put out by Jerry Lucas over thirty years ago.
This deck being out in the public domain is nothing new and yet magic still goes forward.

Amen!!!

How does one become a polished and practiced professional, except through first learning by the use of simple tricks such as those being exposed?

It's not a matter of,"If it doesn't hurt my act, then it's okay."

There is a bigger picture to consider.

- entity

Unfortunately, Over exposure can not be stopped. It is something that we all must deal with.

Entity...Walk out on the street and randomly ask ten people who the Speaker of the House is. You may get one or two who know the answer. Randomly ask twenty people who led the design team for the original Ford Mustang. You MIGHT get ONE correct answer. Randomly ask thirty people who the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth was and you MIGHT get two or three correct responses.

My point is...unless people have a vested interest in something they just don't care. You might perform the Invisible Deck for 100 people and run into THREE people who have a basic ide of how it works. The Tarbell Lessons were sold publicly how many decades ago? Popular magic tricks have been exposed on cereal boxes, bubblegum wrappers, trading cards, kid's shows and the like for half a century...and yet...we continue to grow, prosper and adapt.

Bemoaning issues that you have no control over dimishes your ability and motivation to adapt. Look forward. Grow. Adapt. Succeed.

Skip

Great! Another horrible trick eliminated from the repertoire.

I NEVER liked the Invisible Deck as we know it today. I've seen it performed probably by more than 30 different magicians and there were 1 or 2, which were not super-annoying. It's such a great principle, you could make soooo much of it but 98% people just pull the card out of the fan as if it were their first key card effect. Also think about the billion posts on this board, where people rave about the ID and that it saved them so many times.

IF THEY NEED TO BE SAVED BY THE INVISIBLE DECK SO OFTEN, THEN MAYBE CARD MAGIC IS NOT FOR THEM!!! Jesus Christ!

So Christof, you are saying you have never gotten that "I hope you brought your ID" look from some specs after an effect bombs?

I was worried as well but then I noticed the age of the original post as well, heh.

Hm... I started out w/ off-stage card magic fairly late. I bombed many effects when working in manipulation as a teen. When I started doing card magic, I had realized the value of practice ;-) So, no. And it's definitely great as an occasional(!!!) out but there are really people who just rely on it. That's awful, don't you think?