I'm trying to update my Brief Biographies of Magic Inventors and need the dates for Len Belcher, if they are known. Also, please take a look at his biography and see if there are any other inventions of his that need to be added.

http://www.magicnook.com/forum/bioAB.htm

Thanks for any help you can give.

An oldie called "Wun Fang and his Golden Coin" came from Len Belcher. James Swoger later made them, too. There was another more recent remake on the Big Auction not long ago.

I saw my first set at Irelands (109 North Dearborn/Chicago) about a zillion years ago! I believe they were listed in Tannen's catalogs from the 1950's - 60's, too.

Please feel free to contact me if you're unable to locate information pertaining to this clever apparatus.

Julie

Jay Leslie, on his site, attributes the invention of the Wun Fang trick to Harry Stanley.

http://www.houseofenchantment.com/pages/......cts.html

Do you have further information about the Belcher connection?

Harry Stanley did not invent much of anything. He may have designed a few things, but he was chiefly a merchant.

BTW, I'm trying to figure out how long "rights" to an item actually last. My friendship with George Robinson notwithstanding, how long do the rights to items by Carl Brema last? If you pay "someone" for the rights to a piece that, under normal IP laws would have passed into the public domain, what are you really getting?

I know that James Swoger sold the rights to his material to more than one person. This kind of thing causes real problems in the magic community, especially when people think they have an exclusive on an item.

I'm not trying to kick up a fuss, but at some point in time, certain items go into the public domain. Some were never patented or copyrighted. So what is their status?

Well, I have the rights to Wun Fang, The original instructions that jim printed name Harry as the inventor - so if someone had other info please let me know.

I also have a box full of a hundred assorted parts (if anyone is missing a piece).

I also made Wun Fang the official mascot of the shop. There are over a dozen Wun Fangs peering out from behind corners and watching your every move.

Hello again> In Tannen's "Magiclog No. 3" for 1960 it lists in brackets (Belcher and Stanley).

I MAY have a set of instructions. Should I come across those and they are more informative than the catalog description, I'll be back.

Julie

OK, here's the definitive information(?) It seems Bill is correct (as usual)...

The original instruction sheet states WUN FANG AND HIS GOLDEN COIN in bold letters across the top of the page. Centered on the line immediately below this is the name, Len Belcher.

On the line(s) below this is the statement, "American Rights given to Regow's House of Enchantment by Harry Stanley of England".

'Hope this little exercise has been helpful.

Julie

Thank you, Julie. Check the credit given in Belcher's Bio:

http://www.magicnook.com/forum/bioAB.htm

If you want me to include your last name, you'll have to let me know.

Now, does anyone have any idea who invented the other effects credited to Harry Stanley, or does Stanley deserve some recognition as an inventor after all?

I'm referring to: Harvey And the Soldier, Man In The Moon, and Stop Light.

It's hard to say. My gut feeling is that Stanley, much like Ken Brooke, was more of a producer than an inventor. I know for a fact that Ken Brooke often purchased the rights to an effect from an inventor and then put both their names on the trick. Usually this was in a form such as Ken Brooke Presents -- the Nemo 999 Vanishing Brick. And then the inventor's name would either be in the title or in the first line of the text.

For cups and balls guys, Harry Stanley is often remembered as the guy who created the "Vernon cups," which did not resemble any cups Vernon used at all!

However, the design lives on in the cups Joe Porper manufactures. Good cups, by the way.

Man In The Moon was invented by Jimmy Flowers and, I believe, was first published in Abracadabra magazine.
Harry Stanley never invented anything that I am aware of. I don't think Ken Brooke did either but Ken was brilliant at routining.

Len Belcher was unhappy with the book, The Best of Belcher, as he felt it was not his best material. Edwin of Supreme published it without consulting Belcher and it was made up of Belcher's contributions to The Gen magazine, the copyright of which Edwin bought from Harry Stanley when he retired, along with all the other Unique Magic Studio publications, including the Vernon and Slydini books.

Len Belcher is also credited with the creation of an effect called "Contact" in which the performer reveals which of 5 ESP cards a spectator has placed in an envelope.