As an aside -- the ball vase, the egg box, the cannon ball vase, the marble box and Morison's pillbox have always been a contrived device, just like the various billiard ball stands that manipulators used in their acts. Khin of Cambodia made some ball vases that hold ping pong balls. If you paint one of these ping pong balls to resemble an evil eye, you have a wonderful bizarre prop.

It would be easy to motivate the use of such a prop in a theatrical presentation.

My mind is following a parallel path to Jonathan's thinking on this. In fact I made back in 1982 a routine with a Fabergé egg (not a ball and vase though), and I invented a pill box (there is no such a thing as a coin box in real life) made from a Boston box adding a rotating hinge and a locking device to it (the lock is just for look as it otherwise slows down the effect). The pill box was presented to the FFFF in 2003 and there is footage about it.

The basic concept behind pill box handling with coins came to me from a Fred Kaps comment. If you want to claim that someting is empty, don't show it empty: empty it. Thus emptying a pill box from its pills makes it ready for coins (or other props) to interact with the pill box. I felt so strong about it that I had half transparent gells made in plastic to perform close up effects with them (other than just Ramsay's four little beans). After 20 years of performing with them it still looks totally original as a prop. This makes the pill box so legitimate that, THEN, making coin effects with it just doesn't trigger mental brakes any more.

So yes Jonathan, I think you're 100% right. Let's look forward rather than backwards (without forgetting past discoveries and slowly established magical culture)

That's pretty neat!

I should have commented on the Faberge egg idea. Recently, I was at a show that sells gifts and found some nice, imitation Faberge eggs for very low prices. I started working on a routine with an egg and a piece of lapis lazuli. I haven't gotten anywhere with it, though.

Re: Pill Boxes

A friend of mine, John Ice, used to tell the story about how he got his coin boxes cleaned free of charge by local jewelers.

He would walk into a jewelry shop and ask if they had a repair department, specifically one that could clean and polish jewelry. Most of them do.

So he would bring out the Okito box and say, "I'm on my way to the airport. I was wondering if you could clean this for me. I know it's an imposition. It belonged to my grandmother. I think she kept her heart pills in it. It would mean so much to me."

So the counterman would yell back to the repairman, "Hey! Ernie! Could you buff this thing for this man? He's on his way to the airport. He was just at his grandmother's funeral, and he has the box she kept her heart pills in."

Notice how the story has changed from what John said to what the man thought he said!

A few minutes later, the Okito box would come back, just as shiny as it was the day he bought it. He would say, "Grandmother would have liked that. Thanks. How much do I owe you?"

Since they don't have a specific charge for polishing a pillbox, the answer was always, "No charge, take care."

And he would thank them profusely.

He did have to remember who he'd used for his little scam, though!

I just tried to go to Angelo's website and keep getting an error saying that the page couldn't be found...

http://www.tamarindwoodturning.com/

Anyone have a new link?

Thanks!

Angelo's magic goes under the name of Majic Brand Woodturning and he has a website that is still not complete:

Majic Link

Thanks GeorgeG!

Yeah, I just checked out the link as well...bummer that it was not up/is not ready... Looking forward to seeing it when it is online...

Without question, and I have never, ever done this, can firmly state that Angelo's fine wood turning exceeds any woodworker in Magic, to date! Iincluding Floyd Thayer ( sorry Phil Schwartz).

Not only is he a fine and likeable gentleman, he is extremely modest and takes compliments with a bit of "embarrasment". A rare quality for such a crafstman!

I commissioned Angelo to build me a set of 6 inch ball Passe Ball Vases. He is currently making them. Saw a preview of them at the Nemca gathering a couple of weeks ago, can't wait to see the finished product. ( I didn't even ask the cost!).

Angelo is a one of a kind, gracious and honest gentleman, and the fact that he is so humble about it, makes him very special.

Thanks Angelo for "participating" and devoting some of your magnificent wood working skills to classic Magic props of the past.

The only one I know who is in the same class is Colin Rose.

Thank you fellas.

I am blushing over your comments. Thank you, thank you

Angelo

Posted: Jan 15, 2009 4:13pm
New images are being posted. You can visit: http://www.majicbrand.com/

Posted: Feb 27, 2009 4:00pm
Mario

Your cups are nearing completion. They should be finished in the next week or so. I'll e mail some photos as well as post the pics on my website: http://www.msjicbrand.com

Angelo

Posted: Mar 14, 2009 5:24pm
Hello All,

We have been in the process of making a new website that is easier to navigate. I've recently posted a new photo of Magiquarian's Passe' Passe' vase. You can see it at this link:

http://web.me.com/ajiafrate/Site/Passe_Passe.html

Take a look let me know your thoughts.

Angelo