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Hierophant 7Jon Racherbaumer
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Fingerprint DossierJon RacherbaumerFrom the Preface: I must confess that my initial reaction to the Fingerprint Trick was tepid. There was no tension or conflict and it came off as being a glorified location trick. But one aspect interested me. It violated one of magic's cardinal rules - namely, never tell an audience what you are going to do before you do it. And, worse, in this case the performer divulges how he plans do it. Every presentation explains how the trick ostensibly works: The selection is found by detecting the thumbprint left on it. This is a plausible explanation, but as the trick unfolds, this casual explanation... | ★★★★★ $10 to wish list | ||
Shades of WowJon RacherbaumerElucidations of a classic card trick: The Biddle Trick The basic plot is fairly straightforward: A card is selected and in the process of determining its identity it is winnowed down to five possibilities. Then, in a surprising act of differentiation, the selection disappears from this fiveācard packet and reappears elsewhere. In most cases, the selection ends up face up in the middle of a spread deck. This trick has been variously named but ultimately it was christened "The Biddle Trick", named after Elmer Biddle who published the trick in Genii magazine in 1947. It marks the first appearance of the well-known... | ★★★★★ $10 to wish list | ||
Further MoreJon RacherbaumerThis manuscript is an exploration of the origin and evolution of one of the most dependable, commercial, and semiautomatic card tricks extant. Even its name is unusual and memorable - "Further Than That"
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Trix FixesJon Racherbaumer | $10 to wish list | ||
Psi-VJon RacherbaumerA retrospective look at Dai Vernon's Five-Card Mental Force.
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Cunning AttractionsJon RacherbaumerA different take on the usage of the mini-plunger or tiny plunger. When Danny Orleans showed the item to Jon it sparked his creativity. Read about the outcome here.
1st edition 2013, 41 pages. | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
Processean PrincessJon RacherbaumerHenry Hardin's plot has been around for 107 years and his initial three methods are explained in The Art of Magic (1909). Card tricks of this kind were atypical when Hardin devised his trick. During his time, spectators physically picked cards. They seldom, if ever, mentally selected them. Because only five cards are used in "The Princess Card Trick," Hardin strengthened the challenge by finding the mental selection by tactile means while the five "possibilities" were in his pocket. This is how the his trick appeared to audiences: Five cards are shown to a spectator who is asked to think of one of them.... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
Daley BredJon RacherbaumerA study of Daley's Aces its history and spin-offs. This treatise is a compilation of methods for performing a simple transposition of pairs of cards - namely the red and black Aces. The basic plot has a checkered history and, despite being associated with Dr. Jacob Daley, there are lots of tangled connective tissue and ancestral than meets the eye. Besides these aspects, you will discover that this treatise is a rich mixture of memes. That is, there are lots of bits and pieces to play with and, if you are the kind of student that likes to study the history of a trick and then work through... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
A Promising PremiseJon RacherbaumerUnpacking Dai Vernon's Pact When Vernon's trick appeared, its puzzling aspect centers on the fact that the spectator chooses one of three cards and the one chosen changes into his selection. In other words, the spectator is permitted to make two decisions. He selects any card. Then he selects one-of-three cards, which changes into his selection. It is essentially a quickie.
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WhispersJon RacherbaumerThis treatise is a detailed exploration of a glorified location-divination, framed by a whimsical conceit - namely that an inanimate object - a playing card - is the supposed agency that makes the entire trick work. In this regard it was an effort to upgrade an essentially puerile divination effect. Here is the basic approach or plot: The way the performer learns the identity of a freely selected card is apparently due to enlisting the assistance of another playing card (usually a Queen), which whispers the name of the selection to the magician. The magician then acts as the Queen's proxy... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
TosherooniqueJon RacherbaumerFrom the Foreword: "Tosheroon" is an odd but memorable name. It sounds amusing and somewhat incantatory - especially for a card trick. Bob Driebeck, who dubbed it, knew that the word was Cockney slang for a half-crown, which is also the type of coin he used to perform this offbeat card trick. The basic effect is a transformation done with an impediment in place - the impediment or obstruction in this case is a coin, which is placed onto the face of the card that eventually changes. Effect: A card is selected and lost in the deck. Then a borrowed coin is marked and placed onto the face... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
The Complete Gypsy Switch HandbookJon RacherbaumerNote that different moves and techniques have been called 'Gypsy Switch' over the decades. See for example a technique to switch bills using an envelope: Gypsy Switch. The technique described here by Jon Racherbaumer uses a handkerchief and is mostly used with coins, but the basic technique is flexible and utilitarian, which means any object that is conveniently flat and compact can be switched for a similar object, using a handkerchief. This includes objects such as coins, poker chips, billets, cards (business and torn playing card pieces), and folded currency. In its antecedent form this move appeared... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
A Hobsonian HandbookJon RacherbaumerExplorations, examples, and routines using equivoque. Hobson's Choice: the choice of taking either what is offered or nothing else; the absence of choice. [after Thomas Hobson (1544-1631) of Cambridge, England, who rented horses and gave only one choice, that of the horse nearest the stable door]Equivoque or Magician's Choice in its myriad of forms is considered a First Principle by students of mentalism. What fascinates me is the elusiveness of this subject because no one has yet written a definitive, synoptic, and detailed magnum opus on the subject. There have been good piecemeal accounts written here and there about and most magicians understand how it basically works in specific cases; however, trying to ferret out its... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
Fifth-Business Monkey BusinessJon RacherbaumerEight select bits of rascality from Harry the Hat. From the Introduction: When Harry Anderson lived in New Orleans, we regularly discussed tricks, scams, and what Harry liked to call "throwaways that are keepers." These are tricks that symbolically serve the same purpose as Mardi Gras beads and doubloons tossed from floats during carnival season. The following 8 things in this booklet are stunts and tricks Harry performed in his inimitable, fast-and-loose way when he held court in barrooms, poolrooms, or at his night club called Oswald's. In the right time and place they are worth knowing... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
SunkenJon RacherbaumerA deep dive into a key principle - the sunken key card.
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May The Flop Be With YouJon RacherbaumerRemixing the Gardner-Marlo poker deal - its history and histrionics.
1st edition 2020, PDF 50 pages.... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
MythopolisJon RacherbaumerUnpacking the Smith Myth and the Rashomon Concept. This collection of tricks focuses on a similar motif because they fit the precise definition of that word and, in each case, the goal is to show what unifies and specifically defines each one. I'm also using the term "curate," because I sifted through lots of material so readers can compare and analyze everything. I consider this to be a contextualizing exercise that reveals the motif's history and pinpoints its rightful place in the Creative Continuum. The two motifs compiled here are the Smith Myth and what's popularly known as the Rashomon... | $12 to wish list | ||
Rub-a-Dub DigestJon RacherbaumerABOUT RUB-A-DUB: The rhyme is of a type calling out otherwise respectable people for disrespectable actions, in this case, ogling naked ladies - the maids. The nonsense "Rub-a-dub-dub" develops a phonetic association of social disapprobation, analogous to "tsk-tsk," albeit of a more lascivious variety. The Rub-a-Dub Move's inauspicious beginning began in 1909 at a time when, relatively speaking, magicians had a limited number of utilitarian sleights and techniques at their disposal. Besides, the Rub-a-Dub Move happened in the blink of an eye and was only an offbeat way to make a card disappear. ... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | ||
Devious DeparturesJon RacherbaumerA deep dive into Elmsley's Point of Departure. The original effect is the following. A card is chosen and placed face down on the table. The two black aces are then removed from the pack and with the utmost fairness, the chosen card is placed between them, and this sandwich is handed to a spectator to hold. On the magician's command, the chosen card vanishes and is found in the performer's pocket.
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Black JackeryJon RacherbaumerTricks that allude to the game of BlackJack.
1st edition 2023, PDF 30 pages. | $12 to wish list | ||
On the Tabled ReverseJon RacherbaumerA finessed examination of a unique technique. This manuscript is about a basic card technique that is sui generis, although it remains a limited application. Nevertheless, it is worth knowing because it's been cleverly used to perform one of the best short versions of "Triumph" extant. The basic move permits you to secretly reverse a card while the deck is tabled and simultaneously riffle shuffled. This manuscript also reveals the how, when and who worked on it. The first Tabled Reverse appeared in Marlo's Off the Top in 1945, credited to Russell Barnhart. Therein it was sparsely explained,... | $12 to wish list | ||
Tickling TekelJon RacherbaumerFrom the Introduction: The purpose of this compilation is to incentivize and "tickle" students to reexamine the Mene-Tekel deck and reconsider its possibilities. This has been done before and as recently as 2003 when Chris Wardle (via Paul Hallas) published a 27 page booklet titled Investigating the Mene-Tekel Deck (Magic's Forgotten Trick Deck). ... We begin with Ed Marlo's groundbreaking addition of what he called the Roughed Mene-Tekel. We end with ends with David Britland's clever routines. In between there the other contributions are meant to provide further context and stimulation - enough to tickle anyone's fancy. At least that's the presumptive impulse that led to its creation.
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Virtual VisitationsJon RacherbaumerDiving into double-back transits.
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