Jon Racherbaumer
#1 Magic author
#2 Mentalism & Spiritism author
#2 Magazines & Comics author
(22nd January 1940 - )
Born in Oak Park, Illinois, under the sign of Aquarius. His early years were spent in Elmhurst, Illinois (Harlan Tarbell's hometown), a western suburb of Chicago. His interest in magic was sparked by seeing Dr. Tarbell perform in 1950. Soon thereafter, he received his first magic book, Tarbell Course in Magic - Volume 1, on his eleventh birthday. After discovering that Dr. Tarbell had donated his entire course to the local library, Jon spent many hours diligently studying each volume along with other magic books in the library.
Jon joined the Mazda Mystics Club (Juniors) in 1953, a club started by Russell Shaw and his wife in Oak Park, Illinois. Meetings were held in the basement of the Mazda Magic Shop. He maintained his interest throughout his schooling and thereafter when he moved to New Orleans in 1963. The Big Easy, home of the Mardi Gras, jazz music, and voodoo, is often called the Dream State, an ideal place for all things magical to ferment. From 1957 to 1965, Jon attended four universities and worked at various jobs: radio programmer, disk-jockey, promotion man, salesman, restaurant manager, male model, tree-trimmer, blackjack dealer, construction worker, warehouseman, program consultant (voluntary health agency), institutional house-father, social worker, gym instructor, bartender, ambulance driver (at a race track), and finally he went to work for Eastern Airlines from 1965-1990 as an airlines business person.
He eventually joined the IBM and the SAM in 1966, is a member of the Order of Merlin, and is a Lifetime Member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. He is currently the Associate Editor of Richard Kaufman's Genii magazine. Prior to accepting this post, he contributed to numerous other magazines.
Jon's mentors were Ed Marlo and Eddie Fields.
His other interests are: body-building, literature, book-collecting, martial arts, philosophy, poetry, film, theater (theory), cosmology, painting, and mathematical recreations.
website: www.JonRacherbaumer.com
Coauthors: Edward Marlo, Norm Osborn, Steve Reynolds
Jon Racherbaumer products
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A Hobsonian HandbookJon Racherbaumer Explorations, 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... | 2019 / 12 / 1 | $12.00 £9.32 €11.02 C$16.12 AUD$17.88 ₹830.40 CN¥82.56 JP¥1329.28 R$46.20 | to wish list | ||
Shades of WowJon Racherbaumer Elucidations 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 five–card 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... | 2019 / 8 / 7 | $10.00 £7.77 €9.18 C$13.44 AUD$14.90 ₹692.00 CN¥68.80 JP¥1107.73 R$38.50 | to wish list | ||
The Legendary Kabbala (1971-1981)Jon Racherbaumer The meaning of Kabbala, translated from Hebrew, means something received and handed down. This definition resonates. Knowledge of magic, after all, is handed down from generation to generation, from magician to magician, and from teacher to disciple. Prior to xerography and personal computers, most magical knowledge was transmitted in this primitive, semi-private, and intimate means. Word-of-mouth reigned supreme and to a certain extent still does.
The magic scene in the Seventies was a blooming, buzzing place, atwitter with contentiousness and creativity. Close-up magic, particularly with... | 2019 / 5 / 21 | $49.50 £38.44 €45.46 C$66.51 AUD$73.76 ₹3425.40 CN¥340.56 JP¥5483.26 R$190.58 | to wish list PDF_facsimile | ||
The Complete Gypsy Switch HandbookJon Racherbaumer Note 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... | 2019 / 5 / 13 | $12.00 £9.32 €11.02 C$16.12 AUD$17.88 ₹830.40 CN¥82.56 JP¥1329.28 R$46.20 | to wish list | ||
TosherooniqueJon Racherbaumer From 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. | 2019 / 5 / 6 | $12.00 £9.32 €11.02 C$16.12 AUD$17.88 ₹830.40 CN¥82.56 JP¥1329.28 R$46.20 | to wish list | ||
Fingerprint DossierJon Racherbaumer From 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... | 2019 / 3 / 31 | $10.00 £7.77 €9.18 C$13.44 AUD$14.90 ₹692.00 CN¥68.80 JP¥1107.73 R$38.50 | to wish list | ||
WhispersJon Racherbaumer This 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... | 2019 / 3 / 4 | $12.00 £9.32 €11.02 C$16.12 AUD$17.88 ₹830.40 CN¥82.56 JP¥1329.28 R$46.20 | to wish list | ||
Timely TrickeryJon Racherbaumer While we all intuitively understand what time is, even a child can tell you what time it is, it is a hard concept to fully understand from a scientific point of view. It is hard to define, and wrap your head around. That is part of the intrigue of making it the topic of a magic effect. Particularly for an interested and sophisticated audience it can be a very effective plot line. Jon Racherbaumer explores how magicians have made use of it over the decades, and he has unearthed some remarkable gems.
| 2018 / 5 / 27 | $20.00 £15.53 €18.37 C$26.87 AUD$29.80 ₹1384.00 CN¥137.60 JP¥2215.46 R$77.00 | to wish list | ||
A Promising PremiseJon Racherbaumer Unpacking 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.
| 2018 / 4 / 21 | $12.00 £9.32 €11.02 C$16.12 AUD$17.88 ₹830.40 CN¥82.56 JP¥1329.28 R$46.20 | to wish list | ||
Daley BredJon Racherbaumer A 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... | 2018 / 4 / 16 | $12.00 £9.32 €11.02 C$16.12 AUD$17.88 ₹830.40 CN¥82.56 JP¥1329.28 R$46.20 | to wish list | ||
Processean PrincessJon Racherbaumer Henry 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.... | 2018 / 3 / 25 | $12.00 £9.32 €11.02 C$16.12 AUD$17.88 ₹830.40 CN¥82.56 JP¥1329.28 R$46.20 | to wish list | ||
The Last HierophantJon Racherbaumer Impromptu Effects
| 2018 / 3 / 3 | $15.00 £11.65 €13.77 C$20.15 AUD$22.35 ₹1038.00 CN¥103.20 JP¥1661.60 R$57.75 | to wish list PDF_facsimile | ||
Robert Walker's Hyper TwistJon Racherbaumer Effect: Four blue-back cards are shown. One at a time each card - the Ace, Two, Three, and Four of Diamonds - turn face up. Their backs then change to red and then one at a time the backs change back to blue. Finally, the cards change to four Fours of Diamonds.
1st edition 1975 in Paul Diamond Presents Magical Masterpieces #2, updated 2018, PDF 15 pages. | 2018 / 3 / 3 | $8.00 £6.21 €7.35 C$10.75 AUD$11.92 ₹553.60 CN¥55.04 JP¥886.18 R$30.80 | to wish list | ||
Hierophant 7Jon Racherbaumer
| 2018 / 2 / 24 | $10.00 £7.77 €9.18 C$13.44 AUD$14.90 ₹692.00 CN¥68.80 JP¥1107.73 R$38.50 | to wish list PDF_facsimile | ||
Piano RolesJon Racherbaumer Jon loves to collect, compare, and organize tricks into themes and plots. This is his latest work on the piano trick.
WHAT IS THE PIANO TRICK? A spectator places his hands palm down on the table in the same way a pianist places his hands on a keyboard. Then pairs of cards are placed between the spectator's fingers to set the stage. These pairs are then fairly removed to form two equal piles. An extra or "odd" card is added to one of the piles. Then, without any further movements or fanfare, the "odd" card inexplicably travels to the other pile.
| 2017 / 12 / 16 | $10.00 £7.77 €9.18 C$13.44 AUD$14.90 ₹692.00 CN¥68.80 JP¥1107.73 R$38.50 | to wish list | ||
Debits, Credits, and other LeftoversJon Racherbaumer Polishing and old principle of mooted origin ...
Jon Racherbaumer explores an old but fascinating self-working trick which can be performed with any set of counters, be they cards, sticks, stones, coins, matches, business cards, bottle caps, gummi bears, ...
| 2017 / 7 / 2 | $10.00 £7.77 €9.18 C$13.44 AUD$14.90 ₹692.00 CN¥68.80 JP¥1107.73 R$38.50 | to wish list | ||
Oil and QueensJon Racherbaumer The oil and water effect is a classic of card magic, some love it, some hate it. If one has ever seen Rene Lavand do it slow motion with one hand you probably love it. But there is only one Rene Lavand. Some say the effect of red and black cards separating is rather weak, until Roy Walton added a kicker in 1969 where half the cards change to Queens. Dave Bendix tweaked Walton’s handling. Bob Stencil and Terry LaGerold devised a narrative that logically excused the surprise appearance of the Queens. Jon Racherbaumer and Jeff Busby independently expanded the kicker to not only change half the... | 2017 / 6 / 16 | $15.00 £11.65 €13.77 C$20.15 AUD$22.35 ₹1038.00 CN¥103.20 JP¥1661.60 R$57.75 | to wish list | ||
Five Easy PiecesJon Racherbaumer The five easy "pieces" in this manuscript are relatively easy to do. The important aspect, however, is how they are combined. The tricks are not the tricky part. They can be broken down into basic, understandable action steps. Or, to put it another way, tricks are to magic books as recipes are to cook books. One should not then equate plans, schemes, or sets of instructions with hale and hearty presentations. This is the reason the extended presentation in this manuscript surpasses mere exposition. Besides explaining the action steps of five otherwise grab-bag tricks, it reveals how they have... | 2017 / 4 / 23 | $10.00 £7.77 €9.18 C$13.44 AUD$14.90 ₹692.00 CN¥68.80 JP¥1107.73 R$38.50 | to wish list | ||
13 Ways to Three-WayJon Racherbaumer This ebook explores the classic "Quick Three Way" plot. How can the faces of three playing cards be shown to be the same?
1st edition 2017, 42 pages.... | 2017 / 3 / 4 | $10.00 £7.77 €9.18 C$13.44 AUD$14.90 ₹692.00 CN¥68.80 JP¥1107.73 R$38.50 | to wish list | ||
Facsimile 4Jon Racherbaumer
1st edition 1996, 35 pages. | 2017 / 2 / 25 | $15.00 £11.65 €13.77 C$20.15 AUD$22.35 ₹1038.00 CN¥103.20 JP¥1661.60 R$57.75 | to wish list |
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