When I was setting up my dealer table at the Portland Magic Jam, someone saw my Joseph Silk Gun and asked about it. I did a little demo for the other magic dealers in the room, here’s what it looked like:
I think that it’s crazy how good this trick looks! It’s hyper visual, and it was way ahead of its time, but using a gun in a show now isn’t something many performers could get away with.
-Louie
My buddy Glen knows that I love old magic tricks. He brought one to show me in Reno, so here’s The Farmer’s Daughter:
It’s a great little packet trick with a story that’s consistent with the time it was created. Thanks Glen for sharing it with me!
-Louie
A little while ago I picked up a magic box with props from the 1960s. Here’s what was in it:
One of the interesting things was the Joseph Silk Gun:
Here’s a video of one of them in action:
The Joseph Silk Gun isn’t something that I’d use in a show, but it’s a very cool prop!
-Louie
I came across a vintage magic trick that Royal Magic put out called the Devil’s Wand. This was sold as a beginner’s magic trick and looks a lot like the Pom Pom Pole; however, it’s a close-up version. This differs slightly from the modern stage version at the end.
Here’s a demo video of it:
@louiefoxx Magic trick is still great after 75 years! #magictrick #magic #magician #vintage #vintagemagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
In case you didn’t notice, this is totally examinable at the end! When I first found this trick, I watched a couple of online video demos, and all of them skipped that part. That’s the most interesting thing about the trick! That’s a great feature that no one does anymore. I’m not sure how the gimmick would scale to a larger stage-size pom pom pole, but it’s sure cool for this smaller-sized one.
That’s one of the fun things about vintage magic tricks: you find little things that got left off of the more modern versions.
-Louie
Here’s a fun little vintage magic trick by Pavel. It’s called Circulation or Rounding the Squares. It’s a novelty packet trick as the cards it uses aren’t p playing cards. Here’s what it looks like, and what I would change about it.
@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick by Pavel! #magic #magictrick #cardmagic #pavel #circulation #vintage #vintagemagic #louiefoxx #packettrick ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
The ending is soo much cleaner if you palm off the gimmick, versus trying to hide it in the packet of cards. When I showed this trick to people, I was amazed at how hard the trick hit! I thought it wasn’t going to have much impact, but sometimes my view of the trick can be affected by a method I don’t like and I need to remember that no one sees the method.
-Louie
Today’s vintage magic trick is Nick Trost’s Cardcentration. The effect is a prediction of which card out of 8 that someone will pick, then there’s a kicker ending.
Here’s what it looks like:
@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick: Nick Trost’s Cardcentration! #cardtrick #magic #magictrick #vintage #cardmagic #louiefoxx #nicktrost #closeupmagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
The effect of this trick is great, the method is garbage. There’s no reason for the envelope, you put a card into it, then immediately take it out. This trick would be equally as strong if you did the hot rod force, Quinta force, or the PATEO force. Sure, there’s nothing to sell if you don’t have a gimmick, but those would be superior methods.
I will say that of the three times I did this trick, only once no one asked to look at the envelope after the trick. That confirms to me that it’s the weak spot in the trick. Sure I could have come up with a reason or way to justify the envelope, but I try to do these tricks as written up in the original instructions to preserve what the creator intended.
-Louie
The Destiny Deck by Nick Trost is a fun little routine that has a few effects that happen one after the other. Here’s what the trick looks like:
@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick! Destiny Deck by Nick Trost! #magictrick #cardtrick #vintagemagic #cardmagic#nicktrost #louiefoxx #dice #closeupmagic #antiquemagic #antique ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
What I’d probably do to change the trick is eliminate the dice and have people hold up fingers for their number. That frees up some pocket space and the trick will still work. It’s a fun trick to do, the only problem is the reset and because of that it’s something that I really won’t carry with me. However I did have fun doing it for a couple of days!
Also it looks like Abbott’s Magic has a few left in stock: https://abbottmagic.com/shop/ols/products/nick-trost-destiny-deck
-Louie
A while ago I got a text from a friend who found a vanishing birdcage that was for sale. It was in really rough shape, it was missing a bar, had another bar that was loose and two of the corner bars needed to be fixed.
I bought the cage with an experiment with my bird cage guy to see if he could repair it. It came back and it looks like a totally different cage!
Not only were the bars replaced/fixed he also cleaned the cage. The cage was pretty loose when I got it and he tightened it up a little bit so it’s less like handling a jellyfish!
I’m glad I tried this and it’s good to know that there can be a second life to some of these old broken cages!
-Louie
I’m newer on Tik Tok, so still working hard to build it up, let’s hope the government doesn’t take it away and I lose that work! I recently posted John Fedko’s Ultimate Aces and it’s gotten a ton of views (for me on tiktok).
One of the things that I noticed was if you look at the bottom of that screenshot there is a suggested search. It’s “Ultimate Aces Card Trick Revealed”. That’s kinda messed up from a magician’s perspective. I’m assuming that suggested search is based on what people are searching after watching the video.
Here’s the video of the Ultimate Aces:
@louiefoxx Watch the aces! #cardtrick #aces #cardmagic #magic #magictrick #vintagemagic #acetrick ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
To me this confirms my idea that people aren’t figuring out how tricks work based on watching the video, but doing searches to figure it out. It also adds to my not really caring if people post how it works. One thing I’ve seen in the comments for this trick is that for every correct reveal there are ones that are incorrect. Lot’s of people saying the routine uses a double lift!
Noticing that search bar has given me a lot of perspective about the Tik Tok comment section.
-Louie
Many, many years ago when I was a teenager I was given a set of paperback books (lecture notes?) by John Fedko. There was a lot of stuff in those books that I learned, but there was also a lot of stuff that I didn’t learn because it used gimmicks that I didn’t have.
One of those tricks was Ultimate Aces, which is an ace assembly. I was excited when I came across a set of the cards and could try out the trick. I did the trick as part of my “vintage magic tricks” series on TikTok. If you’re on TikTok please give me a follow at: https://www.tiktok.com/@louiefoxx
Here’s what John Fedko’s Ultimate Aces looks like:
@louiefoxx Watch the aces! #cardtrick #aces #cardmagic #magic #magictrick #vintagemagic #acetrick ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
I’m kinda amazed at the response from magicians who messaged me asking where they can get the cards. This surprised me because on PenguinMagic.com there is only one review and it’s one star.
I think this is a case of the person who ordered it thinking the gaffs were something different, or they never tried the trick out. I think it’s as good as any ace assembly out there.
-Louie
