Society of American Magicians Assembly 12

The snow has begun melting and Spring finally has taken root in Minnesota with temps above freezing which resulted in a good turn out for our March meeting. Unfortunately, a few regulars were not able to attend due to work conflicts and vacations in warmer locations. Nevertheless, we had spirited discussion and some great magical performances. Our theme was “Magic with thumb tips, sixth fingers, Sanada gimmicks and other appendages that can create great magic.” 

President Tom O’Lenick introduced guest John Gaspard who was on hand to promote “Sunday Night Magic” to the group. John, one of the three organizers of the monthly event at Theater in the Round, told everyone about the upcoming Peter Samuelson lecture and show happening in a week. Local magician and SAM member Steve Carlson is the opening act. Gaspard also introduced the new concept of “Flight Time” which will give some individuals a chance to perform in front of a “magic friendly” audience to try out new material. Pop Hayden is scheduled to appear at a Sunday Night Magic in the near future.

Next up we chatted about the book Del Ray, America’s Foremost – The Magician for His Time. We were fortunate to have one of Del Ray’s closest friends, David Stahl on hand to share some fascinating personal stories about Raymond Petrosky and his magic. If you are not aware of his magic you owe it to yourself to look him up on the internet!

Our performances for the evening began with Drew Hansen opening with a handkerchief vanish using a thumb tip in a non-traditional way. The hank went into the “TT” but it left the hand by way of the Vernon Wand Twirl vanish. A few moments later the handkerchief came back with the “TT” hanging at the end of the cloth. Drew got lots of laughs from the group! 

Next, Kevin Smith had a card selected and returned to the deck. He then looked for the “unique and different” card. He found three that seemed to match and finally the chosen one stood vertically on it’s own in front of him making it very “unique and different.”

Our host, Larry Kahlow showed two booklets on Thumb Tips Tricks that were written by the late Gary Darwin of Las Vegas. Kahlow passed around a collection of thumb tips he has acquired over time. Then,  also chatted about various gimmicks including the metal thumb tip used for vanishing a cigarette and the production of a silk from a cocktail napkin using a sixth finger. Something that local Minnesota magician Al Schneider often demonstrated as part of his lectures. 

Finally, Gary, an Assembly #12 guest, showed a clever signed bill switch which used a $1 Million Bill. The spectator’s borrowed signed bill was then found inside a sealed envelope that had been contained within two zippered bags. Well done and welcome, Gary!

Snacks, casual performances and magical conversations continued well into the evening.

President Tom O’Lenick got the meeting started by showing the “heavy weight (almost 11 pounds)” new book written and published by Richard Kaufman called Deland – Mystery and Madness. The book comes with a special deck of cards printed by the US Playing Card Company of tricks that Theodore DeLand created from 1904 until 1931. Some included cards are for The Yogi Wonder Cards; The Devil’s Own Trick; X-ray Pack, and Phantom Card trick. O’Lenick also show two additional decks that Kaufman reprinted; The Automatic Trick Cards (deck with a million marks) and Wonder Deck. Deland was very prolific creating and selling hundreds of card tricks during his lifetime. Theodore DeLand, Jr. died in a psychiatric facility in 1931. 

The group also shared some upcoming regional events. On March 29th, Masters of Illusion will be at Mystic Lake Casino near Minneapolis. Piff, The Magic Dragon will be in nearby Madison, Wi. Jerry Martin will be attending and invited others to ride along. Also in March, Adam and Lisa Moore will be ending their year of performances at the Plymouth Playhouse. 

Tonight’s performances began Larry Kahlow performing the DeLand Phantom Cards. Then a “show and tell” by Jerry Martin. He showed a double reel device made by P&L that allows the magician to “float” a spread of cards between his widely separated hands. The P&L device was sold since the early 1960s. He then showed a clever new version called “Suspenz” which accomplished the same effect.

Next up was Drew Hanson. He show a very clever new trick that utilized a Rubick’s Cube that was mixed and hidden. Drew then correctly predicted the Green side with 100% accuracy. A new technology that most had not heard allowed Drew to fool the group. He was kind enough to share the method with everyone in a short tutorial session. I’m sure Google was deluged with searches following his presentation!

Tom O’Lenick announced he had made a prediction and then continued by asking four people to each select a random digit from 0 to 9 from which they would collectively create a valid time that you would see on a clock. The volunteers decided upon 7:53. O’Lenick then directed their attention to a black cloth bag that had been hanging in full view throughout the entire meeting. Without going near it, he had another individual collect the bag and announce what was inside. Surprisingly, it was a wristwatch set to the exact time that had been randomly created moments earlier. This is a great new effect called “ShowTime.”

Our next SAM #12 Assembly meeting will be on March 15th. The meeting theme will be “Thumb Tips, Sixth Fingers, Sanada gimmicks and other false appendages with which you can create great magic.” Plan to attend. Until soon, best magical wishes, TomOL. 

The threat of a severe Minnesota winter snow storm didn’t keep many magicians away from the January SAM #12 meeting which featured our annual auction. More than 20 magicians brought pockets full of money to take advantage of the deals that would ultimately be offered by the four sellers that brought boxes, bags, and tubs of magic. Upon a final review of the auction tally sheets more than 60 items were sold (most well below wholesale pricing) to everyone. The club receives 10% of the sale price of each item sold to add to our finances. All area magicians were invite to attend. Non-members were charged a $5 fee to participate in the auction.

Some items featured in the auction included numerous DVD titles, special decks of cards and packet card tricks, some magic collectibles and a few books and pamphlets. Unusually absent from the sale were any gimmicked or specialty coin tricks. I’m sure that most people took advantage of the excellent prices and brought home a new trick or two for their magic collection.   

The SAM Assembly #12 would like to extend special thanks to our Treasurer Adam Moore who tracked all the sales on a time saving computer program created by former local member Geoff Williams (now living in Florida). And, David Stahl who logged every single transaction. And everyone that came to the auction. 

Following the 2+ hour auction, members had snacks and deserts provided by host Larry Kahlow and others who brought yummy treats. Conversations about the “deals” people got continued for another hour. The theme for our next meeting will be “Magic you’ve learned from the Internet” on Friday, February 15th at 7pm at Eagle Magic and Joke Store in Burnsville. Stay warm! Spring is just around the magical corner!