I invented this back in 1979 as a way of
making my Tarot Deck of cards appear magically in a box. I
purposely avoided using a drawer box, which is so closely
identified with magicians, included in magic sets, and so on. I
wanted to use an ordinary wooden box that most people are used
to; the kind of box you find in craft stores, jewelry stores, and
so on.
Recently I have discovered that I never
got around to publishing the method and that many magicians and
mentalists and even Wizards are still relying on the old drawer
box to make things appear. So I am publishing it at last and hope
that it will have many uses beyond making a deck of cards appear.
It’s not a very good box for vanishes because when you make
something disappear, the audience naturally wants to take the box
apart to discover where the object went to, and this box cannot
be examined. However, for making candies, jewelry, treasury
notes, or cards appear inside a previously empty box…
that’s what it does best. I’ll even toss in a bonus
effect that allows the box to be examined later on in the
routine.
Effect:When
the magician or Wizard needs a deck of cards, he brings out a
small wooden box about the same size as the deck of cards (larger
for Tarot, smaller for standard playing cards).
He holds the box on his palm and a
spectator is asked to open the box. The magician seems surprised
when it is seen that the box is empty.
He asks the spectator to close the lid
again and then he says a spell or a magic word or snaps his
fingers… the usual “Bibbity Bobbity Boo!” of our
trade… and now when the spectator opens the box, it is
discovered to be filled to the brim with cards.
The cards are removed and used in
whatever effect is being served as the “trick du jour.”
The above photos were taken by and used with the permission of
Mick Hanzlik, who recently built the Elevator Box from my plans
and sent us the results. Another photo showing the secret and
Mick's additional construction tips are also included as part of
the article by his kind permission.
WJ11-09
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