You may be of the opinion that the world does not need
another Mismade Flag Trick, but you haven't yet seen Wiz Kid
Wilhelmina's original twists put to the old effect. For one
thing, she does not use a change bag ... that would be
too easy. She doesn't use a dye tube you have ever seen before,
either. Instead, she rolls up a piece of clear cellophane about
the size of a number 10 envelope... yes, you can see right
through it at all times... and time after time makes the silks
transform from one flag to the next without giving you a clue as
to how it is done. She doesn't "accidentally" drop the
blue silk on the floor, either. Instead she empowers a little
helper to hilariously "kidnap" the blue silk again and
again without even knowing how he is doing it. Professionals will
USE this; all others need not apply.
Here's her story of how this version of the effect was
invented:
"I wanted to do some magic with an American Flag for my
Cheerleader Group at school. Grandpa Spellbinder gave me some old
American Flags he had in a basket, and told me about the magic
trick known as the Mis-made Flag.
"In the beginning * , the Mis-made Flag was treated as a dye
tube effect. Then magicians got lazy and discovered they could do
it more easily with a change bag. The poor old change bag has
been used for just about everything. I got one in a magic kit
when I was younger and wondered why anyone would attach a bag to
a ping-pong paddle.
"Grandpa Spellbinder listened to my complaints and told me
that if I didn't like any of the ways currently used for the
trick I should work out my own way of doing the trick, so I did.
He gave me some books to read, and I read some ideas from old
timers, like Vernon Cook, Sydney Legrande, Hank Moorehouse and
Ken De Courcy, and then I got to work."
To see the results of her work and see how a nine-year old
can breathe new life into a very old magic trick... get this
e-Book!
* The Mismade Flag has been credited to Carl S.
Lohrey of Dayton, Ohio, who invented the idea prior to its
publication by P. B. DesRochers in Thayer's Magic Bulletin
Vol. 3, No. 1, January, 1915.
WJ21-02
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