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Another little gem from Mark Wilson’s complete course in magic which I used recently to great effect.


The Effect

Distribute 5 envelopes amongst your audience, ask them to put a personal item inside and seal it. Someone collects the envelopes and mixes them up. The performer matches the object to the person it belongs to.

Cost

You can pick the book up for £10 if you look around


Difficulty

1 for the basic mechanics, 5 for the ability to 'sell' the effect

(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)



Review

I wanted to do Lee Earle's No-Brainer bags Psychometry effect but couldn't get them anywhere and my wife was unable to make them

However, I decided to use Mark Wilson's version from his Complete Course in Magic combined with a little cold reading on each person.

I performed it in a parlour room type cabaret and with the cold reading added before opening the envelopes it turned into an extremely powerful routine. You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife, with one person who couldn't stand it anymore blurting out 'this is really intense'.

I was a bit worried about the cold reading aspect as the people were seated some distance away and I wasn't going to enter into conversation with them thus no real physical or vocal feedback to work with, however, I did this in the second half so during the break was able to make my readings a little 'warmer' just by standing around & listening & watching


Overall

5 out of 10 if you just do it as stated in the book. 10 out of 10 if you 'sell' it well and add some readings. A very powerful routine if used in the right situation that I will definitely use again.

that's one of his many gems, I really like that one combined with some techniques from Karl Fulves book you can work a really strong routine.

It's like most of the tricks in Mark Wilson's book, the presentations aren't usually that great but the tricks themselves are supurb.

While you're in the mentalism section of the book, have a look at the Three-Way Test too.

Barry

Lady of Mystery wrote:It's like most of the tricks in Mark Wilson's book, the presentations aren't usually that great but the tricks themselves are supurb.

Thats one of the many reasons I like the book so much.

He gives you the basic idea, then it is up to you to routine it. A strong case for why books can be better than DVD's. (I'm in no way suggesting you don't do this anyway)

That's the beauty of Mark Wilson's book (and the Tarbell series).
You can go back to them and discover things you may have overlooked or disregarded first time round and realise there has been a real gem under your nose all this time.
Mark Wilson's tricks are clearly explained and you are left with no doubt about anything. Books are far better than DVD's for me, though it's good to see something performed, as you can adapt the effects to your own presentation.