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I have been reading the excellent book Newspaper magic by Gene Anderson & Frances Marshall. They talk about Clippo & about it being, shall we say slightly dangerous to produce?? But they don't describe it beyond that. Google only shows tricks called Clippo,but not anything that I can find about the product that gave the trick it's name.
Given that the product Clippo has now been succeeded by safer products, would it be giving any secrets away for someone to inform me what exactly Clippo the product is? As given the books descriptions of production issues, I'm curious.

Clippo is not a product but the name of the trick.
In the 40's & 50's it was usually performed with a narrow strip of newspaper.
The magician would 'find?' an advert he did not like or wanted to keep -lots of gag adverts-.fold the paper in two slit across part of it.
Then as it unfolded it was restored to one complete strip.

There is one major product used but this now has variations.

I will send you this in a PM

Allen Tipton

I read somewhere that Gene Anderson was a chemist so maybe in the older method of 'Clippo' there were ingredients involved that might be dangerous. I haven't read the book so I can't really judge his comment but the version I know is perfectly safe.

If this works the way I think it does, it might have been the solvent fumes that were the potential problem.

The word dangerous has been used, by daxi, because (from the Gene Anderson book) Art Felsman, had a flash fire in his basement during production of the RC used.
Buy the standard stuff mainly from Bicycle shops and there is NO danger.
I have sent daxi, via a pm, 3 types of the solution--all available for MANY years to the General Public. And the simple way to prepare the papers. All this is given in GA's book.
The book has several different presentations to Clippo.
One by George McAthy with a paper model of a fish & a second by Sid Fleischman& Bob Gunther where a paper model of a shoe (could be done as Cinderella's Slipper) is used. Then the standard advert version by dear old Bert Douglas

Allen Tipton

Thanks.

Just a few more facts guys

The trick was invented by The Great Kolar (Joseph Kolar, born in Chicago) 1884 died 1949 It's original title was 'Kolar's Magic Shears'

Will de Seive (Wm H Wilson, UK) simplified it in 1937 and called it Clippo. Presumably' because you clip section of paper out of a whole piece of paper.

Over the years it was marketed under several names: Clip It, Clipper, Scissoring Caesars !!

There is a description of Clippo in Mark Wilson's Course

The ORIGINAL you will find in J G Thompson' Juniors book--My Best.pages 208 & 209

Kolar was a very successfull stage magician and 'persuaded' his youngest daughter, Betty Jane to turn pro at---5 years of age.
He, like a lot of stage parents, pushed her and pushed her. Her act even included a strait jacketr escape!
She did not go on into her teens because of the multi pushing!

Kolar wrote a 'Chats With Kolar' column in the Sphinx for several years then when the editor'fired' him, John Mullholland editor of 'Conjuror's magazine' took him on using the same column title.

The only trick I ever knew of Kolar's was his String & Straw trick. A length of string is threaded through a straw, the straw is bent in half and severed. Holding the 2 ends together the string is withdrawn whole. Used this a a boy for years.

Allen Tipton