Al Mann - Arca - The Magic Box

POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 071~8 !!i'j]'; ~~~~

BIX

•

,

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POST OFFICE BOX'.... • FREEHOLO. NEW JERSEY

AReA

Copyright 1978 arca -ae, f. (arceo), a chest. box.

Cassell's New Latin Dictionary

FOREWORD

Gentlemen, I will use this page to plead to the buyers of this phenomenal secret, to please keep

it under wraps. This secret will be worth but 2 cents if it is exposed to the general public. It will end

up in children's puzzle books and magic sets.

As it is now, it is priceless to the working

mentalist. The public mind is always mystified b~ magician's boxes, so this little box will indeed baffle them.

This treatise has only scratched the surface to the effects possible. However, there are enough startling effects in the book to show that it is underpriced. The 'Secret of the Swami' and the head-line prediction are alone worth buying the book.

It is assumed that all the subscribers to

the AlE series are serious students who know how to use a Swami gimmick so no excused is offered in this respect. However, the Baffling Bills and the head-line prediction do not use the gimmick. Needles to say that the owner of this secret will spend many pleasant hours enjoying experimenting with the box and inventing his own effects,

P.S. Best Wishes to you in the coming year~end holidays, 1978.

n- b/Wkf p- tz/nj/kf

tMANN~d~

(201) 431 .. 24,29

POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 0772B

ARCA

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_{e1978 by AL MANN EXCLUSIVES}

A GENESIS

Before proceeding further, let us first examine the

amazin~ concept, created by John Smetana of Morganville, New Jersey, which has resulted in the writing of this book and the incredible effects

that follow. Please examine the sample box that comes with this book. It

measures roughly 5 by

Ji by J inches. It

is made up of two almost identical

parts as shown in Fig. 1, A and B. Top A

,,/_1&.--_ _

---(/

bottom

'-____ ..,v

B Box manufacturers

refer to these boxes Fig. 1

as "set-up, full telescope" boxes. The bot-tom section telescopes into the top section.

The top section contains a half-moon thumb

cut to assist in opening the box.

Please note that the box is a 'covered'

box. It is covered with a paper coating.

When the box is closed, it looks like in Fig. 2.

Now take a piece of paper,

J

by

5

inches

and fold it twice, tent fashion, as in Fig.

J.

and stick it in between the two walls of

the closed box as shown by the dash lines

in Fig. 2, directly over the thumb cut.

The paper must be placed so that the top of the 'tent' (the vertex) is uppermost.

The billet is now out of sight, hidden between the outside of the inner section and the inside of the outer section of the box. The box proper is empty. The box can of course be shown all around and everything

.-

- - -

-•

Fig. 2

o

Fig • J looks as it should.

A GENESIS

. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

cont •

Now, open the box by holding it at the thumb-cuts

between the left thumb and the middle finger, as shown in Fig. 4 and pulling upwards on the top half with the right hand. You will now see a revelation. After the box is opened you will find

the folded billet insidel The billet has jumped into the box automatically and invisiblyl

The maneuver took place while you were opening the box. The move is caused by

suction rather than friction.

11

Pratice the move several times, with a

l

freshly folded billet. The more the box is used _ the better it will work.

That, Gentlemen, is the secret of secrets. You now have a way of introducing a prediction paper into a sealed container!

As a matter of fact, the spectator can ~

do the move, unknowingly of course. ~----~

NEXT try making the move with two folded billets, one on each side of the box. Both billets will now jump into the box as it is openedl

ARCA the box

You have received a box that is large Fig.

4

enough to accomodate a deck of cards so that card effects may be done with it. If you look around your house you will probably find similar boxes of varying sizes. A smaller box can be used when doing billet work, or when using the small decks of playing cards.

THE THUMB CUT, For the purpose of writing with a swami gimmick, the thumb-cut can be enlarged. Since these come in various sizes, no suspicion need be directed to them. The box sent to you has thumb-cuts the size of a U.S. quarter coin.

For billet work, boxes that have a white bottom are the best. You will find many boxes that meet this requirement. Some boxes come with a blue top and a white bottom,for example.

If you must enlarge the thumb-cut, be sure that a smooth and clean job is done of it. Any small 'barbs' that remain on

the inside of the box will mar the smoothness of the operation. So use a curbed pair of small scisors or an exacto knife.

The effects that can be done with this principle are legend and only limited by the performer's imagination. As will be seen all of the effects will have a profound impact on your audience.

ARCA

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

A SECRET CHAMBER

EFFECT. The mentalist, standing before his audience on the night-club floor, platform or stage, calls attention to a small cardboard box which he holds in his hand. The box is tied with red ribbon or rubber-bands.

He informs his audience that inside the box are two

pieces of paper with messages which he will show them soon. He then asks one spectator to please choose a number between 10 and 50. A second spectator is asked to do likewise. A third spectator is now asked to add the two numbers called. The au-dience is told to remember the total of the two numbers.

Three other spectators are next asked to choose and

callout letters of the alphabet, one letter each. From these

letters a word is formed.

Performer then states that he is now going to remove the ribbon or rubber bands from the box but that he -is not going to touch the slips of paper which are sealed inside.

When the box is opened, he states, he will ask someone from the

audience to come forward and remove the two slips of paper and read the messages.

Performer then very slowly opens the box and shows everyone the two slips of paper by tilting the box towards the audience. He then calls on any one t~ _{stick their hand into}

the box and remove the slips and r~ad _{the messages. The two}

messages predict exactly the number and word just chosen by the audience!

METHOD. To perform this masterly effect, you must use

your swami gimmick and load the box with two billets folded as per Fig. J, however the billet must contain a long message predicting the number and word. One billet on one side of the box is used for the number and the other billet is used for the :3-letter word. It will be necessary to place the billets so

that the top of the 'tent' points downward. The top of the 'tent' of the billet must be aligned flush with the bottom of the box. _{As in Fig.}

_5.

Only a small part of the billet shows through the thumb-cut but that is

sufficient to write in the 2 or J-digit number and the J-letter word. The space of the billet showing is of course

blank and is the correct space that has been left blank to complete the prediction. So you must write the prediction message accordingly. The box can be tied with rubb~r

bands or ribbons. The ribbon can hide the thumb-cut if the operator is conscious of

r / - - - r / ~----. \ '~ , I I •. .J-Fig. 5

it showing a different color from the box. Bear

in mind that at this point your audience does not know what color the inside of the box is. It could be painted in che-quers.

A SECRET CHAMBER . . . CONT.

THE PRESENTATION. After the lecture about the contents of the box, the performer calls on anyone to callout any

num-ber from 10 to

50.

A second person is next asked to do the same.

A third person is now asked to add the two numbers called. This is only a ruse to give the performer time to write in the total which he already knows before the third person is asked to add the two numbers.

Performer writes in the total with his swami gimmick on the proper billet that is showing through the thumb-cut. It is important that the performer knows which is the proper billet. this can be done by secret marks. Writing in the total is an

easy matter as the performer at this time is holding the box with both hands. As soon as the number is written, the billet is pushed upwards and out of sight so that when the box is turned around that section is unmarked.

Next, while pattering, performer turns the box so that the thumb-cut on the other side of the box is now facing him. Performer now calls on three persons to each choose a letter from the alphabet in such a manner that a word can be made with the three letters. This word the performer writes in on the exposed billet and again pushes the billet up and out of sight.

Performer now tells the audience what has been done and shows the closed box all around saying that he must first re-move the ribbon or rubber bands to open the box. He then opens the box slowly and so that everyone can see and tilts the bottom of the box to the audience to show the two billets inside.

For the climax, anyone is invited to reach into the box and take out the folded papers and read out the predictions.

NOTE. While writing in the word with the swami gimmick, the billet can be moved to the left with the left thumb to

give the operator a little more room to write on if needed. NOTE. The box furnished is of a light grey color. The billet is white so that there is a contrast in color. Please bear in mind that the audience does not know what is to be done and therefore does not suspect at the begining any trickery that will cause the spectators to look at the thumb-cut. Usually the thumb-cut is slightly covered by the fingers. The rubber bands or ribbon around the box also distracts from the tiny piece of the billet that shows. BUT the performer can get a white box or paper of the same color as the box if he feels uneasy about the set-up.

Some fine points about handling the box so that the billet does not show at all will be discussed later besides

the fact that the performer will develope his own ideas about handling.

ARCA AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE THE SECRET OF THE SWAMI

EFFECT. The master mind claims that he can influence the mind of any person although that person may be thousands of miles away from him. He asks anyone in the audience to call on the telephone anyone whom he knows anywhere in the world and to tell that person to choose any number from 100 to 10001

The person called is of course a total stranger to the performer yet he will prove beyond doubt that a rapport ex-ists between the two. After the person chooses the number and makes it known, the performer asks if the person had a free choice? He of course says that he did. Performer then states "Not sol Please notice that I am holding a sealed box in my hands and that this box has been in sight at all times even before the number chosen was known. Inside of this box is an envelope. And inside the envelope is the same number that the person over the telephone just chose. You see. I influenced his choice as I too was thinking of the same number!"

The box is then opened and some one is asked to take out the envelope inside and to remove the message and read it. The message states that the person would indeed be influenced

to think of that number which is marked on the paper inside the envelopel

METHOD I Only one side of the box is prepared. A pill

envelope is used, 2-7/8 by

1-3/4

inches. Its flap is tucked

in. A billet is folded like in Fig. 3 and

only partially inserted into the envelope

as shown in Fig.

6.

This set up is placed

between the walls of the box with the billet flush with the bottom of the box. The billet has been prepared with a long message leaving a space to fill in the number.

IN THE PRESENTATION, after the number

is known and written in,the billet is pushed Fig. 6

up and it automatically goes into the envelope with just a small piece sticking out. When the box is opened the performer shows the insides and shakes the box a bit and the billet will go into the tiny envelope entirely.

Fig. 7 shows a way of handling the

box so that it looks like the whole box is shown but actually the four fingers on one side hide the billet that may show. The box can be handled quite freely as practice will

show. The thumb in Fig. 7 is over the thumb

cut.

Do not make the mistake of turning the flap of the envelope back and under it. That will cause friction and may foul the operation. The flap must be tucked in and the address side

Fig.

THE SECRET OF THE SWAMI ... cont.

of the tiny envelope must be towards the inside of the box as

shown in Fig.

7.

Bear in mind that only the one person who takes out the envelope will ever notice that the envelope is not proper-ly closed. The rest of the audience will be amazed about the message appearing inside of an envelope and inside a sealed box!

The box can of course be prepared for a double effect by using two envelopes. Both envelopes will jump into the box when the box is opened, however the directness of the presen-tation used in The Secret of the Swami using only one envelope is as profound as any effect can be.

NOTE. The proper way to open the box so that the envelope or envelopes go into the box is to open it slow but with a continuous motion. If the box is opened too fast the envelope may jump high and fall outside the box. An easy pull upwards does the trick. The pull must be exerted on the center of the box directly over the thumb-cuts.

Do not worry about the audience seeing any movement inside the box as it is opened. Since the line of sight of your audience is not parallel with· the top of the box, chances are the audience will see nothing. If any movement is noticed by anyone, it will not disclose the amazing principle.

STRANGE COORDINATES

~FFECT. Performer shows a sealed box and states that inside the box is a deck of cards tied with rubber bands. He further states that there is also a paper with a message on top of the cards. He also says that he will not touch the deck of cards or the message again. Then anyone is asked to call out a card. After the card is called performer opens the box

and shows the inside to all~ Anyone is then asked to take out

the message and cards and to read the message out loud. The message reads, "The card just named is in position 18 from

the top of the deck." The person holding the deck is then asked to deal to the 18th card and to turn up that card. It proves to be the card that was called!

METHOD. You will need a deck of cards stacked in the Si Stebbins stack so that you can immediately tell the

posi-tion of any card called. Or the operator may use any stack

that he is familiar with. It is best to secure the deck with

rubber bands instead of placing the deck in its case. This will minimize the chance of accidental droping the cards while taking them out of the case. The rest is only a matter

ARCA AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

SPIRIT ANSWERS

EFFECT. The private reader openly places a blank

business card into a box and closes it and ties it with

rubber bands. He then asks the sitter to state any important question. The good spirits are then summoned to give the

de-sired and truthful answer. When the box is opened and the busi-ness card taken out by the sitter. an answer to the question is found written on it!

METHOD. There are two ways of presenting this effect.

First, as per the effect above, a blank card is shown to the sitter. This blank card is a double card which has a razor blade embedded between the two cards. This card is placed

in-to the ARCA box by the sitter. Performer then closes the box and places rubber bands around it. The rubber bands are used to give the performer an excuse for handling the box.

After the sitter states his question orally or other-wise, the performer writes an answer for it on a second business card on his lap. Secretly of course, during the conversation.

Performer next places a small writing pad of paper. that has been prepared with a magnet near its back cover, over the box between the rubber bands so that the pad is right next to the cover of the box. Performer then tilts the box or turns

it upsidedown. This gets the card inside to attach itself to

the inside top of the box due to the magnetic attraction. Sitter is told that the spirits will be summoned to assist in the answer. The rubber bands are removed and the box is placed next to the edge of the table in front of the per-former. Spectator is told to place the tips of his hands on the top edge of the box. Performer then writes out the ques-tion on the writing pad with his right hand and his left hand gets the card on his lap and alignes it with the bottom of

the box is preparation for inserting it between the walls. After the question is written, the performer and the sitter both consentrate on the question. Performer is now holding the box with both hands and in the process slips the message card in between the walls.

Performer next shows the box all around and turns

it upside down again. This gives him a chance to tell if the

card is attached to the pad which is still on top of the box. Next the box is opened, the message card jumps inside, and the sitter is told to take out the card.

NOTE. The rubber bands need not be removed until the

end. The rubber bands can help to hold down the writing pad placed on top of the box which will make it easy for the per-former to write with one hand. Place two rubber bands verti-cally around the long side of the box and one around the length of the box, vertically. The rubber bands must be spaced so that

SPIRIT ANSWERS ... cont.

the second business card with the answer can easily be slipped in between the walls of the box.

After the sitter removes the card from the box, the psychic simply removes the note pad from the top of the box and lets the dummy business card fallon his lap. The top section of the box is then flashed to show that it is empty.

PSYCHIC KNOWLEDGE

This is the same effect as the spirit answer but here the psychic claims that he already knew the sitter's question and wrote an answer to it long before the sitter came in.

WORKING. Before the sitter comes in, the psychic pre-pares the ARCA box by simply closing it and tying it with rubber bands. The closed empty box is placed aside and no attention called to it until after the psychic has learned of

the sitter's question and has secretly written the answer for it on the business card on his lap.

While pattering the psychic places the closed box be-fore himself and secretly inserts the answer card in between the walls. Then he says, "This sealed box has been sitting here since yesterday. I knew you were comming and the question you would ask. I know you find that hard to believe. But I wrote an answer to your question on my business card and sealed it in this box."

Psychic then shows the closed box from all angles and removes the rubber bands and opens the box. He then directs the sitter to reach in and take out the answer card!

TECHNIQUE. In using a business card instead of a folded billet, the technique is a bit different. The business

card is more affected by friction than by the suction force. In order to get the card into the box, the operator must ex-ert a little pressure with the right thumb at position "x" shown in Fig. 8, in the act of opening the box.

OPENING THE BOX. While practicing the opening moves with a business card, you will no doubt notice a very audible noice caused by the card as it drops inside the box. This noice is most undesirable so instead of opening the box

as In Fig. 4, the box is opened by turning it on

its side with the card at the bottom. That way when the box is opened the card is already on the bottom side of the box which in this case is its side. The card will not make as much noise when the box is opened.

Just a few practice sessions in opening give the operator the necessary technique.

j -.J I

I / ' j

i

-

I

-:~

-Fig. 8 the box will

AReA AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE THE BAFFLING BILLS

Materialization of matter

The following effect is quite profound as it involves unknown psychic forces.

The effect is credited to Willane and was published in ABRA #841 under the title of "The Baffling Notes" des-cribed by Fabian on March 10th. 1962.

The effect was also a favorite of Al Koran and appeared under his name in Magick #100 for May Jrd. 1974.

In EFFECTs The performer borrows two one-dollar bills from the audience and openly tears them in half. One half of each bill is returned to the owners and the other two halves are given to anyone to burn.

A box that had previously been shown empty is now opened and the two half-bills are found inside. The two halves are

given back to their owners and of course they fit perfectly! This is indeed the easiest way of performing the pseudo-materialization or teleportation of matter. since no sleight of hand is used and the whole thing takes place long before the show starts.

PREPARATIONs Before the show take a one-dollar bill and tear it in half. Place the two halves together and fold them once and stick them in between the walls of the ARC A box

as shown in Fig.

5,

so that the bills show through the thumb

cut. Place the box aside.

THE PRESENTATIONs Pick up the box

and place it in your left hand with the loaded side towards you so that no one can see the bills as they show through the thumb-cut, and place the left thumb on bills, as you say,

"Ladies and Gentlemen. May I call your attention to this box. It is empty." Next

open the box and turn the top section over Fig. 9

and place it along side the bottom section so

that the folded bills are covered as in Fig. 9.

Pinch the two parts of the box at "x" with the right thumb and middle finger and show the box all around and turn it upside down so that everyone can plainly see that it is indeed empty. The left thumb keeps the bills in place while opening and closing the box. Close the box keeping the half-bills in place and tuck them up out of sight. Place a rubber band around the box and give it to some lady to hold.

Next borrow two one-dollar bills from the audience and openly tear them in half. Go to the person on your right and

THE BAFFLING BILLS ...• cont.

give him the right half of one bill as his receipt. Go to the person on your left and give him the left half of the same bill. AS the half-bills are given to their owners, performer folds them once with the serial numbers inside preferably and so that the folded halves will resemble the halves tucked into the walls of the box.

A lady is next called forward and is given the two other half bills. These two half bills are actually one of the bills that was torn in half, but the audience believes are two non-matching halves. The lady is asked to burn the bills.

For the climax, the box is opened and the two halves are found inside. Performer takes the two halves and goes to the person on his right holding one half bill, takes the half bill from him and tries to match it. In the process, performer changes the persons right half for the right half that came from the box and gives it back to him together with the left half that came from the box and says, "There you are Sirl A perfect match! "

Performer then walks to the person on his left and gives him the right half of the bill that he took from the first

spectator and says, "Will you please see if the halves match?" End of Miracle.

The strong point of this presentation with the box is that the box is first shown empty. Later the bills show up inside the box which points to something strange indeed.

One of the bills is destroyed by fire, but the other bill is not. Which means that the second bill may be marked or signed by anyone, but on one end only.

The bill in the box is of course a stranger bill that is palmed off as one of the original torn bills.

If by chance one of the bills borrowed from the audience is too new, it must be rejected by collecting more bills and then returning the too-new bill to its owner saying that it

is not needed.

* * *

See page 16.

THE WINGED HORSE

This is the Pegasus Page mystery. It is worked in

similar fashion as the Baffling bills. That is, the duplicate

page is loaded into the box as in Fig.

5.

Two duplicate books

are needed. Use paper backs. A page is removed from one book and folded twice and tucked into the walls of the box. The page from the other book is first forced and then torn out and

burned, and while the page is burning the performer switches books. When the box which has been shown empty is opened the missing page is found inside and it matches the book exactly!

Here is a good book force. One of the duplicate books is given to a spectator and is told to just hold on to it. The

ARCA AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE THE WINGED HORSE ... cont.

other duplicate book is out of sight easily within reach for the switch. A third book that has been prepared by cutting short two pages after the force page,is offered to a spectator who is told to stick his finger anywhere in the book as the performer riffles the pages. The book is opened where the spectator's finger is and the magician calls out the force number, but as he turns around to tell the other spectator holding one of the duplicates to open the book to that page number, the performer closes the book and then flips to the force page and then turns around and shows the page number to the spectator. who supposedly just chose that pagel

The spectator with the duplicate book is told to tear the page out. The page is then burned, etc.

THE BOOK TEST

The book test is quite easy to perform with ARCA. The box is loaded with a prediction paper as in Fig.

5.

and tied with rubber-bands. Spectator is asked to choose any book and open it to any page and to choose any short word. If the word chosen is too long, Spectator is told to choose two more short words of ), 4 or 5 letters then the spectator is told to choose just one of the words in the hope that he chooses a short word. In any event a short word is desired and can be easily had simply by asking for it. The chosen word is then written on the billet, etc.

TWO WAYS

The most popular predictions today are the two-way predictions. Not only can this type of prediction result in a lot of newspaper publicity, but the whole world goes bananas with it. Whether the masses realise that the magician has a

50-50

chance of being correct does not matter, the fact is that the whole world adores the man who can tell them who will win the World Series, or a price fight or the presidential elec-tions. There are fortunes to be made.

The ARCA box is excellent for the two-way prediction. Simply use a white full telescope box and load it with one prediction paper on each side as in Fig. 5 and seal the box all around with masking tape or stamps but do not cover the

thumb cuts. Then wrap the box in heavy paper with instructions not to open the box but to await further instructions. When

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY

Telling a spectator what the third card is from the top of a deck after it is shuffled mystifies everyone. In this version of it with the ARCA box, the performer never touches the deck so the mystery is more baffling!

Use a box that measures 2 inches high by 3 or 4 long

and

2i

or

3

inches wide. Get also a deck of playtime cards

which measure

1-3/4

by

2!.

For some unknown reason this size of card works quite well in the presentation that follows while larger cards do not.

Load your box ~ placing three cards faces inward

on one side of the box between the walls. The box can be shown casually and all seems well. The thumb covers the cards as they show through the thumb cut.

Now have anyone shuffle the tiny deck of cards and then open the box, holding the three hidden cards back with the left thumb. Watch the angles so no one can see the three cards and show the box empty top and bottom. Then have the spectator place the deck into the box and close the box.

Now the performer can have an easy time by naming the third card down or the second or all three top cards.

Next to open the box, performer must place the tip of his right thumb under the lower edges of the three hidden cards as he lifts off the top of the box. The cards will make a

little noice as they drop but this can be disguised by sha-king the box.

The strong point of this effect is that the box is shown empty and after the effect no trickery can be found. The box is not a magical looking apparatus that may cause sus-picion.

THE THREE WATCHES

Place three watches (not running) inside the box and prepare the box with a prediction paper. Tell specs that inside the box are three watches. One is silver color pocket watch. The second is a gold color pocket watch and the third is a wrist watch. They are to choose one. Inform them also of the predic-tion inside. Performer knows at what time each watch stopped but the audience does not know this. The prediction predicts

the time on the chosen watch!

MINDING TH~ STOR~1 If the reader owns the effect,

"Minding the store" by Ned Rutledge he can work it with the ARCA box. A piece of merchandize chosen by the audience appears inside the box plus the price of it!

ARCA AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE SEVEN KEYS

If the reader likes the Seven Keys to Baldpate effect, the ARCA box can be used not only to tell what spectator will get the correct key but also to tell the choice of what card that spectator chose. Use as many as 10 keys and have spectators chose one card each from cards Ace to ten. Performer can tell what spectator got the right key and what his card was so the predictions appear inside the box.

ESP DESIGNS

With ARCA the predicting of the choice of ESP designs is quite easy. Use 10 or more different simple designs and load the box with two prediction papers. If marked cards are used, performer pretends not to know the cards chosen but ins-tead opens the box to read the predictions and then tells the . spectators to turn their cards over.

THE SWAMI GIMMICK

Every magician and mentalist has his own idea as

to what a swami gimmick should be. This write~ has two very

clumsy thumbs so that the only proper writer to use in my case is a metal thumb tip (one inch long) with a band type thick lead gimmick cemented to it. This type of gimmick never gets lost and is easy to find and never falls off which is more important.

BOXES BOXES BOXES

=

The reader can get all the boxes he wants simply by asking for them. Write down the sizes of boxes you need and then go to one or more box manufacturers and tell them that you are interested in buying several hundred boxes. Some will

not sell less than 1000. Some want an order for )000 boxes.

But they are glad to give you one sample of each. They will mail you the sample free of charge. Be sure to ask for white covered full-telescope set-up boxes. Also ask for a

2/) telescope box.

These manufacturers are listed in the yellow pages of your telephone book under "Boxes-paper."

JOANNA SOUTHCOTT'S BOX

This is a new approach to the Headline Prediction. The reader may be surprised to know that the principle of the ARCA box can be used as a headline prediction just by altering the box a bit. Yet the box is totally ungimmicked and once it is mailed it is never opened again until a member of the committee opens it in his own hands while the mentalist is several feet away, and finds the latest events predicted on a piece ~f paper

Needed is a box that is similar to the full telescope set-up box except that it is only one-half or two-thirds telescope as shown in Fig. 10.

(This box is excellent for slipping in a card or prediction while sitting at a table as for doing the "Spirit Answers" and

"Psychic Knowledge.") , ' -_ _ _ _ -'

PREPARATION. Place a piece of paper Fig. 10

2i

by 3 inches, folded twice one way and once the other way to make a small pellet 1; by

3/4

inches, and with the message of the date of the sealing of the box, inside the box and close the box. Then seal the ends of the box with 'removable' red of blue labels. The re-movable labels are used so that the box can be used again. Then place two or three rubber bands vertically along the length of the box.

The box can then be wrapped in heavier paper or locked into a chest.

Also needed is a metal thumb tip that is about

lt

inch long.

THE SHOW. Write the day's news on a piece of paper the same size as the one described above and fold it in the same way and

tuck it into your thumb tip. WE will assume you will use

the tip on your left thumb. When the box is unwrapped take it and patter and ask

anyone to come forward to open Fig. 11

it. Mention the seals, the date

it was sealed and what you predicted

would come true. The box is held with both hands as shown in Fig. 11. Behind the scenes, the right thumb pinches the thumb-tip while the left thumb takes out the prediction billet and

tucks it in between the walls of the box. The thumb tip is put back on the left thumb and the trick is done.

ARCA AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE JOANNA SOUTHCOTT'S BOX ... ' .. CONT.

After the billet is in place remove the stickers and the rubber bands and give the box to anyone to open. When the spectator opens the box, the billet will jump into

the box and two billets will be found inside.

NOTEa It is impossible for anyone to see the secret moves with the thumb tip as shown in Fig. 11. No one can see your thumbs unless they are looking over your shoulder. Your thumbs are completely covered by the box and your hands. Once the billet is in and the thumb-tip back on your left thumb, the box can be held at the finger tips while the rubber bands are removed.

The moves necessary to load the billet can be done in seconds and the rest of the time devoted to showmanship.

NOTEa When the billet is loaded into the thumb-tip it should stick out of the thumb-tip about 1/8 or 1/4 inch to make sure it will come out easy and will not get stuck inside the tip.

If the reader does 'Headline Predictions', he should not hesitate to do this test even if he has to open the box as nothing can be seen amiss all during the presentation.

Your author has done considerable research into prediction boxes even to the extent of having a collection of 12 boxes and I consider the ARCA concept one of the most amazing. The 'box' can be left behind after the event.

A good question is, "Why do we need such a large cardboard box to hold such a small piece of paper?"

The box can be filled with confetti, or gum drops, or a nice gift for the committee lady or man, but this would only distract from the awesome implications of the prediction. But the box can be filled with soft paper which will fill the box for some mysterious reason and also minimize the noice of the falling pellet. Fill the box with your own publicity!

***************

AME FLASHES

10/9/78. As this book is being written, ALLEMANN the mindreader, has accurately predicted that the New York Yankees would win the World Series 1978 on the 6th game. The predic-tions were sent to seven newspapers in the New York-New Jersey area, written on single sheets of paper and enclosed in un-gimmicked envelopesl The envelopes were opened before the games startedl

NOTES

The Baffling Bills. Another way of showing the box empty is as shown in Fig. 12. The top of the box is remomed and placed alongside the bottom, covering the bills, without

turning the top over. The left thumb keeps the bills in place. The top is next removed and shown empty.

When collecting the bills, collect the first bill from the person on your right and right away tear the bill in half and

~ ~

)

,

give him the right half. This proves to the audience that you indeed gave him half of the bill, his own bill. With the person on your left, take his bill and tear it and give him

the left half of the first person's billl \ ~~

Joanna Southcott's BoX. Using the half- Fig. 12 telescope box, the performer simply palms

the prediction billet behind the four fingers

of his left hand, then picks up the box and places it on his left hand, back of fingers to audience. Then performer turns the box around as he patters about the box being sealed and easily maneuvers the billet into the walls of the box with his left fingers! The Swami gimmick is not used here. Any billet can be introduced in this fashion, even a billet from pocket indexes.

BOXES. It is recommended that only simple looking boxes be used. Some boxes come with a beautiful velvet covering but the beauty of the box will surely distract from the im-pact of the effect.

A tall box creates more suction than a low one. The owner must experiment for his own benefit. Some 'mailing' boxes are loosely wrapped and should not be used. The sample box sent with this book is just right. The box must have a loose but close tolerance between the walls. If the box is too tight it will cause trouble and if it is too loose it will fail at times. That is why a sample box has been sent to you.

AM~ FLASH, Al Mann will lecture at the Magic Castle in Hollywood on Jan. 14th, 1979!

17

tMANNg'd~

(201) 431

-2429

POST OFFICE BOX 1," • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

ARC A

--COpyright by Al Mann Exclusives A HISTORY

John Smetana from Morganville, New Jersey, is a member of the AME think tank. John, a young bank official in New York City, is a master magician and mentalist who performs for a close circuit of bank festivals and receives a high fee for it.

In

1971,

John became interested in otis Manning's

"Ghost of a Chance" principle that appeared in Jinx

#137

and also in Practical Mental Effects. The principle expounded a Shrafft's candy box with a slot on top for depositing

billets. The innocent looking candy box has a smaller secret box pasted under the slot at the top of the box and is used for switching billets.

John prophetically surmised that Mr. Manning's ballot box should have more and better uses besides the simple for-cing of a number or question.

John's improvement to the Manning ballot box was an origianl concept as follows. Performer pretends to write out some predictions on a piece of paper and folds it and drops it into the ballot box. Next three persons are

asked to callout items like, names, cities, words, etc. When the box is opened the performer's predictions prove correctl

John's idea was to get the folded prediction paper secretly in between the walls of the box and then by the aid of the thumb push the paper into the box in the act of opening

itl Toying with the box, John discovered that it was not

neces-sary to use the thumb to push the paper into the box. The box did that automaticallyl And what's more, the billet would

jump into the box no matter who opened itt

The real problem was how to"get the folded billet in between the walls of the box unobserved. John shelved his

'gem'for the time being.

In

1976,

your author was collecting notes for "Pandora's Box" and I asked John if he had ideas on boxes. He then mentioned his 'ballot box' and said "anyone can open it," etc. But I did not catch the thought at all. I thought John was talking about

'The Devil's Devise' (Jinx

#89)

so I told John that we could give that some thought later as I too had been thinking about

it.

In September

1978,

I spoke to John about boxes again as I was preparing a second book on prediction boxes to be

A HISTORy ...•.. cont.

called "Pandora II." I asked John if he had any thought on inexpensive prediction boxes. He said, "I still have that ballot box that I mentioned to you before." That last sen-tance activated a haunting memory about something he had said years before, so I said, "John come on over and bring the box with you."

On 9/1)/78, John and I had a hefty session at the AME office. He demonstrated his principle with the 'ballot' box. Unbeknown to him, I sat across the table completely stunned.

John said, "It isn't much AI."

"What do you mean? It isn't much. That is the most remarkable piece of mental business I have seen for many a year. Do you realize how much thought, time and effort has been spent by magicians looking for a method to introduce a prediction billet into a sealed box? You have just shown me a move that does that automatically!"

John and I spent the next half hour trying to invent some way of placing the billet between the walls of the box in the act of handling it. We failed utterly. We could not come up with any sleight-of-hand move that would stand up to the caliber of the presentation needed. So we decided to

sleep on it. John went home very gratified that I had thought highly of his discovery.

That night, I had no sooner laid down to sleep when the whole concept of ARCA came tumbling down before my eyes like a house of cards. I called John right away. "John, I've got itt" "Got what? AI." -- "The solution to your ballot boxt"

"we can load the prediction billet between the walls of the box before the showl simply by enlarging the thumb cut and writing on the billet with a swami gimmickl"

The rest of the story in included in the book. One effect led to the other culminating in the headline prediction effect in "Joanna Southcott's Box."

The AME offices salute John Smetana for the discovery of this amazing and fabulous principle that has led to the formulation of some potent weapons for the mentalist and the enchantment of their audiences.