Cups. Balls. Magic!!!

Richard Pinner's Kids' Kards

2007-08-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

Richard Pinner's Kids Kards is an amazing transformation effect with a cute story and lots of magic. Loads of fun and amazement for adults as well as kids.

The Secrets of the Chop Cup

2007-08-28T05:48:00.001-07:00

Ever since the Chop Cup was invented by magician Al Wheatley (whose stage name was Chop Chop, which is where the trick derives its unusual name) in the early 1950s, magicians have devised increasingly clever ways to use it. The basic one-cup one-ball approach to the classic Cups and Balls has held the fascination of magicians through the years most probably due to its devious use of a mechanical principle along with sleight of hand to create an intriguing and compelling illusion.

This is a must-have for cups and balls fans.
It is available from L & L Publishing

Side Walk Shuffle

2007-08-28T05:09:00.000-07:00

Many magicians first heard the name Martin Lewis in connection with this trick. It had tremendous success around the world and is considered by many a classic.
Martin Lewis got his inspiration from Joe Riding's "The Only Three Card Trick with Four Cards".
His modified version of the trick is known today as "The Side Walk Shuffle"
Many people might credit this trick to Fred Kaps, who made it popular, however Fred Kaps never claimed the effect as his own, he fully credits Martin for the routine.
The rights to the trick is with Haines House of Cards in Norwood, Ohio.
Some of the moves in the routine are from Larry Jennings.

Paul Daniels Chop Cup Routine

2007-08-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

Some say it's the best chop cup routine.
Well, watch it and judge for yourself.

Chop Cup from L & L Publishing

2007-08-10T04:22:00.001-07:00

Chop Cup routines from World's Greatest Magic.

Mama mia Cups and Balls

2007-06-18T01:50:00.000-07:00

Aldo Colombini doing the cups and balls with different colour balls.

Indian Street Magic

2007-06-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

A delightful variation to the usual cups and balls routine that you might be used to, but just as entertaining.
This is the Indian version of the cups and balls, and this guy is really good.
When you think you've seen it all, along comes a surprise to remind us that there is a lot of undiscovered talent and amazing people out there.

This video was taken in Mahaballipuram, India.
If you are ever in that area, you might want to keep an eye out for this guy.

IndianStreetMagic
Uploaded by karikalan

Cups Cups Cups

2007-06-15T01:09:00.000-07:00

The secret to good magic is not in the secret...
it's understanding the principles of the art. Even if you know HOW cups and balls magic works, it does not guarantee you will create magic.

One of the essential books on performing the cups and balls is Cups, Cups, Cups by Merlyn T. Shute. This book is required reading for any cups and balls worker.

Merlyn explores the principles behind the workings of performing the cups and balls.
From the basics to the advanced, this book has it all.

Johnson Cups and Balls

2007-06-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

Johnson Products (JP) claim to fame came from their gimmicked coins. But when they made the cups and balls, the quality from their products shows why they are the top manufacturers in this business.
The design follows the Paul Fox cups and balls set (which by the way is no longer available).
These cups are not spun but computer machine cut. Whether that makes a difference remains to be seen (I think it's more to do with who manufactures them).
One thing is certain, the handling of the Johnsons cups are matched by few, and it takes them almost a year to make a set!
Every micro-millimeter is cut to the exact specification. They don't have a website of their own, but you can get a set from their distributors.
2 that I know of are Steven's Magic Emporium and Hank Lee's Magic Factory.

JP Chop Cups

Cups and Balls Sets from Morrissey Magic

2007-06-13T01:55:00.001-07:00

Herb Morrissey started a very small magic business in 1959. His only product at that time was a set of cups and balls, but it was enough to make him well-known in the magic community.
Today, his magic shop has grown to provide many other products, but if you only plan on getting 1 thing from his shop. Get the original Morrissey cups and balls set.
The second thing is Morrissey's Mega, and ... well, go check it out yourself.

http://www.morrisseymagic.com

Morrissey's Mega Cups

Original Morrissey Cups

Morrissey Chop Cup

Brett Sherwood Cups

2007-06-13T01:10:00.000-07:00

The World's Most Beautiful Cups... no other cups and balls set comes close.
Note to self: only bring these out when performing for royalty.

Let the pictures speak for themselves.
Find out more about the Sherwood Cups here.

Tommy Wonder's two cup routine

2007-06-13T00:53:00.000-07:00

The clip is taken from his Visions of Wonder Volume 1 DVD.

Tommy Wonder is a legend among magicians. He is a perfectionist when it comes to his performances. Every action, every detail and every move is well thought out and practiced to perfection. The only other person that can match his "obession" with magic is Dai Vernon. That's just my humble opinion.

Well, enjoy this classic routine. It's beautiful.

Street Cups and Balls by Gazzo

2007-06-13T00:34:00.000-07:00

This is the original Cups and Balls routine. It's as old as fire-eating and juggling itself.
This type of performance is completely different from the kind you see from magicians Dai Vernon, Michael Ammar or Tommy Wonder.

Street Cups and Balls requires more crowd control and need to be loud, fast and full of hooks. It only takes a second for the crowd to walk away!
It's a tough act to master and Gazzo does it perfectly.

Michael Ammar's Routine

2007-06-13T00:28:00.000-07:00

This performance is from the "World's Greatest Magic" television program.
This is the cups and balls routine that he is famous for.
You'll also see the full working of this routine in his "Complete Cups and Balls" DVD.

Bob Chua and his passion

2007-06-12T23:58:00.000-07:00

Bob Chua is a frequent traveler and well-known in the magic circles both in Singapore and abroad. He is also a life member of the International Magicians Society.
He won the Merlin Award in 2001 from The International Magicians Society USA for Best Close Up Magician.
He knows how to perform and wise to the ins and outs of the magic entertainment industry.
I am honored to present Bob Chua today as my special guest.

Hi Uncle Bob, thank you for coming here today.
Can you tell us a bit about your background? How you got started and what made you so passionate about the art?

As a child I was always fascinated by tricks performed to me by my grandfather and father.
At age 18, I decided to take up the art of magic as a serious hobby.
Over the years, I have a large collection of books, dvds and magic apparatus.
After leaving school, I started working as a clerk and later had my own business for more than 20 years.
I was fortunate to be blessed with an early retirement at 45 years old and started doing magic performances as a living till now.

The life of a magician sounds too good to be true. Loved by children, respected by adults. Is there a catch?

An entertaining magician always look and sound good because he can do feats that ordinary folks are unable to do.
You will be always be loved my children and adult.
No catch but when you want them to pay for watching, they just vanished.

What are the most important things that someone should know to become a successful magician?

A successful magician must be knowledgeable in most area of this art, like parlour, stage and closeup magic. You must be able to do a requested act under any situation.

Will it work in any area and for anyone?

An entertaining magician does not work for everyone. Like any other art form, it requires a certain amount of talent.

You been around a lot. Can you tell us some of the interesting things when performing overseas?

Most memorable shows I did were on the Orient Express, from Changmai to Singapore.
I can only perform Standup Closeup due to space constraint.
Also did an interesting show in Kuala Lumpur Tower 4 years ago.

What are some of the common problems of a being a magician in Singapore?

Singapore is a small country and if the same audience watched you performing a couple of times,
chances you will not be booked again.
Not because you are no good, it’s just they want to see new faces.

What sort of things can someone do to stay on top?

It is impossible to stay on top.
Someone will appear in your path and be better than you and he or she will also like a passing cloud.

What kind of person is suited to be a magician? What sort of qualities does a person need to become a truly successful magician?

A lively and humorous character is an advantage to be a good magician.
Magicians or Entertainers are born not made. Bottom line is how to make your audience being entertained.

Can you make a lot of money as a magician?

That is a good question. If you are David Copperfield, yes.
He can call his fees and according to what I heard, he makes like USD14 millions a year.
In Southeast Asia if you a good magician, you may have a comfortable life but most of them will find it tough.
In the third world, it is most difficult to make a decent living out of performing magic
because their basics come first and not entertainment.
You also need to do your marketing like what you will do in an insurance business.
Not everyone will pay to watch your magic performance.

How can people contact you?

With today’s technology, the best form is through my website www.conjurer.net.

Dai Vernon Classic Cups and Balls Routine

2007-06-12T23:46:00.000-07:00

This video shows one of the most popular cups and balls routine performed by "the Professor" Dai Vernon.
This video is included at the end of the Michael Ammar's Complete Cups and Balls DVD.
I highly recommend it for anyone keen on learning the cups and balls.
Go to any magic shop and you should be able to get the DVD.
Michael Ammar doesn't teach the actual routine by Dai Vernon, but you should be able to figure it out after going through the DVD.

James Riser Cups

2007-06-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

James Riser has made quite a name for himself in the magic community.
His cups are highly valued by some of the best magicians in the industry. It's also limited. The workmanship is a labour of love. If you are a serious collector, better get one of his cups before they are gone forever.

Last time I checked, Riser Jumbo Cups, Riser Traditional Cups, Ramsay Style Cups, Riser Tall Ultimate Chop Cups, Riser Stage and Street Cups, Riser Mini-Cups, Riser Innocent Mini-Cups have all been discontinued.
He is working on a new design, but only a selected few will get to own a set.

You might still be able to find them at magic auctions and from private collectors that have extra sets.

You can get more information from his website here

Some images I shamelessly swiped from his website... I couldn't help it.

A Chat with Bill Palmer

2007-06-12T19:37:00.000-07:00

"Never before revealed" interview with Bill Palmer, magician, writer, actor from Houston, Texas.
Today, I will be asking Bill about his passion with an age-old magic prop: the cups and balls.
As an amateur collector myself, I'm interested to know how he got started, and also pick his brain to unearth some invaluable tips and advice.

OK. Let's begin

Hello, Bill. First off, I would like to thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
OK. First question. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
A little bit of background about how you got involved in magic and what led you to become a huge collector in cups and balls?

Thank you, Kevin. Glad to be here.
Well, first of all, I live in Houston, Texas. I have a degree in Germanics from Rice University.
I have been a professional magician for about 35 years.
I'm semi-retired now, but I have done everything from close-up to full scale illusions.
I translate German magic books into English. I translated the Punx books, part of Ted Lesley's book, Paramiracles, and three books by Borodin, which I also published.

I am a Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star, also the International Brotherhood of Magicians -- Order of Merlin, and the Society of American Magicians.
My father was a musician and an amateur magician. His booking agent at the time of my birth was the owner of the local magic shop.
The first people I ever met outside my family were magicians. I worked at that magic shop when I was in junior high school and high school.

One of the sets of cups in the collection -- the Tannen's Stubby Cups -- were mine when I was in high school. The present collection is my second one.
I sold most of my first collection to Kenna Thompson about 8 years ago, keeping just a few sets, the Paul Fox cups, the Stubby cups, the Master Cup, Jr., the Charlie Miller cups and the Tayade cups that had belonged to Tom Palmer.
Most of the work I have done with the cups and balls has been as part of my Merlin show.
I did a chop cup routine with a leather cup that was made for me by one of the leather workers there. I still use it a lot.

In the fall of 2003, when I was taking Ted Lesley on a tour around the country, I started purchasing cups at all the magic shops I stopped in.
And suddenly, I had about 3 dozen sets. I'm not sure what it is about the cups and balls that I find fascinating.
Maybe it's that they tell us about the people who made them, who used them and who watched them. I began to search for specific cups.
Every time I hear about a new kind of cup, I'm at the head of the line, cash in hand, putting in my order.
Here's the most important thing, though. I'm not an expert. I just have a lot of cups. I also notice things about the cups that indicate who made them.
I'm pretty good at identifying the makers, even of unusual cups.
It's just a matter of getting lots of cups and talking to as many people as you can about the people who made the cups in the old days.
You learn a lot more by reading and listening than you do by writing and talking.

Wow! You have quite an impressive history, I would give an arm and a leg to have half the cups in your collection.
What sort of satisfaction or advantages could someone expect of being a collector?

Sometimes there is the satisfaction of finding an item that you thought you would never see.
Or perhaps, completing all of the products made by a specific company.
Sometimes you learn things about how various makers produced different items.

And can the average person make money with this?

The guys who make money are the people who sell the cups.
If you are collecting as an investment, you may be disappointed.
It takes a long time for a set of cups to appreciate in value.
If a set of cups is produced by the thousands, chances are that it will never be much more than a set of used cups, at least in our lifetime.
If you want to invest money, collect something like gold coins.
They have an intrinsic value. Cups are worth what someone will pay for them.

Pretty sound advice there. All you readers out there, it's not a good idea to collect cups and balls hoping to make a quick buck.
So, if someone is really passionate about this, what's the best way to get started and how much money would they need?

Start by getting all of the cups that are currently on the market.
You never know when some company will fold.
The amount of money they need is up to how much they want to spend.
The costly part is acquiring "key" cups.
These are the highly collectible cups that are generally no longer manufactured.
Ross Bertram cups, Paul Fox cups, P&L cups, Brema cups -- these are all highly collectible.

What are the top 3 things that someone should know in order to be a successful collector of cups and balls?

You must have a fairly good knowledge of the history of cups.
That way, you know what was produced, and when.
You must have an idea of how many of a given cup were produced.
This may be impossible to determine. And you must figure out where the cups are.
That's the hardest one. You do this by paying attention and by seeking out the old-timers that made them.

How much experience does a person need to become an expert? What kind of knowledge is required?

You need about 10 years more experience than I have.
Seriously, you must understand woodworking, metal working, the different techniques and how they were done. You need all the knowledge you have, and then some.

So what you are saying is, I would need to have the knowledge to be able to produce my own cups to understand the intracacies of other producers' cups? Am I right?

Not exactly. You need to know how the cups are produced so you can tell what techniques were used to make a particular set.
For example, if you see a set of a particular set of cups that were only made by the metal spinning process, but these are obviously CNC machined, then you would know you had a set of cups that were not what the seller claimed they were.
You don't need to be able to make them. You just need to know the techniques involved.
It's kind of like being an art appraiser or a musical instrument appraiser.
If you know how the work is done, you understand what you are looking at.

OK. Understood. Can you give us some real-life examples of how you determine a good set of cups and balls? What should one look for?

Look for symmetry. If the cups are new, make sure they are as clean as possible.
For performing, a good set of cups and balls will have enough heft that you know you are holding onto a piece of metal or wood.
Look for clean lines and balance.

What about getting a set for my own private collection? What advice would you give me?

Well, here are 4 simple rules to follow.
1) Be patient. You can't get it all at once.
2) Ask EVERYONE you know to help you find what you are looking for.
3) Know what you are unlikely to find. You won't be likely to buy Vernon's cups, for example.
4) Buy quality whenever possible.

What are some of the common problems to look out for when buying a set of a cups and balls?

Some people think their really cheap cups are worth a fortune.
Someone will have a set of Uday cups that are okay for a beginner, but they really aren't worth much.
Also, on ebay there are people who will misrepresent various items as being from sources other than they really are from.
There is a fellow who used to advertise cups that were made in China as being made in France by hand.
If you know the Magic Makers cups, you would recognize these instantly.
He put them in a cheap jewel box and had a price tag that was about 20 times what they were worth on them.

Looking at the 4 simple rules you gave, if I follow them,
I should be able to avoid most of the problems with overpriced cups.
Speaking of which, what can someone do to keep in touch with the current trends and latest thing to come out in the market?

Read the magazines. Check the magic forums.

What else can someone do to find more information about the cups and balls?

Google cups and balls. You will find a wealth of information.
Or visit the cups and balls museum http://www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
You will need a username and password to log in, but I will furnish those upon request.

I have been to the musuem, it's really great! I dare proclaim that it's the largest resource on the cups and balls that you can find online!
If you want to visit the musuem, just drop Bill an email.
He's a real gentleman and won't bite. He promises. You can contact him at curator@cupsandballsmuseum.com

I joined the Magic Collectors Association a couple of years ago.
These fellows have been very helpful to me.
I am in touch with a number of people who are dealers and fellow collectors.
They, too have helped me. I help them, as well. Collecting can be fun. You do need an understanding spouse if you are married.

Thank you Bill. It's been a pleasure chatting with you. I've got a lot of work ahead of me.
The very first thing on my list is convincing my wife.
That's going to take awhile, but I'll get there, with your advice today, I believe it has already cut down on my learning a few years.

There are actually several collector's groups.
There is the MCA, which is open to almost anyone who is a collector.
There is also the New England Magic Collectors' Association, which is a great group,
but it is a fairly closed group. You have to live in New England to join.
There are some international groups as well. The MCA will get you started, though.

The first post

2007-06-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

Magic is a hobby and a passion for me.
Cards, Ropes, Silks, Rings, Flowers, Boxes, Doves, Swords... you name it I love it...

There is one thing that I love more in performance magic.
That's the cups and balls.
I really can't explain it, I just love watching a good cups and balls performance.
Whether it's the loud and brash street cups or the elegant Vernon style performance.
It's got a hold on me.

That's why I'm collecting all the information I can about the cups and balls here.
Links, information, videos, anything that can be put in the blog, I'll put it here.
It's really for my own use, at least when my PC goes down, I can still get the information here, but you are all free to use it as you like too!

However, the secret will not be revealed here.
I will provide information on where you can get the books, videos or DVD if you really want to know.

Enjoy!