Hi all,

Been a while since I've been on here.

I recently found a packet trick which I was taught when I first really got into magic on another level.
The trick contains set up is (from top to bottom) :-

face up blank back 4H,
face up blank back 4C,
face up blank back 4S,
face up blank back 4D,
face down normal 4D.

The trick is performed in biddle and makes a single four turn face down each spread.
The finale is that the backs all become blank.

Can anyone tell me what the trick is called, and who originally came up with it please?
I thought it was called 'back up' but I cannot find any reference to that name or a creator.

Thank you!!

How 'bout Mr. Peter Kane's (May He R.I.P.) "Blank Amazement"?

No that is not it but thanks for the suggestion!

The effect is..., the 4 fours are thumbed off of a face up packet into a fan from right to the left hand.
They are squared up and the display is repeated, but one of the fours has turned face down!
They are again squared up (still face up) and when thumbed off into the display a different four is now face down.
This happens with all 4 fours.
The last face down four is flipped over to show it is the four. Thye are squared again.
Then the four cards are thumbed off from right to left again but the backs are shown for each card.
When the packet is finally turned over, the backs are all blank.

Again any help to find the name and the creator would be fantastic!

You're welcome.

As a suggestion, pm Mr. Paul Hallas. I believe he will know!!!

Thanks again for reply.
I cannot find that person! Sorry.

Maybe you could let him know about this post ?

Many thanks!!

Thanks again for reply.
I cannot find that person! Sorry.

Maybe you could let him know about this post ?

Many thanks!!

Done. (I forgot, his username is just Paul.)

You're welcome.

Blinding, cheers!

Fingers crossed we can put a name to this routine and it’s creator!
Thanks for being so helpful!!

There are so many versions of that trick. Usually the backs just change color or change to various colors, see Jerry Mentzer's Rainbow Twist for example (1976) based on Trabucco's Twist from Card cavalcade 2. Sam Schwartz's "Twisting The Faces" is another. As I mentioned in "Small But Deadly" I had the idea of making the backs and fronts vanish at the end (based on Twisting The Faces where backs and fronts change) but thankfully discovered that had already been done before I published the idea, see Nick Trost's "Twisto Blanko" (1976).

Nick's routine is also detailed in the book "Subtle Card Creations Vol.1". The make up of the card set is similar in that you have four blank backed cards and one blank facer. The difference is that in Nick's routine rather than four of a kind he has Ace to Four as suggested by Hamman. It could finish with all blank backs but goes a stage further and concludes with faces and backs vanishing.

Twisting The Faces" can be found detailed in "SAM's The Magic of Sam Schwartz".

Depending how old the trick is, it could just be one of the other tricks 'home made" with cards that were available or someone marketed it thinking the blank backs made it original. An identical (but later trick) that is pretty much identical is Danny Archer's "Eye Exam" with a slightly more commercial climax, rather than blank backs the cards now have an eye chart on the back.

Hope the information is helpful. Although I couldn't identify the person who put out your version, they may not want to be identified!

Again, Mr. Paul, Thanks So Much!!!

Awesome!

I watched a video of the Eye Exam routine, and it was taught to me almost identically.
The only difference was after the fourth face down card is flipped face up, the fan is split so that the flipped up card is on the top of the packet so a flustration count can be performed showing the backs on all cards,
then. Then the packet is turned face down and an elmsley is used to reveal the backs are blank.

When I first started magic, I had a little book which I made notes in, and I wrote 'back up' as the name... does that ring a bell?

BUT this routine by Danny Archer is identical apart from the ending, so a HUGE thanks guys!!! At least I know more about its origins.

I spoke to an old friend who came up with the routine I perform, and it is a version of Danny Archers 'Eye Exam' with a simpler ending and different patter.

So well done on pointing me in the right direction, and it is great that I now know where it originally came from.

Cheers!

Paul

It's obviously not the same effect, but it reminded me of Ken Niinuma's "Prismatic" in Magic Magazine from 2008 or 2009 I believe. Worth checking out.

After reading this I ran downstairs to see if it was "Factory Misprints" by JC Wagner. I know that DVD came with a set of cards! I bought this at the Magic in the Rockies years ago. My point is, the da** cards are missing! This thread has helpd me out too! Thank you. 😀👍

It's Done With Mirrors is another popular version of this effect. In this case both fronts and backs turn to mirrors at the end of trick.

So I went looking through my collection of packet tricks to find the name of the earliest version I had. It was from the late 70s to very early 80s and would have been purchased either at Abbott's Magic or Stoner's Magic. Below is a pic with description (secret covered by the original envelope). No inventor or even company name is given on sheet. Anyone have a commercial version from earlier?

So is one of the value cards just referred to as the 'galaxy card'?

It is very interesting to see how this basic routine has been adopted and personalised over the years!
It's a great insight into routine creations
Thanks for sharing!!!

Yes, one of them in particular. In my set it is the king of hearts. In the final reveal one of the back designs is the back which was shown throughout (which is the one called the 'galaxy card'). In other words, the 'galaxy' card retains the back design shown while the other three are different. The end handling is such that with a simple p*** the four cards could be handed out.

Around this time Al Schneider's Matrix was ultra popular and this trick was often used as a lead in. As the cards were handed out the hand went to the pocket to ostensibly retrieve four half dollars. For example: "...and each card now has a different back design! Now I would like you to examine these four cards and I also have four half dollars I would like you examine too..." This allowed the card trick to end clean while making the matrix more powerful as four cards and coins were examined.

That’s great!
I love all these ideas.
Would be interesting if there are any more variations out there.

I’ve PMd you Frank.

Funny, I recognize the bridge-size cards with the parrot from a card castle I built in the late 80s.