Just wanted to let you know JC, that I've been using your "Torn & Restored Card" effect from "7 Secrets", since it was published in 1978. I've also used Paul LePaul's version from his book. I've played around with other versions, including Reparation, but your's can't be beat for pure simplicity and it's very powerful when presented well.

Have you found any improvements to this trick? Have you given it up for an entirely different routine? I've loved this effect for 25 years...just wondering if you do too.

I have just bought literally within the hour Full Metal Jacket, which looks great. I have enjoyed reading your 7 Secrets and Commercial Magic books and loved them both. I am a huge fan of your work, and your torn and restored matix has got me thinking, and I am now already under way of creating my own version with a full card restoration and other little bits. Take care, and I would love you meet yo one day to show you some of my moves and tricks.

Chris

I too use the torn and restored from Seven Secrets. Its very good....but we all knew that.... Interestingly I have been getting an incredible ammount of fun out of doing the Domergue one piece at a time restoration, and when folks say do that again, [they often do for me, and sometimes I dwell long enough to help force the request], because of the piece that is left after the Domergue routine I am able to go straight into JC Wagners great version. Although the extra piece left after the first restoration is in the wrong orientation & joined along the long edge its nevertheless quite easy to alter JC's moves & routine to take account of this.

Some may say what is the point of seemingly doing the same effect twice!!

None at all really... unless the moment calls for it; and when it does you have a great complex routine that leaves your audience impressed. In part because the second method helps deconstruct the first one in the minds of the spectators.

Just a thought.

Thanks for all your contributions to our art JC.

Zapik.

Hi Steven, No I haven't made any improvements to the original routine except adding the idea of Jay Marshall's that I put on the Commerical Magic tape's/D.V.D's. It has played so well all these years, you hate to change anything about it. Glad your performing it still.

Best, J.C.

AMEN AMEN...The Best torn and restored and for sure the best for a bartender...quick,visual......Thanks for giving us that and I have used it for over 12 years now with great reactions.

tpdmagic

Thanks everybody for kind remarks on my "Torn and Restored Card" It has sereved me well all these years behind the bar and walk around. It's one of those effects that's fun to do and watch their reactions when it becomes whole again except for the piece in there hands.
Best, J.C.

J.C. Do you ever have spectators asking you to restore the final piece, and if so how do you get out of it? I generally look them straight in the eye and say that I used to restore the final piece, but when the spectators took the card out of their wallet a year later they forget it was ever completely torn. Thus I leave them them with the restored 3/4 and the final piece as a logical (?) reminder that the card was torn and restored. Any other ideas?

Best wishes,
Phil

I hope its okay for me to contribute here. As far as restoring the final piece is concerned using JC Wagners great routine, there is an interesting comment somewhere in 'The Art of Astonishment' by Paul Harris, along the lines of 'Dancing with the last piece'. However a great idea which I heard of from a friend is to have a souvenir book of last pieces. When you complete the Wagner routine take the last piece from them and slip it into your pocket size display book which contains all the other final pieces from every other time you performed the effect. Show them the book, and tell them its your amazing collection of 'last pieces'. Its a pretty opportunity for some theatre to creat a moment for humouress interchange between yourself and the audience.

Zap

That is a great idea... thank you for sharing that.

S.Segal

Count Zapik, VERY nice Idea my friend! I like it alot. As you put the piece in the little solt, like what you put picture's in an album with, you can have them sign thier name right below it and date it! that's what old J.C. is going to do believe me. People will ask to see THIER piece after you have performed it for someone else! Tell your friend, thanks for a great IDEA. Thanks Count!

Best in Magic to you, J.C.

If I may expound on the Count's wonderful idea...get them to sign their autograph on the paper and, if their interested, their email address. I've begun compiling email addresses, which it seems people are more likely to give out these days. I'm going to be doing a monthly newsletter and, those emails come in handy for keeping my face in front of peoples' minds.

Rick

Hello JC,
Just curious, is this routine in Seven Secrets the same t&r "One Tear at a Time" that you did with Brad Burt?
Thanks in advance,
Lee

Lee, No it's entirely different. The orignal Torn and Restored Card in 7-Secrects is the one I use.

Best, J.C.

I LOVE your Torn and Restored from 7 Secrets. For anyone who doesn't know it, It's apparently impromptu, 2 minutes prep at the start of the night and you can do it all evening any time, needs no force, therefore can be used with any card after another effect, (I usually follow Ambitious card to wallet.) It's also relatively simple allowing you to concentrate on presentation not Fingers.

Re the last piece. My ending, I talk about souvenires and how generally useless, (literally,) they are, but Ii say I'm going to give you a souvenire that you can actually use "......This is why this makes such a great souvenire, When you get home tell your friends that you saw a Tall handsome, magician....With lots of hair, ( I am tall,) They'll never know.(Smile) Then you say I selected a card from the pack, he tore it into 4 pieces in front of me, and showed me they were seperate, then, by magic, he melted 3 pieces back together. Now comes the good bit, you show them this (The main restored card,) and bet them a beer that they can't find any glue, solvents or fixatives of any kind on this card, then when they can't, you bet them another beer, that this piece, (Last quarter,) that has been in your hand all the way through, really is from the same card, and finally you bet them another beer that they can't stick this piece back in the way that the tall handsome long haired magician in Palma Nova did. That's a great souvenire."

Mind you I love to "I'll keep this to remind me of you," Idea as well.

Thanks

Andy

Darwin had a presentation idea in his routine the Marker for not restoring the last piece. He has the spectator sign the card and then Darwin writes on the card "I owe you $1,000." Then he does the torn and restored card but leaves the last piece and says if he restores the whole card the spectator will owe him the money. Darwin uses the Marlo method from the Cardician but I always felt J.C.'s routine would fit the presentation better.

Regards,

Steve

Steve, That's when I would get the tape out and tape the last piece on and try and collect the MONEY! Ha, Ha. Cute idea of Darwin's though. Thanks.

Best, J.C.

Like all the other posters here, I think J.C.'s T&R is first rate.

But beyond that, the thinking behind the method is not only devious, it is groundbreaking. Look how many routines which followed use J.C.'s basic premise.

A great trick, J.C. Wagner, and it's so good to have you here on the Café.

Matt Field

Actually, I don't know if JC's routine is original or independent. Eddie Joseph had a similar handling (the tearing sequence) with a dollar bill published in the 50's. I suspect, it was independent, but JC would be the only one to know.

Steven, To answer the Big Question of where I got my inspirational source for Torn&Restored Card is Jeff Busby's, " Into The Fourth Deminsion"! Remember that booket? He was going in a different direction with turning a Card inside out and I saw somethig different. It set my mind going towards doing a Torn&Restored card. At the time, Paul Harris was working on the same lines with his wonderfull torn CARD version also.As a matter of fact, he gave me credit for helping him with one of the tears in his routine in his book. He liked mine, but wanted it to be only one card and use NO extra piece or piece's If as you say, Eddie Joseph had something similar, I think after all these years it would have come to lite. I for one do not want to take away from another Man's Idea. That is not my stile guy's. If I have Independently stepped on his shoes, I want to know!

Best, J.C.

I remember "Into the Fourth Dimension" as well as Paul Harris's routine. Paul's is another excellent version, I felt "Into the Fourth Dimension" was too much work to set up, but loved the premise.

I don't know how well circulated Eddie Joseph is. I fell in love with his thinking in the early 70's and Abbott's is the only distributer of Eddie's material as far as I know. Most of his stuff has been collected into a single work, which, while dated, has some really good ideas.

I know magicians sometimes come up with ideas independently, (Paul has a routine that's almost identical to one developed by Ned Rutledge), but sometimes great minds think alike, as they say. Anyway, we are all richer because of it.