I'm surprised there are no reviews yet. Does anyone have it?
Mason/Arturo Miracle Prediction Chest is for sale on Hocus Pocus.
http://hocus-pocus.com/magicshop/inc/pro......em=12242

Its a collectors item.

So how surprised can you be...

Greetings hboy;
First off Wayne is right, it is a collectors item, and very rare indeed.

It is not a tiny rolled up paper strip but a folded full sheet of paper that is removed from the chest and read.

The operation of this is so unique that you will not find it on any other prediction chest on the market. I have the 5th. one built and have just finished repairing another for a friend who damaged his.

I will not go into how it works short of saying that the folded paper is loaded in full view when the box is removed from the plexi cabinet and placed on the table. There are no loading tubes, no magnetic flaps, and it is about as foolproof as you can get.

If you really want something that not everyone else will have, then buy it. Yes the price is steep, but then again you will not have to worry about everybody having one and any chance of exposure. If you knew how this worked and saw the workmanship that went into making this, plus the fact that so few were ever made, then the price is not really that bad.

If you do buy it, drop me a line and I'll tell you a few things that I think an owner of this prop should know. (just personal things learned from experience in using it, but still important)

All the Best
Marty

Having looked at the photos and read the description, I would dispute the assertion that the operation of the Mason/Arturo chest is really "unique" -- although that statement is true when the qualifier that "that you will not find it on any other prediction chest on the market" is added (as it is here). Although without personally handling the chest I cannot confirm it, but short of doing so I believe that the operation is identical to that of "The Strong Box" made by the late John Pomeroy and commonly referred to as the "Pomeroy Prediction Chest" which is pictured and listed in Pomeroy's 1989 "Gem Magic" Catalog with a price tag of $2,000.00. It is my understanding that only 8 of them were ever made. I own one which I believe to be one of only two that are not currently in David Copperfield's collection. Copperfield purchased all of the known units prior to using one on his TV special which aired shortly after the first of the "Masked Magician" exposure shows several years ago. He personally contacted me at that time and offered to buy mine, but I refused to sell it and it remains in my possession where it will stay until my death. I have used it on a few occasions and have displayed and demonstrated it to a few select persons over the years.

As I have no idea when either the Pomeroy or Mason/Arturo chests were first created, I can make no assertions concerning who copied whom or if the Pomeroy and Arturo/Mason chests were true independent inventions; however, assuming (as I suspect) that their operation is the same, unless it can be proven that the Mason/Arturo chest was created prior to 1989, it would appear that the credit should go to Pomeroy.

BTW, I have seen one other prediction chest that loaded a full 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper, while in full view of the audience. It employed a different way of loading than Pomeroy's (and, I assume, the Mason/Arturo chest). I don't recall who manufactured it, but Arthur Emerson showed and demonstrated it at an I.B.M. Ring 50 meeting in the late 1970s when he and his late wife were still living in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. I assume that it is still in his possession.

Just thought that those who are interested in such things should know.

Thanks for martini and Dick Christian's reply. I will think it over again.

Just to clarify for those who might be interested. After an exchange of PMs with Marty, it has been determined that the Mason/Arturo prediction chest is NOT the same as Pomeroy's although both accommodate a full 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. As it turns out, it was a Mason/Arturo chest that I saw Art Emerson demonstrate in the 1970s.

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in the Mason/Arturo Prediction Chest. We had many enquiries about this since listing it on our website a few days ago.I am happy to report it was sold this afternoon to a private collector.

Best regards
Paul Gross
Owner
Hocus Pocus

The Mason Chest was created and built by Glen (Glen Babbs, Arturo,) long before 1989. I had one in the 70's. And, yes, it does operate differently from Pomeroy's. Even though the effect sounds like a dream, the Mason Chest has its drawbacks, too, and at the time I was sending chests to several colleges at a time, so I had almost every type made.

Ironically, the most reliable, hands down, was the Roydon Prediction Chest and, for good reason...it was the only one that was not entirely mechanical. I think it would fool magicians today and am surprised nobody has "discovered" it and re-made it. Roydon was more commonly known for pocket type tricks and almost all of his props (not entirely all, but almost_ used magnets in the work somewhere. The Roydon Prediction Chest, by the way, did not use magnets at all. It is probably the least known of the really outstanding Prediction Chest methods.

I think the two best predicton "chests" made today are Zimmermans, as made by Wellington, and Tim Star's chest.

What is the Tim Star's chest?
any link?

http://www.creationsbystar.com/chestforsalesmcorners.html

Any idea of what the chest sold for?

Hey I contact Tim roughly a year ago and he gav me a qote of I think £1850 for it, they are a work of art I must say!