.....NOT talking here about cups in production or still readily available but rather cups that would top your Wish List because they would have some special provenance (perhaps owned by some famous magician of the present or bygone era) or because they would have some sentimental or other special value to you (perhaps your first set of cups that you let go but now wish you hadn't, or perhaps a set of cups that didn't seem so special at the time you let them go but have since become extremely rare and valuable).

Fortasse

I'd like to get my hands on an original set of Johnny Paul's cups!

In the Stevens vid he said there were only 50, or so, sets ever made...

A set of Paul Fox cups by Danny Dew, anything by John Dahms and anything by Angelo Iafrate.

GADDY... call Joe and buy a set.

Posted: Jan 8, 2011 4:09pm
My wish list?

Dai's engraved cups now owned by Persi Diaconis.

The COPPER Danny Dew PF cups I traded away like a dope and the Conrad Haden Silver cups I traded to Jeff Busby.

Pete:

I hope you get those cups from Persi. When you do, please leave them to my museum!!!!

Dai's engraved cups would be wonderful (don't worry Pete, I'd never take them from you; especially seeing as I don't even know Persi Diaconis--other than by name).

On the cups and balls museum website Bill makes the suggestion, "if an archaeologist found three cups of similar size and appearance, some small, round pebbles and a leather bag, he would probably not think of a conjuror or a grifter with a set of cups and balls. He would be more likely to think of a person who had some tableware" (Bill Palmer, The origins of the cups and balls). I'd like to be that archaeologist, since I would think of the cups and balls.

(P.S. for those not in the know, I have a BA in Archaeology, and am working on my Masters currently)

Cool! Maybe I can point you to some interesting archaeological sites. Most of the really interesting ones are in areas that aren't very pleasant to be in, though. Mesopotamia, Elam and Bactria are all rather troubled these days, and the Indus valley isn't exactly a resort area!

Surely William Vincent's cups would be the ultimate possible cups for a collector?
With Bosco's cups a close second.
And if I'm allowed a third wish, these:
http://www.zauberzentrale.de/img/screenshots/houdin.jpg

It's interesting to ponder where these cups might be, right now. Were they melted down? Are they in a landfill site somewhere? All three sets are pretty unremarkable objects in themselves; the sort of thing any self-respecting housewife would throw out. Maybe Vincent's cups are sitting in some Surrey potting shed with Begonias growing in them.

The likelihood of William Vincent's cups surviving until now is pretty slim. They were probably rather unremarkable. Bosco's are in a private collection. Robert-Houdin's are also probably in a private collection. It's hard to tell what they actually looked like from that photo. They resemble the cups that Charles Bertram used, but with a shorter skirt.

I would love to "own" Bill Palmer's favorite set.

(And I do not even know what that might be!)

I put "own" in quote marks to remind myself that we never truly own a great set of Cups...we are merely the temporary custodians, as we move along this ephemeral journey we call life...

Well Bill, considering that most of my work will probably be in Israel and it's surrounding neighbors, I don't suppose Mesopotamia would be that bad.

The only set I really covet (may the Lord forgive me ) is a set of old Morrissey Mini Cups. The only cups I regret having traded away is the set of Charlie Miller Cups that I used for 15 years .

A number of my friends have said that I shouldn't leave the cups to a museum. If I do, it will be with the express instructions that the cups shall be available for magicians to try out. There would be a few that would have to remain behind glass, or at least handled very carefully, such as the bamboo Wheatley chop cups. They are just too fragile to handle.

But I want people to be able to try various sets out and see what they like.

Bill :

Unfair question : if you could keep (or take with you into the Great Beyond) one - just one - set of cups from your entire collection, which would you choose?

Fortasse

I'd take the other set.

Wonder what treassures the Smithsonian has stashed away?

I would like the silver and gold plated Monti cups owned by Harry Monti.

I think the Library of Congress has more actual magic props than the Smithsonian. The LOC has some Hofzinser items.

The Smithsonian has some really odd curators. I have a harpsichord that belonged to my father. It was a custom built item that was used by a number of extremely well-known harpsichordists when they toured Texas. Dad wrote a series of books that actually changed the way that most keyboard players interpreted baroque music. I offered to donate the instrument to them. They refused to even look at the web site.

Do you realize that it has been more than six months since Paul Dela neglected to send you those cups? Not the Monti cups, but the ones in your signature line?

Well, from the NEW Cups and Balls guy in town (with tongue firmly in cheek!) who still has a lot to learn... I would LOVE a set of Tommy Wonder's (Pom-Poms, bag, and all). Having spent a ridiculous amount of time making these balls and loads, etc., I would be curious to see how mine compares! I'm especially interested in the cups themselves (I'm using the "Johnson Cups" for the routine, but I know these are NOT close!)

Fun to dream....

Michael