Thanks!

This is the cage to buy if interested in doing the classic vanishing birdcage!

I completely agree! Also pleased to note that Daniel promotes (and uses) my sponge/ silk parakeet in this advertisement!

I've exchanged some emails with Louie Foxx regarding the Tommy Wonder cage and reel/pull made by JM Craft. Louie purchased one from the first run and was disappointed to discover some features were missing from the JM Craft reel/pull.

1) The one Louie received lacked a secondary lock to lock the cord in the short position. Tommy Wonder details this secondary short position lock in clear detail in Visions of Wonder #2 (which I have watched) and, reportedly, detailed in his book (which I have not yet seen). Yes, the JM Craft reel/pull has a lock to lock the cord in the long position.

2) The pulley configuration created by JM Craft did not match Tommy Wonder's design. JM Craft also did not supply a way to anchor the free end of the pulley line to the performer's shoulder.

Louie brought these problems to the attention of JM Craft and they said they would fix the issues on a future run and send a corrected reel/pull to Louie to exchange for the first one. Louie reports that he did not hear back from them after that.

So, the question is... Did JM Craft *ever* correct the issues? Was there a run of Tommy Wonder reel/pull with the secondary lock and a correct pulley configuration? Was a way to anchor the end of the pulley line provided in subsequent runs?

Is there anyone here who has purchased a JM Craft Tommy Wonder cage & reel/pull in the last year or so who can shed some light on this?

Mark

In the 1991 Hank Lee Cape Cod Conclave video, Jonathan Pendragon does a terrific lecture on the Vanishing Birdcage.

It is possible to see that video somewhere? thanks

I've only seen it on the Hank Lee VHS tape. They show up on eBay once in a while. He has a tip on using bow string because it doesn't stretch.

Jonathan Pendragon included his Canary Cage setup in his Penguin Live video: https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/6233. Never seen the Cope Cod Conclave video so can't comment if the material is the same.

It is always fascinating to hear him talk about how his work as a stuntman impacted his magic methods.

Thanks for the heads up. There was a copy of the 1991 Hank Lee Cape Cod Conclave VHS on eBay. I ordered it and will be donating it to my local Ring after I've viewed it.

Mark

My favorite on the 1991 video is Ron Wilson's Lecture on his Color Changing Silk routine.

The 1991 Cape Cod Conclave VHS I received via eBay is in like-new condition. I hooked up my VHS machine and started watching a little bit of the tape, just to check quality. The first performer is Aldo Colombini with a TERRIFIC cups & balls routine. Which of course, he teaches after his performance. The crowd loved it!

I'm looking forward to seeing Pendragon's vanishing bird cage segment (as well as Ron Wilson's color changing silk routine). I should be able to find time to watch the whole thing later this evening.

Mark

Oh my! If you haven't already watched it, take some time to watch Gonzalo Albiñana's performance on this past Friday's Penn & Teller Fool Us! Season 10, episode 13.

Gonzalo vanishes the cage three times, each time being more AMAZING. First with a crowd of hands around the cage, then from a ziplock bag, and finally from his open palm. Outstanding!

Yes, I did see the hookup, but only because I knew what to look for and the camera was zoomed in close. His cage appears to be Blaney sized, BTW.

Mark

Gonzalo Albinana uses a Daniel Summers BLANEY vanishing cage in his routine.

Wonderful performance!

Got to see Lance Burton's show a few days ago when he was in Scottsdale, he opens
with the birdcage. It was really quite well structured, he only vanished it a couple
of times but got quite a bit of time out of it.

Jonathan, One of your parakeets made an appearance on Thursday's (July 11, 2024) Masters of Illusion show, performed by Maxence Vire. Maxence named his parakeet "Walter", presumably to honor the late Walter Blaney.




Mark

Mark! thanks for telling me! As I don't watch that show, I would have missed out!