Jim, that would all be counter to my routine. This is meant to be a four minute closer to my show. It picks up a lot of speed as it goes along, and ends with a banner dropping in front of the table advertising "Pop Haydn's Tennessee Sour Mash Medicinal Whiskey."

"The "Tantalus Tubes" are a turn of the century magic prop, invented by Gene Alberti (the Great Alberti). They are intricate mechanical devices that were designed to be shown empty and then produce a live dove, a bundle of silk scarves, or a bouquet of flowers. They could also make it appear that an object vanished, or transformed. or transpositioned from one tube to another.

"These tubes became ubiquitous in music hall and vaudeville magic acts. When applied to an old trick from the 1870's called the Passe-Passe Bottle, it created a comedic classic.

"Here is an antique bottle and an antique glass. These are Tantalus Tubes.

"I cover the glass with a tube and then..."

It seems to me that calling suspicion on the tubes is better than making them obviously innocent. If the tubes are innocent, then the trick must be in the bottles...

Good point. Also, what works for me doesn't work for everyone, which is why magic is such an exciting business.

Here is the Multiplying Bottles from my show last night in the Palace of Mystery:

A great routine as usual, Pop! I'm glad you didn't listen to any of my ideas!

Thanks for posting this Pop.
I am working on the trick at the moment for a performance in a couple of weeks.
Very challenging to create a routine around it.

Thought I would share mine

https://youtu.be/icw7cBgyNtU

Nice job, Mike!

Great presentation there Pop. Going to have to try and catch your show next time I get out to the castle!

Agreed, Pop's performance here is chuckle inducing.

I developed this routine last year...



https://youtu.be/bh9WsqUi7bY

Fun routine!

For what it's worth, just a thin little lining of felt glued to the inside of the bottom of the bottles will GREATLY enhance the durability of the finish and help avoid having the bottles from "Talking."

Depending on the gauge and "Nesting Clearance" of your particular set of bottles, this may or may not be problematic for you, but it's certainly worth a try in my opinion.

Good tip. I lined the tubes with adhesive felt but didn't think about the bottles.

Love it.

Even better!

For those who have never seen him, Here is a YouTube link to Denny Haney performing his version of the multiplying bottles.....enjoy!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9KinKTSsaA

And here is Ron Wilson performing HIS version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt1-KpkOMzE

And here is Master Payne performing HIS version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx85OGLjxWY

And, last but not least, Lance Burton doing HIS version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDEc8H_dKhk