Ring Report
January 18, 2009

The theme for the January meeting was From Kellar to Thurston. Members were asked to perform any material from Harry Kellar, Howard Thurston, or other performers from that era. A small group of dedicated members braved a fierce snowstorm to attend the meeting.

Dr. Wilson played Matchbox Monte with new member Prashant Srivastava. Dr. Wilson showed two empty matchboxes and one half filled with matches. Try as he might, Prashant could not follow the operator's slick moves. This delightful entertainment is described in Thurston's "400 Magic Tricks You Can Do." Dr. Wilson followed with the Kellar Wrist Tie, from Harry Kellar's early years with the Davenport Brothers. Professor Miller bound Dr. Wilson's wrists behind his back with a length of rope. Moments later, a tambourine set in front of the bound performer rattled; an instant later, he was still tied. Dr. Wilson performed this miracle without the benefit of a cabinet for the edification of the members, who can learn the Kellar Wrist Tie from Tarbell, volume 6.

Brother Don Paul gave a chilling performance based on events of 1912. He showed an old box that had belonged to his grandfather, with many items of interest in it. He asked Prashant to select one of two items, a sixpence or a pocketwatch; Prashant chose the sixpence. Brother Don placed the pocketwatch in front of Dr. Wilson. Dr. Wilson and Prashant took turns deciding whether a set of portraits had any meaning to them, and each chose portraits. Brother Don placed the rejected portraits in a pile in front of a wedding photo. Brother Don then showed a newspaper from the box, with the headline reporting the sinking of the Titanic. He told us that the sixpence had been recovered from the body of one of the persons who perished, while the pocketwatch had been the possession of a survivor. The wedding photo showed the image of a bride who had survived, and a groom who had perished. All of the portraits that Prashant chose were those of the deceased, while Dr. Wilson had selected only portraits of survivors. The portraits piled before the separated couple were a mixture of survivors and the deceased.

Professor Miller broke with the theme to show some moves with his new Flow Wand (improved Dancing Cane) from Flowtoys. Members were delighted by the improvements made to this fine prop, and look forward to Professor Miller's full routine. Professor Miller went on to demonstrate the audience-handling technique of an inept performer he had recently witnessed, using Danny Baker as the audience volunteer. When the manhandling was over, Danny Baker found himself wearing a Past President's Medal a few minutes prematurely. Prashant Srivastava had a card named, removed it from the deck, then showed that the rest of the deck consisted of blank cards. He performed another very nice card routine, featuring a variety of card tranformations and transpositions. Danny Baker, fresh from a couple of engagements earlier that day, set up his mobile magic shop for all to admire his wares.

Following the formal presentations, members broke into pairs and small groups, working on coin sleights, engaging in historical discussions and talk of seances, and shaking their heads over the weather. Full details of the business meeting are available on the Ring's web site (www.ibmring362.org).