Al Mann - The Page of Swords - A New Weapon for the Mentalist

POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLD. NEW JERSEY 07721

THE- PAGf OfSWORDS

A N f W Wf-APOI1 r-OR Tl-tt MtrtTAUST

An ALMANN

ULTRA EXCLUSIVE Release _~ #"

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(201) 431-2429 POST OFFICE lOX 144 •

FREEHOLD. NEW JERSEY 07728

Tl1f PAGt

Of SWO~DS Copyright (1985) by Al Mann Exclusives

EFFECT: The Psychic throws a sealed envelope to the sitter across the table. The sitter examines the envelope which has no windows, slits or openings, although that is not mentioned. The Psychic takes back the envelope I and says, "I have written something on a card that is sealed in this envelope. I consider you a very special person so I have PACE Q SWORDS: prepared a special test. This test will prqve that there is a psychic influence that governs our destinies. In your memories of yo~r life, t~ere is one person that stands out. This person filled a very important part of your life and made a profound impact on your life. You know the person I am talking about. What name comes to your mind?" The sitter may answer "John Smith! He was my father!" "So his initals would be J.S. Correct?" saxs the Psychic. "Please remove the card from the envelope. ' commands the Psychic who has opened the top edge of the envelope with his fingernail file (or let ter opener). "I do not want to touch it." When the sitter opens the envelope and removes the card that is the same size as the envelope, she (or he) finds the letters JS written on the card in large letters! "Isn't that a strange coincidence?" asks the Psychic, "Or maybe, it is not a coincidence but nevertheless strange."

J

THE SECRET: You may have guessed it. The wily Psychic has cemented, with Epoxy Glue a piece of pencil lead to the Fig. 1 tip of the finger-nail file! The pencil lead points outwards and is held permanently in place by the glue (justaspotof glue about 3/16th inch in diameter). The reader may want to try it the easy way and that is by simply attaching Eric Mason's boon writer with some blue tack. In any event the gimmick is fabulous. The finger-nail file is recommended (instead of a letter opener) because it contains ridges that help to hold the glue in place. f t/mz/fl

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THE PAGE OF SWORDS

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HANDLING AND PRESENTATION: Fig. 2 shows the correct way of the initial handling as seen from the performer's view. The operator is holding the letter envelope upside down and as he patters he commences to cut open the top edge of the envelope with his finger-nail file. The gimmicked end is unseen by the audience. THE CARD inside the envelope should be of about the same size as size of the envelope so that it fits tightly. Once a corner of the envelope is opened, the file is then inserted into the envelope BUT the Gimmicked end is kept away from the card until ready to write. Once the top edge of the envelops is ripped half-way and the Psychic Fig. 2 knows the initials, HE TURNS THE FILE OVER SO THAT THE PENCIL GIMMICK COMES IN CONTACT WITH THE CARD and he writes in the initials while holding the envelope HORIZONTALLY TO THE FLOOR so that the plane of the envelope is in line with the line-of-sight of the audience. That way the writing of the initials is not obvious to the viewers. AS SOON AS THE PERFORMER WRITES DOWN THE INITIALS HE TURNS THE FILE AROUND AGAIN, so that the pencil gimmick does not make any more mark~ on the card •• If the operator desires he can switch the gimmicked file for an ungimmicked one and throw it on the table after the effect. Let me assure the reader that the effect is profound and when patter is used the viewer never sees or suspects that writing has been done. ON STAGE: The effect is the same except that here we will use numbers instead of initials and the performer is standing. In ANY EFFECT, the Mentalist should always be far ahead of his audience. This presentation that follows is a good example of how the performer can secretly write out a figure before the audience can anticipate any trickery. PRESENTATION: Psychic shows the sealed envelope and then puts it on display where it remains in sight. He then picks up a tablet and pencil and asks a lady to callout two letters of the alphabet. These two letters are written on the tablet by the psychic. He then calls on a gentleman to do the same, and again the two letters are noted. BUT the Mentalist has secretly converted the letters into numbers by the Mnemonics system and has added the two numbers together to arrive at the total of '83!' as in Fig. 3 So the performer says "Thank You." And picks up the sealed enLf velope saying, "Let me show You what I have written here." He starts to open the envelope as he patters, "Does anyone here knows the Mnemonic system of (Fig. 3) converting letters to numbers?" Asks the performer as he is opening the envelope. He writes the

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THE PAGE OF SWORDS

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

ON STAGE cont. total on the card while pattering. Someone in the audience is sure to say that he is conversant with the science of Mnemonics. "What does the letters NR convert to in the Mnemonic system?" Asks the r.erformer. If no one answers, the performer may say, "24! Right?" 'The N stands for 2 and the R for • Am I right?" "And the letters LP stand for 59. The L represents a 5 and the P a 9." The performer may be using a large slate or art board to write on so that the audience can follow. He then points to one r.entleman and says, "Sir! Will you please add 24 and 59." 'The answer is 83, correct?" The card in the envelope is now removed by anyone in the audience and the message read, which says, "The Mnemonic value of the letters chosen by the audience will be 83." This effect not only has a mystery to it but shows the performer in an intelligent light. The art of Mnemonics is still a mystery to many. Some have only heard about it, so all will get a thrill out ot it. If one of the letters called has no value in the Mnemonics system, the performer can ask for another letter or simply give that letter the value of zero. A short refresher in Mnemonics: 1

t d

2

n

3 4 m r

5

6

1

j

7

k q

8

9

f v

p b

0 (zero)

s z c soft

(vowels A-E-I-O-U and letters W-H-Y have no numerical value)

hard g hard c (the letter X can be 7 or 70 for this purpose)

THE- MAI2I<

{)F-

:ZORP.O.'

(This effect is the brainchild of a European-card expert whose name is not known at this writing.)

EFFECT: The Magician borrows a deck of cards and says that he is going to place a mark on one card as he turns his back. The deck is then given out for shuffling and then placed on the table face down. The magician shows a pocket knife and says that he is going to stick the kpife into the mixed deck anywhere specified by the audience. The kpife is stuck into the deck and cut at that spot. The card cut to is shown to have a large "z" maked on it while the rest of the deck is unmark~!

WE GIMMICK: TWo identical \ ' ~L~.......==;;;.....->\\ ,\,\ \ \ )\\ \ \ "\T pocket knives are used. Each has two blades. One of the kpives is Fig. 4 gimmicked on one blade only as in arrow Fig. 4. The ungimmicked knife is first shown and given to anyone to cut the

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'!HE PAGE OF SWORDS '!HE MARK OF ZORRO

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cont.

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deck with. This tmgimnicked knife is switched for the ginmicked one. The performer sticks the ~ife into the deck While holding it with the blade pointing towards him and sticking the knife on the audience-end of the deck. This maneuver hides the ginmick from sight. If the audience is not satisfied with the move, the magician takes the knife blade out and sticks it anywhere as told by the audience. As soon as the correct place is chosen, the magician turns the blade over so that the writing gimnick is up and makes a large "z" mark. on the face of the card above the blade. This is done While misdirecting the audience with questions or patter. The'blade is again turned ginmick-side down and removed and later the ginmicked knife is switched for the tmgimnicked one! The correct way to make the mark. is to move the deck instead of the knife. The hand holding the kpife should remain motionless and the writing ~~ " , Ie ~audience ""-1- ~) must be done fast in the pretence of accidentally moving the deck. Fig. 5 The best results in gimmicking the kpife is to apply a spot of Epoxy glue and to plant a piece of pencil lead in the center. It may be necessary to put a scratch on the steel of the blade with a file so that the glue will hold permanently. The lead pencil lead can be substituted by a greece or wax piece from a greese pencil. With the greese lead a better mark is made on the card.

BJI2THMA~~ :

Using the gimmick shown in Fig. 1, the easiest mark to make is a straight line! You will need some practice before you can write numbers and letters legibly, BUT anyone can make ~-----------------------------, ArIes 1. Marcb 21-Aprll 19 a straight line! and a straight line can be just as effective as anything Taurus 2. AprIl 20-May 20 else! So take a card the same size as GemInI 3. May 21-June 20 the envelope you will use and copy the table shown in Fig. 6. CANCER 4. June 21-July 22 These are the 12 signs of the Zodiac and corresponding Leo 5. July 23-August 22 birthdates.

Note also that the lines are double space9. Lay the card against the envelope and place some faint pencil dots between the lines on the outside top edge of the envelope. These dots will later tell you where to draw the straight lines which will later appear like underscores. Fig. 6

6. August 23-Sept. 22

VIrgo

7. Sept. 23-0ct. 22

LIbra

8. Oct. 23-Nov. 21

ScorpIo

9. Nov. 22-Dec. 21

Sagglttarlus

10. Dec. 22-Jan. 19

CaprIcorn

11. Jan. 2o-Feb. 18

AquarldS

12. Feb. 19-Mar. 20

PIsces I

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THE PAGE OF SWORDS BIRTHMARK

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CONT.

The fine pencil marks are made on the very edge of the envelope so that when the envelope is cut open with the finger-nail file the pencil mark~ will be destroyed! You have of course already made -the underscore line beneath the correct zodiac name. Divining the birthdate (zodiac sign) can be a devastating effect for the sitter. Some swoon when the reader tells them their birthdate. They will later say that you told them exactly in what date they had been born (when actually you only told them their zodiac sign). THE PRESENTATION: After the greetings, give the sitter the sealed envelope and tell him to sign the outside of it. You then ask the sitter for his birthdate and checking a hidden chart you ascertain what his zodiac sign is and say, "Have you any idea what is sealed in this envelope? Let me show you. I wrote your birthdate before you came in as I was expecting you." Open the envelope and make the undersore and then say, "Please take the card in the envelope. I do not want to touch it." After the surprise you can give the sitter a short reading as per his zodiac sign, "You are capable of fulfilling your dreams. Stick with it as perseverance will pay off hansomely for you. You are aggressive and possess all the tools for success although sometimes you have doubts. Keep in mind that energr. is a powerful tool. Energy is magic so get with it! '

THE- Tf-ST

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TtA CUp:

You are having the VIP over for tea, OR maybe you read tea leaves. In ANY EVENT YOU HAVE SERVED THE TEA. It is hot! Have the VIP freely choose one of the ESP designs or one of the 12 Zodiac designs. The chosen design is later found in jet black marks inside your tea cup which was shown to be clean before! Patter and PRESENTATION: "Let's have a cup of tea and I'll do some tea-leaf reading." "there are no tea leaves in my tea!" "Well, just pretend or imagine that there are. Imagination plays a big part in the paranormal. You have to imagine and formulate thoughts that later materialize. So imagine that you see tea leaves and try to form them into a picture of your thoughts. Your favorite ESP design is the triangle. Right? Look into my cup. There aren't any tea leaves in my cup. But I am going to try to solidify the thought. Trr. it in your cup. Think of the triangle." "How are you doing? ' "No good at all!" "Look into my cup now!" The VIP looks and sees a black triangle marked on the inside wall of the cup hardly visible as it is under the tea! The tea is poured out and the triangle remains fixed to the inside of the cup!

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THE PAGE OF SWORDS THE TEST OF THE TEA CUP

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE cont.

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THE HOW: Cement the business section of a wax-lead band writer (listo leads) to the underside of the tea spoon. You can ei ther switch the gimmicked spoon or simply k.eep it on your saucer behind the cup. Show the VIP the inside of your cup. Then tell the VIP to stir his tea, etc. for the.ritual and as you talk and move the spoon, you draw the triangle on the inside wall of the cup. The hot tea softens the wax lead and a good black mark is made. The color of the tea should be a light color so that the mark, can show through. When the cup is emptied, a jet black mark, will remain! NOTE: The writing gimmick is cemented to the underside of the bowl of the spoon close to the end. The spoon can be removed by lapping and switched for an ungimmicked one. The gimmicked spoon can also be sunk into the sugar in the sugar bowl!

Tiff: "I~~ Y CROSS EFFECT:~' Mentalist passes out a thick book and tells one person to flip the corners of the book and to stop anywhere and note the page number. The book is then passed to a second person who opens the book at the chosen page and - sees that the page has a large red cross on it. It is the only page with a cross on it. Mentalist says that he knew ahead of time that that particular page would be chosen as he recites the first word on the page or the first line of print! As the reader can see, the above effect is profound and can be made a feature of your program. THE METHOD: Fig. 7 shows the method used. It is a letter opener in the shape of a narrow long blade (although any letter Fig. 7 opener can be so gimmicked), with the wax writer cemented to one side. Making a large cross with this gimmick is also an easy task. The wax lead in this case should be red in color. PRESENTATION: Using a thick book (a soft cover one is best), the performer tells someone to flip the corners of the pages to choose any page. The book should be one that has the numbers on the outside upper corners. When the person chooses the page, tell him to note and remember the page number and also give him a chance to change his mind. Then stick the letter opener into the place and take the book to another person. On the way over draw a horizontal line across the chosen page and then move the letter opener so that it sticks out through the top edges of the p'ages and again make a line BUT a vertical one this time to form the cross. Ask this second person to open the book to the chosen page and mention the fact that it has a large red mark on it and that it is the only page that has that mark. You have also glimpse the first word on the page or you have memorized the first word of each page OR you have a prompter for each page and can therefore give the first word or

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THE PAGE OF SWORDS

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THE FIERY CROSS cont. • • the first line on each page. THE PREDICTION: A prediction can be written on an index card and sealed in an envelope. One side of the card reads, "The page you will choose will be the only page that has a red cross on it." On the other side of the card is written, "You will choose page number ." When the prediction envelope is opened, the performer has someone read the message on the first side while at the same time the performer fills in the page number with a thumb-tip-writer on the other side. Then the other side is shown. NOTE: In preparing the letter opener shown in Fig. 7, it is necessary to make some scratches on the metal with a file so that the Epoxy glue will hold. The letter opener can also be a wooden one. A stiff cardboard book mark. can also be prepared with the wax-writer.

PIP~ DRf:~MS! New ideas for the Mentalist that appear in print have been labeled 'Pipe Dreams' by ill-informed book reviewers. The whole art of the Mentalist is a pipe dream! It is these pipe dreams with which we intrigue and thrill audiences. For the reader who may say 'The Page of Swords' is a pipe dream, let me assure you that I have in my collection a pocket knife prepared as shown in Fig. 4! The gimmick is hardly noticeable and that I have used it and shown it to well informed leading Mentalists allover the world and they have been fooled with it and later, after learning the secret they have said that the gimmick is indeed a winner that will find its rightful place in the arsenal of the working Mentalist. The wax Ufs.tQ'lead) band writers are available. I own several! AME is dedicated to the study, search and research and publication of new ideas for the Mentalist. I do this mostly for my own pleasure which I later share through these releases. I travel worldwide in that search. Life is short. There is not enough time to answer the accusations of the critics and bad-mouth envi-ous reviewers. These gentlemen should spend their time in something more constructive. Fraternally,

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