Joe Mckay is compiling a complete bibliography of Roy Walton’s tricks. That’s certainly a difficult task, so in an attempt to help Joe, I thought I’d list all of the Roy Walton effects that I have read in Abra magazine. As my collection of early Abra’s is a decent size, I would hazard a guess that this list is complete until the mid 80’s, where my collection starts to dwindle. Maybe you could post a comment if you’re aware of other Roy Walton effects that I missed.
So, for your entertainment pleasure and to help out Joe, here’s a list of the Roy Walton effects that I know were published in Abra:
So Their Journey Was Necessary
17th May, 1958. Volume 25, Number 642. Page 275
A Queen’s Soirée style effect, but with the added kicker of the Queens turning to Kings at the end.
The Collectors
15th February, 1969. Volume 47, Number 1203. Page 99
Roy’s famous effect. It’s a little different to the effect we know now, but this was the original and the first time it saw print. This later saw print on page 31 of Complete Walton, Volume 2.
Confidence Trick
6th December, 1975. Volume 60, Number 1558. Page 438
Similar to Walton’s famous Smiling Mule, but without the use of sandwiching cards. The first phase of this trick is fantastic, but the other two are a little weak and used to clean up for the first. This also saw print on page 162 of the Complete Walton, Volume 2.
Good Mixers
6th December, 1975. Volume 60, Number 1558. Page 441
This is a reverse Oil & Water effect. Four reds and four blacks are openly interlaced, then magically cause to un-mix. Seconds later their backs are shown to have changed colour. This also saw print on page 154 of the Complete Walton, Volume 2.
Count Me In
6th December, 1975. Volume 60, Number 1558. Page 444
Three packets of four cards each are placed on the table by the performer. The total value of each packets will act as a prediction. The remainder of the pack is split into three unequal heaps and a spectator freely decides which heap he would like to associate with each prediction group. The total number of cards in each packet exactly matches the predictions. This originally saw print in a rare set of Dan Tong’s lecture notes.
Big Deal (1)
13th February, 1982. Volume 73, Number 1881. Page 266
In this effect, Roy deals out four cards in a row on the table. He picks up his card and magically causes them to multiply into a large stack of cards. He spreads through and removes an Ace and King as he says, “If we were playing Black Jack, I’d probably win!” He continues, “And if we were playing Bridge, I’d probably win too!” He shows the cards in his packet to consist of the Ace through King of Hearts – a grand slam!
Dig Deal (2)
27th February, 1982. Volume 73, Number 1883. Page 329
This is based on Big Deal (1), but doesn’t use a stacked deck. Instead, the magician deals out four cards and picks up his card as he says, “I can just look through and find the cards I want!” As he does that, he shows that his single card has multiplied to a whole bunch of other cards.
Update: the contents of Joe’s blog has been moved to Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Walton
26th Aug 2009
It may interest you to know that my Father Magician Stanley Watson, died age 85 yrs On Saturday 22nd Aug 2009 in Yeovil Hospital.
He was inventor of the Cut-No-Cut Scissors and had been a Magician for 66 years. He was a member of the Magic Circle for many years and with mum were known as “Stanley Watson & Diane, Magic’s Royal Couple”. This mainly because he floated a Royal Orb.Also eat light bulbs of a copy of the Crown worn at Coronations.
From Calvin Watson his son [07740074962]