review: the penumbra issue one
The Penumbra Issue One
May/June 2002, Written by Gordon Bean and William Goodwin, Self-published, 18 pages.
Part 1/11 of a series of reviews on The Penumbra magazine.
The Penumbra is a series of magic magazines featuring mostly card magic from various magicians. Initially bi-monthly, release of new issues has since tapered with Issue Eleven being released in 2009. The inaugural issue in 2002 was notable for containing the Stewart James’ solution to 51 Faces North, a card problem that since its inception baffled cardmen due to its rigorous and seemingly impossible set of ‘conditions’. The effect is that of Paul Curry’s Open Prediction – simply, a prediction is made unequivocally to the audience beforehand. The audience then takes the deck and deals cards face up, stopping whenever they please to deal a single card face down. The remainder of the deck is dealt face-up as before. The single facedown card is shown to be the prediction. The secret remained hidden with James even with his passing in 1996. It wasn’t until 2001 that Allan Slaight discovered James’ own manuscript to his solution.
51 Faces North – Stewart James
Stewart James’ solution to 51 Faces North was met mostly with disappointment. Not because it didn’t fulfill its own conditions, but because it was a different effect – or three different effects to be precise. Each of the effects set up for the subsequent one - none of which were particularly strong in its own regard but all of which met James’ own criteria. Briefly:
Effect 1: A card is selected by the spectator, and returned to the deck. The cards are dealt and the magician pauses and reveals the next card to the selection.
Effect 2: Two equal piles of cards are made, the spectator shuffles and notes the bottom card of one of the piles. The cards are re-assembled after a bit of meddling and the selection is revealed again as the cards are dealt and the magician pauses and reveals the next card to be the selection.
Effect 3: An open prediction is made, the magician asks the spectator the number he used to make the two piles in the previous effect and the spectator deals cards face-up until he stops at the number and the prediction is revealed.
The knee-jerk reaction of course was “this can’t be the real thing.” To many, maybe James never had the solution, maybe Slaight made it all up, maybe this was a red herring and the real deal was still hidden away somewhere, or maybe the truth is simply that reality is never as satisfying as we had hoped. In any case, James’ idea has inspired volumes of work on the plot in the intervening decades. Two excellent recent solutions include David Ben’s (Tricks, 2003, p.49) and Shane Cobalt’s (51 Faces North, 2011, self-published).
Not all of Stewart James’ ridiculously prolific output has been magical. I think anyone who has seriously studied his work can all attest that he didn’t always create magic. He created puzzles. He creates ingenuinity itself. A large portion of his work can be dismissed as trivial, but contain an underlying principle or a manipulation of a principle that betrays the genius behind it. James’ own solution to 51 Faces North feels very much like that.
Power Trip – Phil Goldstein
Max Maven contributed an interesting effect using two batteries. Essentially a copper/silver routine done with batteries, the magician shows two rechargeable batteries with built-in battery meters. One is fully charged and one is empty. The spectator holds on to the full battery and with a snap, the full battery is now at 10% and the empty one at 90% - a partial transposition of power! The methodology is pretty standard – much of what you’d expect but the novelty lies in the idea and the use of everyday props that audiences can relate better to than a bunch of coins no one uses anymore. Probably difficult to perform in 2015 as rechargeable batteries become more scarce but an interesting concept nevertheless.
Tie Food – Gordon Bean
A simple coins across effect where a coin vanishes, travels up the magician’s necktie and appears in the knot. Uses a novel transfer of Bean’s to effect the vanish, reminiscent of some of Ross Bertram’s coin work in Bertram on Sleight of Hand. Instantly resettable.
King Brand – Bill Goodwin
Bill Goodwin is omniscient and I’m pretty sure omnipotent too. I doubt there are many people more knowledgeable than he is on technique or magic history. Having said that, King Brand feels like an imperfect and unfinished packet trick. The effect is straight forward: Two face down kings are sandwiched between two face up fours. A wave and they transpose. Repeat. Finish with rendition of Daley’s Last Trick. This trick definitely has its moments and it contains some nice ideas of a technically challenging plot - the first and second transpositions are visual, instantaneous and are generally pretty clean, but the set-up involved between transpositions make this a little too overhandled for me.