Here's a rare opportunity to obtain 50 of Thayer's ideas for tricks that they planned to release in the 1940s, but due to wartime restrictions, were unable to produce in large quantities. Back in the day, hundreds of magicians said: "Thayer, I wish I could go through your files. You must have hundreds of ideas stored away: tricks that magicians have sent you for sale and manufacture." And Thayer listened. In their files and desk drawers were literally hundreds of ideas. Some they sought out and paid for. Others were given to them. But because of wartime government priorities, it was impossible to manufacture many things on a large scale. However, individual magicians could get hold of enough materials to make up a few things for themselves. And of course now, with no shortages of cardboard, paper or wood, and with modern techniques (such as home printers and super glue), there's nothing holding you back.
In Thayer's Fifty Workshop Ideas you're presented with scores of items which you can manufacture, easily. Some require no real manufacturing ability at all. All of them are ideas that Thayer was planning to release in one form or another. And thus, this manuscript was born. Not fully fleshed out routines with patter, but the gist of these ideas and their explanations. Easy to read and understand. Here are the titles, just as Thayer had intended cataloging them:
- Pyramid of the Nile
- Captain Kidd's Treasure
- Colored Sands of Persia
- Mirrored Thoughts
- The Doodlebug
- Readers Digest Test No. I
- Readers Digest Test No. 2
- Readers Digest Test No. 3
- The Phantom Baseball
- Pin Boy
- Choose Your Winning Colors
- America!
- Comedy in Straw
- The Witch of Endor
- Special Delivery
- The Beautiful Spy
- The Idol's Eye
- Prisoner at the Bar
- Medicine Man
- The Crimson Kiss
- Lodge Night
- My Gal Sal
- Rationed for Duration
- The Educated Parrot
- Captain Kidd's Cutlass
- How the Tiger Got His Stripes
- Red Cross
- Surgery Calling
- The Seasons
- Fashion Book
- Shades of Petty
- The Spy's Secret
- Gorilla and the Girl
- The Door That Had No Key
- The Genii's Bottle
- Corked!
- Topsy Turvy Soldier
- Five in the Side Pocket
- The Teacher's Ghost
- Coloring a Pipe
- The Prayer Rug
- The Sultan's Hookah
- The Vanishing Phone
- Pipe of Peace
- That's What You Think
- The Alchemist's Box
- Pirate Gold
- Bomb Sight
- Roll-a-way
- Mask of the Mountebank
Plus, only in this edition, you also get two bonus ideas not in the original edition: "Back from the Convention" and "At the Fair."
It's all practical stuff. Made up, these tricks today would be marketed at prices ranging from five to fifty dollars each or more. Now the ideas are yours, to make use of as you will. Use the ideas for your own act; re-purpose them as items to make and sell at your shows; or perhaps you've always wanted to become a mail order or Internet magic dealer and need ideas for new tricks to sell. Now you can.
1st edition 1942, PDF 27 pages.
word count: 6432 which is equivalent to 25 standard pages of text
