Playing Cards and Wind-Up Toys

Escorial 2019, Lorenz Schär

Introduction

It is an old dream of mankind to create mechanical life (and to find lost playing cards). The firstmechanical apparatuses already existed in ancient Greece and with the progress of technology theautomatons became more and more sophisticated. The strong development in the watch industry inthe 16th century promoted new objects that could be built with ever smaller mechanics. In the 18thcentury, the automatons of Jacques de Vaucanson, Pierre Jaquet-Droz and the Chess Turk ofWolfgang von Kempelen inspired people all over Europe. These machines were very expensive,often unique and not intended for the general public. In the 19th century this changed when around1850 the machines were much easier to produce, due to industrialization, and the first mechanicaliron toys came onto the market. Instead of the heavy brass machines, these toys were mass-produced from spring-loaded mechanisms and lightweight stamped gears. At the end of the 19thcentury, the first figures made of corrugated iron came onto the market. Many of these first wind-uptoys came from Europe, but soon several American companies were also to be found manufacturingfigures. In the 1950's there was a new boom, because the toys were now made of plastic andtherefore even cheaper and easier to produce.

In connection with the card magic there are of course some examples, where playing cards werefound thanks to an automaton. One of the best known is "Psycho" by John Nevil Maskelyne. In thisshort overview I have limited myself to wind up toys, which are driven with a spring and are used inconnection with card tricks. So I decided not to consider other toys, like the “Card Duck”, Del Ray'sMouse or the “Koornwinder Kar”, because they don't comply with the winding mechanism.

Playing Cards and Wind-Up Toys

The oldest known source where a wind-up toyfinds a playing card is an advertisement from"The Linking Ring" 19351, Howard P.Albright's "The Gileegaloo Bird". In theAbbott's Magic Novelty manual that camewith the bird, a five-phase routine isdescribed. The maps are found in differentways and each phase uses a different method.The basic structure is a small numerical stackfrom the Ace of Clubs to the Ten of Clubs.The selected card comes to rest under thisstack and if the bird stops at one of theseclubs, you can count the value and land on theselection. Another method is to rub theselected card with wax (taken from the toyitself) and put the card on top of the game.The bird determines a card and this card isplaced on the selected card and is marked on the back to prevent exchange. The cards stick togetherand the marked card seems to be the selected one.

The trick was a big success and so Ted Annemann wrote in his "The Jinx":"Every time I now think of birds, I can see the Gileegaloo Bird that Howard Albright has put on themarket. This mechanical toy what-is-it hops around on the table (or bar) and stops with its nose oncards that are spread face down. A number of routines and methods are given, and this applicationof a toy shows an alert mind behind it for novelty in effects."2

1 Linking Ring Vol. 15. No. 8. October, 1935. P. 716.2 Ted Annemann in The Jinx. No. 14. November, 1935. P. 65.

In 1951 Bruce Elliott published a clever routine with the "Gileegaloo Bird" and a Svengali deck inThe Linking Ring. Two cards are chosen, one the bird finds. The name of the second card is writtenby the toy with the feet on a business card. In between, a blindfold is attached to the bird. The use ofthe wind-up toy with a Svengali deck is very obvious and was also later re-published several timesas new. But Elliott already wrote in 1951: "I'm sorry I can't give credit to whoever first thought ofusing the Svengali deck with the Gilligaloo Bird, but I have long since forgotten who told me."3 Bob Driebeek later writes that he saw the trick the first time performed with a Svengali deck in1946. Performed by the French magician Professor Brac at the International Convention inAmsterdam.4

1951 "Hoppy, the Magic Frog" by Hen Fetsch was published. Inaddition to the Frog, a manual with six routines and ideas by HenFetsch, Milbourne Christopher and Stanley Jaks, was published.Jaks liked Hoppy very much, demonstrated it often and helped theroutine to great popularity.5 While the routines were not veryoriginal - most were based on Albright's routines - Hoppys benefitwas its size. Fetsch writes in the manual: “Hoppy the Magic Frogis the first mechanical toy to be entirely practical when combinedwith magic. Its miniature size allows for many different handlings,presentations and routines, not possible with the larger toys. Itconveniently fits the vest pocket and is ready for an entertainingimpromptu performance.” The wind-up frog was also oftenassociated with Bobby Bernard, whose routine was first publishedin 19546.

In 1952 Ireland's Magic Company introduced Ed Marlo's routine "The Yogi Bird Card Trick" to themarket. The Yogi Bird is a special wind-up figure, as itcan also go up the walls thanks to small suction cups. InMarlo's routine, the bird ejects the selected card from atape and the magician catches it. He described twomethods, one with a part of duplicates and an impromptuversion. Both versions were re-released in "Early Marlo"in 1976. Also in the anthology "Cardially Yours" the trickcan be found with the remark: "The Yogi Bird Card Trickwas devised by Ed Marlo about 1940. The Yogi Bird was anovelty of that day, and there is nothing like it on themarket today."7 As so often Marlo seemed to be ahead of time, because the Yogi Bird (includingname) was invented only in June 1952 by Fritz Wigal.8

Peter Warlock's "The Pecking Bird Routine"9 from 1956 is methodically based on the first phase ofthe Albright Routine but is somewhat elaborated. Warlock performed the trick among others on TVand the routine was later re-released in other places, so she found many enthusiastic imitators.

In 1956 Bernard Rind published his routine in a few words in Hugard's Magic Monthly.10 He usedboth a two-way forcing deck and a one-way forcing deck to force and find the cards.

3 Elliott, Bruce: „Write it Right!“. In: The Linking Ring. Vol. 31, No. 2. 1951. P. 61.4 Driebeek, Bob: The Pecking Bird. In: The Gen. Vol. 13, No. 4. 1957. P. 116.5 Tops. Vol. 16. October, 1951. P. 19.6 Bernard, Bobby: Bobby Bernard's Educated Frog. In: Routined Manipulation Finale (written by Lewis Ganson). 1954. P. 217.7 Marlo, Ed: Cardially Yours. Magic, Inc.: 2008. P. 67.8 The New Yorker. July 4, 1953. P. 15. 9 Warlock, Peter: Book of Magic. The Pecking Bird. Arco Publisher: 1956. P. 90.10 Rind, Bernard: The Birdey Murphy Story. In: Hugard's Magic Monthly. Vol. 13. No. 11. April, 1956. P. 429.

Bob Driebeek (Aenigma) explains his version "The Pecking Bird" in The Gen11 in1957. The wind-up toy runs over a card spread, apparently stops on a card andpulls it out a little. Methodically Driebeek uses a hair, which sticks on the cardand in which the feet of the toy get caught.

Don Alan performed the trick in his 1961show Magic Ranch on ABC. He alsoused a bird to find the selection. Alan'sversion is very entertaining andcommercial. So commercial that in 1962,together with the Ireland Magic

Company, he launched the Routine under the name „DonAlan's Ranch Bird“. In 1975 the trick was released again as"Hot Canary" with a cheaper toy than the one used in 1962.Alan personally used a different wind-up toy than the onehe sold. His bird was from France, much heavier and hadreal feathers on it.12 In Alan's routine, a chosen card traveled from one packet and turned out to bethe card found by the bird. A detailed description was provided byJon Racherbaumer13 in 2000.

In 1968, The Supreme Magic Company released Frederica's “Mr. What-Zit”. Next to the location of a playing card several other applications ofthe toy without cards are given.

In 1971 Harry Lorayne published his "The Pecking Bird"14 routine. Hecombined the cards in wallet plot with a wind-up toy. The bird was forentertainment purposes only, as the card had long since been loaded intothe wallet. Like Bruce Elliott, Lorayne used a blindfold for the bird.

Around 1975 Paul Gertner described his routine "Woodstock“15 in alecture notes. Gertner designed it in such a way that it did not require atable at all. The chosen card finally stuck to the bird's beak.

11 Driebeek, Bob: The Pecking Bird. In: The Gen. Vol. 13, No. 4. 1957. P. 116.12 Bauer, Ron: Chick Trick. 2002. P. 18. 13 Alan, Don: Ranch Bird Deluxe. In: In a Class by Himself – The Legacy of Don Alan (written by Jon Racherbaumer). L&L Publishing: 2000. P.

85.14 Lorayne, Harry: The Pecking Bird. In: Genii. Vol. 70. No. 11. November, 2007. P. 27.15 Gertner, Paul: Paul Gertner Lecture Notes. Woodstock. 1975ca.

In the same year, J. G. Thompson published his Routine,16 where the toy not only finds the map, butalso has a miniature map as a prediction. Also in 1975 "Creature Feature”17 by Mike Rogers waspublished, whereby the wind-up toy serves only as a presentation of the prediction in the form of aminiature map. Again in 1975, Pete Biro's “Hop Along Pete” was released. In Biro's routine aselected card traveled to a little bag, in which the toy was initially stored.

Terry Seabrooke published his “The Teeth Tell All!”18 In 1975. A teethwind-up toy apparently bites parts out of a newspaper to reveal theselected card.

Reinhard Müller experimented with another method, which he finallypublished in 1976 in “Die Magische Welt”.19 His bird "Pipsi" wasstopped by a magnet under the close-up mat. The magician only has toplace the chosen card in the right place on the table.

Scotty York also invented a magnetic solution (with a shimmed card) in 1980, which can be foundin his lecture notes as "The Walking Talking Card Trick".20

Jimmy Ray's "Dumb Bird"21 appeared in print for the first time in 1980,although he had already demonstrated the routine in the 60s. As with Lorayne,the bird does not find the card. After several jokes, the magician pulls out thebird's employment contract to dismiss him and the envelope finally contains thechosen card.

In 1980 a second, extremely popular variant appeared: Walt Lees' "Nimrod".22 Two cards were chosen and foundby the toy figure. Methodically, he used half-forcing deckand a simple card exchange. Peter Isaacs' "AC/DC TBSMRR",23 which was published in 1982, took a newpath and was based on the idea that a windup figure - when turned upcompletely - always runs the same distance. A similar approach was publishedin M-U-M in 1995 by Dany Tong24 and in 2004 by Eugene Burger.25

Jimmy Haviland went a whole different way with his 1982 trick "The Clockwork Magician",26 inwhich the magician repeatedly calls a card and the robot finds the card - in a classic one-aheadmanner.

Inspired by Hen Fetsch, Ron Bauer's routine "Hoppy" was also published in 1982.27 This is a multi-phase routine that was revised in 2002 and published under the name "Chick Trick”.28

16 Thompson, J.G.: The Miracle Makers. Rupert, The Rambling Robot. 1975. P. 237.17 Rogers, Mike: The Complete Mike Rogers. Creature Feature. Magic, Inc: 1975. P. 57.18 Seabrooke, Terry: Terry Seabrooke's American Lecture. The Teeth Tell All! Magic, Inc.: 1975. P. 21. 19 Müller, Reinhard: Pipsi findet Pik As. In: Magischen Welt. No. 5. 1976. P. 181.20 York, Scotty: Decennial Prelection The Walking Talking Card Box. P. 11.21 Ray, Jimmy: A Ray of Magic. Dumb Bird. 1980. P. 18.22 Lees, Walt: The Immaculate Card Magic of Walt Lees. Nimrod. 1980. P. 17.23 Isaacs, Peter: AC/DC TBSMRR. In: Fork Full of Appetizers. 1982. P. 23.24 Tong, Dany: Robot. In: M-U-M. Vol. 85. November, 1995. P. 25.25 Burger, Eugene: An Entertaining Card Discovery. In: M-U-M. Vol. 93, No. 10. March, 2004. P. 20. 26 Haviland, Jimmy: The Clockwork Magician. In: Abracadabra. Vol. 74, No. 1901. July, 1982. P. 68.27 Bauer, Ron: Hoppy. In: The New Tops. Vol. 22. No. 3. March, 1982. P. 23. 28 Bauer, Ron: Chick Trick. 2002. P. 1.

In 1983 Roger Sherman's "Shoes" was launchedon the magic market - the chosen card wasfound in the form of a pair of wind-up shoes.

I n 1986 Georg Stark described his routine"Roby - the Card Robot”.29 A robot runs over aspread of cards and lights start to blink as soonas it runs over the spectator's card. Stark used acard with a metal insert and a simple magnetic circuit inside the robot.

I n 1994, Ricky Jay used wind-up toys as arecurring element for his show "Ricky Jay andHis 52 Assistants". Similar to Harry Lorayne'sPecking Bird routine, he used different figuresto finally make the card reappear at a differentlocation. He also used the toys as targets forhis card throwing skills.

In 1995, Pierre Fontaine published a Cards Across variant,30 using the windup figure toillustrate the traveling of the cards. A similaridea was published as “Robotranspo” byChristian Scherer in 1996.31

Thomas Fraps' Routine combines half a forcing deck with the Gilbreath Principle and achieves with"Made in Germany"3233 a very deceptive version of the plot, which appeared in 1998 in the Germanmagazine "Magie".

In recent years more routines with different methods appeared on the market. Most popular areJerry Somerdin's "Jerry - The Magician's Little Assistant", Antonio Romero's "Oliverio" and Card-Shark's "Klaus the Mouse".

29 Stark, Georg: Roby – Der Karten-Roboter. In: Magie. Nr. 8. 1986. P. 242.30 Fontaine, Pierre: Cards Across-Method 1001. In: The Linking Ring. Vol. 75, No. 2. February, 1995. P. 95.31 Scherer, Christian: Karten à la Carte. Robotranspo. 1997. P. 104.32 Fraps, Thomas: Made in Germany. In: Magie. Nr. 2. 1998. P. 52. 33 Fraps, Thomas: The Boston Trick Party. Walk the Walk. 2002. P. 13.

Bibliography

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Marketed Items

• Alan, Don: Don Alan's Ranch Bird. 1962. (Ireland Magic Company)• Alan, Don: Hot Canary. 1975. (Magic, Inc.)• Albright, Howard P.: The Gileegaloo Bird. 1935. (Abbott's)• Biro, Pete: Hop Along Pete. 1975. (Magic, Inc.)• Dean, Jack: Merlin Mouse. 1991.• Fetsch, Hen: Hoppy, The Magic Frog. 1951. (A Phil Thomas Exclusive)• Frederica: Mr. Whatzit. 1968. (Supreme Magic)• Howarth, David: Electronic Robot Dalek. 1977. (Taurus Magic Supply) ( Batterie)• Diijman, Karel: King-Kong-Kopf-Mirakel. ca. 1970. • Marlo, Ed: Yogi Bird Card Trick. 1952. (Ireland's Magic Company)• Romero, Antonio: Oliverio.• Ryota: Wonder Eye. 2012.• Schenk, Christian: Klaus the Mouse (Card-Shark)• Seabrooke, Terry & Malloy Doug: The Chattering Teeth. • Sherman, Roger Shoes. 1983.• Somerdin, Jerry: Jerry – The Magician's Little Assistant. 2004. • Wolf, Chance: Micro Outhouse.

Thanks to: Denis Behr, Ron Bertolla, Jim Krenz, Aitor Marcilla, Reinhard Müller, Quentin Reynolds, Juha-Matti Ristiharju, Christian Scherer, Michael Sondermeyer