Harkey, David: Simply Harkey
©1991 David Harkey, Clandestine Productions
254 pages, HB

Comments: Well done book of close-up, impromptu-like magic and creative thinking. Similar style to Weber's Life Savers.

Contents:

Foreword by Jon Racherbaumer
9 Bookworm: A bookmark is placed into a book and the title page is read. Suddenly the bookmark begins to move through the book!
13 The Goldfinger Trilogy: Borrowed finger ring penetrates through finger.
19 Body Language: Four coins are produced from the air. Uses one homemade gimmicked coin
23 Crystals: A crystal is heated and turns into a test tube. Salt is poured into the test tube, and the tube is twisted into an hourglass, and then restored. The salt is back in it packet.
30 Transpasm: A folded card and regular card transpose using Simonoff's Flippant move. The folded card can be left to the spectator.
33 Silver Sensation: A coin tossed from hand to hand multiplied to 4. No set up, no gimmicks.
36 State of the Art: Borrowed ring to silly putty routine.
40 Sweet Talk: Borrowed, marked coin to sugar packet
44 Handiwork: A paper if folded, and a set of paper dolls cut out, which are supposed to be holding hands. However they separate, and the magician magically restores them by holding the hand of a spectator.
48 Simply Divine. A symbol written on the celophane of a cardcase sinks into the deck, ending up on the selected card. Resets.
56 Firebrand: A lighter is reminded of its humble origins by shaking a matchbox in one hand while holding the lighter in the other. The lighter reverts to a single match, which is returned to the matchbox.
59 Pop Art: A cannon is drawn on an index card, and the spectator's name is written on the cannon. The card is rolled into a tube, and a piece of string (the fuse) is placed in the tube. The fuse is pulled, a pop is heard, and streamers shoot from the tube. When the card is opened, the picture of the cannon displays a frayed mouth, including part of the spectator's name! Requires a "party popper"; resets.
64 Animator: A stick man drawn on a deck is "flipped" like a flip book. The man marks an X on a card, and the rest of the deck is shown not to have any markings. The X'd card is removed and found to be the selection.
68 Over the Edge: Coins to glass. No gimmicks. Back-Clip, Backflip, Glass-Spin.
76 Message In a Bottle. Small bottle shown with labels on both sides. Suddenly, one label passes inside the bottle.
79 Budge! A spectator is hypnotized so they cannot remove a deck of cards, half a deck, or even a single card from a card case
82 Eye of the Needle. A needle is stuck in cushion and a spool of thread is slightly unwound. This is covered with a handkerchief, and the needle becomes threaded.
88 Pierced: An earing magically reappears on a woman's ear. Intimate magic.
91 Under Fire. A signed card is lost in the deck. A matchbook is used to rub the deck, and the card visibly collapses into the matchbook, where it is now stapled inside and can be given away
95 Ring Wraith: (Early version in Apocalypse April 88). Borrowed ring vanishes and reappears in sealed salt shaker. Good, impromptu restaurant magic.
99 Flashpoint: Flashy production of four coins. Uses shell and teaches deadlift principle.
106 Flashpoint II. As above, but no shell.
109 Put it on my Tab: A borrowed ring is visibly linked to a pop-can tab, the tab is removed, the ring is removed, and everything ends up restored as at the start!
117 Color Scheme: A black crayon is removed from an otherwise empty crayon box and is split into three colors. These primary colors are placed in the box and mixed, whereupon the box becomes full of crayons.
121 Whiplash: A selected card vanished from deck to be found underneat the card case. Clever!
130 Jazz Band: Linking rubber bands, almost impromptu (also see Apocalypse June 88)
135 Dirty Pool: (another version in GENII Oct 88). Balloon turns into an 8-ball
139 Showdown: Spectator pops a "champagne party popper", and you catch all the streamers
141 Stetch of the Imagination: A rubber band is marked and the performer holds the spectator's hand. The spectator closes her eyes, and suddenly finds that the marked band is on her wrist, even though she never let go of the performer's hand. Best as one-on-one performance.
145 Mirage: A desert scene is drawn on an index card. An oasis slowly appears on the card and becomes permanent and can be given to the spectator.
149 Thunder and Lightning: A card is ripped in two without noting the value. Performer takes one half, the spectator the other. Spectator now selects and signs another card, which is slowly pushed into the center of the deck. The half cards are removed, and found to be the signed selection! Can be done impromptu.
155 In a Jam: Impromptu effect at the doorway: you borrow the key and break it off in the lock, but the spectator finds the "spare" on top of the doorsill.
158 East Meets West. (see also GENII Oct 88). Impromptu version of pencil through bill. Good.
163 Spinner: An imaginary game of spin the bottle is played, but when the selected card is turned over, a marked sticker is found thereupon.
168 Silverstroke: A coin is removed from a purse, then a pen too long to fit. The coin is struck with the pen and splits into two coins. The two coins are struck again and split into four.
175 Satellite: Spur of the moment card suspension over a case. Impromptu.
182 IOU: Spectator signs a blank card. Performer marks the back of it and tables the card. Performer then writes and IOU card without signature. The two cards are rubbed, and the spectator's signature transfers to the IOU.
185 Gold Rush: A ring is strung on a watchband, where it passes through the watch and off the other end.
188 Thumper: A card is selected and the deck is about to be dropped into the spectator's hand, when it is found the deck has vanished except for one card: the selected one. The deck has reappeared in the case. Impromptu, and gaffed option explained.
195 Nonplused: Two decks fit into one card case. (similar principle to Thumper)
196 Le Ricochet: Coins across routine makes new use of Kaps Subtlety with Han Ping Chien.
199 Havana Gold: Cigar band turns into a golden ring.
203 Spotweld: You weld a plastic straw together with your fingertips. The spectator rips open the sealed straw and finds the straw melted togehter with you fingerprints in the weld!
206 Blockbuster: Deck penetrates into cardcase. Uses Pass and Thumper inflated deck illusion.
209 Sunburst: A neat self resetting applicaton of the "out to lunch" principle for your own business cards.
214 Euroaces: Direct spectator cuts to the Aces. Uses pass.
215 Sitting Pretty: Man's ring placed in ring box, woman's ring is rubbed clean, and they instantly transpose. Requires only a ring box.
222 Two to Tangle: A rubber band penetrates a matchbox and performs other acrobatics. Cute.
227 Persuasion: Version of Paul Harris' Reset. Aces turn to Queens, Queens vanish to case.
236 The Gathering: Four coins are removed from a purse and vanish to reappear in the purse. No gimmicks and includes some interesting sleights and handlings.
243 Crib: The magician as student writes a "crib note" on his finger: e=mc(squared). Realizing it's not good to cheat, the writing is smudged. Then realizing the real meaning of the formula, the finger is moved faster than light and goes back in time, unsmudging the writing so it is clear.
245 The Goldfinger Collection: Collection of ideas for the goldfinger principle: Heist (finger ring); In the Grasp (ring again); Satin Finish (ring again); Forget Me Not (string); Rote (written revelation); Pincer (ring); Goldfinger Tangents (you wear a small ring)
252 Kicker: You kick off your shoes at the end of the show, only to have your shoe turn into a baby shoe!