I've some beautiful wood cigar boxes, and I think it will be rather easy for me to drill two lateral holes in a box and to apply a small hook on the roof, to prepare this box for two simple effects: ring in rope and ball in cup.
With this last effect, what can I use to fix the thread to the ball, so that the thread will simply "free" itself at the end of the routine? Glue? Or the better solution is to let the thread penetrate in the sponge ball? It's a strange thing that on the market there are no "small" Sefalaljia boxes to buy: they are very easy props.

Hello, Makus. Welcome to The Magic Café. If you search for Astro Ball Cabinet, you will find the smaller sizes that perform the ball in glass. Some of these can be modified for other Sefalajia effects. Regarding your thread question, your second thought is the way to go. Also, there are better, more discrete ways than a hook on the top.

Thanks a lot Michael!

If you check out "Sefalaljia Revisited" in The Wizards' Journal #10 at The Magic Nook, you'll find there are a lot more things you can make your cigar box Sefalaljia do than just the two effects you mentioned.

I've seen this jimgerrish, thanks, but in order to do other things with ropes, I have to drill other two holes on the top (near the lateral walls) and also two holes in the center with a small "opening door" like the one of the Dean's Box: I'm not a wood worker... :-( And also the lateral holes cannot be wide enough, in a cigar box, to allow my hands go inside the box to do the "linking ropes" routine.

For the thread/ball problem: how can I pass a thread inside a ball? Do I have to cut the ball till its half, or is it possible to put the thread inside without damaging the ball?

The problem in Sefalalija revisited (and, less, but also with a cigar box) is a psychological one: people see usual objects and understand there are no particular tricks or secrets... only illusions.

With the beautiful Sefalaija from Tabman or with a beautiful Dean Box people think it's involved something very difficult to understand, strange and mysterious in the boxes! And this is only in minimal part true...

It's funny, but it's the opposite of what happens with a Hobbs Box: a Hobbs Box (which involves technology) must be as simple and naiv as possible... must look old and natural... totally innocent (and it's not!).

With Sefalalijas (there is no technology involved, but mainly "optical" illusions and sleights of hands) the props must look very elaborated and well made, so that people think: "Something is certainly hidden in the box: it's not a simple illusion!"

If you removed the back of the box, there would be no need to cut hand holes in the sides, nor doors with holes in the top.

Here is a Ring on Rod that I made that was sold through Stevens Magic several years ago. The open back certainly aids the method, but hardly betrays the secret.



Of course for some of the Sefalaljia effects, you would want to stress that your hands go no where near the box, so people don't assume that you did things like manually put the ball in the glass. Point up the action and this should be no problem.

Regarding the ball... rather than give you the answer, I will simply pose a question back to you, so you will learn to become a problem solver and not just a seeker of information. It will help you tremendously in magic.

If you wanted to put a thread into most things, how would you do that?

Thanks... ;-)

Your question is not simple!

A thread in a piece of plastiline is easy... a thread inside an iron ball impossible... A thread in a sponge ball is possible, but not as easy as with plastiline: I would probably make a small hole through the ball, from one pole to the opposite, and then with an instrument (but what kind of instrument?) let the thread pass completely through the ball. And the hole must be of the right diameter (not too small, not too big) and it's not as easy as said...

Urpp!! A sewing needle is the solution! ;-)

Our brain is magic... ) I've understood really alone some difficult and stunning magic tricks only seeing them... and I made me problems for the use of a sewing needle! Very funny!

Thanks again!

The brain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFGGLfV7hgk

Lots of small effects can be adapted for Sefalaljia if you use your imagination.

Tiny dollar store cups and balls, tiny linking rings, adapt gravity ring on rope, poker chip polka, milk glass (classic).

Thank you, Raven! I'm really impressed about the quantity of effects I read on this Forum. Unfortunatly for me I know only a part of these, or maybe I know the effect but not its name. And it's unuseful for me to learn and memorize new effects: if I learn a new one, I forget the first, learned years ago. I've so many decks of cards at home, for instance, already prepared decks... and sometimes (very often) I really do not remember anything about the trick I've prepaired. But I hope this is normal and hope this is a problem also for the true magicians: many different type of magic and literally hundreds of effects (even if the basic principles of the effects are maybe only 20 or 30...). Impossible to memorize and get used to everything, I suppose!

Which came first, Sefalalija or Lloyd's haunted doll house ?

I'll assume you mean Leon's Miniature Haunted House? Sefalagia was published in Jinx, December 1939. The HH book was published in 1960, but that was by The Great Leon's son. No documentation there regarding its origin date, but of course a lot earlier than 1960.