Hello Gentlemen,

I do not know if this is the right place, if not sorry for this.

I found this curious item on Ebay. The item itself is not a beauty, but the routine is very interesting. Do you have already heard about this effect, and do you have any idea about the principle of work.
I also past under the seller's description of the effect.
Thank you for your help ! ;-)

Okay, if you want an in-your-pocket fooler, look no further. This will even fool magicians not familiar with it. It is that good. If you follow my ads, you know this is one of my favorite all time tricks in magic. Until you actually present a puzzler like this to a layman you won't have any idea how effective it really is. It really bothers them that they can't figure out how you could possibly know the number of rods they moved and this routine is progressively more baffling, each time eliminating a possible method. It's good magic.
The magician shows a ring with several rods, or bangles, hanging on it. Each rod is numbers 0 through 9. They are permanently on the ring and cannot be removed. A spectator moves the bangles around the rod, "mixing" them so nobody knows the position of any bangle. The ring is then placed face down (numbers down) on the table. This is just like the photograph, except the numbers are down.
The magician turns his back and the spectator moves any number of bangles all the way around the ring . He can straighten out the ring so it looks the same as before any were moved. The magician turns around and flips one bangle face up. The number on that bangle is the same as the number of bangles the spectator moved. That's the first surprise.
Now, the magician turns his back and repeats the entire sequence, again flipping the bangle up that shows the number moved.
Now, it gets really good. The magician says, "Maybe you think I can somehow see something on the ring, so I'll just keep my back turned..." The spectator moves some bangles again and the magician keeps his back turned. With his back still turned, he asks the spectator to turn up the fourth bangle from his left (for example.) The spectator does so and it reveals the number of rods he moved again! This time the magician did not so much as look at the ring!
To conclude, the magician turns his back again and hands the spectator a small piece of folded paper. Again, the spectator moves a number of rods around. The magician now reminds the spectator that he gave him the folded slip before he ever moved a single rod. The spectator opens the paper and it has predicted the exact bangle that shows the number of rods moved. There is no explanation.
The ring and rods can be examined completely. There is nothing to find. It is an ingenious principle and a great anytime, anywhere trick. In perfect mint condition, complete with full original instructions. Trust me, this is like the Educated Pencil, Ken Allen's The Twist and a few other very special tricks. It is so old that it's not well known any more and it's a killer. I really cannot stress strongly enough how very good this trick is. I have one and do it often and it fools every magician who is not familiar with it.

Are any dealers selling this item now?

TED

I don't think so Ted. This is the first time I see this item. It must be an item from the 60's or 70's, I guess.

This was in Tannen's catalog around 1963 and at that time it sold for 2 or 3 dollars. I don't believe it is any longer made is. Someone paid $235 for it on Ebay. It's a good trick but unless you are a collector that's a bit too much.

Yes, larry I do agree with you, it is a bit too much for a ring and some rods.
But the routine sounds great, and that it why I am looking for it.

I have looked in the Trabell, it is not in, I also had a look in "Indian & conjuring and magic" from Will Ayling, it is not in too.
So I will continue my searches. If any one has a clue it will be welcome.

Have you asked Georges Proust? He handled the Ken Brooke line in France.

Good advice Pete !! I'll do it.Of Course I'll keep you update with this gentlemen !
Here under is a picture of the Tannen catalogue, this has been given to me by mt belgish friend Beyrevra, he is also a member of the Café. You might be interested to see this :

I sent you an e-mail.

Thank you very much Bill. I'll try this at once.

I made a homemade version of this brilliant effect (invented by George Blake in 1934) - used a small ring from a chu's magic linking ring set (or you can use a ninja ring) and cut slips of identical paper (100 lb stock) about 1/2 inch by 4 inches. Then I fold 1 1/2 inches of the end of each paper around the ring, the paper simply held by tape.

Though I am familiar with the Modus Operandi, I am not certain as to how to "start up" the M.O. - I usually demonstrate what I would like them to do.

If you would like to share any subtleties, presentation ideas etc, please email/PM me. Thanks!

I had it and got rid of it, I did not like the method as I thought everyone would see the shaved rod on the end. The rods were black plastic, but very shiny and reflective of light. So the gaff stood out.

Tannen made a ripoff that was poorly made. The original was Ken Brooke...the rods might be black lucite, or even bakelite. The gimmicked rod did not stand out. Absolutely brilliant trick