I bought a magic lot a few months ago at Bob Little's auction. Among the many nice items is an envelope that contains a chrome ring about 1.5 inches in diameter with a matching shell. The envelope has a handwritten "Ellis Rings?"

Can anyone confirm this name and direct me to where I may find useful information on the routine?
Thanks.

The Jardine Ellis ring is a clever prop no one seems to use anymore. The original routine was pretty good, but nothing earth-shaking. Paul Wilson has a gorgeous routine for this prop called, "The One True Ring" and is available from him.

Yes, it is the Jardine Ellis ring...open your imagination by just looking at the props and thinking...wand, string, or rope. If that doesen't work...try the art of close up magic by Lewis Ganson, some great stuff in there using this prop...along with several books by Horace Bennett who really had some great stuff with this prop.

Mike

There are a couple of great books, but the titles are lost in my soft brain, on the Ellis Ring. One is large in page size with a red cover. The other is by Jay Marshall, ah, his is called "Jay's Jinking Rings."

One hit on google and a huge amount of stuff shows. Here's one. Scroll down a few items.

http://www.daytonamagic.com/Books/BK126.htm

Right here on the search:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......;start=0

Thanks fellas for the info, links, and messages!
I actually have Scott Guinn's "Magishing my Way" that has a routine. I would never had thunk it without KingStardog's link where it is mentioned. Ya know, I might even have something from Wilson, too.

Thanks for all your guidance!

J.G. Thompson's "Top Secrets of Magic" has a routine that Scott based his on. Scott's is very, very funny. The Thompson routine is a bit bland. Thompson and my uncle Anton were aquantances. I don't remember Thompson at all, but my uncle was one of those bland magicians, and I remember that very well. They both wore the same holdout ring, and he used to scare my sisters with his. I also remember him pummelling the adults with bad card tricks till the late hours of the night. I also remember Gerald the next door neighbor blowing his nose in a hanky Anton was doing a coin trick with. Those were the days...when you could beat your sisters kid and the neighbors kid , and the parents all came outside and cheered you on. How I took the fall for that one, I will never know. My nose never got near it.

King, that's got me rolling on the floor holding my belly!

Thanks for the kind words, guys. my routine has done very well by me. I save it for special occasions (formal close up shows or when friends come over and I really want to slay them). Your mileage may vary.

My routine "(J)Ellis" originally appeared on the Online-visions site. It might still be there in the "In Your Hands" section. Of course, it won't include the photos or as detailed a write-up as the book did, but you should be able to get the idea if you have the props.

(The book is currently out of print, as are all of my books. I sold the rights, and they will be coming out in an improved format over the next few years from the new owner/publisher.)