Problema - Teak Wood Box and Leather Dice Cup
Restock Expected 10/25/2024 – If you’re looking for incredible value and a classic of magic here it is.
Availability: Sold out
Collection: All Products, Close-Up Magic, Effects, Mentalism Magic, Parlor Magic, What's Hot, What's New
This is an effect I have seen many times throughout the 50 plus years of either working part time at Stevens Magic in the Summers when I was attending college - and yes - believe it or not I did graduate with Business Administration and even made Deans Honor Roll at The University of Kansas - "once." HA! But it was always an effect that seemed to come out for a while and then after the initial run was retired by that makers. Several years later another maker would release it. I think some of its charm and the reason it always sincerely sells well is it crosses over both the magic world and a sort of crooked gambling piece of apparatus. Also, it's very small and easy to carry. So, Stevens Magic Emporium is once again glad to see it return (for how long who knows). Even better it is a very nicely crafted version made from Teak wood and a nice leather cup.
Effect: The magician shows an elegant wooden box containing six black dice arranged in order from 1 to 6 and he closes it with a lid. He then hands over to a spectator a dice cup with a die inside, inviting him to shake it and turn it upside down over the box, so that a casual number is selected from the die. Unbelievably, when the magician removes the lid, all the dice will now show the exact same number previously selected.
With “Problem” the trick can even be repeated with a different outcome. (YES, THAT'S CORRECT)
- With just a little practice you will be able to hand everything out for examination.
- The Teak wooden box measures approx. 3" long x 1.1" high x 2.4" wide or cm 8 (s) x 3 (h) x 6 (d) while the dice measure 1.2" or 3 cm on the side.
"Such a great effect that is perfect for close-up and allows you to perform it in two different outcomes! The wood box and dice are my favorite part as they are very well made and feel great." - Jiro (resident magician at Stevens Magic)
From and with permission from Andy Martin of Martins Magic - www.martinsmagic.com
I have read many times that Problema (often referred to as Problema Dice) was created by a German inventor, but after spending a few hours tracking down the name I could not find any more details until I consulted German Historian and Author Georg Walter. Georg was rapidly able to track down fuller details with the help of Gorm Sautter who took over the business from Max Haug. As always, I am grateful for Georg’s help with the tricky questions.
Problema was invented by the prolific German inventive genius Herbert Martin Paufler c. 1957. He licensed the effect to German magic dealer and shop owner Max Haug who created and distributed the effect world-wide. Haug would create two runs a year and at last count over 2200 units were sold. Of course that does not account for the probably 1000’s of knock-offs that have been created and sold over the years. The official versions of the effect (from Haug) started to arrive in the UK and USA c. 1970 and unauthorized copies and “improvements” began shortly after. Prolific author, inventor consultant, and historian Max Maven actually claimed to invent the effect in Genii 73 No. 1 (January 2010, pg. 20) c. 1967. I don’t think Mr. Maven was necessarily claiming he was the originator of Problema, just that he had created a trick using the same method earlier. Regardless, Herbert Martin Paufler would have still been about ten years earlier and young Max would have been about seven years old at the time. And even for Max Maven that is pretty young :-). Problema is a beautiful, elegant and clever idea and the type of idea that Herbert Martin Paufler excels at.
