Fork Full of Appetizers Book 2 - Bill Miesel - Solberg Estate
Availability: In stock
Collection: All Products, Antiques/Estate, Books, Card Close-Up Magic, Card Effects, Close-Up Magic, Effects, Instructional Books, Magic Books, Solberg Estate, What's Hot, What's New
Details: (From the Preface by Mike Hilburger) The huge hands scooped up a small pile of quarters, a deck of cards, a cigarette. No dramatic introduction was necessary. People quickly gathered ’round the legend, attired in his formal best of Banlon shirt and slacks soiled by an earlier bar clean-up.
Spectator’s hands become like a stage, holding and counting cards and coins as they change, vanish, and multiply. Humor is delivered, not as some poorly memorized line from an Orben book, but as a seemingly spontaneous reaction to the situation at hand. A situation made possible by interaction between spectator and magician, cleverly developed by the keen psychological insight of the performer. Skillfully directed, the participants are unwittingly led in what is actually a carefully rehearsed play, with appropriate outs to cover errors and human unpredictability.
From year to year, the routines varied only slightly, with a new move, a unique twist, perhaps an added subtlety to confound a visiting conjuror. Simple, direct. Flying Eagles, Cards Across, a truly Invisible Palm. Yet no matter how many times observed, the performance was always enjoyable to watch. Not due to the tricks involved, but because this was a close-up magical entertainment, with all of the varied parts flowing together into a complete package of wit and deception.
Watching Eddie Fechter perform was a most practical lesson. No out-of-the-ordinary props or fancy close-up case. No flaunting of technical prowess as if watching oneself in a mirror. No mention that one was watching another “trick.” Rather, the spectator was completely immersed in the continuing flow of a magical happening.
People came from hundreds of miles away just to see Eddie perform; and they returned time and again with friends, not so much to witness the latest in magical gimmickry, but to be entertained. For a few brief moments reality became suspended, replaced by the mystical maneuvers of an unpretentious personality who allowed the viewers to take part in their own bewilderment and surprise.
This then, is the Fechter Legacy. As a cigarette was sniffed up a nostril and pulled out of an ear, torn in half and visually restored, the audience applauded, for they realized that this was magic by one of a kind. Thanks Eddie !!!
