(201) 431-2429 POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLO. NEWJERSEY 07728
?Ile 1N,c",edi~t(J,
Dr. Stanley Jake * TV Well known PaycholOQist: appeared in popular proqram, "You Asked For It:'
* Internationally Famous Holographic:al Authority. * the Halls from Zurich, Switzerland: now a citizen of U.s.
* Noted "Forqer." * Top-Drawer Entertaiaer. * His Mental Wizardy PhenomenaL * "You incredible/'-Franz Joseph, Prince of are
LicbtenllteiD.
II The search for "somethinq different" for pro;ram.s which are "unusual," gO.8 on continuously in all of the clubs. In the bellef tha1 his program falls well within these limitations, the local Associated orqanization haa invited Dr. Stanley Jab to be the quest of honor a1 the next meeting of the club.
"Curiosities of the Mind"
His offerinc;r is escapiam. of the hiqhe.t order: but it is more than just that: it is a remarkable demonstration of the seldom· used. and even le88 understood. powers of the m.incL To the averave layman they bewilder and mystify. As the sayinq goee. there isn't a serious thouqht in a carload. In these daya, when so many of us are burdened with weiqhty problema moat of the time, tha1 is not bad. The pr~ gram is 1iqht. mystlfyinq, and packed with rare humor. It is ideal for any who are anxious to "qet away from it all." As tha1 Just about includes all of us. it is believed the members who can, wlll want to be present when the mental wizard from Zurich qetB to his feet and. atarts to bewilder his audience.
~L MANN g'a:d~
(201 )
431-2429
POSTOFFtCE BOX 1... • FREEHOLD. NEW JERSEV 07721
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Copyright by A1 Mann Exclusives
FOREWORD PHANrINI, world famous magician, Mentalist and author, was a close friend of the late Dr. Stanley Jaks, and one of the few persons of the profession who had the privelege of witnessing one of Dr. Jaks' shows. In the following pages, Phantini details Dr. Jaks' Act, showing how a master showman can make a miracle out of a standard effect, and tells how Dr. Jaks did his eye-opening 'Signature Duplicating' stunt. What created the demand for Dr. Jaks' shows in the highest circles, .was the fact that he posed as a 'Psychologist' and then went on to prove that he was much more than that. That he was a thought-reader and a prophet. But what put 'the frosting on the cake' was his amaZing Signature Duplicating feat while blindfolded! Many believe in and accept a 'prophet' and a thought-reader, yet here was a man that could demonstrate the rarely seen faculty of clairvoyance! He could duplicate a stranger's signature by some psychic sense without the use of his eyesl Actually. signature duplicating is easy, but like all rare talents, very few persons ever try their hand at it. The Mentalist who applies his efforts at it will discover that with a little practice, he can do itl Signature-duplication is not necessarily forgery. Forgery is a crime that involves fraud or attemps to defraud. Dr. Jaks used the term 'forgery' to sensationalize his show, and needless to say, it left a lasting impression on his audience which created much talk and brought him world famel Lewis Ganson's book "Magic of the Mind" is dedicated to Dr. Stanley Jaksl A great tribute to a great showmanI Enjoy, All 'NOTES' are by A1 Mann, in the following f. t/tf/fr
Cover: Dr. Jaks' brochure.
text~
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POST OFFICI lOX 144 • FREEHOLD, NEWJERSEY 0T121
The Feats and Exploits of - THE INCREDIBLE DR. J AKS by Phantini (Gene Grant) A SHORT BIOGRAPHY. Dr. Stanley Jaks was one of the most talented and successful psyohic entertainers of his time. But unfortunately, his career as a Mentalist and Wonder Worker only oovered a period of ten short years. During the period from 1950 until his untimely death in January 5th, 1900, he played throughout the United States appearing before sophisticated audiences including the most famous personalities of the day, and his gentlemanly European charm oaptivated and mystified all who were fortunate to witness one of his performances. He performed for the most exclusive clubs and organizations and was one of the highest paid entertainers of the time. Dr. Jaks was a perfeotionist and to witness his act was to see the art of mental entertainment at its highest possible level. Every facet of his act was thoroughly thought out and planned for maximum effect on his audiences. Very few magicians or Mentalists ever saw him perform his mental act, as he performed for very excluisve clubs which were not open to the general public. I witnessed his complete mental routine presented in Jackson, Mississippi. for the "Knife and Fork Club" on November 22, 1955. I made extensive notes on his act and tried to note all the little subleties he incorporated into his performance. I have kept these notes for nearly thirty years and just recently, Al Mann suggested to me that it would be of great interest to present-day Mentalists to have access to these notes describing the act of such a master of the art of Mentalism. So I have sat down to detail Dr. Jaks' Act in its entirety as well as some little known anecdotes about him which I learned through my friendship with him during the mid 1950's. (NOTE. Much biographical information on Jaks was gotten by Phantini from a Sid Lorraine tape and a lecture by Jaks given for the Magician's Guild on Oct., 17th, 1951) Stanley Jaks was born near Danzig, Germany in 1903. He studied at the Berlin Academy of Arts and later moved to Switzerland where he was employed as a commercial artist. His first act, that he built up for performances before the pUblic, was a chalk talk. He soon worked up an act of close-up magic which he presented at bars and exclusive hotels. While playing the Palace Hotel at St. Moritz, a swanky mountain resort in Switzerland, the Aga Khan invited him to entertain some of his guests at his table after his regular show. The Aga Khan
2
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
DR. JAKS A SHORT BIOGRAPHY
cont. ••
was so delighted by Jaks tnat he suggested to the hotel manager that Jaks should be used as a table magician performing intimate close-up magic for the hotel's guests. This plan was acted upon' and Stanley Jaks began his career as a performer of table magic which proved to be highly successful and profitable. It was during this period that he developed his -
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~ 7' This was a red leather box that resembled a book when closed. In it, Jaks carried all the tricks used in his show. (NOTE' This item, the Book of Mysteries, became popular for a while with table magicians and was sold by some dealers.) All of Jaks' equipment was beautifully made of the finest materials. His cups for the cups and balls were made from Silver by craftsmen in Casablanca. With this act he attained international reputation which finally brought him to the United States in 1946. His first engagement was at the Copacabana at Miami Beach. He later played at the Savoy Plaza and other exclusive hotels in New York City. He entertained world famous people who came from far and wide to see him perform. He could have continued in this type of work indefinitely but instead in 1950 he decided to branch out into an entirely different type of entertainment - - MENTALISM!
The life of a close-up entertainer is not easy •• even for a highly successful one. You have to keep late hours. If you do not drink, you have long periods of time with nothing to do. Stanley Jaks did not drink and did not completely enjoy the type of life routine made necessary by being a table performer. For years he had been interested in Mentalism - - while still in Europe, Max Holden, the New York Magic dealer, sent him a copy of Annemann's Jinx and he became a regular reader and finally a contributor. (NOTE' The interested reader can find Dr. JAKS' effects in The JI~ Nos. 42, 50, 57, 101, and 124. And in the PHOENIK Nos. 125, 144, 151, 163, 173, 185, 210, 216, 223, 2~5 and 246. And get, through crook or hook, a copy of Mental Wise Vol. 5, No.1) Ted Anne mann suggested to Stanley that he should adopt the name of "Dr. Jaks·· - although he was not a Doctor, his European accent and continental charm gave him the look and manner of a Doctor of some kind. Henceforth his promotional material billed him as a well known 'Psychologist' and internationally famous 'Holographical Authority' (handwriting expert). He claimed to be a noted 'forger' as well as a 'Mental Wizard.' His most original and baffling routine was his duplication of anyone's signature upside-down and backwardsl- executed while he was blindfoldedl He used this for intimate performances
J DR. JAKS A SHORT BIOGRAPHY
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE corrt , ••
When he would duplicate a slgna~ure on a card and leave it with the person. On the card it would say, one of these signatures is a forgeryl" In his Mental Lecture which he presented allover the USA before exclusive clubs, he used a large pad mounted on an artist's easel and spectators from the audience were asked to write their signature real large. He then had the pad turned upside-down and proceeded to duplicate the signature while blindfolded. This one effect produced a tremendous impac~ on the audience. I got acquainted with Dr. Jaks through my endeavors as a magic dealer and writer of books on Mentalism as well as several marketed mental effects. Dr. Jaks was an avid collector of everything that pertained to his art. I never got to see it. but he told me that he had a very large collection of books relating to magic and Mentalism in his apartment in New York City. He mentioned a bit wistfully in one letter he wrote that there was nobody to talk with about Mentalism in New York City. He said. "I get tired of talking about four-ace tricks." We corresponded back and forth for a couple of years and then one day he called me and told me he was coming to Jackson {Mississippi} to perform for an exclusive 'Supper Club' and he wanted to spend some time with me the day he was to be in Jackson. At that time I was a very well known personality in Jackson. since I had a regular Magic Show on TV and everyone recognized me on sight. Dr. Jaks had to be very careful to disassociate himself from magicians since his bookings were 'lectures' and he had been booked on the premise that he was a genuine expert and authority on Mental Phenomena. It was necessary for me to sneak in and out of the hotel where he was staying and at no time could we be seen together in pUblic as this could have been disastrous to him because of my reputation as a magician. At any rate. we had a good time the afternoon he was in Jackson discussing all phases of mental magic. He was particularly proud of a new presentation he had worked out for his "letter opener" prediction (Dr. Jaks' Incredible Prediction) and asked me to watch particularly that effect to observe his handling of it • lI
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There was a large crowd in attendance at the banquet that evening and as soon as the meal was finished the 'speaker' of the evening, the Internationally Famous Dr. Jaks, was introduced by the Master of Ceremonies who mentioned a few of the highlights of Dr. Jaks' background. A platform stage was part of the hotel equipment where the performance was being given so everyone could see the performance clearly. Dr. Jaks entered in a tuxedo and bowed graciously to his audience. He spoke briefly concerning Mental Phenomena but knowing from practical experience that an actual demonstration will outdo a thousand words he went right into his first 'experiment -.
4 DR. JAKS THE ACT
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AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
cont •••
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A spectator is invited up on the platform and 1s handed a writing pad. Dr. Jaks is also holding a writing pad. He then asks spectator to think of a number from 1 to 1000 and to write it down on the pad. He then asks spectator to announce his number. "Did I influence you in any way in your choice of numbers?" Asks Jaks. The spectator replies in the negative. Dr. Jaks then reveals that he has written down the number J§1, while the spectator has written ~!? Dr. Jaks then states that he has attempted to project the thought of his number to the spectator, but since the spectator has little experience in mental experiments, he has only gotten one of the digits right, but that is still encouraging. Dr. Jaks suggests that the experiment be tried a Second time. Dr. Jaks then writes a 3-digit number in his pad and asks the spectator to do likewise. This time it is revealed that the spectator gets two of the digits correct! The experiment is tried a third time and this time the spectator gets all three digits correct! Dr. Jaks states, "You see what a little practice will do?" Of course Dr. Jaks is simply filling in numbers on his pad after the fact with a thumb writer gimmick, but the masterful way that he presented this effect made it seem like a genuine test in telepathy. It is not he that is failing but the spectator, but with a cooperative effort the experiment reaches a successful conclusionl Incidentally, Jaks did not always use the same type of writer. For extremely close-up work he favored a nail writer, but for platform work he would use a band type or a thumb-tip with a writer mounted on it as all action was covered by the writing pad and he could easily steal the writer from his coat pocket when getting the pencil.
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(This test, although very ancient. was made famous by Dr. S. P. Thornton) For his next test, Dr. Jaks uses a small letter envelope into Which he places a businesssize card upon which he has written a prediction. He invites a spectator to hold the envelope between his or her palms. He has the spectator hold one hand up palm-up and he lays the envelope 1 upon it and then places the spectator's Gther hand over it. The envelope is sandwithced between the hands! And tells the spectator to hold it securely in this manner. The envelope is tricked by having a small window cut on the face of it (Fig. 1) but this side is against the spectator's lower palm and is never seen and since the spectator holds the envelope, everything seems more than fair.
.5 AN AL MANN EXCLUS lYE
DR. JAKS THE 'ULTRA' PREDICTION
cont •••
Now Dr. Jaks asks this person to point out someone else in the audience. Dr. Jaks takes the envelope again while the person pointed out is asked to name any city. At this time Dr. Jaks fills in the city named on the card inside the envelope, through the secret window, with his nail writer. He next tears envelope open and asks first person to read the name of the city he wrote as a prediction. The prediction is correctl There is nothing new about the method used as it is a classic effect enploying the nail writer but Dr. Jaks handling gives the impression that the spectator held the envelope during the entire presentation when in fact Dr. Jaks held it at the conclusion long enough to write in the name of the city. I might add that Dr. Jaks' natural handwriting is difficult to read so any writing he did with the nail writer would look natural eVen if a little illegible. (NOTE. In the above effect, the daring act of placing a gimmicked envelope in the hands of the audience, dispells just that in the minds of the viewers. They assume that the envelope in not gimmickedl That the Mentalist can not therefor change it. The move is a touch of the professional and it adds the finishing touch to an already fabulous effect. There is no room for error while performing for exclusive clubs and high pay, so the moves must be used carefully so as not to 'flash' the secret window to the audience. Most of the window can be covered by the four fingers of the hand as it is placed into the spectator's hand) Dr. Jaks' next test was the "Brain Echo" book test in Which his presentation was standard but he did add one baffling feature. He had nine books and gave each of three spectators three different books and each could freely select the book he or she wanted. He had three sets of the Brain Echo books and on two books of each set he had removed the regular covers and substituted covers from two different but same size books.
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BRAIN ECHO >I<
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THE CAT SCREAMS MURDER ON THE YACHT THE WOMAN IN THE PICTURE
These are the titles of three unp r e \ ':".' pared ZOO page books used in this mar' v e l o u s Brain Teaser Deluxe. We say ,.....l/~ this is the greatest test in this line " \" we have ever seen. «
The three books are handed out to three spectators. Anyone calls out
$5.00
6
DR. JAKS BRAIN ECHO
AN AL MANN EXCLUS IVE corrt , ••
In other words, each person was holding apparently three different books, but actually holding three books with the same contents but different covers I Therefore after each person selects a book, he still holds one of the Brain Echo force books which are indexed on the crayons used to get impressions with. Now he has three different numbers called out and one is selected and used as a page number and all three spectators turn to that number page in their books and concentrate upon the first word or two on the last line on the page. He tells each person the word he is concentrating on and for the last person, he has him think of the next word and he gets that also. On the indexed crayons for Brain Echo, one book is indexed with two or three words, so Jaks used this book to close the effect. This makes a nice "kicker" for the finish. The touch that Dr. Jaks added to Brain Echo was to introduce more books thus apparently giving the spectators a greater selection of books to choose from. (NOTEI "Brain Echo" became very popular with both magicians and Mentalists around the 1950's. It was marketed by S.W. Reilly Co. and is still available today through some dealers. It came with three ungimmicked paper-back novels as shown in the ad. on the previous page. Titles on the books are. - 'The Cat Screams,' 'Murder in the Yacht' and 'The Woman in the Picture.' The first word of the last line of each page was printed in fine print on the white wrappers of the five black wax crayons that came with the effect. The prompter list also contained the second and third word of one of the books. The test impressed everyone with the possibility of telepathy except for the mnemonics expert sitting in your audience. He assumes that you simply memorized one or two words from each pagel) Anyone who has ever performed Brain Echo knows that one popular explanation by the laYman is that you have memorized the complete contents of all the books usedl (that feat with nine books should appear to the lay mind as miraculous as telepathy!) That would be a prodigious feat but most knowledgable persons have heard of memory experts who can memorize complete books.
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(Using Richard Himber's Thousand Dollar Challenge Book Test) Dr. Jaks next challenges his audience by telling them he is getting a mental impression that someone in the audience is thinking that very thought - that he had merely memorized the books used. He asks who is thinking this thought and surely someone raises his hand. There were probably several persons in the audience who were thinking the same thought. The person who first raised his hand is asked to come up and he is handed an "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine" from several other magaZines and he looks up a word in the book from any story he desires. After the word is announced, Dr. Jaks shows that he
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Dr. JAKS
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
THE CHALLENGE
cont •••
had written the same word in large letters on an art board which was resting on his easelS Jaks was using Himber's "Thousand Dollar Challenge Book Test" which was a popular book test used by Mentalists in the Fifties. It made the perfect climax to the Jaks routine using books. ( Himber's Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine was gimmicked. It forced the word 'Problems' simply by adding the two-digits of the page number and counting to the word at the beginning of each story. Amazingly, this issue dated April. 1951, Vol.1? No. 89 of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine sold at the newstands for 35 cents. Although, with a bit of trouble, copies of this issue can be found, they are rare and are collector's items selling for $35.00. AM)
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Dr. Jaks next presented his famous "Signature Duplication Test" which was one of the most unique effects in his act and for which he was most requested to perform. Although Dr. Jaks used this often in close-up situations duplicating a person's signature on a business card, in his show he used his large art board which had two lines drawn on it. A short lecture is given by Jaks about his fame as a 'forger' or duplicater of signatures. He has, of course, only used this ability for entertaining purposes, he states. He shows some signatures of famous persons such as Jane Russell, the movie star, Howard Hughes, and other celebrities that he has duplicated. Next he invites anyone to come forward and this person is asked to participate in the Holograph experiment. Then Dr. Jaks makes a big to-do (for the dramatics) about studying the person's hand. He studies the palm and then the back of the hand p feels the fingers, etc. and then asks the person to hold the crayon in the same way he will hold it for signing his name. Dr. Jaks makes a study of this also. He now introduces two rubber pads such as used to apply makeup, and a blindfold which he asks the spectator to hold up to the light to assure that they are perfectly opaque. Next he places the rubber pads over his eyes and the blindfold over the pads and everything is tied in place. He now asks the spectator to sign his name in large letters on the lower line of the board on the easel so that the signature covers half of the board. Dr. Jaks now runs his hand gropingly over the board (like feeling for vibs.) and then asks the spectator to turn the board upside down. The second line is now below the signature and on this line Dr. Jaks proceeds to duplicate the stranger's signature upside down and backwards! The board is turned right side up and the audience observes that Dr. Jaks has duplicated exactly the person's signature. He
8
DR. JAKS THE HOLOGRAPH HOMOLOGY
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE cont •••
now asks two other persons to come up and they also sign their names in large letters on underlying sheets of newsprint paper on the board and Dr. Jaks duplicates each signature upside down and backwards. This test created a sensation and drew spontaneous applause from the audience as Dr. Jaks removed the blindfold to take his bows. I am not certain if anyone ever described in print the true method employed by Dr. Jaks to produce this effect. I have heard all sorts of fantastic theories advanced by magicians over the years but they were way off the mark. The method used by Dr. Jaks is very easy •• if you are an artistl We're all familiar with the blindfold method in which vision is gained down the nose. This was the method Dr. Jaks used to see the signature. He was able to duplicate it by simply drawing what he saw immediateFig. J ly before him. Placing the signature upside down really made the feat easier because it then became an abstract shape or line and Dr. Jaks had only to duplicate the shape he saw before him. Any artist, worth his salt could do the same easily, in fact I have a degree in art and I did the effect successfully the first time I tried it. Remember that Dr. Jaks was an artist and a very good one. He simply figured out a way to utilize his skill as an artist in a sensational mental effect that gained him world-wide recognition. (NOTE. The reader who is not an artist and who wishes to duplicate Jaks'feat can practice as follows. Have the person sign his name on the top line and then turn the board upside down. Now with the blindfold in place and looking down the side of your nose you will see the signature on the bottom half of the board while the top half is intentionally obscured by the blindfold. Now if you hold the crayon in your writing hand and simply follow the 'abstract shapes' you see and draw that on the top half of the board, without looking at what you are writing, you . will be able to duplicate the signature 1 Even if there are some minor discrepancies, your audience will hardly notice them. They will be amazed wondering by what power you are able to duplicate a stranger's signature, which you never saw before, upside down and backwards and while blindfoldedl In Fig. J, the top signature as shwon was done upside down and backwards. Bear in mind that most of your audience assumes that you can not see ,anything through the blindfold! So the feat is credited to clairvoyancel)
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DR. 'JAKS
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
Dr. Jak's next effect shows how much impact he could get from a standard market item in Mentalism, "The Brainwave Deck. I think it is the finest presentaion of this effect ever conceived. In working. Dr. Jaks invites a spectator to assist him and gives him a deck of cased cards to keep in his pocket for later use. He then introduces a jumbo deck of cards and shows them freely. It is a regular deck of Jumbo size playing cards. The spectator is allowed to hold the deck and to place any five cards on the easel with their backs to the audience. Spectator does not look at the faces. Fig. 4 A dot is placed on the board above the cards on the easel. The spectator is then asked to draw a line from the dot to .any card of his choice. This is done. and Dr. Jaks asks the spectator to remove the cased deck of cards from his pocket and Dr. Jaks states that before the show he reversed a card in the deck. and he fans the cards and shows that it is the Ten of Hearts (an example). Now Dr. Jaks turns all four cards around so the faces can be seen - all but the one card to which the line was drawn. Fig. 4 He finally turns over the fifth card and it is the Ten of Hearts! the same card he reversed in the regular size deck. Dr. Jaks now states that so certain was he of his prediction that he took the reversed card from another deck. He turns the regular card around and its back is a different color I He then tells an amusing story of how Harry Truman (former president) tried to cross him up on this test. It seems that at the last mibuteo Truman switches the jumbo cards after he had drawn the line indicating his selection but Dr. Jaks had anticipated the action of the President and the test still came off successfully. II
Note how beatifully the routine is evolved. The Jumbo cards have reader backs so as soon as one is selected. Dr. Jaks can locate the same card in the Brainwave Deck which the spectator has been holding. He shows the face of each jumbo card saving the selected card till last for maximum effect and as a final clincher he reveals that the reversed card in the regular deck came from a different color deckl (NOTE. The above effect 'Visual Thought Projection' is on page 50 of The Amazing World of Mentalism by Burling Hull. a Micky Hades publication)
DR. JAKS
Most Mentalists are familiar with Dr. Jaks v letter-opener prediction in which the prediction billet /)/c.jaJAv is introduced into a sealed envelope INCREDIBLE PRE DICTION with a special letter opener that ~l'r'Itejeots the billet into the envelope as the envelope is opened. Dr. Jaks had worked out every effective presentation for this and as stated earlier was anxious for me to see his routine. THE PRESENTATION. Dr. Jaks invited a spectator to the stage and stated to the audience that special arrangements had been made with this person before the show. He had given this person a sealed envelope to plaoe in his pocke~" Following this he had revealed to Dr. Jaks an important date in pis life (the date he was married), and the name of a famous person he admired. He had kept the envelope in his possession until this very moment and Dr. Jaks had never touched it at any moment! The spectator verified that all the facts as stated were true. Now Dr. Jaks stated that he would proceed to prove that he in fact knew far in advance what things the person would name and had in faot predioted them on a slip of paper contained in the sealed envelope that the person had in his possession. The spectator was now asked to remove the envelope from his pooket and show it to the audience and that it was indeed sealed. Taking the envelope, Dr. Jaks proceeded to open the envelope with a letter opener. Inside the envelope was found another sealed envelope which had been sent through the mail and had a postmark verifying that it was mailed several days prior to the show from another city! Now this second envelope is held up to the light to show that there is something inside. The envelope is then given to the spectator together with the billet letter opener and is told to open the envelope himself and take out the predictions and read them!
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DR. JAKS DR. JAKS' INCREDIBLE PREDICTION
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE cont •••
Inside the second envelope are found two folded slips of paper. On one is a general statement with the date (?) the predictions were written and sealed and the type of prediction. On the second slip is an actual prediction of the items named. One of the slips is yellow and the other white. The above description is the effect as Dr. Jaks planned it to evolve. It didn't work out quite that way due to some difficulty encountered by Dr. Jaks in opening the envelopes. The effect reached a successful ~onclusion and the audience was never aware of the trouble, but Dr. Jake, being a perfectionist, worried long after the show because of the fact that he fumbled slightly during his presentation of his feature prediction effect. Dr. Jaks wrote me about a week later explaining what happened. "I have a horrible guilt complex, since I never in my life fumbled that much with my letter opener, as in Jackson, in the show you saw. And you know what happened .•• I always leave the second envelope open on the upper right corner so I am able to get the letter opener easily in, but that night, probably because of the humidity, that envelope was completely closed and I could not get the letter opener inside. I am sorry about this since this is one of my best effects and I really do it without any hesitation. So please forget what you saw .•• I only hope you liked the other part." This letter was written as he was on his way to an engagement for the Western Hills Hotel in Fort Worth p Texas. When I replied I assured Stanley Jaks that he ne.edn't worry for he had done nothing that would possibly reveal to the audience that something was wrong. THE DOUBLE ENVELOPE METHOD, Actually the double envelope method which was used by Dr. Jaks was invented by him. It has been falsely credited to Al Koran in the book "Koran's Legacy" by Hugh Miller and also in the marketed effect "AI Koran's Million Dollar Prediction" sold by Unique Magic Studio, London. It is a wonderful routine and adds another dimension to a rather simplistic move. Before the show the Mentalist mails himself a letter sealed with rubber cement. When it returns the Mentalist opens it and removes the rubber cement. He places a folded billet of the size that will fit into the letter opener in the envelope and seals the envelope except for a small section in the upper right hand corner of the flap. This small section is left open. It is then lined up with the larger envelope into which it is placed so that when the letter opener is inserted into the upper right end of the flap of the outer envelope, it will automatically enter the inner envelope and deposit the prediction billet from the letter opener. The inner envelope cran then be shown to be sealed with the prediction inside! During the show when Dr. Jaks could not get the letter opener to enter the inner envelope, he merely let the billet fall into the outer envelope. He then proceeded to remove the inner envelope
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AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
DR. JAKS DR. JAKS' INCREDIBLE PREDICTION
cont.
and opened it and dumped the contents of the inner envelope into the larger envelope! and handed the larger envelope to the spectator to remove and open the billets and read them to the audience! Now from Dr. Jaks' view this was far less effective then his planned presentation but I doubt if anyone in the audience, except myself was aware of anything amiss and to me it was just a minor detail of no great importance since it did not diminish the effect one iota. But to Dr. Jaks who was a perfectionist, it was an important detail. That was why he was great .•• he worried about the little details. NOTE. The above is an object lesson for all of us. The act of continuing the presentation of an effect when something has gone wrong, as if nothing is wrong is the mark of the professinal. The idea of apparently dumping one prediction from one envelope into another is a 'stroke of genius I , This is what Mentalism is all about. It is the use of sleight-of-mind coming to the aid of the Mentalist during a crisis. Thanks to Phantini for relating this episode to us.
According to an article in The Sphinx Vol. 16 #7, the billet knife was invented and first used by Theo. Bamberg in 1899 in the theatre Van Lier in Amsterdam. Fig. 6 shows the Bamberg billet knife. It was a crude model by today standards, but was used on stage for the bill-in-lemon trick. lefore that and many years after it, other magicians and Mentalists simply used an ungimmicked knife with the bill or billet attached to one side of it with wax. In the 1950's the first modern billet knives began to appear in dealer's catalogues and called the Dr. Jaks Incredible Prediction. Dr. Jaks had streamlined the billet knife and made it popular and of course created a sensation with it. The plastic version of Dr. Jaks' knife looked like Fig. 7. The mechanism ejector gimmick was hidden inside the knife and was activated by a pin Fig. 7 in the handle. Some knives were made out of wood and later out of metal. They resembled letter openers eight inches in length. A duplicate ungimmicked knife came with the set. opening slot for prediction billet.
DR. JAKS THE BILLEl' KNIVES
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
com ...
A very thin version of Dr. Jaks' billet knife was made in England. This was a plastic knife that looked like the one shown in Fig. 5 and was sold as ttAl Koran's Million Dollar Prediction." These knives were so thin that little suspicion could be directed at them and if the gimmicked knife was placed in the hands of a spectator chances are that no notice would be made of the gimmick. However in the instructions, it was advised to open the outside envelope with the gimmick knife, depositing the prediction pellet inside the inner envelope, then putting the knife away, having the inner envelope removed and examined, and then taking out the ungimmicked knife and telling the spectator to open the inner envelope with it. The gimmicked knife can be placed in a spectator's hand and he will not see the gimmick or even know it is there provided the gimmicked side is placed against his palm.
Fig. 8 In 1959, magic dealers started offering a deluxe model billet knife that looked like the one detailed in Fig. 8. These were made in Germany and had a shiny silvery blade and black leatherlike handle. The machanism and craftsmanship in these knives was fabulous. The edge of the blade was sharp enough to cut a stake with, yet it was through the very edge of the blade that the prediction billet ejected. The mechanism was activated by applying pressure to the underside of the handle (arrows in Fig. 8)1 The mechanism was similar to the one used in the Sackville billet knife (see Corinda's 13 Steps). But unlike the Sackville knife which supposedly ejects the billet several feet, the Deluxe model above only pushes the billet out so that the operator can grab it through the envelope and keep it inside it. The Deluxe billet knives are 10 inches long. The originals in 1959 sold for $20. Today, these are no longer made but some are still available for $100 and over. The dealer's ads. stated that the Deluxe Model could be minutely examined (7). Why anyone in your audience would wish to minutely examine your letter opener is a good question, unless he happens to be a brother (7) magician bent on exposing you. The Deluxe Billet Knife looks like a real knife and can be placed in the spectators' hands safely.
14 DR. JAKS
AN AL
MANN neLUS IVE
For his final test, Dr. Jaks goes into the audience with a note pad and asks three different persons to write three-digit numbers secretly on the pad while Dr. Jaks looks away. They must lift up the cover of the pad to do the writing. Now he gives the pad to another person to add up the digits but as he does, he turns over the pad which has a similar cover on the other side. He asks the person to come on the platform to add the numbers. After the numbers are added and double checked, the person is instructed to tear off the bottom half of the page that has the total and to take it back to his seat. The person is cautioned to let no one see the total inclUding Dr. Jaks! This is just the old switch of numbers using a pad which is turned over but I believe it is more natural than some of the complicated mechanical methods that have been dreamed up. Next Dr. Jaks points to a woman in the audience and states that he is getting an impression that she owns or once owned a pet! She states that he is correct. He asks her to concentrate upon the name of the pet. He writes his impression on a slate and rests the slate on a chair that is on the platform. The woman then states aloud the name of her pet for the audience to hear. (The slates used by Jaks were white and he wrote with a black grease crayon.) He is actually working one-ahead and writes the total of the numbers on the first slate I Next he picks up a second slate and pretends to write the total of the numbers but actually writes the name of the petS He then asks the person with the total to announce it. Jaks then picks up both slates and turns them around to show what he had writtenl and of course he has written the correct pet's name and correct total! I might add that in Dr. Jaks handling of the note pad, he has creased the sheet just above where the total will be written so that the person can easily tear that part off. Next Dr. Jaks produces a local telephone directory and states that he will attempt an additional test. He hands the directory to the person holding the 'total' slip and asks him to take the first two digits of the total and count to that page in the directory. The last two digits will indicate the column and name to count to in the column from the top. He now asks the spectator to concentrate upon the name he has arrived at. Dr. Jaks correctly , names the name thought of. Now he asks the spectator to think of the person's address and Dr. Jaks also correctly divines this. Next he asks the spectator to note the telephone number of the person. Dr. Jaks draws the audience attention to a large board that has been sitting in full view on his table all during the show. The spectator announces the telephone number and Dr. Jaks turns the board around and written on the other side is the same telephone numberl .. The audience gave Dr. Jaks a standing ovation at this dramatic conclusion to his show.
The Wo:rl d of Mentalism lost a when s~anley JakS passed away~
ns Noted for: his clever Mental cr:eatio and fine intimate magiC, Stanley was, in every sense of the word, a fine gentleman as wellThose of US who were privileged to knoW and work. with stanley will alwa:ys remember him for his originality of approach to the thOught-provoking field of Mentalism. His exquisite close-UP conjuring, per-m fo:rmed wi th unique objects, all obtained f:ro a richly bound bOok.. won for stanley the ac-
-\
claim of Royal i·tya Fp);'me:r Queen of Spain, Victo:ri EUgenia; Franz Joseph 11, Prince of Lichtenstein and ute president Truman,all pa.id tx:ib to sta.nleyd for his remarkablY oXig i na 1 conjuring a.n Menta.lism. st stanley 'toured i:rom coa.s t to coa. wi"th his Mental' Act, and perfox:med for top clubS and night spots hi9hlighting his incredible insta.ntaneous dUplica.tio n of anY spectator: 1 s signa.ture blindfolded.
whi~e comple~elY
With a.l his success Stanley remained l and a. warm huma.l1 being, friendly, Tl:toU9 d e s t he is 9 0n e , his memory a.ndi s subtle m atio h in the realm of }o1,en'ta.l will live ns on forever. We are proud to pay tribute to Dr. JakS, and equallY p:roud to p:r:esent to the Mental three of his most seC-
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1110
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rets. We hope
cher~shed
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enjoy them a.5 much as stanl.ey
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lished By ED
Fel' BE."""Y 4051GRX Greenfield 8< Kenny Woo:;;.vd -,... L1wn DRIVB, wa.rd PITTSBURGH 35',
12 issues $ 3.0
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
DR. JAKS IN CONCLUSION
I mingled with the audience after the show and jUdgin~ from their comments they all thought they had witnessed a genu~ne psychic at work and had no possible explanation as to how he accomplished his feats except by psychic means. The final effect in Dr. Jake routine which was on the market briefly as "Dr. Kemp's Unbelievable Routine" is just a combination of the old number force (the 16 digit effect done with 9 digits) which eventually .leads to a name in the phone directory and a prediction of a telephone number. People lose track of the fact that the number total is the key to the entire routine. No one, even magicians, seem to remember it the way it really occured. They only remember that Dr. Jaks told a woman the name of her pet and that Someone turned to any page in the telephone directory and picked out a name and he 'read' their mind and told them the name and then they picked out a telephone number and he predicted in advance which one they would pick out. As we all know, the untrained observer is not very accurate in his memory events such as these that constantly take him by surprise. I have given little of Dr. Jaks' manner and dramatic ability in presenting his routine, but I can state that his appearance and heavy German accent labeled him as completely authentic. I believe most of the audience were completely sold in the first three minutes of the presentation that, Dr. Jaks, obviously well educated and. articulate was a genuine psychic expert. His promotional material and his lecture before the show and statements during the show, impressed his audience that he was a man-of-the-world who had performed for the most famous people including presidents and monarchs. Dr. Jaks general approach was serious but there were subtle touches of humor all through his act. There is no other Mentalist to compare Dr. Jaks to •.• there has only been one Dr. Jaksl He was incomparablel For the serious students, Martin Breese of London sells a Magicassette of Dr. Jaks doing two of his mental effects together with some interesting background given by Sid Lorraine. Dr. Jaks had a very creative mind and invented many magical and Mental effects which are still sold today by magic dealers. THE RECAP.
DR. JAKS' PROGRAM
EFFECTS.
Time. 1 hour
Thought Projection of Numbers (swami gimmick) Prediction of a Thought (window envelope) Brain Echo Book Test Himber's $1000 Challenge Book Test Signature Duplication Test Incredible Prediction (letter opener) Dr. Kemp's Inbelievable Routine Dr. Stanley Jaks was a warm, friendly and thoughtful person. He was extremely talented and it is a shame that his life ended suddenly at the height of his career. Those of us who were fortunate to know him are the better for it. I hope that my description of his routine will be of interest to AME readers.
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Z 19 WEST 51sT sTAEET
NI!W YORK Z4. N. Y. TR ...F...I.G ..... 7·66415
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Gene Grant
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NEW. YEfiR uS Greet Dr. Jaks.
(1956) sent to Gene Grant
by
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LMANN g'zd'~
(201)
431-2429
fIOIT OFFICE lOX 144 • FREEHOLD. NEW JERSEY 07728
AME salutes PHANTINI for his expert and professional account of Dr. JAKS' ACT. PHANTINI (Gene Grant) is a well known magician and Mentalist and world famous author who's classic epics of Mentalism, Phantini's Lost Book of Mental Secrets and Phantini's Mental Key were a thrill and inspiration to me and will thrill the Mentalist nOVic~rOfeSSionall
