Morevelope HOW MOREVELOPE GOT ITS NAME This envelope was titled Morevelope because it is one of the most versatile envelopes ever and it made for a good advertising slogan “You can do More with Morevelope”. With Morevelope you can do more with this simple envelope than many of the other envelopes on the market today. Morevelope can be made in seconds. Once made it only takes minutes of practice to become proficient with it and can be used under many conditions. Making Morevelope is one the sneakiest and boldest peek envelope ever devised.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MOREVELOPE When this peek envelope was first created it had no official name, the name did not come about for many years. Since then Morevelope has received many favorable comments over the years since it first made is appearance in 1987. At that time I was looking for an envelope that could not only be used as a pocket trick but one that can be used in a full program as well, it can be worked for one person or five hundred and be seen and appreciated just as well in either case. One of the other specifications of this peek envelope was that it had to be carried in the suit pocket and must be ready to work without any additional setup and that would not take up a lot of space in the pocket. Morevelope can be used by anyone. It’s just that simple to make and use. This envelope came about through a lot of experimentation, and trial and error. Over two years of work went into the developing this simple envelope, although it looks simple, which it should, a lot of thought and hard work were combined to make it what it is today. Over the years since the creation of Morevelope I have discovered that others through the history of magic and mentalism have worked on the idea of a peek envelope’s that have had similar methods of creation. I still have not seen one that has both the cuts I use to make the Morevelope. Moreover it would be hard to find a better or easier envelope to use.
One of the main advantages of Morevelope is that it can be shown on both sides casually without fear of detection. Try doing that with a Big Honking Window Envelope or a Rear Slit Envelope. Morevelope was originally written and set for release in 1995 it was not until November 2010 it finally got the long awaited release that it deserved.
THE EFFECT The performer display a small stack of envelopes, a blank note card on top of the envelopes, and a marker and a notepad are seen sitting on the table. All of these items can be causally shown on both sides freely. The spectator is instructed to take the blank note card and the marker and write a word or draw a simple picture on that card unknown to the performer. Upon the return of the card face down to the performer (or spectator can) slides this card into the envelope and the performer seals it inside and mixes the remaining envelopes and sits these casually upon the table and picks up the writing pad. The performer asks the spectator to think about word or the picture that they sealed in the envelope a few moments ago. As the spectator is thinking of this word or object the performer begins to write on the notepad something that when revealed later will match what the volunteer wrote and sealed in the envelope. At this point all the envelopes can be torn open removing the single card to show further proof of this match to the audience. This is just one effect you can do with Morevelope. In fact, there are so many applications for this envelope the possibilities are virtually endless. This envelope can be used in a Question and Answer Act used to divine a secretly written question or used with playing or ESP cards. In which a single card is selected and sealed in the envelope. The potential possibilities for the use of Morevelope are only limited to your imagination. All the envelopes used in this effect are small standard manila or craft envelopes that can be found at any office store.
HOW TO GIMMICK THE ENVELOPE This envelope is so quick and easy to make and was intentional designed this way for making them up while on tour. I will explain why this envelope has two cuts in a moment.
ITEMS NEEDED TO MAKE MOREVELOPE Few manila pay type envelopes one for gaffing and the rest are used as camouflage during performance. You will also need a razor knife, straight edge or ruler and something to use as a cutting surface and some double stick tape. The tape is optional. You will also need some blank index cards cut slightly smaller than the size of envelope you’re using. When preparing Morevelope I find it is easier and more efficient to make a small supply of these up at the same time. I will make ten to twenty up in a single session that take less than 10 minutes.
Please use care when using a shape knife to cut the manila envelopes.
HOW TO MAKE THE CUTS FOR MOREVELOPE In the illustration below you will need to cut off one side edge of the manila pay envelope and the bottom edge on the envelope. This cut should be as close to the edge as possible. In the illustration the cuts are set up for a right handed person if you are left handed cut of the left side of the envelope. You may wish to vary which side that will be cut off for reasons of better handling this is explained in depth later on in this manuscript. The most I have ever needed to cut off is less than a 1/16” of an inch.
MAKE ALL YOUR CUTS AS STRAIGHT AND AS SMOOTH AS POSSIBLE. A JAGGED EDGE CAN EASILY BEE SEEN BY A MEMBER OF THE AUDIENCE.
Notice that the sealing flap is as complete as possible. Since you did not cut into this area of the envelope it will look like any other envelope in the stack. The bottom edge is also removed in similar fashion. When done properly there should be no noticeable difference in these envelopes when seen at arms length. The difference is so slight that it will not be seen. The last thing that you may wish to do is replace the glued area with a small piece of double sided sticky tape. This is an idea from Larry Becker and works very well for sanitary reasons. In the case of Morevelope it work especially well since you will never bring the envelope towards your mouth for sealing as this will rule out the possibility that you peeked inside while sealing the envelope. As this may be a slight help if someone in the audience should remember that the envelope came close to your face.
OVER EXPOSED VIEW OF ENVELOPE AFTER CUTTING
HANDLING Now that your envelope is cut and ready there are a few things that you will need to do when handling it. Always handle the envelopes in a stack of at least three whenever possible. The card for writing should be on the top of this stack. This add support to the envelope and makes holding the cut envelope together very easy. When the envelopes are held they should be spread out slightly in the hand. This allows the audience to see that you’re holding three envelopes. If you are using more envelopes that is fine too just spread the stack slightly and casually. This gesture will confirm to your audience that you are not trying to hide anything.
The hand grip on the envelopes is an above middle position grip. This allows you to hold the corner of the gaffed envelope closed between your thumb and first finger. This grip is illustrated from the performers view in the above photograph.
THE ENVELOPE STACK CAN BE DONE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS
From performers view top down Normal Envelope Gaffed Envelope Normal Envelope This puts the gaffed or cut envelope in the second position. The other stack that can be used is to place the gaffed or cut envelope on the bottom of the stack. This is the preferred method for two reasons the first is that it helps in hiding the cut corner of the envelope. The second reason is that when you turn them over as you will see this in a moment the card will become visible and exposed to you when the shuffling begins. The card is written on by the spectator using the small table that is next to you. The performer should turn away while this is being done. The spectator is instructed to hold the card writing side down. Upon turning around you take the card carefully and slowly insert it writing side down in the bottom envelope. The insertion process should be done slowly and care should be taken so that you do not expose the cut side of the envelope. This exposure is from improper insertion of sliding the card in the envelope. The card is inserted with the envelopes still held in the same slightly spread position as before. This reduces any movement that would seem unnatural. Once the card has been inserted in the envelope the flap is closed it using double sided sticky tap this process is very quick. The stack of envelopes are now squared up as this is done with the other hand when sealing the envelope it is very easy to turn the stack of envelopes over in the process. When the stacked is turned over when the sealing is taking place it looks natural as the flap is now facing the spectator. This process further confirms that the card is inserted into the envelope and sealed without having to say anything.
Now that the envelope are squared up your hand turns up towards the body. The stack of envelopes are now in the upright or vertical position. All you need to do is grip the top left corner if using a right side cut envelope vice verse for the left handed cut and pull the envelope up and away at a slight angle and the card will fall out behind the stack of envelopes. The two cuts make this a natural looking process.
THE PULL OF THE ENVELOPE TO REVEAL THE CARD Once you have a stack of envelopes in your hands with a cut envelope you will know if you prefer a left or right handed cut on the side of the envelope. I myself prefer a right handed cut as I want to pinch the upper left hand corner of this envelope after it has been turned over. If the envelopes start with the flaps up then when you turn them over after sealing they will be flap side down. This makes sense but I thought I should add it for clarification in any event. The reason the envelope is cut on two sides instead of one side is this. Let say for a moment that you have an envelope with the bottom cut off the only way you can move is straight up. This seems unnatural. The same applies with a side cut envelope only. This is a very odd position to remove the card for your peek. Now if you have the top and one side cut off all you need to do is grab the upper corner of this cut envelope and the card will fall out behind the other envelopes.
Warning: you must practice this pulling or the card may fall out and a corner of it may be seen behind the other envelopes.
A PLAYING CARD BACK WAS USED FOR ADDED CONTRAST In the previous photograph, I am using my thumb and ring finger to stop the card from falling to the floor or peeking out the right side behind the other envelopes. In this photograph my other hand is not seen grabbing the corner so that you can see this from a performers view without any unneeded distractions for the visual image. If you like you may use your little finger under the bottom edge of the envelopes as this is a matter of personal preference and comfort more than anything else. You must practice this step until it is perfect. If you do this correctly the card will not be seen and will remain behind the stack of envelopes. If on the other hand it is done poorly the card will flash on the other or right side if the stack when pulling the envelope out for shuffling.
The next envelope is pulled out of the stack and returned to the side towards the performer covering the exposed card. The whole stack of envelope is turned over as it is laid on the table as you pick up a notebook and writing instrument to record your impression that you will be receiving from the spectator. Once the spectator confirms that you are correct you can grab the stack of all three envelopes and tear off the tops of all three at the same time. Now by pinching the sides of this stack of envelopes slightly between your thumb and index finger and turning them upside down the card will fall out into your hand. I have not found a need to reopen the envelopes as I have not found an audience member that cares to see the card. It seems that that the spectator’s reaction is enough to convince the audience. If you need to perform the tear because you have found one of those audiences then by all means lay your note book face down on the table and tear open the envelopes and grab the card. Here is a subtlety for when the envelopes with the cards are laid on the table they should be flipped back over. This will set you up well in advance and prevent you from having to remember which way the card is to prevent a premature peek of the writing contained. In other words the card will fall from this stack face down.
In this manuscript I have given you just one use for Morevelope the fact is
