Card in Squeeze Purse
A new take on the Card in Impossible Location plot! A two-phase routine that begins with the impossible location of a selected card with a marked coin that penetrates the deck. In the second phase, the signed card travels to an innocent coin purse under extremely stringent and clean conditions. All done with ordinary objects that are completely natural to carry in your pocket, whether performed in strolling or formal settings.
The magician introduces a plastic oval coin purse, a popular advertising item first invented in the 1980s. Some coins are dumped out from the purse, and one spectator selects a coin, while another selects a card. Using a small Sharpie marker, attached to the purse with a key chain, the two assistants sign the card and initial the coin, respectively.
PHASE 1
The coin is returned to the purse, the card is returned in extremely fair fashion to the deck, being merely cut to the center without further manipulation. The purse is placed atop the deck.
Using the mini-marker as a wand, the magician taps the purse. Lifting the purse away, he cuts the deck, only to discover the signed coin in the center of the deck. The spectator retrieves the coin, only to find the signed card immediately beneath it.
PHASE 2
The magician offers to repeat the impossible feat. The signed coin is deliberately and fairly returned to the purse. The spectator cuts the signed card into the deck, and the magician shuffles further. From here on everything is handled by the spectator, who cuts the deck several times and then assembles and squares it; then places the purse atop the deck; then taps the purse with the marker wand. The magician spreads the pack, but no coin is found. Pointing out that the first time “the coin found the card,” this time, he says, “the card has found the coin.” He opens the purse and a folded card is seen within, which is dumped out, whereupon the spectator unfolds it and identifies it as her own signed card.
At the conclusion, the signed card is handed out as a souvenir, and the signed coin is retrieved from the purse and also given away, whereupon the purse is shown otherwise empty except for the coins, and all is left clean on the table.
SOME BACKGROUND
I have always been fascinated by the Card in Impossible Location plot, and my lectures, across the United States and throughout Europe and Japan, have always featured one or more versions, beginning with my Kiss of the Big Apple and Wish Fulfillment, first published in “Thoughts” in 1987, presented in lectures since 1988, and detailed in my lecture DVD, “Jamy Ian Swiss: Live From London,” shot at MacMillan International Magic Convention circa 1997.
Since that time I have subsequently created and published “A Curiously Strong Card Trick” – the card in miniature Altoids Tin – and my method for the Card on Ceiling.
In 2018 I began performing and teaching “The Card in the Squeeze Purse” in American and International lectures. Developed in the 1990s based on an idea by my student, Mike Henkel, I kept the routine to myself for decades. It has to date only been described in live lectures and has yet to be published in print.
This routine utilizes an ordinary object that is naturally and conveniently carried in the pockets. It is ideal for strolling performance as well as formal table performance. The routine combines several principles and classic elements, carefully constructed into a highly deceptive and engaging, multi-phase magical routine.
THE KIT
The kit includes all the necessary props (except a deck of cards) – 2 purses and 2 matching mini-markers – along with a passworded link to a fully detailed instructional video, along with a video of Jamy performing the routine at the Magic Castle (which can be seen here on this page).