The March 6, 1942 issue features magic by Clayton Rawson, Harry Baker, and Frank Taylor.
The Rawson card effect, Scrambled Thought-waves, is a delight. Using a few gaffed cards two selections are revealed in a humorous manner. With some arts and craftsmanship, the effect could be updated to today’s sensibilities. The nice thing about Rawson’s handling is that he introduces a move to easily get the gaffs into and out of a borrowed deck.
Harry Baker’s Penny-tration, is a coin through participant’s hand using a handful of pennies. It’s clever but one would need to supply their own pennies today as most people don’t carry a lot of cash or change in 2025.
Last but not least is Frank Taylor’s Blow Up. It’s a marked coin into a selected balloon. It’s a free choice of the balloon. It requires a bit of advanced preparation that reminded me of the work one needs to do to perform Michael Ammar’s bill to peanut.
A shorter Backroom finishes the issue with a response to the inevitable comparisons to the Jinx. While the Phoenix uses a similar printing method and general layout, it’s Gibson and Elliott’s magazine – not Annemann’s. There’s also a shoutout to younger magicians. Lastly an inexpensive method of making a mirror glass using a cooking implement.
