Treasures Vol 1 by Alexander De Cova

One of Germany’s top magicians, Alexander De Cova is a creative and innovative thinker. This title, which was the magician’s first in the English language and was originally introduced on VHS video some years back, has been resurrected on DVD. It provides a series of astounding close-up effects.

In usual De Cova manner, the effects are baffling and he combines exquisite handling and straight-forward methods that aren’t knuckle busters.

Despite the name, “Chinese Money Mystery” is a coin effect that doesn’t use Chinese coins. It’s De Cova’s version of a multi-coin effect that’s described in classic Bobo. Eight coins are counted, four into each of the magician’s hands, and they all end up in one hand. I like De Cova’s additions and alterations that strengthen the effect.

This one is fast. The magician basically counts the coins and the magic is done. This one is also explained on the “Coins Across: World’s Greatest Magic” DVD (please click here to read our review).

De Cova’s “Super Easy Triumph” fried me. In the classic Triumph effect, a magician shuffles cards face down and face up to create a mixed-up deck with cards facing in either direction. At the end, the deck is somehow straightened out so all of the cards face the same way and a spectator’s card is the only one facing the other way.

I’ve seen a lot of Triumph effects and know the workings behind them. (While I’ve worked up such effects, I’ve hardly performed them because I can’t rely on having a table in my strolling sets.) I looked for the usual moves in De Cova’s “Super Easy Triumph” and didn’t see them. As it turns out, De Cova’s method relies on a clever trick deck and is easy to perform.

“Purse Swindle” offers a disappearing handkerchief that appears in a coin purse. In the second phase, the handkerchief disappears in the hands and then appears in a purse frame (a coin purse frame with no fabric). The effect relies on the usual gimmick, but De Cova offers a fantastic, visual method that makes the handkerchief appear to diminish in size and vanish. He explained this vanish in his recent DVD, “Examining the Thumbtip” (Click “here to read our review). This one is also explained on the “Thumbtip: World’s Greatest Magic” DVD (click here to read our review).

De Cova offers two methods for switching a deck. His “Premonition Box” isn’t an effect, but a gimmick that he designed to easily switch decks. De Cova explains this box in his recent DVD, Enigmatic Vol 1-Alexander de Cova, in the effect called “Premonition” (Click here to read our review). However, on this DVD, he offers a more thorough explanation on the box’s construction.

The second switch, called the “Stand-Up Deck Switch,” is one that you can use on a table. It has built-in misdirection that makes it quite convincing and effective under a wide variety of circumstances and settings.

I’ll admit that “Ring-O-Matic” also fried me. Here, De Cova drops a borrowed ring into a drinking glass, and places the glass into an inverted hat. By holding a rope with ends in each hand and clearly showing the ends at all time, De Cova drops the middle of the rope into the hat and retrieves the ring. This effect offers two astounding phases.

After watching the explanation, I was amazed to find out that I was familiar with the overall method and didn’t recognize it during the performance, but De Cova also introduced a gimmick that I never suspected.

Despite the name, “Gumball Machine” is a disappearing sponge ball effect. The vanish is quite clean and De Cova uses the gumball machine only as a prop that holds the spongeball. De Cova uses a gimmick, but it’s not the one that you might suspect when watching the performance.

Another strong effect, in “Boxed Transposition” four kings are placed into a card box and a signed, selected card is lost in a deck. The selected card disappears from the deck and the magician dumps out the kings from the card box to show the selected card. This one is baffling and requires no palming or complex moves. Another winner.

In De Cova’s “9-Card Monte Card Miracle,” he shows eight “nine-of-diamonds” and a single joker. But at the end, there are eight jokers and only one “nine-of-diamonds.” Once again, De Cova offers a first rate effect that is rather offbeat, but ends in a satisfying climax.

I found lots to like on this DVD. The close-up effects were baffling and visual and the methods were not difficult. With the exception of “Purse Swindle,” most require the use of a table.

-Wayne N. Kawamoto

MSRP: (US) $29.95

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