I have briefly mentioned the Lippincott Box magic trick prop in my past post, Ching Ling Coin Box Trick Secret Revealed.
This post I am going to reveal the secret behind the Lippincott Box trick.
Welcome to another post from the Info Ruckus Magic Trick Secrets Revealed series.
In addition, I am share insightful analysis and interesting information about this small magic box.
The history of Lippincott Box, its creator or inventor, the routines, the usage and of course its secret.
It also includes other similar magic boxes, and related magic tricks together with their secrets as well.
Lippincott Box Magic Trick Explained
This wooden utility box is also refer to as the Lippincott Coin Box in the New Pentagram Magazine Volume 3 (March 1971 – February 1972) published by Peter Warlock.
Yes, this was the creator of the classic Peter Warlock Glass Penetration trick, aka the English Glass Penetration.
Read my January 4, 2021 write-up, Peter Warlock Glass Penetration Revealed And Explained.
By the way, this magic apparatus is called by various names, from Lippincott’s Quarter Go, Ring Vanish Box, Rings-And-Things Lippincott Ring Box to Locked Watch Box Mystery.
What Is Lippincott Box?
Lippincott Box is a small wooden box used for vanishing or producing a small item like a billet, card, a coin, a bank note, a ring, or a key.
The box is locked shut with a padlock.
This pocket trick now comes in various designs, sizes, and employed different loading principle.
You can check out a wide selection of this gimmick wooden box in Martin’s Magic Collection.
History And Inventor Of Lippincott Box
Back in 2010 there was a hot discussion in the Genii Forum over who was the original inventor of the Lippincott Box.
Which Jack Lippincott invented the box?
It was reported the Lippincott Box was created either by a vaudeville magician Mal (short for Malcom) Lippincott or Jack Lippincott, an amateur magician.
According to a source, Mal Lippincott was the creator of this magic box.
It was first marketed in 1949 as “Lippincott’s Quarter Go”.
But according to Max Maven’s Inquisition column in Genii, magician and mentalist Max Maven said:
Jack Lippincott invented an efficient device for vanishing or producing a small object. Today it is best known under its inventor’s name as “The Lippincott Box.” But, when it was first marketed by Holden’s in 1949, the title was “Quarter Go”.
So is the 1990 biographical guide, “Who’s Who In Magic” by Bart Whaley.
It stated the magic trick box was invented by an amateur magician called Jack Lippincott.
Listen to magician David Dellman’s view, The History and Use of the Lippincott Box in YouTube.
Some said the idea of the Lippincott Box could have being a variation of the Watch Box.
Watch Box
It is a wooden box with lock and key, and the secret is one of its sides is movable, working on a pivot.
Find out more about the Watch Box in Professor Hoffmann‘s book “Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise On The Art Of Conjuring“. (public domain)
The Watch Box is also found in this free 1902 magic book below.
Modern Magicians’ Hand Book: An Up-To-Date Treatise On The Art Of Conjuring By William John Hilliar (public domain)
Click on this: Link
How does the Lippincott Box work?
The general method of the Lippincott Box is the same as the Watch Box or the Ching Ling Coin Box.
There is a pivoted door at the side, where you can secretly remove or load the item into it.
The hidden opening is pivoted on one side of the box, like a mini trapdoor, where you need to give it a push to open it.
See the outline of the secret door (indicated) at one side of the Lippincott Box in the picture below.
If you are loading an object, you discreetly swivel this concealed opening.
After you have dropped it into the Lippincott Box, you close it.
Watch the the Lippincott Box revealed in the video clip below.
Gimmick Matchbox By Professor Hoffmann
This is another utility box design called Match-Box Fake by Professor Hoffmann.
It is featured in the old issue of Magic: The Magazine Of Wonders (link below).
It is a small wooden box suitable for making small items like billet, coin or ring to disappear.
Again it uses a small doorway at the drawer of the box as seen below.
MAGIC: The Magazine Of Wonder Vol. 1 No. 1, January 1910
Click on this: Link
The Enchanted Box
The Enchanted Box is another very old magical utility wooden box with a secret door at its side.
It can be opened and closed with your thumb.
Learn more about this Enchanted Box in this old magic book.
The Secret Out, Or, One Thousand Tricks In Drawing-Room Or White Magic By William Henry Cremer (public domain)
Click on any of these: Link 1, Link 2
Lippincott’s Quarter Go By Harold Martin
If you are a collector of vintage magic tricks, check out Lippincott’s Quarter Go manufactured by Harold Martin Enterprises.
The concealed opening is at the side, and you need to push it out from the inside of the box.
It uses a threaded coin gimmick to simulate the marked coin.
Magic Box By Mikame Craft Japan
It is a wooden box which is used for producing or vanishing small items palmed in the hand.
Again, the secret of this magic box is the same as the Ching Ling Coin Box.
It comes with a hidden pivoted door at one of the side of the box as shown below.
Lippincott Box (Watch Box) By Mel Babcock
This is another version of a Lippincott Box aka Watch Box by Mel Babcock.
It is bigger in size and the secret door is also at the side of the wooden box.
RSVP Lippincott Box By Matthew Wright
From the website pictures, I reckon all the three RSVP Lippincott Boxes by Matthew Wright use the same method.
The secret doorway for loading is at the side of the box.
This is what I observed from this demo video.
At 2:09 when the performer pretends to throw the ring into the box, you can catch a glimpse of the ring between his right hand fingers.
*Need to slow down the playback speed to 0.25.
At the beginning of the act, the pivoted opening at the side of box facing him is already opened.
At 2:10, he moves his right hand with the palmed ring to load into the box, then his left thumb closes the secret opening.
Box Ninety-Eight By Handcrafted Miracles
I think the trapdoor opening for loading is at the bottom of the box.
After he closes the box, at 1:04, watch his left hand scooping up movement, and then it goes straight into his jacket pocket.
*To see the hand movement clearly, slow down the playback speed to 0.25.
He must be catching the coin dropping out from the bottom of the box.
Flight Case By Leo Smetsers
Based on viewing the only overly-edited video clip, I think the loading doorway is at the top of this Lippincott box.
Probably it works like a spring-loaded trapdoor.
This is the cover interior close-up view.
I think the hidden opening is at the top is, because the way the Leo Smetsers lifts up the Flight Case box from the red drawstring bag.
Strong Box By Joe Porper
This new version of the Lippincott Box is called the Strong Box
It is made of steel and it was created by the late Joe Porper.
There are two versions of the Strong Box, and both use different mechanism.
To know more, read my Joe Porper Strong Box Trick Secret.
Antique Pill Box By Dave Powell
This version of the Lippincott box is a beautifully hand-crafted wooden prop.
I suppose the secret of the Dave Powell’s Antique Pill Box is the pin with a hole.
The pin with a hole at the front of the box which holds the padlock.
It works like the spring-loaded momentary push button.
In other words, the pin can be pushed downward, and it stays there, until you push it again to release it.
Before the act, the pin is released, together with the padlock in place.
Thus the cover of the box is not tightly shut, and there is narrow gap in front where you can load the palmed item.
After dropping the item into it, push the pin together with the padlock down.
The cover of the Antique Pill Box is now tightly shut.
I think this is how it works.
Similar Magic Props
Below are identical magic apparatus which also used for vanishing and reappearing objects.
The Rattle Box/Vanishing Box
The classic close-up magic Rattle Box stills amazes people till today.
This oblong prop is also referred to as the Vanishing Box.
It is also found in Professor Hoffmann‘s book “Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise On The Art Of Conjuring“. (public domain)
Magicians use it to vanish coins, rings, and other small objects.
After dropping the item into the box, the magician shakes it, and there is a rattling sound.
This is to prove the coin or ring is indeed still inside the box.
But then when they open it, the object has vanished.
Basically the secret is by tilting the box downward, so the item will fall into the palm of the hand, as seen below.
The rattle noise comes from the small piece of gimmick hidden between the true and the false bottom of the box.
Find out exactly how the Rattle Box or Vanishing Box works from the Magic Makers.
NOTE: There is a simple version of a rattle box for kid magic trick.
It is included in the Amazing Iv’s Handbook Of Everyday Magic.
Bread And Watch Box (With Rattle) By Mikame Craft
This wooden Rattle Box is created by the late Japanese craftsman and magician Mikame Yonezo.
I believe the rattling sound gimmick is similar, and the secret opening is at the back of the box.
This is how the trick works:
The spectator is a stooge or confederate, and the double-loaf bread (on his right) is already prepared with a hole facing inward.
Throughout the the act, he does not show the back view of the bread.
At 0:19 Mikame’s right hand palms the watch, that has dropped out from the box.
Then at 0:24, he inserts the watch into the hole bread of the facing him.
Now the watch is already inside the double-loaf bread on his right side.
When he separates the bread, he can only twists and turns the bread in his left hand.
As the spectator is a stooge, he will pick the bread with the hidden watch in Mikame’s right hand.
From 1:13 onward, you could see his right hand busy fiddling the bread as he lifts it up.
He is adjusting and also holding onto the watch, so it would not drop out, when his stooge abstracts it out.
After the trick, he places the side of the bread with a hole facing inward.
Nothing Box/Secret Box
There is a small metal canister with a lid called the Nothing Box aka Secret Box.
It is similar to the Rattle Box.
When you shake it, you can hear something moving inside.
But when it is opened, there is nothing inside it.
Likewise the Nothing Box can be used to vanish any small items.
Anyway, the secret is a transparent persplex/acrylic disc, and it has been revealed in this YouTube video.
The Drawer Box
This self-working trick box can produce, vanish or transform anything that fits in the space.
Again it is featured in the book, “Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise On The Art Of Conjuring“. (public domain)
The secret is the drawer comes with a secret compartment and it is fitted with a catch.
There is another version of the Drawer Box found in the 1877 magic book by Edwin Sach below.
Don’t be tricked by the title ‘for amateurs’, this is a great book ever written on magic.
It covers a wide spectrum of relevant topics and hundreds of astonishing tricks.
You get to learn about the techniques, presentation, and all the necessary skills for great conjuring.
Sleight Of Hand: A Practical Manual Of Legedermain For Amateurs And Others By Edwin Sachs (Public domain in the USA)
Click on any of these: Link 1, Link 2
There is an elegantly made update version of the Drawer Box called the Anything Box by TCC & Conan Liu.
Nest Of Boxes Magic Trick
This trick involves a borrowed small item, which magically appearing inside the smallest nest of boxes.
The magicians need to palm the coin, and covertly load it into the innermost box.
They can also use the Devil’s Handkerchief to perform the coin vanishing effect.
Devil’s Hank is a gimmick hanky for the close-up performer to make any small object appear, vanish or change.
It is also called The Demon Handkerchief (Le Mouchoir du Diable) in “Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise On The Art Of Conjuring”.
There are two types of the nest of boxes magic trick.
The first one is the box shaped, which comes in two sizes.
The smaller one is a set of matchbox sized boxes secured with rubber bands.
As for the bigger size, is a set of boxes with hinged covers, together with clasps and a padlock like a Lippincott Box.
They can be made of plastic, cardboard or wood.
The second type is a set round containers or canisters with covers.
They are usually made of plastic, aluminum or brass.
Nest Of Boxes Magic Trick Revealed
There are different ways to load the palmed item into the deepest box or canister.
For the vintage S. S. Adams Magic Coin Box, it uses a flat tin tube or a slide to drop in the coin, as shown below.
To find out how the trick is done, you can view its instruction sheet at Etsy.
This same trick method is also used in the Jiffy Coin Trick also by S. S. Adams.
Similarly, it is also how the Coin In The Ball Of Wool trick is done.
This coin appears inside the ball of wool trick, is found in this Mark Wilson’s book of magic.
Mark Wilson’s Cyclopedia Of Magic: A Complete Course
To get this book free online, type: Mark Wilson’s Cyclopedia Of Magic: A Complete Course pdf in google search.
This trick is also known as “The Ball of Berlin Wool”, included in Professor Hoffmann‘s book “Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise On The Art Of Conjuring“ (public domain).
The box-type props include: the Double Locked Box Mystery, Close-up Nest of Boxes by Mikame Craft, Viking-Himber 3-Box, etc.
Below is the common method used by the nest of wooden boxes.
The secret openings are at the side of the boxes.
The Double Locked Box Mystery also uses the same trick secret.
Whereas the round containers or canisters prop, they use a special gimmick holder, as shown below.
This holder is to separate the containers and their covers.
The set of successive covers are slotted on top, and the corresponding set of containers below.
The red color is the innermost container, where the palmed coin is going to be placed.
The blue color cover is the outermost or the biggest container.
Underneath this blue cover is nested with the other three covers accordingly (green, yellow, red).
This gimmick holder with the pre-arranged nest of containers, is put inside the magician’s pants pocket.
Once the palmed coin is placed inside the red container, he slides the set of covers over the containers and presses them to close them.
That’s how the vanished coin could end up in the closed deepest container.
Likewise, here is an illustration showing you how it is done with the Spell Binding Boxes.
The Watch In Nest of Boxes Tommy Wonder
There are 3 methods of the nest of boxes trick found in the book by Tommy Wonder.
It is featured in Chapter Five: Mechanical Marvels, titled The Watch In Nest of Boxes: a Quest for Ideals.
The Book Of Wonder Vol. 2 By Tommy Wonder & Stephen Minch
To download this book free online, type: Tommy Wonder – The Books of Wonder Vol 2.pdf in Google search.
Nest of Boxes By Derek Dingle
You can also find two nest of boxes tricks in this 1982 book, together with Derek Dingle’s original tricks and his versions of classic effects.
The Complete Works Of Derek Dingle” By Richard Kaufman
To get this book free online, type: The Complete Works Of Derek Dingle” by Richard Kaufman pdf in Google search.
DISCLAIMER: This post is only for informational purposes. All books are copyrighted to their respective owners. All content cited is derived from their respective sources.