TOASTED

By Richard Robinson

In the days before electricity resulted in radio, television, and the internet, social events were frequently elaborate dinners held in hotels and private clubs, lasting for hours and concluding with numerous speeches by the participants, each ending with the proposal of a toast - the raising of glasses of alcohol to salute a particular individual and his, occasionally her, accomplishments.

Thus making or offering a toast entered the language broadening in meaning until it became possible for an actor to become the toast of Broadway.

In the class structured society of the Victorian era magicians not only imitated their betters by donning evening clothes but took to finishing up routines by producing a glass filled with wine or champagne as if toasting the spectators.

As is usual with magicians when times change the production of the wine glass as the kicker ending was retained despite it generally having lost its social context.

An example of this persistence of prop is found in Lewis Ganson's book "Routined Manipulation Finale" published in London by Harry Stanley in 1954. Ganson explains a "'Hanky Panky' Routine" that goes through six phases involving a borrowed handkerchief which is mutilated and restored by a pencil, scissors, and a lighter, with coins continuously produced from the handkerchief along the way, before the finish when a glass of wine is produced from the handkerchief.

What interested me was the wine glass production which Ganson does not explain except to say it is "a clever effect originated by Jardine Ellis." The only clue Ganson provides is that the wine glass, apparently hidden under the coat, had to be turned from mouth down to mouth up in stealing it.

Based on the steal move I decided to reverse engineer the gimmick that must have been involved. This was an amusing clean room experiment. After I was done I talked to Doug Edwards about it and he told me he has in his collection a gimmick similar to what I described.

Props

A plastic wine glass or any other plastic glass with a stem and circular foot. The glass should be smaller in diameter than the glass in the photographs since it is hidden under the coat. What is called a plastic "cordial glass" is probably best since its dimensions are 2 inches / 50 mm or less in diameter and about 4 inches / 100 mm in height.

The gimmick is made of coat hanger wire. Two lengths of wire are used. They are bent into the shapes illustrated below, then connected together in a hinge-like manner.

The top wire is just greater in height than the diameter of the glass foot. It is wide enough so the two arms are on either side of the glass stem. The ends of the wire are turned and covered with vinyl tubes, red in the photograph. These ends hook over the foot.

The bottom wire is slightly narrower and shorter than the top wire. The two ends of the bottom wire are turned down to create eyelets. The bottom arm of the top wire goes through these eyelets so that the two wire sections are hinged together. The blue cylinder is a loose vinyl tube which keeps the hinged bar in position.

The gimmick in load position. The bottom wire at a right angle to the top wire. The bottom wire goes into the waist band or behind the belt. The top of the glass rests against the costume. The pressure of the glass against the costume keeps the top wire in position, holding the foot of the glass in position, held by the two red hooks.

Production

The production can be made with either hand depending how the steal is blocked. If the hand opposite the load is used a cloth of suitable size must block the spectators' view. If the hand on the load side of the body is used, a slight turn upstage will block the steal.

In either case the fingers of the hand take hold of the glass stem, then press the stem towards the body. This movement towards the body will unhook the foot from the red hooks. The glass is then turned mouth up.

The left photograph above shows the glass in load position. The right photograph shows the gimmick collapsed after the steal. If the gimmick is hung on the belt pull the gimmick up slightly so the belt thickness does not interfere with pressing the glass towards the costume to release it from the gimmick hooks.