Price$99.95
Media TypeTrick, DVD
CategoryGeneral
Date AddedApr 16, 2014
Lubor's Gift
Lubor Fiedler
Paul Harris Presents
(Based on 3 reviews)
Lubor's Gift
Created by Lubor Fiedler
Manufactured by Alan Wong
The Gift That Keeps on Giving!
You open up a stamped shipping carton and remove a colorful gift box --- and then, impossibly, you proceed to put the stamped shipping carton into the gift box. What was once on the outside is now on the inside...and vice versa. Each box fits completely inside the other...again and again. It's a flat-out impossibility --- and yet, there it is!
Box, Box, Paradox
Lubor's Gift is a completely updated version of Lubor's classic Gozinta Boxes. Paul Harris fell in love with this astonishing paradox, brought it up to date with a new look, then commissioned Alan Wong to collaborate with Lubor Fiedler to do the stunning re-design. Lubor's Gift is the result. This is the only version personally endorsed by its genius inventor, Lubor Fiedler, who uses it in every one of his shows..
An Out-of-the-Box Visual Miracle
Magic doesn't get any more organic or visually impactful than this. The two boxes' contrasting colors and sharp design elements are an integral part of the illusion itself, and enable you to perform Lubor's Gift on the largest stage and at the most intimate get together. It's a phenomenal example of "plays big, packs small." Best of all, it's self-contained and nearly self-working; you'll turn your audience's minds inside out within minutes of opening it. Go ahead and hand your spectators both boxes --- there's absolutely nothing for them to find.
A Beautiful Package That Packs a Punch
Lubor's Gift is precision-made and custom-crafted from the highest quality art board. This is an unforgettable effect, impossible object and collector's item all in one utterly magical package. It's extremely easy to do, and you're guaranteed to have tons of fun performing it. So give your audiences a present they'll never, ever forget with Lubor's Gift!
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Overview
In 1966 Lubor Fiedler invented the Gozinta Boxes and presented them to the magic world at the FISM convention in 1970. The trick falls into the category of topographical magic and has been recreated in various forms since its introduction by Fiedler. Lubor’s Gift, a Paul Harris release, updates this paradoxical magic illusion and catapults it from a magic prop to an organic looking item we see almost daily.Effect
The performer takes what appears to be an ordinary shipping box and says it’s a gift from a friend. Inside the shipping box there is the gift box. The gift is taken out (it can be anything that fits in the box or nothing at all). In conversation, the performer then inadvertently places the bigger shipping box into the smaller gift box. The spectators are perplexed, because it is impossible to place a larger object into a smaller object, or can it?Method
Lubor’s Gift, like all Gozinta Boxes are cleverly constructed to create the illusion that the smaller box comes from the larger box and vice versa, the larger box will go into the smaller box. There is no sleight of hand involved but just a spatial awareness of how to orient the boxes for this illusion to work.Product Quality
The boxes are made from a laminated cardboard and should last a long time unless grossly mishandled. Unlike most Gozinta Boxes made in the past, these are made to look like everyday boxes. One is designed to look like a shipping box and the other as a gift box. Stickers to be applied to the shipping box are included to aid in the deception. The “training video” offers a scant 17 minutes that included not only the handling but how to apply the stickers and how to clean the box. Really? There are only two routines suggested and one is using an invisible deck (as if no one could figure that one out).Ad Copy Integrity
The ad copy extolls the virtues of such a marvelous piece of apparatus and it covers everything from this item being a grand illusion to a collector’s piece all of which can be true but it certainly can’t be everything to everybody. It certainly is a nicely made prop and it is definitely a nice illusion. If this is something you can fit into your repertoire it looks very good.Final Thoughts
For the asking price of $100, I think you should get more than some incredibly basic, unimaginative routines. In reality, you are just getting four pieces of folded cardboard. At one point on the DVD Bro Gilbert states “it’s limited by your own imagination”. “Hey Bro, I have a very limited imagination, help me out for the $100 I’m shelling out for this thing. If the great Paul Harris can’t come up with a viable routine, how can I”? If you are considering Lubor’s Gift, plan on writing your own routine for this prop. If you do, I think you will be richly rewarded.(Top ▲)
Lubor’s Gift is a delightful product. It's a collaboration between Paul Harris Presents, Lubor Fiedler and Alan Wong that resulted in what I feel is the best “Gozinta Box” set yet.
If you are not familiar with Fiedler and his work, I would highly recommend seeking out the March 2014 issue of Genii. There will you will find a great introduction to the man, his life and his work. “Lubor’s Box,” as it was called originally, debuted at FISM in 1970. Since that time, it's been released as the “Gozinta Box,” the “In and Out Box” and assorted other names often without credit or royalties. It's been relegated to being a piece of cheap plastic slum magic. Fortunately Lubor’s Gift changes the situation.
Alan Wong’s design for Lubor’s Gift gives intention to a prop that can easily be just a puzzle. I am not degrading puzzles but puzzles aren’t magic. The outer box is decorated with stamps and stickers as if it traveled the world to get to you. One of the features is that a set of matching stickers that can be placed on top of the printed ones to make the box look more realistic. The inner box is a striped gift box which plays a clever optical illusion on the eyes when it becomes the outer box.
The package includes an instructional DVD featuring Justin “Bro” Gilbert explaining the box, offering tips and a few performance presentations. One of which is Paul Harris’ which I must say is very Paul. Your presentational frame for Lubor’s Gift will be the key to this effect. Without a good frame or intention, it's a puzzle. If this appeals to you, then please spend time thinking through your frame.
I have read where some have claimed Lubor’s Gift is too expensive but I, for one, am happy with the price point. You are paying for a quality prop which it is. If you want to spend less, there is a plastic set on the rack in the corner.
If you are not familiar with Fiedler and his work, I would highly recommend seeking out the March 2014 issue of Genii. There will you will find a great introduction to the man, his life and his work. “Lubor’s Box,” as it was called originally, debuted at FISM in 1970. Since that time, it's been released as the “Gozinta Box,” the “In and Out Box” and assorted other names often without credit or royalties. It's been relegated to being a piece of cheap plastic slum magic. Fortunately Lubor’s Gift changes the situation.
Alan Wong’s design for Lubor’s Gift gives intention to a prop that can easily be just a puzzle. I am not degrading puzzles but puzzles aren’t magic. The outer box is decorated with stamps and stickers as if it traveled the world to get to you. One of the features is that a set of matching stickers that can be placed on top of the printed ones to make the box look more realistic. The inner box is a striped gift box which plays a clever optical illusion on the eyes when it becomes the outer box.
The package includes an instructional DVD featuring Justin “Bro” Gilbert explaining the box, offering tips and a few performance presentations. One of which is Paul Harris’ which I must say is very Paul. Your presentational frame for Lubor’s Gift will be the key to this effect. Without a good frame or intention, it's a puzzle. If this appeals to you, then please spend time thinking through your frame.
I have read where some have claimed Lubor’s Gift is too expensive but I, for one, am happy with the price point. You are paying for a quality prop which it is. If you want to spend less, there is a plastic set on the rack in the corner.
(Top ▲)
Paul Harris Presents Lubor's Gift by Lubor Fiedler Review:
Two Boxes, 17 minutes, 1 DVD, a couple ideas, one clever illusion and a hundred bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned.
Effect
This is the Gozinta Boxes invented by Lubor Fiedler. It's Paul Harris's update to the concept. The basic effect is you open a box, and remove another box. Then when you put the boxes away, you put the outside box in the inside box. The illusion is that the bigger (outside) box fits into the smaller (inside box). You can do just that and nothing else. However, Bro Gilbert offers two other ideas that give the effect a little more meaning.
Method
It's self working. The boxes are constructed in such a way that either one can be the inside box or the outside box. There's really not much to say here. It's easy; anyone can do it.
Ad Copy Integrity
The ad copy is 100% accurate. It's everything it claims to be. Again, this is a simple prop, so there's not a whole lot to be said about it. Watch the video demo, and you'll see it exactly as it is.
Product Quality
The boxes are very good quality. They're solid and durable and will likely last a long time. It's also decorated in such a way that the illusion is further enhanced above and beyond the original version. The DVD is very clean and clear, easy to navigate, well lit, well mic'd and well taught. It also comes with postage stickers that match the ones printed on the "outside" box. You can place these stickers over the printed ones to give it a more authentic look. That's a clever idea for sure. Because this is simply a self-working prop, there's not a whole lot that can be said on a DVD about it. Bro offers two really cool ideas (one from Paul Harris and one from himself) that make the effect more meaningful.
However, I was a bit disappointed that there really wasn't much more than that. Lubor Fiedler invented this in 1966. My understanding is that he uses it in every single show. I used to use a small one to keep my sponge balls in. I would have liked to have seen other suggestions and uses for the box. What does Fiedler do with it? What things has he done with it over the years? At the same time, this is the kind of thing that many of you already have an idea of what you'll do with it even before you buy it.
I don't know how much it costs to manufacture these, but at a price tag of $100 bucks, I would have expected a bit more information and usage ideas than the 17 minutes supplied. That's really the only "product quality" issue I had.
Final Thoughts
I honestly don't know if $100 is a good price for this or not. As the ad copy points out, it's an "impossible object", a "collector's item" and an "unforgettable effect" all rolled into one. As a collector's item alone, it might be worth the price tag. It's hard to say. However, I believe that you'll be happy with the product itself. It's just a matter of whether or not you'll use it, and only you can decide that. Then you have to decide if you're willing to spend $100 bucks to use it. Everything else is totally solid. The only thing I'm "wondering" about is the price tag.
Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.