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POST OFFICE BOX 144 FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

ACIDUS PLUSCopyright 1979 by Al MannExclusives

FOREWORD

For years, this author has been in search ofsome miraculous paper fold for use in billet workso that all the thought-reader had to do was to squeezeit secretly and the paper would turn inside-out andreveal the hidden thought.

A short study was made of Origami, the Japanesepaper folding art, with a threat of becoming expertin it in the search for the illusive magical fold.

My correspondant, Millard Longman from Floridamade me realize that I already knew this fabulousfold and what's more I had invented it myself and wasalready in print in my former book 'Acidus.'

All the methods in this book have baffled men-talists everywhere as they looked for the 'dummy'billet that was not there and that necessary 'switch'that was no longer needed.

This book exposes the secret move to the frater-nity. It is very simple, as fabulous magic should be,yet it is most potent.

Use it well and gaurd the secret for it is thistype of straight-forward presentation that creates theperfect illusion of the Mindreader's art.

Fraternally,

c tt/m/kff j!tk!kb

1MILLARDLONGMAN

b. 10/6/43home, Miami Florida.pro~., Electrical

Engineering.Hol~s six US patents.Invents medical

instruments .Magici Since

childhood. LovesPeychic Phenomena

and Cold Reading.Has studied all

the -isms and-ologies of the art.

Did a silent call andcard act. Biggest datel

one week at the BeachTheatre, in Miami Beach.

Millard has changed overto the mental-line of Magic

and now presents an act of ESP.

He is an avid subscriber to AME.

~.

\L MANN~d~ (201) 431-~9,

,

AME salutes Millard Longman and his expert presen-tation of "ACIDUS NOVUS. .

Millard created the e~fect applying the principles o~the original Acidus mns.

POST OFFICE BOX 144 FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

2

ACIDUS NOVUSby Millard Longman

;

JACIDUS PLUS AN AL Y~NN EXCLUSIVEACIDUS NOVUS ...... cont.

Fig. 7

The move is done at waist level. The right hand then holdsthe billet in full sightas the body turnsa bit to theleft and themessage is in /position forreading. (Fig. ?~

In r.dllard' sown words, "Watchyourself in a mirrorand you will see ~ ~nothing unusual when you do this Fig. 6move with the card at waist level."

"A quick glance will let you read the key word. I do it asI bring the card to my forehead. I press it there with my middlefinger and my hand spread wide. When this is done in one conti-nuous move, the thumb comes out of the fold automatically."

There it is, gentlemen, simple and sweet. The presentationis direct, and is the type of effect that will sell the mind-reader image to the public. Its criteria meets the standardsof "Acidus" which spawned it. That is what we have aimed for.

Millard does an expert presentation of AcidusNovus and uses it in everyone of his shows.So do not be misled by its simplicity,it is a winner.

A DOUBLE-BARREL EFFECTwith Acidus Novus is to doit with paper instead of card.Tha t way after the initial thoi.J.F,h tis revealed, performer does thecenter-tear with the paper and thenas an after thought reveals the spec-tator's name!

7400 Miami Lakes DriveApartment 310

Miami Lakes. FL 33014

NOTca Only one person in the audience knowsthat the key word is written on the bottom line, if he noticesthat at alll The rest of the audience are puzzled since theynever see you open the billet.

F"'""======""""""=""""=~--""""---'\Here is a full size

view of Millards businesscard which he uses for thetest.

MILLARD LONGMAN

4(201) 431-2429POST OFFICE BOX 144 FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

Al Mannb. 1/20/24home, New Jersey, USA

Profession. Mindreader,Author, Lecturer,World traveler.

Retired. Master Mariner.

Stage name. Allemann

Memberl InternationalBrotherhood of MagiciansNo. 22524.The World Society for

AL MANN (1959) Psychical Research,No. 2

Knight of the Bluenose.(crossed into the Articregions on Sept. 21st1973)

Fernando Magellan Fellowship. (circumnavigated the globebetween July 21st, 1971 to November 21st. 1971)

Phoenician Fellowship. (circumnavigated Africa twice in 1971)Walked and venerated on the hallowed grounds of the Buddhists,

Moslems, Christians, Hebrews, Mayas and Egyptians.Walked in the valley of the Kings of the Toltecs.

THE GR~T MOMENT. An ESP show, (1959) for The Lotus Club ofNew York City. Its honorary members include all the present andpast presidents, admirals and generals of the USA. Plus most ofthe heads of state of 1urope and business tycoons of the world.

A lecture and show at The Magic Castle, Hollywood, 1979.

Arch Mage Ipsissimus, Esoteric Order of Pan.Master of Magic, order of the Silver Key.

K~~P~. of the legendary Locked Books of Magic.

5POST OFFiCE BOX 144 FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 077

6ACIDUS PLUS AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVETHE AZONIC FORCE ...... cont.

Please note (Fig. 11) that the numberchosen by the spectator must be written onthe right top half of the card as indicatedby the line.

Also the five ESP designs must be inked inby the performer so that the cross is righton the center fold of the card.

An X is marked on the bottom of the cardto tell the spectator where to place theword.

THE PRESENTATION a Lecture about demons-trating the art of the thought-reader andask someone to volunteer for a most uniquetest. A lady is the best subject.

Ask the lady to secretly draw a circlearoung one of the ESP designs and also toread the instructions on the card.

NOTE that no mention is made aboutwriting in a number or the word. If thespectator follows the instructions she willwrite in a number and also a word and atthe end the audience will be amazed thatyou were able to also tell what else thespectator is thinking ofl

While the lady is filling in the card,tell the audience that she is secretlydrawing a circle around one of the famousESP designs made famous by Duke University,and what have you.

Instruct the lady to fold the cardtwice and then take it from her keeping itin sight at all times. Notify the aUdiencethat the card is folded four ways and thatit is impossible for the human eye to pe-netrate the folded card as it is opaque.

Hold the card at the tips of yourright hand fingers in the positionshown in Fig. 8. As you reach intothe coat pocket to get a paper clip,turn the body a bit to the left andreach over with the right thumb tipand open out the card as you callattention to the paper clip and thenplace the clip on the card and at thesame time read the message.

After the message is read, thecard is refolded, or crumpled andpocketed, or later given back to the writer.

Fig.11

ACIDUS PLUS

THE AZONIC FORCE ..... cont.

7AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVg

As can be seen in Fig. 12, the number is upside down butsince it is only a two-digit number it is easy to read. In theillustration the spectator circled the circle as the circlemade by the spectator can not be seen. If the cross had beencircled, half of the drawn circle would be visible.

The word is always right side up.For the climax, the performer may open out the card to

verify the th:>ughts and then pass it out to the writer as asouvineer. It is suggested that the performer crumple thecard up in his closed fist as part of the dramatics and alsoto destroy the evidence of the creases.

A LETTER FROM ORVILLE MEYER

March 10, 1979Dear All

Got your brief letter some days ago and I mustrespond with a comment concerning the billet (index card)fold you showed me. You see, I have been fooling aroundwith this.

You don't need the extra slanted crease. Make justthe first two folds in the original way. Now if you willhold the folded card in the same manner as you showed me,and press down with the right thumb on that same upper leftcorner, the right part of the card will pop out and unfoldin the correct way. That extra crease develops automatica-lly. If you want to hand the card back afterwards and thinkthat that extra crease you've just made might provide aclue, then just bend the card around some more, here andthere, while you are concentrating, so that the card endsup with several random creases.

Thought you'd like to know about this if you haven'talready run onto it yourself.

BestOrville

The Orville method is a good one. I had tried it beforebut was afraid to do it in public. However once the routineis mastered you will find that all the creases can be doneduring presentation and while casually handling the card.The spectator can be told to fold the card twice, first fromtop to bottom, etc. and they will comply with the request.

Another good move is to just tell the spectator to turnthe card over on the table. Performer approaches the tablepicks up the card and folds it. The audience gets a glimpseof a lot of writing on the cardl

8 ACIDUS PLUS'"

AN AL MANN ~CLUSIVE

THE HUGHES MOVE

Fig.14

Members of the ultra-exclusive magic clubof New York City, "The Thirteen, II had an entiresession devoted to 'Acidus Plus' and the AzonicForce.

A special card was printed and released forthis publication. See Fig. 15, next page.

The back of this card, Fig. 16, shows an addresswith a special Zip Code. This Zip Code is numberedconsecutively from 1 to 5 or 12, depending on the presentaion.

The purpose of the Zip code is to use it in conjunctionwith a psychometry effect. While the folded card is held bythe performer, he glimpses the number and can tell what spec-tator did the writing before the card is opened.

FROM THE THIRTEEN

Bobby Hughes of Columbus Ohio, a close friend of BettyNelson and this writer, presents mentalism insome exclusive circles. Last May (79) he gavea show for the Midland Mutual Ins. Co. inwhich he performed his own version of theAzonic Force.

When Acidus first came out, Bobby masteredit to perfection. Later when he learned ofthe Azonic Force he applied his own in-sight and came up with the following,keeping the original 'Acidus' principleof having the billet in sight at alltimes!

The Hughes move is the same as in Fig.12, except that the hand is held with thefinger tips pointing upwards as in Fig. 1).

About 2/)rds of the folded billet is insight from the back of the hand. The audiencecan be shown the hand all around as the per-former patters, then with the back of the handfacing the audience the secret move is madeJ~ the tip of the right thumb comes up and opens

~ out the billet as in Fig. 14.You must watch the angles and do a little

practice before a mirror. The move is quiteeasy and can be mastered to perfection.

The Zip Code trick, made famous by Larry Becker, is quitewell known and is an excellent idea.

~ ACIDUS PLUSFROM THE THIRTEEN ..... cont.

Fig. 15 shows the specialcard printed and released forthis publication by "The Thirteen."

When the 'Azonic'Force' foldis made with this card, as manyas four different pieces of in-formation can be glimpse.

On the back of the card isprinted the following address I

RESEARCH SOCIETY FORVALID PARAPSYCHOLOGY371 Wisconsin Ave. M~WASHINGTON, D.C.

23801

Fig. 16

The above mentioned address~ must of course be printed witha different Zip code for as manytimes as desired;

23801, 23802, 23803, etc.for the purpose of the psychome-tric effect.

SHADES OF BERT R~SS~by Bob Haines

9

AN AL NillNN cXCLUSIV~

RESEARCH SOCIETY FORVALID PARAPSYCHOLOGY

CIRCLE ONE: O+~D*DATE OF YOUR BIRTH:

month dayTESTER:

: DATE OF TEST:

FIELD EVALUATION TEST #3I INSTRUCTIONS

I.ESP SYMBOLS WERE DEVELOPED ASDESIGNS EASY TO VISUALIZE ANDTRANSMIT. CIRCLE ONE.

2.PRINT THE MONTH AND DAY OFYOUR BIRTH.

3.PRINT IMPORTANT YEAR IN YOURLIFE.

4.PRINT NAME IMPORTANT TO YOU.IMPORTANT YEAR:

\

IMPORTANT NAME:Fold card in quarters

Fig. 15Performer has spectator write

several messages on index cards and fold them twice. The foldedbillets are mixed on the table or in a paper bag. Performerthen takes out from his coat pocket a handful of paper clipsand throws them on the table. Taking up a billet, performerasks spectator to pick out one of the paper clips and hand itto him. A glimpse of the message is made with the secret moveas the spectator gets the paper clip and the performer thensecures the folded card with it and tells the spectator todo the same with the rest of the billets.

Performer then proceeds to read the sealed messages, usingthe one-ahead system!

10

ACIDUS PLUS AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

THE AZONIC RENT(2/14/79)

(Columbus, Ohio)

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ACIDUS PLUS

THE AZONIC RENT .. cont.

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

11

If the reader is conversant with giving private readings ordoing close-up mentalism, he knows the reaction of the spectatorwhen the folded paper with his message is torn to bits andburned. Usually after the second tear is made, the spectatorgives up on the written message. He assumes the paper is to-tally destroyed beyond recovery.

This ~iter was recently visited by some seasoned spiri-tualists for a private reading. When these ladies were toldto write down their most important questions, they became sus-

picious and a marked disappointment showed. But they wentahead and wrote out their questions. They have been told thatwritten questions are open to trickery.

I cautioned them not to let me see what is written and thento fold the papers three times (Mental-Ettes). I then reachedfor the folded billets and they were very reluctent to let gobut I told them to keep an eye on the paper, and that I hadneed of touching the folded paper with my finger tips to getthe necessary vibrations. Then I tore up the billet afterwhich the ladies relaxed completely! The pieces of paper werethen burned and the reading given. These ladies were totallysatisfied and recommended me highly and have come back forrepeats.

Mr. C. L. Boarde, the author of Mainly Mental Vols. I andII, and the most knowlegeable person on billet work, confidedto me that nothing impresses a spectator more than to tear upand burn his own paper with his message in it. This Mr. Boardedoes via the twice-written messages and the center-tear (seeTorn Center Deluxe by Anderson in It must Be Mindreading).

The Azonic Rent allows the spectator to tear up his ownpaper and burn it. Or he can pocket it after tearing it tobits. Yet only once is the message written.

T~e Azonic Force betters the more diffi~ult 'Umbrella Move'cred1t?d to Bert Reese by Dai Vernon. It also makes possiblean eaS1er working for Al Baker's "Pellet Reading" from hisb?ok 'Mental ~agic.' The folded billet is picked up with the~1ght hand wh1le the left hand holds the envelope. The billet1S a~par?ntl placed in the envelope, but is actually heldouts1de 1t w1th the left thumb. As the mentalist patters andg?es fo~ the second billet, the left thumb opens out thef1rst b1llet and the mentalist reads it as he places thesecond billet behind the envelope.

The Azonic Force can do much good in billet work. Thisbook is only an introduction.

May the Force b h you,

12

JsT OFFICE BOX 144 FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

./ VACIDUS PLUS

A Histor:

The original "Acidus" manuscript was perfected, writtenand the illustrations drawn in the latter part of 1971, whilethe author was on a J2-day ocean cruise circumnavigatingAfrica from Arabia to Italy (via South Africa).

"Acidus" was the result of a long study on billet work'andit evolved from a two-hand billet test. In the former test,the performer held the folded billet on the tips of his fingerswith both hands while he gestured, spoke and stared hypnoti-cally at his victim or audience. Behind the cupped hands, thetwo thumbs worked unseen opening out the palmed billet whilethe dummy was in full sight. The message was then read and thebillet refolded and reswitched and given back to the writer.

A question then arose. "Why'can't this test be done witha single hand?" Experimentation proved that it could be doneand "Acidus" was born. It was released in December of 1976.

The Acidus test was perfected and used for years under allconditions. It was used as an openner to prove the art of thethought-reader. 'This one test alone captivated the audience.Phil Goldstein requested a demonstration of the test in oneof Larry Weeks one-day conventions in New York. I did it forPhil while he was two feet away. He remarked that it was indeedgood.. Rumores trickled into the AME offices from subscribers say-1ng that the Acidus principle had many possiblities.

On Oct. 9th, 1978, Mentalist-Magician Millard Longman fromFlorida sent in an order for Acidus.

A CASUAL LETTER

Just 21 days later, on Oct. Joth, Millard wrote me an elec-trifying letter. Here is part of the letterl

"Dear All Acidus is beautiful I I have worked out avariation that uses no switch. My handling is still"at the fingertips" and looks like Acidus to thespectator."

A casual letter with a modest revelation, yet it stunned me.

l1)

ACIDUS PLUS AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

A HISTORy .... cont.

Bear in mind that all these years, I had basked in thebelief that Acidus was perfection unsurpassed. Millard'sletter sounded like something from another world.

Oil was burnt that night and sleep lost as I tried tofathom out a method for doing Acidus with just one billet.Thanks to Millard's letter I worked out "The Azonic Force"and mailed it to him asking him if that was his discovery.

To my surpirse he answered telling me that The AzonicForce was good but that he used another method which wehave called "Acidus Novus." Now we had two methods, both good.

THE THIRTEEN

On December, 1978, The AME offices were honored by a visitfrom members of the ultra-exclusive magic club of New York City,"The Thirteen." In the group were Bob Haines, Charlie Reynolds,and Dennis Marks. Carl Herron also called later.

During the gab-fest, the new bilet moves were shown. Theybecame popular instantly but like all new discoveries, the realvalue was not felt yet.

The potential impact of "The Azonic Force" was not realizeduntil the method was tried under fire.

It was presented for the first time at the Lecture at theMagic Castle in Hollywood on Jan. 14th, 1979. It took its tollamongst the mentalists. Many were amazed to see a new approachto billet work. Emphasis was placed on the fact that only onebillet was used. No palming or switching. Everything done open-ly while the folded billet was in full sight.

The test was also presented three times a day for a week atthe Parlour of Prestidigitation for the lay audiences.

Meanwhile, the boys of "The Thirteen" were busy evolvingnew effects for both Acidus Novus and The Azonic Force. Theyhave come up with some amazing ideas, some of which will beoffered here.

In a later letter Millard wrote to say, "The quality ofyour books is unsurpassed. -- I procrastinated for almostan ehtire year before sending my order for Acidus. I wasafraid it would be a rip-off. Now I am sold on you andyour works."

Many thanks to Millard Longman for the genesis of the idea.Thanks to my very good friends Bobby Huges, Ray Hafler, OrvilleMeyer, Bob Haines, Charlie Reynolds, Dennis Marks and CarlHerron and Lee Noble for their accolade and encouragement.Thanks to Bascom Jones for his interest.

POST OFFICE BOX 144 FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

14

'\ l'sli tFig. 19

1 Secret of rBOMJrl crusCopyright by Al ~ann Exclusives

(Alexander Abonutichus of Paphlagonia, became famousfor his gift of reading sealed messages in the 2ndc entury A. D. )~FFECT. A spectator secretly writes a message on an index

card and folds it twice. He next seals the folded card in anenvelope. The mentalist takes the sealed envelope and divinesthe tought and then tears up the sealed envelope to bits andburns it or gives it back to the writer to hold.

THE SECRET. The technique that follows will seem verytrivial to the reader who will no doubt wonder what all thefuss is about.

The fact is that this writer has been in search of thismethod for decades. as stated in ~ental-Ettes. The solutioncame to light on 6/30/80.

The original idea (as shown in Mental-ttes) was to simplysteal the quarter of the envelope that contained the foldedcenter of the billet after tearing the sealed envelope to bits.

In the Secret of Abonutichus, the performer returns allthe torn pieces to the spectator. The performer glimpses themessage in the act of tearing up the sealed envelope, so thereis no need to sneak a glimpse behind a slate or danger of fum-bling. The performer can devote all his time to the presentation!

As stated in the ads, the reader must be acquainted with"Acidus Plus" in order to understand the instructions and workthis effect. So I will not reveal the secret of Acidus Plus here.

PRePARATIONS. You will need envelopes that measure 2i by 4iinches as shown in Fig. 19.

The only preparation that this envelope has isa lt inch slit on the bottom edge as shown by thearrows. This slit should be done with a sharp knifeso that it is hardly noticeable. The slit is onlya hair longer than half the width of the envelope.

The prepared envelope can be safely given to thespe:tator as there is no reason to suspect it.

The index cards used should measure 4 by 6 inches.After the technique is mastered, then almost any sizeof index card can be used. For the instructions wewill use the 4 by 6 in. cards.

ACIDUS PLUS

THe SECRET OF ABONUTICHUS cont.

15AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

~Dfe '7

Fe.J

[[Jc

Fig. 21

slitrr)Fig. 25

Fig. 22

tearI

[E8~1sli

Fig. 23

~B

Fig. 20

Fig. 24

tearI

i\

Let Fig. 20 represent a 4 by6 inch index card. A line isdrawn about I! inches from thebottom. Another line may be alsodrawn it from the top as in Fig.11 of Acidus Plus. This secondline is mentioned here in casethe performer wishes to dealwith more than one piece of in-formation.

If the performer wishes. hemay prefold the card as shown in Fig. 20, A. Band C.Some subscribers have stated that they do not need toprefold the card. in which case the spectator may beallowed to fold the card as shown in Fig. 20.

But if the reader wishes, he can prefold the cardtogether with the special crease as shown in Figs. 9and 10 of AP. The card shown in Fig. 20A must nextbe filled with the message as per Fig. 11.

After the spectator writes his thoughts on the card.he is given the envelope to seal it in after folding it.The performer must make sure that the card is placedinto the envelope as shown in Fig. 21. with thefolded center at the lower left as seen by the per-former. The envelope is placed in front of the spec-tator as shown in Fig. 19. and the flap is opened outtowards the spectator and he is told to insert thefolded card into it and seal it!

Performer now takes the sealed envelope sothat the top of the envelope is to hisleft as shown in Fig. 22 and aftersaying that he already knows thesecret thought. he tears the envelopein half as shown by the dash lines,Fig. 22. The bottom right half is nextplaced over the top left as shown inFig. 2;. Performer next turns the en-velopes so that the slit is on his1'''''''''er right hand corner. This is shownin Fig. 24. Another tear is now donedo~~ "the middle and again the rightquarter in the right hand which containsthe slit is placed over the leftquarter, as shown in Fig. 25.

" You are now holding all the piecesin your right hand and ready for the'read.

ACIDUS PLUS

THE SECRET OF ABONUTICHUS cont.

16

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

Dormot try to open out the fold right away but patter a bituntil you are sure it will open easily. Due to the slit, the topfold of the envelope is now loose and can be moved aside easily.

If there is any trouble and the card will not open out asshown in Fig. 12, the pieces may be transfered to the left handOR the pieces may be held with both hands so that the left thumbcan assist in opening out the billet. The important thing is tobe sure that the pieces appear to be in sight at all times.

Usually it is quite easy to open out the center piece. Thekey here is to avoid holding the pieces too tightly. If thepieces are held loosely, the center piece will relax and almostopen itself out.

Do not undersell this technique. It is very strong. Once youmake the first tear before the eyes of the spectator, he willusually give up on the sealed envelope. Subsequent tears willonly deepen the mystery.

At the end it is a good thing to give the pieces to the spec-tator and tell him to tear them up some more.

PLEASE NOTEI Performer must make sure that the card is foldedcorrectly. Please refer to Fig. 20 Band C. The card must nefolded first from top to bottom and then from right to left. IFit is folded from bottom to top and then right to left, themessage will not show!

It is always better to work with fresh new materials. Theenvelopes should be new and made of light material so that theywill tear easilly.

WITH TWO S~\LED ENVELOPES I Get the spectator to write histhoughts, fold the card and seal it. Then force a word from abook and tell the spectator to write on a second card and foldit and seal it. Now, the spectator is given the sealed envelopewith the word force while the performer takes the other one. Tellthe spectator to tear up the envelope while you tear up the other.

This makes the task of 'reading' the thought easier since thespectator is busy tearing his envelope!

. Wi th a li ttle study, the reader may be able to do the samething with letter size envelopes and a sheet of paper. By secret-1; wetting the right thumb, the paper folds can be pealed do~rto reveal the writing!

Best Wishes,

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