The Wonderous World of Pickpocketing
$40.00
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The Hype:

Want to set yourself apart from other magicians? Discover the secret to a criminally-overlooked skill that is easier than you think and will help you stand out from the crowd with The Wonderous World Of Pickpocketing by Héctor Mancha.

The idea of learning pickpocketing is a skill that scares many magicians. But, what if we told you that you can enter this exciting world without actually having to steal anything? The Wonderous World Of Pickpocketing by Héctor Mancha is the ultimate guide to learning theatrical pickpocketing.

Theatrical pickpocketing transforms the art of pickpocketing into a one-of-a-kind entertainment experience. It has been used by many great magicians like Alexander Herrmann, Blackstone, Paul Daniels, Derren Brown, Tommy Wonder, Darwin Ortiz, Ben Seidman, and even our own Andi Gladwin. Yet very few resources have been available to learn it—almost none of which focus on presenting these ideas through the lens of magical entertainment.

That is why we are beyond excited to bring you FISM-winner Héctor Mancha’s new book, The Wonderous World Of Pickpocketing. Everyone from beginners to pros will love this book because it’s the perfect entry into the world of pickpocketing.

You will learn a ton of real pickpocketing skills, practice drills and routines that are perfectly explained and illustrated. But, you will also discover techniques that can be be best described as pseudo-picpocketing. Essentially, you can build up confidence and work toward stealing stuff for real through tightly-scripted, audience-tested routines that will convince your audience you’re a master pickpocket without you actually needing to be one.

There is no better way to add a new layer of mystery and excitement to an act than by secretly removing an item from a spectator. Giving someone their watch back as they leave the stage is a guaranteed moment of shock and laughter that will make your act instantly memorable.

So, yes, you’ll learn how to steal watches, ties, belts, wallets and even glasses. But, more importantly, you’ll learn how to script these steals and put them into action.

There are many complete routines included and very few of them actually rely on real steals to work. There’s room to add in real pockpocketing once you’re comfortable. But, it’s not needed to perform many of the routines and your audience will still be left with the impression you are a master thief.

Everything is explained across 113 beautiful pages accompanied by wonderful illustrations. And the book is funny too! Héctor is as hilarious as he is talented. There’s even a chapter with his Mother’s hot sauce recipe in that we highly recommend you try.

There really has never been a book like The Wonderous World Of Pickpocketing. Sure, you can learn “traditional” theatrical pickpocketing, but not in a way that applies that skill (or the appearance of that skill) to a parlor magic act.

If you are looking for new, super-strong, audience-tested stage and parlor magic material that will make you look like the master of an unusual, exciting and secretive skill, grab The Wonderous World Of Pickpocketing by Héctor Mancha today!

My Take:

I suspect that the first pickpocket began working about the time pockets were invented. Around the year 1500, Hieronymus Bosch did a painting called the Conjuror. The conjuror is performing what appears to be the shell game. One of his audience is bent over to watch closely while a pickpocket is stealing his purse from behind. Charles Dickens wrote an entire novel around a scruffy bunch of young pickpockets trained by the evil Fagin. (You have heard of "Oliver Twist", haven't you?)

A skilled pickpocket can put on a very entertaining show. At Magic Live 2013, I watched Gregory Wilson absolutely devastate a young man in a business suit. Just when he thought he had everything back, Gregory turned up with one more item. By the time the act was over, he almost had the young man in tears. He handed his wallet back and walked out of the room. The young man checked out his wallet, discovered something missing and shouted. At this point, we all look at the door, A single hand of Gregory's slid out so all you could see was the hand holding the young man's credit cards. We all found it most amusing but I think the young man might have had a different opinion.

Think you are too old to do this stuff? I saw John Calvert (who was in his upper 90's at the time) steal a watch five times from the same young lady. Masterful.

The book begins with a most amusing forward by Woody Aragon. Turns out Woody has quite a sense of humor and this is one of the highlights of the book for me.

Something Hector is quite open about from the beginning of the book is that this is not a book of pickpocketing techniques. He gives you a bibliography of books on the techniques needed for a pickpocket at the end of the book. So, while you are not being led by the hand to become a skilled pickpocket, you are taught how to make your act entertaining.You are taught how to pick a subject, how to discover what he has that is worth stealing and the art of distraction (misdirection).

You are also given a number of routines that really don't need strong pickpocket skills. One switch is even done with the lights out. One thing you will notice (and if you don't, Hector brings it to your attention) is that the names of all the routines have absolutely nothing to do with the trick. He also shows all through the book that he can be just as funny as Woody.

The book starts out teaching you some basic steals. (Whoops! I think these could be called techniques but then again, what do I know?) Learn to steal a watch, a tie, a belt, glasses, how to steal from the front pocket and how to steal from a blazer.

Now comes the fun part, the eight tricks. Although it will take significant practice to perform these properly, there is no knucklebusting. The mechanics of these routines are actually fairly simple and most don't really require actual pickpocketing skills.

Himber Night Revenge - A corner is torn off the chosen card and kept by the magician. The torn card is put into a wallet and the corner and card change places. Your secret assistant for this routine is the light. It is turned off while the dirty work is done.

Pick Bill in the Shadows - A bill is removed from your volunteers wallet, is signed and replaced in the wallet which is returned to him. The magician starts demonstrating the distraction a pickpocket would use and says he will steal the bills back. Instead he steals the volunteers credit card one at a time "accidentally" as he is supposed to be getting the bill. At the end, he is able to steal the bill, too.

Ring Over the Rainbow - A ring is borrowed from a young lady who receives the magician's wallet as a guarantee. Her ring is found inside the wallet.

The F*ing Awesome Robbery of the Rainbow -  the volunteer is told that his wallet or cell phone will be stolen without the volunteer feeling a thing. The spectator is also required to cover his eyes! You may have noticed by this time what I previously mentioned. The routine names are totally separate from the routines.

The Doppelganger Comes Round for Coffee - The magician puts his wallet into the pocket of the volunteer and a card is named. The card is removed and a corner is torn off and held by the spectator. The card is found inside the wallet.

The Impossible Robbery of the Invisible Man - You probably own everything needed for this routine except for the prosthetic leg and the raccoon but I think it can be done without either. (I told you he had a sense of humor). His take on using the Invisible Deck in a pickpocketing routine. The deck does the heavy lifting here.

Johnny Slates Steals a Bill - The volunteer writes down the serial number of a borrowed bill which is placed between two spirit slates. The bill disappears and turns up in an unsuspected location (and the serial number matches).

The Wallet is Under Where? - Hector's take on the bra trick using a wallet and briefs. Depending on the venue and the audience, this could be a lot of fun.

The Elegant Robbery of Sean Connery - The magician steals a wallet, takes out a bill, replaces it with a thank you note and returns it to the pocket.

The book finishes with a chapter containing short directions for 14 more tricks plus a recipe for Hector's Mother's Hot Sauce.

Like I said, the only caveat I would put on this is the lack of detailed instructions. Hector did not want to give you a college level course on the subject (he shows you the books he would suggest that you read to gain those skills). This book is about having fun with some pickpocketing based routines that are not hard to do. If you learn some of these you might find that it inspires you to read further. (I dug out my Eddie Joseph pamphlet on "How to Pick Pockets".)

So, if you just want to have fun, this is the book to buy. The resources are there for you to continue. It is also good for the working pro as he offers some valuable tips. I enjoyed reading it. I suspect you will too.

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