This packet trick was originally put out by Larry West and Arthur Emerson in the 1970's.   At that time, E&W was producing so many packet tricks that it seemed like they would make a trick for any pictures they could print on a packet of playing cards.  Hamman Eggs (which punned on the name of the great Brother John Hamman, whose Gemini count is featured in the effects handling) was perhaps the zaniest packet trick of the bunch, with cards featuring fried eggs, slabs of ham, hamburgers and fries!    Pretty weird, but for the right audience in the right mood for a little magical nonsense, this packet does pack a lot of good magic.   

The effect is this: Magi says his small vinyl packet wallet is a menu, and tells the story of two men going to a diner for breakfast.  Six cards are removed from the wallet, and shown to each have a picture of a food item.  Hash, Pancakes, Eggs, another Eggs, Ham, and another Ham.  "They're pushing the Ham and Eggs!".   The pancake and Hash cards are put back int hhe menu (wallet), and the magi deals one egg and one ham to tyhe spectator, and the remaining ham and egg to himself.  But when the spectator looks at her cards, they are both eggs.  Again the eggs and ham are dealt to the spectator and the magi, and this time, the magi has both eggs.  Then the magi comes clean and admits, they are out of ham -- all four cards are now eggs.   But it's too late for breakfast, so they order the lunch special -- the trick ends showing the four cards are now two hamburgers and two fries.

The vintage E&W originals of this packet trick are really hard to find now, but Hampton Ridge re-issued this effect in 1999, and unlike many re-issued magic tricks, in this case, the cards and graphics are better quality than the original.   I wish they had printed the word MENU on the packet wallet (which was done with the original E&W version), but it must've been too expensive to do that these days.  Still, the idea of the wallet as a menu makes sense, and spectators accept it.

If you have an original E&W version of this trick in your collection, get this newer version to use in your perforrmances, and keep the original for your magic collection showcase.

This Hampton Ridge Hamman Eggs is brand new, with poker sized cards and cute serving platter back design.

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