Oil and Water

Oil and Water is a classic plot in card magic where a small group of red cards are intermixed with a group of black cards. The black cards (representing oil) magically separate and assemble at the top of the packet. This is usually done a number of times.

This effect was noted as a Card Problem by Hofzinser¹.

The premiss of this effect was first published by Walter B. Gibson in Jinx as Like Seeks Like (issue 91, November 1940). You need six cards, you use the Glide and you don't openly alternate the cards.

The Oil and Water theme and presentation was created by Ed Marlo, who also developed many methods for the effect, published first in The Cardician and M-U-M (1953).

Variations

Most variations can be classified into 3 version: Using only normal cards; using extra cards and using gaffed cards.

• Oil & Water Climax from Ibidem No. 8, december by Ed Marlo (1956) have a sequence in which oil and water mixed.
• Oil and Queens from The Devil's Playthings by Roy Walton (1969) adds a kicker where the one set turns into the 4 queens.
• Camouflage from Packet Switches (Part Two) by Karl Fulves (1973) added a climax where all of the cards became the same color.

• Rene Lavand's version in Closeup-artistry Vol 1.
• Larry Jennings' version in The Complete Collection, Volumes 1 & 2.
• Arturo de Ascanio's version in La Magia de Ascanio vol 2.
• Richard Vollmer's effect in Apocalypse, Vol. 1-5, page 673.
• Guy Hollingworth's version in Drawing Room Deception
• Michael Skinner "Oil and Water Ride Again" in Classic Sampler.
• Harry Lorayne's version in Apocalypse, Sept. 1987 (Vol. 10, No.9).
• John Bannon's "Shake well before use" in Smoke and Mirrors
• David Salomon's Technicolor oil and water
• David Regal's Perfectly oiled
• Derren Brown's in his Devil's Picturebook
• Paul Cummings' Oiled & Watered
• Darwin Ortiz's Ultimate Oil and Water in Scams and Fantasies
• Simon Lovell's Oily Snobs on Disc 3 of his "The Methods Behind the Madness"

References

• To Separate the Two Colours of a Pack of Cards by One Cut, page 264 in Rational Recreations, Vol. 4 (1802) by Dr W. Hooper.
• ¹ in Epilogue No. 11, march 1971 and More Self-working Card Tricks By Karl Fulves page 22 (1984).

Quote : "The Magic Separation : This is what remain of Hofzinser's approach to the Oil and Water (?) theme. The Performer shows a deck of cards, calling attention to the fact that the colors are mixed. The performer places the deck on the table and makes two packets. Immediatly each half is turned face-up, showing all the red in one half, all the blacks in the other."

In Nouvelle Magie Blanche Devoilee (1853) Ponsin described, page 152, a trick in which, after a spectateur had shuffled the deck, you cut it then give it again to the spectator to look for the figures. He can't find them and you produce them from your pocket.

You do that by "magically" separated spots from figures.

Can we conclude that Hofzinser didn't read and/or understand french ?