This is well crafted in the high standards style of Arturo and is a trademark stamped piece that you will surely not find in any more beautiful condition than this one.

The following information is reprinted from The Magic Collector Series:

You will find in your colleting journey many magical effects employing round disks of wood ranging between 3 and 5 inches in diameter and usually with thickness between ¾ inch and 1 1/4 inch in size all being referred to as checkers. The variety of effects make use of simple small covers of painted metal up to elaborately constructed cabinetry with performance geared for the stage. The latter have been commonly referred to by collectors as Checker Cabinets and yes there are a few among us that collect these sometimes mechanically intriguing and always interesting looking devices.

Arthur Babbs as Arturo produced a beautiful contribution to this classic line of magic and it is named Oriental Fantasy. Arturo had a gifted sense of style coupled with his craftsmanship abilities in the cabinet making style of magic that seems so rare today. Of the several examples of Arturo made magic I have had the good pleasure of handling I find there is little this man was not a master of, as not only could he do the cabinetry work necessary to the production of many fine effects, he could also wood turn, cut his own stencils and do first rate stencil and finish work. Along with all the aforementioned attributes Arturo also had his items at prices that were affordable and gave much more in quality than other items of the day for the price.

In Oriental Fantasy the magician directs attention to a beautiful cabinet saying, “In ancient China the people of a certain village kept their valuables in a Chinese bank” as he opens the front doors showing a stack of checkers upon a base. He removes the stack of checkers upon the base saying, “Their treasure consisted of gold and jade” referring to the yellow and grren checkers. Unstacking the checkers they are tapped against each other demonstrating each is a solid and separate piece and he stacks them back in their original color alternated order on the base, placing this back into the cabinet. He goes on to say, “The bank was quite necessary as there existed a dangerous group of outlaws that would very much like to steal the precious gold and jade.” A canister is shown having the dragon insignia of these outlaws with the magician saying, “this is the headquarters of the outlaws in this pagoda”.

Opening the doors of the cabinet and removing the checkers the magician says, “With all precautions to secure and safeguard the valuables one night at the stroke of midnight the outlaws broke into the bank and removed the gold and the jade” lifting the dragon canister reveals a glass of rice which the magician places inside the cabinet saying, “In place of the treasure the thieves left a tumbler of ordinary rice.” The magician closes the doors to the cabinet saying, “The thieves then hid the gold and jade in this pagoda” as he covers the stack of checkers with the dragon canister. “In China crime does not pay, for in the morning the gold and jade were once again in the bank” says the magician as he opens the doors and clearly seen by all against the dark interior of the cabinet is the stack of checkers upon their base! Removing the checkers from the cabinet the magician shows them to be solid and separate as at the beginning saying, “All the thieves had for their efforts was a glass of ordinary rice” as he lifts the dragon canister showing the checkers have vanished and revealing the glass of rice that was moments before in the cabinet.

First produced into the late 1960’s the Oriental Fantasy cabinet is of wood richly lacquered in smooth finish with dimensions of 14 3/4 inches high and 11 5/8 inches wide with a visible shallow depth of 7 inches. The checkers are appropriately sized each having a 3 3/8 inch diameter with a thickness of ¾ inch. The canister referred to in the story as outlaw headquarters pagoda is of metal beautifully stenciled with the Arturo dragon in lacquer overlays topped off with a tiered wood top. The die stamp ‘Arturo’ appears on this cabinet assuring the fortunate owner of quality from this past master builder of magic.