This trick is a classic of magic.

Originally made popular by the late Don Alan, this routine opens my cabaret show very much as you see it here.

My mother bought me this trick after I toured the Houdini Hall of Fame in Niagara Falls. She didn't want to go through so she waited outside while I did. At the end of the tour they had a gift shop (really!?) and in the corner, a magic counter. the demonstrator showed me this trick. I was so amazed that I went outside and got my mother and made him show her.

A few years later I found out that the guy behind the counter was Vincent Anthony - the hypnotist/mentalist I toured with for 3 years.

Side note: When I opened the trick in my hotel room, I couldn't understand the instructions but I knew what the effect was. I ended up taking the whole thing apart and rebuilding it to make it easier to perform (for me) and now, every time I get a new one, I have to take it apart and reasseble it my way.