Alabe Crafts The Wizard of Baghdad Genie Pocket Fortune Teller

Description

From an old magician’s estate purchase. The messages no longer appear when the bottle is turned over but the cardboard sleeve covering the bottle has wonder graphics and is in very good condition. Makes for a wonderful display item in your collection of vintage magic and novelties. This is a scarce item which you do not see come up for sale very often. Selling as is.

Alabe Crafts was a highly successful novelty and toy company founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1946 by cousins Albert Carter and Abe Bookman. The name “Alabe” is a blend of the founders’ first names.The company is best known for inventing the iconic Magic 8 Ball, which was originally developed as a promotional tool for Brunswick Billiards before being mass-marketed as a popular toy.

Before the Magic 8 Ball, Alabe Crafts mass-produced several other popular pocket fortune-telling novelties, including: Syco-Seer: Their first tube-like fortune-telling device containing floating dice in dark liquid, patented in 1944. Note: This is what is for sale above.

Syco-Slate (The Pocket Fortune Teller): A more compact and cost-effective version of the Syco-Seer released in 1946. This pocket-sized game displayed an answer to a question in a single glass window.

Today, vintage original Syco-Slate and Alabe Pocket Fortune Tellers are considered rare and highly sought-after collectibles.