HOLDOUT DEVICE. London: George Hammerton, ca. 1960. Finely manufactured aluminum device with lazy tongs incorporated into an oblong box, to be worn on the magician?s arm under the shirtsleeve. When activated, the ?thief? end of the device appears at the end of the cuff, and an item in the hand may be deposited in the device or the hand as needed. With a variety of attachments for coins, cards, cigarettes and billets, which may be attached to the moving end of the apparatus. Often confused for Jon Martin?s work, Hammerton took up the mantle of the ?master magical mechanic? after Martin?s passing and constructed a number of complex mechanisms for magicians along these lines.