tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35069389431202761832024-03-14T17:58:05.856+00:00CollectingMagic.co.ukPhilip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-78793226073393128662021-12-13T19:05:00.000+00:002021-12-13T19:05:37.237+00:00The Art of Modern Conjuring and The Boy's Book of Conjuring, a Mystery Solved?<p>If you have an interest in old magic books you will almost certainly have come across this book published by Ward, Lock & Co. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaWR9ex2N4aUa-PwDhEiK1XkhyPvKuaKV5ILht-OaRqfAT0NdmAleEPe39_9_EOt-0TwzgEeaBUxsFsyHNUtQmD405EqLAjZHM6Rmk-PqjAvQXZ-bmsxQK-38B_Wwu6hSmQqBivG3jVLz/s2048/aIMG_2938.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1882" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaWR9ex2N4aUa-PwDhEiK1XkhyPvKuaKV5ILht-OaRqfAT0NdmAleEPe39_9_EOt-0TwzgEeaBUxsFsyHNUtQmD405EqLAjZHM6Rmk-PqjAvQXZ-bmsxQK-38B_Wwu6hSmQqBivG3jVLz/w588-h640/aIMG_2938.JPG" width="588" /></a></div><p>In many ways this is a typical example of a popular magic book of the time, featuring a mixture of simple tricks with coins and cards and some effects with commercially available apparatus. What sets it apart from its peers is the use of lavish, high-quality photography. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBR2Q7uoSVGR3Gh8psbUXmblWHXkiJTmjNbp0mgCVNu9ajoWgdqG7WjtbvDuGbZ1He3hS9-T__b8WVXwe8SB7FvFoaTPFZWHs3WTcSsRXi8A_pmi34lZ0zLCSogTCHa1zM1WXPYPLiUEv/s2048/aIMG_2955.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1451" data-original-width="2048" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBR2Q7uoSVGR3Gh8psbUXmblWHXkiJTmjNbp0mgCVNu9ajoWgdqG7WjtbvDuGbZ1He3hS9-T__b8WVXwe8SB7FvFoaTPFZWHs3WTcSsRXi8A_pmi34lZ0zLCSogTCHa1zM1WXPYPLiUEv/w640-h454/aIMG_2955.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>The number of copies existing today suggests many thousands were printed. The book wasn't released with this title though, when first published in 1909 it was titled The Art of Modern Conjuring. The first edition was clearly dated and had gilded lettering to the cover and spine, subsequent editions were mostly undated with printed lettering. The picture below shows the first English edition.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KjEkgdgtWEXNVc7xh_RsTGJC3lfWDhZavklU_32uxrAE3Be2LXqTDMhKY4wQAw0hPzl2fjkRHBjeXNLopfnVkwB1BDU21jIgtHzW7DK8VBC8gIDPxxZLcC8SBGfnP-lWAyCtFSLkMaaa/s2048/aIMG_2939.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2017" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KjEkgdgtWEXNVc7xh_RsTGJC3lfWDhZavklU_32uxrAE3Be2LXqTDMhKY4wQAw0hPzl2fjkRHBjeXNLopfnVkwB1BDU21jIgtHzW7DK8VBC8gIDPxxZLcC8SBGfnP-lWAyCtFSLkMaaa/w630-h640/aIMG_2939.JPG" width="630" /></a></div><p>The book was reprinted without the foiled lettering in the UK and Australia. A licensed American release by The Reilley and Britton Company was published with the gilt lettering to the cover. There was also at least one edition published in a different language with a Dutch version, titled Het Nieuwe Tooverboerk, printed in 1912.<sup><span style="font-size: small;">1</span></sup></p><p>At the time of publication, The Magic Circle was gaining momentum with opposition to the public exposure of magic secrets at its core. This was probably the reason the people who produced the book opted for anonymity. This anonymity and the book's generic title have led to some confusion and speculation over its creation.</p><p>The first confusion comes from an earlier book of the same title, but with entirely different contents, by Henri Garenne. Garenne was the nom de plume of Henry Frank Lind, who worked variously as a magician, a waxworks proprietor and a phrenologist. This book was published in 1886 and consisted of large sections plagiarised from Hoffmann's Modern Magic along with some chapters on spiritualistic tricks. Confusingly, this was also published by Ward, Lock and Co. Many magic dealers through the 1930s and 1940s listed the newer book in their second-hand lists as "The Art of Modern Conjuring (Ward Lock)" in an attempt to distinguish it from the earlier book, seemingly unaware that the earlier book was also "Ward Lock". </p><p>This raises the possibility that Lind could have been the author of both books. Though Lind was still alive in 1909, there are a few reasons to rule out this possibility. The first is that the original book was "suppressed" by Hoffmann due to its plagiarism.<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>2</sup> </span>This would have presumably created significant losses for Ward, Lock & Co. making it unlikely they would trust Lind with a further publication. Lind had also moved away from conjuring and is listed on the 1901 census as a waxworks proprietor in Kirkgate, Leeds. Lind toured his waxworks predominantly in the north of England picking up local acts casually through newspaper adverts.</p><p>We know Lind had moved away from conjuring when he began exhibiting waxworks, as he wrote in 1904: "In my time, when known as Dr. Lind the illusionist and entertainer, and also since I have been connected with exhibition business..." This quote comes from a letter we wrote in The Era seeking donations to help rebuild his career after his waxworks, household goods and other exhibits were destroyed in a catastrophic fire in Blyth.<sup><span style="font-size: small;">3</span></sup> In the course of researching Lind and finding out about the lives that surrounded him I've decided to put them into their own blog post which will follow shortly. Suffice it to say, he did not write the 1909 book.</p><p>The biggest clue to the true authorship of the newer book comes from Will Goldston. Though the book was listed anonymously across all newspapers and the magic press, in a few very early listings of the book in The Magician Monthly, Goldston credited it to "Ralpho". </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuxY3g2OQRzaOlmwkJI-0ZcEpGvpkBZUkQfLFN8VYQP0GFXytags5se-N-GYTo7YLO3Z7GFH32cs8xQ9sJyE_t7IpnYKeqTjDRx-_AqyQX2wO-b3_iL_35JnHZ26oW8RM5FUiIEVDWKrS/s2263/IMG_20211210_0002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="2263" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuxY3g2OQRzaOlmwkJI-0ZcEpGvpkBZUkQfLFN8VYQP0GFXytags5se-N-GYTo7YLO3Z7GFH32cs8xQ9sJyE_t7IpnYKeqTjDRx-_AqyQX2wO-b3_iL_35JnHZ26oW8RM5FUiIEVDWKrS/w640-h68/IMG_20211210_0002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Ralpho was a magician barely recorded at the time but there are a few good reasons to trust Goldston's attribution. Looking at the first edition of the book, there are only two adverts included. One was for Ward, Lock and Co.'s general interest magazine The Windsor, the other was for Will Goldston's magic department at the department store Gamages. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwsPyDORyLYUl3TUiFKnRjuE12JMcZhoeItxGqYlWtqYfSLCctTQkiffZPI-nvaTES-SFNE4mhhlqwOth-nOUlmDrR7-AmxHXv2ZcUrWzeMRgdGTFweSYfp6iAXWRqePVBma5V650Jnkp/s2048/aIMG_20211210_0001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1213" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwsPyDORyLYUl3TUiFKnRjuE12JMcZhoeItxGqYlWtqYfSLCctTQkiffZPI-nvaTES-SFNE4mhhlqwOth-nOUlmDrR7-AmxHXv2ZcUrWzeMRgdGTFweSYfp6iAXWRqePVBma5V650Jnkp/w380-h640/aIMG_20211210_0001.jpg" width="380" /></a></div><p>It's not unusual to have magic dealers advertising in magic books from general publishers but the fact that it is the only advert from a magic dealer in the book, and that it appears in the very first edition, suggests lines of communication between Goldston and Ward, Lock and Co. were open prior to publication. Incidentally, future editions did not feature adverts for any magic dealers.</p><p>The book was also very positively reviewed in The Magician Monthly by Goldston as soon as it was released in January 1909. We can be sure January 1909 was the month the book came out as it was also when Ward Lock's own Windsor Magazine advertised it as "Just Ready". On top of that, this issue of The Magician features an etching of the book, suggesting Goldston was well prepared for the book's release in advance. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRr23u9N5zAru3FbqIfU8OzVb-mLnYhMIIjmYeaYvRcFkwpvuTHYff7Ju1U2E1X8Ot6WF8smJI7XZ_D7FmXO4AV9fQK_iZm2y5ztmA8Dp6fw0jc6Lx7I4VEbxiTVg7yRXpsjvF2oD8p9EU/s1701/aIMG_20211210_0003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1701" data-original-width="882" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRr23u9N5zAru3FbqIfU8OzVb-mLnYhMIIjmYeaYvRcFkwpvuTHYff7Ju1U2E1X8Ot6WF8smJI7XZ_D7FmXO4AV9fQK_iZm2y5ztmA8Dp6fw0jc6Lx7I4VEbxiTVg7yRXpsjvF2oD8p9EU/w332-h640/aIMG_20211210_0003.jpg" width="332" /></a></div><p>In addition, the only other mention of Ralpho in the magic press of the period was in The Magician Monthly annual for 1907-08, which featured a photo of the man in a montage of other conjurers. This shows Goldston was aware of Ralpho and probably knew him to a greater or lesser extent, so there would be little reason for him to assign his name to the book if he did not think he was the author. </p><p>It's interesting to note that while Goldston had time to commission an etching of the book for his January advert Selbit, the editor of The Wizard, only just received his copy it time to very briefly review it for his January issue, writing: </p><p>"Just on going to press, unfortunately delayed this month due to unforeseen and unpreventable circumstances for which we make apology and which we trust our readers will overlook, there was placed in our hands another contribution to modern magical literature..."</p><p>This mildly passive-aggressive quote shows that, despite their press deadline being pushed back for unrelated reasons, they still only just received a copy of The Art of Modern Conjuring in time to give it a "hasty perusal" before publishing their January issue. It seems unlikely Goldston would have been given this preferential treatment if the author or authors had not been in his circle. At the time Goldston was publishing through Gamages and did not begin his more commercial publishing through Routledge until after parting ways with the department store. It seems likely that Ward Lock approached Goldston and, feeling he could not publish commercially outside of Gamages, he put forward some names of good candidates. We can't rule out the possibility Goldston was more closely involved but, given the success of the book and Goldston's immodest nature, he would probably have mentioned his connection in an editorial after his departure from Gamages.</p><p>A further piece of evidence that supports the validity of Goldston naming Ralpho as the author is the one photo in the book which shows a face. In a plate showing an extending pole, we catch a small glimpse of the magician whose hands feature throughout the book. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_XSx5wVVyWUMmz6KG5PsuXDb3AGXtt-9Eoup-5oZLoOp9f7oUT3sD6ZBZ5kF8AY-ZQvV8e5v-jI1IqE5DPdUFFehey-YZWo-0DBUjOAmP3s4yfvIEv0UQBym7ik6gYY4rPCieANFlnIS/s1606/aIMG_20211210_0004.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1606" data-original-width="1548" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_XSx5wVVyWUMmz6KG5PsuXDb3AGXtt-9Eoup-5oZLoOp9f7oUT3sD6ZBZ5kF8AY-ZQvV8e5v-jI1IqE5DPdUFFehey-YZWo-0DBUjOAmP3s4yfvIEv0UQBym7ik6gYY4rPCieANFlnIS/w616-h640/aIMG_20211210_0004.jpg" width="616" /></a></div><p>Blown up, the man appears to be the Ralpho in the annual, or someone who bears an uncanny resemblance to him. My thanks to John Davenport of <a href="https://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Davenport Collection</a> for providing the scan on the right.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHAtfE6sKYNyFnra735AvrcAjSN1aR1oJb7AtKH2sRauOiR1vbA-2vnh0HZhNyUEfsc69FChNQy_oAJQAO3U0_XEUW-0lO3xcgaBsUQdqarN6REP9q9Vkehko-Z5M7NqYM0NWFJ-rQ6cEV/s648/1aralpho.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="648" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHAtfE6sKYNyFnra735AvrcAjSN1aR1oJb7AtKH2sRauOiR1vbA-2vnh0HZhNyUEfsc69FChNQy_oAJQAO3U0_XEUW-0lO3xcgaBsUQdqarN6REP9q9Vkehko-Z5M7NqYM0NWFJ-rQ6cEV/w640-h446/1aralpho.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Writing on the same question in 1979, John Henry Grossman came to the same conclusion.<sup><span style="font-size: small;">4</span></sup> I had not read Grossman's article when I came to this conclusion, so it was heartening to see that he was of the same opinion. Without the luxury of the digitised archives of newspapers and records we have today, this is where Grossman had to stop on the question of who authored The Art of Modern Conjuring. </p><p>So who was Ralpho? It seems odd that a lavish book created for very wide circulation was put in the hands of a magician who seemed to have made so little impact at the time. In 1909 there were a plethora of magic magazines and books but, beyond the mention in Goldston's annual above, he doesn't seem to appear anywhere. </p><p>Looking into the British Newspaper Archive there are reports of Ralpho performing at occasional events from 1893 to 1907. He was usually billed "Signor Ralpho". Generally, these performances were in London and they were often in aid of a local charity or cause. He always received a polite write-up, but there is little detail beyond noting he performed with cards, coins and featured a birdcage effect. The gaps between performances are large and he only appears to have advertised his own magic services for one short period, all pointing towards him being semi-professional or amateur. </p><p>The key to finding his identity beyond a stage name is in this brief period where he did advertise. Between February and April 1906 he placed five identical adverts in The Essex Times which read:</p><p> "Ralpho, The Well-Known Illusionist. Open for Engagements. Concerts, Drawing-Rooms and 'At Homes'. Entertainments Arranged. Platform and Other Decorations Personally Supervised. Terms Moderate. Address: 233, Parkhurst Road, Manor Park." </p><p>Referring to the electoral registers from 1905, 1906 and 1907 only one person was registered at this address: Samuel Thomas Roffey. Roffey was born in 1876 or 1877 in Battersea, the son of a baker. He followed his father into this profession and is listed as a baker on all censuses from 1901 through to the 1939 register. It seems highly likely that Ralpho and Roffey were one and the same and he was a passionate magician jobbing in the family firm. This would mean that at his earliest performance he was only sixteen, but it was a casual community event and it wasn't unusual then, as it isn't today, for young magicians to be able to hold their own at such performances. It seems that he kept up his passion for magic and became a member of the group that congregated around Goldston prior to The Magicians' Club's founding. </p><p>Though he probably kept up magic as a hobby, his last appearance in the British Newspaper Archives is in 1907 and Goldston's mention of him as the author of The Art of Modern Conjuring in 1909 is his last appearance in the magic press. Perhaps he began taking on more responsibilities at the bakery as his father grew older and there was no longer energy to couple the early mornings of the bakery with the late evenings of the magician. Roffey fought in and survived the First World War, moved to Bristol where he continued as a baker and died in the third quarter of 1947. </p><p>This still leaves the question of how and why a hard-working baker moonlighting as a magician landed the commission to produce a book for a large commercial publisher. Whether it was the idea of a magician or the publisher, if someone decided to produce a photographic textbook on magic in 1908 there would be one natural man to approach: Louis Nikola. Nikola had written articles on how to perform magic for a range of popular magazines including Boy's Own, The Strand and Hobbies. What set his articles apart from those of other magicians was the use of clear and attractive photographs which were taken by Nikola himself. Many years later, when Goldston was compiling his 1934 book <a href="https://www.collectingmagicbooks.com/product-page/who-s-who-in-magic-will-goldston" target="_blank">Who's Who in Magic</a>, Nikola listed his favourite hobby as photography. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaqLKD45w3SIkLGUn6G3a8_BzmKIrpUh-bpVfiaFIybvpsm5dyKCctLFOWEPkPrZUL4WA3VDvFUQ0MurwRM0zhyGirBUEtO5-COte3aBx1-YEmFV7oCVcran5Hx9FL_heMlRGYq5Q5KlC/s1521/aIMG_20211210_0005.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1521" data-original-width="1466" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaqLKD45w3SIkLGUn6G3a8_BzmKIrpUh-bpVfiaFIybvpsm5dyKCctLFOWEPkPrZUL4WA3VDvFUQ0MurwRM0zhyGirBUEtO5-COte3aBx1-YEmFV7oCVcran5Hx9FL_heMlRGYq5Q5KlC/w616-h640/aIMG_20211210_0005.jpg" width="616" /></a></div><p>Photographic illustrations were not new in magic books, with 1902's The Modern Conjurer by C. Lang Neil a major pioneer in the field. This was entirely photographically illustrated, here is an example of a typical spread:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiiQoLU5adslP6SQnXxguM-6d6MMBi_AsFJVOzUPkdfJsTP2_GbmB1PbCffu8hVSIzbWVR4k5fZUoPD9eoBfniKoQhHzwSfZ1JB1h8xwJm5m4q83e6iF-VGidGJzvhDSyPoiCwP3gRulZ/s2048/aIMG_2947.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1566" data-original-width="2048" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiiQoLU5adslP6SQnXxguM-6d6MMBi_AsFJVOzUPkdfJsTP2_GbmB1PbCffu8hVSIzbWVR4k5fZUoPD9eoBfniKoQhHzwSfZ1JB1h8xwJm5m4q83e6iF-VGidGJzvhDSyPoiCwP3gRulZ/w640-h490/aIMG_2947.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>Four years prior to this, Nikola wrote a series of articles for the Boy's Own Paper on how to perform magic tricks. These included a mixture of line drawing and photographs and were probably among the earliest photographic explanations of magic tricks. David Devant, who also had a passion for photography, had modelled in photographic articles earlier on the allied arts of paper folding and shadowgraphy, though I do not believe he worked on articles exposing conjuring tricks this early. Below is a picture from an article featuring Devant on shadowgraphy from the December 1897 issue of The Strand.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMFIEwE5JV1vmv3di5OSZQMEdBvDXdWcXap52rSWECHmrDP8oN_jQwC9assgoWphK6JxicJ7mMmBQyWpuOT8vHqdCOFYK-RXAgcsiwYNHSX_FrIdfrZB7RahOreP7oAGjDBVDM0SjEsSV/s2048/aIMG_20211210_0006.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1385" data-original-width="2048" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMFIEwE5JV1vmv3di5OSZQMEdBvDXdWcXap52rSWECHmrDP8oN_jQwC9assgoWphK6JxicJ7mMmBQyWpuOT8vHqdCOFYK-RXAgcsiwYNHSX_FrIdfrZB7RahOreP7oAGjDBVDM0SjEsSV/w640-h432/aIMG_20211210_0006.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Nikola and Devant may have discussed their shared passion for photography as they both worked at St. George's Hall. Devant's articles were written for The Strand, a popular magazine best remembered today for publishing Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. The Strand regularly commissioned articles on conjuring and related topics. In 1904 Nikola produced a superb article in The Strand on balancing effects containing dozens of clear photographic illustrations, far surpassing the quality of those in C. Lang Neil's The Modern Conjurer.<sup><span style="font-size: small;">5</span></sup> </p><p>The idea that Nikola was the photographer for The Art of Modern Conjuring is supported by a notice in the March 1909 issue of The Magic Circular. This journal recorded magic news alongside the transactions of The Magic Circle. The organisation had only been founded four years earlier and Nikola, a founding member, came up with the name for the club.<sup><span style="font-size: small;">6 </span></sup> The magazine dutifully recorded every addition to its library and Nikola was only recorded donating one book to the library during his membership of the organisation. The notice read: "Presented by Mr Louis Nikola: - 'The Art of Modern Conjuring.' - <i>Anon</i>, 1909." This could be a coincidence but it does seem unlikely that Nikola would donate this book without having any connection to it. Alongside donations, the club also recorded purchases for the library. If Nikola had no connection to the book but thought it would be a worthwhile addition to the library, he probably would have recommended the club purchase the book, rather than buying and donating a copy personally. Nikola's membership of the club was short-lived, likely ending in 1910, though he continued to perform occasionally at club events.<sup><span style="font-size: small;">6</span></sup> Perhaps the Circle's focus on punishing exposure, a lucrative sideline for Nikola, provoked his move away from the club. If he was involved in the 1909 book, this would certainly explain his resistance from being publicly connected to its production. It seems unlikely whoever produced the photographs for this book would have shied away from taking credit for such a groundbreaking work had they not been concerned with repercussions. As a side note, the only allied art photographed in the book is shadowgraphy, which happened to be Nikola's secondary act after magic.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVc-YGubp41Ncn3BQRh9SBGzu8nAWA5E-5vaz8xc_7Z6dzdVcMTPAra8NyL_Hi9YxD2tlsQrjWW7gRlyrxUBRcndjhCdjtGWlGhMrfbeCg84hX8bfZ-N9VwXsei91HHm7Hts0gpb7emc9/s2048/aIMG_20211210_0007.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVc-YGubp41Ncn3BQRh9SBGzu8nAWA5E-5vaz8xc_7Z6dzdVcMTPAra8NyL_Hi9YxD2tlsQrjWW7gRlyrxUBRcndjhCdjtGWlGhMrfbeCg84hX8bfZ-N9VwXsei91HHm7Hts0gpb7emc9/w404-h640/aIMG_20211210_0007.jpg" width="404" /></a></div><p>It seems clear that the photographer, whether Nikola or not, was probably a magician, as the compositions show a clear understanding of how to illustrate methods effectively. Today we have gone full circle and drawings are recognised as generally being more useful for explaining complex methods than photographs. Sometimes photographs are unsuccessful due to the magician having a poor understanding of photography practices and the photographer having a poor understanding of what needs to be shown clearly for the purposes of the explanation. For photographic explanations to work there needs to be a magician in front of the lens and a photographer who is also a magician behind the lens. The magician in front of the lens should also take direction from the photographer.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSugoVDjibJGaXFhWREKHqz1V_y93IDyV__18c9qiXVb7R7WPwqvoEPrNa_P9UyTH7gQ3wELCOyZQ8A3SP83ofAQoUHNeEwJ8X7E8CInvourRR5VJLfLjj5TJGQrDJZFblOdIZiE_xLLY/s2048/aIMG_20211210_0008.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSugoVDjibJGaXFhWREKHqz1V_y93IDyV__18c9qiXVb7R7WPwqvoEPrNa_P9UyTH7gQ3wELCOyZQ8A3SP83ofAQoUHNeEwJ8X7E8CInvourRR5VJLfLjj5TJGQrDJZFblOdIZiE_xLLY/w400-h640/aIMG_20211210_0008.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Looking at the explanation of the french drop in The Art of Modern Conjuring, for instance, it seems clear this has been photographed by someone who knows how to teach someone the method and performed by someone who knows how to do it. This seems a trivial achievement today, but looking at the effectiveness of photographic explanations that proceeded this book it was a remarkable step forward. Perhaps this achievement is largely forgotten today as it didn't catch on, without investment in equipment and time, good drawings are still clearer.</p><p>As a side note, it's worth discussing the possibility that Nikola may have authored the book as well as taking the photographs. There are two main reasons this is unlikely. The first is covered: Goldston identified Ralpho as the author and he certainly appears to be the man in the photograph. The second is the writing itself. Nikola's writing style before and after 1909 is very different from that of this book. The Art of Modern Conjuring is unusually sparse with no patter or excessive descriptions. This is part of its usefulness, providing clear, accurate explanations without distractions. Nikola's articles are florid and conversational. This difference is particularly clear when reading explanations of the same trick in The Art of Modern Conjuring and in articles written by Nikola.</p><p>With all this evidence I feel the most likely course of events was as follows. Ward Lock decided to make a photographic magic book having seen the success of Neil's The Modern Conjurer and the popularity of photographically illustrated articles on magic. They probably approached Goldston for advice who, knowing his friend Nikola's photographic skills, pointed them towards him. Nikola, who was now a successful performer, may not have had time to write the text or may have requested too high a fee. So, he opted to just act as photographer. Nikola or Goldston approached Roffey (Ralpho) to undertake the role of demonstrating the tricks in front of the camera and writing the text. This separation of photographer and author would also explain the book's major shortcoming: the plates' positions rarely relate to the descriptions of the effects in the text.</p><p>The book went through many undated editions before being retitled as The Boy's Book of Conjuring. This occurred in the 1920s during a period when Ward Lock was expanding its range of children's books dramatically. It's unclear when the book was retitled as the editions remained undated, but the copy with the white and red dust jacket below has an inscription dated 1928, so it was almost certainly in 1928 or earlier. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhwEFMxcLSd_TjzmhgUC1Zh4bIfyB_haOML7aHl_cW5GN1pzzqTY8onIIO3CKeGlKimSAKQBzQwsdetnAU8gEtIJjv5Egcf9uN29gZ-sA5Myo5TykqxiiIKCKr-4ufaOQl5TVOhdRih9p/s2048/aIMG_2943.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1447" data-original-width="2048" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhwEFMxcLSd_TjzmhgUC1Zh4bIfyB_haOML7aHl_cW5GN1pzzqTY8onIIO3CKeGlKimSAKQBzQwsdetnAU8gEtIJjv5Egcf9uN29gZ-sA5Myo5TykqxiiIKCKr-4ufaOQl5TVOhdRih9p/w640-h452/aIMG_2943.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>This edition is printed on extremely heavy paper stock and was printed by Butler and Tanner of Frome. The edition with the orange dust jacket states on the front flap that the edition is "New and Revised", though the title page makes no mention of this. This edition was printed by the Liverpool firm C. Tinling and Co. My copy with no dust jacket at the top of this article states "New Edition" on the title page and is also from Tinling's press. It should be noted that no material seems to have been revised, added or removed throughout these editions. The only differences are with paper thickness, dust jackets and the colour of the bookcloth. Assuming that the copy dated 1928 is the earliest, the copy that states it is a new edition on the dust jacket followed it and the copy stating it's a new edition on the title page followed that, this picture shows the changes in bookcloth colour over time from left to right. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQgX0ajQOuvey73T5JsS6eqbTcG_Py-J3m2ejjgS-DCSLolhFhgtnZxWmHz1jCy9BuGeWsbG1cuv4Hp5LAMaxa2isjN5vIQrPzAQY2KZvzE3XocniiXuoEoqO91-7E8aJlp_536WYfeba/s2048/aIMG_2941.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="2048" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQgX0ajQOuvey73T5JsS6eqbTcG_Py-J3m2ejjgS-DCSLolhFhgtnZxWmHz1jCy9BuGeWsbG1cuv4Hp5LAMaxa2isjN5vIQrPzAQY2KZvzE3XocniiXuoEoqO91-7E8aJlp_536WYfeba/w640-h358/aIMG_2941.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>It seems likely this book remained in print up to the Second World War, and potentially beyond, in this form. Though popular, the book had some major drawbacks for the publisher. By 1939 the market for magic books aimed at children was very crowded and the disjointed layout with illustrations separated from descriptions would have made this an unpopular choice alongside competitors. The photographs also clearly show a magician in formal Edwardian dress, which would have appeared very outdated. Rather than commissioning a new book, Ward Lock finally really did create a new and revised edition.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLk5ULJIzo18i5u0dD1et64HdfGSdGRiKF1D2nkZJLZ-XZI-NQbkiFR85TGDwJaFRxHaUXLuYivM8SfkLEC7qo-AUn6pxe4gv_OloPeNvMJU8VJ92PkTlIfq4QZNkMwt4t8Sg0O2y9zo2f/s2048/aIMG_2944.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1912" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLk5ULJIzo18i5u0dD1et64HdfGSdGRiKF1D2nkZJLZ-XZI-NQbkiFR85TGDwJaFRxHaUXLuYivM8SfkLEC7qo-AUn6pxe4gv_OloPeNvMJU8VJ92PkTlIfq4QZNkMwt4t8Sg0O2y9zo2f/w598-h640/aIMG_2944.JPG" width="598" /></a></div><p>Published in 1952, the text remained mostly the same, with some sections re-ordered, the section on magic with chemicals removed and some effects with no longer available apparatus also removed. The biggest change was the removal of the photographs. Instead, they were used as the basis for drawings, which were included in the text alongside the relevant tricks. These drawings also adjusted the dress of the magician to a modern suit. A handsome full-colour dust jacket was commissioned and a new frontispiece showing 1950s schoolboys performing tricks was added. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXL1VkCMUHG9353HN652KlmCc26Rza5XgdY2exNKn13Dk7S2rjp86sCsFwZnDHT6JTfzOOKkrETlTiv7PPN4lxf9CosoHLCei98MroWRfsR1Erw_vynTuYd35bHuvjvDBPtSlEIV9iYMli/s2048/aIMG_2956.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="2048" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXL1VkCMUHG9353HN652KlmCc26Rza5XgdY2exNKn13Dk7S2rjp86sCsFwZnDHT6JTfzOOKkrETlTiv7PPN4lxf9CosoHLCei98MroWRfsR1Erw_vynTuYd35bHuvjvDBPtSlEIV9iYMli/w640-h460/aIMG_2956.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>This edition was a success for the firm and went through four impressions: 1952, 1953, 1956 and 1963. This version was also the first time the book has been published with a name attached, with Eugene Stone listed as the editor. Stone was not a magician but had worked on a few other books for Ward Lock: a picture book on animals of the countryside and a highly successful book of baby names. </p><p>It's probably never going to be possible to know for certain who wrote The Art of Modern Conjuring or who did the photography. I think it's almost certain Ralpho was the author, it's highly likely Roffey was Ralpho and it's a strong possibility Nikola did the photography. Regardless of this, it's a rarity for an anonymously produced general magic book to remain in print for over fifty years. Below the bright dustjacket of the final edition, the illustrated cover was lost in favour of plain brown cloth covered boards. The spine does have one subtle nod to the original book, with the old cover illustration of the classic force miniaturised and reproduced in silver foil. The photograph from which this was drawn appeared on the original frontispiece in 1909, perhaps the hands of a baker named Roffey photographed by a magician named Nikola? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dX-BGwMCpdXnbG4jWaWgXiWSRB2Yr4ErVAwwP3K-5RYoPYbHOuUAh1MdCIZRGiGV9QUiV0M13upFh73J48wjX6XuhEBW-UoPD0UHP2NKmAaP4Uwf1SABOr7EVtbZ9MURgNaqP2879U5k/s2048/aIMG_2945.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1323" data-original-width="2048" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dX-BGwMCpdXnbG4jWaWgXiWSRB2Yr4ErVAwwP3K-5RYoPYbHOuUAh1MdCIZRGiGV9QUiV0M13upFh73J48wjX6XuhEBW-UoPD0UHP2NKmAaP4Uwf1SABOr7EVtbZ9MURgNaqP2879U5k/w640-h414/aIMG_2945.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Selected references:</p><p><sup><span style="font-size: small;">1 </span></sup>Guissart, A. (1931) 'A Wizard's Wanderings in a Legerdemainist's Library' in <i>The Linking Ring</i>: August 1931. Ohio: International Brotherhood of Magicians, pp. 632</p><p><sup><span style="font-size: small;">2</span></sup> Dawes, E. (2005) 'Professor Luigi Meurice Hiodini, Alias the Doctor and the Colonel' in <i>The Complete Rich Cabinet of Magical Curiosities</i>. Thornton Heath: Peter Scarlett Magic, pp. 967.</p><p><sup><span style="font-size: small;">3 </span></sup><i>The Era</i>, 5th of November 1904, pp. 26.</p><p><sup><span style="font-size: small;">4 </span></sup>Grossman, J. H. (1979) 'Ask the Doctor!' in <i>M-U-M: February 1979</i>. Oklahoma: The Society of American Magicians, pp. 17.</p><p><sup><span style="font-size: small;">5 </span></sup>Nikola, L. (1904) 'Eccentricities of Equilibrium' in <i>The Strand: July-December 1904</i>. London: George Newnes Ltd., pp. 91.</p><p><sup><span style="font-size: small;">6</span></sup> Dawes, E. (2005) 'Louis Nikola: The Magician Who Gave The Magic Circle Its Name' in <i>The Complete Rich Cabinet of Magical Curiosities</i>. Thornton Heath: Peter Scarlett Magic, pp. 1394.</p>Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-89925268699943004012021-07-16T15:00:00.002+01:002021-07-16T15:23:29.293+01:00Houndsditch, The One-Time Home of the Novelty Trade.<p>Novelties and magic have been interlaced since the very earliest days of magic retailing. If you peruse a Hamleys catalogue from 1900 you'll find pages of jokes, novelties and puzzles between pages of the finest stage and parlour tricks available at the time. Some magic shops grew large enough to import these cheaper items directly from the manufacturers in Japan, America and Germany but others relied on purchasing wholesale from importers. In London, many of these novelty importers and traders found a home in the unusually named street of Houndsditch.</p><p>Located in the East End, Houndsditch was originally a defensive Roman ditch running along the outside of a portion of the city's wall. The route of the ditch's name is said to come from the 13th century when waste, including dead dogs, was routinely dumped in the ditch. The unpleasant story behind the street's name, and an association with crime, even led to an attempt to hold a referendum on renaming the street in 1908, though ultimately there wasn't sufficient support for the referendum to be held. The ditch was filled in the 1600s and quickly developed to become a street.</p><p>The newly available land on Houndsditch provided a blank canvas for Jewish immigrants who had been granted permission to settle in England by Oliver Cromwell in 1656. This community grew and became well-established in the East End. The area steadily welcomed Jewish immigrants over the next few hundred years but things changed greatly in 1882 following the accession of Tsar Alexander III. He created a wide range of laws persecuting Jews in Russia and many were forced to flee their countries. Two million went to America and 150 000 settled in Britain. Jewish communities across Britain worked hard to help support, home and feed their new neighbours.</p><p>It was this influx around Houndsditch that led to the sudden appearance and growth of many new businesses, with most in the area specialising in either clothing or novelties. Some of these novelty traders became long-established and successful but they left behind very little trace in the archives. A few had catalogues, some advertised in papers, but many more were purchasing their wares at the London ports and selling them directly to shops and hawkers with little or no paper trail. Some businesses were recorded in one form or another though.</p><p>Two postcards postmarked 1908 show the busy road. One is captioned: <i>"Hounsditch </i>[sic]<i> The Famous Centre for the Latest Novelties."</i> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsBmUt4JkbfW0zljqtz3lW4MbPLr5yVMTTlGW7dkGSKmVdQ6hXXU9WLKpqK4epIxxcgUblh1LTxRPHU2DQSx37CLW0fJ_CIpn0hIz5iA6Dz3vFSjPW_lxQ83Ve-rzQoBM_6oEASp_Bx8r/s2048/IMG_2890.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsBmUt4JkbfW0zljqtz3lW4MbPLr5yVMTTlGW7dkGSKmVdQ6hXXU9WLKpqK4epIxxcgUblh1LTxRPHU2DQSx37CLW0fJ_CIpn0hIz5iA6Dz3vFSjPW_lxQ83Ve-rzQoBM_6oEASp_Bx8r/w640-h426/IMG_2890.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>Though many shops are visible in the photo the only one which can be clearly seen is Henry Grunhaus. It is possible to just make out the words toys, dolls and fancy goods in the window. On the 1901 census Henry is listed as a salesman at a fancy goods warehouse, with his father Marcus listed as a fancy goods dealer. In this second photo we see Henry's brother's shop.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqaSBg9MiX3lu6gCYcg3LFg2ktQMZtpkCcPVen-qELywv9P_xKAs09LI3bx-s3fupDCU1vX2fSHbbU_cSXHI7b1gI0lO5Qc6Bw6S46YOi5aeNt7P4RnUxRGgBR9HmY4tDbwdVUbFbRZ7e/s2048/IMG_2891.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqaSBg9MiX3lu6gCYcg3LFg2ktQMZtpkCcPVen-qELywv9P_xKAs09LI3bx-s3fupDCU1vX2fSHbbU_cSXHI7b1gI0lO5Qc6Bw6S46YOi5aeNt7P4RnUxRGgBR9HmY4tDbwdVUbFbRZ7e/w640-h426/IMG_2891.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>Isidore Grunhaus's shop is clearly at 29 & 30 Houndsditch, the original location of their father Marcus's shop according to the 1901 census. The caption reads <i>"Houndsditch. One of the Busiest Streets of London. The Home of the Novelty Trade."</i> These two postcards were almost certainly commissioned by the Grunhauses themselves as they so clearly display their premises. The above example even has retouching to make the name on the shop clearer.</p><p>Another novelty wholesaler who left their mark was Richard Bercovitch. He put together wholesale lists of jokes and novelties from his shop named the A.1. Balloon and Novelty House. The use of "A.1." as a prefix was a common ploy at the time to ensure your business appeared at the front of directories.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfHOQ-NysFbWIb_jrcTyPrdaQXVaDRvx3cXluFAab9wHVmboro7bNCysjiNV_-DExx0DvONIgLys4TEP087OZ9D4N9dLsuo3O650WOA8Vb2Cj3KeyukJj9gQ2FbpNsSHldyjJHa1OQxAAc/s2048/IMG_2892.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfHOQ-NysFbWIb_jrcTyPrdaQXVaDRvx3cXluFAab9wHVmboro7bNCysjiNV_-DExx0DvONIgLys4TEP087OZ9D4N9dLsuo3O650WOA8Vb2Cj3KeyukJj9gQ2FbpNsSHldyjJHa1OQxAAc/w640-h426/IMG_2892.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>His 1920s catalogue reproduced images from a range of his suppliers from across the world and also had a few illustrations produced closer to home for his "Berco" range of jokes.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlXmQuxAXxU6gKmtP4qziBk15PQipSVMEt3KhSntzftM43dBIktNSaZhEdfwh8D6blTl9PtiA00CDN-662UrcM3IEJtk6WaiWP9yCyvhz_TDZ87V4wlIYbfaw_YTbEFLZyl2rhl6qzuZY/s2048/IMG_2893.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlXmQuxAXxU6gKmtP4qziBk15PQipSVMEt3KhSntzftM43dBIktNSaZhEdfwh8D6blTl9PtiA00CDN-662UrcM3IEJtk6WaiWP9yCyvhz_TDZ87V4wlIYbfaw_YTbEFLZyl2rhl6qzuZY/w640-h426/IMG_2893.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>My sister site, <a href="http://CollectingMagicBooks.com" target="_blank"><b>CollectingMagicBooks.com</b></a>, has just released a full reproduction of this catalogue, complete with a new introduction about Bercovitch and his business. For more information or to purchase have a look here: <a href="https://www.collectingmagicbooks.com/product-page/richard-bercovitch-ltd-joke-catalogue-richard-bercovitch" target="_blank"><b>Richard Bercovitch, Ltd. Joke Catalogue</b></a>.</p><p>For the most part, the Second World War saw the end of Houndsditch's association with the novelty trade. Hawkers selling novelties were no longer the norm in London and larger department shops, magic shops and toy shops were importing their goods directly from manufacturers or via agents in the country of manufacture. During and after the war there was a long period of shortages and restrictions which closed most options for novelty importers to find their goods abroad. A few shops lived on in Houndsditch, but it appears they did so by turning more towards traditional retailing and away from importing and trading. One survivor was W. Goldstein and Co. (not to be confused with the magic dealer Will Goldston) who ran a shop called the Army & Navy Novelty Co. A picture of their shop still thriving on Houndsditch in 1975 can be seen on the <a href="https://www.londonpicturearchive.org.uk/view-item?i=54609&WINID=1626358023050" target="_blank"><b>London Picture Archive here</b></a>.</p><p>Today, Houndsditch has been sanitised into another London street of concrete-faced offices and the odd ground-floor restaurant. No buildings survive from the time of Bercovitch and the Grunhauses to give a hint of the community that once called Houndsditch home.</p>Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-69239412464022036012021-03-05T07:00:00.002+00:002021-03-05T07:00:04.236+00:00Shocking Snakes, a Perennial Prank. <p>I'm currently writing an in-depth book on the history of the Ellisdon family and their famous joke and magic business. It's set to be released later this year through <a href="http://CollectingMagicBooks.com">CollectingMagicBooks.com</a>. </p><p>To mark this announcement I thought I'd take a look at some classic joke shop staples, appearing snakes.</p><p>The most famous incarnation of these was created in 1915 by the goliath of the American novelty world, S. S. Adams. He created the Snake Nut Can, an innocent-looking tin of nuts which, when opened by the unsuspecting victim, released a huge green snake. Here's a 1950s model.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFEFMLDHoQ3-V9KXXTN3B0AMynUhMH4kRAjwzIJanSRBiiB9fb30coJMPMvFySfmlkLnOv51S-l4aB0L5cYr_haWVesS9OKOBQWut5ov0RWBmPGh73vvYqm3azkIjfM5Qdct3T010nZy_/s1056/adams.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1056" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFEFMLDHoQ3-V9KXXTN3B0AMynUhMH4kRAjwzIJanSRBiiB9fb30coJMPMvFySfmlkLnOv51S-l4aB0L5cYr_haWVesS9OKOBQWut5ov0RWBmPGh73vvYqm3azkIjfM5Qdct3T010nZy_/w640-h630/adams.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Though Adams' can was certainly the most successful use of this idea, his invention was really a variation on an already popular theme, rather than a true original. The first adverts I have of a joke appearing snake are in a Hamleys catalogue from around 1900. One is a spring snake from a playing card box and the other a spring German sausage from a pouch of tobacco, both almost certainly imported from Germany.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84r_3nR13qYF3xcIvnnfR6CdPT6Z1IhSsYLYz33VCklCIDMk8qVJoA2DPnv1StisGtPkSUzOU9NSnt4mxzVwfGOrsWtzDgiQKDCnB5cW2y67EsI527UOgYM1taLujZ_dFNxBkgwRnwpNZ/s1198/Hamleys.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1106" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84r_3nR13qYF3xcIvnnfR6CdPT6Z1IhSsYLYz33VCklCIDMk8qVJoA2DPnv1StisGtPkSUzOU9NSnt4mxzVwfGOrsWtzDgiQKDCnB5cW2y67EsI527UOgYM1taLujZ_dFNxBkgwRnwpNZ/w590-h640/Hamleys.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><p>Over time the most popular form of the joke sold in the UK used small pots of jam, mustard or face cream. One of these early glass jars can be seen below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-jXqq8P6VTYqQdtaVWqweRsI4XZxeCoOrC29l8mJ11PObqt49PJ-U5N6-GApHK7NAeFQV-5WGKE5WI_x0ZLX3VqJvw04PCJSTLPvXtqnPu7FoxmeiyO-QU4bwjxwfaZIosH_BjSJULPB/s1797/DavJam.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1797" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-jXqq8P6VTYqQdtaVWqweRsI4XZxeCoOrC29l8mJ11PObqt49PJ-U5N6-GApHK7NAeFQV-5WGKE5WI_x0ZLX3VqJvw04PCJSTLPvXtqnPu7FoxmeiyO-QU4bwjxwfaZIosH_BjSJULPB/w640-h370/DavJam.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>These two adverts from Davenports show how the joke was marketed from the inter-war years onwards. The distinctive pattern of the jar above can be seen in the advert on the left.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs4YNBTabjSyf2B94prGKc0fGJMc3QJd0vXfPlYzjunUoqCdnv2HGv6Z_3zwyjbchTf4JJG1AmULX1WZ6Bf0WJ3SQU0719pJ8z7XeEIn5uPo3idXbmmAF5A9bjZs0T8764w_MgwxH0pJU/s1395/davenports.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1395" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs4YNBTabjSyf2B94prGKc0fGJMc3QJd0vXfPlYzjunUoqCdnv2HGv6Z_3zwyjbchTf4JJG1AmULX1WZ6Bf0WJ3SQU0719pJ8z7XeEIn5uPo3idXbmmAF5A9bjZs0T8764w_MgwxH0pJU/w640-h334/davenports.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>The German and Japanese manufacturers ran with this joke in a big way creating many variations. Snakes would pop out of practically any object which could accommodate a spring snake. One of the simpler tricks was this shaving brush canister.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0tSNYqhaGHF8G6uvn-SVdZ_VfD4qcLcISx2qqvYF24xNx_4nbKBCV-bYddBKmNRWuqXgN_aXEc-xHsbrP39hvkViwa-Wz5rfRm0You_D1FSkU-SQBhsiCj4N__zvWU-kWfU-9IjkuDmO/s1480/shaving.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1480" data-original-width="1384" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0tSNYqhaGHF8G6uvn-SVdZ_VfD4qcLcISx2qqvYF24xNx_4nbKBCV-bYddBKmNRWuqXgN_aXEc-xHsbrP39hvkViwa-Wz5rfRm0You_D1FSkU-SQBhsiCj4N__zvWU-kWfU-9IjkuDmO/w598-h640/shaving.jpg" width="598" /></a></div><p>Many of these early versions have charming hand-painted faces. To give an idea of the huge variety of snake jokes on offer, here is a page from the German firm Carl Quel's 1937 wholesale catalogue.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgdgb9NnbNjnLI24st3g2hQCgL_niGE2CqHqdIpWDRcL4cC2ilyC64MAP2Ys8cxvzBMO_20_1LzHuqKufbBTu98b8qMqKObEj-zdv_kgPamKEyxeRYbu3misqzCkmsSXZg6L4UMFGwZgX/s2048/IMG_2867.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1399" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgdgb9NnbNjnLI24st3g2hQCgL_niGE2CqHqdIpWDRcL4cC2ilyC64MAP2Ys8cxvzBMO_20_1LzHuqKufbBTu98b8qMqKObEj-zdv_kgPamKEyxeRYbu3misqzCkmsSXZg6L4UMFGwZgX/w438-h640/IMG_2867.JPG" width="438" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The top advert shows one of the most complex of the snake pranks manufactured, the snake camera. This looks like a real 1930s camera, complete with bellows, but fires out a snake when the joker pretends to take a photo.</span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmPpJG2Z2O4emBfuRZWGanGisdXzXl64OXm0tX4tMjrRclvu4SIbQw33yDJxjEa7KtQSLRjcVODjOLk8hpVrgoIwQDTlYWBMB6UF7eMGtUeGtDVC1dBW3PKFS6544WBvII9-RuqxEFomj/s1588/camera2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1588" data-original-width="1384" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmPpJG2Z2O4emBfuRZWGanGisdXzXl64OXm0tX4tMjrRclvu4SIbQw33yDJxjEa7KtQSLRjcVODjOLk8hpVrgoIwQDTlYWBMB6UF7eMGtUeGtDVC1dBW3PKFS6544WBvII9-RuqxEFomj/w558-h640/camera2.jpg" width="558" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The London joke firm Ellisdons found particular success with a fake book aimed at tempting the onlooker to have a sneaky look.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTAvfBA2fOv2JkFBm4Osrbl0lzoLlCnXunbts5aM0DP-Yqa_lxHEC84vWONWz9raa_ZzTedkRA_AMcQvWG_SRVG2XtXC2GwPT1f3bOHqHaR8torwAnjQYo3gsaJeQI46cVpQwj-1wgHRe/s889/what.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="889" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTAvfBA2fOv2JkFBm4Osrbl0lzoLlCnXunbts5aM0DP-Yqa_lxHEC84vWONWz9raa_ZzTedkRA_AMcQvWG_SRVG2XtXC2GwPT1f3bOHqHaR8torwAnjQYo3gsaJeQI46cVpQwj-1wgHRe/w640-h422/what.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The advert above, from their 1937 catalogue, shows what would happen to the victim when they attempted to read <i>What I Know About Women</i>. These were also fitted with a spring-loaded noise maker which emits a loud squeak when the snake escapes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXnY5A-wi5OTI_SCUYeSbRMIuF5d4qFsilx76XfCPPLH4smY4Ca0rEBUbGFrLAlULxuFcChuPcI1A47X6RvoKTAHGtyf3wAXRFnAfYESGxvIjmcGcyZHyyCzSbMk4oUInExnol_OJFKiG/s2048/IMG_1256.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="2048" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXnY5A-wi5OTI_SCUYeSbRMIuF5d4qFsilx76XfCPPLH4smY4Ca0rEBUbGFrLAlULxuFcChuPcI1A47X6RvoKTAHGtyf3wAXRFnAfYESGxvIjmcGcyZHyyCzSbMk4oUInExnol_OJFKiG/w640-h456/IMG_1256.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>These pre-war models were imported from Japan by Ellisdons. During and after World War Two they manufactured them themselves, selling them in large quantities through Woolworths and via mail-order. <div><br /></div><div>Pre-war Japanese snake tricks were carefully crafted in card and paper and would have effectively duped many victims. Most simply carry the word "Japan" or "Foreign" but a few have makers marks such as this trick harmonica case. I haven't yet been able to confirm which firm used this mark.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_IhLGwFWomQr6vqKVlJgVNaGQBD3Fd2SrpvFmlSUU0Vr7RIWuZkmu01FX3ClgfYdkVWtv6WgFEW_nwj45L_7QELYsxWJT3mdWctpBHCwak7z2bvCojXn-PK5MrCWKe5k9V3bjQE5140zn/s1384/harmonica.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1384" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_IhLGwFWomQr6vqKVlJgVNaGQBD3Fd2SrpvFmlSUU0Vr7RIWuZkmu01FX3ClgfYdkVWtv6WgFEW_nwj45L_7QELYsxWJT3mdWctpBHCwak7z2bvCojXn-PK5MrCWKe5k9V3bjQE5140zn/w640-h556/harmonica.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>The smallest items I've found which incorporate a spring snake are these two Japanese lighters.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlmKJD6Iz9q_p6Pat7EjLTqefnNBhVVBKrHwA1d2fRIQUS8ExEPI0qhl9w7W-PLM5_8dOdFrZIksSTaU9toa_hDmbJSIrrqwjjhepU1YU3SNjVPa5u02eGT14lZmQLRIUafl0TzG9oW2d/s1771/lighters.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1771" data-original-width="1085" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlmKJD6Iz9q_p6Pat7EjLTqefnNBhVVBKrHwA1d2fRIQUS8ExEPI0qhl9w7W-PLM5_8dOdFrZIksSTaU9toa_hDmbJSIrrqwjjhepU1YU3SNjVPa5u02eGT14lZmQLRIUafl0TzG9oW2d/w392-h640/lighters.jpg" width="392" /></a></div><div><br /></div>The lighter on the left has a cloth snake while the one on the right has a cheaper waxed paper one. The most popular of the snake tricks remained the jars and cans though. The Japanese ketchup jar below has a painted red interior to represent the ketchup and hide the spring snake and sprung squeaker within.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8j3RZ4TKac9-RGI8AJlau_J3XI0F65HRAykneyFXQxj5tXE53Hk8RUgGm3rKigrgfs2_P2p9UkUaHf3x5qgnPGgKUIl0wDetRnZPVTw_aekuY-Vsw8ijN8tGvbP4eRxch0TehzKmyeKg7/s2048/IMG_2853.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1651" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8j3RZ4TKac9-RGI8AJlau_J3XI0F65HRAykneyFXQxj5tXE53Hk8RUgGm3rKigrgfs2_P2p9UkUaHf3x5qgnPGgKUIl0wDetRnZPVTw_aekuY-Vsw8ijN8tGvbP4eRxch0TehzKmyeKg7/w516-h640/IMG_2853.JPG" width="516" /></a></div><br /><div><div>As with most novelties manufactured in Germany and Japan, particularly those fiddly to make like the above, the Second World War saw the end of their manufacture. The huge variety of snake jokes didn't return after novelty manufacturing resumed in the mid-twentieth century. Spring snake novelties are now confined to cheaply made plastic snake cans which would arouse suspicion before opening, providing merely a shadow of the original joke. </div></div>Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-16665261369864507502020-11-27T07:00:00.042+00:002020-11-27T07:00:00.192+00:00Second Sight and the St. Clairs.<p>Second sight acts have been performed for hundreds of years but their heyday was the latter half of the nineteenth century. Though not always presented as a magic trick, many magicians performed second sight in their acts. The act generally consisted of two performers, at least one of whom was blindfolded, appearing to transfer thoughts between each other.</p><p>The classic acts, such as those performed by Pinetti and Robert-Houdin, consisted of one performer, generally the magician, holding up articles bought in by members of the audience and requesting the second performer, seated blindfolded on the stage, to describe said objects. Below is an etching showing Robin performing a second sight act in Piccadilly in January 1851.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFHiVocHiOj3or-VpDoX1uQ6vnlJwSPcyswHwDjR-Xz2mFUviqf-j8LgRlAUOf0FmSiUHMPqR4U42T4qD8hOUhLNU1TvkVGZID1gVEWdJBMgv6OAsaKkfwACX8noW0qCN-zIe9dBxtf4M/s2048/IMG_2835.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1931" data-original-width="2048" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFHiVocHiOj3or-VpDoX1uQ6vnlJwSPcyswHwDjR-Xz2mFUviqf-j8LgRlAUOf0FmSiUHMPqR4U42T4qD8hOUhLNU1TvkVGZID1gVEWdJBMgv6OAsaKkfwACX8noW0qCN-zIe9dBxtf4M/w640-h604/IMG_2835.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Second sight became hugely popular and many successful magicians introduced it into their shows. Though there were various ways of performing the effect, the most usual method required a huge amount of study and practice from both performers to effectively create the illusion of telepathy. There were also some technological methods, perhaps the earliest of which was Robert Heller's sofa, used between 1869 and 1875.<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBjdO_w6uEzFkdFu3YO7ZYlPqcU_u1dwZ0cT5hYZ7_n7tL4mjfyBFkcKU7GuH040xLeWyy67CPFPQ4RFyiNSv42nXK_wbY5uqg0pHe5V92w6NOBgj95oxCMIIjSgtAZ_cJsc8Dsi-4eAz/s2048/IMG_2842.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="2048" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBjdO_w6uEzFkdFu3YO7ZYlPqcU_u1dwZ0cT5hYZ7_n7tL4mjfyBFkcKU7GuH040xLeWyy67CPFPQ4RFyiNSv42nXK_wbY5uqg0pHe5V92w6NOBgj95oxCMIIjSgtAZ_cJsc8Dsi-4eAz/w640-h446/IMG_2842.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Pictured here in Henry Ridgely Evans' <i>The Old and The New Magic</i>, this sofa employed a secret that was quite revolutionary at the time. The craze for second sight led to many lesser-known entertainers adopting the act. The secrets to performing second sight were readily available to those interested, Hoffmann having discussed them at length in his 1890 publication <i>More Magic</i>. There were even "penny dreadfuls" published on the methods.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOtSRgJ_QM1d7Girj_PwBrZ7CiPuM4YBUBZJoO0C4JnqMagAldErbH2IjJEdN4mFbY8wRE-umbMwxuV6h_H6RdcGhPtxcaUMrxplKoUI8ACvJ_8FrZbAMKX9qgfXCHzT52qv8BB-QfmSi/s2048/IMG_2838.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOtSRgJ_QM1d7Girj_PwBrZ7CiPuM4YBUBZJoO0C4JnqMagAldErbH2IjJEdN4mFbY8wRE-umbMwxuV6h_H6RdcGhPtxcaUMrxplKoUI8ACvJ_8FrZbAMKX9qgfXCHzT52qv8BB-QfmSi/w640-h640/IMG_2838.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This book was published around 1909 by Manchester's Daisy Bank Publications who specialised in sensational crime books, magic books and fortune-telling books cheaply printed for sale on newsstands. The book was written by Albert Morrow, who worked at Munro's and founded the Mystic Club.<div><br /></div><div>A seldom mentioned couple who performed second sight were the St. Clairs. This striking postcard shows the couple billed as "Second-sight Seers".</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijb8MlpnYUAGjjKNeknr9GCnry4ML3TXjkhzgblFSumIZ9MKndcVsvpRCfhmZed5ppdCrHFUcILEanBQ-9lx36v5NoruT6fJiBMRljkrqKFuIS4SAfsc_9qWcF9dsFnQ-TPpvPqMg1DaXe/s2048/IMG_2837.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1885" data-original-width="2048" height="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijb8MlpnYUAGjjKNeknr9GCnry4ML3TXjkhzgblFSumIZ9MKndcVsvpRCfhmZed5ppdCrHFUcILEanBQ-9lx36v5NoruT6fJiBMRljkrqKFuIS4SAfsc_9qWcF9dsFnQ-TPpvPqMg1DaXe/w640-h590/IMG_2837.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Researching the St. Clairs has been extremely challenging as they used stage names and only had moderate success. Beginning with what can be stated as fact, a second sight act called the St. Clairs was advertised for bookings from October 1905 through to June 1920. Throughout this period they were billed as "Roma and St. Clair", or some variation thereof, with the exception of one year, 1907. From August 1907 to the end of that year their billing changed to Ranee and Rajah and their act was performed in Indian costume and probably in blackface, sadly quite usual at the time. It is clear that Ranee and Rajah was the temporary name for the St. Clairs' act as they used the same descriptions for their shows and had the same address on their adverts: 38 Dawes Road, Fulham.<div><br /></div><div>The act is described variously as "mystical double turn", "telepathic novelty", "modern mahatmas", "second sight seers", "telepathy up-to-date" and "mental mystery". Prior to 1907, adverts also mentioned that the St. Clairs had individual turns, Roma performed comic recitals and St. Clair had a lightning cartoon act. The core second sight act involved them playing cards while blindfolded and mystically transmitting the times set on large model clocks to each other. On longer billings, they used the names Mdlle. Roma and Mr. Kent St. Clair. St. Clair was generally described as the assistant to Roma.</div><div><br /></div><div>As far as facts are concerned that's all that can be said about the St. Clairs with any certainty. There is no official record of a Kent St. Clair or a Roma St. Clair, so to learn more about the couple we must venture into conjecture. Having spent a great deal of time chasing up all of the addresses they listed in adverts and all entertainers using the St. Clair name during the period, I believe the most likely story is as follows. I think Roma was Alice Hughes, born in 1862 in Stockton on Tees and Kent St. Clair was James Hughes, born in Liverpool in 1857. This is how their names appear on the 1881 census, where James lists his profession as "Ventriloquist". In 1891 he lists his profession as "Conjurer and Ventriloquist" and still has the surname Hughes. </div><div><br /></div><div>On New Year's Eve 1905, one of the Hughes' sons, also James (hereafter referred to as James Jnr. for clarity), got married in Liverpool. On the parish record the father of the groom is recorded as "James Chadwick Hughes" with his profession listed as "Entertainer". The groom's name, however, is "James William St. Clair Hughes". The groom works as a clerk. The addition of the name St. Clair to James Jnr.'s surname is an interesting one. James Chadwick Hughes didn't perform magic and ventriloquism under his own name, he preferred "Professor St. Clair". Through searching the British Newspaper Archive we can see this Professor St. Clair was an active entertainer from 1877, performing particularly to children in the Liverpool area. His act was a popular, if unadventurous, one that was much-loved in Liverpool. In J. F. Burrows's 1906 book, <i>Programmes of Magicians</i>, he describes it as follows:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>"Prof. St. Clair.</i></div><div><i>Catching money in the air. Pass coins from one hand to glass tumbler held in the other. Sun and moon handkerchiefs. Handkerchief changes into a billiard ball. The knotted handkerchiefs untied on command. The dancing coin in a goblet. Answer to a sum appears on a slate. Cards passed up the sleeve. Diminishing cards. Banknote burnt and found restored in a candle. Cone of wood passed through hat. Cards and spring balls produced from a boy. Borrowed coin passed into an orange. Juggling tricks."</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Around 1898 "Professor St. Clair Jnr." started appearing with and without his father, Professor St. Clair, performing a shadowgraphy act. In January 1907 the Liverpool Echo reported that Professor St. Clair had died suddenly. The obituary stated that St. Clair had performed to around two million children in Liverpool and the north and had a good career as a society entertainer which saw him perform in front of King Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales. Bizarrely it stated that the cause of death was <i>"an affection of the throat, ascribed to irritation induced by the exercise of the ventriloquial voice."</i> </div><div><div><br /></div><div>There is a range of evidence that suggests the St. Clairs of the second sight act were Professor St. Clair and his wife Alice. It was not uncommon for entertainers to compartmentalise their acts, having one for family events, in this case Professor St. Clair's conjuring and ventriloquism, and one for more sophisticated society events, such as second sight. In the St. Clairs' adverts for their second sight act they give various London addresses for booking, but these all appear to be forwarding addresses. The only addresses outside London for the St. Clairs are in Liverpool, where we know Professor St. Clair and his family lived. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmgnnT6KxQmywp5xjqtKEVNzlZ4BU1Q6EEVOqi7WAcg0OGesczP0MtWSl92w6EvuNHpxecxHvTUzCS8CdFYPt8WgaP_ZJTHPLB5LolbsDEA2BxVw1fASjOF1OURSco3GT3snA87LMjyx7/s1229/IMG_2837b.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="825" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmgnnT6KxQmywp5xjqtKEVNzlZ4BU1Q6EEVOqi7WAcg0OGesczP0MtWSl92w6EvuNHpxecxHvTUzCS8CdFYPt8WgaP_ZJTHPLB5LolbsDEA2BxVw1fASjOF1OURSco3GT3snA87LMjyx7/w430-h640/IMG_2837b.JPG" width="430" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps the most striking pieces of evidence relate to how the adverts for the second sight act change at the same time as the death of Professor St. Clair. Up until December 1906 the second sight act is billed as "Roma and St. Clair" and regularly advertised. In January 1907 Professor St. Clair suddenly died and, at the same time, adverts for the St. Clairs second sight act ceased. When these ads returned in August 1907 they were billed as Ranee and Rajah, and didn't change their billing back to the St. Clairs until 1908. It seems possible, if not likely, that Professor St. Clair performed as Kent St. Clair with his wife Alice as the St.Clairs. Upon James Snr.'s death, James Jnr. needed to learn this complicated act to perform it with his mother. To allow them to practice while preserving the reputation of the St. Clairs they performed as Renee and Rajah, even changing their appearance during this period. Once the act was mastered by James Jnr. they began again as the St. Clairs in 1908. If this were the case, I would assume the postcard depicts the original St. Clairs before January 1907.</div><div><br /></div><div>A further factor that supports the idea of James Jnr. following in his father's footsteps appeared in August 1909 when a new "Professor St. Clair" began performing magic in Liverpool. It's highly likely that this was James Jnr. We can see on the baptism records from December 1906 James Jnr. listed his profession as "Clerk", as he did on the 1911 census, but from a baptism record from January 1912, through to records on the eve of the First World War, he described himself as an "Entertainer". His mother Alice bought up James's younger siblings and worked as a maternity nurse. It seems probable James worked multiple jobs to support his recently widowed mother and his young siblings. On the 1911 census we can see Alice was living with two of her children, a fifteen-year-old and a nine-year-old. Alice died in 1937. It has not been possible to find out when James died, but his last performance as Professor St. Clair appears to be in 1942. For anyone interested in researching this further, it's worth noting the majority of the family adopted the surname St. Clair-Hughes from the 1930s onwards.</div><div><br /></div><div>A few other magicians have performed under the name St. Clair, one lived in Bristol in 1914. Mark Raffles also used it as a stage name very early in his career. A Mdlle. Roma, who specialised in palmistry, also existed, though, like these two other St. Clairs, they do not relate to the performers above. It would be very satisfying to have a piece of categorical evidence that proved the Hughes family performed second sight as the St. Clairs but at the moment this is just a hypothesis. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you have any information on the parties above I would love to hear from you.</div></div>Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-33187062309902915792020-10-16T07:00:00.011+01:002020-10-22T16:25:24.580+01:00Jack Klaw, Novelties Unlimited and Klawvana.<p>It's no secret to those who read this site that I love the world of novelties and jokes. It's easy to overlook that many of our most successful magic shops and manufacturers were propped up by selling and making these more frivolous things. Many pocket money pranks were imported from Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and China but there were British manufacturers too. Some are fairly well known, such as Ellisdons, BeePee and Brownings, and some barely recorded. I recently fell down a rabbit hole trying to identify the manufacturer of this charming compendium of practical jokes.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5tBP9fDKg5t1rmcgS9mIqlAxENnVihI80jfApD01kniAGX0CmZxjCVsjKp46clUEooIQorBW7aLfur0gQrbTmdQCnXTuUNLvf1zvuHppJNUUhFRsx750Uqe62NdpwfgHo38xkPDKqr7Z/s2048/IMG_2701.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1805" data-original-width="2048" height="565" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5tBP9fDKg5t1rmcgS9mIqlAxENnVihI80jfApD01kniAGX0CmZxjCVsjKp46clUEooIQorBW7aLfur0gQrbTmdQCnXTuUNLvf1zvuHppJNUUhFRsx750Uqe62NdpwfgHo38xkPDKqr7Z/w640-h565/IMG_2701.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>On the face of it there seem to be plenty of clues to the manufacturer of this set. There are two trade names used throughout the packaging: "D. H. V. and Co." and "N. U.". Thanks to the wonderful Davenport Collection website the pieces began to fall together. In their collection, they have two joke greeting cards, <a href="http://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/content/novelties-toys-games/?single_prod_id=1356" target="_blank"><b>one with the "N. U." branding</b></a>, and one very similar <a href="http://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/content/novelties-toys-games/?single_prod_id=1304" target="_blank"><b>branded "Klawvana"</b></a>. Here's a similar card from the set above.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-iLZalgyjTFAj-XKVhv4ZInEtG9Hnas9OT3y6PqSUxbujHPrd3OKDJ2k-cH7JXY97Di_9fdqxyRUaWLZ1ZQ7NhW4UctolO-BC3fZ2VYktwk9wTRtdMbzyIVWCSFAOs2dOUvX6TrtTeRC/s2048/IMG_2713.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1298" data-original-width="2048" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-iLZalgyjTFAj-XKVhv4ZInEtG9Hnas9OT3y6PqSUxbujHPrd3OKDJ2k-cH7JXY97Di_9fdqxyRUaWLZ1ZQ7NhW4UctolO-BC3fZ2VYktwk9wTRtdMbzyIVWCSFAOs2dOUvX6TrtTeRC/w640-h406/IMG_2713.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>The Klawvana branded card has an unusual logo of a woman and a greyhound, the same as on this exploding compact trick.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTBByWtjW-y50DWTo4iVW6XGRvOsUHtf7Sdgw0DdP4ffICp6kv2kYzgkypgiXCPwZyfz3KkGatTwD3FgBaAgpX41HbiABfJBIuZG03F5r8nMukJKXR_pSZ70YMYRqy6NCqBG_HY5maCF9/s2048/IMG_2717.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1501" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTBByWtjW-y50DWTo4iVW6XGRvOsUHtf7Sdgw0DdP4ffICp6kv2kYzgkypgiXCPwZyfz3KkGatTwD3FgBaAgpX41HbiABfJBIuZG03F5r8nMukJKXR_pSZ70YMYRqy6NCqBG_HY5maCF9/w470-h640/IMG_2717.JPG" width="470" /></a></div><p>The compact is not branded Klawvana though, it is an "N. U. British Product". This suggests N. U. and Klawvana were one and the same, explaining the similarities between the two joke greetings cards in the Davenport Collection. As luck would have it, I remembered seeing the word Klawvana on a novelty recently, a trick butterfly that would fly out of a closed book. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTi0EuoixRk2t6T__DU7GQ5ZiRI9vDfeK88Fic-4fDs2Cm-CUgrbMsbrh5CYRwdzzjxramZg9OFAi3R_7X_rwNF2WJG_WL9tXCEwuLEr6tz27WPqvyBIMyg0WIpGzYBC-s22SEs6_Wv0u/s2048/IMG_2719.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1782" data-original-width="2048" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTi0EuoixRk2t6T__DU7GQ5ZiRI9vDfeK88Fic-4fDs2Cm-CUgrbMsbrh5CYRwdzzjxramZg9OFAi3R_7X_rwNF2WJG_WL9tXCEwuLEr6tz27WPqvyBIMyg0WIpGzYBC-s22SEs6_Wv0u/w640-h556/IMG_2719.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>This novelty was a huge success for the U. S. firm S. S. Adams, who patented their version in 1932. As a side note, the patent number printed on Adams' butterflies was always the incorrect "1858538" rather than the actual patent number: 1858535. Looking at British Klawvana butterflies, the early models are listed as patent-pending and the later have a number corresponding to <a href="https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=6&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=19640826&CC=GB&NR=968134A&KC=A" target="_blank"><b>this patent</b></a> first applied for in 1962. The applicant for this patent was Jack Klaw, who by the time of this application had been manufacturing and selling wholesale into the joke and magic community for at least twenty-two years. </p><p>Searching for Jack Klaw in the magic press brings up no leads, but he does appear in an issue of <i>The London Gazette </i>from February 1940.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAX7hJyUsEkev_YW9dlepWGb4HL2_XE266SUdeQFA07HF1zQKDJZ3J8ZePXyxExHpp9t5wif0b45T8S1Cmi2UGLKmvUugff3LzaiDEC4koRC3CvDnEzUUNk5kFFF8bs1pSzyt87uqttZg/s931/klaw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="931" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAX7hJyUsEkev_YW9dlepWGb4HL2_XE266SUdeQFA07HF1zQKDJZ3J8ZePXyxExHpp9t5wif0b45T8S1Cmi2UGLKmvUugff3LzaiDEC4koRC3CvDnEzUUNk5kFFF8bs1pSzyt87uqttZg/w640-h256/klaw.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From this, we can see that Jack Klaw and Paul Clive were in partnership manufacturing toys under the name Novelties Unlimited. The previous year, thanks to the 1939 Register, we can see both Clive and Klaw were living in separate houses in Andover, with Clive listing his profession as "Jokes and Magical Dealer" and Klaw recording his as "Toy Manufacturer". It seems that when Paul Clive's magic dealership took off and moved to London the two men went their separate ways.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvRy8XZwSWENNOdBDz5XUE-bxAOUX1zesNqxEebdOgsX23q9wN3T6VaU40Ri63SQykRpdw217PMowwEUn_0A6Lcrz2GAAsVmRQQwGfVuGkPqU87k1UzkA6YgSkNZDt3segGBnLAM6RM47/s2048/IMG_2723.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1506" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvRy8XZwSWENNOdBDz5XUE-bxAOUX1zesNqxEebdOgsX23q9wN3T6VaU40Ri63SQykRpdw217PMowwEUn_0A6Lcrz2GAAsVmRQQwGfVuGkPqU87k1UzkA6YgSkNZDt3segGBnLAM6RM47/w470-h640/IMG_2723.JPG" width="470" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jack Klaw continued to use the name Novelties Unlimited, abbreviating it to N. U. on his products. It looks like Klaw's business was strictly wholesale as he doesn't appear to have advertised to the public.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jack Klaw was born in London in 1904, shortly after his parents arrived in the UK from Russia. He was born Jacky Klawansky, but he and his eight siblings anglicised their names to Klaw, some officially, some unofficially. Very little is known of Jack's life but his route into magic possibly came from one of his older brothers, Harry. Like Jack, Harry Klaw doesn't appear in the magic press, but he was a working magician in the 1920s and 1930s. Harry posted a handful of adverts in <i>The Stage</i> across these decades offering conjuring entertainments at home. In these he always described himself as a "Card Wizard" and sometimes used the phrase "a pack of comedy". He performed magic to supplement his income as a shopkeeper, but sadly it has been impossible to identify what he sold from his shop. Perhaps it was Harry's interest in magic that lead to Jack's career supplying magic shops with jokes and tricks. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Returning to the joke compendium, the pranks centre around two main themes, cigarette tricks and detonators. It seems these were the core of Klaw's products as in the 1961 <i>Kelly's Directory</i> his firm is listed in the <i>Smoker's Requisites</i> and <i>Cigarette Tubes</i> sections in addition to the <i>Toy Manufacturers</i> section. The set includes cigarettes branded N. U. and ones with the State Express 333 logo, a real cigarette company.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QqJskOeTbjNP6CY7W6xcfp7gD8S3laW-Grr63EudhRqXyJMLqXAI1F3Hlp3mQbpUXkKSGh43yIBDzM0OfrRFxrYqnt9klTUVKfiNjCbDK_SGfwv2PkGv9FHshrBEdzFajODKLKz-AojL/s2048/IMG_2703.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="2048" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QqJskOeTbjNP6CY7W6xcfp7gD8S3laW-Grr63EudhRqXyJMLqXAI1F3Hlp3mQbpUXkKSGh43yIBDzM0OfrRFxrYqnt9klTUVKfiNjCbDK_SGfwv2PkGv9FHshrBEdzFajODKLKz-AojL/w640-h374/IMG_2703.JPG" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There are also two detonator based tricks, a "Pep Pep" mint box and a bottle insert. The generic instructions for both of these show that an exploding match box and exploding "Nushine" boot polish tin were also available. The design for the N. U. Detonator was registered under the number 842155 in 1945, and each detonator is stamped with this number. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRtuQDaKHMYlvpmDVCuE6Stbbv5HB8cun2AN8_0BUCdKoQ5QZGugzoD2he0JIhQIRe1ytiY_Wx0PTFiQHxLwuz_Db_wznfxnP8OvQFwutljF9B2-eoS1eDC_nqgjGbH7R9Xy5uWdnPB8k/s2572/IMG_2709.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="2572" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRtuQDaKHMYlvpmDVCuE6Stbbv5HB8cun2AN8_0BUCdKoQ5QZGugzoD2he0JIhQIRe1ytiY_Wx0PTFiQHxLwuz_Db_wznfxnP8OvQFwutljF9B2-eoS1eDC_nqgjGbH7R9Xy5uWdnPB8k/w640-h304/IMG_2709.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The detonators are heavy-duty compared to the cap detonators more commonly found in trick items. The "Pep Pep" tin also has a mini list in the lid titled "What Gives Spice To Life?" which shows the company also sold a dribbling glass and scent bottle. Despite the inclusion of this advert in the set, there is no clue as to where an individual could order these items from, again suggesting N. U. was exclusively wholesale.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbhN0T7e5ppA0MttbdyXk1O-nCnPsWZnFGNGvyyv1OIB_pGYeNYcLcXGxgqIGRVGkwUHwdEs1p_cYj1UBo_pMsZ_kugghHQI_Kj5ieXn8TZmWX8RyEjz91wVBZVT19txkQ5OsTdpOsqyg/s2048/IMG_2711.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1294" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbhN0T7e5ppA0MttbdyXk1O-nCnPsWZnFGNGvyyv1OIB_pGYeNYcLcXGxgqIGRVGkwUHwdEs1p_cYj1UBo_pMsZ_kugghHQI_Kj5ieXn8TZmWX8RyEjz91wVBZVT19txkQ5OsTdpOsqyg/w404-h640/IMG_2711.JPG" width="404" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This set probably dates from the late 1940s and is one of only two I've seen. In 1954 Jack's youngest brother, Joseph, died and Jack sought buyers for his late brother's watch repair business. It is possible that Joseph manufactured and/or designed the detonators sold by Novelties Unlimited. Around 1961 Jack moved his business to 395 Hornsey Road in Islington. From here it appears he moved away from the complicated printed packaging and concentrated predominantly on manufacturing cigarette and match gags to be packaged and sold on by his customers. In the 1971 <i>Kelly's Directory</i> he describes the business as a "Toy Makers". From the box lid on the above set we can see he was selling rubber cream wafers, and rubber chocolates branded Klawvana were produced in the 1960s.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRmZaJFTWDYw6U2I2MyI7ZDKphze6Ill29nO3kRMdfhtsjdw7DvLEvoR2nuKiip2VwEEVa6GeqHkUOFSoCnRTW_9icKd64l0DYo7BFxpF8MXK9uWkkBqFbeaxyM5RkAdlgmEVHmZNUS7n/s2048/IMG_2762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1433" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRmZaJFTWDYw6U2I2MyI7ZDKphze6Ill29nO3kRMdfhtsjdw7DvLEvoR2nuKiip2VwEEVa6GeqHkUOFSoCnRTW_9icKd64l0DYo7BFxpF8MXK9uWkkBqFbeaxyM5RkAdlgmEVHmZNUS7n/w448-h640/IMG_2762.JPG" width="448" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 1975 Jack Klaw was heavily criticised in an opinion article published in the tabloid paper the Sunday People. Titled <i>DEADLY</i>, the article criticised Klaw for selling a magic trick in which spent matches could be lit again. Against the backdrop of a government campaign aiming to stop children playing with matches, a Cardiff fire prevention officer had requested the Home Office ban these matches, which he believed would be sold to children in joke shops. Klaw rejected these arguments stating it was the retailers' responsibility to keep these matches out of the hands of children. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The final sign of Novelties Unlimited I've been able to find is a listing in the Joke and Novelty Manufacturers section of the 1984 <i>Kelly's Directory</i>. They were still based at 395 Hornsey Road. This shows that, in one form or other, Jack Klaw was manufacturing and wholesaling tricks for at least forty five years. He died at the age of 87 in 1992.</div>Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-66401612763274461762020-09-11T07:00:00.010+01:002020-09-11T11:46:57.336+01:00A Haberdashery of Hocus Pocus.<p>Magic is always most effective when done with familiar objects. Due to this, tricks from specific periods can demonstrate which objects were commonplace at that time. Though sewing's a popular hobby today, when clothing was more expensive repairing clothes was an everyday necessity. This meant the tools and materials needed to do this were in every household. </p><p>Houdini famously swallowed loose needles and thread before regurgitating them, the needles now threaded. Thimble manipulation and pocket tricks with thimbles were also popular. This post looks at three effects, marketed in the 1930s by Davenports, centred around things that might be found in a sewing box of the time.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR08z8KdLiEhhqfH9cOCFIUV12a_tJ-ump8rZlZR2OW-8tbHtU7CWAdiIlGomsXcR-6M95Boez0cx23wMfGt-F0TgTtKf-SOFIbZZOh18oojaSuvht3j1vyVfgMl2S4U0s6pOm37VFwQOt/s2048/IMG_4560.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR08z8KdLiEhhqfH9cOCFIUV12a_tJ-ump8rZlZR2OW-8tbHtU7CWAdiIlGomsXcR-6M95Boez0cx23wMfGt-F0TgTtKf-SOFIbZZOh18oojaSuvht3j1vyVfgMl2S4U0s6pOm37VFwQOt/w625-h416/IMG_4560.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This simple linen tape was produced by the German firm Bartl, whose artwork is reproduced on this Demon Series box. This tape is part of an effect where a strip of paper is measured before four inches are torn off. The conjurer magically restores the paper to its original length. Most spectators would not suspect such an everyday object like a linen tape could carry a secret. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One effect that Davenports manufactured themselves was called Bewildering Buttons, described in their advert below.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirF3vJ6F2A6DEBQ4EecyUdi8iYeZSQ_CERKkadwEtI6-BMnB0hwag-mnqFzEe96QrKHMDE_Qqv19MPxGB0t8ElnYcgY1s42MjFpn9aSSW25kBBa0rwcMgD9_K1ME1xwn1SmavQaTiOJ20S/s2048/IMG_1730.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1429" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirF3vJ6F2A6DEBQ4EecyUdi8iYeZSQ_CERKkadwEtI6-BMnB0hwag-mnqFzEe96QrKHMDE_Qqv19MPxGB0t8ElnYcgY1s42MjFpn9aSSW25kBBa0rwcMgD9_K1ME1xwn1SmavQaTiOJ20S/w436-h625/IMG_1730.JPG" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was a truly charming effect where a button securely sewn onto a card would magically swap places with one of a different colour. The method is really superb and would certainly be used today if such cards were still commonplace. An example of one with red and black buttons is below:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1B-W8txTMIC_77Dadp2MzjBm2dFWoCctACGADCfv-WgXmTdH4N1GE01TzRfnQpcgokbcvwviMk0GUmKToAnalgFP_wopnCVbrBVZN3c0VMDvEvFYY0MwUeQ-7ucV11055kWjCb1QKfWCz/s2048/IMG_4571.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1B-W8txTMIC_77Dadp2MzjBm2dFWoCctACGADCfv-WgXmTdH4N1GE01TzRfnQpcgokbcvwviMk0GUmKToAnalgFP_wopnCVbrBVZN3c0VMDvEvFYY0MwUeQ-7ucV11055kWjCb1QKfWCz/w625-h416/IMG_4571.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At the same time as Bewildering Buttons Davenports were also selling an effect called the Three Reel Mystery, though this was a lot less popular judging on how many survive today. In this trick, three reels of different coloured thread were placed onto a small wooden rod which ran through their central holes. Under the cover of a handkerchief, while the rod was held on each end by a spectator, the central reel of the three magically passed through the rod. All of the reels and the rod could then be examined by the onlookers. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNG-Bu4mSdHCcTSWQyd9KYmlS4AUeWFOEIk1YWVsVGN1_XGQbou9VyE3o5_Dirp1k4oJDjHM6rjp5mJvYzPUKoncjfi-IsNftM5FRC3j4wNPkNJMJdk65dvm3tDs4w2f0UMSn7w2aNAa01/s2048/IMG_4564.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNG-Bu4mSdHCcTSWQyd9KYmlS4AUeWFOEIk1YWVsVGN1_XGQbou9VyE3o5_Dirp1k4oJDjHM6rjp5mJvYzPUKoncjfi-IsNftM5FRC3j4wNPkNJMJdk65dvm3tDs4w2f0UMSn7w2aNAa01/w416-h625/IMG_4564.JPG" width="416" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All of these tricks would have resonated with a 1930s audience and the top two of the above were sold by Davenports for many years after. Today they would appear unusual in a contemporary act and effects with thimbles are similarly rare to see performed today. The accoutrements of sewing can be found in dozens of magic books and catalogues of the past. It's a curious side effect of today's throwaway fashion culture that they have been consigned to the history books. </div>Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-82119235860324665892020-07-17T07:00:00.000+01:002020-07-17T07:00:06.579+01:00Jardine Ellis, a Posthumously Commercial Inventor.Jardine Ellis had a short and successful career as a magician, noted for novel and effective routines performed only by himself. As a creative magic mind, he made the decision early on that he would keep his effects to himself and resist the urge to market his secrets to fellow magicians. He was a popular member of many magic societies, attending gatherings of the Magic Circle and the Magicians' Club where he would baffle his contemporaries. The excerpt below, from <i>The Magic Wand</i>, describes Jardine Ellis at the 1921 Magic Circle Grand Seance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWDwKvUHMEGLHiG2z5y3SrPumm3aKPlMEt4EWZA8deoQg6W0PCXHPJGb6Qq4znttBSfILPpO5Frz3i0oMXuKsZxvti5BUhCw4XWQwCuBoL8kZyLCPUoT6mRtiCYPOp1dtbYMPCaYmAvKA/s1600/IMG_2598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1600" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWDwKvUHMEGLHiG2z5y3SrPumm3aKPlMEt4EWZA8deoQg6W0PCXHPJGb6Qq4znttBSfILPpO5Frz3i0oMXuKsZxvti5BUhCw4XWQwCuBoL8kZyLCPUoT6mRtiCYPOp1dtbYMPCaYmAvKA/s640/IMG_2598.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Born Duncan Lome Campbell in 1881, Ellis traveled the globe performing. His career was a short one as he died of pneumonia in 1923. His imaginative effects could have been lost forever had it not been for the actions of some of his fellow magicians, particularly George Johnson and Stanley Norton.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09xEDWEaf8L2e7IZ0GXrWqFlq5QF-WfPg6G-pyii6S_iP4m2cpKKHt8TsfjA-eIBBDNXzmFX7WtYD7HuzYkGx_b8mC31XDusq0nW3Kwifvu9TOV0zL6GddOPoD2ApvLT3MM04Igri7lF7/s1600/IMG_2597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1363" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09xEDWEaf8L2e7IZ0GXrWqFlq5QF-WfPg6G-pyii6S_iP4m2cpKKHt8TsfjA-eIBBDNXzmFX7WtYD7HuzYkGx_b8mC31XDusq0nW3Kwifvu9TOV0zL6GddOPoD2ApvLT3MM04Igri7lF7/s640/IMG_2597.JPG" width="544" /></a></div>
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In the few years after Jardine Ellis's death, Johnson wrote up and published a selection of Ellis's tricks in <i>The Magic Wand</i>. Some magicians were offended by this, believing Jardine Ellis had made it quite clear that he didn't wish for his secrets to be shared or sold. George Johnson addressed this in the foreword of his book: <i>A Few Jardine Ellis Secrets</i>, a compilation of the effects previously published in <i>The Magic Wand</i>:<br />
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<i>"This clever worker was at some pains to keep his secrets within a charmed circle and usually stipulated that his tricks were not to be either shown or exposed to a conjurer. I have witnessed many of the effects but for the majority of the secrets I am indebted to Mr. Stanley Norton who, by the way, has himself written the description of the Slate Mystery.</i><br />
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<i>One day, while exchanging secrets - as conjurers are wont to do - Mr. Norton remarked to Mr. Ellis, 'You are very particular as to these effects; do you expect to keep them forever and ever?' Ellis laughed, 'Oh well,' he said, 'when I am gone it does not matter what becomes of them.'</i><br />
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<i>I do not, therefore, feel any qualms about publishing this booklet."</i><br />
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It was very convenient that Norton recalled this conversation, excusing any future use of Ellis's secrets. Two of Jardine Ellis's, now public, routines really caught the attention of magicians. They are both still popular today.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbmyAYIyBjAs6HF4Wf_x91_PtOspCICKkCa8KCEwgEr5o-93at6F4NbBoYhIJ83Sh-qLjCeRT-9SZJwjPJ-G26Fp0-Ilx_LPmxr5U-9WoYzpEVChSULB7kOYq5E0AhndLg5r0j7ggyQXX/s1600/IMG_2600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="972" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbmyAYIyBjAs6HF4Wf_x91_PtOspCICKkCa8KCEwgEr5o-93at6F4NbBoYhIJ83Sh-qLjCeRT-9SZJwjPJ-G26Fp0-Ilx_LPmxr5U-9WoYzpEVChSULB7kOYq5E0AhndLg5r0j7ggyQXX/s640/IMG_2600.JPG" width="388" /></a></div>
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One of these was a clean production of a glass of wine using handling from Ellis's Thimble and Wine Glass routine. Davenports introduced two separate improvements to the effect, the first being advertised around 1933 (above). By the mid-1930s a second improvement had been made, which can be viewed on the left of the picture below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNbjiMeynPEn70v3134zRRGFV1PGp44qjKg4jMqjL7ahu4AmAfrBZiAKPP3DZZ4zhnO9aD3Y76SQy5_sJYiAhyojV-ehbvA-JaZenO5fixSlQXlRJ7Q-yJ8SFmXCbA1bHz7_7q5JH4lmJ/s1600/IMG_2585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1506" data-original-width="1600" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNbjiMeynPEn70v3134zRRGFV1PGp44qjKg4jMqjL7ahu4AmAfrBZiAKPP3DZZ4zhnO9aD3Y76SQy5_sJYiAhyojV-ehbvA-JaZenO5fixSlQXlRJ7Q-yJ8SFmXCbA1bHz7_7q5JH4lmJ/s640/IMG_2585.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Despite this effect's popularity, Jardine Ellis's name lives on in a different routine of his, the Jardine Ellis Ring. This ring has become a true classic of close up and parlour magic. In Ellis's original routine, known as the Rod and Ring, the metal ring would magically pass through a walking stick. This was the effect that Davenports marketed from the early 1930s. One such ring is to the right of the photo below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu28jOafpb4_ZhnVFPDkGfCprfPBYkr4qN0ThFC_7Okv86lYmHWoqaWuIdgK3EmvS4iOOW7WihB-eZK9V_dpYbM-rTbxI-BKZ7M6kSbFmmrOdOq20Za1zqevcHjMGlFIf7w0AtA4gsiNPX/s1600/IMG_2596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1600" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu28jOafpb4_ZhnVFPDkGfCprfPBYkr4qN0ThFC_7Okv86lYmHWoqaWuIdgK3EmvS4iOOW7WihB-eZK9V_dpYbM-rTbxI-BKZ7M6kSbFmmrOdOq20Za1zqevcHjMGlFIf7w0AtA4gsiNPX/s640/IMG_2596.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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On the left is a larger copper ring of unknown manufacturer. These rings were extremely versatile and could be used for many effects beyond the ring on stick effect. As such, they became a favourite of magicians with many new routines invented with the prop. Perhaps the most significant of which are those by Hans Trixter, published in <i>Conjuring Trix and Jardine Ellis Ring Effex</i>. The booklet was published by Magic Wand in 1955, now under the management of George Armstrong. Jardine Ellis Rings are still available to buy from magic shops and are even included in some toy magic sets, such as those manufactured by Hanky Panky Toys.<br />
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It's hard to say whether Jardine Ellis would have been happy with his effects becoming a part of many magicians' repertoires. Either way, it's clear that the use of his name to market his tricks, in particular the Jardine Ellis Ring, has kept his name in the minds of magicians almost a hundred years after his untimely death.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-7384486409947062572020-06-05T07:00:00.001+01:002023-02-02T11:40:48.872+00:00The Rabbit as Magician, a Popular Comic Theme.One of the defining symbols of magic in the public eye is that of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Much has been written on its origins but it is now little more than a cliche, rarely performed by working magicians.<br />
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It is a powerful symbol nonetheless and one embraced by the magic community with all matter of novelties and trinkets produced depicting a rabbit popping out of a top hat. A testament to its popularity is its common use in political and comedic cartoons. One fairly popular joke is to reverse the roles of the magician and rabbit and have the rabbit pulling the conjurer out of a hat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBT2uR1dbxJjoHGtzD6dWERyfokwPzquQ10VRMDvUWspaSe7zAzxNuE3XRwrrANkc1S4wEVwp4YwmQPpMQvi_onSlVRVYn0o-fN10VwIqYWk_pyK5_SxHwU_GdSpXPj_cQzUefB7YrQinl/s1600/IMG_20200604_0005.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1040" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBT2uR1dbxJjoHGtzD6dWERyfokwPzquQ10VRMDvUWspaSe7zAzxNuE3XRwrrANkc1S4wEVwp4YwmQPpMQvi_onSlVRVYn0o-fN10VwIqYWk_pyK5_SxHwU_GdSpXPj_cQzUefB7YrQinl/s640/IMG_20200604_0005.jpg" width="416" /></a></div>
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This illustration was used on the cover of the 1961 book <i>Tricks of the Television Stars </i>and<i> More Tricks of the Television Stars</i>. The books were made up of tricks previously printed in Harry Stanley's house magazine <i>The Gen</i> and the cover art was probably done by Dennis Patten. A variation of this appears in a trick header within the book.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00t9M6eHiOlO9avNgg7huEnfxQ1wg4ecWvsUbCcn3JpiK5NRq7K0NNuDppoDpLpi-yS6OiEbk21AsCSRqWsRPR89MAM3uVKMXKWGMUkh75SCyT9znB8_fD3KdPX3Wz_s6yBFPwuF2ksU1/s1600/IMG_20200604_0006.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1472" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00t9M6eHiOlO9avNgg7huEnfxQ1wg4ecWvsUbCcn3JpiK5NRq7K0NNuDppoDpLpi-yS6OiEbk21AsCSRqWsRPR89MAM3uVKMXKWGMUkh75SCyT9znB8_fD3KdPX3Wz_s6yBFPwuF2ksU1/s640/IMG_20200604_0006.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The image of a rabbit coming out of a hat was already popular by the 1950s, as shown by this cut-out advert illustrated by the magician Jack Lamonte. Lamonte specialised in custom publicity items for magicians and magic societies.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjddqElBWY0xLccVTQ52Dy8RjXlDsi_I7wRvmUvkKoY2095yx0Z8tmOT7Vw_W25YCTNOKaHaydUv_GtiI6Yox5CVWA0yBFI2SX5PzCyaiUVCsSnP5hW-aofM4d8eEDDX-ValVu5iFLHT7y/s1600/Rabbit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1148" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjddqElBWY0xLccVTQ52Dy8RjXlDsi_I7wRvmUvkKoY2095yx0Z8tmOT7Vw_W25YCTNOKaHaydUv_GtiI6Yox5CVWA0yBFI2SX5PzCyaiUVCsSnP5hW-aofM4d8eEDDX-ValVu5iFLHT7y/s640/Rabbit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This lively flier is promoting the Sheffield Circle of Magicians' 1955 Night of Magic, held at the beautiful Montgomery Hall. Lamonte's rabbit is much less sinister than most, taking clear inspiration from Disney.</div>
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Another magic society to use the motif was the British Ring of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. </div>
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These rabbits were used in two programmes for the British Ring's 1946 convention, the first since the outbreak of the Second World War. Printed by the Ring's go-to printers Burnley's Central Printing Works, the artist is not recorded.</div>
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It's unclear when the first rabbit pulling a man out of a hat appeared. I would suspect it came out of a newspaper cartoon. The earliest example I have (off the top of my head) is on the cover of Gerald Lynton Kaufmann's 1938 book <i>How's Tricks</i>. This isn't just any cartoon though.</div>
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This cover, and the frontispiece, show the most characterful depiction of a rabbit producing a magician from a hat I've found. It was illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. When this illustration was produced Dr. Seuss had only published a few books under his own name and was predominantly an advertising artist. He would later become one of the best-loved children's authors in America writing <i>The Cat in the Hat </i>and <i>How the Grinch Stole Christmas</i>.</div>
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The image of a rabbit pulling a magician out of a hat will also be very familiar to viewers of U.K. comedy television. Since 1986 the production company Hat Trick has used a charming animated logo designed by Richard Morrison to close their programmes. This version can be found <a href="https://themorrisonstudio.com/branding-keyart/hat-trick" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-57546825373633658222020-04-10T07:00:00.000+01:002020-05-27T16:15:34.204+01:00Will Blyth, a Proficient Part-Time Author. If you could look on the bookshelf of a well-read magician in the 1920s or the 1930s you'd find at least a few books by Will Blyth. For fifteen years from 1920 Blyth wrote nine magic books enjoyed by both amateur magicians and professionals alike. Blyth was a well-respected magician who toured magic clubs and societies extensively as a lecturer. He specialised in performing for children and was also renowned for his abilities with the cups and balls.<br />
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When C. Arthur Pearson began rapidly expanding his <i>Amusements for the Home </i>series Will Blyth became his go-to magic author, producing more books than any other magician for the series. With the exception of 1925, Blyth produced a book every year for Pearson from 1920 to 1926.<br />
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The above books are laid out in the order of their release with 1920 at the top left and 1926 the bottom right. For more information on the <i>Amusements for the Home </i>series have a look <a href="https://www.collectingmagic.co.uk/2018/02/c-arthur-pearson-ltd-friend-or-foe.html" target="_blank"><b>at this article</b></a>.<br />
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Will Blyth was a senior member of the Magic Circle and became their honorary librarian. This is an interesting conflict of interests given that many members of the club viewed the Pearson books as akin to exposure due to their availability to the general public. In spite of this, Blyth proudly boasted his membership of the Circle, displaying his medal and featuring the club's logo on the covers of his books.<br />
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Blyth managed to keep active in the magic world alongside a successful career within the London Salvage Corps. This was an organisation overseen by the London Fire Offices and concerned with the protection of goods and property affected by fire and water damage from fire fighting. Blyth's father, John, had been a senior member of the organisation and Will Blyth was said to have been born in a fire station. The photograph below shows Blyth in his superintendents uniform and was reproduced on the cover of the February 1935 issue of <i>The Magician Monthly</i>.<br />
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Blyth's work as Superintendent, the most senior position in the organisation, involved presenting lectures on fire prevention and safety. It was at one of these that he met a young Francis White who he went on to mentor for many years. Blyth's work in the Corps and his interest in paper tearing combined into an act called the "The Fireman's Story". He wrote up this act and presented it in the closing chapter of his 1928 book <i>Effective Conjuring</i>.<br />
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<i>Effective Conjuring</i> was the first of two books written for the publishers Methuen. Methuen rarely published magic books but <i>Effective Conjuring</i> became very successful for them. The 1932 and 1934 reprints are now amongst the most common 1930s magic books on the second-hand market. Blyth's second book for Methuen, <i>How to Become a Conjurer</i>, was released in 1934. This book was more squarely aimed at the beginner but didn't share the success of his previous work for Methuen.<br />
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<i>How to Become a Conjurer</i> includes a section on building a magic library where he lists all of the books he had written. This holds somewhat of a mystery. In the list he mentions <i>Cups and Balls</i>, published in 1933 and containing 20 pages. I haven't been able to find evidence of a physical copy of this book. Magicpedia states that <i>Cups and Balls</i> were lecture notes from his appearance at the 1933 I.B.M convention in Northampton.<br />
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I'd be very interested to know if this is the case and if anyone has a copy of these notes. There is a pamphlet that was put out by Davenports for many years under the title <i>Sleight of Hand Simplified</i> which, after an earlier stock cover, goes into depth about how to perform the cups and balls. It is anonymous and runs for 20 pages, the length of the mysterious Blyth book. Perhaps this was written by Blyth and originally had a front-page mentioning the I.B.M. conference which was changed for general sale? If anyone can shine any light on this I'd be very interested.<br />
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In addition to these books, Blyth was a prolific contributor to <i>The Magic Circular</i>, <i>The Magic Wand </i>and <i>The Magician Monthly </i>among other periodicals. He was well-loved in the magic community and spent a great deal of time helping others both as secretary of the Magic Circle's John Nevil Maskelyne Benevelont Fund and as secretary of the Professional Fire Brigades Widows and Orphans Fund. He died suddenly on the 7th of January 1937 at the age of 63.<br />
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His popularity was evident from the scale of his funeral which Francis White described in an appreciation in <i>The Magician Monthly</i>. The funeral cortege travelled from the London Salvage Corps headquarters past a guard of honour and onto Cannon Street where uniformed London Fire Brigade representatives lined the street. Francis White reported that the church was packed and floral tributes came from The Magic Circle, The Sheffield Circle of Magicians, TheAberdeen Magical Society, The Covan, Douglas Craggs, The Davenport Family and many more.<br />
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Pearson reprinted a few of his books in the late 1930s (above) but since 1940 neither his Pearson or Methuen books have been reprinted. It's fair to say they have dated, as have most magic books of the period, and the poor quality of the binding of Pearson's books make it hard to practically learn tricks from them today. His final book for Pearson, <i>Money Magic</i>, is perhaps his most underrated, being probably the first coin magic book written in truly clear language. In the forward for this book Percy Naldrett wrote:<br />
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<i>"I commend this book to the man-in-the-street who wishes to be ever ready to entertain friends without too laborious preparation or practice; also, I commend it to the more experienced conjurer seeking subtle and delightfully deceptive moves, and again to the genial joker, who delights in catches. I can only find one fault in the book of Money Magic. It is too cheap."</i><br />
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This nicely sums up Blyth's books. Accessible, affordable and of substance.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-15857244075361222422020-02-28T07:00:00.000+00:002020-05-27T16:23:18.213+01:00The Secret Out Series, the Stepping Stones to Hoffmann? When I was in my early teens attending meetings at the Nottingham Guild of Magicians I used to spend a great deal of time looking through the magic library in the tea room. In a little lock-up cabinet there was a great range of magic books donated to the guild from its foundation in the thirties. Perhaps as a sign of things to come, I had little interest in the post-1950s books and was drawn to the mystery of the earlier publications. After devouring the Hoffmanns, all the Pearsons books on offer, and the Naldretts I looked at a few of the odder earlier books. W. H. Cremer's <i>Magic No Mystery</i> and <i>Hanky Panky</i> were certainly odd.<br />
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Over the years I've found copies of my own and picked up other magic-related books whose covers seemed to match. These half dozen books were marketed as a series by their London Publisher: Chatto and Windus. My copies are from the Edinburgh bookseller John Grant who, according to Raymond Toole Stott, was the last firm to print them. In magic circles the four books associated with W. H. Cremer are well known.<br />
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W. H. Cremer Junior (1811-1889) was a toy and game importer and seller on London's Regent Street, just a stone's throw from where Hamleys is today. In an advert for the shop's catalogue from 1870 Cremer states it contains "Information on every matter relating to Toys, Games, Dolls, Magic, Entertainments and Amusements of every kind for Evening Parties, Fetes, &c." In this same advert, from Christmas 1870, Cremer's <i>The Secret Out</i> is advertised.<br />
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Although Cremer is listed as the editor of <i>The Secret Out</i> it has a murkier background than this. A version of this book had been published previously in America and is thought to have its roots in the translation of a few French texts on magic. For more speculation on the true authorship of this, and other Cremer books, see this <a href="https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=201072&forum=135&start=0" target="_blank">interesting thread on Magic Cafe</a>. Cremer may have arranged the printing of this book in the UK so he could stock it in his shop, or the publisher may have thought having the name of a well known, high-class shop owner associated with magic would help the book sell. Either way, it seems that Cremer had little to do with the actual content of the book.<br />
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Three other books were published under Cremer's name by Chatto and Windus and John Grant. <i>The Magician's Own Book</i> shares its title with a well known early American publication on magic, though its content differs. <i>Hanky Panky</i> is a bit more cobbled together with the boast of "250 illustrations" managed by the inclusion of many stock illustrations barely related to the text. <i>Magic No Mystery</i> suffers less from this and carries 70 relevant illustrations.<br />
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In addition to the Cremer books, three other books were marketed at part of this series. In an 1881 Chatto and Windus catalogue, <i>The Pyrotechnist's Treasury</i> by Thomas Kentish is included but by the time of the advert below, from the John Grant series, this book has been omitted.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_9JjHclDl2kNzPLyV9R5EZplgGDLny3Rwm8n45mzQSkCU4bn1QSSDHtqwsvUy04p5LgdU626X0LZwpKEU9ro7bjuOeT-r7iggaWqM3OPliRJ3__y2sjADeynjaJDclSSlywWAbNNfTA-/s1600/secretout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="818" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_9JjHclDl2kNzPLyV9R5EZplgGDLny3Rwm8n45mzQSkCU4bn1QSSDHtqwsvUy04p5LgdU626X0LZwpKEU9ro7bjuOeT-r7iggaWqM3OPliRJ3__y2sjADeynjaJDclSSlywWAbNNfTA-/s640/secretout.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The remaining two in the series were <i>The Art of Amusing</i> by Frank Bellew and <i>The Merry Circle </i>by Cara Bellew. <i>The Art of Amusing contains</i> a tiny amount of magic and<i> The Merry Circle</i> doesn't include any. They still belong to this popular and influential series though and have a great deal of entertaining novelty value.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdPDII8dGR36Nbx8ajXKscK-spbI7uQ1bhMJ4M_gGtAU5U6FDUy9xUQr6XxcnWOadHE3m_KwIDx-2aNp_ciFtzSi8rJMkjLY_Qy91lFhW-PCuDFMNx7y20S6CQYFLvnPyBqOrnIYIqRWj/s1600/IMG_1602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdPDII8dGR36Nbx8ajXKscK-spbI7uQ1bhMJ4M_gGtAU5U6FDUy9xUQr6XxcnWOadHE3m_KwIDx-2aNp_ciFtzSi8rJMkjLY_Qy91lFhW-PCuDFMNx7y20S6CQYFLvnPyBqOrnIYIqRWj/s640/IMG_1602.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It seems that these books were very successful from the very early 1870s and were being marketed as a series from 1875 at the latest. Perhaps the success of these books encouraged Hoffmann to begin translating and writing his own magic books. They certainly demonstrated there was a good market for magic books, both for magicians and amateurs.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-31147787847728212802020-01-31T07:00:00.000+00:002020-05-27T16:32:46.697+01:00Stressful and Startling Sugar Spoons.Spoons are a staple of any shop selling practical jokes. In a country where drinking tea is a national obsession thousands of these spoons were sold by magic shops to naughty children hoping to scare and irritate their relatives. These were mostly imported from Germany or manufactured in the UK and were retailed by many shops, particularly Ellisdons and Davenports.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8F9w_cVaWihORtHUYbZHorZug8klLRsL0Q4MGsLdHijvcehoRFeuQHkRXEPjqCcQBHcuF8b0lULu-J3UDet9ilbFwSC8QisvKYStoDfbmvxocjxpSEbHWmvRvdy6ua1pnfaMWNn8ZLYE/s1600/IMG_0636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8F9w_cVaWihORtHUYbZHorZug8klLRsL0Q4MGsLdHijvcehoRFeuQHkRXEPjqCcQBHcuF8b0lULu-J3UDet9ilbFwSC8QisvKYStoDfbmvxocjxpSEbHWmvRvdy6ua1pnfaMWNn8ZLYE/s640/IMG_0636.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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First up is a pair of classic exploding spoons. When laid on the table they look innocent enough but if picked up a detonator is released and a loud bang is produced.<br />
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Spoons like these were sold in mail-order catalogues with lively cartoon adverts. In this article I'm featuring Davenports adverts as, in my entirely biased opinion, they are the most entertaining. Here's an advert for a bending spoon from the 1930s.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzvbmCbAC98hqtbLpBE8dJOjrmSjmmJaefQkdwtASpzh_vf-VHmXK7sqYuZauRMSqr59682SoKDwg_gq90FgMPaI_VWHMezdhE-NtKTX0kCJYFZlvnS500Ig8fsvqBT5wX0rFfQO50Wb-/s1600/spoon3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="683" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzvbmCbAC98hqtbLpBE8dJOjrmSjmmJaefQkdwtASpzh_vf-VHmXK7sqYuZauRMSqr59682SoKDwg_gq90FgMPaI_VWHMezdhE-NtKTX0kCJYFZlvnS500Ig8fsvqBT5wX0rFfQO50Wb-/s640/spoon3.jpg" width="594" /></a></div>
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These spoons were one of the more unusual in their group as they were manufactured as a trick from scratch rather than being normal spoons altered after production. The hinge is well made and invisible to the casual observer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD07JkVLJ4bYXAP3mssGbkYXRENPz7D5sgr_CDLrDMUi3Y9mhdBy-gMFxWOly1dIi_DKygYi-X74RkGT10nZLzobALUABSVZ24KTWmZnjg_aImLpKt6ZK-cScvHcOgUBHHEaJM_a_WIJMi/s1600/spo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="976" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD07JkVLJ4bYXAP3mssGbkYXRENPz7D5sgr_CDLrDMUi3Y9mhdBy-gMFxWOly1dIi_DKygYi-X74RkGT10nZLzobALUABSVZ24KTWmZnjg_aImLpKt6ZK-cScvHcOgUBHHEaJM_a_WIJMi/s640/spo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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A more popular and cheaper trick spoon was "The Impossible Spoon". These were normal spoons drilled with a large hole in the bowl. Here's another Davenports advert.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SRnT1XPLi0Tn1rSgJDDmQFQ1wMp-EFWDgcHCzFaFKOEyhWMR_iJJUsmCJp_Em5wBJy3rL_DLQkwzxbpVQiXgJfM_s77BN32WeHbHwKPUiQOhvjF5aErBmtRsjIVeVbkd95G68KReVqTR/s1600/spoon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="715" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SRnT1XPLi0Tn1rSgJDDmQFQ1wMp-EFWDgcHCzFaFKOEyhWMR_iJJUsmCJp_Em5wBJy3rL_DLQkwzxbpVQiXgJfM_s77BN32WeHbHwKPUiQOhvjF5aErBmtRsjIVeVbkd95G68KReVqTR/s640/spoon1.jpg" width="602" /></a></div>
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Popular from the 1920s these spoons are probably the easiest to find novelty spoons out there. The spoon in the foreground was made in Czechoslovakia and the one in the background Germany. It's likely they were turned into trick spoons in the UK however.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wWo6YqtDEGZVl_hkFbBleyW_fY7FSgGdxJESjRZrj_P8fdSG5Kr_uqnkMwbDwMsN3Q-7B4oZBEVjN1ajw-fH5PxgF22S5pSfkG25cWZvKAT1DgQWvmqY3AI_QEPb7P_EOUNnkq9y97lA/s1600/IMG_0649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wWo6YqtDEGZVl_hkFbBleyW_fY7FSgGdxJESjRZrj_P8fdSG5Kr_uqnkMwbDwMsN3Q-7B4oZBEVjN1ajw-fH5PxgF22S5pSfkG25cWZvKAT1DgQWvmqY3AI_QEPb7P_EOUNnkq9y97lA/s640/IMG_0649.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The spoon below is much scarcer. Made in the UK, it has a celluloid lid sealed to the mouth of the spoon's bowl. It performs much the same function as the spoons above, preventing the user from getting sugar out of their sugar bowl.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGWl19cqJd8IKcBbQJvof6jkT_qVy8iYcCXoyDcb5E8iCt8tZzNhcnJkqpJCoUrRG-NGolmbOQvKx3TJ9qsbsbxRsAzdfx53_0xrL0B5CG2cVrbshAoESx1cINXIxqJzG5aNWOj2XKts9/s1600/IMG_0647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="1600" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGWl19cqJd8IKcBbQJvof6jkT_qVy8iYcCXoyDcb5E8iCt8tZzNhcnJkqpJCoUrRG-NGolmbOQvKx3TJ9qsbsbxRsAzdfx53_0xrL0B5CG2cVrbshAoESx1cINXIxqJzG5aNWOj2XKts9/s640/IMG_0647.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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My favourite of these silly spoons is the fly spoon, which does what it says on the tin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoxeleA8IRx5bSmWIAErIPWUqSvI4QSPqRIh3S9BAuvviHNLjcSxUyEWFJ255K-UKEqOMe9RziImE0rPYd9uc5z-hjv5-dCniE0v88wNmI_XcuTPI9x4AV9uJu4ES5nA5YC_usvoS3w_m/s1600/spoon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1171" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoxeleA8IRx5bSmWIAErIPWUqSvI4QSPqRIh3S9BAuvviHNLjcSxUyEWFJ255K-UKEqOMe9RziImE0rPYd9uc5z-hjv5-dCniE0v88wNmI_XcuTPI9x4AV9uJu4ES5nA5YC_usvoS3w_m/s640/spoon2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Again using a normal aluminium spoon the novelty manufacturer has created a trick with just a small alteration. A hole has been drilled in the centre and a fly pin has been pushed through the hole. When held on a tablecloth it's easy to make the fly move around on the spoon in a very realistic fashion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIcm61sZ6mxdzpwhXuWlglYSIsOmLIfxlOpaJIhWEY9chQvCgzy287_qY7yMhSp5MjRzCTzC6lAVrMX448xO1WdPClC9wbMRikGxbqbf2wAOoBv3UWtrXFSjmb-lWygvpc00nfj0Hqs5r/s1600/IMG_0645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="1600" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIcm61sZ6mxdzpwhXuWlglYSIsOmLIfxlOpaJIhWEY9chQvCgzy287_qY7yMhSp5MjRzCTzC6lAVrMX448xO1WdPClC9wbMRikGxbqbf2wAOoBv3UWtrXFSjmb-lWygvpc00nfj0Hqs5r/s640/IMG_0645.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Spoons were not the only items of tableware that received the novelty treatment as can be seen from this Davenports advert pushing an array of folding cutlery.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV96IZkCH7FmnDPbrHvt4B7hyphenhyphen69XgcEcQ1ALFEeKeGlaKMS6WBNeCtdx20EEvXSfBmuOhE_C64zNdj63Aom14K2zPrNGw0JuXyrGQ3OpGemJswfboN6hcJhOMuTsNrcxV_hKYOpJs0HjqR/s1600/spoon4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="664" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV96IZkCH7FmnDPbrHvt4B7hyphenhyphen69XgcEcQ1ALFEeKeGlaKMS6WBNeCtdx20EEvXSfBmuOhE_C64zNdj63Aom14K2zPrNGw0JuXyrGQ3OpGemJswfboN6hcJhOMuTsNrcxV_hKYOpJs0HjqR/s640/spoon4.jpg" width="606" /></a></div>
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Although many of these are of pretty low quality there are odd exceptions such as this bending fork. It is of high quality and has a superb hinge, almost invisible when the fork is straight. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuI81lqGwACKFWA3xdlG3XnR5g6Waw8jMB3CF17qFh4KltTnQaeKamhzaW7uLJCQs3_kfgxwJ2ilzqR3BHICugdeEG_p2PG-9huLYyIDXiXyaFbB_HdkZ6KlmXBuTkNr9jHuXPvsVmwQec/s1600/spo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="976" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuI81lqGwACKFWA3xdlG3XnR5g6Waw8jMB3CF17qFh4KltTnQaeKamhzaW7uLJCQs3_kfgxwJ2ilzqR3BHICugdeEG_p2PG-9huLYyIDXiXyaFbB_HdkZ6KlmXBuTkNr9jHuXPvsVmwQec/s640/spo2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Joke cutlery is still manufactured but not in the quantities seen between 1920 and 1960. Spoons with holes in their bowls are now marketed as "Diet Spoons" and bending spoons are still available. A few new novelties have also been introduced such as extending forks and spoons such as <a href="https://mcphee.com/products/freeloader-fork" target="_blank">Archie McPhee's "Freeloader Fork"</a>. </div>
Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-28736961437793942362019-12-25T07:00:00.000+00:002020-05-27T16:40:17.926+01:00Radio Magic, a Look at the B.B.C.'s Online Offerings.This post is a departure from the norm here. I had hoped to start writing longer articles once the Sewell book was out, but a different magic history project I'm collaborating on has progressed faster than I'd anticipated. I simply haven't had the time outside work to spend on the blog.<br />
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So, instead of a standard post, I'm going to list some of the magic history-related B.B.C. Radio programmes currently available to listen to online. With the introduction of B.B.C. Sounds many archived documentaries have become available to listen to for free on their website and the B.B.C. Sounds application for smartphones and tablets.<br />
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There are many more magic history documentaries and dramas visible on the B.B.C.'s website which aren't currently available but perhaps will be in the future. I've separated the programmes available into broad categories below. The programmes are made for a lay audience and there is a fair amount of repetition in some of the below, but they're pleasant listening nonetheless. The majority of these can be listened to worldwide.<br />
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<b>Magic History:</b><br />
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<b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">It's Magic (1993):</b><br />
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This six-part series explores the history and practice of magic with contributions from Edwin Dawes, Michael Vincent, Jack Delvin, David Berglas, Fay Presto and Ali Bongo.<br />
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The six parts cover the history of magic, tricks involving illusions of death, vanishing and appearing effects, animals in magic, escapology and mentalism. Although only an overview of each topic, the half-hour format allows for some entertaining anecdotes.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p033k6yl" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">It's Magic: Hocus Pocus</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p033k6ym" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">It's Magic: Cut and Thrust</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p033k6yw" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">It's Magic: Now You See It, Now You Don't</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p033k6z6" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">It's Magic: The Rabbit out of the Hat</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p033k6zc" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">It's Magic: Great Escapes</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p033k6zk" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">It's Magic: Magic in Mind</span></a><br />
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<b><u>The Unseen - A History of the Invisible (2016):</u></b><br />
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This five-part series from science writer Philip Ball explores the links between science and magic of all types. The second and third episodes are of specific interest to magic history fans. The second part explores science and performance magic, with contributions from Will Houstoun, and the third part looks at science and the rise of spiritualism.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b07dlx90" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Unseen - A History of the Invisible: Conjuring the Invisible</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b07dm2k8" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Unseen - A History of the Invisible: The Spirit World</span></a><br />
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<b><u>Great Lives - Harry Houdini (2009):</u></b><br />
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The first of three Houdini programmes on this list is this look at his career presented by Matthew Parris. Parris discusses Houdini's life with magician Paul Daniels and Houdini biographer William Kalush.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b00mr4w1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Great Lives: Harry Houdini</span></a><br />
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<b><u>Omnibus - Are You There Harry Houdini? (1996):</u></b><br />
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This documentary, presented by Brian Sibley, looks at Houdini's life with a particular focus on his death and interest in spiritualism. Many of the Magic Circle magicians who contributed to <i>It's Magic</i> above feature prominently discussing his life and career.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0376lbs" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Omnibus: Are You There Harry Houdini?</span></a><br />
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<b><u>Witness History - Harry Houdini (2016):</u></b><br />
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The shortest of the three Houdini documentaries, this looks at Houdini's Mirror Handcuff Challenge. With entertaining contributions from Paul Zenon, it provides an interesting snapshot of Houdini's time in the U.K.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p04cy8x2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Witness History: Harry Houdini</span></a><br />
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<b>Magic History Related:</b><br />
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<b><u>In Our Time - Automata (2018):</u></b><br />
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Melvyn Bragg discusses the history and cultural context of automata with Simon Schaffer, Elly Truitt and Franziska Kohlt. This is really worth a listen, but it does suffer from Melvyn Bragg regularly interrupting the academics to demonstrate his own knowledge.<br />
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As an aside, Simon Schaffer's B.B.C. Four (TV) documentary on automata, <i>Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams,</i> is regularly repeated and worth watching.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0bk1c4d" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">In Our Time: Automata</span></a><br />
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<b><u>Beyond Belief - Spiritualism (2014):</u></b><br />
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This fascinating talk show looks at the history and practice of Spiritualism through a discussion between a Spiritualist, an Evangelical and an academic interested in spirituality. Though there's little magic history in here it does cover many aspects around the growth of spiritualism, and its current practice, generally absent from magic history books.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b04tj37t" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Beyond Belief: Spiritualism</span></a><br />
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<b><u>The Long View - Retail Difficulties: Gamages in 1930 (2008):</u></b><br />
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I'm stretching it a bit here, but I am fascinated with Gamages and its magic department which grew and shrank over the years. There is no mention of magic in this documentary but it does give an insight into the history of this company and why it is no longer a household name.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b00ft1ts" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Long View - Retail Difficulties: Gamages in 1930</span></a><br />
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<b>Other programmes perhaps of interest:</b><br />
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<b><u>I Was Philip Larkin's Magician (2018):</u></b><br />
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This fantastic programme looks at the friendship between the biochemist (and magic historian) Edwin Dawes and the poet Philip Larkin. Written and presented by Andrew McGibbon it shines a new light on Larkin and is filled with charming anecdotes from Dawes.<br />
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If you to listen to only one programme on this list make it this.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0b86ryg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I Was Philip Larkin's Magician</span></a><br />
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<b><u>The Why Factor - Magicians (2016):</u></b><br />
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This short programme looks at the various reasons people become magicians. It's full of interesting insights into the psychology of magicians and what drives them.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b07krdvp" target="_blank">The Why Factor - Ma</a><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b07krdvp" target="_blank">gicians</a></span><br />
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<b><u>The Conversation - The Magicians: Ekaterina Dobrokhotova and Adeline Ng (2016):</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
This episode of <i>The Conversation</i> sees two accomplished magicians from different backgrounds discuss their careers and the various challenges women face in the male-dominated world of magic.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p042gvd2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Conversation - The Magicians: Ekaterina Dobrokhotova and Adeline Ng</span></a><br />
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<b><u>Outlook - Derren Brown: The Magician's Secrets (2019):</u></b><br />
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Derren Brown is well represented on B.B.C Sounds and this recent interview conducted by Emily Webb is worth a listen. Brown's <i>Desert Island Discs </i>can also be listened to on the website.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3csyhj9" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Outlook - Derren Brown: The Magician's Secrets</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0005dyb" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Desert Island Discs: Derren Brown</span></a><br />
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<b><u>The Life Scientific: Richard Wiseman on Lying, Luck and the Paranormal (2019):</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
This episode of Jim Al-Khalili's wonderful series has Richard Wiseman as its subject. The always entertaining Wiseman discusses his more recent areas of interest and his past work.<br />
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Listen here:<br />
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0008y3y" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Life Scientific: Richard Wiseman on Lying, Luck and the Paranormal</span></a><br />
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I hope the above programmes will be of some interest. If you spot any others available to listen to on the B.B.C.'s website please let me know and I'll add them to the list.<br />
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.<br />
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<br />Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-17894041202885476642019-08-23T07:00:00.000+01:002020-05-27T17:08:10.691+01:00The Most Ephemeral Ephemera, Flash Products.Magic tricks come in all sorts of forms, some are manufactured to be treasured and collected, others are purely practical and some are consumable. I've always enjoyed the interesting packaging that contains tricks and some of the harder packaging to find are those for flash products. The nature of flash string, wool and paper is that once it's burnt it's gone so the packaging would rarely be kept.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIjEfJSnnp2FTOKHw21cP0v6Af_oOqGtZZuCKs_uyPx5LR24lFvq0y3Ncymhi0vzFsAsFi8xU6gPbVzWnWYUBFHUu0FvlaLDoDMpwST-Vn0A4v0l0D6StkktB8vrUan8MZgJCTg6lyn0S/s1600/flash+rope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1450" data-original-width="947" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIjEfJSnnp2FTOKHw21cP0v6Af_oOqGtZZuCKs_uyPx5LR24lFvq0y3Ncymhi0vzFsAsFi8xU6gPbVzWnWYUBFHUu0FvlaLDoDMpwST-Vn0A4v0l0D6StkktB8vrUan8MZgJCTg6lyn0S/s640/flash+rope.jpg" width="416" /></a></div>
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This small envelope, a little bigger than a playing card, was produced to hold flash string from Davenports. The company have imaginatively called the string the Indian Rope Trick and designed striking graphics to advertise an item with no actual connection to the mythical Indian trick. This envelope is probably from the late 1920s or the 1930s. Its survival is thanks to being used as a bookmark.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJ4Lr0HDGUK9UqUoalox1v7TLsNhviBDgoGJa2F-kiCmgnAw40keSOjj9Qyr0V-k68gF8uM_pNoDnCO5WH_c3eyQpAAtxiFqpY77EjxphlFZFecTA__e7wBSKEJPMsIFp-WERh8uNMM67/s1600/IMG_4551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1600" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJ4Lr0HDGUK9UqUoalox1v7TLsNhviBDgoGJa2F-kiCmgnAw40keSOjj9Qyr0V-k68gF8uM_pNoDnCO5WH_c3eyQpAAtxiFqpY77EjxphlFZFecTA__e7wBSKEJPMsIFp-WERh8uNMM67/s640/IMG_4551.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The title of the Indian Rope Trick was also used for these small boxes used to sell flash string. It's not clear who manufactured these but they seem to have been made in the 1950s. They carry no makers name or logo.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQdWzGiGeMX6yiv9vk0MR377QxaedeguS61kA9nrl-htDnA_fuF2kaSr1R6bLWHeGxkxQBMONtD93xvEJm5jDoxdyPlVZmNQvTBBYujpXl8a8Fgh-pxTjVq0-uy8Rr99sdDi-BvU3nPCg/s1600/flash+wool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="1131" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQdWzGiGeMX6yiv9vk0MR377QxaedeguS61kA9nrl-htDnA_fuF2kaSr1R6bLWHeGxkxQBMONtD93xvEJm5jDoxdyPlVZmNQvTBBYujpXl8a8Fgh-pxTjVq0-uy8Rr99sdDi-BvU3nPCg/s640/flash+wool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This small pot was sold in the 1950s or 1960s and contains flash wool. I saw one of these in The Davenport Collection and was quite taken with how unusual the packaging was. Despite the use of the word Demon it seems this was not manufactured by Davenports.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicd8vBygmJnvj0DkWERLTVVTrq_Q573G9LnuVFT7DAu1x9MeSCd-SDbXM9QLh98nVBhyFRnrVlhorbaKd0DhSAZwQCOgM48kjO2jlV29zyHkzWeGHccYxr4_jAOgnnfhN9srwI_nNN3N75/s1600/IMG_4559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1600" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicd8vBygmJnvj0DkWERLTVVTrq_Q573G9LnuVFT7DAu1x9MeSCd-SDbXM9QLh98nVBhyFRnrVlhorbaKd0DhSAZwQCOgM48kjO2jlV29zyHkzWeGHccYxr4_jAOgnnfhN9srwI_nNN3N75/s640/IMG_4559.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's interesting to see the small quantities flash products were sold in all three of these examples. Perhaps this is because they were aimed towards the school child or amateur market and the exciting and humorous graphics on the packaging seem to support that. I imagine shops would sell much larger quantities to professional magicians and these would probably have been packaged quite plainly.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-49510331069342222942019-07-12T07:00:00.000+01:002020-05-27T17:19:09.026+01:00The Drawer Box Magic Set, an Ingenious Design.In a case of knowledge lost and regained I recently had the good fortune to identify an item in my collection I had been puzzling over for years. Fifteen or more years ago I was browsing through patents related to magic on The European Patent Office database, Espacenet. One of the many was a charming idea for a magic set built into a drawer box so the contents could appear and vanish.<br />
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A few years after this I found one such set and snapped it up, eager to fish out the patent and print it off to accompany the set.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5-QME1A8x7CQI6BTLMSqSwdBIs6ZSxEum8t2q8Fd8NgZ6eW0grYyzXsXiADF7UdP7FP8Eo71GUJXClLiuaJNgJvEJGoSdssENmmx18EsIlKQvcrN9UbXyqH1OE5GtRarqUnK82Mk14Ag/s1600/drawerboxset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="976" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5-QME1A8x7CQI6BTLMSqSwdBIs6ZSxEum8t2q8Fd8NgZ6eW0grYyzXsXiADF7UdP7FP8Eo71GUJXClLiuaJNgJvEJGoSdssENmmx18EsIlKQvcrN9UbXyqH1OE5GtRarqUnK82Mk14Ag/s640/drawerboxset.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sadly after finding the set I couldn't work out what I'd searched to find the patent and it went on the shelf unidentified.<br />
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Recently I was researching a different range of magic sets when I again stumbled on the patent I'd seen all those years ago. It can be viewed on the Espacenet website by following <b><a href="https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?FT=D&date=19320324&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP&CC=GB&NR=369479A&KC=A&ND=4" target="_blank">this link</a></b>. The patent was filed by Edgar Jay of British Games Limited in 1931 and the illustration matches closely with the set.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieWpnzyrSWRAO6uteZGdKPjLVJT_TIbdwmuhZt9RfKE9C48sT8cnFMpmrnBukZtZ1ME1ouMd59X-z_69NJTxFWTrMk6QsnkmzCz3MSdtTPrlY8teUqyteMBQzq7GskYshI_zX1vkao10p/s1600/IMG_4581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1600" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieWpnzyrSWRAO6uteZGdKPjLVJT_TIbdwmuhZt9RfKE9C48sT8cnFMpmrnBukZtZ1ME1ouMd59X-z_69NJTxFWTrMk6QsnkmzCz3MSdtTPrlY8teUqyteMBQzq7GskYshI_zX1vkao10p/s640/IMG_4581.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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British Games Limited was usually abbreviated to B.G.L. and was active from the early 1920s through to 1937 when it entered liquidation. They manufactured and sold games, hobby kits and a few magic sets. Their magic sets were generally in standard boxes with illustrated labels and these drawer box sets seem to be scarce.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2MMtZS7NtcD1_V-Gz7AhL8b_EYJBb1gkt1GJ68UDBuLS_IDcRgQgBtO7s1lRLNtUGOT1uFsADwFh8yc4n32-jYiCslCJjG18d4IlCmodqgIMJHL33PLuD7WJxo-rUqaa8XLupP3HWcvL/s1600/IMG_4586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1292" data-original-width="1600" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2MMtZS7NtcD1_V-Gz7AhL8b_EYJBb1gkt1GJ68UDBuLS_IDcRgQgBtO7s1lRLNtUGOT1uFsADwFh8yc4n32-jYiCslCJjG18d4IlCmodqgIMJHL33PLuD7WJxo-rUqaa8XLupP3HWcvL/s640/IMG_4586.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The quality of the contents is quite high, certainly higher than some of their other sets. The patent shows the original design had dividers between the tricks, this is the case with a different version of this set in Manfred Klaghofer's collection <b><u><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/90196903@N02/14190356157/" target="_blank">photographed here</a></u></b>.<br />
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The idea to package a magic set in a drawer box may or may not have been original to Edgar Jay but he seems to have been the first to patent it. This fun idea has since been used by many magic set manufacturers and is often used by Marvin's Magic in their products.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-24225115072505551452019-05-31T07:00:00.000+01:002020-05-27T17:23:45.813+01:00The Baffler Box, Prevalence to Obscurity. In most magic sets sold from the 1920s to the 1950s was a small metal pot with which small items could be vanished. This powerful little tin was a stalwart pocket money effect in the catalogues of practically every dealer of the early twentieth century. Despite its prevalence for more than thirty years a few factors have pushed this trick out of the dealers' lists.<br />
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This example is the earliest I have, taken from a Gamages magic set from the early 1920s. An object, usually a silk handkerchief, would be pushed into this pot, the magician's sleeves would be rolled up or adjusted and the pot would be shown empty. It requires a small amount of skill, but is very effective.<br />
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This early Davenports advert shows the box in use. Davenports produced a huge number of these pots over many years and it must have been one of their best sellers for decades. Most of their little cups look like the example below.<br />
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This Davenports box was sold in its own packaging but most were sold in magic sets such as the Maskelyne's Mysteries sets in <a href="https://www.collectingmagic.co.uk/2017/12/maskelynes-mysteries-as-brand.html" target="_blank"><b>this post</b></a>. Made in many colours they almost always had two bands painted either silver or gold. <b><a href="https://www.collectingmagic.co.uk/2017/08/ernest-sewell-magic-set-mogul.html" target="_blank">Ernest Sewell's sets</a></b> normally included a Baffler Box too and his were decorated the same as those manufactured by Davenports though manufactured in his workshop. Davenports also sold a plain version, though I have only seen this one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqa7fH78ZlmRdfdE0434eqJj0SfT_Bji0Mdj9zV5daDYCEJykd3qj8Ch9F_zgvCcmaftvU6ugiZJ8aL22ml3WC48i_FWQTidbLzbGYq9Uu19iSn1mEb511A5w8cmGtbJjGrOg383g1t-E/s1600/IMG_4237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1600" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqa7fH78ZlmRdfdE0434eqJj0SfT_Bji0Mdj9zV5daDYCEJykd3qj8Ch9F_zgvCcmaftvU6ugiZJ8aL22ml3WC48i_FWQTidbLzbGYq9Uu19iSn1mEb511A5w8cmGtbJjGrOg383g1t-E/s640/IMG_4237.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Davenports also sold a tube from which a cigarette could vanish using the same principle. They marketed this as the Baffler Vanishing Cigarette, pointing out to purchasers the method used. One of these can be seen on the left of the last photo on <b><a href="https://www.collectingmagic.co.uk/2018/08/cigarette-sensations-defunct-deceptions.html" target="_blank">this post</a></b>. In the 1930s Davenports marketed a different effect which built on the main secret of the baffler box.<br />
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This tube is broadly the same as a baffler box with the bottom removed and with the gimmick a dye tube rather than a closed pot. Although it was retailed by Davenports it is possibly an imported trick.<br />
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The handling of this effect and the baffler boxes is a real pleasure to use, but has some draw backs that have assigned them to the collectors' cabinet. Not only do they depend on the magician wearing a dark jacket or blazer, but also one they're not too worried about about jabbing holes in. The necessity of a very sharp point on the gimmick perhaps explains why it is no longer considered a good item for children's magic sets.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-59790712977127003992019-05-03T07:00:00.000+01:002020-05-27T17:27:07.903+01:00The Mystic Bottles, a Pocket Novelty.Pocket novelties that walked the line between magic trick and puzzle were common place in catalogues through the first half of the twentieth century. The Imp Bottles were already a long established trick as discussed in <u><b><a href="https://www.collectingmagic.co.uk/2018/06/imp-bottles-popular-pocket-puzzle.html" target="_blank">this article</a></b></u> but there were other pocket puzzles with miniature bottles such as The Mystic Bottles. This little toy appeared in the early 1930s when small magnets were not as commonly used as today.<br />
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These bottles, sold as a pair, interact with each other in a range of different ways due to their magnetic corks and a magnet in the base of one bottle. One bottle also has rounded corners to its base allowing it to fall over when stood near the other. The range of different tricks the bottles can do can be seen in this advert from a 1937 Davenports catalogue.<br />
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In 1937 these bottles were sold decorated to celebrate the coronation of George VI. The box was red, white and blue with labels featuring a version of the royal cypher affixed to the turned wood bottles. This set has a label on the inside of the box and a stamp on the instructions for James A. Sinclair and Co. Ltd., a London manufacturer and retailer of scientific equipment.<br />
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James A. Sinclair and Co. Ltd. don't appear to be the manufacturer of these bottles however. The bottles are stamped with a patent pending number, 4256/36. This patent seems to have been dropped before being fully filed however as the patent for that number is totally unrelated. The patent immediately following this number however, 4256/37, was filed and granted. This patent, filed in December 1933, was for a system to mount light pieces of scientific equipment using magnets for educational demonstrations. It doesn't seen too big a jump to assume the company who filed this patent using small magnets, W. J. George Ltd. of Birmingham, also manufactured these magnetic bottles. They were a scientific equipment manufacturer so would have had all the necessary equipment to make these and the network to distribute them with their products.<br />
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Magnetic novelties were popular during this period and it's possible W. J. George Ltd. were responsible for others on the market. Maybe they kept their name off these bottles as they were also selling more educational products and marketing "mystic" bottles may have undermined their scientific reputation.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-27361190858301685012019-03-15T12:00:00.000+00:002020-05-27T19:24:04.275+01:00Feature Article: Deveen.Last year I wrote an article about the stage manipulator Deveen. At the time it was the best overview I could manage with the limited information I could find. Since then I have been contacted by a few people who have added a great deal to the story of Deveen, most notably one of Deveen's past assistants; Barbara Barham. Given the volume of the new information gathered, including two wonderful photos from The Davenport Collection and a few recent acquisitions, I felt it made more sense to rewrite the article rather than attempt to update it. So here follows Deveen’s story, starting with his career, then information on his act, and finally some notes on his publications.<br />
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<b>Deveen’s Career:</b><br />
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Magicians' acts can become dated with time, but few more than Deveen's. Deveen had a successful and long career on stage and occasionally on screen. His stage act remained similar throughout most of his career, generally billed as "Deveen and his Two New York Blondes".<br />
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The first concrete record of Deveen as a performer I've been able to find appears in The Era in January 1925. He's listed as appearing at a ladies' night at Will Goldston's Magician Club with an act billed as "The Smoker's Dream". With this act Deveen appeared throughout variety halls, quickly gaining a strong reputation as a slick manipulator. Peter Warlock reminisced in a 1986 editorial that Deveen started performing in early 1923 under his real name, A. W. Parsons, though there is no record of an A. W. Parsons performing magic at this time in the British Newspaper Archive. Warlock states that Parsons adopted the stage name Desmond Deveen in December 1924, which explains why January 1925 is the start point for Deveen’s name appearing in theatrical listings. I think all of these statements from Warlock should be taken with a pinch of salt, particularly as Deveen used the first name David, or nickname Dev; with no other mentions of Desmond in my research.<br />
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His specialism was cigarette manipulation and his reputation in this field rapidly rose with him becoming a popular act across the UK. Deveen used the draw of his "New York" or sometimes "American" blondes for most of his career. Objectifying female assistants in this way is just one of the factors which dates Deveen's act, sadly it is still done by many backward looking magicians working today. Of course the assistants were probably never from America.<br />
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Deveen sometimes adopted the name Devil Deveen in the late 1920s, but he shortened this back to Deveen or D. Deveen in the early 1930s. Moving into the 1930s we join Deveen in 1934, performing in Liverpool.<br />
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In this case Deveen is far from the most problematic act on the bill. This poster is the earliest item I have relating to a Deveen performance and comes a few weeks before he appeared as the cover star of Gamages' house magazine, The Magician.<br />
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In 1935 there’s a possible clue to where Deveen may have called home. Goldston mentions in his Magical Quarterly Magazine that Deveen is Vice-President of Leicester Magic Circle, so it is likely that Leicester was where he lived when not on the road. It’s also a rare glimpse of Deveen being involved socially with other magicians outside of IBM convention performances. One such IBM appearance was the 6th convention of the British Ring, held in Northampton in 1936. John Davenport kindly found and scanned this photograph from <b><u><a href="http://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/content/other-ephemera/" target="_blank">The Davenport Collection</a></u></b>. Taken at the convention, it shows Deveen with two of his assistants to the left and Eric Williams on the right.<br />
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Deveen’s career seems to have continued from strength to strength through the 1930s climaxing in June 1939 with him boarding the S. S. Normandie for New York. On the occasion Deveen took out an advert in The Era with his portrait alongside a boastful thank you to bookers and agents for nine years of unbroken engagements. He also says he will return to the UK with a new act, “World’s Fair, New York Programme”. It’s interesting to note that Deveen was already calling his assistants “New York Blondes” before he travelled there.<br />
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The trip was not an adventurous solo venture for fame and fortune as his Era advert implied though, in reality he travelled to the USA with a cohort of magicians. This group was travelling to Michigan for an IBM convention and included Levante, Esme Levante, John Ramsey and Arthur Dowler, among many others. The visit was documented by Annemann in the 1939 Summer Special of The Jinx alongside this picture of the group. Deveen is waving, standing third from the left. <br />
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It was quite an undertaking to travel to America by boat and required five days at sea. The SS Normandie was a grand up-to-date ship which held the record for crossing the Atlantic. When they arrived in Michigan, another day’s travel from New York, they were warmly received by the American IBM. In fact they presented the group with this cup to commemorate their visit. The cup was donated by Amos Coke Cecil, a prominent amateur magician in the IBM, who also gave out an annual cup to the performer of the best trick in each convention.<br />
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The convention ran from the 14th to the 16th of June. On the 19th of June the group performed to a huge crowd of 1800 people at York Community High School in Elmhurst, Illinois. This was Harlan Tarbell’s home town and he invited the group to perform there. This was reportedly the only performance the contingent did together in America apart from at the conference. On this occasion they were presented with another cup, by their host Harlan Tarbell.<br />
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These cups returned to the UK with Walter Wandman. He kept them until he sold his business, along with these cups, to Colin John who kindly sold them to me.<br />
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The American magazine The Sphinx included a lively article describing the “All British” show put on at the convention. Throughout the shows and on the cups above much is made of the fact the group were all British, but it should be remembered that the lead member of this group, Levante, was an Australian. Accompanying the article was a collage of photographs from the convention.<br />
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Of particular note in the collage is Deveen, numbered 3, and Percy Abbott presenting the Coke Cecil Cup to Levante, numbered 17. For a full list of who’s in the image see the key below.<br />
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Sadly the rest of 1939 did not go as Deveen had planned. It’s unclear how long he stayed in America but the outbreak of the Second World War, within two months of his departure across the pond, was possibly the reason for his return to Britain. Alternatively he may have just travelled over for the convention and returned fairly quickly, though he did employ an agent in the USA for this trip so it does seem he planned to stay for some time. Interestingly the SS Normandie itself was taken by the US army in New York immediately when war broke out and capsized while still in service in 1942.<br />
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Goldston’s Magical Quarterly gives us a few insights into Deveen’s war, thank you to James Green for directing me to these. Goldston reports in December 1939 that Deveen was already in France serving in ENSA. ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association, had recently been founded to provide entertainment to British armed forces during the war. In September 1940 Goldston writes that Deveen is managing the Garrison Theatre Variety Company “D” and his act included items from his American tour. This does imply Deveen’s pre-war trip to America was a tour, though this may have been exaggerated to or by Goldston to boost Deveen’s image.<br />
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Deveen seems to have remained in ENSA performing oversees for the whole war. In June 1944’s issue of The Magic Wand Frederic Culpitt reports that Deveen has returned to England after three years touring the Middle East. During this marathon Deveen stayed in Algiers, Tripoli, Cairo, Western Desert, Damascus, Baghdad, The Persian Gulf and Teheran. Presumably he remained in ENSA until the war ended in September 1945. For more details of Deveen’s war some appear in this article written shortly after the war, sadly I received this as a clipping so don’t know the date or publication it came from.<br />
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This article also adds New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, India and South Africa to the countries Deveen had performed. After the drama of the war Deveen returned to touring the UK, though the thriving variety scene he left in 1939 was now in a slow decline. Deveen continued to perform for the IBM and reused his pre-war publicity shot (below) in a programme for the British Ring's conference of 1948, held in Bournemouth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSmqsHV5DRYJMjsZG_eaVvzPDEOZ7n_HdqUa_85PVPhnWwBDBxRvxYXLuLCgsqakICYnpZojpPXAzqGWkIYC8c1wDFeXbOsTLpuN0OpMqB01M83ci-KzNetCLQ96-lNpMbnCPOLajeOit/s1600/IMG_3860b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSmqsHV5DRYJMjsZG_eaVvzPDEOZ7n_HdqUa_85PVPhnWwBDBxRvxYXLuLCgsqakICYnpZojpPXAzqGWkIYC8c1wDFeXbOsTLpuN0OpMqB01M83ci-KzNetCLQ96-lNpMbnCPOLajeOit/s640/IMG_3860b.jpg" width="446" /></a></div>
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When looking through variety programmes from the late 1940s and into the 1950s Deveen’s name appears regularly. He performed on television at least four times in the late 1940s after which his assistants were often billed as his "Television Blondes". Below is a typical billing for Deveen from this period, though a rare example of his name being featured on the cover of a programme. This 1948 programme from Preston's Palace Theatre illustrates the smaller, declining theatres Deveen occupied during his post-war career.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyDfsFifNZubvd8Ye2fQb2svgvERorZc_lvxt3ZoKGDHOC9pOIX5wmE8wpzMdIWYHXEzS9kCzD_lqu8C_Rs-h20laaJ6u2BNStNUvWHOxu7o8vC0-1rJga_ffxdX5Kf2ZrtEEsNZn0cZa/s1600/deveen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="1175" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyDfsFifNZubvd8Ye2fQb2svgvERorZc_lvxt3ZoKGDHOC9pOIX5wmE8wpzMdIWYHXEzS9kCzD_lqu8C_Rs-h20laaJ6u2BNStNUvWHOxu7o8vC0-1rJga_ffxdX5Kf2ZrtEEsNZn0cZa/s640/deveen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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A small note sent by Deveen in April 1950 also gives a snapshot from this time. Here he’s replying to a request for a postcard from a fan. He lists his addresses as The Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow this week and The Gaiety in Ayr next week. Both these theatres were under the same management, so it is likely he toured all the Scottish theatres in this group in this run.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jZnORhIIPlFo9lMv_GR35JSEFPMntlDF0rprBkIDwjJdgOFI2iAqdt1GKOvdK_H94qoiriyS2mbM5Qx_uaVogoNi3Eg8ggQE24gXQIFDwqlvQPJO50qwYpGO9h-t-372CxLXxp3zEGL0/s1600/IMG_20190308_0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1309" data-original-width="1600" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jZnORhIIPlFo9lMv_GR35JSEFPMntlDF0rprBkIDwjJdgOFI2iAqdt1GKOvdK_H94qoiriyS2mbM5Qx_uaVogoNi3Eg8ggQE24gXQIFDwqlvQPJO50qwYpGO9h-t-372CxLXxp3zEGL0/s640/IMG_20190308_0004.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In 1954 he shared the bill with many greats of the time at the IBM conference in Brighton. It’s interesting to note he’s sharing the bill with Levante, an IBM favourite, who Deveen travelled across the Atlantic with in 1939.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZsNtLixwi9tswQuvsl_JMMaayob_Qqh1_DhUiVdmiYdwKlwE6dWaQ6R86QYLmMM-frVgbG3vwUYP-6KJUEVOG8QIJTpExZI9r4nTgaOtrd73eYTULZhlzU2JMw31Fmoo_av9YJbNGrnD/s1600/IMG_3869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1044" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZsNtLixwi9tswQuvsl_JMMaayob_Qqh1_DhUiVdmiYdwKlwE6dWaQ6R86QYLmMM-frVgbG3vwUYP-6KJUEVOG8QIJTpExZI9r4nTgaOtrd73eYTULZhlzU2JMw31Fmoo_av9YJbNGrnD/s640/IMG_3869.JPG" width="416" /></a></div>
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This is the last IBM conference Deveen performed at, though he may have continued to attend them to see his fellow magicians. As the variety theatres closed, or converted to cinemas, Deveen continued to find work. He seems to have moved into holiday resorts, sometimes working with his wife Ivy. In 1968 they were running games for children at a Butlin's camp in Cliftonville billed as Uncle David and Auntie Ivy (the programme for this can be found in Peter Lane's article <b><u><a href="http://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Peter-Lanes-programme-talk-Website.pdf" target="_blank">here</a></u></b>).<br />
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In some ways this seems a sad decline for the successful stage magician of his earlier years. On the other hand he was still in work beyond the closure of the variety theatres and he still performed magic. There is a record of him employed as a magician for the summer season of a small holiday camp near Filey in 1971. Between 1971 and his death in 1989 I haven't found any sign of him performing, hopefully he enjoyed a good retirement.<br />
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<b>Deveen’s act:</b><br />
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Early in his career he was billed at the "Gay Deceiver", then later the "Distinguished Deceiver" or occasionally the "Debonair Deceiver". This was almost always followed with some variant of "...and his [two] New York Blondes. When I wrote the initial article on Deveen I couldn’t find the names of any of his assistants. Luckily one of Deveen’s assistants, Barbara Barham, read the article and got in touch.<br />
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She assisted Deveen at the end of his music hall career from 1953 when she was only seventeen. Barbara, then Barbara Wells, assisted Deveen with another woman, Ivy Banks, who went on to marry Deveen in 1957. Thank you to Barbara’s husband Pete for researching Ivy’s surname and wedding.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZ1Qg5bThsLM7FSizXrZFZP0YIua1LIc0-cCzAjKnUnoG5PhOOBZQVTSttS5MCZN8lyMqPHj0pLnJSBetukacN_vl2T9DCXF4nb1CbVfqZHVlh0Jx115-cIIQlcHViu88Jp57seaqTATD/s1600/IMG_3873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="969" data-original-width="733" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZ1Qg5bThsLM7FSizXrZFZP0YIua1LIc0-cCzAjKnUnoG5PhOOBZQVTSttS5MCZN8lyMqPHj0pLnJSBetukacN_vl2T9DCXF4nb1CbVfqZHVlh0Jx115-cIIQlcHViu88Jp57seaqTATD/s640/IMG_3873.JPG" width="484" /></a></div>
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Unusually, Deveen used masks and blindfolds when on stage. Initially he used a quite sinister peaked blindfold (above) and later an open eyed mask in the style of Zorro's mask (as above, c.1953). The smoke, cape and mask would probably have made his act more dramatic than most of his contemporary manipulators.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQEZuPUeNP14O45dX74OoX5ti745cqAFU7xshdul0ARXkBbv5ao7rOgB6CKHSAvsqbtrVt4ZDGO-Zp_RTIto0QZn9DwlOqyJNFV8FlTJPrLRJJNw8niJMLAFb0xnp_mp30dU3GLNu9ykm/s1600/IMG_20190310_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1191" data-original-width="1191" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQEZuPUeNP14O45dX74OoX5ti745cqAFU7xshdul0ARXkBbv5ao7rOgB6CKHSAvsqbtrVt4ZDGO-Zp_RTIto0QZn9DwlOqyJNFV8FlTJPrLRJJNw8niJMLAFb0xnp_mp30dU3GLNu9ykm/s640/IMG_20190310_0002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Initially I was under the impression that Deveen dealt exclusively in cigarette manipulations but his previous assistant Barbara Barham describes a much broader act. Here Barbara describes Deveen’s act:<br />
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<i>“Dev was in 'real life' an unremarkable man to look at, but when he was dressed on stage he looked magnificent. He wore a silver wig and the mask, his floor length cloak was full and silk lined. As the music started and the tabs opened at the front of the stage he would come from the centre at a sharp confident pace, his cloak flowing. Ivy and I, dressed in black and white, coming in from left and right of stage to meet up with him and he would go into his routine.</i><br />
<i>...He did the cigarettes as his finale, for the rest of the act he did cards, silks, ring to square [squaring the circle] etc. and then the music would change. He would stand still and with a flourish produce a cigarette case, and light one from it, then, as the music quickened, he would move faster and faster producing the apparently lit cigarettes. Ivy and I would have large black boxes and as he threw them in high arcs we deftly caught each on in our boxes. Our routine of catching was frequently rehearsed so as to keep it 'elegant' but really to stop us bumping into each other trying to catch the same cigarette!”</i><br />
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I haven’t yet found a photograph of Deveen in performance, but John Davenport has found this postcard in <b><u><a href="http://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/content/other-ephemera/" target="_blank">The Davenport Collection</a></u></b> illustrating Deveen and two assistants mid performance. Here he’s producing a large quantity of money, a part of his act mentioned in some reviews prior to the outbreak of the Second World War.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDdb7MUil_IPJvWC4wWLqDsnaRo7tBGBxbun_yuqx2BmMWXnkFjZ84TC1XCSnUN-635DIalSkxfCuG8EWE9ZPn2okRS-GfKFA3p7siyt4SVFXBkrg1vcd6GP1t2T6SNvsHuKuBtIQIQmq/s1600/Deveen+postcard.+Side+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="1108" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDdb7MUil_IPJvWC4wWLqDsnaRo7tBGBxbun_yuqx2BmMWXnkFjZ84TC1XCSnUN-635DIalSkxfCuG8EWE9ZPn2okRS-GfKFA3p7siyt4SVFXBkrg1vcd6GP1t2T6SNvsHuKuBtIQIQmq/s640/Deveen+postcard.+Side+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Writing:</b><br />
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Deveen didn't keep his cigarette manipulation secrets to himself, he contributed cigarette effects to magic magazines, including The Jinx and The Sphinx during his American visit. He also published two books on cigarette manipulation. The first, "Cigarette Magic", was published in 1929 by Davenports. It was hugely popular for many years and reprinted multiple times.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72kM6sQizPa72H24JD_gbx8R9EUTR1prs_tpAfzgaNIhh-_wV6GpdLrlDgHjZm2NkUBT7VIt6_fCGQUzsrqI3k_dQASZWcZf19pCNrTREUccsF6Pe4lusc8jmBpG335k7xl-eKnPGlsmm/s1600/deveen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="973" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72kM6sQizPa72H24JD_gbx8R9EUTR1prs_tpAfzgaNIhh-_wV6GpdLrlDgHjZm2NkUBT7VIt6_fCGQUzsrqI3k_dQASZWcZf19pCNrTREUccsF6Pe4lusc8jmBpG335k7xl-eKnPGlsmm/s640/deveen2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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"Cigarette Magic" was followed in 1932 by "Expert Cigarette Magic", published by Edward Bagshawe. Unlike the earlier line drawings of the Davenports publication, this was photographically illustrated with dozens of pictures of Deveen performing his sleights. Here’s an advert from a 1939 Davenports catalogue showing its continuing popularity seven years on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjh7py1iPG0zfAsLpiKIabh3EFCqvio5nc3z-pHG1nHlX8jIGIHkbJwMEN6GjD0z7X9NVMqW4yKUu28tH4AQ-6OeAdY6D3ABBYl64FqADG1MRFj6L5HjDQMSok89FV9R7zuL5_oGuzsD3/s1600/IMG_20190310_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="972" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjh7py1iPG0zfAsLpiKIabh3EFCqvio5nc3z-pHG1nHlX8jIGIHkbJwMEN6GjD0z7X9NVMqW4yKUu28tH4AQ-6OeAdY6D3ABBYl64FqADG1MRFj6L5HjDQMSok89FV9R7zuL5_oGuzsD3/s640/IMG_20190310_0001.jpg" width="388" /></a></div>
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This doesn't appear to have sold as many as the earlier publication however, probably due to the higher price such a well printed book would have been. It’s still a remarkable book though, which would continue to be much used if cigarette manipulation had not declined. There is much crossover in the two books and a photographically illustrated version of the earlier book was also published by Bagshawe. This appears to be much more common in the US, so possibly the UK rights for the first book were retained by Davenports preventing Bagshawe from selling the improved edition in the UK.<br />
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<b>Conclusion:</b><br />
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Deveen was a professional magician of his time. He varied his act slightly over his stage career but he had a core skill he stuck to throughout. As with many magicians of his era the decline of the music halls cut short his stage career and, though he did appear on television a few times, holiday camps provided a way to continue working as a magician into old age.<br />
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I think it’s important to include a few notes of Deveen as a person. He’s rarely written about warmly in magic magazines. Even the articles that mention his trip to America focus on his act rather than him. Barbara remembers Deveen as a man of his time.<br />
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<i>“He was a difficult man to work for, he was very exacting and I was not allowed to speak to anyone he didn’t know, I think he feared I would give away the secrets of his tricks.”</i><br />
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<i>“…he hated it if either one of us had any discourse with other acts on the bill, I suppose these days he would be thought a bit of a control freak, if this sounds unkind its only the recollections I have. There was never any bad feeling between Dev and I, but never any warmth either, we never shared a light- hearted moment…”</i><br />
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Of course he may have been a different man behind closed doors, but when working he seems to have been rather coldly professional. This may have always been his nature, but it may have been the result of working on an increasingly challenging circuit. We also can’t rule out the impact his wartime experience may have had on his outlook.<br />
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I hope this rather marathon post has given some context to a magician rarely mentioned today. Thank you again to Barbara Barham, Pete Barham, James Green and John Davenport for their invaluable help with this article.<br />
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Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-9709676272783277112018-08-24T07:00:00.000+01:002020-05-27T19:27:40.289+01:00Cigarette Sensations, Defunct Deceptions. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In <a href="https://www.collectingmagic.co.uk/2019/03/feature-article-deveen.html" target="_blank"><b>this post</b></a> Deveen was discussed, a cigarette manipulator. Along with cigarette manipulators, tricks involving cigarettes have become much rarer as smoking had decreased and attitudes towards smoking have shifted. In this post effects that use cigarettes are going to be explored.<br />
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First, here are some gimmicks that would have been familiar to cigarette manipulators.<br />
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All of these would be used by the magician without ever being seen by the audience, assuming all goes to plan. The large dropper at the back was manufactured by the Australian magician Alma, the other items are from a variety of suppliers.<br />
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Davenports had a section devoted to cigarette tricks in many of their catalogues, below are some of their items used in cigarette manipulation.<br />
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On the right is a 1930s cigarette box which allows you to produce cigarettes from the air one at a time and drop them into the box until it is full. It appears utilitarian but contains quite a complex mechanism. In the foreground are two cigarette pulls, the larger one allows a cigarette to be changed into a silk. The boxed items are all cigarette catching gimmicks, probably the most widely produced cigarette trick.<br />
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Davenports also made a special cigarette holder that allowed the instantaneous production and vanishing of a cigarette.<br />
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This was most famously used by the superb manipulator Cardini. His act combined many forms of manipulation and was notable for being performed with gloved hands. Unlike Deveen in the previous post Cardini had a hugely successful career, performing on the best circuits.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwy10tZygDYlY3PXXZat70qj83ohBfqhvJy7ZRJ4ClTnKTlbFwjdskDbf4U4jfVeh04uszpuLc4vGNr46OaHZr3ArFjG3ApheY8rznRVzcsXjFHPFUKqdqo-gwSNb8MF__n1utCtKRUed/s1600/IMG_3899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1340" data-original-width="1600" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwy10tZygDYlY3PXXZat70qj83ohBfqhvJy7ZRJ4ClTnKTlbFwjdskDbf4U4jfVeh04uszpuLc4vGNr46OaHZr3ArFjG3ApheY8rznRVzcsXjFHPFUKqdqo-gwSNb8MF__n1utCtKRUed/s640/IMG_3899.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This image is a full page from a variety programme for the London Palladium in 1937.<br />
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Cigarette magic wasn't just used in manipulation acts though, it was perfect for close up. At a time when cigarette smoking was widespread, they were just as useful as coins for performing pocket tricks. Alongside sleight of hand effects with cigarettes dealers produced apparatus such as the Davenports examples below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LMN47ZK9XYfckJHsVHvgKV3l0mp43RS3bFC2y5tu4u4N8rli1VTE1rmqLE6CQAxtP_EJaIe96OxCNAAOD-MIAv1AYfGJdZAnUxKb7bB_XL1o0VI-8WMPetdAPJ-4yk4kcUzxyIja8Dpx/s1600/IMG_3912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1600" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LMN47ZK9XYfckJHsVHvgKV3l0mp43RS3bFC2y5tu4u4N8rli1VTE1rmqLE6CQAxtP_EJaIe96OxCNAAOD-MIAv1AYfGJdZAnUxKb7bB_XL1o0VI-8WMPetdAPJ-4yk4kcUzxyIja8Dpx/s640/IMG_3912.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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On the right are two tubes that allow a lit cigarette to turn into a match, these are beautifully engineered, probably in Germany. The tube on the bottom left allows a real cigarette to vanish from a tube using the Baffler Box principle, hence the name "Baffler Vanishing Cigarette".<br />
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Cigarette effects have naturally declined as smoking has gone out of fashion, but the gimmicks and sleights can still be applicable to similarly shaped objects today. It's interesting to look back at how many cigarette effects were available that simply would not work in a modern magic act. Effects using pipes and cigars were also popular, but I'll leave that for another post.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-14051512842936622282018-06-29T07:00:00.000+01:002020-05-27T19:31:01.219+01:00Imp Bottles, a Popular Pocket Puzzle.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of my favourite magic tricks masquerades as a puzzle, the imp bottle. This tiny bottle can be laid down on its side by the magician, but anyone else trying to push it on its side can't, the bottle pops back upright. Although it's presented as a puzzle, it's one the participant will never be able to solve as it is really a trick and requires a little extra something only the magician has.<br />
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An early description of this effect appears in <b><u><a href="https://www.collectingmagic.co.uk/2017/08/professor-hoffmann-father-of-modern.html" target="_blank">Hoffmann</a></u></b>'s Modern Magic as The Bottle Imps. He's clearly describing a dealer item already popular <span style="font-family: inherit;">by 1876. He mentions that they can be made of papier maché or other light materials, though most are made of wood or, more recently, plastic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Below are some in my collection in approximate chronological order. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsOTKyK8_FPg8VfyK9oLLw4pS2i4aYMgD0j2Q-q6BBBK_C9srLp73d3nK8Ubs1HGf14dqUY9U5Zcupe0_67nkr1VriL3df4cCRB2ocCP66Tjk7lDvx01xz7bUuwCXwylzHbkvY29PANhj/s1600/IMG_3826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1534" data-original-width="1600" height="612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsOTKyK8_FPg8VfyK9oLLw4pS2i4aYMgD0j2Q-q6BBBK_C9srLp73d3nK8Ubs1HGf14dqUY9U5Zcupe0_67nkr1VriL3df4cCRB2ocCP66Tjk7lDvx01xz7bUuwCXwylzHbkvY29PANhj/s640/IMG_3826.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These examples were made in the 1920s by a German firm, most likely Kingl. They have small paper </span>champagne labels and<span style="font-family: inherit;"> originally had painted gold collars.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DkKJEwmWhrDvBBslnUdCHu4LF1bEduniTbx5PCj_zZjbMPOr64BPbGp4r0g5-6vCrMtIZD4d44dArxeeRBp3igs7gEKM2cDGWv3ld1oWWklvZaSMEWxnbr-_DtGiAkXgfSlP5B711PJB/s1600/IMG_3827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="958" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DkKJEwmWhrDvBBslnUdCHu4LF1bEduniTbx5PCj_zZjbMPOr64BPbGp4r0g5-6vCrMtIZD4d44dArxeeRBp3igs7gEKM2cDGWv3ld1oWWklvZaSMEWxnbr-_DtGiAkXgfSlP5B711PJB/s640/IMG_3827.JPG" width="382" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This example, probably also made in Germany, has a more bulbous shape and a flat bottom. Instead of wobbling around and settling upright like most bottles this has a very positive action. You can see the gold collar more clearly on this example. I think the reason the collar is so often rubbed can be explained by the handling used by the magician when introducing or removing the gimmick.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvXn-f3dHxpZNL_Achg2do1C4hIxVqYFwPeO1nGQQNMUoQKrrHLb_r0ZV50fWgPiOmREgH0I9iV7sLNfAMhmkchZ2zsNw_88Zp9cs5NA7EdXvrfb8pAhyphenhyphenuAOLC7L7GxRhR23gRkwQm9uH/s1600/IMG_3829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="673" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvXn-f3dHxpZNL_Achg2do1C4hIxVqYFwPeO1nGQQNMUoQKrrHLb_r0ZV50fWgPiOmREgH0I9iV7sLNfAMhmkchZ2zsNw_88Zp9cs5NA7EdXvrfb8pAhyphenhyphenuAOLC7L7GxRhR23gRkwQm9uH/s640/IMG_3829.JPG" width="268" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This later example is slightly larger than the above examples and much brighter. I feel the longer the neck gets in comparison to the bottle's body the more it points to the method, though it's still very deceptive.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLnXz8xx4SaIXmFfJKecyW93As1Gi8-_yd90lqUoK5hpX26LNXCxswi-8wnGn4uPXb0nvKbdKr6yBwVUZKbWe80yWL4rdtVQodVrNriOw5HtCnHoa-XMrC50hl4K01M5rcYSBfSReFyqY/s1600/IMG_3830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="867" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLnXz8xx4SaIXmFfJKecyW93As1Gi8-_yd90lqUoK5hpX26LNXCxswi-8wnGn4uPXb0nvKbdKr6yBwVUZKbWe80yWL4rdtVQodVrNriOw5HtCnHoa-XMrC50hl4K01M5rcYSBfSReFyqY/s640/IMG_3830.JPG" width="346" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This item was retailed by <b><u><a href="https://www.collectingmagic.co.uk/2018/01/feature-article-ellisdons.html" target="_blank">Ellisdons</a></u></b> from the 1950s. It's unusual in being completely of metal construction. This material only works here because the body is of light spun aluminium and the base the usual lead. Here the bottle shape used in most modern plastic examples is introduced.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoto3YZwMXsFvnGETsyc_2LiuhYppxXTB4oedEWiIeyHlkgFHMXmquxVE-WLTCnLz48Py8i9nefs9biXHTkQMzSiChQ8UJc-4FGkZ4TcPximnLvfHWKwXmYHzvgh_zbfNHEivOnEhxvWrI/s1600/IMG_3831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoto3YZwMXsFvnGETsyc_2LiuhYppxXTB4oedEWiIeyHlkgFHMXmquxVE-WLTCnLz48Py8i9nefs9biXHTkQMzSiChQ8UJc-4FGkZ4TcPximnLvfHWKwXmYHzvgh_zbfNHEivOnEhxvWrI/s640/IMG_3831.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ellisdons also retailed this example in the old shape. Although it looks similar to the wooden examples at the top of this article it's of plastic construction with a moulded lead base.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Below is a picture of these bottles together to show how their sizes varied:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAqLJozYXl5nEH5HiKonq44jAwqP4Jr6EU0PLCLtlD2QV56v9DXILwZ-v67vGuiNWFtVs1WjgmUZ-PCuTlviegIYf8InUqFNJI6JOykQF_nEp7DmwgrN4nttT7mg6BqDqP7w3EdAt4BiR/s1600/IMG_3832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="1600" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAqLJozYXl5nEH5HiKonq44jAwqP4Jr6EU0PLCLtlD2QV56v9DXILwZ-v67vGuiNWFtVs1WjgmUZ-PCuTlviegIYf8InUqFNJI6JOykQF_nEp7DmwgrN4nttT7mg6BqDqP7w3EdAt4BiR/s640/IMG_3832.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Imp Bottle is still very popular today, available as a pocket money item and as a toy in Christmas crackers. Unlike most cheap plastic items this effect is truly deceptive and introduces a small amount of sleight of hand instead of being self-working. </span>Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-46375179330503739972018-02-23T07:00:00.000+00:002020-05-27T19:35:26.884+01:00C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd. Friend or Foe? In the first years of the twentieth century public interest in magic was at its height. Most people would see live magic regularly and exposure of secrets was a major fear for professional magicians. David Devant was famously suspended from the Magic Circle in 1909 for publishing secrets in a magazine aimed at the general public.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNu2kNVvos4qFlt_6IaEcAvu68tauld2_dRaT9RSCfCp8nVyST9NIojorX8hvw-34R8RcFH8VF9KsIU06FtrTKWcuJT5sgQRwK3Nb5VVTuTtzeV3atVu2Fjp4HEP7N-Myrn6dqhmCtjczc/s1600/IMG_3977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNu2kNVvos4qFlt_6IaEcAvu68tauld2_dRaT9RSCfCp8nVyST9NIojorX8hvw-34R8RcFH8VF9KsIU06FtrTKWcuJT5sgQRwK3Nb5VVTuTtzeV3atVu2Fjp4HEP7N-Myrn6dqhmCtjczc/s640/IMG_3977.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd. (founded by Cyril Arthur Pearson, above) published a range of cheap books alongside magazines and newspapers such as the Daily Express. Their biggest book topic seems to have been the "Amusements for the Home" series which was mostly made up of magic books. Below are a selection of magic books published by them between 1913 to 1925.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GETqlSeCHwb1N3b7_W-64vrp3FY0U0vD97Ju3zL3ClBadffQwFg0jPFUJYddxnbBRPu6F5FZJoSgFOHx8pVaBZPvwY9bY-5LxYXDcvmK_qqD8ivjRXzAmVw-d7duzsDm7XiKdWcyWfrR/s1600/IMG_3814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1257" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GETqlSeCHwb1N3b7_W-64vrp3FY0U0vD97Ju3zL3ClBadffQwFg0jPFUJYddxnbBRPu6F5FZJoSgFOHx8pVaBZPvwY9bY-5LxYXDcvmK_qqD8ivjRXzAmVw-d7duzsDm7XiKdWcyWfrR/s640/IMG_3814.JPG" width="502" /></a></div>
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These sent a bit of a ripple through the magic community as they were priced very low and advertised widely to the general public. Some magicians felt this was not normal magic book publishing, but exposure, with customers merely buying books out of curiosity. It didn't start with C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd., surprisingly it seems to have been a more obscure publisher, S. H. Bousfield who got the ball rolling. David Devant's first magic book, Magic Made Easy, was published by them in 1903.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtw6TJ3xI8LIo2NxRq1cw_irLK44Tk69C61KZY0wRzKHBWEuedled2c0oRchfrF6HYMpk-OGvoEDXGumzClRL-kCwhQMz8igvTuaILl2nwAeYMPKDFYZYYRaFVBMeK9_omxxLUyeUXsVh/s1600/IMG_3819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1021" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtw6TJ3xI8LIo2NxRq1cw_irLK44Tk69C61KZY0wRzKHBWEuedled2c0oRchfrF6HYMpk-OGvoEDXGumzClRL-kCwhQMz8igvTuaILl2nwAeYMPKDFYZYYRaFVBMeK9_omxxLUyeUXsVh/s640/IMG_3819.JPG" width="408" /></a></div>
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Although there were cheap magic books printed long before this one, there's an argument to be made that this paved the way for Pearson's range. The colour scheme, size, pricing, cheap binding and photographic cover all appear in Pearson's magic books. Pearsons even bought the rights to this book and published it in their series. I've struggled, and failed, to find information on S. H. Bousfield, it's possible they were already connected to C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd in 1903.<br />
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Pearson's books were well illustrated, with striking colour covers and sold well for over thirty years. As mentioned, some magicians felt they were too cheap and this put them in reach of the general public. As such they gained the nickname "Yellow Perils", reusing a racist phrase used previously to represent fear of the East. It's true some books were aimed at the beginner market, but most were original creations of the authors and would offer only interest to someone already versed in magic methods and writing.<br />
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This exposure fear lead the Magic Circle, and other magic societies, to introduce a minimum pricing rule, whereby members who sold magic books under a set price could face suspension or expulsion. It seems wildly anachronistic now, rewarding wealthier laypeople with access to magic books and penalising genuinely interested poorer people. Thankfully magic societies now understand that restricting access to books isn't positive for the art. Regardless, a real magic book would be a very hard trudge for someone with only superficial curiosity to hold their attention.<br />
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Pearsons did publish a few magic books in better binding. Below is a small hardback, very similar to later Yellow Perils but properly hardbound, The Drawing Room Entertainer. To the right is Pearson's major magic publication C. Lang Neil's The Modern Conjurer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJYM8kuwrnY_e5qMkw8iyApvnmoH0L6hETKRAqcoB91HIwerCStfxuqbVzzj9Y6HYkdNavLmyx726__zZ6bWlrWiOgRDyDyK8LQON55YFZMm0BHMBAJWm07W1ESMfAgUaAOI_DyiR8wWf/s1600/IMG_3823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1261" data-original-width="1600" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJYM8kuwrnY_e5qMkw8iyApvnmoH0L6hETKRAqcoB91HIwerCStfxuqbVzzj9Y6HYkdNavLmyx726__zZ6bWlrWiOgRDyDyK8LQON55YFZMm0BHMBAJWm07W1ESMfAgUaAOI_DyiR8wWf/s640/IMG_3823.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This large format, photographically illustrated, book brings together sections from other Pearson publications, including bits from their magazines. It is well known for including a series of pictures of J. N. Maskelyne plate spinning, below is a video made by John Helvin showing Maskelyne in action.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dLANRFlCR1U/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dLANRFlCR1U?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Returning to the Yellow Peril issue, I don't think they were published for the exposure market. I think it's fairer to say these books went towards democratising magic as a hobby, bringing good quality literature to a wider audience of aspiring magicians. It's interesting to note that these were published in two formats, the hard board yellow editions (generally two shillings) and later paperback editions with simpler illustrated covers (usually one shilling). There is some overlap where books were published in both formats between 1925 and 1927 but generally speaking this range is later. Below is a picture of some of this later range.<br />
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This series petered out in the late 1930s, though Pearson's did publish magic books in later years. Of particular note was Norman Hunter's Successful Conjuring in the 1950's. I'm planning a post specifically on Hunter though, so I'll explore that properly there.<br />
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Also, some other publishers sold books that are easy to confuse with Yellow Perils, such as this edition by Routledge. It is exactly the same size, though poorly illustrated and written.<br />
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In some ways the legacy of the Yellow Peril and contemporary publishers of affordable magic books is still with us. Dover still publish a large range of affordable magic books for the beginner to professional, though with much better binding! Like many of the exposure worries in the early days of magic they never developed into real problems and magic lived on.<br />
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Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-31879812580855520332018-01-19T07:00:00.000+00:002020-01-28T22:54:56.671+00:00Feature Article: Ellisdons.<div style="text-align: center;">
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Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-45912706178998928592017-12-22T07:00:00.000+00:002020-05-27T19:39:18.112+01:00Eric P. Wilson and His Snowman.As it's that time of year I thought I'd pick out a trick made specially for Christmas. To begin let's look at who invented it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53UVDa9lJymMAsTA47cibJgIScvcDt6A5LgEwKCR7AUP017JnsSFuS_uU9d1xgau9yG-FuVbEKfnEiDDo5QM8raJqdIsycBmJd2_0r1Aqd7JXdQb1NUXQYasEgnkDC_sHtttkq8bNEGo5/s1600/IMG_3688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1101" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53UVDa9lJymMAsTA47cibJgIScvcDt6A5LgEwKCR7AUP017JnsSFuS_uU9d1xgau9yG-FuVbEKfnEiDDo5QM8raJqdIsycBmJd2_0r1Aqd7JXdQb1NUXQYasEgnkDC_sHtttkq8bNEGo5/s640/IMG_3688.JPG" width="440" /></a></div>
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Eric P. Wilson was a magician active from the 1920s (or earlier) who died in 1963. There is very little written about him, most of my knowledge comes from his books and adverts for his inventions. His main contributions to the magic world came in the form of effects for children's parties with three of his four books being of this genre. Below are two of his most popular magic books.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGujl9WBxfpk3LGM1nay5ekA49lDn1SLqUzYBSpOyXFuTnQ3o89Oc2u74I4aSp9rydpLyS-k4sGKll0wZ41uXREOjR5dvj-O6r57LEvo7np80EGg5PAf_yGMcgwgXs3wkl7oqbCgnOUtP_/s1600/IMG_3693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1175" data-original-width="1600" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGujl9WBxfpk3LGM1nay5ekA49lDn1SLqUzYBSpOyXFuTnQ3o89Oc2u74I4aSp9rydpLyS-k4sGKll0wZ41uXREOjR5dvj-O6r57LEvo7np80EGg5PAf_yGMcgwgXs3wkl7oqbCgnOUtP_/s640/IMG_3693.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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There's some debate over whether or not he invented the Square Circle illusion. Davenports sold his version under the name Wunda Villa and it climaxed with the production of a doll taller than the central tube itself (the doll produced was a "golly" toy, now rightly considered offensive). It seems today that Louis S. Histed was most likely the inventor of this effect, though, as it uses the black-art principle, it could be argued no particular person can be given whole credit for the effect. Here's the full page advert Davenports used to sell Wilson's effect.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPLr_xiApXFhes0VhohSRUEIjPQQjbzRRiDinUn3RYp3s80FEkgabpDxk1rb8a4LxTKlQ6xLvMdI8QpKrkp2wlVfAzsKhiwBvsRLvjJ6cKSE9j1h93tMkNXjB3YbMm23C1ElWqGW0rNjp/s1600/IMG_3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="870" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPLr_xiApXFhes0VhohSRUEIjPQQjbzRRiDinUn3RYp3s80FEkgabpDxk1rb8a4LxTKlQ6xLvMdI8QpKrkp2wlVfAzsKhiwBvsRLvjJ6cKSE9j1h93tMkNXjB3YbMm23C1ElWqGW0rNjp/s640/IMG_3689.JPG" width="348" /></a></div>
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Wunda Villas are very hard to come by now, but these snowmen are seen more often. This might be because you could buy four of these snowmen for the price of a Wunda Villa and still have change in the 1930s. The effect was perfect for children's shows and was marketed for many years.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFWGXnjZmvyKKWrBeCArioJL2DGcDaTneEGh5z13yGUzIHEiKvd7q3vjaj59UyqVMXcGUflBFECbPVMHp2BKrjnk9RSveuI7A7TqkovTUkmaulXN0VpZuB3yRvFgkxssLTFEUybxRwWBc/s1600/IMG_3690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1181" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFWGXnjZmvyKKWrBeCArioJL2DGcDaTneEGh5z13yGUzIHEiKvd7q3vjaj59UyqVMXcGUflBFECbPVMHp2BKrjnk9RSveuI7A7TqkovTUkmaulXN0VpZuB3yRvFgkxssLTFEUybxRwWBc/s640/IMG_3690.JPG" width="472" /></a></div>
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It's a simple trick based on the ghost tube principle. The apparatus can even be used as a plain ghost tube leaving out the final snowman production, ideal for the rest of the year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBebjmuUEIqywJtslffNDW8ufnwHjn5lBZOWjOVa6hPjiTPLYzomxPPyfSFVrCB6kSjo6BVe7sZl0IrYgP-uVcgmMFASI1wLHNcK5kx_Pq2AejWMO5c4a4xpDlt9IWzS2WhUS5SmNrnxpd/s1600/IMG_3700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1412" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBebjmuUEIqywJtslffNDW8ufnwHjn5lBZOWjOVa6hPjiTPLYzomxPPyfSFVrCB6kSjo6BVe7sZl0IrYgP-uVcgmMFASI1wLHNcK5kx_Pq2AejWMO5c4a4xpDlt9IWzS2WhUS5SmNrnxpd/s640/IMG_3700.JPG" width="564" /></a></div>
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I'm not aware of this trick being used much since. The secret is maybe a little too simple for general use. It could be that revealing the snowman can give away the secret of the ghost tube to the eye of an observant viewer. It was designed for children's shows though and judging from its popularity must have been effective for that audience.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-81203182489165322132017-12-01T07:00:00.000+00:002020-05-27T19:45:59.821+01:00Maskelyne's Mysteries as a Brand.From the 1860s the Maskelyne family presented magic entertainments in London and on tour around the world. There was a gradual decline in the Maskelyne's fortunes however and their last theatre closed between the wars. The decision was made in 1935 to sell the company and Lewis Davenport, who performed at the Maskelynes' entertainments throughout his career, purchased Maskelyne's Mysteries.<br />
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The deed for this purchase was (and probably still is) on display at <a href="http://britishmagicmuseum.uk/home/" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">The British Magic Museum</a>. The deed is pictured below, apologies for the awkward angle, it was to avoid reflections off the case.<br />
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With the purchase came a huge amount of paperwork, apparatus and theatrical equipment. It also came with the rights to use the Maskelyne name and this article is going to look at how Davenports used the name to sell their wares. As a side note the Davenports did occasionally perform using the Maskelyne's Mysteries banner, but I'm going to concentrate on the shop side here.<br />
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"Maskelyne's Mysteries" was a phrase used by the Maskelynes for many years to describe their performances. The Davenports stuck with this and the term "Maskelyne's Mysteries" was used alongside "Demon Series" to represent tricks retailed by Davenports. 1930s and 1940s catalogues usually had "L. Davenport and Co. and Maskelyne's Mysteries" as the header on every pair of pages.<br />
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In August 1935 Davenports opened a satellite shop, also in London, called Maskelyne's Mysteries (ran by Gus Davenport). This was open a relatively short time, closing in April of the following year (dates can be found in <b><a href="http://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/FAQ-5.-How-long-was-Davenports-at-each-trading-address.pdf" target="_blank">this pdf</a></b> from The Davenport Collection website). Although it was only open a brief time catalogues were issued. Following the closure the Maskelyne's Mysteries name was still used on leaflets and catalogues such as the one below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BKhkc7mlASqDX-PB-RVXdZsnDUR8usNC1yoPGQvkqJSqvN2bZVBWfsm6g4xi7rPb5s6ImrZZ8oRG8kDsrSz_yZhEe5cqy0yRx9ezp1YsyOfVTKl2CzUCG73aUMB76I9s-B2d45wfnClX/s1600/IMG_3681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1043" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BKhkc7mlASqDX-PB-RVXdZsnDUR8usNC1yoPGQvkqJSqvN2bZVBWfsm6g4xi7rPb5s6ImrZZ8oRG8kDsrSz_yZhEe5cqy0yRx9ezp1YsyOfVTKl2CzUCG73aUMB76I9s-B2d45wfnClX/s640/IMG_3681.JPG" width="416" /></a></div>
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Although the Maskelyne's Mysteries name was used prominently across Davenports catalogues and adverts it was only rarely used on specific lines sold by the company. One example, possibly the first, is this woodworking plan for an effect known as The Phantom Air Mail.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKXwuIwElFYGPQFBk7vdRDOLcfqCMSYKuT1_mBeNhnQxcAGR2srop76vSpZgFqlG9w8kB-GG6MbCchj3n3oi4zNsIsysb6qamGNrmSFYDZJIzprRJtVvd_zLM2NklddzBNuwIpYgFgMC0/s1600/IMG_3678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1336" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKXwuIwElFYGPQFBk7vdRDOLcfqCMSYKuT1_mBeNhnQxcAGR2srop76vSpZgFqlG9w8kB-GG6MbCchj3n3oi4zNsIsysb6qamGNrmSFYDZJIzprRJtVvd_zLM2NklddzBNuwIpYgFgMC0/s640/IMG_3678.JPG" width="534" /></a></div>
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It prominently states "Maskelyne's Mysteries present The Magical Constructor No.1". As far as I know there were never any further Magical Constructor plans, I have seen four or five of this particular plan, but none for other effects. It seems like a really good idea, so I'm not sure why these plans weren't more popular. Maybe magicians weren't willing to pay for an effect in plan form, I haven't seen any examples of this trick made up.<br />
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The most successful Maskelyne branding was Davenport's range of toy magic sets. Davenports had always made sets, but the Maskelyne's Mysteries sets were extremely popular and can be found much more easily than other Davenports sets.<br />
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These sets have similarities with others of the period, particularly the Ernest Sewell sets discussed in <a href="http://www.collectingmagic.co.uk/2017/08/ernest-sewell-magic-set-mogul.html" target="_blank"><b>this post</b></a>. I believe the Maskelyne's Mysteries sets were first manufactured around the same time as the first Sewell ones in the late 1930s.<br />
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They were often sold by department stores and independent retailers. Below is the most commonly found size of set, coincidentally, my three examples were all retailed by Gamages (shown in the bottom right corner of each label).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-f7kH6orrDvxqV2eRlaK5M1KjDwpbljmeopJ240bhfY7DFq7sKsFX07qEO5oGH7cP2wnK3g0qz0qt-BP3f4Q94TnRUYGxW4EHA8gcf-SG9CQDPD0U3WBLXF80QYamsfyvMywm2ch6EmY_/s1600/maskelyne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="976" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-f7kH6orrDvxqV2eRlaK5M1KjDwpbljmeopJ240bhfY7DFq7sKsFX07qEO5oGH7cP2wnK3g0qz0qt-BP3f4Q94TnRUYGxW4EHA8gcf-SG9CQDPD0U3WBLXF80QYamsfyvMywm2ch6EmY_/s640/maskelyne.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The contents varies between sets, sometimes items listed on the inside of the box are blanked out and replaced by other tricks with their own loose instructions. Tricks included varied from imported mass produced items to items made by the Davenports themselves (sometimes by the children).<br />
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The picture above shows a double decker Maskelyne's Mysteries set. This shows the other label design used on these sets. Although only two designs of label were used they were printed in different sizes to match the different size sets. Below is a picture of this set open with its drawer out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5m_3ECE1pR8BPZYN3PEsFHQv8YZ4hIM1wixSvAGr6f2aVsPWvGziEdyqYRMiQPlnSDFJj9jM84sAzECgJIMBYad5M0aXyBDKCgIIkcyDwQKKAlhYWFsqMf8eOFMuk5irNiPoLWmpBhJk/s1600/IMG_3665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="845" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5m_3ECE1pR8BPZYN3PEsFHQv8YZ4hIM1wixSvAGr6f2aVsPWvGziEdyqYRMiQPlnSDFJj9jM84sAzECgJIMBYad5M0aXyBDKCgIIkcyDwQKKAlhYWFsqMf8eOFMuk5irNiPoLWmpBhJk/s640/IMG_3665.JPG" width="338" /></a></div>
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I believe this was the largest set in the series, though I don't think there was a consistent set of sizes available over the years. Below is one of the smaller types they sold.<br />
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An example of how these sizes varied can be found in this late set, shown below. I haven't seen any other examples so long and thin, sadly it's not complete.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2wy0R0aoHz3uQIklkz9ewSZUFj8dbMxx1igtxAXWc54hNqZIAb67fYagbTfIM62V0MnHI_VAFuB5XSLrJW_12vL0iRXDh-HD8wVrDstj-zfcDNZ9lOFHL8xgp_7lzzkSyQaKfXNQ1x6y/s1600/IMG_3669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1256" data-original-width="1600" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2wy0R0aoHz3uQIklkz9ewSZUFj8dbMxx1igtxAXWc54hNqZIAb67fYagbTfIM62V0MnHI_VAFuB5XSLrJW_12vL0iRXDh-HD8wVrDstj-zfcDNZ9lOFHL8xgp_7lzzkSyQaKfXNQ1x6y/s640/IMG_3669.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We've seen in the Gamages examples above how sometimes Maskelyne's Mysteries sets would be branded with a particular retailer, occasionally the Maskelyne name was dropped altogether and a whole label was produced for the retailer. Although these aren't strictly Maskelyne sets it's worth including them as the only way they differ is the label.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwthHDVi-gf7qob5JvdcSxP3vaSi1KBNUTQ7rhP0Hr_VYAuRGJVywIHSwIYyI9inZzEP2DAqZrObxBCSaKXbxuvYtUTcMIGFUEtO9WildrWgzJdCCJSBUKf5JVZdQmLVLEjnhWEze-K6P5/s1600/IMG_3675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1524" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwthHDVi-gf7qob5JvdcSxP3vaSi1KBNUTQ7rhP0Hr_VYAuRGJVywIHSwIYyI9inZzEP2DAqZrObxBCSaKXbxuvYtUTcMIGFUEtO9WildrWgzJdCCJSBUKf5JVZdQmLVLEjnhWEze-K6P5/s640/IMG_3675.JPG" width="608" /></a></div>
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This Robin's example perhaps demonstrates that the Maskelyne name was no longer the selling point it was when the Davenports purchased it in 1935. Maskelyne sets were made up until the late 1950s, possibly just into the 1960s when imported plastic sets started to displace more expensive hand made sets.<br />
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Maskelyne is still a familiar name among magicians, but no longer with the general public. These sets do show an interesting period where the name was still synonymous with magic despite the Maskelyne family's performances dropping away.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-3297417870731761962017-10-27T07:00:00.000+01:002020-05-27T21:45:27.430+01:00Smaller and Smaller, a Look at Diminishing Effects.A theme that pops up quite often in the old catalogues is the idea of an object gradually shrinking before vanishing entirely. Perhaps the most popular of these tricks, and one regularly performed today, is the diminishing cards.<br />
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In this effect a group of cards is removed from a deck and fanned. The fan of cards then decreases in size incrementally before disappearing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSruCqOC1QRbKmbxVG_7hsGKYDvxH2H5ELbK7rf3MjMU_m42jfboiAdF-PamdX5o7Qb4_MFMHh1bL5H0BoB020DUorZO933s2-XFffleSkPl2sv2iO7aFIlG98_xivPhmrK380P5_YaPxD/s1600/IMG_3619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSruCqOC1QRbKmbxVG_7hsGKYDvxH2H5ELbK7rf3MjMU_m42jfboiAdF-PamdX5o7Qb4_MFMHh1bL5H0BoB020DUorZO933s2-XFffleSkPl2sv2iO7aFIlG98_xivPhmrK380P5_YaPxD/s640/IMG_3619.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The set on the left is by Davenports, I'm unsure where the set on the right comes from. In both cases the largest card is the standard poker size, which gives an idea of how small the cards end up. The Davenports set is threaded together, allowing for more natural fanning than the riveted set.<br />
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A variation on this theme is the diminishing billiard ball, popular when billiard ball manipulation was common on the stage.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCdkI1IzwZwRG2W3todbKCOXAbVsCsN_sFnycXteedab2DhX1-27IE4WzBcSrPMU6L3eb60UeECh-q537eMpTUu_YfF-Xi7RQTNrCW73ZQYpqstvgyZoTqXULYxBHPik5hFZVsSe9Cfh2/s1600/IMG_3610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="1600" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCdkI1IzwZwRG2W3todbKCOXAbVsCsN_sFnycXteedab2DhX1-27IE4WzBcSrPMU6L3eb60UeECh-q537eMpTUu_YfF-Xi7RQTNrCW73ZQYpqstvgyZoTqXULYxBHPik5hFZVsSe9Cfh2/s640/IMG_3610.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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These two sets are likely from Germany. The left set shows the different sizes and the one on the right shows how the balls nest.<br />
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Even less popular than billiard ball manipulation today is pocket watch manipulation. Here are two adverts for the diminishing pocket watch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKA4jQwJmE4STizCZlDi_ojC6jSQqDVbczh4PLjJBGAJt277Sxc29QfCAvYa6fpLgqvl2sZxQZanNK0GmwaAaga1QaDGFbBDWy5zxERLKgiNEHPhcK2zsUU85o98jzwOH8Bgnj5dFPIxPA/s1600/watches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1370" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKA4jQwJmE4STizCZlDi_ojC6jSQqDVbczh4PLjJBGAJt277Sxc29QfCAvYa6fpLgqvl2sZxQZanNK0GmwaAaga1QaDGFbBDWy5zxERLKgiNEHPhcK2zsUU85o98jzwOH8Bgnj5dFPIxPA/s640/watches.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On the left is the Davenports advert for the effect, the right is a Janos Bartl advert. Bartl manufactured these watches in Hamburg.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggb73LvJNAJhz__5D0MNMxPaT6Zz3EoogpNJbEXGpnzQ0liKahcrllGC9bMEKN2wg6P48gxsFuS2s3KpWmAhFMjawcJLyjPQFaoCk7PzOGPvKPEqf1csfHKceihLQ_HlewnBOMfLqjTcrA/s1600/IMG_3599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1095" data-original-width="1600" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggb73LvJNAJhz__5D0MNMxPaT6Zz3EoogpNJbEXGpnzQ0liKahcrllGC9bMEKN2wg6P48gxsFuS2s3KpWmAhFMjawcJLyjPQFaoCk7PzOGPvKPEqf1csfHKceihLQ_HlewnBOMfLqjTcrA/s640/IMG_3599.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This set is beautifully made. There are small brass nubs in the centre of each face to ensure the printed faces aren't rubbed off when the set is opened and closed.<br />
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Here's an effect I'm going to shoehorn into this post, it's not strictly a diminishing effect. The trick, know as Multum In Parvo (a great deal in a small space) allows a quantity of milk to increase and then diminish again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5EReSsMxMqP4DIG_Gq2-8C7nrDA6sgdZgh7xNBB9pFmOL9DPb7WfjlQrwlnE-U45mOydddHqQdJSIcXYQi00ylzlOiWzeZx03m_xSjQSQjtjtcNmL_trsHrJNxSiK4G3pBbAalN8LWw2/s1600/IMG_3622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1600" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5EReSsMxMqP4DIG_Gq2-8C7nrDA6sgdZgh7xNBB9pFmOL9DPb7WfjlQrwlnE-U45mOydddHqQdJSIcXYQi00ylzlOiWzeZx03m_xSjQSQjtjtcNmL_trsHrJNxSiK4G3pBbAalN8LWw2/s640/IMG_3622.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The unusual thing about this example is that, unlike most sets, it is made entirely out of glass. The gimmicks being specially blown for each vessel. I'm not sure who produced it, but the quality is superb. This doesn't have the kicker ending where all glasses are filled from the jug at the end, the milk is simply poured back from the jug into the smaller glass giving the effect of a sudden decrease in milk.<br />
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This is by no means a complete list of diminishing tricks, match boxes, coins, cigarettes and many other items have been included in similar effects.Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3506938943120276183.post-67713345352178200602017-10-20T07:00:00.001+01:002020-05-27T21:56:42.050+01:00Stamps, Stickers and Seals.It's always fascinating when you open a magic book and find in it a book plate or signature of a previous owner. Sometimes there's a label or stamp showing which shop sold the book and in this post I'm going to look at some examples of these.<br />
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Working roughly chronologically here is an ink stamp from Blands.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9iVTMhPTM_3vMRgrKTpVsE3-TJ2Ds2TelrXW84u97dOeJrBz1exC0NdZm1wfzeY4uCn67vA7WfU2MQraLbH68n6Xkw5l0yg5MVSCnil31IPwFqisqOb9J-ykL-FQiblQgBJJmUkEJHjM/s1600/IMG_3624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="1548" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9iVTMhPTM_3vMRgrKTpVsE3-TJ2Ds2TelrXW84u97dOeJrBz1exC0NdZm1wfzeY4uCn67vA7WfU2MQraLbH68n6Xkw5l0yg5MVSCnil31IPwFqisqOb9J-ykL-FQiblQgBJJmUkEJHjM/s640/IMG_3624.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This stamp shows Bland's address from approximately 1885.<br />
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Hamleys later bought out Bland's but here is a label from one of Hamley's other shops from before the takeover, 229 High Holborn.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UhEEjK90oJCDGeGsz1eJXNlgXyjB97ExuPqCgnoko9pCtBETfkc8_nj8_j2oXU8QdHyqPqGsuD1v83roTOWpkfC8bSpeCTjmsFi5dtIJwUVr4UCCX4eTNOm2U1VQ5GnzZmYexHLFOOG8/s1600/IMG_3631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UhEEjK90oJCDGeGsz1eJXNlgXyjB97ExuPqCgnoko9pCtBETfkc8_nj8_j2oXU8QdHyqPqGsuD1v83roTOWpkfC8bSpeCTjmsFi5dtIJwUVr4UCCX4eTNOm2U1VQ5GnzZmYexHLFOOG8/s640/IMG_3631.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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In this 1893 edition, the label has been used to cover up the publisher's printed address. This common trick is used to try and ensure the customer returns to the magic shop for more books instead of buying direct from the publisher. The catalogue page has also been pasted in the book and wasn't part of the original binding. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUd7K20Lnpby14wc4UjIK4T1OkgLEYKf-fSmJNkGjIHkj1jqrNGn95OB3dx01WaY2hqWWyvDhz67Gg3uahjCZexQ4IoZ7K3l9_J8PSAdoxVMbBkknCkpDPZM-5A4O6EYcUxiHhU0Ja414/s1600/IMG_3634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1127" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUd7K20Lnpby14wc4UjIK4T1OkgLEYKf-fSmJNkGjIHkj1jqrNGn95OB3dx01WaY2hqWWyvDhz67Gg3uahjCZexQ4IoZ7K3l9_J8PSAdoxVMbBkknCkpDPZM-5A4O6EYcUxiHhU0Ja414/s640/IMG_3634.JPG" width="636" /></a></div>
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This paper label is later and was found in a copy of Hoffmann's Latest Magic, so it's probably from 1918. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GA9K8Z-WADQIklXKFji3X_77XeHOzhTzgeYCl3gBGrMRTYdTpTqeZSnZRjulfGk-HaYOyOoMHl0YcjOpNfUEJVF1CujTK6OgyKr_HRvszE6aRbp54bKtYxOorF_J7oOjiaduIU1BwHHb/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1430" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GA9K8Z-WADQIklXKFji3X_77XeHOzhTzgeYCl3gBGrMRTYdTpTqeZSnZRjulfGk-HaYOyOoMHl0YcjOpNfUEJVF1CujTK6OgyKr_HRvszE6aRbp54bKtYxOorF_J7oOjiaduIU1BwHHb/s640/IMG_3635.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Later again is this purple ink stamp found in Percy Naldrett's 1925 book Volume Six.</div>
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Jumping far ahead in the chronology for a moment here's a much later Hamleys sticker. This is from a 1941 copy of Eric C. Lewis' Studies in Mystery. By this time Hamleys was predominantly a toy shop, as it is today.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYvSvKQIQ1XdgiCNi2kt1My0Ici4xmJ5MV_Y1YKlNBj9wydPYeAfbvpNn6ffAV8MCNXx1TpvGyhsLKf3ybyjM5m-fU9XGosxA-RHZbfWGI8oKpbX13nmB7vWaGZKrCP1_4sZiNUAnh9RX/s1600/Photo+12-08-2018%252C+10+45+44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="1600" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYvSvKQIQ1XdgiCNi2kt1My0Ici4xmJ5MV_Y1YKlNBj9wydPYeAfbvpNn6ffAV8MCNXx1TpvGyhsLKf3ybyjM5m-fU9XGosxA-RHZbfWGI8oKpbX13nmB7vWaGZKrCP1_4sZiNUAnh9RX/s640/Photo+12-08-2018%252C+10+45+44.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This label appears to have been pasted on after a circular one had been removed, most likely one of the gold Davenports labels mentioned later.</div>
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Returning to the early twentieth century, another big dealer of this period was the department store A. W. Gamage. They often put small paper labels in the inside covers of books. The one below is from a 1904 edition of Hopkins' aptly named Twentieth Century Magic.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7Y1qkD35N4KF4XwmwfHnWyX9y2UZTp-HkE1xKzhL_CjI6MhCA-WDBN6jBjDEgTdy6N7xHjaa9ENm8UFDf-e1gpFRvdEpSnau3k11kSbRcBIwgxd-99O7oTy2K4hBwAr-CbmDpzFYnDO9/s1600/IMG_3638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1600" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7Y1qkD35N4KF4XwmwfHnWyX9y2UZTp-HkE1xKzhL_CjI6MhCA-WDBN6jBjDEgTdy6N7xHjaa9ENm8UFDf-e1gpFRvdEpSnau3k11kSbRcBIwgxd-99O7oTy2K4hBwAr-CbmDpzFYnDO9/s640/IMG_3638.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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In 1905 Will Goldston began managing Gamages' conjuring department. Here's a label from around 1910, during Goldston's time there.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1KSxnQkJGYBtCUybs2awgjR3Q2pypV0-Y7JviyHYRizrym6M5D4e6_XGkRVxxMGddl8znpBNns-3c3oolLctus0xy-MJAFmbAjG_vxNQSaxmHEly11VItDgQLF1LDfPheMP7a0Ic9j4s/s1600/IMG_3639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1KSxnQkJGYBtCUybs2awgjR3Q2pypV0-Y7JviyHYRizrym6M5D4e6_XGkRVxxMGddl8znpBNns-3c3oolLctus0xy-MJAFmbAjG_vxNQSaxmHEly11VItDgQLF1LDfPheMP7a0Ic9j4s/s640/IMG_3639.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Goldston left Gamages in 1914 to establish his own magic shop. This 1917 edition of Supplementary Magic by Elbiquet contains one of Goldston's paper labels.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRevapEp98dZFF-GMYDQuFU0QrPYkEYGo9TAcRLOuS16yVSAPyevtPYNtEX1HkDsRdbhdra5J8Ioh1z-jORBwZI8oNhm39G-wNO1XnlfFKWrYYFRmrfHsBktgDtGUAQKvc8fkVcP7O_L_/s1600/IMG_3642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1449" data-original-width="1471" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRevapEp98dZFF-GMYDQuFU0QrPYkEYGo9TAcRLOuS16yVSAPyevtPYNtEX1HkDsRdbhdra5J8Ioh1z-jORBwZI8oNhm39G-wNO1XnlfFKWrYYFRmrfHsBktgDtGUAQKvc8fkVcP7O_L_/s640/IMG_3642.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Looking at a smaller dealer now here's a stamp from a 1909 edition of Some Modern Conjuring by Donald Holmes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEalzFLERp0DiYnZyME_NmwXKdVHFWQR_Zh-QQSX5VtNIAjXM47EtWiOvQ3M97eHEyN-k1OobofuDwsGZdTr-M4zDLi1-cmD3E-KcKsLhDhLzm6h79oahS3x4MAyla5UbBlPls8JCkzZN/s1600/IMG_3649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEalzFLERp0DiYnZyME_NmwXKdVHFWQR_Zh-QQSX5VtNIAjXM47EtWiOvQ3M97eHEyN-k1OobofuDwsGZdTr-M4zDLi1-cmD3E-KcKsLhDhLzm6h79oahS3x4MAyla5UbBlPls8JCkzZN/s640/IMG_3649.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm not familiar with Maddock, mentions of him are scarce. According to Genii's Magicpedia his real name was Jas. W. Bell and Fergus Roy mentions him as a relatively large dealer in The Davenport Story, Vol. 1.</div>
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Speaking of the Davenports, their labels crop up very often, particularly their seal-like paper labels. In this example a solid ink stamp has been used alongside the seal to discourage customers from buying direct from Burling Hull.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbX6H_YS_KjCEduNA9SFmpQyfdIXGoVHBc79L2ZPrNGJRR3PcEnGwpoWbAbrt3xZu3XhStuRDIRw32i6uQ1Gn5Cv2OpllRB7HPycr43zJBYz8Lwj7VmDP7xxeNN0VZMNdpgB778-1Crm7_/s1600/IMG_3644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="1600" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbX6H_YS_KjCEduNA9SFmpQyfdIXGoVHBc79L2ZPrNGJRR3PcEnGwpoWbAbrt3xZu3XhStuRDIRw32i6uQ1Gn5Cv2OpllRB7HPycr43zJBYz8Lwj7VmDP7xxeNN0VZMNdpgB778-1Crm7_/s640/IMG_3644.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This seal is perhaps the most common and shows the 15 New Oxford Street address they held between 1915 and 1937 (for a list of Davenports' addresses and when they used them see the FAQ section on the <b><a href="http://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/" target="_blank">Davenport Collection website</a></b>).</div>
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Here is a clearer view of a similar seal.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1wY__1tRGEjjQisjcin6Kz9PW1zccnmtP6n8nu23oXmDVkdr-AiK_Z9vl-GrtAQOK0uwBx4xxUiPF_Fu59-3DLIfvcuU4-9_T-zd828pWa2r14SVCaebgue-jDLOv5gg958kSczMrkpa/s1600/IMG_3645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1587" data-original-width="1600" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1wY__1tRGEjjQisjcin6Kz9PW1zccnmtP6n8nu23oXmDVkdr-AiK_Z9vl-GrtAQOK0uwBx4xxUiPF_Fu59-3DLIfvcuU4-9_T-zd828pWa2r14SVCaebgue-jDLOv5gg958kSczMrkpa/s640/IMG_3645.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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There are also at least two gold versions of this seal. This one shows their address from 1938 to 1942. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDOF2ieLY0muG7EuhLb7iTh6OLDmG74o0r8Q5bVitOuKhIPdxyhGC1NB2QMSgN2AgnQXtOZw0eJNO6ZW-gzEIcNvNbqr1OpxdsQonda14ouDFdNEIdXKb3D5b8K9sbnvmG2jPUAzgFKAZ/s1600/IMG_3661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1593" data-original-width="1600" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDOF2ieLY0muG7EuhLb7iTh6OLDmG74o0r8Q5bVitOuKhIPdxyhGC1NB2QMSgN2AgnQXtOZw0eJNO6ZW-gzEIcNvNbqr1OpxdsQonda14ouDFdNEIdXKb3D5b8K9sbnvmG2jPUAzgFKAZ/s640/IMG_3661.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This label wasn't from a book, but from the inside lid of a Sand and Sugar can.</div>
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They also produced a gold label with no address on, instead it simply had Made in England written around the edge.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUW2wsFHKHuw6x5qJg0AjOXctuy__arZ09vI0JJF9BSgkc-Q52Fpp3U6bR1KLSuWG5fwJe0MOqIi0c0vxy3LJkfcEzsYQjJAswFBtVx9-N4efH5MZC_OO0-9ip22CYHB7W2QTScgLySRZ/s1600/IMG_3646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1600" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUW2wsFHKHuw6x5qJg0AjOXctuy__arZ09vI0JJF9BSgkc-Q52Fpp3U6bR1KLSuWG5fwJe0MOqIi0c0vxy3LJkfcEzsYQjJAswFBtVx9-N4efH5MZC_OO0-9ip22CYHB7W2QTScgLySRZ/s640/IMG_3646.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This label was found pasted in a book from 1945. Often, and understandably, some magicians weren't best pleased with having labels pasted in their new books so it's not uncommon to see evidence of their removal.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgGIjr7O_42LO2x5BbeB4LWJK4VT2cXYgSOdRtHE4fygjDcpmbz2LOIvktFsBFvmKENE2TBJ9bPDpYbkh0unCUzPrdXT7sPmxtNd5OS6aPorBqrRrk9SZla3WPElbhEANMTx4XttSmwK9/s1600/seals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgGIjr7O_42LO2x5BbeB4LWJK4VT2cXYgSOdRtHE4fygjDcpmbz2LOIvktFsBFvmKENE2TBJ9bPDpYbkh0unCUzPrdXT7sPmxtNd5OS6aPorBqrRrk9SZla3WPElbhEANMTx4XttSmwK9/s640/seals.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Slightly later than the above, Willane's Wizardry was published in 1947. This copy has a label affixed from George McKenzie's Mac's Mysteries.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkfRSxW2uiDrfWflF5MXWy3rp_1WJbfwlkUhWApHQJQWKWWx5KqunMVowQagtcjLOMSeOtUcuPG_bgCJiYhpF8z51ZtuDCmKW1rW3_b0JUvsmt9wvKmW_znO70iv1KAF3gS6XiUresUI2/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="1438" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkfRSxW2uiDrfWflF5MXWy3rp_1WJbfwlkUhWApHQJQWKWWx5KqunMVowQagtcjLOMSeOtUcuPG_bgCJiYhpF8z51ZtuDCmKW1rW3_b0JUvsmt9wvKmW_znO70iv1KAF3gS6XiUresUI2/s640/b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Many dealers sold second hand books and fixed their labels in many years after the book's publication. As such we can't be sure the labels are as early as the book they are in. Here's one such example form a 1930s book.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1j2HywyxMecHS2ISYVl3Xv5Xb0qR2jHYPpKzYu1Gxz8-1H3_nYlw1IxZ_XbuhVd4WWTWPtCNgU0tB8j5Lq6fvlfKzmxauxRaDyYqTd6FaK64dIZAT-xeA6RTRA-q9tAEtvuM-qZusgO27/s1600/IMG_3651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="1600" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1j2HywyxMecHS2ISYVl3Xv5Xb0qR2jHYPpKzYu1Gxz8-1H3_nYlw1IxZ_XbuhVd4WWTWPtCNgU0tB8j5Lq6fvlfKzmxauxRaDyYqTd6FaK64dIZAT-xeA6RTRA-q9tAEtvuM-qZusgO27/s640/IMG_3651.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The famous escapologist Murray sold magic items and jokes after poor health prevented him from performing.</div>
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This list is updated from time to time as I stumble across other labels amongst my books.</div>
Philip David Treecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376958553508549230noreply@blogger.com