George-Supreme Master of Magic

I received an email the other day from a reader who made the suggestion that I cover GEORGE-The Supreme Master of Magic in a future column. As I have never mentioned George in the past I thought it was a wonderful idea. The very first vintage magic poster I ever purchased was a George so I have an interest in finding out more. There is not a lot written about George in magic literature, but I was able to dig up a few things. Here is what I discovered...

GROVER G. GEORGE - SUPREME MASTER OF MAGIC

Grover G. George was born in Zanesville Ohio on August 18 1887. His parents were Arthur Alexander and Margaret Elizabeth George. He had one younger brother Emerson, and two younger sisters Flossie and Mary. His father was an Attorney for the firm George & Leasure. His interest in magic began at a young age and when he was 10 years old he presented his first magic show at the Old South Zanesville School in his home town.

His career started slowly, like many performers of the time. He learned his craft by doing a lot of shows in small towns. Along the way, Grover married Ruth Cornell and in 1910 they had their first child together, Mildred. He continued to work small time venues and then in the 1920s he started to expand his business. He wanted to take his show to the bigger theatres.  In 1922 he purchased the equipment and rights to Doc Nixon's 'Hong Kong Mysteries' and started a venture called "The Mysteries Production Company." A review of the show that appeared in the Sphinx Magazine in October 1922 says "George is very clever and has arranged an entertaining program in four parts and dressed with beautiful & costly settings." The review also goes on to say "George ranks among the best manipulators," in referring to his card and billiard ball manipulations. In 1923 George hired a young Paul Rosini to work as one of his assistants.


Grover George had one problem, Howard Thurston.* Howard was the preeminent illusionist in the United States and he did not want George moving into what he felt was his territory. At first, Thurston contacted theatres and told them if they booked George then he would cancel his contracts with them.

George ended up loosing a great deal of work because of this stunt. Then Thurston sent his lawyers after George and he also sent Harry Jansen (Dante) after George. The idea was that Jansen would persuade George to drop all the Thurston tricks and routines and eventually leave show business.

The lawsuits had no merit as Thurston didn't own the rights to any of the material that George had been doing. All of it  had been printed up in books or was available through magic dealers. George however didn't have the money to fight Thurston and eventually was forced to stop his 'Triumphant American Tour.' I think this was also about the time his marriage with Ruth ended in divorce.

But all was not lost. In 1924, Grover George teamed up with entertainment manager Felix Blei and turned his attention from the United States to a tour which began in Cuba and moved to Central and South America. There is a mention in the Sept 1927 issue of The Sphinx Magazine that George had won a lottery and this money enabled him to take the South American Tour. This is an unusual statement and makes me wonder if perhaps George was paid off by Thurston to leave. I have no proof of that, I'm only speculating. The article goes on to say that the tour did not start well because he did not speak the language and training assistants in that region of the world was very difficult due to the language barrier.

The Tour began in Cuba and covered many of the major Central and South American Cities. At one point, George and his company had to sail up the Amazon River to get to a location. His destination was Manaus Brazil which turned out to be a very contemporary city. One humorous note, Thurston sent Dante to South America in 1927 and Dante had a hard time with business there because George had such a strong hold on the territory.

In 1929 the tour was over, Grover George had a new wife Anita Sosa, and he returned to the sad news that his mother passed away after an illness that lasted 8 years. He was back in the U.S. and working but not the best venues.  He eventually gave up his hopes of America and returned to South America. Because he was out of the country there isn't a lot of mention of George in the magic periodicals of the time.

He left the magic business and went into Brazilian TV. He also started a business manufacturing projection machines for theatres. He had a ranch in Sao Paulo Brazil and was doing quite well. But the call of the road was always lingering and in the 1950s he returned to performing briefly.

In 1955, Robert Patterson of Zanesville Ohio, George's hometown, purchased George's Sword Box Illusion. By 1956, Grover George was retired from the magic business for good. He died in 1958 and was buried in Sao Paulo Brazil.

But the story is not quite finished. Let me get back to 1924 for a moment**. Charles Carter, another globe trotting illusionist was interested in purchasing a series of lithographs from the Otis Lithograph Company. They told Carter that they had a huge stock of posters that were printed for George the Magician but he never picked them up and they were available. Carter passed on them and had his own posters designed and created. That huge lot of posters was purchased by magic dealer Gerald Heaney and he stored them in his barn in Wisconsin.

Fast forward to the 1980s when those posters were rediscovered! Thousands of pristine, never used George posters in all shapes and sizes. So if you are wondering how so many of them survived for so long, now you know!



















*There seems to be some dispute in magic literature as to when this clash with Howard Thurston  took place. David Price's book MAGIC A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theatre lists it as happening after George's 1929 return from South America. Similarly and article which appeared in Genii Magazine in May 1996 by Gary R. Brown, also lists his South American Tour beginning in 1924 and then upon his return in 1929 George had problems with Thurston at that point.

However, in the book The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston by Robert Olsen, he shows in chapter 29 that the problem between Thurston and George took place in 1922 and he sites court documents as his proof.

** This part about the George Lithographs being pitched to Charles Carter in 1924 appears in The CARTER Book by Mike Caveney, pages 207-208. It's clear that Otis Litho Company had all the George Posters for an American Tour, NOT a South American Tour, yet in 1924 George left to go on a South American Tour after a failed tour in American, thanks to Howard Thurston.

Fred Culpitt and his Creations

Fred Culpitt

Frederic Willis Culpitt was born in England on May 9th, 1877. He was one of the early magic comedians. Culpitt was also an incredible inventor and he gave the magic world some treasures. Though, I'm not sure 'gave' is the right word, as it seems clear that the magic world at large actually ripped these treasures off from Culpitt, and he never received a dime for any of the unauthorized props.

His interest in magic began at the age of eight and he continued to practice this craft up until he was of an age to take on full time employment. His parents had arranged a job for Fred in the British Govt, but he declined and went the route of conjurer. Culpitt presented an act with was made up card manipulations, scarf tricks and livestock effects. He also presented a comedy turn using chapeaugraphy.  He was very successful touring the Music Halls but shifted to becoming a Society Entertainer. He later became stage director at Maskelyne's St. Georges Hall theatre as well as a regular performer there.

He was a frequent contributor to The Magic Wand Quarterly and also wrote articles for The Linking Ring. Fred Culpitt died of a heart attack on October 8th, 1944.

Culpitt's Top 3 Creations

The Poster Trick, also known as The Bathing Beauty-A stage magic trick were a picture of a woman at the beach is seen wearing a robe. The poster is folded in half and the magi reaches inside and removes a fabric robe. The poster is unfolded and the image has changed to that of a woman wearing a bathing suit. The magician folds the poster in half again, and reaches inside and removes a fabric bathing suit just like the one in the picture. But this time, when the poster is opened the woman is seen to be in the water and only her head and shoulders are visible! Click here to watch a young David Copperfield doing a modern version of the effect.

The Silk To Egg Trick - This has become a modern classic. The quick version of the trick has the magician placing a handkerchief into his/her hand and changing it into an egg. Then he/she explains the egg was hollow and teaches the trick. Upon repeating, the handkerchief again vanishes but the egg is discovered to be real. Click here to watch Lance Burton presenting the Silk To Egg trick.

The Doll's House Illusion - Another modern classic of illusion magic. A small child's doll house is shown to be empty and a second later contains a full grown human being, a living doll!

The history of the doll house begins in the 1920s when it was first debut by Fred Culpitt. It borrowed it's methodology from an illusion created by Servais LeRoy called The Magic Jam. It was an astonishing illusion for the time and it became the hit of his act. Soon after it's appearance magicians started to copy Culpitt's illusion without his permission.

In 1927, the illusion came to America and it was being sold and produced by numerous companies, including Abbotts and Thayers. Jack Gwynne added it to his show and made a hit with it on this side of the Atlantic. He eventually created a new version of the trick with a different effect. It was called 'The Temple of AnGee' and was a sword basket type of effect done with a dolls house prop.

Don Rose created a version of the Doll's House that used a very different method and featured a much smaller house. Years later, Jim Steinmeyer would create a version based on the Don Rose Doll's House called The Magical Toy Shop. Doug Henning was the only one to my knowledge to ever present this effect. Below are a few photos of Doll's Houses that I've collected.

Thayer Doll House
This was built by Illusionartsmagic.com and it is from the early Thayer workshop plans. This is what some of the early versions of the Doll House Illusion looked like. I don't know how closely this resembles the original Culpitt Doll's House as I have never seen a photo of it.

The Thayer Doll's house sat upon a table and often had furniture and things inside that could be removed. Once the items inside are taken out, the door was closed and out popped a human being. In the Jack Gwynne version of the illusion, he recited the fairy tale "The House That Jack Built" and the conclusion of the effect his wife appeared wearing a hooped dress that fell out around the illusion as she stood up making the production look enormous!

Bill King Collection

Bill King was a collector from Maryland who had several cool looking Doll's House Illusions amongst his treasures. One of these is an Owen, I think, and the Haunted House looks like it might have been built using the Osborne Plans. Bill was a great guy, he passed away not too long ago.

 The Loomis Doll House

This is probably the best Doll House in modern times. It was designed by professional magician Dennis Loomis back in the 1970s. I remember asking my friend Denny Haney of Denny & Lee's Magic Studio years ago about where to find a good Doll's House and he said the only one you want is the Loomis Doll House. Well, I guess I listened because I own one. It's a wonderful illusion and I've had several people who are not magicians inquire about purchasing it.  It has some subtle properties that make it more deceptive than other Doll House Illusions. If you're in the market for one,  you can click the link on Dennis's name and purchase a DVD with blueprints and instructions on how to build one of your own.




The Temple of Benares

Originally called The Temple of AnGee, which was named for Jack Gwynne's wife Anne, The Temple of Benares used the Doll Houses shape and method and added slots cut in the roof and then swords. The box was decorated to look like some sort of temple.

The effect was not a production, but instead, someone climbed into the box, the doors were closed and swords were thrust through the holes in the box. Upon opening it, the audience could see all the swords still inside the box but the person had vanished. The doors were closed and the swords removed and the assistant returned unharmed.


The Don Rose Doll House

The Don Rose Doll House worked on a different principle than that of the Culpitt Doll House. It's method more resembled a Genii Tube or Phantom Tube.

This one in the photo is designed to pack totally flat, but I have seen some that are on raised platforms similar to the Culpitt Doll House.
In the photo the back doors can be seen open, the front however is not open in the photo. When performed the audience can see completely through the house.

Stanyon & Houdini

I was reading Stanyon’s Magic recently, Volume 1 Issue #4. If you’re not familiar with Stanyon’s Magic it was actually called MAGIC edited by Ellis Stanyon and underneath the masthead it read “The only paper in the British Empire devoted solely to the interests of Magicians, Jugglers, Hand Shadowists, Ventriloquists, Lightning Cartoonists and Specialty Entertainers”. It ran from 1900-1914 and then again from 1919-1920. There were a total of 177 issues.

Born in England in 1870, William Ellis Stanyon was a full time magician and magic dealer. He began publishing 'Stanyon's Serials' in 1899 which eventually morphed into MAGIC. His periodical was 8 pages per issue and contained, news, tricks, reviews and gossip, as well as advertisements. Occasionally other people would write articles for the paper, such as Henry Ridgely Evans and Arthur Margery.

Houdini was featured on the cover of Issue #4 in January of 1901. He was appearing at the Alhambra and presenting his Handcuff Act. Stanyon goes on to say that the handcuff trick was a favorite of magicians and spirit mediums for many years, and then describes the method of a standard pair of handcuffs and a duplicate key.

Then he begins to talk of Houdini and how he had taken this act to places unknown. He goes on to brag how Houdini accepts all challenges and will attempt to escape from multiple cuffs, rather than just a single pair. He makes note of a ‘new’ addition to Houdini’s act, what we know of today as the ‘Ghost House’ which was the small three sided curtained cabinet that surrounded Houdini while he did some of his escapes. He describes one escape by Houdini where he had handcuffs placed on his wrists behind his back and then he crouched down inside the cabinet, facing the audience, he was out in seconds.

The final few paragraphs in the article were about Houdini’s box trick which Houdini called The Metamorphosis, and is known today as the Substitution Trunk. Houdini would borrow a jacket from a spectator and place it on before he had his hands tied behind his back. Then he’d climb into the cloth bag, which was tied and the knots were sealed and then the lid of the trunk was closed, locked and ropes tied around the box. Bess stands at the opening of the curtain and says “I will step into the cabinet and clap my hands three times-then notice the effect.” Instantly, Houdini bursts through the curtain and Bess is found inside the box, inside the bag wearing the borrowed jacket with her hands tied behind her back.

In Patrick Culliton’s fantastic book HOUDINI The Key, on page 45, there is a quote by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who witnessed Houdini and Bess present the Metamorphosis and he even loaned his jacket to the couple for the effect. Doyle goes on to stay “Houdini is the greatest conjurer in the world and this is his greatest trick.”

A lot of detail in the Houdini Sub-trunk routine has been overlooked today. Houdini was the handcuff king, yet he did not use handcuffs during the Sub-trunk, instead he had his wrists tied with ropes. After-all, the audience would have seen him escape from countless cuffs, he had to make this different. The use of the borrowed jacket is something that other performers have used, but it’s not seen much today, if at all, yet it’s a brilliant addition. It makes the effect more personal because that borrowed object experiences the magic along with the artists. First it’s on Houdini and instantly it’s on his wife, at least this is how it appears to the audience. It can’t be a gimmicked or prepared jacket because it was borrowed, and often from a famous person.

The ropes that are tied around the outside of the box add another impossible element. Even if Houdini could somehow get free of the tied wrists, the tied bag, there is no way he could get out of the trunk because not only is it locked, but it’s wrapped up with rope which he cannot reach! Yet in 3-5 seconds, Houdini appeared and Bess was somehow mysteriously inside the box.

It’s one of the greatest effects in magic. It’s also one of the most copied. For those who say, Houdini was not a good magician, I point to his presentation of the substitution trunk. It was incredible in his era and it still lives on in the acts of magicians today.

Now if I might go back to Ellis Stanyon for a moment. Stanyon bragged about Houdini’s clever twist on the escape act and his box trick in his periodical in 1901. In October of 1901 an advertisement appeared in MAGIC for 'The Great Handcuff Release'. According to Houdini-The Key, Houdini and Staynon were initially working together to produce a manuscript exposing handcuff escape methods but the partnership turned sour. Then in 1902 he announced to his readers that for subscribers only he would feature in the May issue 'The Great Handcuff Release'.  The article was apparently written by Houdini and the exact same article also appeared in MAHATMA Magazine in the U.S.  as well. 

In October of 1903, Stanyon offered more material from Houdini’s act. Under the title, “Original Lessons in Magic-ILLUSION- Metempsychosis Double-Extraordinary” , this was a detailed set of instructions on how to perform the sub trunk. There was no mention of Houdini in either the handcuff expose article or the ‘original lesson’ on the sub trunk. However, the advertisement for 'The Great Handcuff Release' did mention Houdini's name. Houdini called his version of the Sub-Trunk The Metamorphosis, Stanyon referred to this version as Metempsychosis. The exact wording that Bess Houdini used when presenting the Sub-trunk can also be found within the description of the trick by Stanyon.

Stanyon did change things slightly. His instructions have the trunk with the artist inside, being picked up and placed inside of a second box and locked and sealed. So there was a slight change to the routine, but otherwise it is the exact routine as presented by Harry and Bess Houdini. Incidentally, Houdini never appeared on the cover of Stanyon’s MAGIC ever again. But he was mentioned. In fact, in February 1909, Stanyon reveals his thoughts on how the Houdini Milk Can works. He does finish the column by saying 'The method is my own explanation, not necessarily the method employed by Houdini'.

As for William Ellis Stanyon, he far outlived Houdini. His magazine continued until 1920 and he himself lived until 1951. His son Cyril took over the magic business, known as 'The House of Magic,  though I'm not sure how long it continued afterwards. Today the original MAGIC lives on as a valuable resource for magic historians.