Magician Statues

The recent article I did on Tommy Cooper got me wondering about what other magicians might have statues. So far what I have found is pretty bleak. My criteria for this is for outdoor life-size or larger than life statues. I am not including busts, as there are a number of these around and I plan to cover those in another upcoming article.

Siegfried & Roy
First up we have The Masters of the Impossible, Siegfried & Roy. Their massive bronze statue is outside the The Mirage Casino Hotel in Las Vegas. I believe it was erected in 1993 but I don't know who the artist was who created the work. I also am not sure it's actually a bronze statue or just a fiberglass statue with a bronze finish. I hope it's actually bronze.

Sadly, S&R have been off the strip so long and some only remember them for the accident. But at their peak they were wonderful performers and entertainment icons. I hope their statue remains for many many years to come.




Robert-Houdin

In front of the Maison de la Magie in Blois France is this wonderful statue dedicated to The Father of Modern Magic, Jean Eugene Robert Houdin. He certainly deserves a statue and I'm glad to see that one was erected in his honor. However, I do not know the cost of the statue nor who sculpted it.

The museum behind the statue is said to be the 'house' of Robert Houdin, but I'm not sure that is the case. I don't recall the Houdin house being that large.

One thing is certain, the descendants of Robert-Houdin did donate the house to the town of Blois to be used as a museum to the great French Magician.

Tommy Cooper
Tommy Cooper, the fez wearing British comedy magician has a statue in his honor that stands in his home town of Caerphilly, Wales. Tommy Cooper died while doing a show LIVE on TV in 1984. Like all the performers in this article, he transcended the magic world and was considered an entertainer for the masses. His statue is made of bronze and stands 9ft tall. It was created by sculptor James Done at a cost of £45,000 which was raised by The Tommy Cooper Society in 2008.











Harry Collins

Harry Collins was a magician and spokesman for the Frito Lay Corp. He was also one of the first magicians to inspire Lance Burton and I believe he was also Lance's first magic mentor.

The statue stands over Harry Collins grave in the Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. The statue appears to be a bronze casting and no idea who the artist was or the cost.








David Copperfield

The latest edition to the statues is one that was recently unveiled in August 2012 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. This bronze statue is dedicated to the 'King of Magic' David Copperfield.

This is the most unusual statue of the group because at first glance it might appear to be a giant bust of the magician. However, the lower part of the statue features sculpted images from some of David's most popular illusions, including Flying, Walking Through The Great Wall of China, Making the Statue of Liberty Vanish, The Lear Jet Vanish and Tornado of Fire.

It sits in front of the the theater where David Copperfield regularly performs in Las Vegas.










HOUDINI?
The big question I have is, "Where is the Statue of Houdini?" The sad answer to that is, there is NO statue of Houdini. The closest thing we have is his grave with the bust, but by the criteria I set above, that isn't quite enough. Let's face it Houdini deserves a life size statue! I know at one time the SAM led a concerted effort to the get a Houdini Postage Stamp which eventually paid off. Perhaps it's time to work on the creation of a Houdini statue.

There actually is/was a statue dedicated to the memory of Houdini, but it was of his Metamorphosis Trick which at one time was on display in Appleton Wisconsin. That statue is currently in storage while the city finds a new place to display it.

OTHERS
IF you happen to know of a magician statue that I missed, please let me know. I'm looking for more statues, NOT busts. I have a list of magic related busts that I'll be doing soon.

Tommy Cooper - Just Like That!

I love being able to re-introduce entertainers from yesteryear. The gentleman whose life I'm going to share with you today is someone I didn't really know much about until a couple of years ago. I had heard the name but had no idea who he was.  His name is Tommy Cooper, and if your from England then you no doubt know of him. But here in the U.S. he is not as well known, which is unfortunate.

Tommy Cooper was a comedy magician, kind of in the style of Carl Balantine where none of the tricks he presented worked. In real life Tommy could present magic but for whatever reason he decided to use do more of a lampoon act rather than a regular magic act. Good thing he did too because in the 1960s-80s Tommy Cooper was a big name in show business.

He was born in 1921 in South Wales. When he was 8 years old young Tommy received the gift of a magic set from a relative. A few years later while serving in the military Tommy was chosen to work with a group entertaining the troops. His act began as a comedy magic act. While in Egypt he acquired his trademark 'Fez' cap when he forgot the hat that he usually used in his act. The Fez got so many laughs he continued to use it throughout his career.

In the 60s he broke into television with his own weekly show and would remain a staple on english television right up until his death. His final performance was on LIVE TV on the show Live From Her Majesty's. Tommy died of a heart attack while doing his last performance.

One of the great things about the Internet is that Tommy Copper's performances can be viewed on Youtube for new generations to enjoy. The first time I watched Tommy Copper I couldn't help but love his approach. He had a way about him that was so entertaining and refreshing. I didn't care that his magic didn't work, it was funny. And he didn't demean the magic, which I often see when I watch comedy magicians. He just enjoyed the folly. Many consider him a comedian first and a magician second, and I think that's a pretty fair assessment. Many of his jokes and lines were corny but somehow he could deliver them and make you laugh. He was incredibly funny, but he would also occasionally have a trick work correctly which I'm sure would surprise his audiences as much as it surprised him!

The main reason I decided to look up Tommy Copper and find out more about him was because I had seen an interview with Anthony Hopkins, the actor, and he was telling a story about Tommy Cooper and just raving about him. Then a later, Mr. Hopkins was present at the unveiling of a statue dedicated to Tommy Cooper. If Anthony Hopkins thought he was great, then I figured there had to be something to this guy. Sure enough, Mr. Cooper made me laugh as well.

2012 The Inconsistent Summer-Update

First off, my apologies for the very sporadic updates to this blog lately. It's been a somewhat trying summer. It began of course with what looked to be a busy run of shows but then spiraled down into a bunch of health related issues. The latest, which I thought was a blood clot, has left me having difficulty walking. As it turns out, the blood clot was a secondary issue but was not the cause of my leg pain. The good news, I'm on the mend, and though I have probably two more weeks left of limping around, I should be as good as new before too long.

As for the blog, well I do have big plans coming up, it's just been really hard to work on it in this state. I've got a Magic History Contest which I'm going to put up soon, which comes complete with prizes, or a prize, I haven't decided. And there is also the first few episodes of The Magic Detective YOUTUBE Show which has been delayed and delayed. I hope to have that project up and running in September.

 Rest assured, I haven't vanished into the night. I'm still working on the site, researching obscure historical magic related events and gearing up for Fall!

Slight Update: A few days after writing this I was diagnosed with a Deep Vein Blood Clot (DVT) so things went from being on the mend to more serious. Then, I had two unexpected trips to the E.R. this past weekend. But as of yesterday, August 21, I got the OK from my doctor to go back to work, which for me means going back to performing. August 2012 will definitely not be remembered as a good month for me, but as I mentioned before, I am doing everything I can to get back on track. Hopefully, I'll be walking like normal again in a week or so. And I also hope to be back to updating this blog on a regular basis as well.

Maid of the Moon Illusion

I have always been intrigued by the poster above, but was never quite sure what the actual effect of this illusion was. 'Maid of the Moon' was a creation of three people William Robinson,  Benjamin B. Keyes of Boston and Will B. Wood. The original idea belonged to Wood who filed for a patent in 1889, but both Keyes and Robinson added things to the concept to take it from a novelty to an amazing act. The original name for the illusion was 'Astarte'.

The illusion first appeared in Harry Kellar's show, as William Robinson and his wife Dot were both working for Kellar at the time. It was a revolutionary illusion for the time. The effect is a levitation where a woman floats upwards and can move up and down, left or right and even spin her body around and turn somersaults. The method was exposed in an article in the Chicago Herald newspaper, but it didn't stop Kellar from performing it. He would eventually alter the name of the illusion to Astarte-Maid of the Moon.

In 1892, William Robinson and his wife Dot left the employment of Harry Kellar and went to work for Alexander Herrmann. It's obvious by the poster, that Robinson either built the Astarte illusion for Herrmann or took it with him when he left the employment of Harry Kellar as it was included in Herrmann's touring show under the title 'Maid of the Moon'. I could not find a Kellar poster advertising Astarte, though he did advertise other levitations over the years. The Herrmann poster for the illusion is breathtaking, and honestly, more beautiful than the effect really is, but I'm judging it by modern standards and perhaps for it's time it too was incredible.

In Kellars Wonders by Mike Caveney and Bill Meisel, there is a picture from the original patent papers showing the elaborate mechanics of the trick.

Astarte was dropped from Kellar's show during his never ending quest for the ideal levitation. It was likely dropped from the Herrmann show after Alexander's death. As better and more realistic levitations were created, Astarte was soon forgotten. That is until 1980, when Doug Henning added Astarte to one of his World of Magic TV Specials. In this special he used Loreen Yarnell as his floating subject. The video below shows Doug Henning presenting Astarte. Enjoy!

By the way, the above poster is also on the latest issue of Magicol Magazine.

Almost the Houdini Course in Magic

In the 1920s, an advertising man named Walter Jordan had an idea of creating a correspondence course on magic for the general public. He spoke with a friend who ran a correspondence school on Applied Science. The two agreed that a magic course would be a good idea and began to try and find someone to help them put together the course.

The first person they approached was a Chicago magician named Jim Sherman. Mr. Sherman drew up an outline of the course but wanted too much money for the finished project. Cooke and Jordan moved on to find a new person to help them and they came upon magician Walter Baker. Mr. Baker put together a few tricks for the proposed course but they weren't up to the standards that Jordan was looking for so they passed on Baker. However, Baker did give them the name of an illustrator if they were interested.

The third person approached was Harry Houdini. The year was 1926 and we know how busy Houdini was in that year. He liked the idea of a course in magic, but writing it himself would be out of the question. Houdini's idea was to get Harlan Tarbell to write and illustrate the course. This might have worked out but Jordan and Cooke had already heard about Tarbell from Walter Baker. So they decided to drop Houdini from the picture and just go with Harlan Tarbell for the entire project! The rest as they say is history. But for a brief moment in time it was almost the Houdini Course in Magic rather than Tarbell.

The 8 volumes of the printed version of the Tarbell Course in Magic still make up one of the finest resources for magic effects ever produced!

Adelaide Herrmann and the 1926 Fire

Warehouse on 46St NYC

This is a story I had read about in different books over the years, but always in snippets. I never quite knew the whole story and now thanks to the publication of Adelaide Herrmann's Memoirs, I've got more information. But I'm also going back to other sources to pull out the various discussions of the event because other historical figures get involved.

Adelaide Herrmann was the widow of Alexander Herrmann, known as Herrmann The Great. After Alexander died in their traincar in December of 1896, Adelaide decided to take a version of their show out. She chose Alexander's nephew Leon to fill the male role and she sent for him in Europe.
They toured together for three seasons until personality clashes caused them to part ways.

Adelaide had inherited all of the properties from the original Herrmann the Great show and these were stored in a warehouse near 37th St in New York City.  However, Mrs. Herrmann had been notified that the warehouse building that held all her equipment was due to be demolished and she would need to find a new location. The new warehouse was at 611 46th Street NYC.  Along with all the props, costumes, scenery, and illusions were also all of Adelaide's animals that she used during her 'Noah's Ark' routine.

On the morning of September 7th, 1926, an explosion occurred at the warehouse and the building was engulfed in flames. All 200 animals perished in the fire, along with an animal trainer and the majority of the Herrmann props. Apparently, one crate remained unharmed but was later broken into by thieves so nothing remained of the Herrmann legacy.

What caused the fire? The New York Times reported that an alcohol still, or several stills, hidden on the roof of the warehouse had exploded causing the fire.

It would seem that Adelaide Herrmann's show business career was over. However, a number of professional performers came to her aid. Among them was the President of the Society of American Magicians, Harry Houdini, who donated a Noah's Ark Illusion to replace the one that had been destroyed by fire. Harry Blackstone Sr. also helped Mrs. Herrmann by donating equipment. She quickly put together a new act and was up and running by October 1926.

Though the majority of the props owned and used by the Herrmann's had been destroyed in the Sept 7th warehouse fire, some props still remain today in private collections. Among the props that still exist are a Pistol used by Alexander Herrmann to vanish rings and a pair of Rapping Hands, both in the collection of Ray Goulet. Also Ken Klosterman has a center table that belonged to Herrmann, and the magic wand that used by Alexander Herrmann, which once was owned by Houdini, is now in the Copperfield collection. There may be other props scattered among collectors but those are a few I'm aware of.

Below is a photo of the location of the 611 46th Street warehouse. You'll see today it still remains a shell of it's former self. However, at the top of the page is a photo of 609 46th Street,  a warehouse that has been there since 1879 and this is very likely exactly what Adelaide Herrmann's warehouse once looked like. One other note, this location is walking distance from the pier where the USS Intrepid is docked and also where one of the NASA Space Shuttles now sits on display.

Location of Adelaide Herrmann's Warehouse & Fire

References:
ASKALEXANDER.org
Milbourne Christopher, The Illustrated History of Magic
M-U-M Magazine, March 1981, article 'Ladies of the Hall of Fame' by Colette Cozean
Genii Magazine August 2000, article 'Adelaide Herrmann' by James Hamilton
M-U-M Magazine, May 2011, article 'Adelaide Herrmann & The SAM' by Margaret Steele
Frank Dudgeon with Ann Goulet, RAY GOULET Recollections of a Renaissance Man
Adelaide Herrmann & Margaret Steele, Adelaide Herrmann Queen of Magic, Memoirs

The Queen of Magic - Book Review

A while ago I mentioned that Margaret Steele had published the recently discovered memoirs of Adelaide Herrmann. But at the time I had not read the book. I was unaware that the book would be released not only in a hardbound edition but also in trade paperback version. This is exciting news because the book is much more affordable and easily accessible.

The bulk of this book (30 chapters) was written by Adelaide Herrmann. These were the Memoirs of her life with Alexander Herrmann and then her own career after he passed on. Sadly, she did not quite finish the book. She did complete the section on her life with Alexander but the part about her own career stops at a particular part which I plan to cover in a separate blog later.

Margarete Steele edited the book and then gathered additional information, such as all the articles that Adelaide ever wrote on magic and reprints of newspaper articles and similar articles of interest. There were no corrections in the language of the times, so there are occasions when Mrs. Herrmann was not politically correct by modern standards.

As to the content of the book, it is simply amazing. I've always enjoyed the brief biographies of the Herrmann's that appear in various magic books, but always yearned to know more. In this book, we learn that there was a rivalry between the two brothers Compars and Alexander and that they didn't speak for a period of time. I'm not sure still if they reconciled their differences. Adelaide implies they did but it's really tough to say.

One of the things I love about Alexander Herrmann was that he chose to a magician both on and off the stage. He was 'street magic' 100+ years before David Blaine and others were even born. He would cut open fruit to find coins inside while at a market. He would often produce a diamond ring from a biscuit or piece of bread, which had backfired on him on one occasion. A waitress took the ring and did not want to give it back! Alexander had to plead with the restaurant owner to retrieve his ring.

I was fascinated to learn that Alexander Herrmann was doing the 'muscle pass' with a coin as far back as the 1890s. For some reason I thought this effect was a bit more modern, but Adelaide properly describes his method for causing a coin to apparently float up from one hand to the other through the use of muscle control.

Adelaide doesn't go into specifics on the amount of money that Alexander made over the course of his lifetime but it had to be millions. He invested in theatres long before that kind of thing was popular. The Herrmanns you see were on the scene before Vaudeville came about. Herrmann's idea of buying theatrical properties and putting shows in them was just ahead of it's time.

Herrmann was also very generous and on more than one occasion took it upon himself to help pay expenses for other performing troupes. His generosity and his excessive spending had left them with very little money at the time that Herrmann passed away. It's clear that the hope was the restore their money by the end of their tour, however Alexander died midway.

In the book, The Illustrated History of Magic by Milbourne Christopher, there is a wonderful photo of Herrmann's house, known as Whitestone Manor on Long Island Sound. There is an even better photo of it in the book. It's a beautiful property but apparently, Herrmann only leased the property he did not actually own it.

Herrmann loved purchasing extravagent items like his  Herrmann Railcar. This train car was originally owned by actress Lily Langtry and Herrmann purchased it from her. The book contains photos of the interior and the exterior of the train car. As it turns out, Alexander Herrmann would die upon this train car in December 1896. They also owned a yacht which they called Fra Diavolo.

After her husband died, she went out on her own, first with her nephew Leon and then as a solo act. Apparently, she never spoke on stage, all of her work was done silently. She also incorporated special dances into her act as well. Her husband was known as an excellent sleight of hand artist and while he was alive Adelaide never ventured into that part of performing. But after he died, she began to learn and develop her own Billiard Ball Manipulation act, which takes a great deal of skill.

Adelaide and Alexander were remarkable people from a unique time in history. They were performing during the days of the Wild West right up until just before Vaudeville started. Eventually, Adelaide became a popular Vaudeville attraction in her own right.

This book is a must have for any magic historian or magic enthusiast. Margaret Steele has done a fine job which really feels like a labor of love from all parties involved. I saw the book listed on the Barnes & Noble website so it's even available to the general public which is exciting. For the price, you just can't beat it!

2012 Essential Magic Conference

The third (and possibly) final edition of the Essential Magic Conference is currently taking place in Portugal. Presented by Luis de Matos, David Britland and Marco Tempest, this is in my view one of the greatest conventions ever produced. I am speaking of EMC as a whole, from year 1 until today. Each year they assembly a list of speakers from all facets of magic and from all over the world. Topics cover almost everything imaginable, from close-up card magic to magic theory, to stage manipulation to magic history, and many things in between.

The line-up this year is incredible. Day 1 was mind blowing. How they continue to top each year is beyond me. Do yourself a favor, go register at www.essentialmagicconference.com and watch the sessions LIVE or watch them at your leisure. Also, if you register, you'll also receive the entire conference on DVD.

When you attend a typical magic convention, if you go away with one new routine, concept or idea you're doing pretty good. For me, with EMC I usually go away with several new ideas or effects. Already on day 1 there was one routine that was worth the entire price of the convention and I'll bet there will be a lot more over the next two days!

Highlights from Day 1....EVERY SPEAKER! That's actually not a joke. I enjoyed every speaker very much and even the panel discussion on the Value of Secrets was incredible (personally leaning towards Armando's belief on secrets). Eric Mead opens every EMC since the beginning and I always look forward to hearing him speak. Michel from Argentina was, as always, wonderful. I remember seeing him lecture at Denny's Magic Shop years ago and I purchased one of his 'Invisible Hands' way back then. Thankfully, I did take the time to learn how to use it and it's fantastic. Bill Malone totally cracks me up, so glad he is there this year. Steve Cohen talking about Malini, WOW. I also enjoyed his comments when someone wrote in and asked 'what can people today learn from magicians of the past'. (Can't believe someone actually asked that question!)

Woody Aragon was, well, brilliant. His trick alone, worth the price of the convention. Tom Stone's performance and then later lecture, also brilliant. Denis Behr, WOW. The procedure fried my brain and I would never do it, but it was fantastic. David Williamson, always superb. One of my own personal favorite routines which is in 90% of my shows is a routine of his. Debbie McGee should put out DVDs and a lecture of her own. Her voice and ideas needs to be heard! Yigal Mesika was another one who really made me sit up and take notice. OH, Armando Lucero, Dani DaOrtiz, David Berglas, Hero Sakai, Guy Hollingworth, and Graham Jolley all had amazing performances. Max Maven could talk about rust and make it fascinating, I always enjoy his talks. Marco Tempest is inspiring on more levels than I can list. And Topas, Stan Allen, and Luis de Matos are absolutely fantastic hosts.

DAY 2.....I can't really give highlights of the events of day two, mainly because my brain is fried at this point. I'm unable to watch EMC live as it's streaming, and in true fact, I'm actually having to listen to most of the content rather than watch it. This is due to a severe light sensitivity I'm suffering from at the moment. I do my best to watch various performances but thankfully so much of the content is verbal that I am still getting it all.

Each year EMC steps up their game. Last year when David Copperfield gave a tour of his museum via live video stream, I thought there was no way to top it. But honestly, as much as I loved that, it wasn't even the best thing at the conference. One of the Paul Daniel's talks for me, was one of the best things but I'm not sure I can name a single BEST. Because if you are an observant performer, you'll be picking up things constantly.

So in Day 2, Tina Lenert blew my mind and damn near made me cry with her phenomenal presentation. The two women at the conference this year were exceptional (Day1 Debbie McGee). David Williamson is a personal favorite and seeing David talk and watching him perform is always a treat but he said something during one of the Q&A's that answered a question I had for many years and it was so great to hear. Bill Malone is incredible, that's all I can say. On and on I could go, but I really want to get back to watching the videos. I'm actually not finished with Session 6 year and the stream has already begun for Day 3. If you haven't already done so, sign up/register/join, this fabulous conference.

An Interesting Connection between Batman and Magic

Batman was a comic book character created by Bob Kane. He has grown and expanded over the years to near mythic proportions. The Batman movies, from the first Michael Keaton version to the latest Christian Bale version gross millions and millions of dollars.

Batman had an origin and it wasn't with a rich kid who witnesses the death of his parents by a street criminal. No, Batman came from somewhere else. Bob Kane, in his autobiography, "Batman & Me" lists three direct inspirations. One was a sketch made by Leonardo DaVinci of a flying machine that looked like a bat. The next was The Mark of Zorro movie starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr.  And the third was a very interesting movie called "The Bat Whispers" and here is the connection to magic.

You see "The Bat Whispers" which was made in 1930, starred actor/magician Chester Morris. This movie was seen by a 14 year old Robert Kane and made such an impression on the young man that years later he would base part of the design of Batman's costume from the BAT character in the movie.
Chester Morris played a dual role, as a detective and the also as the BAT. Though in the movie, the BAT was a criminal. But Chester Morris's portrayal was indeed one of the main inspirations for Bob Kane's creation of The Batman.

Another interesting element from that movie, also became a prominent part of the world of Batman and that is the Bat Signal. In the movie The Bat Whispers, the signal was actually a sign that someone was to be killed by The Bat. But of course, in the world of Batman, the signal alerts the Caped Crusader that his services are needed!

Harry Jansen (Dante) The Escape Artist?

Here is one that really took me by surprise. In the February 1928 issue of The Sphinx, they record that Dante tried his hand at an escape act while performing in South America. To quote the article it says "He failed to put it over." There is no other information regarding this incident.

I know Dante was in fact in South America at this time. Thurston sent him there in 1927 and his tour started in a less than perfect fashion. He was continually plagued by advance men ripping him off and managers not fulfilling there end of agreements. The language difference didn't help matters either. And then of course there was Charles Carter and Grover George who were both in South America and Dante was essentially having to follow them.

But an escape act. That struck me as odd. So I began to dig and I discovered that when Dante was still using his real name Harry Jansen, he co-owned a magic manufacturing company in Chicago called, Halton, Jansen and LeRoy. One of the items from their catalog was a Packing Crate Escape. Hardly a full escape act, but it's something. But the blurb from The Sphinx doesn't say escape show, it says "He tried to stage an escape act." So perhaps he tried to pull in some publicity with a packing crate escape and either it failed, or because he didn't speak the language, he had difficulty in relaying to the audience just what to expect.

The reason I found this whole thing unusual was because of Dante's feelings towards HOUDINI. In the book, The Houdini Code Mystery by William Rauscher, there is a small chapter with Dante's feelings towards Houdini. It came from an article written by Dante and it basically rips Houdini to shreds. Dante starts with "First, he stole his name from the man who originated and made magic possible, Robert-Houdin". He goes on to expose Houdini's act and methods and make the claim that he could cuff Houdini in a way that would leave him bound, or lock him in a packing crate and he would not be able to get out. The way it's written he belittles the idea of an escape act though it's probably just his animosity towards Houdini more than anything. He says "Houdini the escape king? What can he escape from? So far, he has escaped criticism. This is the biggest trick he has ever done." Dante did not like Houdini and made no bones about it.

But it doesn't appear that Dante ventured into performing escapes until after Houdini had died (1926). This South American event happened either in late 1927 or early 1928. I've gone through a couple Dante biographies and can find no mention of an escape act in South America so perhaps it was not something he cared to record for posterity.

One other note, there was an escapologist who used the stage name Dante. This is mentioned in the book DANTE The Devil Himself by Phil Temple and even contains two photos of the escape artist Dante. I don't think however, the fellow who is mentioned in the Sphinx article is that person, it is definitely Harry Jansen, aka Dante.

In the coming months I'll share more with you about this fascinating character Harry Jansen, better known as DANTE.

The Dark Knight and Houdini

Let me state for the record, it's doubtful I would ever have been interested in Houdini if it had not been for Batman. And, for me, there is only one Batman and that is Adam West. Sure Michael Keaton was pretty good, Christian Bale offers some unique twists to the character, but Adam West was the man.

When you're a kid, the 60s TV series BATMAN is not campy. It's cool! It's got action, it's got super heroes, it's got villians, it has it all. It's not until you're an adult that you see how campy the show is and frankly it's like a gift within a gift. It was an awesome show as a kid and it's a hilarious show as an adult!

Often the episodes ended in a cliff hanger with Batman & Robin in some sort of diabolical trap in which they had to escape from. When I saw the Tony Curtis Movie on Houdini for the first time, I only saw the scene with Houdini under the ice of Lake Michigan. It totally reminded me of an episode of BATMAN. Here was someone trying to escape. I had no idea Houdini did it first!

I've heard that Bob Kane was a fan of Houdini. I can tell you this, IF Batman were a real character, I can guarantee HE would be a devotee of Houdini as well. Houdini after-all made the escape act popular, he even wrote books on handcuff escapes and escapes in general. On top of that he wrote a book called "The Right Way To Do Wrong" which surely would have been in the Batcave Library, or at least in stately Wayne Manor's Library! And he'd probably have to go to Houdini's craftsman to have the Batcuffs made.


Perhaps instead of the bust of William Shakespeare, the creators should have put Houdini's bust there. I mean, come on, it makes more sense to hide a button to a secret panel inside the bust of the world's most famous magician MORE than it does to hide it inside the bust of Shakespeare!

Margery the Medium's Grave

Long before the Long Island Medium got her own TV show, there was Margery The Medium. I've written about Margery before, but I wanted to show  you this wonderful picture of Margery's grave. The man in the photo is famed escape artist Norman Bigelow and he graciously has allowed me to post the photo here.

Margery was kind of Houdini's arch nemesis. She had everyone at the Scientific American Magazine fooled into believing she was a legitimate medium. Houdini got wind of that and said "NO WAY!" and forced himself into the investigation and proved that she was using trickery. The battles between Houdini and Margery were priceless, though all these years later I can't help but wonder how much of that was for show.

An interesting note on the grave stone itself is the name above Margery's. By the way, Margery's real name was Mina Stinson Crandon. The name above hers on the tombstone is WALTER Stuart Stinson.
If you're familiar with the story of the seances that she put on before the Scientific American Committee and Houdini, Walter was her brother and spirit guide. Walter was also known to use some rather politically incorrect language. But he was dead, so no one cared, lol.

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.

Rare Houdini Picture

I don't recall seeing these photos before. They are not super rare, as in unseen, but certainly not some of the more popular images. Above is Bess, Houdini and Kellar in California. Below is another image of Houdini outside of Kellar's house in California.

The Miraculous Coin Casket

Illustration from Modern Magic

Professor Hoffman's book Modern Magic describes a wonderful little device called The Miraculous Coin Casket. This device holds four coins and each time the lid on the box is opened and then closed again one of the coins vanish. This can be repeated until all four coins are gone.

A recent eBay search showed one of these babies for sale for the modest price of $2500.00. However, quality modern reproductions that can had for a little less than that. I'm not really sure of the origin of the prop. The video below is Joe Stevens and he is demonstrating the Otto Mauer Coin Casket. Otto Mauer was a NY Magic Dealer. I don't know who the inventor of the prop was. The ebay auction shows a Coin Casket from a magic dealer called BLAND. So apparently it was being produced by more than one magic company.

(SPOILER ALERT-The secret to this trick is revealed in the video, so if you prefer NOT knowing the secret, don't watch. This is magic from the 1800s so it's not likely to harm a modern magicians act by revealing the secret)

Watch the first video you'll get to see the vintage Otto Mauer prop in action, you'll also get to see the inner workings of this incredible piece of Victorian Era craftsmanship. The second video below shows a modern recreation by Richbark Custom Magic. They show the workings first, but if you stay with the video you'll see their version in action as well. I should not the inner workings are different between the two boxes even though the end result is the same.

The Man With X-Ray Eyes-Kuda Bux

When I was just a young teen trying to learn everything I could about magic, I came across a fellow named Kuda Bux on TV. At the time he was an elderly gentleman with a full head of white hair. He wasn't going to do an illusion or an escape or manipulation. He wasn't going to read minds or do card tricks either. He claimed he could see without the use of his eyes and he would demonstrate his unique ability. I had seen magicians do tricks with blindfolds, so I was sure what I was about to see was nothing more than yet another blindfold trick. He began by handing two large clumps of dough (flour and water) to a committee on stage and instructing them to put the dough over his eyes and push it deep into his eyes to prevent his eye sight. Then he handed two very large piece of medical gauze, about an inch thick and those too were placed over his eyes. Next his head was wrapped in bandages and after that cloth bands were wrapped over his head in every conceivable direction.

Kuda Bux then instructed his on stage volunteers to write things on a chalk board and he would duplicate anything they wrote or drew. True to his word, he did just that. With his face and head covered he duplicated everything they wrote. It was amazing all by itself. But sometime later I had learned that Kuda Bux was legally blind at the time of the performance and that made it even more incredible.

Kuda Bux was born Khudah Bukhsh in Kashmir Pakistan in February 17th 1905. He began his career in the mystic arts as a conjurer doing the same kinds of tricks we are all used to, linking rings, cards tricks that kind of stuff. But he always had an appetite for real magic which led him into studying yoga. Noted historian John Booth writes in his book "Psychic Paradoxes" that Kuda Bux first started doing the blindfold act as early as 1919. He also mentions that early in his career Kuda Bux billed himself as Professor K. B. Duke. Later he went by the name we know him by, Kuda Bux and added 'The Kashmir Mystic' as his title.

Kuda's fame seemed to rise in the 1930's following a highly publicized 'fire walking' stunt in front of the University of London Council for Physical Research. He repeated the same stunt in NYC in the location of where the Rockefeller Center now stands. His fame continued to grow and his moniker changed to 'The Man With X-Ray Eyes'. In March of 1950, CBS Television debuted a show called "Kuda Bux, Hindu Mystic".

In William Rauscher's book 'The Mind Readers', he relates a story that appeared in Argosy Magazine, July 1952 and was written by author Roald Dahl. The short version of the story is that Kuda and Dahl were discussing his X-Ray eyes and he was asked if he could see through steel. Kuda Bux said no, because he had to be touching the object in order to really see it. So a test was devised where a book was held behind a door, Kuda put his arm through the door, held his hand above the book and within a few moments began to read from the book even though it was completely out of his site!

Later in life, Kuda settled down in Hollywood California and was known for regularly visiting the Magic Castle. It's interesting to note that even though Kuda Bux performed regular magic, and even an illusion show at one time in his career, his blindfold act fooled many magicians to the point they weren't sure if it was a trick or if he could really see without his eyes.  He died in Hollywood on Feb 5th, 1981, just a few days short of his 76th birthday.

Kellar's Sunken Treasure

I've always been intrigued with the story from Harry Kellar's life where he lost all his props in a shipwreck. It's an exciting story and a tragic one and frankly a turning point for Harry Kellar. I had read the account in KELLARS WONDERS by Mike Caveney and Bill Miesel, and the story is also found in the new book THE AMAZING HARRY KELLAR GREAT AMERICAN MAGICIAN by Gail Jarrow. But upon digging, I've discovered some of the details are incorrect.

The shipwreck happened on the evening of Friday August 13th, 1875, not the 18th as listed in the KELLARS WONDERS book. According to the various magic history accounts I've read the ship hit rocks near the Island of Ushant in the Bay of Biscay. This was the region of the shipwreck, but I've discovered some more specifics which give a better idea of exactly where the ship ran ground. First however, let me share with you a little back story that leads up to the shipwreck.

TIME LEADING UP TO SHIPWRECK

After leaving the employment of the Davenport Brothers, William Fay and Harry Kellar joined forces in the Spring of 1873 and began to tour the United States. Calling themselves Fay & Kellar, probably because William Fay was older than Harry and it was a case of age before beauty. Harry Kellar would do the act that he learned while working with the Fakir of Ava and then the conclusion of the show would be a recreation of The Davenport Cabinet, or what is known today as The Spirit Cabinet. The act apparently was not an immediate success as lack of money left them occasionally stranded.

Their luck would change however. Kellar secured some dates for them in Cuba. At the Albisu Theatre in Havana it was said they made over $3000 during their first night on stage. Success continued for them on their tour of Cuba. From there the two went to Mexico and again met with great success. To cut down on their travel expenses they hit upon the novel idea of leaving the Spirit Cabinet behind in each city they played and simply had a new one built when they got to their next destination. Back in this time, the Spirit Cabinet was just that, a very large wooden cabinet. There was nothing faked or gimmicked about it so having the locals build a new one was easy.

Royal Mail Steamship Boyne

From Mexico they sailed on to South America and toured all over the country. The tour of South America was successful with the exception of a couple weeks in December 1874. By July 1875, the South American tour was complete and Fay and Kellar got on board a steamship called the BOYNE and set sail for London. They had smooth sailing across the Atlantic Ocean and made it safely to Lisbon, Portugal.

On Wednesday August 11th, the steamship Boyne set sail from Lisbon for London and there were no problems with the weather until Friday morning when a thick fog set in. At this point they plotted a course which would take them 15 miles west off the coast of Ushant Island. They checked the depth of the sea at 5pm and it was 450 ft deep. Another reading was to be taken at 7:15pm when the forward lookout alerted the captain that rocks were spotted. This information comes from a book called "The Shipwrecked Mariner" dated 1875. The book says "Captain Macauley, who was on the bridge, immediately ordered the engines to be stopped and the helm put hard aport." However, the ship hit the rocks right off the coast of the Island of Molene.


The captain commanded that the lifeboats be lowered and safely got passengers and crew into the boats in a orderly fashion. The book says that this happened 'without confusion'. The lifeboats full with passengers and crew were taken to the Island of Molene. Once the passengers were safe on the island, the captain actually returned and stayed with his ship. The next morning, Saturday August 14th, the ships crew returned via the lifeboats to the Boyne in an effort to salvage what they could.
A few bags belonging to passengers were recovered but most were lost. The Shipwrecked Mariner states that within an hour of hitting the rocks the water level was over the deck and that divers discovered the rocks completely penetrated the bottom of the ship. The Boyne was finished and so were the hopes that Fay & Kellar would be able to retrieve their show equipment and valuables.

TREASURE

According to Harry Kellar's book A Magicians Tour "he had  two chests of curios from Mexico and South America, including stuffed birds, images, a Mexican Saddle mounted with solid silver, a Mexican suit that cost $500, and specimens of the gold and silver currency of every country he had visited. He also had about $8000 worth of cut and uncut Brazilian diamonds". The estimated loss amounted to around twenty-five thousand dollars. Given that this baggage has been underwater for 137 years, I wouldn't think that the clothes or much of the curios would still be recoverable. However, gold and silver coins and diamonds, you bet!

If the diamonds alone were worth $8,000 back then, they'd be worth over $100,000.00 today. 

I would have to say that the drawing of the shipwrecked Boyne, along with the knowledge that the ships final resting place was off the coast of the Island of Molene gives a pretty good description where the shipwreck remains. Unfortunately for me, I'm not a diver. But if you find it due to my help, I'll happily accept a finders fee :)   

UPDATE
It would appear (see comment by Joseph P below) that some of the gold and diamonds had been found by the crew during salvage efforts. One of the articles states the crew was helping themselves and when they were discovered, they tossed the items back into the sea. The men were arrested.
Another attempt to bring up the valuables was attempted but it produced nothing. According to the article in the Otaga Daily Times, Oct 26th 1875, it was believed the treasure had either been secretly removed or sunk so deeply into the sand as to be near impossible to find.
So it appears that Kellar's treasure was either pilfered by the crew or probably lost forever. 

References
Besides the Kellar books mentioned in the article, I also used 'The Shipwrecked Mariner' page 232.
And a large section of this blog article was taken from a previous blog article I wrote on William Fay.