It's Over. D.C. Symposium on Magic History

So many highlights to record I'm not sure where to start. Well, let's begin with the auction which was fun to watch, but I got there too late to register for it. There were several Houdini items and some props that had belonged to Tampa and Raymond posters. There was some really cool stuff. But the most amazing piece was brought from California to DC by Mike Caveney. It was a contract, written in Russian for Houdini's tour of Russia. It was amazingly signed with both Harry Houdini's signature and Erich Weiss's signature. It sold for $10,000 to Bill Kalush, but word is he purchased it for someone else who has a big ass warehouse in Las Vegas, at least that's the gossip going around. It was exciting to watch the bidding on that and kudos to Bill Kalush for picking it up regardless of the gossip. Honestly, I hope he bought it for his own collection.

The afternoon lectures were interesting. There was a fellow who was an American of Indian decent named Shreeyash Palshikar who spent some time in India learning about the magicians there and he shared his knowledge of Indian Magic History which I found fascinating. I really enjoyed his lecture.

James Hamilton lectured on Alexander Herrmann and his smoking habits. He concluded by showing an item that Herrmann kept at his home which looked like an odd cigar box which could be showed empty and then a moment later would be filled with cigars. The top of the box had a cigar cutter in it and in the top section there was a place for matches and a striking surface. The prop belonged to John Daniel and was willed to James Hamilton. I talked with James about it the day before and mentioned that it looked to me to be a Martinka Drawer Box and he agreed it did and it was possible that it was made by them, but he wasn't 100% sure who manufactured it. What was certain was that it did belong to Alexander Herrmann.

The third speaker was Will Given who talked about The Davenport Brothers. Having just completed a bunch of research on the brothers a while back, I didn't expect there to be anything new in here to me. And in fact, when I first posted this blog I had forgotten about something he said that was NEW to me. I really enjoyed his talk!
 By the way, the night before (Friday) Bill Kalush mentioned finding a manuscript written by Houdini which had the 'real work' on the Davenport Rope Tie which has NEVER been revealed anywhere.

The evening had a big delay in the show because one of the acts had not showed up. I think it was just a miscommunication and the show was up and running around 9pm. Darwin Ortiz did a fine job and there were a few lay people sitting behind me that were going especially nuts over his performance!
OH, the M.C. was my old friend Bob Sheets. Bob is like the go-to guy for this kind of thing locally. I always enjoy watching Bob work. He was really funny tonight.

The middle act was the Shreeyash Palshikar  and he opened with a rendition of the Indian Cups and Balls which is different from the cups and balls that we all know. I was familiar with what he was going to do because I recently watched a DVD with Charlie Miller discussing the Indian version of the trick. His version was quite good.

Then Bob came out and did a bit and introduced Eric Henning. He is a local performer and he did two tricks with borrowed rings and also the Linking Rings. Next up was a special guest, Pernel Zorch. If you don't know this name it is Al Cohen, the former magic shop owner and super nice guy. He created a character back in the late 1970s that was a comic magician character. Al actually got me involved slightly as well. He said he was going to do the needle through balloon but couldn't because he didnt have any props. Then I held up a Needle to his surprise and someone else produced a balloon. Then Al went into his routine where the needle bent while trying to push it through a balloon. Funny Stuff! He spoke a little about his creation of the character and then a video was shown of Al doing the act at a convention and it was hysterical.

Bob Sheets came back with more of his zany magic and finally the Indian Magician Shreeyash   returned to the stage to do the East Indian Needle Trick, a Needle through arm and an interesting version of the Sands of Egypt, or in this case, Sands of India trick.

Oh I almost forgot that Johnny Fox was there and he also did a sword swallowing spot on the show plus a tribute to Nate Leipzig which you had to see to believe. 

With that, I said good bye to some friends, headed to the dealer room and packed my artwork and bolted. I was exhausted. Sadly, there were several people I didnt get to say goodbye too, but I'm sure I'll see them all again soon.

On a personal note, I had a fun lunch with Wayne Alan today where we mostly talked Houdini. I had dinner with my friend Adele and Trixie Bond and her husband Mark and it was a very fun time. I got to meet and talk with John Gaughan for a bit today and also met Gary Hunt who is a fellow researcher into the life of Wyman the Wizard! He showed me photos of Wyman's House in NJ. So cool to see. And there were other things that went on this weekend that I'm sure I'll remember in a few days but my brain is fried right now from lack of sleep.

OH crap, I just remembered something. I got to meet Arthur Moses today who is a big Houdini collector. I was going to buy some stuff from him but completely forgot. Arthur if you're reading this, I'll put in an order via the web!

Big thanks go out to Ken Trombly and Elliot Blatt who put together a great convention. And also, Ken Norris and Tom Olenick who did the audio visual stuff behind the scenes and kept the conference running seamlessly. Tom Ewing did a GREAT job as the auctioneer and for M.C.ing many of the events. Also a big thank you to my friend Adele for encouraging me to come to this. It was my first magic history conference and I had a wonderful time!

Day 2 DC Magic History Symposium

I can't report too much on Day 2 because I missed 2/3rds of the days events. I understand that the attendees enjoyed the Library of Congress though there were issues with the buses. I missed the afternoon lectures, so I'll have to catch up on some of that tomorrow.

I arrived at 8pm, just in time to see the first speaker, John MacLaughlin. He spoke about Magic, Espionage and the CIA. It was an incredible talk and I was frankly enthralled the entire time. So well put together and interesting throughout. He was a tough act to follow.

In the second spot was Bill Kalush, who frankly did an excellent job as well. When you come upon NEW Houdini material it's big news and he had some new Houdini stuff to share. A lost/forgotten manuscript that Houdini had written has been found. He also shared his thoughts and insights on the story of Houdini having to cut a whole in the ice to escape from a river. It was great and I hope I have some time tomorrow to meet and chat with Bill.

The final speaker was Dale Salwak who spoke about Magic and Magicians in North Korea. Also, fascinating and delivered with sincerity and passion. He is correct when he says that magic is a language that overcomes barriers and politics and can bring people together. I applaud his work and I also hope to get to meet him tomorrow.

I forgot to mention seeing my friend Joe Pecore at the event yesterday. Joe is a great guy, magic history lover and is Mr. Magicpedia, and a good friend as well. He's invited me to work on a project in the fall that is very exciting, so I'll share more about that in the future.

I had to say goodbye to my friend Scott Humston who was in the area visiting and came to the conference yesterday and today, but he is going to miss everything tomorrow because he and his family have to get back to Florida for shows on Monday. I can understand this because I missed most of today from shows. Safe travels.

I chatted a little with Wayne Alan both yesterday and today and Wayne is the fellow putting on the Houdini Festival in Danville at the end of June. We'll be talking about that more tomorrow so I'll have more information about that festival in the near future.

OH, I got to see my old friend Richard Kaufman who I haven't seen in years. Richard lives not all that far from me, but it seems like forever since I've seen him. It was good to see him again. Oh and speaking of folks I haven't seen in years, Charles Green is another local who I've not seen in a long time. It was nice to see Charles, though we didn't get to chat but for a moment.

I saw Al Cohen from a distance, I hope to see him again tomorrow.
I sold three paintings and had to bring two back as it looks like they are now reserved for another buyer. So not bad.  I hope to sell more tomorrow, but I'm not sure how it's going to go. This was a test run to see how they'd sell.


Looking forward to tomorrow!



OH WAIT! I almost forgot, yesterday I met Diego Domingo. I missed his talk today, but yesterday he showed me a grave photo of someone that really surprised me. And tonight he told me about another grave that he had found. Turns out Diego has also uncovered the life history of George White, the assistant to Howard Thurston, who later worked for a time for Dante. Diego had given this talk a couple years ago for another Magic History Conference and he was kind enough to share some of the details with me. WOW, it was incredible! 

Day 1 DC Symposium on Magic History

So I just got home a few minutes ago after a long day at the conference. Now, when I say long day, I mean that in the best way. I was up at 6am and arrived home around 12:30am. But all the stuff that went on today was fantastic. My booth with my artwork looks fantastic and I have a primo spot! (thank you again Ken Trombly). My booth is next to Ray Goulet but the day was so busy I hardly had time to say hello.

Dean, Adele and her Boss!

The conference didn't really begin until 8pm, but the dealers room opened in the afternoon. I sort of expected my booth to be the oddball because, #1, no actual magic history items, though it was filled with paintings of historical magicians, and #2, not many people know me. However, as it turns out, a LOT of people there know me! I saw a lot of friends, like the lovely and charming Adele Friel Rhindress who worked for Blackstone Sr. and is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world.
I got to see my friend Trixie Bond and her husband and see more pictures of a special project she had done in her 'magic room' using some of my artwork. It was wonderful.

I spent an hour+ talking to James Hamilton about Alexander Herrmann. I've wanted to meet James for years and it was a joy talking to him and learning about his vast knowledge of Herrmann. OH, and he let me know I need to make a correction to one of my blog articles, which has a slight error! I will be changing that after I finish this.

I met Rory Feldman who owns a huge Thurston collection. He didn't have a booth or a display, he is just attending the conference. I was very glad to finally meet him. He couldn't be a nicer fellow and I'm looking forward to seeing his collection up in NYC soon.

Carnegie, Adele, Rory

I met a couple local guys, Mike Rose, who actually helped me out with a Joe Karson piece for my blog, but this was the first time we met face to face. Also a fellow named John Martin who collects Magic Posters was there and we talked for quite a while. Nice guys both. And Lee Asher's Dad, well, I might have to write a blog article just about our conversation alone, it was awesome!

I must say I met so many wonderful people today that I know I'm going to forget some and I apologize for that. Bill Schmeelk from Wellington Enterprises came over and admired my artwork. Ron Cartlidge also spent some time at my booth. Sara Crasson, who is a lawyer and magician had some very intriguing things to say about magic and intellectual property laws and she is writing a column for GENII about it. So I've got to check that out.

But I know you all want to know about the evening talks. Well, there was some confusion about the list of speakers, which I'm not quite sure what happened, but Eric Henning had to take over the opening spot and gave a talk on Charles Bertram which I really enjoyed. Next was David Saltman, who has the wonderful blog www.houdinifile.com. He spoke on Jerry Andrus and Houdini and his talk was great. He had a lot of footage of Jerry presenting his optical illusions and a little magic. It was awesome! I frankly can't wait for his book to come out, which is about Houdini's time in Russia. If you remember, I wrote a blog about Houdini's time in Russia also, but David has uncovered far more than I did.

There were two fellows who spoke about the John Salisse Magic Collection and I forget their names but I really enjoyed their talk. The posters they acquired are incredible and apparently one of the fellows has given a talk on Dr. Lynn,which I must find more about!

Tom Ewing did a great job M.C.ing the activities of the night and Rich Bloch made a surprise appearance accepting awards for both Nick Ruggerio and Carl Williams, neither of whom was able to attend.

I met Bruce MacNab in the dealer room and finally got his book, but I'll miss his talk tomorrow. Though he said he would fill me in once I returned, so I'm looking forward to that. I have to say, for my first magic history conference, I am having a GREAT TIME!

Oh, I almost forgot, just before they closed the dealer room near midnight, I got to meet the fellow who bought the Robert Heller Hat! I'm so glad he came up to say hello. I'm glad that hat has a new home and someone who appreciates Heller's contribution to the art.

More news tomorrow...

Magic Site Seeing in the Nation's Capital

Originally this blog article was specifically for those attending the Washington D.C. Symposium on Magic History. I wanted to share with you some interesting sites to see while you are in town that are all magic related. But now the S.A.M. Convention is here, so for all those attending please enjoy this guide as well!

1. The location of the old Al's Magic Shop. If you knew Al Cohen, or had ever been to the shop, you know what a great guy Al was as a demonstrator. His shop was a hang out for many over the years. The final location of the shop was at 1012 Vermont Avenue NW. The original shop location was torn down in the late 1970s.

2. Robert Heller spots. Robert Heller was a resident of Washington D.C. for several years. Neither of his homes are still there, but I will give you the locations. The first place he lived in Washington is 260 F. Street NW. which is today a parking lot that is at the corner of 3rd and F st. St. (see link)
The next place that William Henry Palmer/Robert Heller lived in D.C. was 447 13th Street NW. Today the Warner Theatre sits at this location. He also played piano at the Church of the Epiphany at 1317 G St NW, Washington, DC.

3.  HOUDINI in D.C.. Harry Houdini was all over the D.C. First spot would be Old Ebbitt's Grill,

which is located across the street from the Treasury Building at 675 15th St NW. This is the location of Keith's Vaudeville Theatre and also the spot where in January 12th of 1922 Houdini hung upside down and escaped from a Straight Jacket.  If you walk up the street to the brown building you can get almost the identical view as seen in the photo to the left. Slightly down the street from Keith's Vaudeville Theatre location is the 'W' Hotel, which used to be the Hotel Washington and Bess and Harry stayed here several times on their visits to D.C. That hotel was also featured in the Godfather Movie.
Houdini's first hanging straight jacket escape in D.C. was from the Munsey Building which today is the J W Marriott Hotel at 1331 Pennsylvania Ave NW. Houdini also performed at the Chase Theatre while in town but it's long gone. The Old DC Jail where Houdini escaped from the cell of the assasin of President Garfield was located at 625 Park Road NW in D.C.(it is no longer there, a church stands in the lot where the jail used to be). See also, Capital Building and White House.
This link also describes the Challenges Houdini presented while in D.C. http://www.themagicdetective.com/2011/01/houdini-dc-challenges.html

4. Harry Kellar in D.C. Kellar performed a number of places in D.C. including the National Theatre (see address below) The Columbia Theatre 1112 F St NW but is gone now and Ford's Theatre on 511 10th St NW. 
 
5. The National Theatre 1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW. This is a historic theatre which still happens to be open and operational. Magicians who had performed there include: Robert Heller, Alexander Herrmann, Harry Kellar, Harry Blackstone Sr. and Penn and Teller.

6. National Theatre/Helen Hayes Theatre this is a smaller theatre within the National Theatre. During the Civil War days it was a pool hall frequented by none other than John Wilkes Booth. Today it's a small theatre where performances are given on select Mondays and Saturdays throughout the year. Countless D.C. area magicians have performed in this room, including ME!

7. MAX MALINI in D.C. Malini performed in several places in D.C. including The Willard Hotel
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (Houdini and Bess were also known to stay at this hotel). The Roosevelt Hotel 2101 16th St NW Washington is another spot where Max Malini set up shop, but today they are apartments. See also Capital Building and White House.

9. Alexander Herrmann in D.C.. Herrmann the Great appeared at the National Theatre (see address above) and also performed along with Compars Herrmann at the White House in the East Room to entertain none other than Abraham Lincoln.

10. Wyman The Wizard in D.C. John Wyman Jr. performed at Odd Fellows Hall fairly regularly when he was in Washington at 419 7th St N.W. He also performed for President Lincoln at the White House in the East Room. Wyman lived on 6th St in D.C. but I don't have an exact address and I'm sure the building is gone.

11. Signor Blitz in D.C. There is a story of Blitz running into Abraham Lincoln at the Summer White House (known today as Lincoln's Cottage) 140 Rock Creek Church Rd NW where Blitz did some magic and the President and magician had an interesting exchange.

12. The Capital Building & White House. There is more 'magic' going on in these places than any magician could ever do! But I'll give you a brief run down of some historical moments. Max Malini bit the button off Senator Hanna's coat on the steps of the Capital Building. Malini also gave an impromptu performance in the Marble Room of the Capital. Houdini gave his testimony before Congress at the Capital Building during the debate over Fortune Telling in the district.

The White House has seen countless magicians. Alexander & Compars Herrmann performed for Lincoln in the East Room of the White House. Houdini was known to have been invited to the White House. Howard Thurston performed there during the White House Easter Egg Roll, as did Al Cohen,
David Williamson, Silly Billy, the entire cast of the Le Grand David Spectacular Magic Company from Beverly Mass, Doug Henning, Harry Blackstone Jr., Steve Wyrick, Wayne Alan, Trixie Bond, Ralph The Great, Dean Carnegie, Dave Risley, Mac King, Ken Scott, Mark Daniel, Ray Goulet, Mike Bent, Emanuel Shabum, Eric Henning, The Pro Kids Show performers, Adam Ace, James Wand, and many many others from all over the WORLD!

13. Henry Ridgely Evans in D.C. Henry Ridgely Evans the prolific magic writer lived in D.C. and is buried here. His grave is in the Oak Hill Cemetery 3001 R St NW. Grave location: Stewart- Lot 610 East

14. Fords Theatre in D.C.. Of course, this is the historic theatre at 511 10th St NW where President Lincoln was shot. But it was also a spot where Harry Kellar performed and then years later, Lance Burton, The Pendragons and others have performed there for the Gala for The President. This building once had a sister location in Baltimore where Harry Kellar passed his mantle to Howard Thurston. That Ford's Theatre is no longer there.

15. Next is the Library of Congress which has quite a lot of magic posters and ephemera in it's collection. The Houdini collection is housed in the Jefferson Building and I think you need an appointment.

DC Magic History Conference THIS WEEK!!!!

Hi Friends, One more reminder about the Washington Symposium on Magic History which starts this week, on Thursday April 25 to be exact.

It's going to be GREAT! There are a lot of exciting talks in store and the list of folks in the dealers room is amazing! OH, and yours truly will have a booth in the dealers room with my paintings for sale and info on the Magic Detective. I'll also be doing a lot of networking to set up interviews with folks for future episodes of The Magic Detective Youtube Show which I hope to start back up very soon.

So, if you've not yet signed up, please do so....(if you love magic history that is). And if you are attending, please be sure to stop by my booth and check out the artwork and even BUY some if you want! I rarely sell my paintings but I've recently decided to move some of the older pieces to make room for the new stuff. I hope to see you there!

Houdini in D.C. 97 Years Ago Today

Harry Houdini was in the Nation's Capital, Washington D.C. on April 19th, 1916 and he had a busy day scheduled. He was going to present what I think was his FIRST hanging straight jacket escape in Washington that day. There was an enormous crowd that had gathered to watch Houdini attempt the impossible. The Washington Times newspaper said that there were more than 15,000 spectators who came out to watch Houdini. The paper also said "Persons who saw the great throng from windows of nearby buildings said it was the biggest crowd ever assembled in Washington at one place except for the inauguration of a President."

Houdini was appearing at the Keith's Vaudeville Theatre on 15th, which was about a block from where the straight jacket escape would take place. This particular escape is not the one captured in the famous photo of Houdini hanging upside down in front of the Treasury Building. In fact, that escape took place in 1922. The first hanging straight jacket escape by Houdini in Washington D.C. took place in front of the Munsey Building. It was also known as the Times Building and today is known as the Marriott Building. It is located right next to the National Theatre at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street. I am assuming Houdini hung on the side facing Pennsylvania Avenue because he would be seen by more spectators from that side. Due to the fact it was the Times Building probably explains the front page coverage of his escape in the Washington Times Newspaper.

Houdini in a Straight Jacket (not from D.C. stunt however)*

The paper says that a derrick was erected and hung out of a 5th floor window. Ropes and pulleys were attached to this which would later raise Houdini from the ground. The straight jacket he was placed in seems to be different from the standard. The paper says "Houdini was strapped into this jacket with his arms bound to his sides with heavy leather bands and buckles. His hands were in front of him and all of the buckles were in the back where he could not possibly reach them." It sounds like a slightly different kind of jacket because of the leather bands that held Houdini's arms to his sides. But it could have just been a normal leather straight jacket and this was how the reporter perceived it.

Houdini was raised between 75-100 ft in the air and freed himself in 2.5 minutes.

Houdini gives an interview to the newspaper before the escape and has this to say, "I've about reached my limit, it seems to me. For the last thirty years, or thereabouts, I've been getting out of all sorts of things human ingenuity has devised to confine a human being. Up to date there hasn't been anything made that confined my activities to any alarming extent. But some day some chap is going to make one. And I'm going to quit with a clean record before he comes along. I've about made up my mind that this is the last stunt I'll perform. Hereafter, I intend to work entirely with my brain. See these gray hairs? They mean something. I'm not as young as I was. I've had to work hard to keep ahead of the procession. I'll still be entertaining the public for many years to come. But I intend to do it along lines not quite so spectacular. As an escapist extraordinary I feel that I'm about through."

Houdini said that in 1916 and he would have been 42 years old. But apparently, he did not retire from escapes as he continued to do them for another 10 years, until his untimely death.

*The photo is not from the 1916 D.C. Straight Jacket Escape. I did find a photo that 'might' have been from that escape because of the configuration of the jacket, but I don't know who owns it so I just skipped by it.

Also, the above link on the Munsey Building will take you to an article I wrote about Houdini's D.C. Challenges and there is a photo of the building as it looked around the time of Houdini.

The Challenge Houdini Refused

Houdini accepted many challenges throughout his life. In truth, he set up many of those very challenges. But in October of 1921 Houdini was hit with the most darling challenge of his life! I found this little story in the Oct 2, 1921 edition of the Saginaw News Courier. The headline of the article reads "HOUDINE Stopped, Wife is Reason He Can't Go Through". Yes, they spelled his name wrong in the headline.

Apparently, Houdini received a letter from a young lady in Auckland, New Zealand. In the letter she said she was 18 and alone and had an annuity of 2500 pounds per year and she was 'willing to accept a proposal of marriage from Houdini'. The letter went on to say "she knew by his motion pictures that he was an honorable man and therefore had implicit confidence in him. She suggests that if he will cable her she will come by the first convenient boat to become "personally acquainted" with him."

She goes on to say "They can keep company for three months and if after that time they find they are not mutually fit she can return home. She adds, she is not stage struck, but simply thinks that fate will be kind."

The article concludes that the only thing standing in the way from Houdini accepting the challenge is...Mrs. Houdini! (What a spoiled sport she was!)

I would like to add, for the sake of clarity, that any rich or fairly well off single ladies, with a modeling background, who are interested in testing out this theory in the 21st Century, I have no Mrs. Houdini, or Mrs. Carnegie as it were, to get in the way. And you need not come by boat! But you should send a photo first :)

Steve Baker Mr. Escape Update

I spoke with a friend of mine today, Steve Baker, known professionally as Mr. Escape. Steve is in his 70s now and not in the best health. He has had a number of serious health scares and was in a rehab/nursing home for quite a while. Though he is home now, I can tell he's not the same. As we spoke today he went on and on about how puzzled he is that no one contacts him. I mentioned the fact that maybe it had something to do with the fact that he doesn't give out his phone number, he no longer has email and no one has his address. His response, "I have email". So I followed that up with, "really, for three years you've been telling me that you needed to get your computer working again. So you've got it working now?". He replied "yes." So I sent him an email after we got off the phone and it bounced back, exactly as I expected it would. I get the impression that in his mind he thinks it's several years ago. I know for a while he was having a serious issue with short term memory, but they've amazingly got that resolved.

He is surely a controversial figure. He's probably pissed off more people in the magic world than I've even met! And yet, he can count some very big names as good friends. He's always had a combative nature to him which is unfortunate because the 'everyday Steve' is a pretty nice fellow. But I also am aware of the honory side of Steve that probably did more to get him in trouble than help him. I can't tell you how many fires I've tried to put out where he was concerned, sometimes it worked, often times it didn't. But escape artists by nature are complex people and then again, aren't we all.

Below is a video from last year of Steve while he was in the Nursing Home. An effort was made to bring back his belongings from his California storage unit. For the record, everything was brought back through the efforts of Theresa Greenwood and some friends of hers. At any rate you can see Steve as he looked then. I believe he is doing a little better now, though his memory is spotty sometimes.

Chung Ling Soo's Warehouse

Back in 2010, I wrote a short piece about Chung Ling Soo's House in London and I mentioned that he had a warehouse in the back but that I had no photo of it. Well now I do! Thank to Jon Becker, who brought this to my attention.

The photo is of the warehouse and apparently in recent years there were attempts to demolish the site which did not happen and now there is an application in to see if the developer can convert it into a residential dwelling.

Mr. Becker is researching Donald Stevenson, who worked for Soo and was also the person who took possession of Harry Houdini's airplane. How amazing it would be to one day locate this priceless gem...if it still exists. At least it would be nice to know what eventually happened to it.

Happy American Birthday Houdini

Harry Houdini was born March 24th, 1926, but for whatever reason he always claimed April 6th as his birthday. There are numerous theories on why, but I'm not really certain. But John Cox over at WildAboutHoudini has a great piece on why, so check that out!  I think it's just another thing that makes him an unusual and fascinating character. He had two birthdates and two birth locations (Budapest Hungary and Appleton Wisconsin). Happy Birthday Harry!

Robert Houdin Mystery Clock for Sale

I just saw on eBay a Robert Houdini Mystery Clock. I've actually seen several of them in real life, but I can't recall ever seeing one up for sale. It has a price tag of $30,000 which is pocket change to my most of my readers (ok, maybe not most).

The link to the item is http://www.ebay.com/itm/JEAN-EUGENE-ROBERT-HOUDIN-GLASS-COLUMN-MYSTERY-CLOCK-CA-1870S-RARE-/230958035789

It's being sold by MAGICINVESTMENTS which is Mario Carrandi's ebay store. By the way, he also has a beautiful three sheet Thurston poster for sale http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-POSTER-THURSTON-3-SHEET-PORTRAIT-/261139862934?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccd261596

D.C. Magic History Conference Coming

Big News! Yours truly, The Magic Detective, will be at the Washington Symposium on Magic History April 25-27! I will have a booth in the dealers room with a bunch of my artwork for sale and information on this blog. I'm also hoping to arrange some interviews with people for upcoming editions of The Magic Detective Show on Youtube.

I will NOT be speaking at the event however. Which is fine for me as I already have a very busy schedule as it is. I really want to encourage folks interested in the history of magic to come on out. AND if you live in the Washington D.C. metro area, you really NEED to be here. These kinds of events don't often take place in our neck of the woods so this is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the history of magic, see some incredible artifacts and meet some awesome people!

For more information on the Symposium, click this link! http://www.magicposters.com/conference_2013/main/

One Year Ago A Great Man Left Us

I can hardly believe one year has passed since my friend Cesareo Pelaez passed away. I've written about him many times on this blog. Probably the two most influential people in my life were Houdini and Cesareo, one was born this day and one passed away this day. I never met Houdini but I did get to meet Cesareo. I often refer to Cesareo as my mentor though I didn't get to spend anywhere near the amount of time with him that I would have liked.

He was the creator and director of Le Grand David Magic Show in Beverly Mass. He was also a highly regarded professor of psychology and he was many many other things but most of all he was my friend. I always think of the saying, "When the student is ready the teacher will come." And yet I never took a class with Cesareo. Instead, we had a number of conversations together over the years which always held some jewel of knowledge. His occasional emails were also inspiring to me as well. For some reason I quickly understood his way of thinking and could usually figure out what Cesareo might do in a given situation. That understanding would help me greatly in the future and it continues to help me today.

I often hear Cesearo in my head when I'm contemplating a new idea or trying to make my mind up about something. Most recently, when I was considering a huge change in the direction of my show I could sense Cesareo smiling in approval. And as I moved further into that new direction many of the things he told me over the years appeared. It was like instant approval from my friend.

I miss him greatly. I miss all my friends in Beverly right now and am thinking of them on this day.

First Annual HOUDINI Festival in Virginia

This is wonderful news. Illusionist and theatre owner, Wayne Alan, is producing what he intends to make an annual event, The HOUDINI Festival, in Danville Virginia. Wayne is the owner of the The Historic North Theatre in Danville. He is also an award winning illusionist, corporate magician and a big Houdini fan.

The dates for the First Annual Houdini Festival are June 21&22, 2013. On Friday evening June 21, there will be a close-up magic show in the Balcony's Mini-theatre that seats only 100. On Saturday there will be a display of Houdini memorabilia, also lectures and viewings of two of Houdini's movies. In the basement of the theatre you can see an attraction called Houdini's Haunted House. Then in the evening there will be a gala show on the main stage with top magicians and variety artists.

Wayne has a few special connections to Houdini. One of them was recreating Houdini's upside down hanging straight jacket escape in the same location in Washington D.C. that Houdini presented it. He also owns some unique Houdini memorabilia that will be on display during the event.

Tickets to the festival can be purchased by calling 434-793-7469 or visit the theatre website at www.TheNorthTheatre.com The theatre is located at 629 N. Main St in Danville, VA.

WayFriday, June 21 in the evening, the theatre will host some of the country's top sleight of hand experts for an intimate show of close-up magic in the Balcony Mini Theatre that only seats 100. Saturday, June 22 during the day there will be a display of Houdini memorabilia, viewings of two of his famous movies, plus lectures and demonstrations (two are Top Secret- for magicians only). The Halloween attraction, Houdini's Haunted House, in the theatre's basement, will also be open during the festival. Saturday evening there will be a gala stage show featuring some of America's top magicians and variety performers.

Read more about Danville's Historic North Theatre to Host 1st Annual Houdini Festival, 6/21-22 by raleigh.broadwayworld.com

Friday, June 21 in the evening, the theatre will host some of the country's top sleight of hand experts for an intimate show of close-up magic in the Balcony Mini Theatre that only seats 100. Saturday, June 22 during the day there will be a display of Houdini memorabilia, viewings of two of his famous movies, plus lectures and demonstrations (two are Top Secret- for magicians only). The Halloween attraction, Houdini's Haunted House, in the theatre's basement, will also be open during the festival. Saturday evening there will be a gala stage show featuring some of America's top magicians and variety performers.

Read more about Danville's Historic North Theatre to Host 1st Annual Houdini Festival, 6/21-22 by raleigh.broadwayworld.com

Friday, June 21 in the evening, the theatre will host some of the country's top sleight of hand experts for an intimate show of close-up magic in the Balcony Mini Theatre that only seats 100. Saturday, June 22 during the day there will be a display of Houdini memorabilia, viewings of two of his famous movies, plus lectures and demonstrations (two are Top Secret- for magicians only). The Halloween attraction, Houdini's Haunted House, in the theatre's basement, will also be open during the festival. Saturday evening there will be a gala stage show featuring some of America's top magicians and variety performers.

Read more about Danville's Historic North Theatre to Host 1st Annual Houdini Festival, 6/21-22 by raleigh.broadwayworld.com

riday, June 21 in the evening, the theatre will host some of the country's top sleight of hand experts for an intimate show of close-up magic in the Balcony Mini Theatre that only seats 100. Saturday, June 22 during the day there will be a display of Houdini memorabilia, viewings of two of his famous movies, plus lectures and demonstrations (two are Top Secret- for magicians only). The Halloween attraction, Houdini's Haunted House, in the theatre's basement, will also be open during the festival. Saturday evening there will be a gala stage show featuring some of America's top magicians and variety performers.

Read more about Danville's Historic North Theatre to Host 1st Annual Houdini Festival, 6/21-22 by raleigh.broadwayworld.com

riday, June 21 in the evening, the theatre will host some of the country's top sleight of hand experts for an intimate show of close-up magic in the Balcony Mini Theatre that only seats 100. Saturday, June 22 during the day there will be a display of Houdini memorabilia, viewings of two of his famous movies, plus lectures and demonstrations (two are Top Secret- for magicians only). The Halloween attraction, Houdini's Haunted House, in the theatre's basement, will also be open during the festival. Saturday evening there will be a gala stage show featuring some of America's top magicians and variety performers.

Read more about Danville's Historic North Theatre to Host 1st Annual Houdini Festival, 6/21-22 by raleigh.broadwayworld.com

Happy Birthday HOUDINI

Today marks the 139th Birthday of Erich Weiss who would go on to be known around the world as Harry Houdini. He was an amazing individual and a controversial figure as well. He was born in Budapest Hungary on March 24th, 1874 to parents Rabbi Samuel Mayer Weiss and his wife Cecelia. You would think by now we would know all there is to know about Harry Houdini. But it seems that we learn new things about him each year. New photographs continue to turn up of this famous man.

He was more than a magician and much more than an escape artist. He truly was a superstar in his time and his stardom just continued to grow after his death until he grew into legendary status. There were many fellow artists in his time, people like: Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Gloria Swanson, W. C. Fields, Rudolph Valentino and others. But stop and ask twenty to thirty year old if they recognize any of these people and they might, recognize one. But if you say the name HOUDINI, they all know who he was.

Even young kids today know the name Houdini. They don't know David Copperfield, Lance Burton, David Blaine, Penn and Teller and many have already forgotten Criss Angel, but they will know Houdini. It's a testament to his popularity and a sign that the only celebrities that really live on in the minds of the public are the legends.

Happy 139th Birthday Harry. You keep getting better with age!

Oh and as I reported here a couple years ago, born in 1887, March 24th, Rosco 'Fatty' Arbuckle

More on George-Supreme Master of Magic

Last Summer, I wrote an article about Grover George, the magician who basically got run out of town by Howard Thurston. I recently was contacted by a relative of Grover George and she was kind enough to forward the above photo and some additional details on the life of her Great Uncle.

I've learned that Grover's father A.A. George represented him during the lawsuit with Thurston. Also that a nephew went on tour with Grover and during the tour got either poked or bit by the company Lion, Ruthie. The young nephew had the scar on his finger to prove it. The lion later escaped while the company was in Chicago and apparently was shot by police.

There may be more stories coming! It's always such a pleasure to get in touch with relatives of these magicians that so many of us still admire. Because of this blog I've heard from family members related to Robert Heller, Harry & Bess Houdini, Nate Leipzig, Grover George, Harry Cooke and others. It is always an honor to speak with these folks and I'm sure I will yet meet many more as time goes on!

The original article on Grover George can be found here: http://www.themagicdetective.com/2012/07/george-supreme-master-of-magic.html

D.C. Magic History Conference UPDATE

I received a very nice email from Ken Trombly the main organizer of the Washington Symposium on Magic History that takes place April 25-27, 2013. He has just added two speakers to the list of an already superb line-up.

(screen shot of David's blog The Houdini Files)

David Saltman is going to be speaking about Jerry Andrus. David will also reveal some details about his new book 'The Escape Artist' which deals with Houdini's time in Russia. I'm very excited to hear about both of these topics. David also runs the blog Houdinifile.com which I have now put up a permanent link here on the site, and I'm sorry I didn't put it up before, I dropped the ball on that one. Not only does David cover some great historical items about Houdini and Magic History he also includes BATMAN! You can't get better than that!

Next we have the author of the new book 'Metamorphosis', Bruce McNab. This is the book about the early years of Houdini while he was in Canada. According to several of my trusted Houdini friends this book is a must read. I have not yet gotten a copy of the book, but I know it's going to be fantastic. When they put a quote on the cover by John Cox, you know the book is going to be good.

There will be plenty of other talks at the conference as well covering topics like Alexander Herrmann, the 1970 close-up magic scene, the magic of North Korea with film footage, Charles Bertram and still more! In addition the conference will honor Carl Williams and Nick Ruggerio. The last time I saw Nick, he gave a talk for our SAM group in Northern VA and we surprised him with a special appearance by Blackstone Sr.! Hmm, I've never written about that before, I guess I just found another article to write about :)

This will be my very first magic history conference and I can't tell you how excited I am. For one, I know I'll be meeting a bunch of the folks who read my blog and the many folks I've been corresponding with for quite some time. I may even have a booth there with my artwork. Here is the link for the conference! I hope to see you there.

Oz, The Great & Powerful...Magician

A new movie debuts today called 'OZ, The Great and Powerful' and is a prequel to the popular movie The Wizard of Oz.  The story began as a book, The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (1900) by Lyman Frank Baum.

L.Frank Baum was born May 15, 1856 in Chittenango NY. He had been a life long lover of theatre and tried unsuccessfully to have a career in theatre. His writings did much better for him, though he did take his story The Wonderful Wizard of OZ and turn it into a theatrical play called The Wizard of OZ.

In the original story, the Wizard is a traveling magician who works for a circus. Through a freak accident on a balloon ride, the wizard finds himself in the land of Oz. His full name was Oscar Zoroaster  Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs which abbreviated spells out
"O.Z.P.I.N.H.E.A.D", he shortened it further to simply OZ.  He becomes the ruler of OZ probably because of his magical abilities and his name OZ written across his hot air balloon.

During the same period of time, the preeminent magician in the United States was a fellow named Harry Kellar. He had been a world traveling magician, but after the deaths of the English magician Robert Heller and the European magician Herrmann the Great, Kellar had the title all to his own.

Heinrich Keller (Harry Kellar) however was born here in America, in Erie PA on July 11, 1849. He was not a circus magician, but he certainly was a traveling magician. He apprenticed under the Fakir of Ava, then went out to manage the famous Davenport Brothers. He left the Davenports and took William Fay with him and they started their own act, traveling through Mexico, South America and beyond. However, on their way to Europe, the ship they were on hit rocks and sunk, taking all the money Kellar and Fay had made on their trip, as well as their costumes and props for their show and leaving them at the bottom of the sea.

Bad luck would not plague Kellar forever and he eventually came into his own. In 1900, the year the Wonderful Wizard of OZ was published, Kellar was the #1 magician in the country.

I've heard it said that Kellar was the inspiration for the character of the Wizard of OZ. Mike Caveney, the well known magician and magic historian has said this in interviews. But I checked his book called "KELLARS WONDERS" and I didn't see any reference to it (though it's possible I missed it).

The connection is mentioned in the Gail Jarrow book on Harry Kellar called "Harry Kellar Great American Magician", although she says that readers of the book 'The Wonderful Wizard of OZ' will recognize the wizard as being like Harry Kellar.

I recall watching the movie 'The Wizard of OZ' as a kid and remembering fondly the character played by Frank Morgan, the Professor Marvel character and later the Wizard. The movie character always stuck with me and when I later got interested in magic and came upon Harry Kellar, I wondered if Kellar was like the Professor Marvel/Wizard character that I had seen in the movie. But honestly, Frank Morgan while in the character of Professor Marvel in the movie looks more like the magician Dante (and Dante was a very popular magician at the time the movie was made).

I am not sure where this idea that Kellar inspired the WIZARD character came from. Though I vaguely recall the idea of the connection was attributed to Martin Gardner. I think it's highly likely that Kellar could have been in the inspiration based on the fact that Baum was a huge theatre buff, Kellar was the big name at the time and the illustrations by William Wallace Denslow are a dead ringer for Kellar. If nothing else, perhaps the illustrator Denslow was inspired by Kellar and that is why the pictures look so much like him. I even have a photo somewhere of Kellar wearing a white jacket like the one on the Wizard illustration, but I can't seem to find it right now. I do believe that Kellar figured in there somewhere during the creation of the original book.

There is one other thing to consider and that is the word WIZARD. Magicians of that time were calling themselves: magicians, conjurers, manipulators, illusionists, escape artists, professor, and similar names. The word 'Wizard' was more commonly used in the mid 1800 with folks like John Henry Anderson known as The Great Wizard of the North, and John Wyman Jr. known as Wyman the Wizard. In the 20th Century there was one wizard that I can think of, Germain the Wizard. Perhaps one of these men also played a part in the inspiration of the character!

Finally, look at the poster below, it kind of looks like something out of the Wizard of OZ with flying monkeys and munchkins!

UPDATE: WildaboutHoudini.com has an article on the Houdini connection to the OZ movie which is excellent as always.

Wyman the Wizard...MORE

Wyman the Wizard

I wrote a blog article about Wyman the Wizard back in August of 2011. In that article I mentioned that 'the hunt was on for his grave'. Several magic books mentioned where he died, but there was no mention of where he was buried. I'm glad to report it's been found, sort of. I had narrowed down the cemetery to one in Fall River Mass, called Oak Grove Cemetery. There were several in that area and I had a hunch this was the cemetery, though I could not get definitive proof. I tried contacting some govt. officials in that area with no answers. And then I received an email from fellow magic historian, Gary Hunt. He had discovered a paragraph in an old Sphinx Magazine, which gave the exact location of the grave and sure enough it was in Oak Grove Cemetery! So now, I've got to travel up to that area later in the Spring and get a photograph of the grave so I can post it over at my deadconjurers blog. A HUGE THANK YOU to Gary Hunt for sending me the article with that information!

(from John Hopkins Unv. Library)

But I wanted to write more about Wyman and I began digging again. Milbourne Christopher mentions in the book Panorama of Magic that there were at least two songs dedicated to Wyman the Wizard. I just found one of them and it's called "Keemo Kimo Schottisch" by James Bellak and according to the cover was composed and dedicated to Wyman the Wizard. I do not play music, but if there is anyone interested, the entire sheet music is downloadable here https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/2534

 Wyman seems to be a man of firsts. MAGIC-A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theatre says that Wyman was the first Americian born magician to do a full evening show of magic. The book, Annals of Conjuring says that Wyman was the first U.S. born magician to attain prominence. And the Illustrated History of Magic says that "he was the biggest money maker of the period.". Those are pretty decent accolades.

Peale's Baltimore Museum (photo by MKelly1990)

He apparently began his professional career performing at Peale's Baltimore Museum. From there he played a lot of small town school houses. His act consisted of marionettes, ventriloquism, memory feats and magic. The magic included the Aireal Suspension & Gun Trick he purchased from John Henry Anderson, the Inexhaustible Bottle, Egg Bag, Coin Magic, the Sphinx illusion and many other popular magic routines of the day. 

Wyman performed what were known as 'Gift Shows', which meant after the performance everyone in the audience was to receive a gift. He was known to provide nice gifts. No bait and switch for Wyman, if he promised a nice item, that is what he gave out. I'm wondering if one of the smaller gifts he gave was a 'Wyman Coin' because I have seen several images of his coins on the internet now.

Some books mention that Wyman only played 'small dates' but I'm not sure he could have become the biggest money maker of the period, only playing small towns. In fact, I know he played Richmond VA, Charleston S.C., Boston MA, NYC, and Washington D.C. among many places. So he clearly played all over. But he was around before the days of Vaudeville, so the types of venues would have been somewhat different.

Born January 19, 1816, John W. Wyman Jr. was known as Jack by his friends. He apparently wrote several books, one of which was called "Jokes & Anecdotes of Wyman, TheMagician & Ventriloquist" which was published in 1866.

His performing route consisted of areas east of the Mississippi River and also into Canada. I've seen a number of newspaper articles on Wyman that appeared in Virginia papers, so he was well known in the South as well as the North.

He died on July 31st 1881 and was buried in Fall River Massachusetts in the Oak Grove Cemetery.  I will post a photo of the grave later in the Spring.

Magician Statue 1

Among the many things I collect are statues of magicians. The one in the photo is a reproduction of a popular statue. I'm not sure of the originator, nor am I really sure about who did the reproductions. I just know that Bill King told me the way to spot an original versus a reproduction was the shape of the bottom of the hat. The originals had a slightly rounded bottom on the hat, whereas the reproductions have a completely flat bottom to the hat. Otherwise they are identical as far as I know.

Mine arrived unpainted, and truth be told, my first one arrived in about a thousand pieces thanks to U.P.S.. but luck was on my side and I was able to get it replaced. It arrived unfinished in an unpainted state.

I don't have any photos of it in the unpainted stage, but as you can see, I took it upon myself to paint it. I've seen several others and most of those have the magician wearing a black coat. But I wanted to give the statue a unique look so I went for browns and earthier tones.

In his left coat pocket he has a bouquet of flowers and in the right pocket are several silk scarves. There are also two cards sticking out from his vest which are difficult to see in the photo.

I'm not sure who the magician is modeled after, perhaps Charles Bertram. But I think he looks more like the actor John C. Reilly.

By the way, there is one of these statues available on ebay at the moment, though there is only 18hours left on the auction. Act fast!

Cruising with "Houdin"

I couldn't resist. John Cox over at the fantastic Houdini blog, WildaboutHoudini.com just put up a piece called "Cruising with Houdeni" and it shows an old custom plate from a car he used to have. Well, here is MY current plate. You'll notice it says "HOUDIN" not Houdini. The wonderful state of Virginia wouldn't give me the 'I', even though other plates have more than six letters. I have to laugh though because 95% of the people who notice it think it says HOUDINI. But I figure I'm just driving around with the plates for the Father of Modern Magic, Robert-Houdin!

The car is a Honda Element. I got it to replace my Van which was costing me so much in gas I wasn't making any money anymore. So the Element did great on gas....until the price went to $4.00, and now I'm almost back to where I was. Plus, I miss my van! Such is life. Oh, and John has the cooler car by far!

Auction Price for Houdini Poster

Ok, I had to stay around for the Houdini King of Cards Poster Lot 1889 which had a estimate price $800-$1200 . It just sold for $7000au, which I think is about $7221.65 US. There were other Houdini items, but they sold before I got on so I missed them. Pretty fun to watch. Go over to John Cox's website WildaboutHoudini.com for the other prices on Houdini stuff.