Houdini, David Abbott and Omaha

Houdini and David Abbott

The more I research Houdini, the more fascinated I am at all the connections he has to various parts of the country (and even the world). Case in point is Omaha, Nebraska. As it turns out, Omaha is the first city that Houdini performed in after meeting Martin Beck in St. Paul MN. Beck, was a theater owner and booker, and he witnessed Houdini's feats at a Beer Garden in St. Paul. On March 14th, Houdini received a telegram from Martin Beck sent from Chicago. The telegram says, "You can open Omaha, March 26th, at $60, will see act, probably make proposition for all next season." Houdini records in his journal "This wire changed my whole life's journey."

Notice that Beck says, "will see act, probably make proposition for all next season." I wondered about this statement because Beck was supposed to have seen Houdini in St. Paul. Then I remembered that the story is often told that Beck suggested to Houdini to 'drop the magic, keep the escapes and the box trick'. This story first appears in the book HOUDINI His Life Story by Harold Kellock and is repeated in later biographies. It's also pretty accurate as to what happened with Houdini's act. So Omaha, would have been Beck's chance to see the NEW act, and based the potential of a future tour on that. Omaha then begins Houdini's new career and new life.

Here is a glimpse into that 1899 performance in Omaha. Houdini was performing at The Orpheum and on April 8th, a clever situation took place. The manager of the Orpheum had a bet with 5 businessmen in town that they couldn't produce a pair of cuffs that would stop Houdini. One of them came up with something I've not heard of before, a pair of cuffs with a 'time lock' on it. According to the article in the April 8, 1899 edition of Omaha World Herald, it would take no less than 60 minutes to get out of this pair of cuffs due to the time lock. Houdini was free in 4 minutes!

Fast forward one year, April 1900, Houdini was back on Omaha.  Way back in St. Paul a year prior, the act was The Houdinis. But now the act is HOUDINI, with Bess assisting in the Metamorphosis, when it was actually presented. Instead, Houdini, now The Handcuff King, was taking on challengers all over the country. Her role, which was pointed out in The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, had been greatly reduced.

A side note to Houdini's visit in 1900, according to the Omaha World Herald April 20th, 1900 edition, Houdini was taken to a party by his many fans in town. While there he presented numerous magic tricks, card tricks and even his East Indian Needle mystery.

Houdini would return to Omaha numerous times. But during one of those encounters he met David P. Abbott. Mr. Abbott was an amateur magician and popular among professional magicians because of his inventiveness. Mr. Abbott is responsible for teaching the Floating Ball to both OKITO and Thurston. He didn't invent it, but he embellished it and made it the popular trick it became. Abbott also wrote an amazing manuscript called, "David P. Abbott's Book of Mysteries." This was a manuscript almost lost, almost never published. The dramatic story of it's eventual publication is chronichled in Volume 2 of The House of Mystery by Teller and Todd Karr (a must read). By the way, the House of Mystery refers to Abbott's home in Omaha that was totally tricked out in order to perform unbelievable magic. The book shares the various secrets of the home.  Harry Kellar visited the home at one point and was so taken by the magic, that he asked Abbott to help him do the same thing to his Los Angeles home!

One of Abbott's greatest creations was The Talking Tea Kettle. Even Harry Kellar owned one of these and loved it. And it's the Talking Tea Kettle that brings us back to Houdini.

THE TEA KETTLE CONTROVERSY

You will notice that the photo at the top of the page is of Houdini and David P. Abbbott. They were friends at one time.  However, that friendship became rather rocky when  an October 1922 article that Houdini wrote for POPUAR RADIO Magazine, included an exposure of Abbott's Famous Talking Tea Kettle Mystery. Abbott was furious with the exposure. Houdini later claimed it was not his doing but an editor for the magazine who included the secrets.

Now before I get too far into things, I've got to back up to explain some facts that aren't well known. First, the Talking Tea Kettle was actually the creation of a man named Phillip Meyers, an inventor who was interested in magic, but later became interested in and started creating effects for fake spirit mediums. This is according to Todd Karr, one of the authors of the book The House of Mystery. The Tea Kettle that Meyers built however, didn't get much use and it was eventually gifted from Meyers to his friend David Abbott. Mr. Abbott recognized the amazing effect but streamlined the methodology, which is why it is now known as David Abbott's Talking Tea Kettle.

Remember, Abbott was furious with Houdini's article. Houdini later made two unusual claims, first he said he purchased the Tea Kettle from an auction of a mediums estate. This statement was false. He actually purchased the Tea Kettle from Clyde Powers the magic dealer who had obtained it from Carl Rosini. This again, is documented on pg 482 of The House of Mystery Volume 2. So Houdini did not buy this from an auction.

Houdini's second statement was, Fraudulent Spirit Mediums were using the Talking Tea Kettle to

swindle and con their clients. This was also false. David Abbott himself stated he never sold a Tea Kettle to any fake medium. I'd like to stop here and offer my opinion. Having seen some of the scrapbooks that Houdini had on mediums and spiritualism, and knowing the volumes of information he collected on the subject, I wouldn't be surprised if he truly thought he picked up this kettle in an auction. Clearly it would be remembering it incorrectly, but it's possible. But the second half of this issue, the claim that mediums had used the Tea Kettle to defraud, is one I'd like to address a bit more. Remember what I said above, Phillip Meyers, the first inventor of a Talking Tea Kettle was making props for Fake Spirit Mediums. Houdini likely was aware of this, and aware of the Tea Kettle's origins. So if you put 2 and 2 together, it is only logical to assume that Tea Kettles were made for fake mediums because Meyers was already in the business of building similar things for that unscrupulous bunch. Of course, the other option is that it's possible Houdini was just using all of this for his own benefit, but I'm actually siding with Houdini on the later point. The first point, of where he got the Tea Kettle, well that could go either way.

The article in Popular Radio titled Ghosts That Talk--By Radio authored by Houdini, really does give an exposure of the Tea Kettle in the body of the article. Actually, the title of the article is exposure enough, lol. But the editor of the magazine spells it out even further. Then the magazine uses photos that they artistically rendered to show the secret workings. I'm sure Houdini merely provided regular untouched photos, it was the magazine that drew in the schematics of the inner workings. Despite the exposure the magazine was actually incorrect in the way they claimed the trick was done. My friend John Cox over at WildaboutHoudini.com wrote an article on The Tea Kettle Controversy back in 2012, which gives more details on this uncomfortable moment in Houdini's life.

The LAST APPEARANCE IN OMAHA 1923

Houdini once again is thrilling audiences at the Orpheum in Omaha. He adds the hanging straitjacket escape this time around. He hangs upside down on September 6th, 1923 from the Omaha World Herald building. The paper gives a great account of his escape and mentions that upon lowering Houdini to the ground he had a 'brief spell of faintness.' The day before the paper was promoting his straitjacket escape and within the small blurb was this little gem, "Houdini is appearing at the Orpheum this week, and announces he may quit the theatrical profession after completing his present tour of the world."

WHO GETS THE CREDIT?

We know Houdini began the new phase of his career in Omaha because of Martin Beck. However, there was another person who was taking credit for this as well.  In the Sept 24th edition of the Omaha World Herald there is an article that says, "Two years ago Harry Houdini, famous the world over as the "handcuff" man, came to Omaha unknown. He became a protege of Dan Baldwin, the strong man and genial police officer, and through his influence was launched upon his present career." Later in the article they reprint, word for word a letter Houdini sent to Baldwin about his tour of Europe. I'm not familiar with Dan Baldwin. A cursory look through the various Houdini bios came up with nothing. Perhaps this will be another case for The Magic Detective, but for now, I hope you enjoyed Houdini's connection to Omaha!

The Amazing Professor Cooke Handbill

I have written about this man before, but recently have a new found interest in him because he has become part of my show. First, he became part of my Houdini lecture, but now he is in my new ASTONIFY Show.

Professor Horatio (Harry) Cooke was a remarkable man. He served in the Civil War, he was one of Lincoln's Federal Scouts, he was witness to the assassination of President Lincoln, and later he became a mentor of sorts to Houdini and many other magicians in the Los Angeles area. He was also, one of Harry Kellar's pallbearers.

Harry Cooke had long been forgotten until he was rediscovered by Mark Cannon in 1981. Mark met one of Cooke's daughters while performing at her senior citizen center. In April 2006, Mark wrote a great article in MUM Magazine all about the life of Harry Cooke.

Prior to this rediscovery, Cooke could be found within the pages of The Sphinx and other magic magazines. He was often dubbed 'The Oldest Living Magician in America'. I knew from the Cannon article and from other sources that Harry Cooke performed magic following the end of the Civil War. His favorite trick was the Linking Rings. For a number of years his show was called SPIRITUALISM Without the Aid of Spirits. Well, imagine my surprise as I'm watching the Potter and Potter Auction on Saturday last, and up comes a handbill belonging to none other than Professor Harry Cooke. The moment I saw the name, I jumped and started bidding. It may be one of my most favorite auction wins! Now that I own this wonderful item*, I'm going to alter my Cooke story yet again. And it will help me to adjust the 'spirit' portion of my Astonify Show.

The one thing left that I wonder about is whether or not Harry Cooke was a descendant of the Mayflower Cookes? Given that he was born in Connecticut, I'd say the chances are pretty high.

The Most Famous Magician of All Time

Ask someone who the 'most famous magician' is or was, and you're likely to hear: Houdini, David Copperfield, David Blaine, and maybe even Merlin, if the person is trying to be clever. Certainly all of these individuals are famous and certainly all rank high. But the most famous magician is one you've likely all heard of and yet never heard of. What? Read on.

His name was William Vincent. Surely, you know who I'm talking about now. No? Well, he did not go by his real name. Like many magicians, (myself included), he went by a stage name. And his stage name became so iconic, that even small children today know it. He was known as Hocus Pocus. That's right, the phrase that so many people think of as 'magic words', was actually a magician.

During the reign of King James of England (1603-1625), Vincent was known as "The King's Most Excellent Hocus Pocus." He was a juggler, an artist in legerdermaine. His tricks included the Cups and Balls and the cut and restored 'tape' trick, among others. Vincent began his career in 1619 after receiving a licence 'to exercise the art of Legerdemaine in any Townes within the Relme of England and Ireland.'

A book titled, Hocus Pocus Jr. was published in 1634. A short book of 50+ pages, it contains a wealth of knowledge on how to present the Cups and balls and many other wonderful tricks popular during the 17th Century.

The new book, The Secret History of Magic by Peter Lamont and Jim Steinmeyer says that Vincent is the author of the book, Hocus Pocus Jr.. Other sources list the author as anonymous, and still other sources say 'it could possibly have been William Vincent'. 

Many editions of Hocus Pocus Jr. were printed after the original, and apparently each new edition contained new material. Houdini's copy resides in the Library of Congress and is available to view or download as a .pdf. Here is the link.

William Vincent died a few years after the publication of Hocus Pocus Jr.. according to the website www.hocuspocusjr.com (the actual site is long gone, but you can see the original in the Internet Archive site)

Magic Potion #9 Houdini Artwork

I stumbled upon this yesterday. An unusual piece of art using HOUDINI. It reminded me of the Tony Curtis movie, when they referred to the Water Torture Cell as 'The Man In The Bottle'. Here, Houdini IS the MAN in the bottle!

If you're interested in this piece, you can pick it up in various sizes and in various mediums like canvas, wood print, and more.  http://studio-v.wingsdomain.com/featured/magic-potion-number-9-patent-pending-20140922-wingsdomain-art-and-photography.html

Houdini Commemorative T-Shirt

Here is something you don't see every day. A Commemorative Houdini T-shirt. This is produced by the Camel City Goods Company, and it commemorates the Nov 24th, 1924 performance by Houdini at the Winston Salem Reynolds Auditorium. I'll be honest, I didn't go back and fact check this to see if Houdini did indeed perform there on that date*. I just thought it was a very cool t-shirt.

You can get one here: https://www.camelcitygoods.com/products/houdini-escape-lieu

I've done a bit more research into this, and apparently this is the second t-shirt. The original was a tan shirt with reddish lettering. There was also a commemorative button issued by the same company.

*I've gone back to see if I could find any proof of Houdini performing in Winston-Salem on Nov 24th 1924, and sure enough, an article in The Frederick News, Nov 25th, 1924 mentions his appearance at The Reynolds Memorial Hall in Winston Salem on the 24th.

Happy Birthday Howard Thurston!

On July 20th, 1869, just a few years after the end of the US Civil War, Howard Thurston was born. He was born in Columbus Ohio, and is also buried in Columbus, at the Greenlawn Abbey.

Howard Thurston was certainly one of the greatest magicians of his era. He created an enormous traveling illusion show. He purchased Harry Kellar's Show and toured the country with Kellar for a year. Then on May 16, 1908 in Baltimore MD at the Ford's Theater, Kellar passed his Mantle of Magic on to Howard Thurston.

Howard Thurston died of Pneumonia on April 13, 1936. There is a FANTASTIC book on the life of Thurston by Jim Steinmeyer called The Last Greatest Magician In The World. I would encourage anyone interested in magic history or theatre history to check out this great book.

Thurston's Final Resting Place-GreenLawn Abbey

New Magic History Books You MUST Have

The book above, The Secret History of Magic, just arrived in the mail yesterday.  This book is by Peter Lamont and Jim Steinmeyer. I wish this was a book review but I've not finished the book yet. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but I must admit that I LOVE The cover! They took a Servais Le Roy poster and deleted the background so it's against a layer of white, with the books title. Wow does it look good.

As for the content. Some interesting chapter titles: Origin Myths, False Accusations, Disenchantment, Second Sight, Separate Spheres, The Confessions, The UnMasking, The Golden Age, Variety, Thought Transmissions, Before Your Eyes, The Real Secrets of Magic.

I can tell by some of the chapter titles who may be the 'stars' of those chapters. But again, this is no review of the book. To get a copy yourself, go to https://www.amazon.com/Secret-History-Magic-Story-Deceptive/dp/0143130633/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531919580&sr=8-1&keywords=the+secret+history+of+magic

I'll have a review of the book at a later date!

Houdini-opoly The Board Game For Magic Fans!

This is really almost too good to be true. I mean, who would go to the time, effort, and even struggle to produce a version of an Opoly Game with HOUDINI as the focus? Umm, well, Houdini fans and magic historians, that's who! And when it comes to fans of Houdini's and two people who have dedicated their lives to keeping the memory of Houdini alive, you can't get much more dedicated than Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz.

They began the process with a kickstarter campaign and ended up producing an extremely successful campaign! The concept of a board game about Houdini seems on one hand to be very dated. But SO WAS HOUDINI. He's from another time. Yet even though he lived 100 years ago, he is just a relevant and popular today as ever. So I'd say their choice of a board game was sheer brilliance!

I will be honest, when the box arrived, it's so breathtaking I did not even want to open it. It was a struggle in fact to tear open the shrink wrap and see what was inside. It's one of those double edged swords, do I or don't I? But I had to. Curiosity for one was just overwhelming. But secondly, I needed to see if the inside was as spectacular as the outside. The answer....

WOW! It's even more amazing on the inside! Take a look at the board itself. So many incredible details included on the board, so many great photos. And now look at what comes inside the box...many pieces familiar in other Opoly games, the properties, the cards and money. But take a closer look, the cards, the money, they've been Houdini-ized!

I'm not sure I can bring myself to open the bags and money/houses/game pieces though. So that means I might never get to PLAY Houdiniopoly. Wait? What am I saying??? I've GOT TO PLAY THIS GAME NOW!!!! I'm going to contact some fellow magicians and coordinate a Houdiniopoly Night! How cool would that be!?!

There is one more little treat I'd like to share with you. For the folks who contributed to the kickstarter campaign there were some goodies given as a thank you for contributing. This was a bag of extra game pieces, all based on Houdini's career. So you've got an Elephant for the Vanishing Elephant, a couple dogs that are just like Houdini's pets, a Milk Can, some barrels, a playing card, top hats and more! It's just awesome.

If you're wondering how to get one (or two or three) of these board games yourself, it's so easy. Just go to Houdiniopoly.com I'm beyond impressed with the quality of this product. The thought and time and energy that went into this is evident in the final product. I want to thank Dick and Dorothy for including my name among those who helped with this. I'm not sure how much I really did, other than contribute. I was a bit 'out of touch' when this was all being developed. In fact, looking back over the various emails, I see that I had planned to contribute more to put an ad on the back of the game for TheMagicDetective. com but I just didn't get it done. Life has been a little challenging the last couple years, but things are looking up. And things will be looking up for YOU too when you order your own Houdiniopoly Board Game!!! Do it today as I'm sure these are in limited supply.

Magic History Contest June-Follow Up

We have a winner for the June Magic History Contest. The question was:
"What magician had a nickname on the West Coast and a nickname on the East Coast which were spelled the same but pronounced differently?"

And the answer was Dai Vernon, some pronounced it 'Day', others pronounced it "Die". The winner has been notified and once I get his address, I'll be dropping his magic history prize in the mail!

The Magic History Contest will be taking a couple months off, however it will resume again in September 2018. Thank you to everyone who has participated!

Next up is a new Houdini article. For me it's one that I wrote months ago, but forgot to post, lol. I'll get it posted this weekend.

 

Houdini In Congress -1926, One More Story

I left this story out of my articles on Houdini Testifying before Congress, but this newspaper piece that appeared a couple weeks after he died, has a great sentence at the end which changed my mind and now I'm including it. This is from the Abilene Daily Report Nov 15, 1926.

Please note that last line: "Houdini was not merely the greatest magician of all times, but in addition he was a first-rate man." Indeed.

The Magic Detective Magic History Contest for June 2018

We're back with another Magic History Contest! This one is fairly easy. At least easy for those who have been involved in magic for a while. Good luck!

Question of the Month:

"What magician had a nickname on the West Coast and a nickname on the East Coast which were spelled the same but pronounced differently?"

Contest Rules:

• Only 1 entry per person
• To enter: Send me an email, with the subject heading 'June Magic History Contest' to info@carnegiemagic.com    
• Please include your full name in the email. 
• You must live in the continental United States
• I'm going to pick a random name from among all the correct entries to get the winner!
• No purchase necessary. 
• Contest Ends Friday June 16th, 2018

The Magic Detective Blog In the Top 50 Magic Blogs

I just received an email today letting me know that my blog had reached the Top 75 blogs over on Feedspot.com. However, when I went to look, I noticed the site is actually #46, which means I'm actually in the top 50 blogs! Though there doesn't appear to be an award for that, I still had to point it out. Let's see if we can put TheMagicDetective.com into the Top 25 Blogs next!

In June, you can expect more great content. I've got a couple Houdini articles that should be finished for early in June. Then more surprises coming, including the June Magic History Contest.

By the way, if you wouldn't mind, if you're on Facebook, please LIKE my Magic Detective Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/themagicdetective/

Thanks so much!!!

Houdini Testifies Before Congress Continued

(Library of Congress Photo)

Before I can get to the next day(s) of testimony, I should mention that Houdini was doing double duty in Congress. He first met with the House Committee, which I covered in my previous article. Then later in the day he met with the Senate Committee.  The unfortunate thing is that though there is a complete record of the House Hearings, but so far I've not been able to track down the Senate hearings so all I have is newspaper accounts. So you know, I'm leaving out some of the more popular stories of these proceedings that have been told before, like Houdini putting Bess on the stand and verifying that he is 'a good boy.'

During the first day of Senate Hearings on the Anti-Fortune Telling Bill, the big revelation was the members of Congress and their wives often visited and consulted with the mediums and fortune tellers. It was brought up that even the White House was known to consult these folks. Here was information I'm sure the D.C. class didn't want to get out, but it did. I wonder if that's why the second day of hearings wasn't until the end of May, because they were hoping people would forget.

On May 18th, 1926 the Congressional Hearings for HR8989 the Anti-Fortune Bill resumed. The hearings began by hearing testimony from Remegius Weiss of Philadelphia. Weiss, no relation to Houdini's family, was an investigator into mediums and spirit phenomenon. He was another of the many investigators working for/or with Houdini. Weiss shared how he had exposed the famed Henry Slade, and even got Slade to sign a confession. The name of Conan Doyle also came up during the testimony and the Congressman were under the belief that Conan Doyle was a great authority on Spiritualism.

Moments later, Houdini addresses the Congressman in regards to Doyle. Mr. McLeod again reiterates that Conan Doyle was an authority on Spiritualism. Houdini jumps in and says, "Conan Doyle is not an outstanding authority." McLeod responds, "He is accepted as one of the best." And Houdini follows, "No, he is not accepted as one of the best. He is one of the greatest dupes, outside of Sir Oliver Lodge. Conan Doyle stated I posses mediumistic powers, which I deny."

McLeod says, "How can you prove it?" Houdini replied, "I admit that I do not have mediumistic powers. They claim in a London psychic college I dematerialize my body, and that I ooze through and come out again and put myself together." Mr. McLeod follows with, "How do you do it?" Houdini says something which is quite remarkable, "I do it like anybody else would do it. There is nothing secret about it. We are all humans. Nobody is supernormal. We are all born alike."

Then Congressman Bloom, one of the resolutions authors, says, "Have you ever heard of another city in the United States that has a similar law to the one in the District of Columbia in regards to fortune telling?" Houdini then explains that no city gives such a cheap license to fortune tellers and in fact, most cities actually have laws prohibiting it. Of those cities that do offer a license, they have fees like, $1500 per year, $1000 per year, $5 per day, $500 per quarter and $150 per month. Whereas the District of Columbia charges a mere $25 per year.

Next to testify would be Rose Mackenberg. She would again open up that source of embarrassment for quite a few Congressmen which was first revealed in February. Rose had visited two of the key mediums in the audience, Madam Marcia and Rev Jane Coates, prior to the days proceedings. She visited them separately, but a key bit of information was shared by both mediums. That devastating bit of information was that Congressman often visit mediums in town. Not only that, they included the White House among their group of spiritualism devotees. And then, she mentions that Senator Fletcher's wife is a medium herself.

This revelation also includes the clue to a question I have had for a while. That question is, "how did all these mediums and fortune tellers know about the hearings in order to show up?" Well, along with the fact that many Congressmen attend seances or get readings, Rev Jane Coates also mentions that she has been lobbying Congressman and had interviewed 22 of them and 16 were 'entirely favorable towards spiritualism'. Obviously, with members of Congress being so friendly with the spiritualist community, it's easy to see who told the mediums about the hearings, the Congressmen!

Reading Rose Mackenberg's testimony is certainly fascinating, but I'd like to share with you now, testimony from 'the other side'. No, not from the spirits, lol, but rather from one of the spiritualists. On May 20th, 1926, Reverend H.P. Strack, secretary of the Nationals Spiritualists Association of America, gives his testimony. What he tries to do is shred the statements made by previous speakers.
He began with Remegius Weiss's testimony about Dr. Henry Slade. Reverand Strack says, "In the testimony given by the man from Philadelphia (Weiss), he refers to a seance conducted by the medium named Slade. If the committee will remember, in this man's testimony he stated the medium would take his foot and kick a book, and the book would remain floating in the air. That is concrete evidence of mediumship, the law of levitation forcing a book to remain in the air that has been kicked by a medium." Now, let's look at what Weiss really said. "A book extended over the edge of the table, Dr. Slade slyly gave the book a kick with his left foot from under the table. The book turned over like a flap door. There is nothing remarkable in this trick. Still up to this time, spiritists say 'Dr. Slade floated a book in the air.'"  So, Weiss actually showed that Slade's attempt to 'float a book' was actually done by secretly kicking the book. And that it merely flipped over. It did not float in the air. And despite this, the spiritists claim the book floated, NOT Weiss, who again, exposed it. So Reverend Strack was misleading in this part of his testimony.

Strack also mentions a curious exchange that took place during the Senate Hearings. The speaker had

mentioned that Houdini claimed that all of these mediums were fakes and frauds and asked if he would include the Davenport Brothers in that statement. Houdini apparently replied, "The reason I have not included the Davenport brothers was because they are personal friends of mine, and I am a student of Dana Davenport."  I haven't been able to check this against the actual record, but it's fairly obvious that Houdini simply didn't want to include his friends in all this nonsense. The Davenports never claimed to be real mediums, but they also never claimed that they weren't. Houdini said the Davenports shared their secret rope tie with him. At this point though, they were no longer performing.

I'm not sure who Dana Davenport is though, as it wasn't the name of either of the brothers. Perhaps it's a misspelling or the stenographer didn't take down the name properly. The brothers were William Henry and Ira Erastus. The photo to the right is of Houdini and Ira Erastus Davenport. The other brother had died back in 1877 when Houdini was just a child.

A curious moment happens when President Abraham Lincoln's name is brought up. Lincoln seems to be a favorite 'spirit' among mediums as he has a habit of showing up in many so-called seances. The spiritualists communities often point to Lincoln himself being a devote spiritualist. Houdini at one point decided to squelch this statement by bringing for into evidence a letter, written by Lincoln's son, denying that his father was ever a believer in spiritualism. Mary Todd Lincoln was the one so desperate as to seek out these folks, but not Abraham Lincoln.

Some of the additional highlights from the proceedings include Houdini giving a demonstration of spirit voices speaking through a trumpet, which was well received by the congressman. A bit later, one congressman mentions a stunt that Houdini did where he was blindfolded and drove around town, and he would stop the vehicle and retrieve a missing object. At first this seemed to me like a blindfold drive, but now I think it's probably more akin to a mere blindfold stunt or at the most some sort of hellstromism (muscle reading).

At a later point in the proceedings Houdini gives a demonstration of Slate Writing, which he prefaces that 'anyone can do'. In other words, it's not supernatural. He shows two school slates, and the numbers 1-2-3-4 are written on the respective sides of the slates to show that they contain no other writing. Then the numbers are cleaned off and the two slates tied together with a handkerchief and placed a piece of chalk between them. Next, Houdini produces a dictionary that was purchased that morning and asks a member of Congress to drop a card within the pages of the book, so marking a page. He comically asks the Spirits to tell him the number of the page, the first word in the book and some sentence that he would not know. Sure enough, when he unties the slates, writing is seen, the page number is correct, the words are correct, and there is a sentence which is actually a message for someone in the room.

The mediums all say that Houdini simply demonstrated what they knew, that he himself was actually a spirit medium. Houdini denied the accusation. He said he was bound by his art not to reveal magic tricks, but he had no problem exposing spirit tricks. And then shared how he knew in advance the various words and numbers and how he eavesdropped on an earlier conversation and used that as his secret sentence on the slates. At the finale, he exposed the full secret of the slates. (By the way, the photo above has a blemish on it. Houdini is not holding a cigar in his mouth, despite the way it looks.)

Oh, but there was one more thing. Madame Marcia, whom Houdini called Madame Marchia, and it was recorded that way in several publications. Madame Marcia made a prediction that Houdini would soon die. She wasn't the only medium to predict that, or wish that. And in this instance, that prediction would ultimately come true.

In the end, despite 4 days of testimony from Houdini, his investigators, Madame Marcia, Reverend Coates and others, there would be no Anti-fortune telling bill. The bill rode too closely to the line of infringing upon religious liberties.  Reading through the transcripts from the House Hearings, I think Houdini missed his calling as a lawyer!

The Government Printing Office published a booklet entitled, FORTUNE TELLING Hearings Before the Subcommittee On Judiciary On The Committee Of The District of Columbia House of Representatives 69th Congress First Session H.R. 8989. The last word that appears in the official transcript from the House of Representatives published by the Government Printing Office........the final word.........HOUDINI.

In case you missed it, please go back and read part 1 of this story http://www.themagicdetective.com/2018/05/houdini-testifies-before-congress-day-1.html

Houdini Fake News Or Laurel/Yanny 1926?!

Houdini leaving Congress (Library of Congress Photo)

There was one exchange that took place during Houdini's Feb 26th testimony before Congress, that I left out of the previous article. I wanted to double check some things before I posted about it. I must admit, I was excited about using the popular term 'Fake News' in a headline, especially given that it was from 1926. But before I could make the accusation, I had to check one source. Now that I've done that, I'm more confused than when I started, lol.

The story appeared in a number of newspapers on Feb 27th, 1926. It was put out by the Associated Press (AP) and picked up all over the country. One of the things that is mentioned in the various articles is the fact that Capital guards had to be summoned to stand ready to prevent any physical combat between the spiritualists, fortune tellers and Houdini. This I believe, though it was not recorded in the Congressional record. You see, a booklet was published by the Washington Government Printing Office called 'Fortune Telling-Hearings Before The Subcommittee on Judiciary of the Committee on the District of Columbia House of Representatives-69th Congress First Session on H.R. 8989'. This is the complete transcript of events that took place during the hearings. And, it's basically an eye witness source for what took place that day.

Before I go to the source, let me give you the essence of the 'fake news story'. Houdini, according to the stories, says that persons claiming supernatural powers were nothing but fakers. This part is true, and is reflected in the transcripts. Though a couple papers put down the word 'fakir' instead of 'faker', which is something different altogether.

Next, the stories say that Houdini offered $10,000 to anyone who could tell him what was in a telegram he tossed upon the table. Representative Reid, Republican from Illinois, spoke up and said, "Why it says, 'I can't be there today'." Houdini replies, "That's a guess, and you are not clairvoyant." Reid responds, "Oh yes I am!" and the audience bursts out laughing. The articles further state, that it turned out the Illinois representatives quotation of the telegram was correct, but Houdini insisted it was all an accident.  Wow. how embarrassing for Houdini. This was reported by the AP and went out to newspapers all over the country.

There is one small problem. It's not clear that it happened that way. Here is the dialog straight from the transcript:

Mr. McLeod: It is possible to have a genuine clairvoyant, is it not?
Mr. Houdini: It is impossible, I claim. I will give $10,000 to any clairvoyant in the world that will do one test.
Mr. Reid: What is the test?
Mr. Houdini: Any test I want them to do.
Mr. Reid: Let us get the $10,000
Mr. Houdini:Unfortunately, I didn't bring it with me. But I can telegraph for the money, if you wish.
Mr. McLeod: There are witnesses here.
Mr. Houdini: They will say under oath and swear to it; I tell you I would not believe a clairvoyant or fraudulent medium under oath, so help me God.
Mr. McLeod: Wood you by proof?
Mr. Houdini: By proof, yes: certainly by proof.
Mr. McLeod: Here is a witness that can prove it.
Mr. Reid: How long have you been fighting them?
Mr. Houdini: About 35 years.
Mr. Reid: Have you been fairly successful?
Mr. Houdini: I have had more mediums arrested in two years than have been arrested in seventy, because I know their tricks; I know how to catch them.
Mr. Houston: You have never tried to catch them on a test, have you?
Mr. Houdini: On a test (turning to the audience) Tell me the name my mother called me when I was born? {no response from audience}  Tell me the pet name my father used to call me? {no response from audience} (At this point Mr. Houdini threw on the committee table the crumpled up piece of paper.)
Mr. Houston: We ought to know something about the subject matter.
Mr. Houdini: You asked for a test?
Mr. Houston: Sure.
Mr. Houdini: Here is a telegram (turning to the audience). Read that, you clairvoyant mediums and show me up. Tell the contents of the telegram. {no response}
Mr. Reid: I will tell you what it says: " Please send more money."
Mr. Houdini: Does anybody want to read that wire?
Mr. Reid: I have made a guess.
Mr. Houdini: She {indicating one of the audience members} is a clairvoyant.
Mr. Reid: I said, "Please send more money."
Mr. Houdini: You can make your own deduction. That is just what it is. You are not a clairvoyant?
Mr. Reid: Oh, yes I am (laughter from audience)
Mr. Houdini: All right, if you are clairvoyant, tell me what this wire is. Go ahead {producing another telegram}
Mr. Reid: It is asking if you didn't come?
Mr. Houdini: No, sir. Everybody guesses at it.

The sections in red are the most important. The newspapers record that Reid said, "I can't be there today." But what Reid actually said was, "Please send more money." So they got that wrong. Houdini doesn't admit that Reid correctly guessed the message in the telegram either. What he says to Reid is: "You can make your own deduction. That is just what it is." Then he adds, "You are not clairvoyant."
Congressman Reid was making light of most of the days events, and here is another example. But I don't see here where Houdini replies, "ok you guessed that correctly, let's try again." NO, he  says basically,"that was a guess". But he pointed out that Reid was not clairvoyant and really the question was to the crowd. When Reid would not stop, Houdini hit him with a test all his own, which he got wrong.

Now, I've read this numerous times. Perhaps: "You can make your own deductions. That is just what it is." could be interpreted to mean, 'You can make your own deductions. Your statement is correct'. But I tend to think, IF that is what was meant, then it would have followed with a notation about laughter from the audience or the audience getting out of hand. Because the next line has that. And surely if someone guessed correctly after Houdini made such a grand statement, the audience would have gone crazy. Not to mention the fact, that Reid doesn't say anything about claiming the $10,000 prize. And given his antics during the day, I can't see how he would have missed such an easy joke. Later sections of the report do show when the proceedings had to be stopped because the audience was getting out of hand. Don't you think a room full of fortune tellers and mediums would have gone wild over someone apparently beating Houdini at his game? I am unclear now. At first when I read it I didn't think that was the case. Now, after having read it numerous times, I can see the other side of the argument. One this for sure, it makes for a funny story and that's why the papers ran with it. Is it fake news? Probably not, although I did think so at first.

Tell me, what do you think? Do you think Reid guessed it correctly? Or do you think he got it wrong and Houdini just moved on to another test? Maybe it's a case of Laurel/Yanny from 1926, you hear it one way or hear it another, lol?!

Part 2 of Houdini In Congress will be coming in a couple days.

May Magic History Contest on The Magic Detective

WINNER

We have a winner for the May 2018 Magic History Contest. The winner is Majik Mike from Point Pleasant NJ. The question was, "He did a great Bullet Catch for publicity, but then chose suicide in real life. Who was this person?" and the answer was

Ted Anneman. Below is a video of Ted doing the Bullet Catch.

Thank you to everyone who participated. I'll post the next Magic History Contest Question on June 1st.

 

I'm back with another Magic History Contest!  One question & the winner gets an actual piece of magic history. Here is the question:

He did a great Bullet Catch for publicity, but then chose suicide in real life. Who was this person?

Contest Rules:

• Only 1 entry per person
• To enter: Send me an email, with the subject heading 'May Magic History Contest' to info@carnegiemagic.com    
• Please include your full name in the email. 
• You must live in the continental United States
• I'm going to pick a random name from among all the correct entries to get the winner!
• No purchase necessary. 
• Contest Ends Friday May 11th, 2018

Magic History Lectures

I have recently added flyers for my Magic History Lectures. I have two more to add, but have not yet finished the graphics. The two attached flyers are for a Houdini lecture and a Maro Lecture. I've given both of these lectures several times and they are quite good, if I do say so myself.

You can read about the lectures on the flyers. I will say, the one major addition to the Houdini lecture that I didn't have the previous times I presented it, is the power point presentation. The Maro lecture has always had the power point presentation.

These are great for historical groups, magic clubs, magic history groups, and really any association, library, or group looking to have a different sort of talk, that is both educational and entertaining. Click the links above to go the different lecture pages to find out more!

Magic History Contest for April

UPDATE: So I've already got a winner, and there are scores of other entries that are correct. But as you can see below, I said, "I will randomly choose a second person to win a prize as well". The contest remains open for another week, so ENTER! You've got nothing to loose, you might just be the second prize winner.  Also, in case you're wondering, there will be a May contest too.

Last October, during Houdini Month, I had several contests with some pretty cool prizes (if I do say so myself). I once had a contest back in 2012, that was so hard, no one got all the questions right. I was just looking over the list of questions, and even I couldn't get them all today, lol.

But I love this idea of a Contest, so this month, I'm doing an April Magic History Contest. One question. The winner gets an actual piece of magic history. It's a brochure used by a famous magician, but I won't say who, quite yet. Here is the question:

Many magicians have used devils or demons on their advertising. Which Houdini poster featured devils?

Contest Rules:

• Only 1 entry per person
• To enter: Send me an email, with the subject heading 'April Magic History Contest' to info@carnegiemagic.com    
• Please include your full name in the email. 
• You must live in the continental United States
• The 1st email I receive that has the correct answer is the winner! If I get a bunch of emails with correct answers, I will randomly choose a second person to win a prize as well. 
• No purchase necessary. 
• Contest Ends April 30th, 2018

FIRST PRIZE: A Large, 3 Fold Brochure From Virgil & Julie. 
The winner was William V from Havertown PA. He's already received his prize.
 















SECOND PRIZE: A smaller Virgil & Julie Brochure (not pictured)
The winner was drawn from the remaining entries and the prize goes to Kevin A. of Indio California. 
Congrats to both winners. And thanks everyone for playing. Next month, ANOTHER Magic History Contest.

The Nemca/Yankee Gathering Registration is Now OPEN!

The registration is now open for the New England Magic Collectors Association Conference, known as The Yankee Gathering. I attended this event two years ago and had so much fun! This is for the magic history folk, and it's filled with great lectures, lots of exhibits, wonderful people, and even stage shows at night. There is a rumor that yours truly will even be performing this year! If you'd like to register, please go to: http://nemca.com/wp/yg-xvii-registration/

This year's Guest of Honor will be Mike Caveney. For three days, the Yankee Gathering offers a full slate of informative and entertaining presentations from world-class experts in magic history and the collecting of magic apparatus, books, and memorabilia. Space is limited to 200 attendees, so make sure you register early!

Carnegie: Magic Detective: Who Was Houdini's Boyhood Hero?

I'm relisting one of my older articles. Today is the day that President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre in 1865. I had written a couple pieces about Lincoln and Houdini and Lincoln and magic in general a few years ago. I wanted to offer them up to my readers again in a slightly updated form. I had to correct a piece of info that I had gotten wrong. I hope you enjoy this bit of Lincoln and Houdini history. Please click the link below to view that story...


Carnegie: Magic Detective: Who Was Houdini's Boyhood Hero?: The first thought that comes to mind was Robert Houdin the french magician who Houdini acquired his name from. But actually if that was y...

About Houdini's Character On His Other Birthday

Today is April 6th, the day that Houdini celebrated his birthday. We know now, that he was actually born on March 24, 1874, but Houdini celebrated a few days later.  I have an article to share with you, that really has nothing to do with his birthday. But rather, it has to do with someone who knew him, describing his character. I've heard and read many stories about his character, often the stories are somewhat disparaging. But those negative comments often come from competitors. This piece below, is from someone who worked with Houdini. It originally appeared in Billboard Magazine, Nov 20th, 1926. Enjoy...

Sure, the article isn't quite politically correct by today's standards. But I'm not one of those that judges people from the past by the standards of today. I tend to think that those who do, will find themselves eventually judged quite harshly by history. What we find here is someone describing a kind, very considerate, and thoughtful Houdini. This is much the same as Dorothy Young described him. With that I'll say Happy Birthday Harry, again!

Happy Birthday Houdini #144

Well our ole friend Houdini turns 144 today. Strangely, he doesn't really look it. Another year older and another year for more revelations into a guy you'd think we would already know everything about. But through the tireless work of sites like: WildaboutHoudini, HoudiniFile, harryhoudinicircumstantialevidence, and of course my site, TheMagicDetective, we keep learning new facts about this iconic showman. I think the most astonishing thing is how new photos of Houdini keep showing up. Of course, they aren't truly new photos, just unseen or previously unknown photos. Then there are the countless books that come out about this great magician. I'm really looking forward to the new book by Joe Posnanski, once it's published. Despite my best efforts to reach Joe, I keep missing him or catching him at the wrong time, lol. I know he reads me blog though, so that's very cool.

Now, as an added bonus to help celebrate Houdini's birthday, I'm including a video clip of an escape I presented earlier this year. This was actually a demo-video shot for a project I'd been working on. I've re-edited it. Looking at it, I probably should have reshot it, because this was 30lbs ago, lol.  I hope you enjoy it! Happy Birthday Houdini!!!

Remembering Marco the Magi

It seems like only yesterday when my friend Cesareo Pelaez left this world. But it's now 6 years ago. He died March 24th, 2012. Cesareo was the creator of the Le Grand David Magic Show in Beverly, MA. In the last 1970s he gathered a group of students and friends to purchase the Cabot Street Cinema Theatre with the idea of putting on a magic show. But not any kind of magic show. He wanted an old world, Vaudeville style magic show, the kind he had seen as a boy growing up in Cuba.

He did it! Feb 20, 1977, the first show was presented at the Cabot. Officially titled, Marco the Magic presents, Le Grand David and his own Spectatular Magic Company! Cesareo was Marco. He invisioned himself as the mentor to the actual star of the show, David Bull, or Le Grand David. I suppose it depends upon who you talk to, some people thought Cesareo was the star, others David, and still others felt there was no clear star, but rather, the SHOW itself was the star, and the players were there to support the group effort.

After 35 years on stage and thousands of performances, the company closed up shortly after Cesareo passed away. They had received every major award possible in magic. They had done what many thought was impossible and they did something that will probably never been seen again.

Now, 6 years later, all the props, costumes, set pieces, curtains, everything has been sold off. The two theatres, the Cabot St. Theatre and he Larcom, have both been sold. To the best of my knowledge, the various cast members are all enjoying retirement, with the exception of Rick Heath, he is far from retired. Rick is still painting, still making magicians look good with his creative prop decor and/or beautiful poster designs.

I think it's safe to say, we all miss you Cesareo! RIP

Houdini's Gift of a Nashville Dog, Plus 2nd Nashville Appearance

The Great Lafayette & Beauty, the dog Houdini gave him.

I have written several times about how Houdini gave The Great Lafayette the gift of a dog while the two both were appearing in Nashville. Lafayette named the dog, Beauty, and it would become his traveling companion and best friend for the rest of their lives.

In 1899, Houdini and Lafayette were both in Nashville and appearing at the old Grand Theater (Grand Opera House). On November 6th, went down to the Nashville Police Department, unannounced. As the story goes, Houdini came into the station house, along with some reporters and made the claim they could lock him up in their cuffs and he could get out. The police in the station just laughed at him. Eventually, they brought out three pairs of cuffs, one of which hadn't been opened in 10 years because no one had a key. Houdini took key-less cuff and stepped out of the room for a moment. When he returned, the cuff was open, to the amazement of the chief of police! The officers locked Houdini in all three pair of cuffs and then, the newspaper article says, "he stepped behind an improvised curtain and began his escape." Houdini was free in 2 minutes and came walking back into the room two minutes later holding the three cuffs which had now been interlocked together.


Apparently, according to a March 12, 1924 article in The Tennessean Newspaper, Houdini, recalling the event from years previous, says that the detective who handcuffed him, later gave him a dog. And that Nashville dog, was then given to Lafayette and became the most treasured gift that he would ever receive.


Lafayette, later had a fake pedigree made for the dog. On the front door of his home in London Lafayette  hung a plaque that read 'The more I see of man, the more I love my dog'. Beauty had her own room and bathroom in the house. She ate five course meals. And an image of Beauty appeared on Lafayette's checks. She also was a member of the cast of his show.

Second Appearance in Nashville

This appeared to be Houdini's second appearance in Nashville. The first was back in 1899. Now it was March 11, 25 years later and he was appearing at the Ryman Auditorium. His show was sponsored  by The American Legion. Please note, in the advertisements he was referred to as 'The King of Magicians.'

To advertise his appearance, a group called 'The Battle of the Colors' would perform an aerial battle over the business district of Nashville. The troupe consisted of four planes taking off from Blackwood Field and being flown by pilots from the National Guard. They would first distribute fliers from the planes and then meet for the mock battle. Part of the fun was shooting red and green sky rockets at each other! I wonder what the FAA would say about that today, lol.

In addition to the airplane battle, articles appeared almost daily in The Tennessean Newspaper proclaiming Houdini's upcoming appearance and how he would be exposing fake mediums.

On the evening of March 11th, Houdini began with his lecture of Spiritualism, complete with his slide show. He presented a number of spirit like effects, like how fake mediums made messages appear on spirit slates, and how they could speak through spirit trumpets without being seen. Later he explained how these various effects were done. Houdini even covered one local ghost sighting from the Nashville area, called The Bell Witch of Robertson County. The Bell Witch was so popular that it's said, even President Andrew Jackson apparently had an encounter while encamped with his troops on the Bell Farm.

He completed his performance that night with his signature Milk Can Escape. However, it had been advertised that he would present the Water Torture Cell. I'm guessing the stage floor of the Ryman couldn't withstand the 100 gallons of water needed for the USD, so the opted for the Milk Can escape, which still was an under water escape. The Tennessean which covered the event, stated the audience that night was fair. I take this mean this was either not a full house, or the response to the performance was less than expected. The article does mention that the auditorium was freezing inside, so perhaps knowledge of this kept potential ticket buyers away. Or perhaps it was a situation where people were expecting a night of magic, and instead they got a lecture with a few tricks included. This issue had come up before with Houdini's Spirit Exposure Lecture. But I think it's more likely that it was not a sell out crowd.

One side note, every ticket holder to the show was given a 25 cent coupon that could be applied to a ticket for that evening's American Legion's Ball, being held at the Hermitage Hotel following Houdini's performance.

David Ogden Stiers Passed Away

David Ogden Stiers, who played Feldman in The Magic Show on Broadway with Doug Henning, has passed away at the age of 75. He was best known for his role on M.A.S.H. as the Doctor Charles Emerson Winchester. RIP

David Devant's Anniversary

David Devant was born 150 years ago Feb 22, 1868. He was known as England's Greatest Magician. For some reason, his name is not as well known in the United States. I think a certain segment of magicians know him, mostly the illusionists, and magic historians. But other branches of the art aren't  so familiar with his name.

I first became familiar with the name by seeing his magic posters. The one at the top of the page is probably the most iconic Devant poster. And does this poster ever speak volumes.  In a single poster, the artist has captured, people of all ages laughing. There are children in the image, women, men of all shapes and sizes, even a wounded soldier is depicted. I should point out, there are a couple people in the audience with a scowl on their face, that's pretty typical too. And Devant's catchphrase, "All Done By Kindness." Wow, does that speak volumes. Today, in our super cynical society, kindness seems to be a thing of the past. But Devant clearly had command of this group of people.

David Devant was born in 1868, as David Wighton in Holloway, London. He became interested in magic as a boy after seeing a traveling magician.  It's said that his choice of the name 'Devant' came about during a visit to an art gallery with his father. There was a painting with the title "David devants Goliath. Right then and there he chose that name, Devant. Devant was a triple threat,  he was an inventor of illusions, a performer of magic, and one of the early demonstrators of film. In the invention department, there are many. For example, The Artists Dream Illusion(1893), The Inexhaustible TeaKettle, Biff-The Vanishing Motorcycle(1913), The Golliwog Ball, and his crowning achievement, The Mascot Moth(1905). In regards to The Golliwog Ball, this was his interpretation of Harry Kellar's Demon Globe trick. Kellar's version was very complicated and difficult to perform. Devant worked out a deal with Kellar that if he could find a simpler method, he would share it with Kellar on the grounds he had Kellar's blessing to perform it. Needless to say, the Devant method was far easier and far more mystifying. I wonder if Teller's Red Ball illusion is his version of the Devant trick?

In the performing department, well he was already a successful entertainer by the time he partnered with J.N. Maskelyene. It doesn't hurt having your own magic theatre to present magic and in Devant's case, magic plays. The Artist's Dream is an perfect example. I can't recall where I first heard or read about The Artist's Dream, but it captivated my attention from the start. I've seen several modern day recreations of the illusion, some are quite good, some are not. In the effect, the magician plays the part of a painter. He has just painted his recently deceased wife on canvas. He covers the magic in order to step down and nap. As he sleeps, the image comes to life and steps from from the canvas.

I mentioned that Devant was an early demonstrator of films. David Devant was in the audience when the Lumiere Brothers first presented the Cinematograph in London. Being a showman, he instantly recognized the value of this new medium and wanted to get onboard. He was unable to acquire a Cinemtagraph, but soon was able to get a film projector from another gentleman. Immediately thereafter,  David Devant was showing movies to his LIVE audiences. Other magicians would follow suit and show films, but Devant was the first magician in England to do so. Devant also is captured a couple times on film. Below is an example of Devant performing actual magic and then camera tricks....(wow, even back then they used camera tricks)

Devant was a prolific author and on occasion co-author. For example, he cowrote the excellent book, OUR MAGIC with Nevil Maskelyne. On his own he wrote: Lessons in Conjuring, The Woes of a Wizard, Secrets of My Magic, My Magic Life, Magic Made Easy, and more. Apparently, The Secrets of My Magic, got Devant expelled from The Magic Circle for exposing methods. Kind of ironic, considering Devant had been the very first president of The Magic Castle. He was actually expelled twice for exposing methods.

In 1919, at the height of his career, David Devant received some dreadful news. He had acquired some sort of debilitating disease that forced him to be institutionalized for the remainder of his life. What a tragic ending to a gifted and talented individual. He passed away October 13th, 1941 at the age of 73.

The Great Nicola Magic Festival

This is exciting news, that I just found out about. There is going to be Magic Festival in Illinois celebrating The Great Nicola! In fact, it's called The Great Nicola Magic Festival and takes place in his hometown, Monmouth Illinois. The festival is April 21st 2018, from 11am to 9pm. According to the website there are two sets of tickets, daytime and nighttime. There are various activities during the day and it's hard to tell if this is geared to the general public or magicians or both. I kind of think it is more towards the general public, which is great actually! It looks like it will be fun.

Hearing this brought back a bunch of memories, as I few years ago I was thinking of writing a biography of Nicola. I had gathered a bunch of information, notes and such and then.......well, not sure what happened. It may have been back when I was having some health issues which caused me to get sidetracked. And looking over this blog, there is nothing here about Nicola. Which means, watch this blog in the next few days for a Nicola article!

I know I had written a couple of them in my old blog, but I didn't get everything moved over, and that blog is now gone.

I see that David Charvet is going to be there, and I assume he is performing and probably doing the lecture as well. I would LOVE to go to this, heck, I'd love to speak there as well! But I'm not sure I can swing it. That week is already a busy week of shows and it's a 15+ hour drive from me. Still...

They have a facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/617720035088558/
And the webpage for the Festival is http://www.wchistorymuseum.com/magicfestival.html

Book on Great Britain's Magic History, Coming Soon

Looks like there is a new magic history book on the horizon. This is by Derek Tait. You might recall his name from his most recent work, The Great Houdini: His British Tours. I've yet to finish my article, so watch for an upcoming review of that book. But Derek, now has another great book, this time covering the illusionists and magic acts that appeared in the music halls of Great Britain.

From the Amazon.com site, "This book includes the stories of some of the best illusionists as well as specialty acts such as Datas and The Human Fly. Some are still well-known names today, while others will be unheard of by many. Marvel at the feats and lives of the Davenport Brothers, the Great Raymond, David Devant, Carl Hertz and Harry Kellar. Relive the tragedies such as the deaths on stage of Chung Ling Soo and the Great Lafayette."

I for one love these types of books. It was books, just like these that kept me going as a young kid in magic. I would devour these books on magic history. I didn't have easy access to magic shops years ago, so the local book store was my go-to place. Thankfully, I found quite a few books there. I soon discovered, as I met other magicians, that I knew a lot more about magic history than the average magician. Of course, these were mostly amateurs. Though I recall stumping a few pros along the way too, come to think of it.

At any rate, the book is called The Great Illusionists, and will come out July 3rd, 2018. You can pre-order a copy of the book now on Amazon.com