Interesting to see that this thread on my old company has been revived.
According to one entry I apparently sold off the company in the 1970's. That is news to me as it was still going strong in the early 1980's before I closed the operation and moved to Canada, where I set up a similar rack merchandising offer with magic tricks for kids (Rudi Rabbit was still the logo and "spokesman") plus the range of Mad Hatter Jokes and Tricks.
I returned on a visit to the U.K. in 2006 and met up with Remo Inzani and Ali Bongo at the Magic Circle headquarters. That was the last time I saw Ali alive, but we had always stayed in touch. I have an original colour drawing that he made of the new costume he had designed for the "Shriek of Araby" act. The picture shows the outfit he eventually made.
It is gratifying to see how many on this BBS who have fond memories of the Mad Hatter Magic Club, the badges and posters we provided and the tricks that we used to sell. Many were standard beginner's tricks, but I always made a point of writing decent instructions that a child could understand.
Rudi had his moment in the spotlight for a couple of years as a full page in the TV COMIC and one of the highlights was when we put together the Mad Hatter Magic Convention at the Polka Children's Theatre in Wimbledon. That was in October 1981. A fantastic day with an amazing Gala Show.
From this Bulletin Board, it appears there are a number of people who have questions about Inzani - Henley Magic Company Ltd and the Mad Hatter era. If you want to email me at
rudi.rabbit@gmail.com I will try to provide suitable responses to your questions. If you want to see what I have been up to in the meantime, you can check me out at
http://www.john-henley.comThanks for the interest you have all shown. It is appreciated.