talkmagic.co.uk

Howdy all,

I've been getting really into my magic history at the moment, mostly to do with magicians of the late 19th and early 20th century.

I know there's got to be some real history buffs on here, so can anyone make any suggestions as to some great books/tv specials/websites, anything really that you may have read or seen that is fascinating. I've got a few books out of my local library but some of them aren't very in-depth.

So history buffs, can anyone recommend some hearty not-so-light reading about magicians and the development of magic from, say, 1850-1920? This is really the time period that catches my imagination the most, though if anyone pops in with something that is a "must read" about any other period of magic's history, I won't be opposed to it.

Any of Jim Steinmeyer's books are good. Hiding the elephant is probably the best starting point.

The Rise & Fall of the Indian Rope Trick is also not a bad read, it charts the various theories, performances of it & tries to answer whether or not it ever actually existed.

It's also really worth getting hold of some old magic books and magazines, things like the Jinx from that time period. Just looking at the articles and adverts is a great way to get a feel for magic at the time.

Lets see...
As far as books go, Milbourne Christopher still stands head and shoulders over most, if your after a general overview of the history of magic. ( Is it still published?)
as mentioned above,Steinmyer's Hiding the elephant, Glorious Deception, and Art and artifice are well worth investing in..
I like Geoffery Lambs Victorian magic, which can be picked up reasonably cheep.
if you want to specialize in any particular area, or artist the books published by Mike Caveny are a must, although they tend to be limited print runs, and quite expensive.. That said, they are usualy a true investment, as collectors who miss out, do pay silly money for them.

Often, there are smaller publications that focus in one area or another.
I seem to have quite a few tings on Howard thurston, one of the more interesting being a little book on Herman Hanson, Thurstons Illusion builder.

dvds worth getting include the dvds put out by Miracle Factory.

http://www.miraclefactory.net/
although there is tons of stuff on Youtube ..

web sites..

Sign up for the Learned Pig Project

Little Egypt Gazette ( if it's still around)

I find a wealth of historical stuff on the Geinii forums, where a number of collectors hang out.

look at on line auction sites,( not ebay) that specialize in magical equipment, and surff googe any names that appear in the adverts.
The theatre site i have posted, offers quite a bit.
Pathe news archive has tons of magic videos,

often local magical societies will have historical information about it's self as part of their web sites.

go look at site that deal with locations that have had music hall connections.. Blackpool for example, and do general searches for magicians. You will be amazed at what turns up.
Circus, street entertainment, and other related arts have a web presence, and you will be able to find out stuff from them..
Its not all good but when it comes to research, thanks to the internet
The world is literally your oyster.. all you need to do is shuck a load of shells, if you want to find a pearl.

you pick up little things like this...

Re the Kingston Empire.

The theatre labelled "Empire" opened early, October 1910 with the top of the Bill, The Great Raymond American illusionist. He used a metre square trap about sixteen feet from the footlights, this trap was cut on the Monday morning. It was used in all the disappearances of any of Raymond's staff. The show opened with "full house" at every performance.

The following week the "top of the Bill" was Lockharts elephants presented by Captain Joe Taylor. These elephants are the same animals with the exception of one which killed Mr Lockhart at Hoe Street, Walthamstow some year or so previous. These elephants had to have a rehearsal, as each animal weighed over two tons, and it is very necessary for the elephants to assure themselves, that it was a safe stage construction. Their keeper, whose nickname was "thumbs" paraded them round the stage but when the very large elephant had to balance himself on one leg on the centre of the stage it gave a trumpet and with its foot - pushed the trap through the stage - that trick had to be cut out.

I heard on the Smoke & Mirrors podcast that Paul Kieve's book Hocus Pocus was supposed to cover a decent amount of history while teaching some tricks along the way, and for that matterthe Smoke & Mirrors Podcast by Matt Duggan is an excellent introduction with some great interviews.

http://www.smokeandmirrorsradioshow.com/

daleshrimpton wrote:As far as books go, Milbourne Christopher still stands head and shoulders over most, if your after a general overview of the history of magic. ( Is it still published?)

Indeed it is still published and now updated by his widow. Try Amazon.co.uk. Although somewhat more lightweight, Paul Kieve's Hocus Pocus has a lot of excellent history in it.

Wow thanks for the responses guys.

Dale, Im already signed up for the Learned Pig Project but, being forgetful, haven't been on it for about six months, I'll definately be trawling through there now!

As for the numerous books you guys have recommended, I'll start having a look at them and see which catch my eye the most.

Oh and Lady of Mystery, any idea where I could find some of those old magic publications like the Jinx? I'm assuming they will be rare.

Again thanks guys, helpful as always.

You can buy the complete jinx for $15 on lybrary.com as an ebook. But if your on learned pig most of the Annemann on there is from the jinx.

jinx is on lpp for free

Thanks jobasha and Dale, I just found it on there. I forgot just how cool LPP is, what an awesome site.