Ye Olde Magic Mag Vol - 07 - Issue - 02

Ye Olde Magic Mag
Vol.7
2
Mar. 2021
Copyright © 2021 Marco Pusterla
65
This copy belongs to: Roberto Mansilla ([email protected]) - 18900
pictions of magicians in a party situa-

tion on as many Italian wedding chests.
These images are generally unknown to
all but the most obsessive magic histo-
rians, and you may not have seen them
before.
agic has come a long way I complete our excursus on Re-
M through history: from

the deceptive practices
of priests and wizards, to demonstra-
naissance magic by revealing another
trick in a book I first studied almost
twenty years ago (and another bit of in-
tions of skill by itinerant performers, formation is also in Chewing the (Mag-
to the legitimate theatrical art started ic) Fat).
in the 18th century, magicians have al- As this is the first issue of 2021,
ways been on the margin of society, to James Smith is back with an overview
be called upon when necessary, either of important magic books that sold in
to entertain at a party, or to provide an the last year, mainly through private
act in a variety show, or to help create a sales. The second instalment of the se-
belief in a supernatural event, or to de- ries of Mike Perovich on magicians
fraud the unwary by distraction or with whose life created scandal, reports on
the performer’s skill. probably the darkest character (scan-
This issue looks back to the rep- dal–wise) in the series: well–known
resentation of the magician in the Re- author Glenn Gravatt, a public officer
naissance, with two major articles by whose misdeeds affected many people.
European students of the Art, which Italian magic historian Angelo
have looked in depth to different rep- Mitri returns to these pages with an in-
resentations of the magician between teresting article on the career of a long–
the 1400s and the 1500s, to see what we forgotten Italian–American magician,
can deduce of their presence in society. a friend of Houdini and yet another
Jan Isenbart has studied in detail the forgotten performer you, probably have
paint long attributed to Hyeronimous never heard about.
Bosch of a conjurer and a thief, trying The continued situation with
to understand if, from that image, the Covid–19 has given many magicians
two were working together or whether the time to complete magic books and
the thief was only an opportunist. A put them on the market, and we re-
detailed study on this painting by Stef- view these from page 117. Many of
fen Taut has been published recently the books have been reviewed by me,
in Gibeciére and Isenbart’s one comple- but Richard Hatch has gone above and
ments it with a few interesting observa- beyond his guest review, by finding out
tions. Do you agree with the findings? some information on Compars Her-
But if the magician was a low–class rmann’s daughter, hitherto unknown.
criminal or crook, this was apparently The magazine ends with the regu-
not always the case, as demonstrated by lar columns on major auctions of magic
Thibaut Rioult who examines two de- memorabilia and of important magic
66
objects sold in the past quarter, and we ing the situation and following govern-
have the return of Chewing the (Magic) ment advice: in the UK the vaccination
Fat with observations on the history of programme is currently making great
magic and on magic collecting. strides and the expectation is to have
In this issue we have a few Classi- almost all the population vaccinated by
fied Ads (just below) and I have fixed a the end of the Summer. What we do not
problem we had with our website that know (and we cannot predict) is how
was preventing visitors from posting ads logistics will be for EMHC. At the end
and contacting us! If you look for magi- of March, we will take a decision and
cal memorabilia and/or have objects to send out an email: if you would like to
dispose of, please visit our website and come to London and meet up with fel-
book an ad: it is completely free! low magic collectors and historians, and
I had a few requests about what is visit some incredible magic collections,
going to happen with the next Europe- please visit https://emhc2021.com and
an Magic History Conference, planned subscribe to the mailing list to make
for September 2021 in London, organ- sure you won’t miss any information. A
ized by Fergus Roy with my support. quarter of the available places have al-
Of course, the Covid–19 situation is ready been reserved and we really hope
still ongoing and changing weekly, if not to be able to host a conference that will
daily, and government advice is chang- be safe, secure and magical!
ing, confusing and controversial. For the Take care, stay safe and enjoy this
time being, Fergus and I are monitor- issue of Ye Olde Magic Mag!
MP
Classified Ads
WANTED BOOKPLATES. Wanting to FOR SALE MAGICOL. Many
trade with other collectors: email me duplicates available; email for list
[email protected] [email protected]
Magic History Events:

9–12 September: European Magic History Conference — emhc2021.com
1–3 October: Orlando Magic Collector’s & History Conference — magic-palooza.
com
Magic Auctions:
1 April: Art de la scène & Music–Hall (Jan Madd) — http://bit.ly/3ah4bTB
24 April: Spring Magic Auction — https://potterauctions.com
Organizers of magic events dedicated to the History of magic, or where events about the history of magic
are part of the programme, or organizers of Auctions of magic apparatus/memorabilia, are kindly invited
to contact the editor at [email protected] so that your event can be listed here at no charge.
67
Important Magic Books Sold in 2020

by James Smith
o say that 2020 was an
T unusual year would be

an understatement in so
many ways. Undoubtedly the auction
business was hit – as were many oth-
ers – by the pandemic and it was not
until the latter part of the year that the
number of auctions being held returned
almost to normal. Rare magic books at
auction this year have not been plenti-
ful, although there have still been some
highlights that will feature in the follow-
ing paragraphs.
As with my previous six instal-
ments of this article, where “TS” and a
number appear this is an indication of
the entry in Raymond Toole Stott’s A
Bibliography of English Conjuring 1581
– 1876. For auction sales I have, as usu-
al, quoted hammer price and then the
hammer price plus buyers’ premium in
brackets. Rare true first edition of
The first book to feature in last The Universal Conjuror
year’s article was one published by the dates the Hodgson issue to c.1830. In
London publisher, Orlando Hodgson. fact the Hodgson issue is earlier and
On 6th January another Hodgson title there are two variants; one with no ad-
appeared in the form of The Universal dress for Hodgson on the imprint and
Conjuror, or, the Whole At of Legerde- one with an address of Maiden Lane in
main (TS673). The content of this 28pp. London. The variant with no address
chapbook is taken from a later edition can also be positively identified to 1829,
of Breslaw’s Last Legacy published by so what of the “Maiden Lane” variant?
Thomas Hughes, which also included Fortunately Orlando Hodgson was only
material from the books of Pinetti and located at Maiden Lane between 1826–
Denton (i.e. Decremps). 1828. Although we can be no more
The Universal Conjuror is a title certain than that, the fact that 1828
that has featured previously in this ar- is the latest that this issue could have
ticle although it is most commonly the been published means that the Hodg-
issue published by T. & J. Allman that son “Maiden Lane” issue can rightly lay
crops up. The Allman issue (TS672) is claim to being the first edition of The
positively dated 1829 and Toole Stott Universal Conjuror.
68
It was a copy of this first edition an abbreviated third edition was pub-
that was offered for sale by a book dealer lished much later in 1744. The author
in Suffolk in the East of England. Sadly it – the wonderfully named and likely
was defective as it was lacking the hand- imaginary Theophilus Lucas – claimed
coloured folding frontispiece. Such to have inherited a large estate, which
are the fluctuation of prices in a niche he gambled away. The book therefore
market like ours that a good copy of the serves as a warning on the dangers and
Allman edition can vary dramatically; ills of gambling.
perhaps anywhere from £2,000–£3,500. The copy offered in March was a
Indeed an Allman edition was listed on nice copy of the first edition, in a con-
eBay in 2020 and remains on sale at the temporary binding and with good prov-
time of writing priced at $4,000. With- enance. It sold for £1,200 (£1,440).
out the folding frontispiece, however,
the dealer’s asking price of £1,200 for In last year’s article I noted the sale
the Hodgson edition looked too steep. of a very rare US book of the nineteenth
Nonetheless it is a rarity and was sold century, The Book of Experiments, or,
quickly, albeit at a lower price. Wonders and Secrets Made Plain (Bos-
ton, 1850) (TS102). Remarkably an-
On 4th March Dominic Winter other copy appeared on the market in
Auctions offered a copy of a rarely seen June, offered by a New York bookseller.
title on gambling, which includes “all More remarkable than the appearance
the most sharping Tricks and Cheats of another copy of this rare book was
(us’d by slight of Hand)”. Memoirs of the asking price – $8,900! Considering
the Lives, Intrigues, and Comical Ad- the copy lacks the original covers and
ventures of the most Famous Gamesters has been rebound, I can only assume
and Celebrated Sharpers (TS437) was that the bookseller may have been con-
first published in 1714. A second edi- ducting his own “experiments” with il-
tion appeared later in the same year and licit substances when setting the price.
For those interested, the copy
is unsurprisingly still for sale
at the time of writing.
On 29th June, Zwigge-

laar Auctions in Amsterdam
sold several scarce Dutch
books of conjuring inter-
est. The rarest of these was a
Dutch edition of Johann Wil-
helm Andreas Kosman[n]’s
Alle de Kunststukken door
den Vermaarden Ridder Pi-
netti de Merci, vertoond te
Berlyn (Breda, 1800) (All
A warning on the perils of gambling
69
the Tricks of the Renowned

Knight Pinetti de Merci, as
shown in Berlin).
Regular readers will
know that the popular
eighteenth century Italian
magician Giovanni Giu-
seppe Pinetti was blighted
by exposures of his tricks.
In Paris it was Decremps’
La Magie Blanche Dévoilée
(1784) and in Berlin it was
Kosmann’s Des Herrn Ritters
Pinetti di Merci physikalishe
Belustigungen (1796) (The A gift of the author: note the inscription
Knight Pinetti de Merci’s
the latter. It is seldom seen but is impor-
Physical Amusements). The book sold in
tant and the €200 (€260) selling price
June was the first Dutch translation of
was surprisingly low.
Kosmann’s book is interesting and
gives insight into Pinetti’s repertoire.
For those to whom German and Dutch
are not languages you read, the Winter
2019 edition of Gibecière contains an
English translation of this title by the
late Lori Pieper.
A book that has appeared in this

article for the last two years is Randle
Holme’s The Academy of Armory, or, a
Storehouse of Armory and Blazon (Ches-
ter, 1688) (TS388), which contains con-
tent lifted from Hocus Pocus Junior.
Last year I questioned the previously
assumed rarity of this book given that
three copies had been offered for sale in
quick succession. This, the fourth, I only
mention as it is hard to imagine a nicer
copy of this title, with such important
provenance.
The copy offered by Forum Auc-
tions in London on 24th September had
been gifted by the author himself and
Dutch translation of the Kosmann was inscribed “A Gift of Randle Holme
70
of the citty of Chester Herauld Painter like Routledge’s Handbook of Conjuring

to the Worshipfull Colledge of Heraulds (London, c.1868) (TS615). From my
Año. M.DC.XCII.” The binding was perspective, though, I was curious to
by top binders Rivière & Son and also see that it also included a sorry copy of
bound in were several proof sheets for the third edition of Henry Dean’s The
the original book. It was unsurpris- Whole Art of Legerdemain (London,
ing that this copy realised considerably c.1733) (TS201). This copy lacked the
more than previous copies, eventually frontispiece and a significant number of
settling well above estimate at £3,500 pages of text. Rare as it may be it was
(£4,375). never going to achieve a particularly
There were several other titles high price.
of magic and witchcraft interest in the I was more interested in seeing
same sale, including the second edition
this copy again as I had tried to acquire
of Jean Leurechon’s Mathematicall Rec-
it myself when it was first offered for
reations (London, 1653) (TS430), which
sale in 2009 and was unaware that it had
sold for £680 (£850) and William Ley-
ended up in Trevor’s collection. Eleven
bourn’s Pleasure with Profit (London,
1694) (TS1102), which sold for £750 years ago the dealer was asking £550,
(£938). which I thought too much at the time.
It was unrestored and in its original
A few days after the previous auc- binding when first offered. As offered
tion, on the 30th September, the Edin- in this auction, it had been restored and
burgh auction house Lyon & Turnbull rebound. The lot of six books sold for
offered a number of books from the col- £750 (£938), which by my reckoning
lection of the late Trevor Dawson. Ye probably valued the Dean at a similar
Olde Editor has previously commented price to that when first offered. Com-
on the hap–hazard nature of this sale pare that to the complete third edition
in YOMM 7–1. There were many nice copy in the Milbourne Christopher sale
books, badly lotted, and I will mention of 2011 and you will clearly see the im-
only a few here. pact of condition on value. That copy,
Lot 180 was a set of six books, complete and in original binding, sold
including several hard–to–find titles for $9,500 ($11,400).
3rd edition Dean – unrestored The same book, now restored

71
16th December for £200 (£250) at Fo-

rum Auctions in London.
A book noted by Ye Olde Editor
in YOMM 7–1 was a first edition of J.
P. Robson’s The Life and Adventures of
the Far–Famed Billy Purvis (Newcas-
tle–upon–Tyne, 1849) (TS1301). Purvis
was a clown, piper and magician who
was a house–hold name in the North of
England and Southern Scotland during
the early Victorian period. This book is
exceedingly scarce and it was sold in a
large lot for £650 (£812). I had wanted
this book but bidding went beyond my
budget for the lot.
Lamenting my loss, the very
same evening I was searching online
for newly listed titles of interest and al-
most fell off my chair when up popped
a very nice copy of the second edition
A rare 2nd edition of the Purvis book of Billy Purvis’ biography in the original
pictorial boards. The second edition of
Lot 189 was another Dean; a ninth 1850 is rare and more information can
edition of 1789 (TS214). Although bet- be found about it in YOMM 3–3. The
ter than the third edition it was again serendipitous appearance of this book
imperfect, lacking the frontispiece and and the favourable price meant I did
final leaf and with other repairs. The not hesitate to release the moths from
price realised – £800 (£1,000) – seemed my wallet and add this rarity to my own
on the high side for an incomplete copy. collection.
The penultimate book I will men-
tion I do so only because the price sur-
prised me. Lot 193 was a first edition
copy of William Godwin’s Lives of the
Necromancers (London, 1834) (TS834).
It had a contemporary – but not original
– binding and had been rebacked. God-
win’s book is by no means common but
nor is it particularly scarce. There was
an American edition published a year
later in 1835 and it is true that the Eng-
lish first edition is less frequently seen.
Nonetheless, the price realised of £700
(£875) did seem high. Indeed, a copy in
the original publisher’s boards sold on An uncommon variant of a rare title
72
eBay continues to offer surprises the same frontispiece; a wonderful il-

and in October a rare US title appeared. lustration of Herr Alexander perform-
This was Whole Art of Conjuring, or, Ho- ing the fish bowl production. As noted
cus Pocus published by Fisher & Brother, last year, this illustration was copied di-
Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Balti- rectly from an Alexander broadside of
more in c.1850 (TS706). This title is one the same period.
of many cheap magic books published The copy of Whole Art of Conjur-
in the US in the 1840s and 1850s. A sig- ing, or, Hocus Pocus sold on eBay was
nificant proportion of the text is copied complete, in nice condition and in its
from much earlier sources, most nota- original printed wrappers. The final
bly Henry Dean’s The Whole of Art of selling price was almost commensurate
Legerdemain. Interestingly the content with that of the Murphy title sold last
of this book is identical to another US year, coming in at $915.
rarity that was sold last year and cov-
ered in this article. That was a copy of Not so cheap was yet another US
Hocus Pocus, or the True Art of Legerde- rarity put on sale by a Virginia booksell-
main (TS385), which was published by er in mid–September. I note it here as
William Murphy in New York c.1850. The Whole Art of Legerdemain, or Hocus
The title page and cover of the Pocus laid open and Explained (TS729)
Fisher & Brother title is different to the has similar content as the preceding, de-
Murphy printing but both titles share spite it claiming to expose the tricks of
“renowned masters Sena Sama, Hamed
Ben–Alla, and all the Celebrated and
Mysterious Professors of the Art of Nat-
ural Magic”.
This particular title was published
in Philadelphia in 1853, although its or-
igins can be traced back to the Nicker-
son editions by a similar name (TS719–
722), the first of which was published
in 1830. Editions of this title do appear
from time to time but all are scarce. The
copy offered had been rebacked but was
otherwise in very good condition in
original printed boards. It was listed for
sale at $3,500.
The last book of note for 2020 was

sold by Heritage Auctions in Dallas on
16th December. Magic and conjuring
have often been blurred with science
and this was particularly so in the mid-
dle ages when science was not well un-
Yet another scarce US magic book derstood.
73
In addition to reprints of Greene’s

play, a chapbook entitled The Famous
Historie of Fryer Bacon was published
in London in 1627. This was a potted –
and predominantly fictional – history
of Bacon’s life and his so–called magic.
Various reprints of this book have ap-
peared over the years, the most acces-
sible of which is the Bibliotheca Curiosa
reprint published privately by Edmund
Goldsmid in Edinburgh in 1886. Early
printings of Frier Bacon’s Famous His-
torie rarely appear on the market. The
book sold in Dallas was one such early
printing, although textually it varies
from the original.
The Most Famous History of the
Is this conjuring? You decide! Learned Fryer Bacon (a rare variant of
Roger Bacon was a thirteenth cen- TS762) is a chapbook in quarto size and
tury Franciscan friar and is well known containing only 12 unnumbered leaves.
for his empirical studies of nature and It was printed in London around 1715.
also for his advancement of the un- The copy offered was complete, uncut,
derstanding of optics. Despite his im- with an attractive woodcut on the cover
portant scientific work, one element of of the Brazen Head uttering the im-
Bacon’s legacy captured the imagination mortal words “Time is. Time was. Time
of future generations. That was his “Bra- past.” The copy came from the collection
zen Head,” a supposed talking automa- of the bibliographer, the late Sydney
ton made of brass. Such automata have Roscoe. Bidding was competitive and it
been attributed to a number of ancient eventually sold for $1,300 ($1,625).
philosophers and certainly talking stat-
ues and heads were known by the an- To round off this year’s article, I
cients. thought I would give you a brief update
Famously, the Elizabethan play- on two books that featured last year. As
wright Robert Greene – a contempo- much as I would love to add every rare
rary of Shakespeare – wrote a comedy
entitled The Honorable Historie of Frier
Bacon and Frier Bongay. The play was
published in 1594, although was likely
first performed a few years earlier. This
included the supposed magic per-
formed by Bacon and the making of
the Brazen head with fellow “conjurer,”
Frier Bungay. Engstrom signature in the book
74
magic book that comes up for sale to my of The Merry Medley for Gay Gallants
personal collection, sadly my pockets and Good Companions. Containing Di-
are not as deep as a number of other col- verting Stories, Choice Jests, Dextrous
lectors and many books elude me. I do, and Delightful Tricks in Leger–de–
however, like to track those books that I Main (1748), which is a later reprint of
cannot afford and enjoy watching their TS287/288. The book was bound with
travels between collections and, more other contemporary titles. This was pur-
often than not, across continents. chased by a book dealer who promptly
Last year I included two copies separated all the titles and rebound
of Engstrom’s The Humorous Magi- them for sale individually. The books
cian Unmasked (1836) (TS278). One of originally sold for £1,900 (£2,422) but
these copies has now found a home in The Merry Medley alone was listed for
a magic collection. It was the copy that sale at £3,950. Until recently it remained
was on eBay and purported to be signed on sale but appears now not to be. Per-
by Engstrom himself. Not only has the haps you are the new owner? If you are I
book now found a new owner in the US would love to know!
but I’m also happy to report that the sig- That’s it for another year. Para-
nature that I originally doubted has now phrasing Frier Bacon’s brazen head,
been cross–referenced against a known “2020 is. 2020 was. 2020 past.” Many
Engstrom signature and does appear to of us will be glad to see the back of last
be genuine. Certainly the best buy of the year and look forward to better things
two copies that were for sale! in 2021. Stay safe…and keep reading!
The final book I featured last year
was an exceedingly rare Dublin edition
A curiosity spotted by James Smith on eBay:

this is part of a programme from Scarborough (UK)
of a “Fantasy Fayre” held in the summer of 1882.
The programme is all written in mock–ancient English and
amongst the events it lists also a magician, Walter Bailey,
a local amateur, performing a mind–reading act.
So now you have ye Magicke–man in Ye Olde Magic(ke) Mag!
75
Deodato: an Italian magician

friend of Houdini by Angelo Mitri
e are always looking for
W magicians little known

to the magical public and
absent in official biographies, but who
nevertheless have written significant
pages in the great book of the history
and evolution of magical art. Today is
the turn of an Italian magician who
moved to the United States where he
had a long career, and who was kindly
pointed out to me by my friend Marco
Pusterla, editor of Ye Olde Magic Mag.
We are talking about Giuseppe
(Joseph) Deodato born in Mesoraca
in the province of Crotone (since 1992;
before then, it was in the province of
Catanzaro).
Deodato
at 10 am on 18 December 1867. His
name in the registry office appears to be:
Giuseppe Salvatore Deodato. His father
was called Saverio Deodato of Giuseppe
(he was 45 years old when he registered
his son) by profession “Paratore” (the
person in charge of the decorations of
churches or public places). The mother
was called Maria Diana Palaia of Sera-
fino (38 years old at registration), a
stitcher. The witnesses present at the
recording were Antonino Rizza and
Domenico Rizza, both shoemakers.
The deed was signed only by the mayor
because both Saverio Deodato and the
witnesses were illiterate. You can see the
Mesoraca, where Deodato was born birth certificate on the facing page.
From the birth certificate, we The information gathered about
learn that the future magician was born Giuseppe Deodato’s artistic activity in
76
Deodato’s birth record

Canada and in the United States span a Fire trick, and all his tricks went
period of time from 1907 to 1915. Pre- very well. A “find” for the mon-
viously it seems that he had travelled for ey. His closing trick is a corker.
many years with Herrmann the Great Both Deodato and assistant are
from whom he learned his art (The dressed in red swallow tails and
Barre Daily Times, Barre VT, Tuesday black satin knee breeches. Very
little paraphernalia and no steps
June 11, 1912). Some newspaper articles
to the Audience. 17 minutes, full
called him “Deodato & Co. Italian Her- stage.
rmann,” with a tenuous connection to Harry Houdini in his The Conjur-
the great magician. Newspaper reports ers’ Monthly Magazine took an interest
say of Deodato as being very skilled, in him, reporting a short biography and
with a number of new and interesting listing some shows that featured him. In
effects presented in a pleasing way. In Volume II n. 2, October 1907 on p. 52 it is
America, in addition to success with the reported the first news of a show of him
lay public, he has also found great suc- at the Dominion Theater in Winnipeg
cess in the magical community. in Canada. Houdini wonders who this
We could find a few mentions of Italian magician was and hopes Chefalo
Deodato in the records of the manag- will inform him. He had the honour of
ers of the Keith’s theatres, which give us being the first and the last magician to
some information on his early shows. perform at the new Orpheum Theater
The first one was from New York, on in Vancouver with a splendid perfor-
28th January 1907, saying: mance. In November 1907 he is tour-
DEODATO — Italian Magician
ing Illinois and giving performances at
who had a trial here last Thurs-
day, and as I predicted made the Main Street Theater in Peoria with
good. He has a splendid act, and a good reception. In the spring of 1908
luckily cannot speak English, he made his first Boston appearance at
and his whole act is pantomime. Keith’s Theater.
He opens with Ching Ling Foo’s Always Houdini in Volume II n.10
77
June 1908 p.308, writes that in America narily attractive. The costumes
there is little talk of Italian conjurers of himself and his assistant are
and this can be a good opportunity to very neat. The act should make
meet the magician Joseph Deodato good in any of the smaller 2–day
who is now in America and take the houses, and is well worth $100.
opportunity to know, study and magi- and 3 shows where the continuos
cians should familiarize with the style is in vogue.
of European magicians. From the article It was interesting to discover that
published in 1908 it is clear that Deo- Houdini and Deodato found them-
dato had been practicing the profession selves residing in New York with their
of magician for many years and that he residences quite close by. Deodato was
had lived in America at least since 1907. living at 189 Grand Street and Harry
In addition to being a prestigious magi- Houdini at 278 West 113th Street in
cian called “The King of Fire,” the effect New York (Harlem). We may speculate
that characterized him most was that of that the two may have had a certain re-
a sword swallower. He claimed to have lationship. But it is the attention and ad-
managed to swallow a 28–inch (71.12 miration that Houdini placed towards
cm) sword. One day, with the blade en- this artist that leads us to think that they
tirely swallowed, a cough caused him were friends. Of the two, Deodato was
internal injuries with haemorrhage. seven years older. His repertoire, was
This incident stopped him for some based above all on novelty, breathtaking
time with the result of eliminating the effects, and escapes, in a sense required
effect from the repertoire, considered the same qualities (courage, determina-
by Houdini to be taboo for American tion, ruthlessness and physical skills)
magicians. In his shows he was helped that Houdini also used in his perfor-
by his son and both managed to face mances.
the audience even if they did not have a Deodato and Houdini were on the
complete command of the English lan- same bill the week of 8th May 1908 at
guage. At the end of the article, Houdini the Keith’s Philadelphia and the man-
hopes that as many of his magician col- ager (C. E. Barns) had to say:
leagues met him, giving him a kind wel- Deodato. On at 7:03 19 min. Full
come, as happens abroad for American stage. This is a showy act, his
magicians always received in a cordial work rather stilted, but Deodato
makes a good appearance. Ex-
way.
hibits considerable skill, one or
Carl D. Lothrop, manager of the two of his acts were quite new.
Keith’s Theater in Boston, put Deodato Good applause and curtain call.
up as the first act on the week of 20 Deodato followed Houdini on this
April 1908 and said: bill (with the Kinetograph as the inter-
Deodato. On at 1:40, 19 min, full
mission) so was following quite a diffi-
stage; can close in 1, if neces-
sary; 3 shows. An Italian who is cult act, which proved very popular that
a very clever magician and has a night – when Houdini escaped from a
very good equipment, the stage “crazy cot” in eleven minutes. Houdini
settings being more than ordi- mentioned Deodato both in the May
78
Deodato’s calling card: note his address

and June issue of The Conjurer’s Month- June 5, 1908, mentioned him, giving the
ly Magazine, thus confirming the Italian article the title “Wizard And Witches
wizard was very much in his mind. Feast” with subtitle: “Celebrate Kellar’s
We cannot even exclude that Renunciation of The Red Devils.” Dur-
Houdini sponsored Deodato to par- ing the evening, in addition to the per-
ticipate in the fourth annual dinner of formances, a gold badge had been given
the S.A.M. (The Society of American to Kellar, the man whose ear the little
Magician) on June 4, 1908, along with red devils whispered all their secrets.
Harry Kellar, Houdini himself, How- Since he retired, Kellar had transferred
ard Thurston, Imro Fox, T. Nelson the title and the little devils to Howard
Downs, Horace Goldin and others. At Thurston. Well, in presenting Deodato,
that event, Deodato performed his act the editor, had the bad taste to write:
which consisted of swallowing a huge “Deodato from the land of black hand.”
amount of pieces of paper and to emit He could have simply written “Italian
fire and smoke from the mouth, then Magician.” The SAM’s fourth dinner
to pull out meters and meters of tape was also the occasion for the renewal
and eject a metal rod about 90 cm. long of the board. Oscar S. Teale was elected
from his mouth, guaranteeing him great President and Harry Houdini first Vice
success. After the show he was called President. In the same session it was de-
the “Italian Necromancer” and the “Kel- cided to send a letter of thanks to Deo-
lar of Italy.” He was honoured, deserv- dato for the great show offered during
ing the appreciation he got, his work the dinner.
was defined as graceful and beautifully The S.A.M. invited him again on
done. The chronicle of the event was re- March 26, 1912 to the fourth annual
ported in The Sphinx n. 7, 1908 on p. 42 Vaudeville along with Huber, Dun-
and reprised in Goldston’s The Magician ninger, Laurant, Jarrow and others.
Monthly. Also the newspaper The Sun of The same evening saw also the projec-
79
tion of Houdini’s movie where he per-

formed his “Bridge Jumping Act” and Partial list of
another on his plane. Deodato’s performances
The act was out of the ordinary
▶▶Keith’s Theatre (Boston) 17 Apr. 1908
and fun for viewers, presenting it as ▶▶Electric Park (N.J.) 10–16 Aug. 1908
“The Spanish Court of Inquisition.” The ▶▶Auditorium (New York) 15–21 May
setting was medieval in style, the effects 1909
it presented belonged to the repertoire ▶▶Brooklyn Theatre 28 Feb. 1909
of past magicians. He dressed like a ▶▶Proctor’s Moving Picture House, Eliza-
judge of the Inquisition tribunal. Deo- beth, (N. J.) 19–21 Aug. 1909
▶▶Murray Hill Theatre (N.Y.) 17Oct. 1909
dato seemed like a character out of time. ▶▶Victoria Theatre, Philadelphia. May
With a swashbuckling attitude, he stabs 1910
the chosen card from a deck of cards ▶▶Star Theater, Pawtucket, (Rhode Island)
with a sword. From the tradition of Ital- May 1910
ian magicians he brings to America the ▶ ▶Bijou Theatre (NJ) 21-25 May 1910
▶▶Academy (Washington) 1st week Jun.
effect currently called “La Cotonata,”
1910
with a variation in the finish. After eat- ▶▶Prospect (Cleveland, OH) 5 Sep. 1910
ing a considerable amount of crum- ▶▶Keith’s Theatre (Boston) week 11 Sep.
pled paper, smoke comes out from his 1910
mouth, a very long ribbon and a beau- ▶▶Majestic Vaudeville (NY) 8–14 Feb.
tiful silver stick. He produced mouth 1911
▶▶Vermont tour, Apr–May 1911
fire like street fire eaters and performed ▶▶Carnegie Lyceum (NY) 26 Mar 1912
manipulation effects. But the effects that (The Fourth Annual Vaudeville)
aroused more bewilderment than ever ▶▶Pavilion (Barre, Vermont) 10–11 Jun
seen in America were the swallowed 1912
sword that caused many problems to ▶▶Palisades Park (NJ) Sep. 1912
his oesophagus and stomach and the ▶▶Hammerstein’s (NY) 29–30 Sep. 1912
▶▶Miles Theatre (Detroit), 28 Oct. 1912
escape from the Pillory (The Pillory or ▶▶Hippodrome (Omaha) 12–17 Jan. 1913
Publicly Accused). Imprisoned in a pil- ▶▶Novelty (Kansas) 20–24 Jan. 1913
lory, Deodato would go in the middle of ▶▶The Plaza (Bridgeport, CT) 25–27 Sep.
the audience to have the seals checked 1913
and quickly freed himself and pulled a ▶▶Family Theatre (Detroit), 27 Jul, 1914
▶▶Brooklyn Theatre Feb. 1915
long sword from his throat. He also pre-
▶▶“Busy Corner” Playhouse (Harrisburg
sented the version of the release from PA) 13 May 1915
the handcuffs, and as final a production
of flags, and a very large American one after his shows at New York Auditorium
on a long rod. of 1909, a review said of him:
The chronicles both in newspa- Prominent in the favor of the
pers and in magical magazines (Sphinx, public was Deodato & Co., Ital-
M–U–M) have always emphasized his ian magician, who is the best in
success and the great novelties of his that line who has been seen in
show who made him the main attrac- this city for a long time
tion on the programme. For example, The following is Deodato’s pres-
80
entation to the audience of the Plaza of Deodato to accomplish his

Theater of Bridgeport, CT, in 1913: tricks, which have caused such
By special arrangement with wideapred comment in the theat-
booking offices in New York, rical world and it took thousands
manager Jeff Callan has se- of dollars to stage these tricks
cured the world–famous Deoda- and illusion...
to as the headliner at the Plaza Deodato is yet another magician
Theatre beginning today. Deo- who had left his native country to seek
dato is the sensational Italian fortune in America. I hope his name
necromancer and magician who will be remembered together with those
has astounded the theatre–going of the most famous Italian magicians
public of the old world and the
like Quintino Marucci (Slydini), Raf-
new with his wonderful tricks
faele Chefalo, Amedeo Vacca (Ame-
and illusion. His feats of magic
are enchanting and breathtaking
deo), Orlando Carmelo Scarnecchia
and in their weirdness they ab- (John Scarne), who have contributed
sorb the keenest interest of the with their work to the progress and to
audience. It took years of study the diffusion of the magic Art in the
and perseverance on the part world.
Selected Magic Bibliography:

• The Conjurers’Monthly Magazine Volume II n.2 October 1907, p. 52; Volume II n. 9 p.
280; Volume II n. 10 June 1908 p. 308
• Who’s Who in Magic, Bart Whaley, p. 168
• The Sphinx 1908 p. 42, 48; 1909 p.125; 1910 p.58, 105, 145, 164; Vol. 10 1911 p. 49, 109;
Vol. 11 1912 p. 28, 125; Vol. 13 1913 p.109, 232; Vol.14 1914 p.184
• The Magician Monthly p.88, p. 526
• M–U–M V.1 n.7 April 1912
81
The Los Ang

ers.com/image/385559305 by Michael Perovich
his is by far the darkest serious to those involved. Embarrass-
T of all our stories. It con-

cerns a civil service em-
ployee whose crooked dealings are used
ing though it may have been, little of the
coverage can be seen as overtly negative.
Glenn Gravatt’s case was an en-
to take down big city graft on the brink tirely different matter. He did not begin
of World War II. At this point the pub- as a public figure, nor was he known
lic is well accustomed to crooked cops, by his association with magic or magi-
crooked politicians, and corrupt gov- cians. He was, however, known in the
ernment. Seeing them get their come- magic world as a writer and inventor of
uppance makes for sensational front- tricks.
page headlines, as we shall see. The man
involved was known before and after
to the magic world for his writings, yet
his transgressions were overlooked and
largely forgotten by the magic commu-
nity. His long history of involvement in
City government indicates an extended
period of wrongdoing, yet he was able
to walk away from it all. There is little
of the salacious in this story, only the
sordid. Because his interest in magic is
little known to the general public, the
magic connection is used neither to tar
nor to embarrass the subject.
Glenn Gravatt
The other magic related celebrities
in our series all received a somewhat
jaundiced, if not whimsical, treatment
in the press. Their stories all included
marriages in which the man was con-
siderably older than the woman. Their
escapades provided good copy and
amusement for readers, even though
the events may have been much more
82
e/385559387 Downloaded on Aug 30, 202
be plastered over the

front page of major
Los Angeles papers
and beyond for weeks
and months to come.
At stake was the integ-
rity of the City’s Civil
Service examinations.
He was arraigned on
the misdemeanour
charge of falsifying
civil service examina-
tion papers. The City
had changed mayors
and among the new
Mayor’s election prom-
ises was the rooting
out of graft in the City.
Starting in 1936, with the Encyclo- Gravatt was accused of
pedia of Self–working Card Tricks, Glenn both aiding and hindering specific civil
Gravatt produced a long line of magical service applicants.
publications. He frequently contributed In October Gravatt proclaimed,
to Genii Magazine. I recall reading and “They are trying to smear me... If this
performing tricks he submitted during has anything to do with my job, I know
the 1960s and 1970s. In late 1978, he there isn’t a shred of evidence against me
began publishing a four–volume set of of any infractions of the [City] charter.”
reproduced Thayer instruction sheets Nevertheless, he was suspended from
called Thayer Quality Magic. He had his position as he fought to win a court
apparently written many of these in the delay to answer the charges. Again,
first place. Perhaps he was at the fore- his picture was prominently placed in
front of the subsequent interest in col- newspapers. By the end of the month,
lectible magic, providing the instruc- however, Glenn Gravatt was singing a
tions for small apparatus effects that are different tune, as he confessed to giv-
so often lost over time. ing preferential treatment to 150 Fire
Regardless of his status in the and Police Department examination
magic world, Gravatt’s notoriety in the applicants. “I cannot estimate the num-
late 1930s was neither amusing nor ber. There must have been hundreds of
complimentary. In October of 1938, them,” Gravatt was quoted as saying.
Glenn Gravatt was General Manager Gravatt claimed he had been threatened
of the City of Los Angeles civil service with losing his job when the previous
department and had been so for five mayor had come to office in 1933. He
years. Gravatt was arrested and the re- further claimed he had not received any
cords seized. Gravatt’s picture would payoffs for the exam grade changes, but
m. All Rights Reserved.
83
The Los Angeles
did admit to having received salary in- in Sabetha, Kansas on December 4,

creases. 1899. Early on he had worked as a re-
By February 1939, Gravatt had porter, secretary and stenographer. He
flipped and turned State’s Evidence. He appears to have been living in Nebras-
became the District Attorney’s star wit- ka in 1920 working as secretary to the
ness in the trial of the former Mayor’s chief of police. Locals believed he later
brother, Joe Shaw, and one–time Civil moved to Hollywood “under the em-
Service Commissioner, William H. ploy of Tom Mix,” the famed cowboy
Cormack. It was reported that the de- actor. In 1925, he testified as a police
fendants sat quietly, grimly staring “un- shorthand reporter in Los Angeles in
blinkingly” at the former Department the trial of three men involved in a plot
head. When defence attorneys got their to kidnap Mary Pickford and hold her
turn, they focused on Gravatt’s $15,000 for $200,000 ransom. He stated he had
investment in racehorses. Gravatt ad-
mitted this was true. Among the horses
were Black Highbrow, Alice Jean and
Baby Rattler. Gravatt denied any con-
nection between the timing of his in-
vestments and coincident exams, even
though evidence seemed to suggest
there had been.
Both William Cormack and Joe
Shaw were convicted; others spent time
in prison as well. Payoffs were estab-
lished that directly involved Gravatt’s
wife. Some convictions were said to have
been thwarted due to Lieutenant Peter
Del Gado of the Police Detective Bureau
jumping bail and fleeing to Mexico City,
where he took up residence. Gravatt
had identified Del Gado as Shaw’s chief
aide. It was reported that Del Gado had
a secret strong box installed in the floor-
boards of Joe Shaw’s car.
At one point, Gravatt and his
spouse were asked for comments. They
were contacted through probation of-
ficers. They had nothing to say. His
public life and his accomplishments in
magic were largely kept separate, and
only rarely were magic related plays on
words used in his case.
Glenn Gilmore Gravatt was born
84
July of 1939, the California State Board

of Racing ordered five owners to return
winnings obtained at Hollywood Park.
They had concluded the horses had
been “stimulated.” The trainers were
suspended. Gravatt, trainer of his wife’s
horse, Baby Rattler, was investigated
but was excused due to insufficient
evidence. Glendora divorced Glenn, re-
married, and was living in Carson City,
Nevada at the time of her death in 1996.
Her obituary made no mention of her
marriage to Glenn Gravatt.
A year after the trial, 42–year–old
Glenn Gravatt filled out his draft regis-
tration card as World War 2 heated up.
A veteran of the Great War, he gave his
current occupation as a self–employed
owner and trainer of horses. His place
Glenn Gravatt during the hearing of business was “racetracks throughout
overheard their conversation by insert- the United States.” He had no telephone.
ing a stethoscope under their door and Gravatt continued to publish
writing down their conversation in real books. articles and television scripts. He
time. The men were later found guilty. moved north to California’s Bay area,
Gravatt eventually obtained an living in various locations while work-
administrative position with City Wa- ing as a horse trainer. He eventually sold
ter and Power and later the Civil Ser- his racehorses. Glenn G. Gravatt died in
vice Department. Glenn and his wife, San Francisco, California on April 17,
Glendora, seemed to have mysteriously 1984. According to Lloyd Jones in Ge-
prospered in the years prior to his ar- nii Magazine, Gravatt requested that no
rest. They travelled overseas in addi- service be held and that his death not
tion to purchasing racehorses. During be mentioned in the local newspapers.
the trial, Gravatt was grilled about his Jones attributed the loss of his City job
blonde girlfriends and racehorses. In to “politics.”
85
Courtly jugglers of the 15th century

Magic on two little known cassone panels
by Thibaut Rioult
he first known represen- her husband’s. At the centre of atten-
T tations of jugglers [or,

better, “jugglers” in the
sense of Reginald Scot] come from the
tion on the wedding day, it then took
its place in the couple’s bedroom, where
it occupied a central place, since at that
15th century. While most are drawings time the furniture was particularly lim-
or engravings, two of them neverthe- ited. A cassone therefore has a double
less catch the eye with their unexpected dimension, both public and intimate.
format. Indeed, the two works that we We therefore find both historical motifs,
are going to present here are two panels often ancient, but also representations
of cassone [lit. big chest], that is to say, of husbands or scenes linked to court
Florentine wedding chests. life. Both panels with conjurers fall into
In the 15th and 16th century, mar- the latter category.
riage was a particularly important mo- The first of these magnificent
ment in the public life of the city. Seal- panels, The Garden of Love, is kept in
ing the alliance of two families, it gave the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin (id. Nr.
place to important festivities making it 1467). It was made around 1420, by a
possible to show publicly and ostensi- Florentine painter, known for his cas-
bly the families’ social status and their sone, paintings and frescoes, Giovanni
power. In Italy, and more particularly in di Francesco Toscani (1370–1430).1 The
Florence, any wedding was celebrated technique used is classic of the Italian
with a festive procession through the primitives: tempera and pastiglia, ap-
city where the cassoni played a central plied on a poplar panel of good dimen-
role. The chest was ordered from a spe- sions (47 x 147 cm).
cialized workshop by the groom, ac- In a striking staging Toscani por-
cording to his tastes and means. It was trays the 15th century court society. Af-
then offered to the bride so that she ter fishing2 and games, good company
could store her dowry, consisting of lin- unwinds with an illusionist. He appears
gerie and personal effects. The cassone to be richly dressed and therefore fits in
was then used to transport the bride’s perfectly with the group of Florentine
belongings from her father’s house to courtiers. On the table – where all eyes
Giovanni di Francesco Toscani (c. 1420) — The Garden of Love

86
Detail of the conjurer in the cassone

are concentrated – we can distinguish Almost all of the body of images feature
various objects that shed light on the round shapes associated with the cups.
repertoire of the time. In the shadows, Even more interesting is the pres-
hidden by the table, we can see the large ence at the lower left corner of the ta-
hole in the conjurer’s gibecière, filled ble of two small figurines – probably a
with utensils. To his right, a child in a man and a woman – dressed similarly to
pointy hat could be his assistant, unless members of the congregation. The pres-
he is a spectator. ence next to them of a “coat” made of a
The juggler has his magic wand large fabric cone, open at the upper end
raised. He holds it with three fingers, in and covered with feathers, suggests that
his right hand, letting the spectators see they are little Jean de la Vigne (French
his empty palm. With his left hand, he and Italian appellation).
lifts one of the two tumblers off the ta- This trick is perfectly described
ble and reveals a pair of dice. These have and illustrated by Hocus Pocus Junior
in his English manual (1635) under the
probably just appeared, unless one of
name Bonus Genius:
the dice has magically passed from one
You must have the figure of a
cup to the other. It should be noted that man made of wood, about the
the substitution of dice for balls is rather bigness of your little finger, as
rare in the iconography of the conjurer. may appear by the figure noted
87
C D, the head whereof noted 15th century spectators, a dog’s tricks

with A, must be made to take must have defied understanding.
off and put on at pleasure, by The stringed musical instrument
means of a wire that is in the – a viola da mano – on the right is the
necke, marked with B. Also you panel’s only reference to music, an im-
must have a cloth cap with a lit- portant component of the gallant games
tle hole in the crown of it, as F.
of the garden of love. It is a classic at-
This cap must have a little bag
within to convey the head into. tribute of the medieval juggler, also a
The bag must be neatly made, musician, who animated the lessons.
that it may not easily be per- Thus, the entire scene recreates
ceived. Shew your man unto the the atmosphere (real or fantastical) of
company, first saying, See you good Florentine society, relaxing in a
here, Gentlemen, this I call my magic show after more physical activi-
Bonus Genius, then shew his cap, ties.
saying, and this is his coat.3 The second panel is kept in the
Volker Huber collection,4 having been
bought in 2004 from Christie’s. Volker
Huber dates it to around 1460. It comes
from a cassone dating back to the 18th
or 19th century, made from several old
cassoni panels. It had been sold to an
English family in Hovingham (York-
shire), where it had remained for over
a century. By 1984, the trunk had been
The Bonus Genius in Hocus Pocus Jr. dismantled and the panels separated
for sale. Even if it is therefore not the
All the descriptions of the trick “original” cassone, a photo taken at the
that we have mention only a single Bo- time of dismantling by the A. C. Cooper
nus Genius, usually sent magically to agency on behalf of Christies5 – to my
another city or abroad. However, one knowledge hitherto unpublished – al-
can easily imagine performing the trick lows to visualize this type of safe and
with two figures. It is also possible that
one of them is only used for the setting:
in this “Garden of love,” perhaps she
symbolized the distance and the magi-
cal coming together of lovers?
The little dog dancing on the table
is a topos of the portrayal of a conjurer.
He is found with a hoop, among others,
on the panel by Volker Huber as well as
on the representations of The Escamo-
teur by Bosch and Followers. If trained
The second cassone as it was before
animals seem common to us today, to
being dismantled
88
Production of a fish under a hat in Huber’s cassone

the panel place. Smaller (37.5 x 50.8 Notable difference, unlike Tos-
cm) than that of the Gemäldegalerie, it cani’s panel, the audience is made up
was a side panel of cassone. Perhaps it of young men only. It is therefore not a
concluded a series of gallant scenes, like representation explicitly linked to love,
that by Toscani. but rather a courtier entertainment.
In front of a wooded landscape, a Through these two panels, we
group attends an illusionist show. On the therefore have access to a type of per-
ground, a small dog jumping through a formance of the juggler that is very rare
hoop, indicates that it is an acrobat. The and quite fascinating, sponsored by pri-
presence of the black pouch as well as vate individuals as part of the marriage
the magic wand confirms that we are celebration. They show that illusionism
dealing with a conjurer. In the middle was an entertainment prized by people
of the table two small cylindrical boxes of good society and allow to break with
may serve as goblets. the double image – supposedly medi-
The juggler holds his wand in his eval – of a street conjurer who would
right hand and hits a flat bowl with it. have been socially condemned. On the
With his left hand, he lifts a hat that re- contrary, the “subtle and pleasant in-
veals a fish, to the surprise of the child ventions”6 of illusionism are indeed the
next to him. This appearance of a fish source of the refined pleasure for witty
constitutes for us a hapax in the history people.
of ancient illusionism.
Many thanks to P. Taillefer for sharing his pioneering work on cassoni with me.
89
Notes:
1. The Toscani panel was already described – without mention of the conjurer – by Paul
Schubring in 1915 in his survey on cassoni (cf. Truhen und Truhenbilder Der Italienischen
Früh–Renaissance. Ein Beitrag zur profanmalerei im Quattrocento, Leipzig, KW Hiersemann,
1915, no.427, p. 320). It was revealed (by Volker Huber?) to collectors fortunate enough to
attend the EMHC Congress in Berlin (2007). Pierre Taillefer then showed its importance
in the iconographic corpus of illusionism in his study (unpublished) on La représentation
de l’escamoteur dans l’art de la Renaissance: la fortune éphémère d’un thème iconographique
(Master 1 in art history, Université Paris 1 Panthéon–Sorbonne, 2009, dir. Philippe Morel),
as well as in an iconographic study (“Bildbeschreibung” for “Einführung in die Bildkünste”
module, Leipzig University, 2008, unpublished). This discovery remained confidential in
France until the publications of Fanch Guillemin (F. Guillemin and S. Laurens, Art, illusion
& secrets, Saint–Evarzec, Artishow Editions, 2011, p. 36 and F. Guillemin, Histoire illustrée
de la magie blanche avant Robert–Houdin (3rd ed.), Lorient, Marchand de Trucs, 2017, plate
E).
For my part, not being linked at that time to collectors of magic, I discovered Toscani’s panel
in 2013, through the luck of my master’s research at the EHESS on illusionism in the Renais-
sance (dir. Yves. Hersant). I published it in my thesis Illusion du surnaturel et illusionnistes à
la Renaissance: entre théories et pratiques, conceptions techniques et représentations sociales,
Paris, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 2018, as well as in L’illusionnisme renaissant entre secrets et
merveilles. Vers une illusiographie, in Arcana Naturae, n. 1, 2020, p. 51–69
2. The “fishing scene” is quite ambiguous and could also lead to other interpretations. Marco
Pusterla (private conversation) interestingly suggested to me that it could perhaps represent
a children’s game, in which the girls are trying to collect the moon or the sun reflected in the
water. But, it is worth mentioning that fishing was also a courtly pastime, as blindfold games.
The whole panel is certainly an illustration of an old, as yet unidentified, story. Indeed, Tos-
cani was used to paint literary works (like Boccaccio’s Decameron). Further investigation is
ongoing.
3. Hocus Pocus Junior, The Anatomie of Legerdemain, London, Printed by T. H. for R. M.,
1635, sig. E2 r°.
4. Huber quickly made it known: cf. Peter Rawert, “Der erste aller Gaukler”, Frankfurter
allgemeine sonntagszeitung, 02/01/2005, p. 49. It was also visible in France during the ex-
hibition “Tours et detours de l’Escamoteur” in Saint–Germain–en–Laye (16/11/2016 –
31/12/2016) and reproduced in the exhibition catalogue (cf. Landeau Blandine, Le Chanu
Patrick, Taillefer Pierre, Virole Agnès, Tours et détours de l’escamoteur de Bosch à nos jours,
[Saint–Germain–en–Laye], 2016, p. 32–33).
5. A. C. Cooper, Giovanni di Marco (Giovanni dal Ponte) – cerchia – sec. XV – Cassone con
episodi tratti da una novella, London, ca. 1984 (Fototeca Zeri, inv. 33102).
6. Cf. Prévost, La Première partie des subtiles et plaisantes inventions..., Lyon, Antoine Bastid,
1584.
90
Another Trick in Le Carte Parlanti

by Marco Pusterla
have been studying the lated magic that had escaped the previ-
I text of Pietro Aretino, Le

Carte Parlanti, since the
early 2000s, publishing the first essay
ous studies by both myself and Paviato,
most probably because it did not involve
playing cards, which were our primary
on the magic and gambling informa- interest when we examined the text.
tion therein in 2004, and always had a This is an episode narrated by the Cards
soft spot in my heart for this book. If (the protagonist of the dialogue) which
you are not familiar with it, this is a text involve the explanation of a trick where
first published in Italy in 1534 with the a coin that had mysteriously disap-
title Dialogo Di Pietro Aretino Nel Qua- peared, suddenly materializes in mid–
le S’introducono Le Carte Co’l Padovano air, as if by magic. I will paraphrase the
Cartaro in Fiorenza (Dialogue of Pietro episode, limiting the ancient Italian text
Aretino in which are introduced playing to the technical paragraph of the trick.
cards with the card–maker from Padua The episode begins on page 218 of the
in Florence), dealing with card games 1992 edition quoted by Paviato and me,
and the moral aspects of gambling. In or on page 156 of the 1650 edition.
doing so, the author, Pietro Aretino The Cards mention a lady from
(1492–1556) talks also about gambling Ferrara, Nicola Trotta, who was an ad-
techniques and stratagems, and about mirer of the works of Aretino, praise
card magic tricks he witnessed in the her and then recall an episode involv-
early 1500s. The book is an important ing a relative of this lady, one Lodovico
document on the history of card magic “Bighino” Trotti, who had won an ecu
and of gambling in the Renaissance, be- (or a ducat, later in the text) at a card
ing one of a handful coeval texts narrat- game from one Alfonso Correggiaro
ing actual happenings of interest to the (Corzaro in the text). This informa-
magic aficionado, rather than referring tion allows us to date the episode to the
to mythological magic episodes. An ex- end of 1540, when both people and the
cellent study – in English – on the magic Aretino himself were in Ferrara. The
and gambling in Le Carte Parlanti (the ecu had been won squarely (no cheat-
title this work took since its re–publi- ing) and paid, then Lodovico got up,
cation in 1650) by my friend Aurelio with his coin bag in hand, and put the
Paviato, can be found in Gibecière n. coin into it while talking with a group
3 (Winter 2007) and I strongly recom- of other friends and did not realize that
mend you track it down to learn more the coin did not go into the bag but fell
about the author and the magic in it. out. He then had dinner, probably with
I was recently going through this the party, later going to bed with one
book again, mainly to compare the 1543 of his prostitutes. In the morning, he
edition with the 1650 one (for context, opened his purse and realized the coin
check Auction Action on page 108) was missing. This infuriated him and he
and noticed another episode of simu- started to punch the woman, still asleep
91
in his bed, who woke up and denied ve- their eyes and started to pronounce
hemently to have stolen the coin from some mystic words. Suddenly, the miss-
the bag. The Cards then explain that “a ing ecu materialized in the air and fell to
friend” of Lodovico, who was staying in the feet of Lodovico, who calmed down
the house, heard the fracas and ran to again and became very sweet towards
the room, to stop the poor woman from the lady, who, on the contrary, became
being further pummelled by the angry furious and assaulted and repeatedly bit
man. Once he managed to separate the him.
two lovers, this friend told them to close The important paragraph says:
The gentleman who ran to separate

Il gentiluomo corso a spartire, [them], had in his hand the ducat
aveva in mano il ducato che il
whose Trotti accused to have been
Trotti apponeva per il furto a
chi non l’aveva rubato, peroché,
stolen by whom hadn’t, as, having
nel vederlo cadere, lo ricolse e, seen it drop, he picked it up and,
quando gli parve di quetar la when he thought it was time to pla-
zuffa, finse un incanto di parole cate the scuffle, pretended to cast a
secrete, con gli occhi di ognuno spell with secret words, with every-
chiusi e, gittatolo in alto, lo fece body’s eyes closed and, by throwing
risonare dinanzi a i piè di mes- it up in the air, made it ring it in front
ser Lodovico, sozio dolce e amo- of the feet of sir Lodovico, friendly
revole.
sweet and lovely.
I believe this episode saw the Are- by Michael Ammar from the 1991 col-
tino as the magician (he said he “heard” lection of his work (The Magic of Mi-
about the story), as he was in Ferrara chael Ammar, L&L Publishing) where
– according to his letters – at about the it is not necessary for the spectators to
time the episode. This is a clear example close their eyes, thanks to 400 years of
of “advantage magic,” i.e. magic one can misdirection to take advantage of.
create on the spur of the moment, when I believe this is an interesting epi-
the occasion arises. In this case, Aretino, sode to add to our knowledge of magic
or the alleged friend of Lodovico Trotti, history, another proof that by the Re-
saw the coin drop the night before and naissance, not all magic was feared as
surreptitiously pocketed it, maybe ex- occult and that a few people were us-
pecting to the produce it later, in an im- ing the idea of “magic” to justify tricks
possible location. A ducat (the coin in- and practical jokes: this is proved by the
dicated in the quoted paragraph, even if various books of secrets and of “natural
earlier it was an ecu) was a gold coin of magic,” containing stratagems to create
high value – around $200 today – so the wonders, but examples on how these
magical vanishing and reproduction of stratagems may have been used are
such high value coin would have caused rarely seen. Once again, Aretino opens
consternation then as it would now. The the doors on magic of long ago and
magical production reminds me of the proves that he is still understudied.
last phase of “Incredible Coins Across” MP
92
Brothers in Deceit?
The Juggler and the Thief in Bosch’s
Iconic Painting by Jan Isenbart
very magician with at opposite poles may explain, in part, the
E least a minor interest in

history will have come
across the iconic painting “The Juggler”
continuing fascination of the painting.
Beyond that and more from a
magical perspective, one could argue
by Hieronymus Bosch (around 1450– that the art of magic is presented here
1516) at some point (see centre spread). not only for its own sake, but in an in-
Whenever a magic book contains a his- separable connection between colourful
torical outline of the art of magic, it is jugglery and disdainful theft. Travelling
likely to include an illustration of it or jugglers polarized because on the one
at least a brief mention in passing. And hand they satisfied a need of the masses
even today, 500 years later, Bosch’s “Jug- for short–term distraction and enter-
gler” is generating new touchpoints, be tainment, on the other hand they used
it as a popular historical illustration of precisely this distraction as a lever for
a medieval magic show, as a caricature, the “dark side of deception,” to fleece
as a blueprint for contemporary art- the stupid, gullible and inattentive.
ists who create variations, as a postage This “dichotomy of deception” is
stamp motif (Mozambique 2001, curi- portrayed here in a striking and pointed
ously mirror–inverted and printed as manner, and it lives on to this very day,
a square image without showing the in pairs such as the cardiste and the card
thief), or, most recently, as a splash of cheat, the artistic performance of the
colour in a presentation by the British cups and balls versus the artfully staged
secret service about The Art of Decep- shell game fraud (which some exegetes
tion: Training for Online Covert Opera- of the painting confuse with one an-
tions (which is freely accessible on the
Internet). Why?
On the one hand, “The Juggler”
represents as an early (albeit broken)
genre painting, an easy and colourful
folklore, a thankful object for analysis
in high school art classes. With the hu-
morous scene it depicts, it also serves
as a forerunner of the cartoon, as Bob
Read once pointed out. On the other
hand, it is a richly decorated gateway
to the world of the Renaissance and
symbolism in general and into the her-
metic world of images and thoughts of
Hieronymus Bosch in particular. These Preliminary sketch for “The Juggler”
93
other), or in well known sayings such as ous than it may seem. Various analysts
“Hold on to your wallets, the magician have argued yes and no; they have al-
is coming!”, not to mention magicians ternately identified the nun as another
who are also explicitly announced as possible accomplice, also the child and
(stage) pickpockets. even the victim himself (!), the latter
“The Juggler” is in the centre one as a moral case displayed about
of many questions and speculations “the deceiver being deceived.” I disagree
among both art historians and magic with this stretched position, as I will ar-
aficionados. Was the painting we know gue and show further down.
and admire actually painted by Bosch I am particularly grateful to Dr.
himself? (Short answer: likely not; it Steffen Taut, who inspired me last year
seems to be a later work from Bosch’s with his exciting and instructive lecture,
workshop or a follower, but likely based News about Bosch’s ‘Juggler,’ at the 8th
on an earlier painting by Bosch which European Magic History Conference
was sadly lost over time, but of which in Vienna, to turn toward the painting
two early sketches have survived). again and analyse it in detail from a dif-
Another debatable question: Are ferent perspective. (Please check out his
the juggler and the thief accomplices or fine article summarizing his decade–
not, or is the thief just taking advantage long research in the recent issue No. 30
of the situation? The answer is less obvi- of Gibecière, Vol. 15, Summer 2020.)
A moral dilemma?
Before we dive into the detailed The juggler may anticipate the mo-
analysis of painting, let’s consider the ment of the theft and even facilitate it by
exact setup of the scene for a moment. directing the audience’s attention, but
Judging by the straight right edge of the he cannot see the act of thievery from
table, we are standing in a direct line his point of view; the spectators cannot
with it, in a slightly elevated position see it either, with the possible exception
which allows us to look onto the table of the red–dressed lady’s companion,
and into the juggler’s basket, but not whose left hand points somewhat am-
high enough to look over and beyond biguously either to the lady’s necklace
the bordering wall in the background. or at least in the direction of the thief. A
Concerning its dramaturgy, it master of his craft, the cut–purse shields
should first be noted that the painter his action from the spectators to his left
has chosen a perspective that allows us with his body position.
external observers a panoramic view of As a result, the full overview of the
the entire scene: the juggler, his table scene is only granted to us external on-
and props, the victim, the audience, and lookers. Thus, we are in the comfortable
the act of the cut–purse to be watched situation of being “omniscient” specta-
“live,” and thus his discovery and ex- tors (comparable to the omniscient nar-
posure, despite his innocent and mis- rator in fiction), and it is only through
directing gaze towards the sky (refer to this trick that we can grasp the entire
the centre spread). scene and evaluate the people and their
94
actions. This either puts us into the role nent, rich and goggling citizen is being
of an accomplice, a casual observer or robbed off his money, probably well de-
a policeman. It may also put us into a servedly so?
moral dilemma: Are we about to shout I like the thought that Bosch may
at the victim and alert him? Should we have composed the scene exactly this
lunge toward the thief and try to catch way in order to give us the full view, but
him? Or do we remain silent, as amused also a moral choice!
bystanders, and watch how an emi-
Independent actors or allied accomplices?
In my following analysis, which the right and the thief to the left (see
is part of a bigger study on the paint- the centre spread again). So both are
ing recently published in German in juxtaposed, “controlling” the scene and
Wittus Witt’s edition No. 4 of his A– the crowd between them, which would
B–C der Taschenspieler–Kunst (Vol. 2, make perfect sense for a crooked duo. In
Autumn 2020). I would like to focus on addition, an imaginary horizontal line
one central question: Is there any visual connects almost perfectly the tip of the
“proof ” that the juggler and the thief juggler’s hat with the thief ’s tilted fore-
are, in fact, accomplices? (Spoiler alert: head. In other words, both figures were
my answer is yes, but there’s more to placed on the canvas at the same height,
it!) So let’s take a very close look at the in the upper third of the painting.
painting and at possible indications, as 2. Only the juggler, the thief and
probably intended by the artist, for their the victim are shown in profile, while
connection. all other spectators stand facing us, the
1. The first observation is pretty viewer, more or less fully. In my opinion,
obvious: Both figures frame the scenery this is no coincidence either; it rather
which is displayed here, the juggler to underlines the intentionally established
Fig. 2
95
96 97
connection between these agents. After 4. If we measure the thief and the
all, it would have been easy to depict ei- juggler (without his hat) from head to
ther the thief or the juggler in a different toe, we find that they are practically of
perspective (just like an early pen draw- the same height (Fig. 3). Hardly a co-
ing by Bosch does, which likely served incidence, I would argue, as all other
as a study for this painting). figures in the painting clearly feature
3. A connection between the two divergent heights.
agents can also be established in terms 5. On closer inspection, the two
of colour: In high magnification, as al- agents under discussion appear much
lowed by the high–resolution images on more similar in terms of physiognomy
the fine website of the Bosch Research than one would think at first glance,
and Conservation Project (see http:// obscured by their formal distance (a
boschproject.org/#/book/), it becomes deliberate spatial misdirection by the
clear that the magical dark turquoise of artist?), different clothing and head
the evening sky is not only reflected in posture. If you put their heads face to
the magic props, but also in the clothing face in an image editing software, some
of both the juggler (see collar and shoe) great similarities become apparent: first
and the thief (see glasses and doublet, and foremost, the size and shape of
Fig. 2). their sharp noses and longish nostrils,
Fig. 3
98
Fig. 4
the somewhat almond–shaped eyes, but handle of another knife (Fig. 5, a discov-
also the well–defined mouth and chin ery and interpretation by Steffen Taut).
area, and finally their light Adam’s ap- Together, blade and pommel in the two
ples (Fig. 4). As further proof, their nos- different hands of the two agents merge
es can be exchanged in an image editing into one tool by one crook to commit
software and will fit, when mirrored, his damnable crime!
almost perfectly into each other’s face. 7. Regarding the painting’s geo-
Can this really be another coincidence? metrical composition (which is another
Or are we not rather talking brothers in focus of my bigger study), it is interest-
deceit here?! ing to note that the juggler’s misdirect-
6. Juggler and thief are not only ing right hand and the thief ’s executing
visually facing each other, but both are right hand lie at opposite ends of a clear
engaged in acts of secret manipulations: corridor of vision that runs diagonally
The thief is holding a knife in his right through the centre of the painting (Fig.
hand and cutting off the victim’s purse; 6). Its upper end is margined by the vic-
while directing the audience’s atten- tim’s chin, the lower end by the cone on
tion to the ball (or pearl?) in his right the table. Additionally, it should be no-
hand, the juggler covers an unidentified ticed that the juggler’s hand was placed
metallic object in his closed left hand, in the upper half of the painting, thus
which could very well be the knob or somewhat representing the “superficial”
99
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
100
Fig. 7
act of deception, “above the surface”, so known as the Fibonacci spiral) in the
to speak, while the thievery takes place composition of the picture. According
in its lower half, somewhat hidden “out to art theory, a picture motif based on
of focus” and “below the surface” of the this geometric construction is regarded
misleading action. in our culture as aesthetically pleas-
8. I would also like to point out ing and highly harmonious, in other
the obvious “triangular relationship” words as “beautiful.” The spiral starts
between the heads of juggler, victim at the painting’s key object, the big ball
and thief, respectively. As the horizontal or pearl in the right hand of the juggler,
auxiliary lines show, the three faces are then it curls around his body, brushes
positioned on the canvas at three differ- the foot of the juggler’s table, cuts the
ent heights, barely overlapping (Fig. 7). corpus delicti and ends just behind the
Thus, the juggler in his centred position thief ’s head (Fig. 8). Again, just a major
represents the link between the thief coincidence along the lines of “seek and
and his victim. While the knife is the ye shall find” or a conscious choice of
thief ’s internal tool, the juggler serves the painter for his meticulous composi-
as his external tool for misdirection. tion?
9. One of my most interesting dis- 10. Finally, I am convinced that
coveries in analysing the painting is the the painting displays, deliberately or
possible use of the golden spiral (also not, an optical illusion, which also
101
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
102
serves as a strong link between juggler that action field No. 1 is much longer
and thief. Let’s look at Fig. 9 and two than No. 2, right? In fact, both fields are
particular areas which I would term almost of the same length (see Fig. 9).
“fields of action.” Field No. 1 extends In other words: If you were to draw a
from the victim’s wide eyes in a direct circle from the center (the victim’s eye)
horizontal line to the right, to the raised through the juggler’s ball with a pair of
hand of the juggler and the object in it. compasses, this circle would roughly
This field links the moment of distrac- also intersect the thief ’s hand on the
tion with the spellbound victim watch- victim’s purse. In my interpretation, this
ing in awe. Field No. 2 connects the is not only an interesting optical illu-
distracted victim with the simultaneous sion; it also establishes a mathematical
theft of his purse. (thus “logical”) connection between
When you compare the distances juggler and thief, using the victim’s face
between the connected points on Fig. as the centre point.
1, you will probably get the impression
Conclusion
In summing up these findings, I erate unwanted attention and distrust.
would conclude a) that the juggler and With just a few resources and brush
the thief are not only most certainly ac- strokes, Bosch succeeded 500 years ago
complices, but, in fact, brothers in de- in an astonishing way to present us with
ceit, and b) that the painter has obvious- a precise and historically significant,
ly and deliberately resorted to all sorts early, wordless representation of the
of creative means (yes, let’s call them core psychology and mechanics of de-
“tricks”!) in order to establish this con- ception!
nection in a variety of ways, some more It is a second exciting thought
subtle, some others less. to me that Bosch might have critically
From a magician’s point of view I transferred the concept of Christian
find it rather fascinating that the painter Trinity, which was ubiquitous in his
not only carves out the importance of time, to a secular triangular combina-
the juggler’s body tension, silence and tion of “the distracting deceiver,” “the
gesture for the “magic moment” here, distracted victim” and “the larcenous
the inherent distraction which the thief accomplice who takes advantage of the
uses to execute his act; he also displays distraction” (dressed in religious guise!)
the distracting head posture and the here. Thus, he demonstrates geometri-
innocent look into the air of the per- cally the closely intertwined structural
petrator, but precisely because of this relationship of magic, deception and
“over-proving” the thief stands out from deceit.
the crowd and is unmasked, at least for Maybe Bosch deserves to be con-
us external viewers. As every magician sidered, beyond his already unique po-
knows today, “over–proving” and un- sition in art history, an early analyst and
natural behaviour achieve the opposite theorist of magic and deception?
of the intended effect and tend to gen-
103
Auction Action
document which should prove invalu-
able for any research on this long–for-
gotten, minor Dutch magician.
Talking about magicians from

continental Europe, around the same
time as the above sale, a nice archive
of photos and advertising material of
Alois Kassner (1887–1970), the noted
have always been fas- German magician active at his highest
I cinated by the “golden

books” magicians of the
past carried with them to show the suc-
during the 1930s, went under the ham-
mer of Weiss Auctions, of Lynbrook,
NY. The lot contained 10 performance
cess they had, and to drum up new busi- photos of Kassner and other material,
ness. These books are the rarest of the including a copy of the famous photo of
rare magic memorabilia and only re- Kalanag performing for Hitler. This lot
cently a new one surfaced. At the end of fetched $320 ($384), which I felt was a
November 2020, another of these books good price for the amount of material in
was presented by Dutch auction house it and its visual strength.
Burgersdijk & Niermans: this was the
“Certificatie Boek” by one “Prof. Lion,”
a little–known Dutch magician active
at the end of the 19th century and the
beginning of the 20th. The Jewish pres-
tidigitator Lion Knoop was born in
Amsterdam on 25th February 1859 and
died in the same city on 16th June 1932:
of his eight children, six died in con-
centration camps. This book, of almost
80 leaves, contained letters praising his
performances between 1881 and 1902
(when he was between 31 and 42 years
old) all around Holland. I did not know
this magician and would welcome any
information about him and his career:
are any of my Dutch/Belgian friends in-
terested in doing some research? Any-
way, the certificate book sold to a lonely
bid of €300 (€376.20) and it has now left
Holland, as far as I know. A fascinating
Kassner. A lot of photos sold for $320
104
What I believe is an unpublished

photo of Hardeen (Houdini’s brother),
attracted a lot of interest on eBay at the
end of November, selling for a whop-
ping $860. The photo shows Hardeen
chained (hands and legs) to a chair and
it is dated at around 1905. The back of
the photo has a pen notation announc-
ing Hardeen’s debut in New York in De-
cember 1907, so the date is about cor-
rect. The price for this photo was quite
high, unusually so for Hardeen, but the
image (retouched) is unusual and quite
nice.
Magic automaton: $28,000

Boonton, NJ, and contained other nice
automatons, including a juggler spin-
ning a plate on a parasol and a ball on
a fan. This sold for $18,000 ($22,500)
but its costume was more worn than the
magicienne’s. The magic effects in the
first automaton were simply the pro-
Hardeen: $860
duction of heads under the cups and the
die (including a baby blowing kisses to
the audience). Not really a magical ap-
Automatons of a magical subject pearance (as the table was never shown
are never cheap, but a very nice Roul- empty), just the use of a magical im-
let et Decamps example of a female age to show the skills of the automaton
magician behind a table with two large, makers in the early 1880s.
overturned cups, and a large die, hold-
ing a magic wand, sold for an impressive Of marginal interest to magicians,
$28,000 ($35,000), or more than twice but of greater interest to bibliophiles,
the high estimate, in early December. was the sale of a rare first edition of the
The sale was handled by Millea Bros. in 20–books volume of Magiae Naturalis
105
by Giambattista della Porta, published The last major magic auction of

in 1589, offered at the beginning of 2020 was once again a spectacular one
December by Zwiggelaar Auctions in organized by the indefatigable team
Holland. This copy sold for a reason- at Potter & Potter of Chicago, with an
able €1,500 (€1,875) as the first edi- assortment of almost 500 lots being a
tion, profusely illustrated, rarely comes mixture of apparatus from Owen Magic
to the market. The Magiae Naturalis is Supreme, some of the books from the
not a difficult title to procure, as it went collection of Gianni Pasqua, “Roxy,”
through many editions, but this was the important material once owned by
first edition expanded and revised, with Charlie Miller, Dai Vernon, Ross Ber-
the chapter on invisible writing of inter- tram, Sid Lorraine and John Scarne, in
est to magicians. The book was in good addition to contemporary books and a
condition, with a later binding, and I few magic posters.
think the price was fair for a rare title. Floyd Thayer founded his name-
sake magic company in 1902 building il-
I was quite surprised in seeing two lusions and apparatus in wood for many
small decorative plates with the portrait professional illusionists, and even more
of Chung Ling Soo sell on eBay for £46, so, for amateurs. Carl Owen joined the
attracting the interest of four different company in the early years and ran it
bidders: I hope none of them believed from the 1950s as Owen Magic Su-
the plates were from before 1918, when preme, producing magic apparatus and
Chung Ling Soo tragically died on the building custom tricks for television
stage of the Wood Green Empire. Ac- specials. In the 1960s, Les and Gertrude
tually, these were plates made for Hec- Smith purchased the business and ran it
tor Robinson, Soo’s son, after 1972 and with their son. In September 2020, af-
likely closer to the late 1970s, at the time ter 118 years of continued manufactur-
when Robinson was busy promoting ing and trading, the company closed its
his famous father and himself. I do not retail presence (keeping a few items on
know how many plates were produced, the internet) and is now seeking a new
as I only have seen them a few times, owner to take be business to the future.
and I suspect only passionate collectors In the past few months, the company
of Soo memorabilia may desire them. has been disposing of their stuff and il-
Now that you know, perhaps you will lusions, even hosting a couple of “garage
want to add them to your collection. sale” days which I understand were well
patronized. This sale offered apparatus
from the firm, from old to more recent
stock, together with samples and mod-
els. In addition to this, one could find
some of the illusions of the late Marvin
Roy, who passed away in 2020, that had
been stored at Owen’s for a long time:
a few years ago, the sale of Les Smith’s
Chung Ling Soo’s plates: £46
collection already offered some of his il-
106
lusions like the appearing Eiffel Tower

made of jewels. As we are dealing essen-
tially with unique, rare or extraordinary
objects, we will have to concentrate only
on a few of the many interesting lots.
In the first part of the sale, I was
excited to see the apparatus for the
one–man levitation of Bob Brown and
Brenda, with the black costume of the
buxom lady who would rise in the air
and rotate to reach a horizontal posi-
tion. Many years ago, I was able to see
this performance at a magic convention Bob Brown’s levitation: $1,400
in Italy: at the time I had just started my and the lady returned on the stool, to
magic journey and was very inexperi- the be “awaken” and receive a thunder-
enced, but that levitation has remained ous applause.
with me since. The fact that I was sit- But the description missed out
ting at the extremity of the stalls did what some of the audience would have
not help. For those of you who have seen while others would have simply
never seen the illusion, it went like this: perceived: when Bob Brown was be-
a blonde lady, wearing a long black hind the lady, hidden by her dress, it
dress, and an elderly gentleman in din- looked like he was adjusting himself
ner jacket wearing one of the atrocious and perhaps even molesting the rear
toupees one could see in the 1970s, took lower region of the assistant’s anatomy.
the centre of the stage. The lady stepped This was even more visible to a teenager
on a low, white, stool and was hypno- sitting at the end of the row in an unfor-
tized by the magician. With her eyes tunate theatre. Robert Forester Brown
closed, the magician went through the (1921–2016) was a semi–professional
stages of “demonstrating” she was in a magician who, from 1967 brought his
deep trance, by lifting her arm and then brand of magic to luxury international
let it drop. The magician positioned hotels and was a semi–regular face at
himself behind the lady and carried out many European magic conventions and
some mystical passes, and the woman at FISM. This one–man levitation was
raised vertically about 15–20 cm (less his creation, improving on the version
than 1 foot). She then, slowly rotated sold by Davenport in England from the
towards the right, still facing the audi- mid–1950s (the “Up in the Air Levita-
ence (the youngest of whom expecting tion,” immortalized in a dramatic photo
at any time her generous bosom to fall of George Davenport in the middle of
out of the dress), to then rotate slowly Oxford Street) and while not perfect,
on her side, parallel to the floor and per- it incorporated some clever technical
pendicular to the magician who, toupee details. The apparatus sold for $1,400
and all, continued to wave his arms over ($1,680), below its lowest estimate and
her. The procedure was then inverted, a low price for what is a unique illusion,
107
with more features than that most simi- “on the side” at home in the evening, so
lar to it, Yogano’s “Madrid.” it is not surprising he could make clever
mechanical alterations to a watch to
perfect a classic effect.
Another little–seen magical ef-
fect that raised a spectacular price, was
a copy of Ted Lesley’s Bending Wine
Glass, a trick devised by the late German
mentalist and magician from an idea by
Lee Earle presented in his show “Mani-
festations” (between 1987 and 1989).
The trick, described in detail in Lesley’s
Jon Martin’s watch: $9.500
book, Paramiracles, requires a wine
A very unusual object made by glass whose stem has been bent, and a
famed British magic builder Jon Martin faked book that allows an imperceptible
in the 1940s by modifying a solid silver rotation of the glass sitting on it. Lesley
pocket watch to make it perform a time had these books made and commercial-
prediction effect, was the second–high- ized in the early 1990s, but as the book
est paid item in the sale, fetching $9,500 had a German title visible on the spine,
($11,400). This is a very unusual item not many sold outside German–speak-
(Martin had made some Silver Hunter ing countries. I was surprised to see this
– double face – prediction watches in trick sell for $4,000 ($4,800) and attract
the late 1940s) made for Graham Ad- a spectacular number of bids: 43, mak-
ams (who was undoubtedly Martin’s ing it the lot with most bids in this sale.
major customer) who later sold it to The group of apparatus was fol-
Ken Brooke. The secret mechanism of lowed by around 20 lots of Italian books
this watch is such that it is almost im- from the collection of Gianni Pasqua,
possible to discover and far superior to most of whom seemed having only a
that of the highly collectible “Stull” pre- passing connection to magic and most
diction watch. Jon Martin was a watch- of which sold for over their high esti-
maker by trade and repaired watches mate, at prices that I don’t feel repre-
sent value for money. A clear example
was a copy of the third edition of Pietro
Aretino’s Le Carte Parlanti, published in
1650 (the first edition was from 1543).
This edition is probably the least inter-
esting, as the text had been edited to
remove some of the most controversial
words by Aretino, in a valiant effort to
make the book approved by the Church.
Unfortunately, these efforts were not
successful, as the book ended up in the
Index librorum prohibitorum, or the list
Ted Lesley’s bending glass: $4,000
108
Cortigiano first published in 1528. The

alleged importance of the work of Cas-
tiglione is that he apparently mentions
the “bottom deal” in the Cortigiano, or,
at least, this was Roxy’s view, this be-
ing apparently the first mention of the
technique. Unfortunately, the context
of this phrase is such that no sleight is
performed at all (see page 125) and at
the very best, we should assume that by
1528 people were aware that it was pos-
sible to cheat by dealing cards from the
bottom of the deck. To spend $450 for
a later collection of Renaissance texts,
containing 5 words related to gambling,
seems a tad excessive. The proof is in the
fact that only a few days later, an English
copy of the Cortigiano (The Courtier)
from 1727 – containing also the origi-
nal Italian text – was sold by Forum
Expensive book at $800
Auctions in London for £220 (£275).
of books spreading heretical ideas. I was Most of the other books dealt with
the first magic historian to investigate mathematics, chemistry, charlatans,
the magic tricks and gambling narrative and vagabonds, but a very unusual item
in this book (in its first edition) after a finally changed hands. This was a sev-
recommendation from Roxy; later Au- enteenth century manuscript: a hand-
relio Paviato published his research in written copy of the first edition of the I
English in an issue of Gibecière. This Giuochi Numerici, Fatti Arcani Palesati,
copy attracted quite some bids, finally by Giuseppe Antonio Alberti, one of the
selling for $800 ($960), a price which first Italian magic books, strongly based
I found excessive. I was the unhappy on the Ozanam and Guyot. This was a
underbidder but, while the auction was copy, done by an anonymous scribe, of
still progressing, I purchased from an 416 unbound pages with the mathemat-
antiquarian bookseller in Italy another ical illustrations one can find in the text.
copy of the same edition (in better con- I remember Roxy advertising this man-
dition, with an almost perfect binding) uscript in his catalogues for a long time,
for about half the price: €420 (about with an asking price of around €13,000,
$520), or its market value. which was excessive. In this sale, the
I was likewise surprised to see a manuscript sold for a more reasonable
copy of Baldassar Castiglione’s Opere $1,100 ($1,320), and it would be a nice
from 1733 fetch $375 ($450). This is complement to a collection that already
a collection of the books of this Ital- has the other four 18th century editions
ian courtier, including his influential Il of this book. The catalogue of the sale
109
was however a little short on informa- The group of “Ephemera” in this

tion on this manuscript: the printed sale is where historically important ob-
book has 16 plates illustrating the magic jects from our art could be found, with
tricks (copied from the French sources), some items which I believe were at one
but it was not mentioned whether pre- time in the collection of noted Canadi-
sent in the manuscript, nor illustrated an historian, collector, author, perform-
in the photos provided (only a page er and publisher, David Ben, together
with mathematical calculations was). with personal items of John Scarne
According to Roxy’s old catalogues, the consigned – I believe – by his wife, now
manuscript contained 16 plates, but nei- in her nineties. An important lot was
ther he indicated if these were the magic composed by many manuscripts and
illustrations. correspondence by Charlie Miller, con-
The antiquarian books were fol- taining explanation of tricks and rou-
lowed by a few desirable 20th century tines. It sold for $4,000 ($4,800) and I
magic volumes which generally sold must again stress the importance for the
within the estimated range: curiously, information in this lot not to sit forever
this group contained an early scrap- in a private collection, but to be studied
book of Dunninger, compiled between and published to help advance the Art
1911 and 1917, during his “escape art- of Magic. I keep saying this when large
ist” years. Dunninger is now remem- lots of technical material are sold and
bered as a mentalist, of course, and this keep hoping to see them in print: sorry
phase is generally a footnote in his dis- for banging on again! The Charlie Miller
tinguished career. The scrapbook con- collection also included the apparatus
tained letters, clippings and photos and used by this master and, generally, the
attracted quite some interest, selling lots sold within the estimate. Miller was
for $4,200 ($5,040). It would be nice if followed by Dai Vernon, whose popu-
this document were to be studied and a larity remains unabated almost 30 years
more complete biography of Dunninger since his death. In addition to personal
published in our lifetime, wouldn’t it? items (like the unique sporting awards
Dai Vernon’s rings: $18,000

110
he won in his youth), the core of this

group was the material Vernon used in
his “Harlequin Act” of the 1930s, the
tricks that formed the most artistic mo-
ment of Vernon’s professional career as
a magical entertainer, and an act that
has been described in glowing terms
more than once in magic literature.
The belief shared by the magic history
cognoscenti was that these seven items
should have remained together, in the
possession of a single collector who
would have preserved the legend and
the artistry of Vernon for future genera-
tions. Alas, this was not to be, as these
objects went to different buyers, and for
generally less than the lowest estimate
put by the auction house. The only ex-
ception was the set of the five linking
rings for the sequence in the act (differ- Rare Rameses poster: $2,400
ent from the standard Symphony of the er one was a rare and highly desirable
Rings with six, immortalized in a book- “butterfly.” Neither of them reached the
let by Lewis Ganson), which was also expected price range: the “duck” sold
the highest–priced lot in the sale, fetch- for $1,500 ($1,800), while the “butter-
ing an impressive $18,000 ($21,600), or fly” only reached $2,400 ($2,880). One
17.7% of the total of the auction. The lot has to say that both posters looked a bit
I personally found more important, as toned, with tired colours, but it was still
it is a trick whose presentation has long surprising to see Rameses not faring
survived Vernon and is still popular to- that well in this sale.
day, was the fan for the “Snowstorm in Overall, while a lot of people
China” routine, that only sold for $1,000 thought the prices in this sale were quite
($1,200) to the maiden bid. Go figure! high, only 142 lots out of 491 made more
The group of posters sported a than the high estimate (29%); 146 did
nice three–sheet Alexander “stripes” less than the lowest estimate (including
which fetched the highest price in this 4 unsold – this represents 29.7% of the
category, $4,600 ($5,520), followed by sale); while 203 were between the low
a rare “Thurston and Jane” at $4,400 and high estimate (included) – 41.3%. I
($5,280), but most of the posters were suspect the feeling of an “expensive” sale
continental and pretty standard (and was contributed by the extreme slow-
most of them sold for less than expect- ness of the event: it took Gabe Fajuri
ed). However, two seldom–seen posters six hours to go through less than 400
of Rameses were offered: one was the lots (ye editor crashed out at that point).
classical “duck procession,” but the oth- In six hours, one would expect this auc-
111
tion to have completed, and with time

to spare. Is this an American custom
for auctions? It may be: this side of the
pond, sales are more brisk.
This was an interesting auction,
offering a large number of varied items
to satisfy every collector, as diverse as
they may be, with a good number of lots
of important magic memorabilia rarely
seen and that have now been recorded
for posterity in the lavish illustrated
catalogue.
While Potter & Potter seems to

be quite good with their estimates, the
same could not be said of De Maredsous
Solibieda of Orléans, France, which at
the end of December offered a lot of
four fans estimated between €40 and Mlle. Vandermeersch. Yes, me neither!
€60. So far, so good, if it were not that
Three unusual letters to lady ma-
one of these fans was for Robert–Hou- gician Mlle. Émilie Vandermeersch
din at the Palais Royal, so between 1845 came out for sale at Conan Auction
and 1852, and another one was an Eng- in Lyon, France, at the end of January.
lish fan dated to 1791 (no magic there). Mlle. Van der Meersch is a long–for-
This lot sold for a spectacular €2,650 gotten magician who in the 1850s was
(€3,254.20), a good contender for the presenting an act of “Oiseaux merveil-
coveted prize of “the most under–esti- leux” (marvellous birds) where a few
mated magic lot of the year”! Unfortu- small birds could answer to questions
nately, photos and information on the presented by the audience, by extracting
fan were not top notch: as you know, letters from a box to form words. While
these fans continued to be produced one lot was formed by two love letters
after Hamilton had taken control of (one by Étienne Tréfeu, her magician
the Theatre, and a careful analysis is re- partner), the other two lots were more
quired to confirm whether the fan was interesting, being contracts between
sold at a performance of Robert–Hou- Hamilton (1812–1877), the successor
din, or at a later one, but the text “Palais of Robert–Houdin, to engage the act
Royal” make me suspect it was an earlier for the Théâtre Robert–Houdin, one
one. While we are not experts of hand from 1853, the other for the following
fans, this price for an original Robert– year. What I found interesting in these
Houdin fan is a very good one, but per- letters is that the bird act was booked for
haps the interest was on another fan in a month at 1,000 Francs in 1853, but the
this lot. Who knows? following year, the fee had decreased to
half that price, still for a full month of
112
performances (once a day, twice on the I rarely mention Houdini in this

Sunday). None of these contracts sold: I column, as his memorabilia is plenti-
suspect the asking price of €600 was too ful and only (very) rarely unusual, but
high. As you know, these were the first I think I have to make an exception
years since Hamilton had taken charge for a couple of photos that are both
of the Theatre of his famous brother– quite common (i.e. many copies ex-
in–law who was then touring France, ist) and well known, but that fetched
Germany and England before retiring some amazing prices recently. In Janu-
for good from his performing career. ary, RR Auction of Boston sold a 1909
Contracts for the Théâtre Robert–Hou- signed postcard of a shackled Houdini
din rarely come out and these were two (trimmed) for an exorbitant $4,545
good, early, examples. Maybe they will ($5,681). The photo was in quite good
be offered again in the future at a more condition, but the price was at least
reasonable price. twice as much as its value. Only a few
months before, in September, the same
house sold a later postcard – still signed
Talking of papers, any collec-
– for a whopping $5,900 ($7,375), com-
tor knows well that Houdini papers
pletely unbelievable! While not many of
always raise interest and generally sell
these postcards (from 1916) are signed,
for good money. This was proved again
the price just doesn’t make any sense!
at the beginning of December when
Heritage Auctions, of Austin, TX, sold
a two–page typed document in support
of Harry Houdini on a lawsuit from me-
dium Arthur McNally, who sued Hou-
dini for $5,000 as the famous magician
allegedly called him “a fraud” on stage
(March 1926) and an argument ensued.
The statement was undersigned by 11
witnesses, including Houdini’s assistant
James Collins, and his psychic investi-
gator, Rose Mackenberg, all of whom
had witnessed the event. Amongst the
signatures on this document there is
one “Frank Williamson” that both Pat-
rick Culliton and John Cox, the emi-
nent Houdini historians, suspect may
be Houdini’s long–time assistant Frank
Kukol. The document sold for $575
($718.75) and while it presents only a
small part of Houdini’s life and work, is
still interesting and noteworthy.
Houdini postcard: $4,545
113
The necklace is very nice, almost

40 cm long (15.7”) and weighing 23.5
grams. It is in yellow gold, with the
links adorned with small half–cultured
pearls, the centre decorated with three
crescent moon and star motif hold-
ing an openwork pendant also set with
half–cultured pearls. While there was
not much presented as provenance for
this object, the necklace sold for €1,100
(€1,320), a good price for a late associa-
tion piece of this great magician.
At the middle of February,

Haversat & Ewing presented their regu-
lar auction with almost 300 lots, most
fairly recent material of low historical
Cazeneuve’s necklace: €1,100 interest. In the sale, 53 lots went unsold,
almost 19%, while the other lots aver-
The most decorated magician in
aged around $200. Houdini – unsur-
history – at least, according to his por-
prisingly – raised the highest money,
traits and photos – must certainly have
with $3,200 ($3,774) for a nice presen-
been Marius Cazeneuve (1839–1913)
tation showcase with two early photos,
from Toulouse, France, who is also re-
membered for his political influence on
the queen of Madagascar, which enabled
France to conquer the African island.
Just before going to press, Rouillac from
Tours, France, offered at auction an ar-
ticulated necklace that had belonged to
Cazeneuve, having been donated to him
(according to the auctioneer) by Sultan
Mehemed V (1844–1918), the ruler of
Turkey (and of the Ottoman Empire)
from 1909. While Cazeneuve per-
formed in front of his grandfather (Sul-
tan Abdulaziz) who gave him jewellery
that was depicted on the magician’s por-
trait, this necklace was not documented
and there are a few questions on when
the magician and the Sultan may have
met, and whether their meeting was
for magical performances rather than a
diplomatic encounter. Houdini showcase: $3,200
114
a pair of handcuffs that had belonged

to Houdini, a newspaper clipping, a
large reproduction poster and two clip-
pings, one signed by Houdini. The dis-
play is spectacular and the price fair but
lower than the $4,000 estimate. A set
of leg irons sold by Hardeen to Larry
Weeks (saying they belonged to Hou-
dini) fetched $2,800 ($3,726) while a set
of needles from mouth sold for $2,200
($2,574). This was however something
that Houdini had probably never even
touched, being a packet of needles he
planned to prepare at some stage to per-
form the trick. I could imagine Houdini
walking into a haberdashery sometime
in the early 1920s to purchase a gross of
needle packets, of which this was one.
I think one can still buy these sets on Rare photo of Rapp: $600
eBay as collectibles for a much lower of Goldin “The Tiger God” that this
price and relish in fantasising that Hou- house has tried to sell in the past: there
dini may have picked them up instead were no takers at $1,600. The poster is
of those in the auction! huge and it would be very difficult to
The sale opened with a few collect- display: while I wanted to try to get it,
ible photos, some of which uncommon: I realized that I would really struggle to
amongst these, a rare, signed photo of have that large tube stand in my house
an elder Augustus Rapp (1871–1961) and would have surely lost money when
which fetched $600 ($702). Rapp was a selling it.
magician in rural America at the turn of A few lots of magic apparatus
the 20th century who has left us a lovely (Abbott’s, MAK Magic, Grant...) did not
biography on his professional life but of bring exciting prices, save for an Oki-
whom very few professional photos ex- to–Williams “Matter Through Matter,”
ist, and it seems this is the first to come unused. It fetched $1,400 ($1,638), that
up at auction in a while. is $1,100 less than its original price: yet
I liked an unusual poster of Kass- another proof that investing in collecta-
ner, featuring his leading lady, seldom ble high–end magic apparatus is a game
seen. It sold for a reasonable $500 ($585) no longer pays, as times have changed.
which is an excellent price for a rare In general, apparatus sold for very little
poster featuring a woman. The posters and to be honest, none of it was particu-
in general did not fare that well, with all larly exciting, desirable, or rare.
the Chang and Fak–Hong, among oth- A few books in the sale did not
ers, failing to sell. The same fate befell raise much money: probably the most
on the extremely large (8 sheet) poster interesting lot was a full set of The
115
As we had more than a few men-

tions of Houdini in this issue, I would
like to end on what is probably one of
the most expensive fakes associated to
his name to come out in the the last
quarter. At the beginning of February,
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC of
Chesapeake City, MD, offered a “very
valuable relic”: a leather satchel with
“The Great Houdini” hand–painted on
the reverse.
Kassner poster: $500

According to the auction house,
Sphinx magazine, unbound and in the lettering “was applied long ago” and
magazine folders, which fetched an im- the lot was accompanied by a notarized
pressive $1,400 ($1,638), a very good letter of provenance indicating that
price for this magazine. At the time of “it was purchased at a small country
going to press, there is another full set auction in southwestern New York...a
coming up for auction, this one nicely few other Houdini related items have
bound, and we are predicting it will go come out of this area...” The auctioneer
for considerably more. Probably the stopped short of associating this bag
books brought the best buy of the sale: to the great magician himself, but this
a copy of Selbit’s The Magician’s Hand- was strongly implied. A number of ma-
book from 1902, in very nice condition, jor Houdini experts were rightly suspi-
sold for a meagre $35 ($40.95). cious, as there was a lack of provenance,
This sale has again shown that in- and especially because Houdini hardly
terest in magic posters and apparatus is ever used the term “great” to self–de-
on the wane, while confirming the trend scribe. It is more likely this satchel was a
of the desirability of photographs. From fake produced in the 1950s, probably on
an investment point of view, this is hard the interest of Houdini spurned by the
to understand, as photographs are easily Tony Curtis movie. The satchel still had
duplicated and often many copies of the a lot of interest (well... a reserve...) and it
same image exist, which would not war- raised 17 bids, selling to an anonymous
rant paying top dollars for a photo that internet bidder for $1,600 ($2,080).
may be a reproduction, especially if not What is your opinion on this?
signed. Caveat emptor!
MP
116
On Bookes
for to Rede is my Delyte
• Early English Conjuring Col-

lectors: James Savren and Henry
Evanion
by Jim Hagy
Reviewed by Marco Pusterla
Way back in 1985, James Hagy in-
itiated his research on the collection of
Henry Evanion, the English magician
and hoarder of magical paper ephemera
that formed the cornerstone of Hou-
dini’s collection, after their meeting in
London in 1904. That volume has long
been difficult to find, and magic col-
lectors and historians should rejoice at
the arrival on the market of this new tory of magic lays in the obsessive pres-
edition, in a much–improved graphic ervation of any scrap of paper having
design and with updated research and to do with conjuring exhibitions and,
information. As part of the Evanion more in general, advertisement in the
collection came from another obscure Victorian era. Magic historians must
part–time magician (and coiffeur), be grateful to Evanion and to the for-
James Savern, the author covers also tuitous encounter with Houdini (who,
this man in the book, hence the double only 30, was in London with great ac-
billing. claim) which allowed Evanion’s large
Henry Evanion was a professional collection of magical ephemera to be
magician operating around London and acquired by a then–obsessed Houdini.
in the Southern and Eastern regions of From Hagy’s book, one can see the “per-
England between 1849 and his death fect storm” coming, and one of the most
in 1905, with performances of classical exceptional magic events for the pres-
parlour conjuring and ventriloquism. ervation of magic history of the second
His career has been tracked down half of the 19th century. If Houdini and
thanks to advertisement records (play- Evanion had never met, it is more than
bills) he saved and that passed on to likely that this important record of our
Houdini, but his performances are not Art would have gone lost or destroyed
the reason Evanion deserves recogni- upon Evanion’s death shortly after their
tion, rather his importance in the his- encounter. Today, Evanion’s collection,
117
and the numerous letters between him ago who had an obsession still shared
and Houdini (and the letters by Robert by a few people today. Highly recom-
Evans, his nephew, following Evanion’s mended.
death) are part of the Harry Ransom • Early English Conjuring Collectors: James
Center at the University of Texas and Savren and Henry Evanion • Jim Hagy •
Reginald Scot Books, Glenview, IL, 2020 •
were the primary source on which
196 pages • 18 x 18 cm • softcover • $45 •
James Hagy worked on. [email protected]
A smaller part of the book deals
with the enigmatic James Savren, of
whom a few broadsides exist, who ap-
parently had a shorter professional ca-
• Maryland’s Ambassador of
reer and was contemporary of Evanion. Magic: Phil Thomas and the
The information provided here is im- Yogi Magic Mart
portant, but data on the magical doings by Mark Walker, Mike Rose
of Savren is as scarce as hen teeth and I Reviewed by Marco Pusterla
believe most is between these two cov- Books on the history of magic
ers. The production of the book is nice, come in all shapes and forms, from
keeping the same (square) size of James those talking about magicians long
and Sage Hagy’s previous book (Fair dead, to those printed on demand on
Tricks: The Magicians at the Columbian your doorstep; the latest work by Mark
Exposition, Chicago 1893) which we re- Walker (of Spook Shows fame) and
viewed in Vol. 6 n. 1, and it is limited to Mike Rose (owner of a business dealing
500 copies. Many colour pictures enrich with magic antiques) is a nice change
the volume (but their captions are still in this direction. The subject, Balti-
quite faint) and 645 endnotes provide more’s magic dealer Phil Thomas, is a
all the extra information you can ever character still alive in the memory of
need. Six appendixes provide a pleth- more mature magicians, having owned
ora of information on both Evanion an important magic shop in Maryland
and Savren, like listing all their known from 1944 to 1985 and having passed
shows (and I was pleasantly surprised away only in 1998. And the book is not
to discover that Evanion performed a print on demand job, but a nice, limit-
in Bury St. Edmunds, my town, in the ed edition of 500, on high quality paper,
same building where also Prof. Ander- rich with many black and white photos
son and myself did), the list of Evanion’s of Thomas, friends, the shop, and of a
tricks, his addresses, and more. few performances.
The personality of Evanion and The story of how a magic enthusi-
his importance for the preservation of ast became a professional performer for
magic history really comes out in the private parties closer to his home, and
book and I believe it to be a worthy ad- how he owned a large magic shop (and a
dition to the library of any magic collec- noteworthy collection of apparatus and
tor or anybody interested in the story of magic memorabilia) and a magic club,
the creation and preservation of a col- is narrated in a very conversational way
lection, introducing a gentleman of long by the two authors, both of whom, as
118
being very influential in a limited area.

What made Phil Thomas special to have
a book dedicated to? I believe that what
comes out by reading this volume is the
ability Phil had to multitask, to run a
successful business, to follow the chang-
ing trends of magic in America during
his lifetime, while running an entertain-
ment agency, performing, and raising
a family. For people who did not have
the opportunity to know, or to pur-
chase from Phil Thomas, his life story
may provide an inspiration on how to
become successful in the magic busi-
ness. In the book, there are numerous
mentions of Phil Thomas’ magic collec-
tion, and some contemporary collec-
tors share their stories about the “finds”
there, which should make people sali-
vate: if you are interested in Americana
young men, were influenced by Thomas
magic collecting, then the book may be
and spent quite a few dollars in his shop.
a resource for you and as a collector you
If you dread magic history books re-
will regret not having been there!
plete with dates and locations, you will
I enjoyed the book and I am glad
enjoy this book: it is almost like sitting
to have learnt about Phil Thomas and the
down with Mark and Mike and listen
Baltimore magic scene at the middle of
to them reminisce about Phil Thomas.
the 20th century and hope you will, too.
The help of Phil’s daughter, Anne Claire • Maryland’s Ambassador of Magic: Phil Tho-
Garrett, a one–time professional magi- mas and the Yogi Magic Mart • Mark Walker,
cian, rounds up the story with episodes Mike Rose • Mike Rose Magic, Bel Air, MA,
that would otherwise not been known. 2020, 2020 • 278 pages • 15.5 x 23.5 cm •
Access to her collection of family pho- hardcover • $45 • https://HardToFindMagic.
tographs offers a rich graphical history com
of the life of Phil Thomas.
Who is this book for? Ultimately, • Madame Blanche Corelli: Cor-
the influence of Phil Thomas was felt
prevalently in Maryland and, especially,
respondence with Hall Lippin-
Baltimore and surroundings: he was cott, Jan 1931–Sep 1939
a magician with a limited performing by Cindy Lippincott
Reviewed by Richard Hatch
area, who did not tour around the world Blanche Corelli (born 1853) was
with a magic show; a magic dealer with
a singer and actress in light opera (Gil-
a highly successful local shop and a
mail–order business. Surely, many other bert and Sullivan, for example) with her
magicians may have had a similar life, own company in America for a decade
119
or so in the late 19th century. When both seemed to think so), Dante, Er-
she retired from the stage, she eventu- nest Thorn, and Clinton Burgess, as
ally settled in Berlin and began a sec- well as her father, her uncle Alexander,
ond successful career as a singing coach and her aunt Adelaide, who was a few
with her own studio. What makes her months younger than Blanche. Spoiler
of possible interest to magic historians alert: I enjoyed learning that her fa-
is that she was the only surviving child ther’s favourite hobby was fishing and
(a younger sister died in infancy) of the that although he may have spoken as
great magician Compars Herrmann many as 9 languages fluently, he could
(1816–1887) and his first wife, the op- neither read nor write, though he did
era diva Róza Csillag (1832–1892). A learn to sign his name. In her pursuit
chance encounter in a bank in Berlin of an inheritance from the estate of the
with a young American college gradu- late Adelaide Herrmann, she claims to
ate, Hall Lippincott, in 1928 when she have been responsible for convincing
was 75 resulted in a friendship and cor- Alexander to marry “Addie.” Ultimately
respondence that lasted until Septem- this is not a book about magic and ma-
ber 1939. This book provides transcrip- gicians, but letters revealing Corelli’s in-
tions of the 72 surviving letters she sent creasingly difficult circumstances dur-
to Lippincott (note: the letters written ing the Great Depression and then the
between March 1935 and June 1939 Third Reich. Lippincott becomes her
have been lost) and a careful reader will benefactor, sending small sums of badly
be rewarded with mentions of Houdini needed cash with each letter, in return
(who may have been related to her on for which she would occasionally send
her mother’s side. She and Houdini him memorabilia from her collection,
such as her father’s watch chain (pic-
tured in the book and still in the Lip-
pincott family), a candid photo of her
friend Enrico Caruso, and letters from
Houdini (which have been sold, but are
depicted in the book). Because she was
Jewish, her life becomes increasingly
precarious under the Third Reich, as the
Nazis increased the restrictions on her
person, such as requiring her to use her
birth name Dora Ch[awa] Herrmann in
lieu of her stage name. At the time the
final letter was written on September
25, 1939, she was 86.5 years old in dire
financial need and poor health, so we
can safely assume that she did not sur-
vive to suffer the coming horrors of the
Holocaust, but at present her exact date
of death is not known. Of the 341 pages,
120
the transcribed letters are on pages 17– our knowledge in a ground–break-

133, while the following 206 pages are ing way, I would say that all need say-
black and white scanned images of the ing about Houdini has long since been
handwritten letters and their envelopes written. The latest biography to hit the
and contents, with introductory infor- shelves, by Adam Begley, for the “Jewish
mation about Corelli and Lippincott Lives” series, does not add any new dis-
in the book’s first 16 pages. This cor- covery on Houdini, but is noteworthy as
respondence, transcribed by Hall Lip- it lifts information from many sources
pincott’s daughter Cindy, was originally and combines them in a pleasant and
posted as a subpage to the website she to–the–point narrative of the most fa-
maintains about her father’s year abroad mous magician in history.
(http://halllippincott.com) but was tak- The book covers, in around 200
en down when the hosting payments pages, Houdini’s life, with a particular
lapsed. Because of the cost of rebuild- interest in Jewish customs and Houdi-
ing the Corelli website, it was decided ni’s worship of the faith (or lack of). The
to issue them in book form to preserve book expands a little on the affair be-
the information and make it available at tween Houdini and Charmian London
a very modest price. Recommended at and reports the story of Randini and of
this price to those with an interest in the his idea for the escape from a straitjack-
Herrmann magical dynasty. et while suspended upside down (the
[Ed. Since this review was written, Rich- subject of a whole book published years
ard Hatch has obtained Blanche Corelli’s ago) but does not delve much on Hou-
death and burial dates (25 Dec. 1939 and dini’s relationship with other magicians
28 Dec. 1939) from the Weissensee Jew-
ish Cemetery in Berlin, where the great
magician Bellachini (1827–1885) is also
buried. Future printings of the Corelli/
Lippincott letters will be revised to in-
clude this information.]
• Madame Blanche Corelli: Correspondence
with Hall Lippincott, January 1931–Septem-
ber 1939 • Blanche Corelli • self–published,
2021 • 341 pages • 25 x 10 cm • paperback •
$9.95 • https://amazon.com
• Houdini The Elusive American

by Adam Begley
Reviewed by Marco Pusterla
Is there anything left to say about
Houdini, the magician about whom
more books have been written? Oth-
er than some minutiae that does not
change the story of his life, nor progress
121
or magic societies, for example. I believe and life in the context of the Jewish
this was a good editorial choice: strip faith, a subject that has not been suf-
out all the fat and just leave the essential ficiently covered in previous works on
story, which gives a more modern view the magician, and that may give us an-
of Houdini to the contemporary reader other approach to examine the reasons
without bogging them down with every behind his artistic and life choices. We
single escape or river jump, mostly ap- are not talking here of a book that at-
preciated by readers of this magazine. tempts to examine Houdini’s psyche, as
A few errors have crept in (like the other sources, from the 1970s onwards,
date of the beginning of the Magicians’ have tried to, yet I believe the book’s ap-
Club – it is 1911 rather than 1913), but proach could open a source of discus-
these are inconsequential and may only sion and investigation for historians
interest the most obsessed Houdini and amateurs of the Houdini lore.
historian. The book contains numer- While not indispensable to the
ous photographs, all of which already knowledge of Houdini’s life and career,
known and generally from public col- this is an excellent title for a more gen-
lections (most from the Library of eral view of Houdini and his myth and
Congress) and the print quality of the I’m sure you will want to add it to your
volume is excellent, from high–quality collection.
paper to the design and print: no cheap • Houdini – the Elusive American • Adam
“print on demand” here. Begley • Yale University Press, New Haven,
What I found of most merit in 2020 • 232 pages • 14.6 x 21 cm • hardcover•
$26 • https://www.jewishlives.org/books/
this book is the vision of Houdini’s feats
houdini
Chewing the (Magic) Fat...

STORYTELLING. During the
first Covid Lockdown, in 2020, I hosted
some live magic streams on the Face-
book page of Ye Olde Magic Mag, where
I presented items from my collection,
some updates on magic history and col-
lecting, and where I had as a guest some
of the most distinguished magic col-
lectors of the world who shared items
from their respective collection. All greatest magician of the century, and
these episodes are still available online: the owner of a spectacular magic col-
https://facebook.com/yeoldemagicmag/ lection. Very kindly, David talked about
videos. One of my guests, whom I was his collection and expressed his vision
privileged to have accept my invitation, of it and of magic collecting in general:
was David Copperfield, arguably the I would strongly recommend you watch
122
the episode to refresh your memory on ence or study; but for those with a more
his approach to magic collecting. substantial collection, a large propor-
One of the things that David said tion of these objects remain in storage,
and that particularly impressed me, is in boxes, drawers, dark rooms. A very
his concept to use the collection as a small number of collectors sometimes
vehicle for storytelling. Briefly (but, as present part of their possessions in pub-
I repeat, please check the talk), David lic displays or lend them to museums
extracts stories from the objects in his for sporadic exhibitions, but these can
collection and presents these stories to be counted on the fingers of two hands.
visitors of his magic museum, explain- What could the average collector take
ing why some performers, or some lo- from David’s concept and bring it to
cations resonate more with him, taking their collection?
the audience to a journey in magic past, Every magic object has a story,
and into magic that is or was meaning- and when a group of heterogeneous
ful to David Copperfield. objects are together, they can provide a
This idea made me think, deeply, richer story, in which some individual
once again, on how a collector could items are more interesting than oth-
share his collection with the world at ers: a publicity photo of a long–dead
large, and how he or she could make magician is less interesting than, say, a
these magic artefacts meaningful for box this magician used on stage. If the
other people. What do you do with your photo were to show the same box, then
collection? From a personal point, and the story created by the two objects be-
from what I see many friends do, we of- comes more interesting, worth narrat-
ten accumulate objects or papers for our ing. But there are also objects in people’s
own pleasure: sometime we decorate a collections that cannot tell a story as
home, an office, or a den; other times such: books or newspaper clippings, for
we use part of our collection for refer- example. Unless these objects are spec-
Talking with David Copperfield

123
tacularly important (like a copy of The a life of work and continued fine–tun-
Discoverie of Witchcraft), then they can ing, how to narrate a story in a succinct
only tell a story when grouped together: yet emotional way, with the story be-
they may perhaps talk of the collector ing either a magic trick presented si-
who acquired thousands of books, or lently on a stage, or a talk about his first
of the magician who has written these visit to Tannen’s Magic Shop. I’ve seen
books. Of course, books and clippings many presentations about magic his-
allow the student to learn about the history, mostly as talks or conferences for
tory of magic, allow him or her to create magicians, and only very few speakers
a story to be shared with the public. If were engaging and able to provide the
you have a library of – let’s say – chil- essential information in a way that was
dren books with magicians, I’m sure you not academic or just boring. I therefore
could create an engaging story about it, believe that to share a magic collection
perhaps talking about the pictures, the with a “storytelling” approach, one re-
tricks shown, the apparatus, the cloth- ally needs to work hard on the narrative,
ing; or maybe even explain why you are on the story – and perhaps even on the
attracted to that niche subject. personality of the speaker. A good per-
But I personally see some prob- former is often better suited to this type
lems with collectors using Copperfield’s of presentation than a non–performer.
approach to the sharing of their own But once we have decided on the
collections. First of all, to tell a story, in narrative to accompany our collection,
an engaging way, is difficult! It is a skill we generally encounter another prob-
that must be honed, rehearsed and that lem, that is: where to present it? Of
requires work. Then, many collectors course, a story could be written, objects
and – especially – historians are often could be put in a room with labels next
attracted by the minutiae of a subject, to them narrating part of the story, cre-
by the exact shade of the paint used by ating a path where a captive audience is
Thayer, by the time of the day a can- let loose to read and admire the single
did photo may have been taken, by the objects. Having attempted this experi-
manufacturer of the trick represented ment, I’m not sure it is the best way to
in a magic poster. These details may be present the collection: in a museum
important for the collector, the curator there are distractions; the audience may
or the restorer of an object, but they not follow the order laid out (just think
are hardly of any interest in the biggest of a cluster of people in front of an ex-
scheme of the narrative of the life of a hibit: you are bound to have somebody
magician, or by the narrative of a pres- skip it and look at another object, thus
entation. Heck! I see that myself when breaking the narrative of the story you
I present my talks about Chefalo: some have so hardly worked on). You may
of the things I find fascinating do not think that perhaps by having a “guide”
progress the story, and I should bet- or a recorded path is the way forward,
ter remove them or keep them for an- and that surely is, but of course in this
other occasion. David Copperfield is a case you get more challenges. I think
great storyteller and has learned after that for magic, having a live “storyteller”
124
(or guide) is essential, but there is a big a mini museum to display your collec-
difference between the collector himself tion, would you be happy and have the
and a guide who has learnt the patter necessary resources and time to create a
and is repeating it for a group of peo- business to give you the satisfaction to
ple. I’m sure that what Copperfield does share your collection?
when he takes tours around his collec- While I believe that David Cop-
tion has a different feel than the same perfield’s approach to his museum and
presentation given by somebody else, his collection is the ideal one to pro-
even if they repeat the exact same patter. mote the history and the art of magic,
There is a difference between the person as preserved in one’s collection, unfor-
who has a passion for his/her subject, tunately there are many challenges to
and years of gathering the collection, replicate this model outside the physical
and those who are only repeating – as structure that Copperfield has created.
skilled as they may be – somebody’s But magicians are well known to do
else story. Another thing that must be the impossible, and I would like to see
considered is that stories are tied to the how this model could be adapted, on a
sensibility of the storyteller: while a smaller scale, by fellow collectors. Per-
story may resonate with a person for a sonally, I have some ideas that I hope to
number of reasons (and here I’m think- be able to test out in the real world once
ing particularly of Copperfield’s own this Covid emergency is no more – hop-
experience at Tannen’s), they may be to- ing I will still be relatively middle–age!
tally alien to somebody else, like a tour But what do you think? What would
guide who never had the same emotions you do?
COURTIER. There are cases,
as the storyteller.
when one studies the history of magic,
Of course, it is almost always im-
that people are taken by the enthusiasm
practical to have the collector act as a
of a discovery to make it bigger than
guide in a museum that can temporar-
what it really is. We have all seen exam-
ily host the exhibition, and in this case
Copperfield’s setup is the perfect en- ples of this, the most common being the
vironment, where the museum is in a attempt to associate the identity of the
property owned (?) by the owner of the mysterious “S. W. Erdnase,” the author
collection, with his own team around, of The Expert at the Card Table, to vari-
and with no other event going on (or ous characters, most of whom (if not all
planned to replace a temporary magic of them) never had anything to do with
exhibition). This is of course impossible this influential book. Many years ago,
for almost any other collector: would my dear friend Gianni Pasqua, “Roxy,”
you open your own home to groups of made an astonishing statement about
tourists to visit your collection, with you the first mention of the “bottom deal”
guiding them around? I am not talking technique, which has since been taken
about a few magic friends visiting once for granted and is treated as the original
a year, but about a self–supporting busi- source of this information. The “bottom
ness model. Even if your home is such deal” is the technique where the bottom
as to allow some rooms to be used as card of the deck is dealt during a card
125
game, rather than the top one.

Playing cards – as the name im-
plies – were invented to play games, to
pass the time and perhaps to win some
money, so it is commonly accepted that
the first cheating technique to be in-
vented and used involved taking cards
from the bottom of the deck, cards that
– unlike the top one – may have been
seen and known. But when was this
technique first explained or, at least,
mentioned?
Well, Gianni Pasqua stated that
the technique was first mentioned in
a very popular Italian book first pub-
lished in 1528, Il Cortegiano by Bal-
dassar Castiglione (The Book of the Baldassarre Castiglione: was he
Courtier), a philosophical dialogue on the first to mention bottom dealing?
the topic of what constitutes an ideal continued to play, then decided to play
courtier, worthy to befriend and advise a practical joke on their companion, by
a Prince or political leader. The book then sound asleep. They put out all the
obtained a great success in the 16th lights and covered the fire (remember
century and its many translations and this happened in the early 1500s, when
editions were very influential in courts it was not difficult to make a room com-
around Europe. pletely dark). Their idea was to make the
To support and exemplify his the- companion believe he had gone blind:
ories, Castiglione reports some practi- while the two gentlemen could not see
cal jokes, one of which is where the al- anything, they started to talk loudly as if
leged mention of the bottom deal can they were still playing and pretended to
be found. This is in the second chapter quarrel over their game, with one saying
where the phrase “you’ve drawn the un- the “you’ve drawn the under card” and
der card” is uttered during an alleged the other denying it, saying “and you
card game. But what is missing from have wagered on four of a suit; let’s deal
Roxy’s statement, is the context of this again.” The ruckus awoke their friend
phrase, which changes slightly the per- who was surprised all was dark but be-
ceived meaning. The story goes as such: lieved his friends could see the cards:
the narrator tells of an episode that hap- the two jokers egged him on making
pened in an inn where he was staying, him believe he had gone blind, to their
and where three other individuals were amusement.
spending the night. After supper, these As you can see, there was no play
three men started to play cards, but going on (the room was completely
one shortly lost all he had, so retired to dark) so there could not have been a
sleep (in a bad mood). The other two bottom deal. Also, a bottom deal is a
126
secret manoeuvre, not supposed to be stream is still available on the “Magic

seen: at best, this phrase tells us that in Circle Unlocked” Facebook page.
early 1500s people were cheating by tak- Magic historians are quite familiar
ing cards from the bottom of the deck, with the early days of the illusion, of its
but this doesn’t mean the move was un- major proponents, of the controversy
detectable, or that even had a mechani- behind it, and are eagerly awaiting the
cal quality to help its working. As far as definitive book on the history of the il-
we are concerned, the cheater may have lusion, compiled by Mike Caveney and
simply pulled out the bottom card with- which we hope will be published soon
out any technique. What I think more (Mike is also working on the definitive
important, is that this is by no means biography of Dante, so I wonder which
a description or a mention of an actual one will hit the press first).
happening, as the two gentlemen were In the run–up to the birthday, a
not playing cards and the room was few magic historians have carried out
completely dark (a situation where not some research on precedents of this il-
only a bottom deal would have been lusion, with David Britland repeating a
completely invisible). statement by Houdini who had a poster
While this is surely an early men- of an obscure Prof Alfred Hengler who
tion of a cheating technique that had may have performed the “startling sen-
probably been in play for a couple of sation” of “sawing a lady in two” back in
centuries – assuming playing cards were 1873. Unfortunately, while the trick is
introduced in the early 14th century – mentioned in advertisements of 1871,
we should not call this reference as “the no description of the effect have sur-
first mention of bottom deal,” as the faced, raising the speculation that it may
context of a secret manoeuvre is miss- have been a vertical sawing, rather than
ing from the narrative. the contemporary horizontal version,
SAWING. If you live in the UK, a much more practical, quicker and
you could not have missed to discover aesthetically pleasing version. David’s
that 2021 marks the hundredth anniver- article has raised some interest and a
sary of the creation of the illusion where few people have taken up the challenge
a woman is sawn in half. Debuted by P. to discover something more about this
T. Selbit on 17 January 1921, the illu- version. Maybe somebody will share the
sion quickly became hugely popular and research with us.
a symbol of the magician, often used in In my collection, I have a couple
cartoons, parodies, movies, when de- of theatrical programmes of Selbit’s
picting a magician. The Magic Circle
put out an exceptional press campaign
to raise the awareness of this birthday,
culminating with a live stream of more
than five hours, with interviews to past
and present performers of the illusion,
narrating its history and showing vari-
ant upon variant of the trick. The live
127
early presentations: nothing too excit- how many methods there are to ac-
ing, but I always found it funny to read complish it (I estimate about 20 major
Selbit’s exhortation to “bring your own variants). For your edification, I’ve put
saw” to the theatre to cut the lady in on the previous page an image from
two yourself. I like to visualize these a Chinese book, Magic of All Nations
men getting into a theatre with a lum- (萬國魔術) by Zhu Hongyu (朱宏譽),
berjack’s saw and not wanting to leave first published in 1955, which shows
it at the cloakroom: “no, no! t’is me own an interesting variant, being a mix of
saw and I’ll cut the woman up meself to- the Selbit/Goldin method (but with
night! I don’t trust the magic man, me!” the clever use of the table which neither
The fall–down of the publicity of originally used) and one of Zati Sun-
The Magic Circle had BBC Radio Suf- gur’s principles for the “thin sawing.”
folk call me for an interview about the Many happy returns to this incredible
illusion, and we briefly talked about illusion and may your saw never slip!
MP
Pictures Credit: Ye Olde Magic Mag

where unstated, Marco Pusterla collection Vol. 7 n. 2 – March 2021
• p. 68: Collection of James Smith Copyright © 2021, Marco Pusterla, 12 Sextons
• p. 69: Dominic Winter Auctions Meadows, Bury St. Edmunds, IP33 2SB,
• p. 70 (B): Zwiggelaar Auctions United Kingdom. All rights reserved. No
• p. 70 (R): Forum Auctions part of this publication may be reproduced
• p. 71: Lyon & Turnbull or transmitted in any form or by any means,
• p. 72 (T): Collection of James Smith electronic or mechanical, including printing,
• p. 72 (B): eBay photocopying, screen capture, digital copy,
• p. 73: Leary & Getz and any other method existing or to be
• p. 74 (T): Heritage Auctions invented, unless explicitly authorised by the
• p. 74 (B), 75: eBay publisher.
• p. 77, 79: Collection of Angelo Mitri Ye Olde Magic Mag is published every three
• p. 82–84: newspapersarchive.com months, on or about 1 December, 1 March, 1
• p. 86–87: Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen June, 1 September. Every digital issue can be
Museen zu Berlin had for £5.00. A limited number of printed
• p. 88 (L): Google Books copies are available for £13.00, including
• p. 88 (R): Fondazione Federico Zeri – worldwide shipping. Annual subscription
Università di Bologna available at reduced rate.
• p. 89: Collection of Volker Huber EDITOR
• p. 93: Louvre Museum Marco Pusterla
• p. 95–102: boschproject.org; graphical CONTRIBUTORS
elaboration by J. Isenbart Richard Hatch
• p. 104: Weiss Auctions Jan Isenbart
• p. 105 (L): eBay Angelo Mitri
• p. 105 (R): Millea Bros. Mike Perovich
• p. 106: eBay Marco Pusterla
• p. 107–111: Potter & Potter Auctions Thibaut Rioult
• p. 112: www.iln.org.uk James Smith
• p. 113: RR Auction Any opinion expressed in Ye Olde Magic Mag
• p. 114 (L): Roullac Auctions is the author’s only and may not reflect the
• p. 114 (R)–116 (L): Haversat & Ewing beliefs or the opinions of the publisher or of
• p. 116 (R): Alexander Historical Auctions the editorial board.
• p. 126: Wikimedia Commons (Louvre) www.YeOldeMagicMag.com
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Ye Olde Magic Mag

pictions of magicians in a party situa-

M through history: from

Magic History Events:

Important Magic Books Sold in 2020

o say that 2020 was an

T unusual year would be

On 29th June, Zwigge-

the Tricks of the Renowned

A book that has appeared in this

of the citty of Chester Herauld Painter like Routledge’s Handbook of Conjuring

3rd edition Dean – unrestored The same book, now restored

16th December for £200 (£250) at Fo-

eBay continues to offer surprises the same frontispiece; a wonderful il-

The last book of note for 2020 was

In addition to reprints of Greene’s

A curiosity spotted by James Smith on eBay:

So now you have ye Magicke–man in Ye Olde Magic(ke) Mag!

Deodato: an Italian magician

W magicians little known

Deodato’s birth record

Deodato’s calling card: note his address

tion of Houdini’s movie where he per-

entation to the audience of the Plaza of Deodato to accomplish his

Selected Magic Bibliography:

The Los Ang

T of all our stories. It con-

This copy belongs to: Roberto Mansilla ([email protected]) - 18900

be plastered over the

did admit to having received salary in- in Sabetha, Kansas on December 4,

July of 1939, the California State Board

Courtly jugglers of the 15th century

T tations of jugglers [or,

Giovanni di Francesco Toscani (c. 1420) — The Garden of Love

Detail of the conjurer in the cassone

C D, the head whereof noted 15th century spectators, a dog’s tricks

Production of a fish under a hat in Huber’s cassone

Another Trick in Le Carte Parlanti

I text of Pietro Aretino, Le

The gentleman who ran to separate

E least a minor interest in

Talking about magicians from

I cinated by the “golden

What I believe is an unpublished

Magic automaton: $28,000

by Giambattista della Porta, published The last major magic auction of

lusions like the appearing Eiffel Tower

Cortigiano first published in 1528. The

was however a little short on informa- The group of “Ephemera” in this

Dai Vernon’s rings: $18,000

he won in his youth), the core of this

tion to have completed, and with time

While Potter & Potter seems to

performances (once a day, twice on the I rarely mention Houdini in this

The necklace is very nice, almost

At the middle of February,

a pair of handcuffs that had belonged

As we had more than a few men-

Kassner poster: $500