Ephemera Magica

The Yogi Wonder Card Trick

2010-08-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday the 13th!

This was the smallest, most folded set of instructions I have come across. The scan makes it readable, but in reality the print is so small it is nearly microscopic!

I'm going to have to go through my sets of random cards and see if I can find that 6/7 of spades!

Another Letter From Thayer

2010-08-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of interesting things going on in this Thayer letter. The first paragraph alone is advertising gold:

Read the rest of this letter. It should not take you more than two minutes and if it will only save you one dollar, that will make your time worth while.

I've always wondered what my time was worth. Thanks, Thayer Manufacturing!

We also have the offhand reference to a printer's strike. I can't find any specific mention of a printer's strike going on in the US in 1921, with the exception of this small paragraph from Workday Minnesota:

The weekly newspaper of the Catholic archdiocese had been produced at a scab shop since the start of a printers’ strike in 1921. The printers had learned from Archbishop Dowling that he would prefer it be produced by union labor -- if they could find a suitable place to handle the job.

The second page has this cut panel taped over the top of the letter, reestablishing the time frame the receipt has to answer the ad, and I love the closing line:

Act now and you will make some real money- otherwise the other fellow wins.

Ominous!

Throw Your Voice!

2010-08-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is a fun little add- fool police AND your friends! I wonder if my Grandfather clipped it out as a child to maybe save up for it one day. I didn't find anything online that would tell me what the Claxophone was, but if you want to read about the klaxophone, you can via wikipedia.

Thurston's Card-Raising Trick

2010-08-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

Once in a while I read message boards & such where they are debating about giving up magic trick secrets, and how it was always very hush hush. Apparently no one told that to this journalist (probably from the 1920's), who decided to disclose the secret behind one of Thurston's tricks. I wonder if Thurston minded.

Second-Hand Apparatus

2010-08-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a pale little flier from Ovette. It appears to have been taped to something else, but I did not find a second page of similar size anywhere near it.

I looked up a few of the apparatus items with little luck, except for the first two, which kind of opened an interesting can-of-magic-worms on a magician I have not yet touched on: Harry Kellar. Kellar is one of those magicians I have made a mental connection with to the occult- probably in large because of his posters. That classic Faustian imagery is why I love vintage magic posters, and hope to one day collect a few of my own.

Something that was also of complete interest to me was learning about Kellar, Houdini, Thurston, and others being Masons. As my Grandfather was a Mason, I have high regard for the order. You can read more about this "Magical Brotherhood" via this article.

I was also interested in "Germain's Original Rose Bush Production," and was able to find this write up on it (and rose tricks in general) via ClassicMagic.net:

A real improvement on the trick was devised by that graceful and brilliant performer, Mr. Karl Germain, whose retirement from the stage is regretted by all who have had the pleasure of witnessing his performance.

In his version, a single uncovered flower pot stood on a table. Standing near it Germain began to fan the pot, when gradually there appeared to spring from it a few leaves. These were followed by buds, and then the plant increased in height until it was fifteen to eighteen inches above the top of the pot. That the flowers on it were real there could be no doubt, for the performer cut them off and distributed them to the ladies in the audience.

A Sunday Morning Trick

2010-08-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

While you're sitting at the table eating breakfast (or maybe dinner, depending on your time zone) challenge your table mate to this little trick. This clip made me smile- everyone had that one teacher of substitute who knew all of the brain-teasers and would challenge the class all day long and no one would ever get them. I would have loved to have taken this one into class!

Two Friday Updates

2010-08-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

First of all, I forgot to scan the other side of the Coulon article. It is just a few paragraphs to tie up the story (upper left), but I also enjoyed the illustration on this side so I thought I would share:Also, a big thank you to Joseph from The Conjuring Arts Research Center who was able to shed a little light on the mostly unknown life of Louis F. Christianer! You can read the updated entry here, via MagicPedia- and there is even a picture of the man! The entry says he died young, which may explain why his name make a more substantial mark in the magic community.

Stunts of the Coulon Order Excite Wonder and Speculation

2010-08-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is a great addition to my growing Coulon collection. If you've never heard of Johnny Coulon, try reading my previous posts on the subject here and here!

Thayer Ordering Form...Just Pin A One Dollar Bill!

2010-08-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

I think all shopping should revert immediately to the method described on this form: "Just check what you want and pin a one dollar bill to this letter." I wonder if Amazon.com would go for this idea.

I had never heard of any of the authors listed on this form. The name I decided to search for was Louis F. Christianer. While Louis was a prolific author of tricks, and seemed well regarded among his peers- in the 1920 book The Magic Art, author Donald Holmes said Christianer's, "fertile brain has contributed many good things to magic." Yet for all of the wonderful things people say, and how inspiring and lasting his impact in magic seemed to be, no one mentions anything about the actual man or his past. Did he go by a different name maybe?

Anyhow, if you would like to see a copy of his New Magical Conceptions, you can view it while it is still on sale via ebay.

Another Letter From Alexander

2010-08-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you- this really looks like it was typed on a typewriter with a rounded surface. This is a fun letter from Alexander- he is selling our previously researched Luminous Ouija Board! And from what I can tell with a basic magnifying glass, that is a real ink signature!

Thayer's New Mystical Coin Act (Back Page)

2010-08-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

I thought we'd start the beginning of the week by ending last week's scan collection. This wraps up our look into the curious little booklet about a coin act!

I love this illustration on the back....but still no date. You'd think with the trouble they went through publishing this with multiple fonts, decorated page numbers, etc, that they would have thought to include a date. Since I have seen items in the box as "new" as the 1940's, I think I am going to date this around that time. Compared with the items from the 1910-1920's, this paper feels much younger- fresh in a way. I am going to file this last page under mystery item until I get a definitive date.

Thayer's New Mystical Coin Act (Page 6 & 7)

2010-08-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

...and we're done with the entire booklet! Tomorrow I have the last page to scan, which is interesting for the artwork & such, but still no date on any of it! Anyone have any guesses?

Thayer's New Mystical Coin Act (Page 4 & 5)

2010-07-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

We're already at the center to the booklet, and the more I look at the type and such, I am thinking this is much younger than the first edition I found on ebay. I am going to have to do some digging and see if anyone is still performing a trick like this!

Thayer's New Mystical Coin Act (Page 2 & 3)

2010-07-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is a huge list of items needed for a coin trick! The words that stuck out to me were "Obedient Coins." Since they were capitalized, I assumed it was the name of a trick, and I was right (once you get through the ads, it is an interesting science experiment):

Obedient Coin
Uploaded by RobertKrampf. - Videos of the latest science discoveries and tech.

Thayer's New Mystical Coin Act (Page 1)

2010-07-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here we have the first page of the trick. I am wondering is this is younger than the original version I wrote about yesterday, just because of the fonts and style used- it just looks newer than 1918.

I was curious about the "ala Miser's Dream" statement, so I started looking around and found it was still a common trick! Below was my favorite version, via MagicGeek.com:

Thayer's New Mystical Coin Act

2010-07-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is my 100th scanned item! I know there aren't any balloons coming down from the ceiling, but I was really excited to hit this milestone, and there is still more stuff to be scanned & cataloged!

For the rest of this week I will be focusing on this little book. The cover is made of very heavy textured paper, but the actual booklet only holds a few thin pages, and the entire thing is bound with string. I love the little lion emblem on the wrap-around flap!

I googled this title immediately, but only found this one for sale on ebay. Obviously these are not the same book. I will have to take note and see if I can find any dates in my copy to see if mine is the older or younger version.

A Card Changing Tray?!

2010-07-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

Look what I found!This cool little box is about 4x3.5x1 inches. The picture on top is inlaid, and the back of the box has a simple flower motif with some butterflies. I am not a wood expert, but it feels very light and a little fragile.

You can see that it has dual, inset trays that slide out from the right:
When you stick an object (try not to use a real giraffe) in the top tray..............

.......and pinch the left side so that you move the end piece, so it shifts like this (see how there is a notch sticking out at the end?):

The object will magically vanish!You can repeat the process to make the object reappear.

I was hoping there would be some kind of branding on the box somewhere, but so far I have not found anything. There are many card changing trays around, but none with this unique artwork on them- most are plain or too modern.

Found: Newspaper Ladder!

2010-07-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a great weekend! Sorry about the lapse in posts, I had a little technical difficulty with the scanner over the weekend. On the upside, EM reader Joseph was able to find the trick mentioned in last Wednesday's post!

AirbrushMagic.com has instructions on how to make a ladder from a newspaper:

Thanks, Joseph!

This ladder also got me thinking of one of my favorite childhood toys, the Jacob's Ladder (not the electrical one). I had one of these toys when I was around 3 or 4, and I remember looking at it often. Mine was pink on one side and yellow on the other, and I remember that I thought of lemonade when I played with it because of the colors. I guess I enjoyed visual illusions from a young age! Unplggd.com has a video on how to make one out of cassette tapes (you might turn down the sound though- the music is a little annoying):

Insane Audio Cassette Illusion Toy - The best video clips are here

Happy Monday! Regular posts will resume tomorrow :)

How to "Sex" an Egg

2010-07-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is a fun little article, basically debunking pendulums. It would seem that chick sexing is barley a science (and a really gross, sad job), much less looking at the egg and taking a guess!

After All.

2010-07-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

I love this Ovette advertisement. The phrasing begins almost modern and dissolves into that strange magician-speak. As for the trick he is selling? I have no clue. I looked for Ovette tricks referencing tissue paper, wands, and ladders and came up empty. Looks like another item for the mystery file!

Kadu The Magician

2010-07-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

When I first unfolded this article and read it, I was curious to go and learn more about Kadu. In researching all of these items I had never come across his name- I thought I had a new magician to introduce to everyone! It would appear, however, that Kadu is simply a fictional magician created to teach children magic tricks through story telling. I don't see any more Kadu stories in the clippings... I wonder how long his run lasted in the local papers!

Japanese Chameleon Handkerchief Puzzle Box

2010-07-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

Patent Pending!

It was interesting to me that someone took the time to meticulously rip and flatten this box for preservation, but did not bother to save the handkerchief that it once housed. I have seen a red small cloth in one of the boxes, but it didn't really look "handkerchief" size.

As for the Japanese Puzzle Co, I am guessing their patent didn't go through. I could not find even a mention of them having ever existed in St. Louis.

Via Google Books, I was able to find a chapter from Hoffman's "More Magic" in which he describes several handkerchief tricks:

.....Glass Trick

2010-07-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

I have really hit the mystery pile the weekend! I am sure this packet is from the Mysto Set I wrote about earlier this month. Unfortunately I cannot find a listing of what was included in the set, so figuring out the title of this trick package is a little tough.

I was able to find a lot of glass magic tricks videos via you tube, but the one below reminded me the most of the illustration:

Secret of Girl-Lifting Trick

2010-07-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

I found this fun illustration with the newspaper clippings. Hopefully I will find the article it goes with!

Cigars (Cigarette)

2010-07-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

What a strange thing to save! I can only assume this is part of a trick in some way. I am filing it under mystery items, because I could not find exactly what kind of trick this facilitates. What I did notice is that the "burnt" end of the cigarette contains red metal foil and slightly appears lit from far away. I also noticed that it does not smell like a cigarette.

There are a ton of cigar and cigarette trick instructions online. The video below was one of my favorites:

Side-Show and Animal Tricks (Gambler Illustration)

2010-07-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

The only other illustration in this book is on this page, almost at the end. The adjacent page and chapter describes all manners of cheating at gambling- be it with mirrors, trick decks, or even contraptions mounted inside a long shirt sleeve!

As someone who was raised in Las Vegas, this section reminded me of all of the various "cheater" stories I heard growing up. Beyond the famous MIT scandal, there were always storied of people rigging coins to trick slot machines, or trying any number of ways to "beat the dealer." For further reading, I recommend this website's poker and casino cheats hall of fame for a brief history of those who tried to beat the house.

Here is a cropped & turned scan of the illustration:

Side-Show and Animal Tricks (Bostock)

2010-07-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

Obviously a book with the words, "animal tricks," in the title will include pages of animal tricks. Mostly the guide gives many different kinds of tricks you can teach an animal to do. It was interesting to see animal training written about so plainly when today it is considered a very contoversial subject, and you have entire nations banning the use of any animals in the circus.

Today's scan features a quote from Mr. Bostock, and I am thinking that would be the Bostock from Bostock and Wombwell's Menagerie. I read a little about what a menagerie was via this article at the Fairground Heritage Trust. The Bonstock & Wombwell show was unique in that they had such a diverse and large amount of animals, and were willing to haul their traveling zoo all over the earth.

I was able to find this youtube video with actual footage of the Bostock farm:

Side-Show and Animal Tricks (Sideshow Freaks)

2010-07-13T04:00:00.001-07:00

The center of the book focuses on the secrets of "sideshow freaks". While there have been many people who were born with deformities and made a living (sometimes willingly and other times unwillingly) traveling with the circus, this book gives you a practical guide to producing the illusion without the reality.

I have always felt kind of uncomfortable looking at pictures of "freaks" because it seems so horrible to give money just to point and stare at someone, so I admit that this part of the book was a little hard to research. You can find a list of the top ten circus sideshow freaks here...but it is slightly NSFW.

For a thorough history and collection of circus performers & sideshow folk check out ShowHistory.com.

Side-Show and Animal Tricks (Jumbo)

2010-07-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a scan of the inside pages. You'll see it is a list of who was who in circus attractions at the time this was written. The mention that caught my attention was of Jumbo the elephant. Jumbo was P.T. Barnum's prize creature. Jumbo had already traveled a lot- starting in Mali, then going to Paris, and becoming a hit in London zoos before arriving in the states.

Jumbo was extremely popular in life, but in death his story took several bizarre turns. He died after being hit by a train, and from what I've read, why the train hit him depended upon who you asked at the time. Barnum swore Jumbo protected a baby elephant. Others said he charged the train in anger. There are also stories that suggested Jumbo was drunk at the time! You can read eyewitness accounts via this article in Tufts Magazine.

Jumbo's story did not end after he died. Barnum, always quick to take advantage of a situation, had him stuffed and put on display at the Tufts museum. What happened next was the subject of a recent short documentary that was also a tribute to the filmmaker Chelsea Spear's father. You can read more about her work on the project via this Boston.com article.

Below is the doc, titled, Jumbo in a Jar.

video platform
video management
video solutions
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Side-Show and Animal Tricks (Carrington and Thurston)

2010-07-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

Upon opening the book I immediately spotted the dedication to Thurston. I learned all about him back in May. You will also notice he thanks Thurston again on the introduction. Wanting to learn more about their connection, I was able to find this little story about the pair (and fellow dedicated Harry Kellar) and their meeting and investigation of real psychic phenomena.

Here is a close up of the illustration:

Side-Show and Animal Tricks (Cover)

2010-07-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting little book. The cover is actually in a lot better shape than the scan would suggest- I was surprised how washed out it looks, when it is actually a very solid shade of dark blue. I was also suprised when I started looking up information about this book and finding it being sold for $175.00! It is honestly just a few pages with a card stock cover.

The first inner page:The author, Hereward Carrington, was a prolific writer. He published over 100 books on psychic phenomenon, magic acts, and 'alternative health issues'. You can buy reprints of his books around the web- the one I recognized first from the inner flap was The Boys Book of Magic.

We will be looking at this book and at Carrington for most of this week!

The Mysto Box

2010-07-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show you the most visually interesting box in the collection. The other two boxes that house the hundreds of clippings are cigar boxes from Chicago, but this one actually has something to do with magic!

According to Magicpedia, the Mysto company, founded by A. C. Gilbert and John Petrie, produced these sets. Ideafinder.com has an interesting article on Gilbert, where I learned:

But Gilbert was also a brilliant student, and soon went on to Yale Medical School. He helped pay his tuition by performing as a magician, and founded a company, Mysto Manufacturing, which sold magic kits for kids. In 1908, he took time out to compete in the IV. Olympiad in London, England, and came home with the gold medal in the pole vault --- thanks in part to a new, spike-less bamboo pole that he was the first Olympian to use.

This man was busy! He also went on to create the Erector sets- the first advertised toy and one of the most popular toys of all time. You can read about the Erector sets via Girders and Gears.

There are hundreds of examples of Mysto sets online. You can view a few (including the one I have) in the online collection of the Eli Whitney museum.

LiveAuctioneers has a ton to look at, and I was even able to find someone selling a complete set with my box lid!I recognize a few of the card trick packets from my collection, but I do not see the rest- especially the little balls & cups.

Paris Strong Men Unable to Lift Coulon

2010-07-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've discussed Johnny Coulon in a previous post, but I was intrigued to find another clipping. While most of this article repeats what we already learned, I found this paragraph amusing:

Coulon's performance will probably start another craze, for in every place where two or more people come together they will be waiting to try to do the "bet-you-can't-lift-me" stunt.

The trend that could have been.

List. No. 1 Special July Bargains.

2010-07-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

What a random list of things! I was able to figure out that this is a list from Thayer.

I had a great time looking these items up! If you find any more on this list, please let me know!

The Spirit Paintings with easel.
I could not find Thayer/Holmes specific nest of boxes, but Martin's Magic Galley has many to look at.
I'm not 100% positive, but I think the Eggs of Columbus trick stems from Tesla. There was also this video (although done with a coin) that I think operates on the same principal.
Atlantis Magic has a great picture of the Thayer Raping Hand
You can read all about Ching Ling on Travelanche, and here is what they have to say about his "foo" can specifically:
From his mysterious “Foo Can” he would pour an endless stream of water. He could also blow smoke from his mouth that turned into streamers and even a nine foot pole, introduced “torn and restored paper” and conjured up his 3 year old daughter Chee Toy.

A Letter From Thayer

2010-07-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

It is strange how some items in the collection practically turn to dust when you look at them, while others are so well preserved that I wouldn't believe how old this was if there wasn't a date on it. Nearly 90 years old, and there is little yellowing and the colors are still so bright!

Yet while the article held up to time, the rest of it is a bit of a mystery. This is the first time I have ever seen a specific TO: on a document. I am going to have to start digging to see who this Griffiths person is, because it is not my Grandfather's last name. His (or her) address in Chicago is now a building full of businesses.

This is also a curiously written letter. Did they forget to include an advertisement in with a mailer? Did Griffiths request information on something which they forgot to send?

Also worth noting is this signature:
It is in pencil and looks like an 'S' to me, but Magicpedia is telling me the founder's name was Floyd, so I will also have to investigate who the 'S' is!

I did not drop off the face of the earth.

2010-07-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

I don't know where my "closed for the weekend" post went, so I am very sorry!

I decided to take a weekend with the rest of the country. I still have more scans, which will resume tomorrow. Hope you all had a happy & safe 4th of July!

DeLand's Wonder Change

2010-07-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is probably the smallest print I have ever seen on something that was designed to convey instructions! If you want half a chance at deciphering the secret behind the trick, feel free to click and enlarge the scan!

The scan on the left is how I found the card tucked into the package. After reading the instructions, I had to imagine seeing this performed, and I have to admit that I think it would have been obvious that the little center panel could slide back and forth. While the scan doesn't really convey it well, the flap that the panel slides through really protrudes from the card.

Yet, one of the interesting things about these tricks is that while I am seeing them sometimes in their most primitive states when they were first introduced to the public, they have evolved and are still used today.

I learned via the Genii Magazine message boards that this trick was designed and sold by DeLand around the turn of the century, and over the years it was engineered with heavier material and became "Giant Monte". You can watch a version of it here. Although it is not in English, you will still get the idea!

Here is a better look at the sliding insert:

Here is the back of the card- I always take note of different DeLand's card designs.

No. 157: The Mysto "Knockout" Card Trick

2010-07-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Just an envelope for this one- no instructions!

Fortunately, I was able to find dozens of knockout you tube videos.... although all of them are a little different and none of them involve the handkerchief as shown in the picture. Below is my favorite video from Allen- and check out his other stuff- it is worth watching!

I was also able to find a mention of a trick called Knock Out in the Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (via google books). The actual Mysto version was mentioned in the November 1916 edition of Boy's Life Magazine.

Another random card.

2010-06-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a scan of both sides of the same card. Not only is it interesting as to what trick this accomplishes, I loved the DeLand ace artwork! Here and here are some other examples of antique DeLand's cards via Old West Antiques.

Jumping Frog Brain Teaser

2010-06-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun clipping- I wonder if anyone ever wrote in and successfully answered the question! I was also curious to know what paper these were coming from, and so I typed in some of the addresses on the list into googlemaps, and came up with Chicago and it's surrounding suburbs, so I am guessing this is from the Chicago Tribune. I tried looking it up in their archives, but was not able to find any mention of it- but I am not sure if they indexed their brainteasers.

I wonder if the answer penciled in beneath the headline was correct- I adjusted the levels to make it more readable:

Three random cards.

2010-06-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

These were just tossed into the box- I am not even sure if they are related, but each has something interesting about it, so I figured I would scan it to show you. I am going to file these three under "mystery items" and I will revisit them if I can find their instructions.

The first card only caught my eye because it has the little pinhole punched into it. The second has that exact pattern on both sides. The red & blue reminds me of retro 3-D printing, so maybe I will try to find some old glasses and see if anything jumps out at me. The 6 of diamonds has that interesting hole on the side, but does not have the same back-cover graphic as the 5 of clubs, so I do not think they are related.

A Stunt With A Suprise

2010-06-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

I had the day off & some time to kill, so I figured I would attempt this simple parlor trick and maybe I could amuse my friends with it next time we were out somewhere that I couldn't potentially set on fire.

I set up the trick on my dining room table and had a glass of water nearby- and if you're going to try it to maybe see if you can get it to work, I suggest going out of your way to not burn something down....which is a slight tangent- you would never see this kind of thing in a newspaper today- there would be huge lawsuits from parents, whose children decided to try this while sitting on a pile of gasoline-soaked hay they had brought into the house.

Anyhow, here is my journey in photographs:

Yeah. So it did not send a fireball hurling across my dining room like I was expecting it to. There was plenty of tension between the two matches, the sticks simply didn't burn through- they just weakened enough for the tension to bend them and they fell. I guess they don't make match sticks like they used to. If anyone can get this trick to work, (safely! I am not responsible for you if you burn down your homes!) send me a few photos and I will post them on here!

Element of Purgatory (back page)

2010-06-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

The back page of the advertisement doesn't give me any great mysteries to explore, but I loved the detailed little drawings so I wanted to share them with all of you. The ad is small- only about 5 x 51/2 inches- and it struck me as unique not only for the photographs we looked at on day 1, but also in contrast to the other ads, this one has more graphics and less overly wordy descriptions. I wonder if this was a first attempt trying different advertising techniques.

Element of Purgatory (page 2 & 3)

2010-06-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to googlebooks, I was able to track down the source of yesterday's photographs. The inside of the flier, shown above, gave me some keywords to look for. The tricks described were from Ovette's performances, and it goes back to the "Free Guessing Letter" I scanned back in May.

A few of the pages from the scan of the book are below- it pretty much just copies word for word what I have in the ad, and republishes the picture from the front of the pamphlet.

Looking at this photograph of Ovette from Magic Nook, I am going to weigh in with my opinion that it is him in the photographs. And judging by the hair on his head, I am also going to assume this ad was from at least the 20's if not earlier.

The back page has some hand-drawn illustrations, and I will share those tomorrow!

Element of Purgatory (page 1)

2010-06-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting ad, and it is the first I have seen that uses actual photographs and not drawings. This is the first page, and I plan on exploring the whole thing this week to figure out who that is the the pictures and what this trick is all about!

A Miracle in Modern Seership

2010-06-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've seen this mentioned in an ad before, but I am still having the hardest time figuring out what it actually is. The ad mentions an apparatus, but the closest explanation I could find about this trick was in this scanned pdf of a typed copy of Burling Hull's dictionary of Mentalism, and after reading through the trick, it would appear that the only thing you need apparatus-wise is a short pencil and a small, thicker stock sheet of paper.

A Look at a Spirit Trumpet!

2010-06-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

You might remember my post about spirit trumpets. I was still curious to see what one looked like, and Gene, owner of the Museum of Talking Boards, was gracious enough to send me some photographs of a real spirit trumpet from his collection!

Here is is all folded up:
I was curious about the size- it looked really large. Gene told me that the trumpet is 29 1/2 inches extended, and 11 inches collapsed!

Presto Rising Cards

2010-06-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

Today I learned that a houlette is the name of that frame magicians will place their cards in to do rising card tricks. There are hundreds of them still on the market, but I was after the Thayer one mentioned in this ad. After some looking, I think I found an example of both this and the card box from yesterday!

Live Auctioneers has a Thayer lot, and in it contains, "Locking Card Box. Card Houlette. Thayer, Thayer Magic, ca. 1930. Locking Card Box: card appears or vanishes in box. Card Houlette: card rise."

Here is a photo from the site- I think we found our items!...and wow....those are expensive.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T04:45:00.001-07:00

I thought this was a good day to introduce you to my Grandfather, the man who originally collected all the wonderful items I blog about. Carl Backus was a man who could hold many interests and study them all passionately and thoroughly. The same dedication he had to collecting all of these vintage magic items as a boy could be seen in his love of photography, study of philosophy, and travel (he toured the country with my Grandmother, Florence, in an Airstream- how cool is that!?).

My Grandfather also had a love of technology- he helped supervise the nation's first microwave installation, which carried the first network television signals across the country. In his later years, he taught himself to use the computer, and even at 90 years old he was often seen researching something online, or scanning his huge collection of photographs and articles for further preservation. I think he would have really been happy that I am able to share his collection of vintage magic items with an online community- he loved passing on knowledge and his interests to others!

He always sent me clippings and books of whatever I was interested in, and always made me feel loved and welcome, even though he was miles away. He passed away just last November at the age of 95. It was a bittersweet passing- we all miss him so much, but were happy he could be with my Grandmother, who had passed some years earlier.

You can read more about Carl via the memories of his family on his tribute page.

Thayer's New Card Changing Tray

2010-06-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

I was able to find a few card changing boxes and trays on the market. There is this new version, which is a clear box, and this one- which is being sold as an antique box, although they do not have a date or maker for it. I looked through a few auction sites, and as of right now, no one has the Thayer box described in this ad.

Here is a video I found of someone using a card change box:

Mystery Items Found! Part 2

2010-06-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

You will recall this set of peculiar-looking metal objects:

Reina was able to track down their family via Rob's Puzzle Page! This is a set from 1920, called the "Puzzle Party Set" by A.C. Gilbert. Worthopedia has a description:

Perfect for your antique toy and games collections is this great set made by The A.C. Gilbert Co.. Called Gilbert Puzzle Parties No. 1031, inside has 7 different metal mind solving puzzles Included is...Conjuring Rings, Twister Puzzle,Three Ring Puzzle, Question, Chinese Ring On String, Twin Rings and Wishbone Puzzle.

Here is a close up photograph of the entire set with the instruction book:And here is a look at the other pieces I was able to find in the box!Looks like I have just about everything except for the instruction book- but that still might be in here somewhere. Thanks again Reina for your stellar detective skills!

Mystery Items Found! Part 1

2010-06-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

That was so fast! Reader and google extraordinaire Reina was able to pinpoint what both sets of mystery items were! Today we will focus on the little wooden paddles.

You will recall I posted this photograph earlier this week:

And it would appear that their name is exactly what they are- paddles. You can find all sorts of info on paddle tricks. Even about.com has a tutorial. I found various versions of magic paddles on some antique sites, but nothing matching the exact versions I have.

I was kind of frustrated to not be able to find the origin or history of the paddle trick, but someone wrote a book on it should I ever get so desperate to find out.

On the upside, Reina was also able to find this awesome youtube video of someone doing some cool paddle tricks:

I will unveil the other mystery item tomorrow!

Rip Van Winkle

2010-06-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

I learned a lot about the most random things when I started researching this Thayer ad. I learned that Edwin Brush was a magician and entertainer and got his start of the first circuit of chautauquas. I had never heard that word until today, so if you are as clueless as I was, here is the wikipedia article on them. Essentially they were traveling tents bringing education and entertainment to communities. You can view a program from one of his performances here- and if you love old Americana ephemera, you should definitely check out that site!

Also, if you have money to burn, Brush's original trunk and some costuming & other items are on auction via live auctioneers. In the description they mention the illusion in this advertisement:

sections of a cabinet and two matching Asian robes/costumes for an exchange illusion (possibly Brush's Rip Van Winkle illusion)

The starting bid is at $1,300.00.

Thayer Envelope & Ordering Form

2010-06-16T04:00:00.001-07:00

Not much to research here, but I thought readers might enjoy this Thayer envelope, and I was excited to find the blank ordering form inside:

Card Secrets No. 9 Mental Telepathy

2010-06-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Another from the series I posted last month. This isn't as much illusion as it is "attempt to screw with someone's head for fun & profit." Of course you would have to get really great at flipping the cards swiftly or else they would probably catch on when you paused at the one they were supposed to remember!I love the part about making the target disgusted with themselves by flipping through the cards too quickly and then acting like they are the ones who are not normal because they didn't pick a card yet.

Mystery Items

2010-06-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

I found a few things today in one of the cigar boxes, and I have no clue what they are. Since everything else in the boxes are related to magic in some way, it would be odd that these weren't part of a trick or brain teaser. Anyhow, here are two photos, and if you can help me figure out what these are or do, I would be very grateful!

Alexander's Original Luminous Ouiji Divining Board

2010-06-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is an ad that manages to do it's job a century later- I wanted one of these tremendously on first read! I would even settle for a photograph of one!

I couldn't find anyone selling or even mentioning the board anywhere, so I went to an Ouija Board expert. I emailed the awesome Gene, who runs the Museum of Talking Boards to see if he could pinpoint which board Alexander was selling. I was really surprised at what Gene was able to find- and now I know why you don't see many any of these boards anywhere:

Alexander’s Original Luminous Ouiji Divining Board was made by magician Claude Alexander Conlin (Alexander--the Man Who Knows) and sold exclusively through his Los Angeles publishing house during the 1920s. It wasn’t available through stores and that is why it is so rare and seldom seen today. What made this item special was the planchette, which was in the shape and image of Alexander’s head. It worked as a writing planchette if you inserted the pencil as the third leg and wrote on a sheet of paper, or as a regular message indicator if you replaced the pencil with the matching leg and used the supplied letter and number board.

The letter and number board was fairly unremarkable except for the glowing luminous spot in the center. The luminous spot was supposed to aid spirit communication and make the “conditions” right. What this spot was made of I can only guess but I suspect that it was radium which was used at the time to make paint glow in the dark. If this was true then it added a whole new meaning to dangerous Ouija sessions.

So if anyone has a planchette in the shape of Alexander's head, you have something special. If you have a board that glows in the center, you might need to see your doctor.

Here is the second section of the advertisement- which hilariously appears just below the top portion, only the entire thing is too long to fit in my scanner, so I had to split it into two parts:

Thank you again, Gene for being so quick with this information!

50-Cent Colection of DeLand's Famous Card Tricks

2010-06-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

As much as I love the awesome artwork of some of the ads, I always enjoy it when I pull out an advertisement that just makes me laugh. I admire their thriftiness- instead or reprinting the flier or renaming the collection, they simply purchased a few red stamps and went to work!

Here is a close up, in case you don't want to click on the picture to enlarge it:
Anyhow, this revised ad is for the collection from DeLand- and I wasn't able to find an online source of this complete set, but I found this deck & guide, which looks to be similar (if only adjusted for inflation).

A Letter From Alexander

2010-06-11T04:00:00.001-07:00

This was a great thing to unfold- the colors on the logo are still so vivid! I wouldn't even suspect it was that old if it wasn't for the second page being so frail. This looks like a follow-up letter to the advertisement we viewed earlier this week.... and I really have to wonder if Alexander (or the company) was really employing people to type these, or did they mass-produce them to look that way? Also, I am going to have to do some digging for the "enclosed circular on Crystal Gazing,"- it sounds intriguing!
I have looked at this so closely, and I cannot figure out if the signature on the second page is printed or actually signed. Everything has just settled so much with age. I'm afraid to try any CSI ridiculousness, but if anyone would like to comment on if this was his actual signature, that would be appreciated.

Mini Spirit Slates!

2010-06-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

I learned about Spirit Slates at the end last month, and I guess it is a good thing I stumbled upon the ad first, or I would have had no clue what I was looking at when I found this:

It is just a little bigger than 4x6. I can see the chalk markings of where someone had once used it. The little secret take-away panel comes out a lot easier than I thought it would.

Between the panels, I found this typed description:

No. 58 The Mysto Spotter Card Trick

2010-06-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

I am excited to show you this today- the complete trick packet was there and intact!

So, what we have are 6 cards. They all look like this on the back, with the strange little dog staring you down:If you hold the cards correctly when showing the deck to the audience, they look like this:
You would then shuffle the deck and place them down, and have someone roll a dice- you would promise them that no mater where the ace was, the dice would correctly predict it's position. You could lay the cards out flat, or hold them in your hand.

The trick is that all of the cards, with the exception of the ace, all really look like this:
If you hold the card correctly when you reveal, it will look like the dice found the ace every time!

Here are the full instructions:

Miracles in Modern Seership and Duck Vanish (Dr. Q Ad part 4)

2010-06-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

First we have one of those iconic images of Claude Alexander Conlin, also known simply as "Alexander"..... before I even opened these boxes, I loved vintage magic posters, and his creepy and mystical face has always been one of my favorites. It is funny to me that magicians back then were always inventing new personas for themselves- in my research of these ads I learned that Alexander created the Dr. Q character to announce newly invented tricks.

So what about the Original Duck Vanish!? There is that sad scene in The Prestige where the magician makes the bird vanish, only to discover it was simply crushed to death by the cage.

I found this video of Magician Michael Barron performing a similar trick, but could not find any exact description on making the ducks vanish. I hope Alexander figured out how to do it without killing the ducks.

Mysterious Dr. Q Materialization of a Living Human Being (Dr. Q Ad part 3)

2010-06-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

While I could not find the exact method for the trick described in this ad, the picture of the hands coming out & ringing the bell, tambourines, etc., made me think of one of my favorite Penn & Teller routines:

I think they took the original idea and made it much more entertaining.

Mysterious Dr. Q Dark Trumpet Seance (Dr. Q Ad Part 2)

2010-06-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've been a huge fan of seances & "spiritualism" since before I knew what those words meant. When I was 10, I tried to contact the recently deceased Heather O'Rourke via Ouija Board, and I have always loved seance scenes in the movies.

This trick would have been great to witness back in the early 1900's, when we didn't have a ton of technology and our minds would have been more susceptible to this kind of thing- and I was excited to find out how the trick actually works via The Life and Mysteries of Dr. Q @ google books.

I thought that "Dark Seance" was meant as an Occult selling point, but the trick is actually performed in the dark. This is so the audience- which is sitting around you in a circle- cannot see that the trumpet you placed between your legs has a long black hose coming from it to your mouth, where you can voice the "secrets of the dead."

Kind of hokey when you know how it works, and you would really have to practice to make sure they can't hear you mumbling into the tube, but it would be fun to see an experienced Magician perform it.

The Master Secret of the Swami (Dr. Q Ad Part 1)

2010-06-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

This extremely wordy and curious ad is selling some kind of mentalist trick. My searches for "Secret Swami" in relation for Dr. Q turned up nothing. This will be another one to keep in the back of my mind and hope I can find something on it later!

This is also page 1 of a 4 page ad- all Dr. Q- the rest coming over the next few days, and I found some great background on the other tricks in the ads.

Looking over the front page, it got me thinking about the folds of the paper, and how a lot of the ads of that size are folded identically- did someone do that after it arrived? How often were these ads sent out- or did they come with other books or tricks?

A Revised List of Magical Books & Publications

2010-06-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

From June of 1920. I am noticing that whoever was writing copy for Thayer had a hard time being concise- but this is, after all, supplement no. 2 to catalogue no. 4!

The inside reads like a "what to find on ebay" list of magic books from the time period. I did a few random searches from the list and here was what I was able to find for sale:

You can find a copy of Hoffman's Later Magic for $450.00 on amazon.com.
This store is selling Burling Hull's Modern Handkerchief Act for only $35.00.
You can read The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin via google books.

A Race With Cards

2010-06-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a fun little newspaper clipping. One of the hundreds of magic tricks someone took the time to cut and save- a lot of these are paper clipped together and tucked into envelopes. There are dozens of clippings of brain teasers and magic tricks from the newspaper in the cigar boxes.

I know my Grandfather loved to clip articles to share; he would often send me articles of interest in his letters to me. I wonder if he taught himself any of these tricks.

Poole's Latest Stage Features and Mysteries

2010-06-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the reverse of the ad. I wonder if they were actually creating their own tricks, or buying and renaming it from other magicians.

An Ad from the Poole Brothers

2010-06-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is page one of the ad- I will post the other tomorrow. While I recognize Mr. Hull, I could not find anything concrete on the Poole Brothers. I can figure out that they owned a store in New York, but it seems like they were publishing a ton of catalogs, yet I didn't find anything definitive on them by searching around online. There are various famous 'Pooles' from that time period- anyone know which specific Poole Brothers this is?

Ovette Free Guessing Institute Letter

2010-05-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

This was in an envelope by itself, and I was completely baffled to what the heck the letter writer was talking about. I understand that this was written in 1917- but did an ad for a "guessing contest" have to be worded so strangely?

Via Magicpedia, I learned: Joseph Ovette (January 20, 1885 - August 5, 1946) born Giuseppe (Joseph) Olivo in South Italy was a prolific author and top ranking magician.

I was still a bit puzzled by the letter, but I was able to track down the "terms" of the contest via google books:

So, Ovette wrote the book, Advanced Magic, and in the middle of the book he describes this new trick- The Mysterious Angel- but he does not explain the entire thing. Instead, he invited people who purchase his other stuff to have a crack at "free guesses" on how the trick works. If they guess correctly, they win the entire instructions to the trick, including illustrations.

I wonder if anyone ever won.....I could not find a single example of the winning prize anywhere!

Mysterious Disappearances Explained

2010-05-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't find much about the publications mentioned in this clipping- The Recreation Hour or The Pathfinder- but the mention of the name 'Thurston' sent me down a fun little path until I ended up watching this great old footage on youtube. The poster didn't allow embedding, but you can see it here.

I am going to let the person who spent so much time collecting information on Thurston introduce him to you themselves at thurstonmastermagician.com. You can honestly see how much love and attention to detail Mr. Feldman gave to honor Mr. Thurson's legacy. If you are still craving more Thurston knowledge, a DVD documentary came out this year called, "When Thurston Came to Town," and on it you can see even more awesome old footage of Thurston in action!

Mind Reading Acts Explained!

2010-05-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

How great is the little devil in the upper corner?!
This is the first time I have come across the name "Burling Hull," and to be honest, I thought it was some kind of brand or address. MagicNook.com set me straight. Apparently Hull is a person- the self-proclaimed "Edison of Magic"- he created dozens of magic tricks (and held the patent on the Svengali Deck) and wrote over 50 books!

I did find this quite from Magic Nook to be very telling:

Although an important figure in magic, his often outrageous claims and many empty promises led him to be widely known as 'Hurling Bull'.

He was quite an interesting character- he even wrote an entire book just to defame a rival magician (see the wiki for more)! Mr. Hull lived to the age of 93, and if you would like to know more about him there is a biography which was published in 1977 called The Edison of Magic and His Incredible Creations.

Spirit Slates of Dr. Q

2010-05-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

The very Edward Gorey-esque drawing was what drew me in, but after researching the inside of yesterday's advertisement, it would seem that the big draw was really the "spirit slates." In fact they are still fondly remembered (and sold) today.

Owen Magic describes them:

These slates were originally designed by Carl Owen and are positively the most ingenious slates for producing two sets of writing ever designed. The slates may be freely handled by anyone and, with nothing added or taken away will apparently produce writing on both blank slates when they are held together by a member of the audience. This is without a doubt the nearest approach to genuine spirit writing ever accomplished.

The video below is someone giving away the secret of using Spirit Slates.

Spirit Slates Magic Trick Instructional Video - The most popular videos are a click away

I was also able to link the inventor, Carl Owen, to Thayer via OwenMagic.com's "history" page:

Owen Magic Supreme can trace its roots to a June 1891 advertisement in Mahatma magazine by Floyd Thayer. In the August 1902 edition Floyd placed another ad, offering for sale the Wand of the West.
During the fall of 1913 Carl Owen entered the firm, and was later joined by his brother Emmett. When Floyd Thayer divided the firm in 1933 the Owen brothers purchased Thayer Manufacturing and absorbed other companies, the better known of these being Merv Taylor Magic.

The more I read about the men from this period, the more I learn how interconnected they were with each other.

Dr. "Q" Spirit Hand

2010-05-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is side one of a two-sided ad, but I will post the first side today and leave the other for tomorrow.

I was dying to know what exactly the real "spirit hand" looked like, and was fortunate enough to find pictures of it at OwenMagic.com, and MartinsMagic.com. Live Auctioneers is actually selling one for way more money than I am willing to spend, but if you are looking for a fake hand that raps on a wood board and answers questions, here you go.

The strange thing is that while I found reviews for this product, no one is letting on how it works. Anyone care to chime in with the secret?

The Magical Bulletin Subscription

2010-05-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Magical Bulletin was published between 1914 until 1925, followed by a very brief revival in the late 1940's. Magicpedia has a scan of the front of the first issue here. For a small fee, Magic Nook has scanned PDF copies of several volumes you can read through on this page. I was hoping to find an actual copy somewhere, but don't see one. Sometimes looking through this stuff just makes me want to go and collect even more!

I am not sure if I prefer the devil jumping out of the hat, or the terrified small fuzzy creature.

Spirit Print Card Trick

2010-05-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

A fun advertisement from M. Ovette.... who we will explore later, as there seems to be a ton of ads from his company in these boxes. In the meantime, you can read his MagicPedia profile. I was able to find mention of this trick via Magic Nook, and discovered it was created in 1930. Google Books has a scan from a card trick guide describing the trick in more detail, which you can read here.

Notice of Change In Prices

2010-05-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

This made me laugh. How many of us have received this kind of notice before? I couldn't find a picture of a No. 23 Card Windlass, so if anyone can point me in the right direction, that would be awesome.

Johnny Coulon: His Occult Trick Knocks 'Em Dead

2010-05-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

The first sentence of the article really caught me: Gay Paree continues to be the main hangout of occult boxers. The concept of "occult boxers" makes me giggle when I compare it to my ideas about modern boxing.

Johnny Coulon weighed barely over 100 pounds and yet won all but 5 of his 200 (although some say 97....and still others say 300) matches. He was the bantamweight boxing champion of the world from 1910 until 1914. He wasn't actually summoning demons in the ring and willing them to do his bidding, but apparently he understood pressure points and how to use them to his advantage. After retiring from boxing, he even took his "trick" and toured with vaudeville as "The Man They Cannot Lift". It earned him enough money to buy a gym!

I was excited to find a ton of information about Johnny around the web. Here are some great sites & articles to start with:

A Popular Science article from May of 1921
Cyber Boxing Zone's entry on Johnny
An old NY Times article (opens pdf)
BoxRec.com's entry

Stripper Tricks

2010-05-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry, not those kind of strippers. I had never heard of a stripper deck, but I guess if you know card tricks, it is a pretty basic term. I found this video on youtube and in it, the guy explains a 'stripper deck' for us novices and shows a great stripper deck tutorial:

Advanced Lessons in Clairvoyance and Occult Powers

2010-05-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is so amazing looking, I will probably frame it and put it on my wall. The colors are so in tact and vivid. This is a folded 8x11 advertisement for the book, published in 1916 by The Advanced Thought Publishing Co. In 2007 the University of California Libraries digitized the entire book and you can read it online here.

The author, Swami Panchadasi, was actually William Walker Atkinson. He wrote over a hundred books on various occult topics, but Wikipedia points out that due to his "intense personal secrecy" and use of dozens of pseudonyms, he never really gained lasting notoriety. You can read his entire wiki bio here.
Of course it would be great to own a first edition of the actual book, but I did find that you can still purchase reprinted editions.

Below is a clip from the inside panel. The entire ad basically describes chapter-by-chapter of what you can find in the book:

Thayer Advertisement

2010-05-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

Via Magicpedia:

Thayer Magic Company was founded by Floyd G. Thayer in 1907 and made magical apparatus into the 1930's. The Thayer slogan was "Quality Magic".
Thayer started his Thayer Magic Co. making wands and advertised first in Mahatma as The Wand of The West. Ellis Stanyon was reported to have been his first customer.
The Thayers opened to the public their new home in western Los Angeles, named "Brookledge", in 1933. It included a Studio-theater.
In 1942, the William Larsen Sr. purchased Floyd Thayer’s Magic Company.

The Magic Castle has more on William Larsen Sr.:

During World War Two travel was restricted so Bill Larsen Sr., bought the Thayer Magic Company and operated the Thayer Studio of Magic in the Wilshire area of Los Angeles. In the April 1951 issue of Genii Larsen announced the formation of the Academy of Magic Arts and Sciences. All subscribers to the magazine became instant members and he made it very clear that the Academy would be an organization the advance the art of magic in America and to bring recognition to the magicians of the world. Over the next three years the Academy awarded fellowships and bestowed various awards. Bill Larsen Sr. passed away at the age of 48 in 1955.

You can read their entire article here.

"The Candle That Was" caught my attention. I didn't see any candles in the boxes, but should I decide to expand this collection even further, that trick would be something to look for.

Card Tricks for the Ameteur Magician

2010-05-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

Another booklet- this one was dated from 1921! This booklet was put out by the U.S. Playing Card Company. You might recognize them, because they are the same company that makes Bicycle and Bee playing cards! In fact the back page of the book has an advertisement for both Bicycle and Congress playing cards.

The other 14 pages in the book (that I scanned a sample of below) is a chronicle of dozens of instructions on card tricks. I already recognize "The Forced Choice" instructions from yesterday's post, and this booklet was 20 years old than Card Secrets No. 5!

Thank you, internets!

2010-05-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Biographies A-B

MagicNook.com has an awesome listing of magic inventors.

My research just got so much easier!

Card Secrets No. 5 Methods of Forcing

2010-05-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of the pieces from the 1940's. This is number 5, but I am having a hard time finding out if this was sold as a set, sent away for via the mail, or if it came in a larger kit. I didn't find anything on the author, Mr. Charles M. Bedford, but I did track down a mention of the booklet online, and was able to possibly locate the website of the publisher, S.S. Adams Company. Unfortunately they don't allow inquiries for anything other than wholesale, so this booklet might not be able to teach me anything more useful about it's origins.

Here is the first page of the inside instructions. I love the thought of someone actually sitting around typing all of this out- it really looks like it was done on a typewriter!

A Complete Set!

2010-05-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

More DeLand's goodness- this time I found an envelope I have pictured below.

Next to it is the actual "card locator", which reminds me a lot of star finders with it's rotating wheel.

Also with the envelope, but it would not actually fit in the envelope, was this post card with more description of the product:

The reverse side of the information card- I love the method for remembering the suits of cards!

Finally, there was another set of folded instructions:
A seller at Worthopedia says, "REMARKS : A Rare Warehouse Find!!! This Effect is Very Hard to Find in any condition, Let alone in this Mint Condition......." I don't think mine is "mint" but I do have all of the pieces, so that is a pretty good thing. It also says the card is from 1914. I have found more items dated in this range, but also from the 1930's and 1940's.

The Siberian Transport Chain

2010-05-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

I love this illustration, and I hope I can find the chain in one of the boxes. Unfortunately, the entire page seemed to have ripped off a long time ago. I have been lifting things out very carefully since the pages are so fragile. Whenever this ripped, it would seem the bottom half was discarded. I found an ad for this trick in an old scan of Popular Mechanics Magazine from May of 1930. I am not sure if that is from where this particular trick was purchased, but I think it is a good start to discover where all of this came from.

Pick It Out

2010-05-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

I was really excited that I was actually able to find something about the maker of this trick via MagicPedia:

Theodore L. DeLand, Jr. (1873- January 25, 1931) created the phenomenon of packet tricks between 1906 and 1915, during which time he marketed almost 100 tricks using gimmicked cards and decks, many of his own unique creation.

DeLand was a clerk at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia and died in a hospital in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

DeLand's tricks involved the following principles, some of which he was the first to introduce:

* Double-faced Cards
* Double-backed Cards
* Specially Marked Cards
* Printed Fans

The large instructions are actually printed onto an envelope that contains dozens of cards that have the great back images I have pictured, even though the instructions only call for the use of three cards.

No Mummies Allowed

2010-05-14T15:56:00.001-07:00

I was sorting out a box and found this advertisement for a catalog. They are very demanding about the greatness of their catalog and so very anti-mummy! Now if only I can figure out what the "Skinem" is. I don't recall seeing anything like it in the boxes.

Trick No. 13 The Changing Card

2010-05-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

I found a blank small white envelope that contained this awesome card, that was really a stair-step folded conjoined series of cards. The instructions give directions for a card reversal trick. The cool looking single card with many faces on it (which I have pictured next to the instructions) was also tucked in the envelope, but I don't think it has anything to do with this particular trick. I have it here because they were kept together, and I hope to find it's correct home.

The Pull

2010-05-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

This caught my attention as it was folded into a tiny sliver of paper and was stuck at the bottom of the box. I don't see the "enclosed pear shaped mysto pull" anywhere in the box this was in, but there are 3 other boxes of things, so maybe I will discover it. The closest info I could find on this trick was via ClassicMagic.Net.

String-and-Ball Trick

2010-05-12T05:13:00.000-07:00

A clipping. This actually has something on the reverse, and judging by the paper, I was guessing it came from a magazine. With a little googling of the author's name, I found a reference via ChestofBooks.com. It looks like it appeared in an actual book: The Boy Mechanic Vol. 2 1000 Things for Boys to Do. There was a 1914 edition, and a 1940 edition, but I am unsure which edition this was cut from. If it was the 1914 edition, this collection could be a bit older than I originally thought!

Card Trick Kits

2010-05-11T05:10:00.000-07:00

Only one of these has actual cards in it, but there are dozens of various cards in the boxes. I think on a weekend I will try and get them all into one space and maybe see if I can match anything up.

Multiple Tricks

2010-05-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

This was the first page from box one. The boxes are all old cigar boxes. Some of them are from Chicago where I know my Grandfather lived. The page, like many I will scan and show you, seems to be clipped from a larger source. There is nothing on the other side of the page.

Welcome to my new hobby.

2010-05-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

There are a few seemingly random occurrences that lead me to decide to take on this project.

I read my horoscope this morning, and it said something to the effect of, "You will be consumed with a new project." I blew it off. I went on with my work day.

Unfortunately, work was kind of dissapointing, and it is my 32nd birthday tomorrow. I was kind of down about those two things, and to cheer myself up, I decided to have a look in some boxes my mom had dropped off when she visited last week. I was thinking a good trip down memory lane would help me.

The boxes had been in her garage for years. Even if she moved, the boxes would simply be picked up and placed in a new garage. They sat unopened for decades.

Mom is retiring this year and decided to clean out everything. She cracked open one of the boxes and decided the contents belonged to my father (to whom she divorced) or his father. She packed them up and took them to me.

To my delight, I found boxes of hundreds of clippings, booklets, and instructions to old magic tricks. Some of these are over 50 years old.

I love ephemera, and I know others do as well. I decided that I will scan & post one of the pages every day. I want to share these in hopes that I can also learn more about them. Any insight anyone can give me would be awesome, but if not, I hope you enjoy them for their vintage goodness.