The infamous Magic and Stage Craft, a 1936 text on stage illusions by Guy Jarrett which became a highly-sought rarity. Jarrett was an accomplished technical magician and inventor who constructed illusions for Thurston, leading Broadway shows, sideshows and world’s fairs. He was extremely scathing about the deficiencies of his fellow illusionists and difficult to work with. In 1936 he decided to disclose his secrets and philosophies in his own hand-printed text.
Using foundry type and a simple printing machine he went about his task, which involved actually writing the book as he set the type for each page, which he printed one at a time. The book contained 106 pages and, according to the author, 582,489 characters. It took Jarrett a year to complete, after which he allowed himself a little self-congratulation on the last page:
‘This is a hell of a good book. I just read it. I invented the tricks, built the tricks, made the drawings, set the type, printed the book, and will bind the book. All over and out’
Theodore Annemann rose to prominence in the 1930s as one of magic’s most influential mentalists. His magazine, The Jinx, was a go to source for mentalism and card magic, but the core effect he would garner attention for was his take on ‘The Bullet Catch.”
This was an illusion he reportedly loathed, despite its fame, because of the immense pressure and psychological toll it took on him. He suffered greatly from stage fright. While performing he was tense and nervous and his body would sway from side to side and his forehead would be covered in sweat. At the end of his performance he would appear to be exhausted (he really was) and this helped foster the belief in spectators that his performance was supernatural to some degree.
Behind his success were struggles with alcoholism, debt, failed relationships, and the strain of having to perform dangerous stunts. Annemann died by suicide in 1942 at age 34.
Mercedes Talma, “The Queen of Coins” performed a manipulation act from 1899 until retiring in 1930. She learned sleight-of-hand while working with Servais LeRoy, gaining a great deal of experience as a part of the trio LeRoy, Talma, and Bosco.
Houdini said, “Talma is without a doubt the greatest female sleight of hand performer that ever lived.”
Scans are from BLACK AND WHITE BUDGET April 27, 1901
In 1924, Harry Houdini hired H. P. Lovecraft to ghostwrite a story based on one of his reported adventures in Egypt, aiming to extend his public persona into pulp fiction. Imprisoned With the Pharoahs was published in 1924 in Weird Tales under Houdini’s name.
Houdini was so impressed that he continued offering Lovecraft jobs and ghostwriting opportunities up until his death. Among them was an article criticizing astrology, and a book entitled The Cancer of Superstition, of which Lovecraft had completed an outline and some introductory pages prior to the magician’s death in 1926.
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The Master Mystery (1918) is a 15-episode silent film serial starring Harry Houdini as Quentin Locke, a Justice Department agent investigating a corrupt cartel. Locke fights against a dangerous robot known as "The Automaton" to stop a deadly gas weapon called "The Madagascar Madness". The film is famous for featuring one of cinema's earliest robots.
