H. Adrian Smith
(East Providence, Rhode Island: 17th September 1908 - 13th January 1992)
Learned magic from book in 1922. Engineer and manager for a Boston manufacturer. Semi-pro magician 1932-33 specializing in sleight-of-hand and mental magic. Pet effects: Linking Rings and Dove Vanish. SAM President 1940-41 and IBM President 1948-49, being the 2nd person (after Eugene Bernstein) to hold both offices in these two leading American magical societies. MIMC 1958. SAM Hall of Fame 1977. Named 7th SAM Dean of American Magicians in 1983. 1989 Henry Ridgely Evans History Award.
Magic collector since 1924. Bought the Arthur F. Baird Collection of some 300 standard works in 1929; the Peter Graef Collection of 1,500 books in 1936 (purchased from Graef's widow in Chicago); and the 6,000-volume Milton A. Bridges Collection in 1940. Smith added to these, ending with over 10,000 items, mainly books. Gave this fine collection to Brown University in 1988.
Wrote 6 booklets: Flap Slate Wrinkles (1931, with U.F. Grant), Master Mysteries of 1933 (1933), Instant Magic Square (1933), It's In the Bag (1935), Card System Deluxe (20pp), and Superb Tricks (1953, 47pp). Articles on magicana in MUM, Sphinx, Tops (1936-40 column) and Linking Ring.
Coauthors: Ulysses Frederick Grant
