Howard P. Albright
(Albany, New York: April 13th, 1902 - September 15th, 1947)
Howard P. Albright was an American magician, inventor, author, and magic dealer. Albright developed an interest in magic during childhood, which remained a lifelong hobby. He studied at Albany Business College. In 1936, he opened Unique Magic Studio in Albany and began working as a professional magic dealer. Starting in 1937, he published two house magazines: Inside Dope and Confidential Bulletin. His primary business focus was hardware retail. At the time of his death, he and his brother William operated three hardware stores in Albany. Despite suffering from high blood pressure for a year before his passing, he remained active in his business. His nephew, R. Clayton Albright, also had a passion for magic and served as president of the Houdin Assembly. Several of Albright's tricks were featured in the magic magazine The Tops.
He invented "Uni-Mentality" (1935) and "The Gileegaloo Bird" (1936) – one of the earliest popular "Pecking Bird" type tricks.
Publications: Super-Psychic Mental Effects (1933; reprinted 1948, 52 p.), Super-Sensitive Fingertips (1933; reprinted 1948, 42 p.), Mental Power! (1934), Peculiarities of the Pasteboards (1934), Kard Kapers No. 1 (1934), Klever Kard Kodes (1934, 35 p.), A Message From the Sky (1934), Novelty Card Magic (1935), Cards-o-Destiny (1935), Slate Stunts (1939), Publicity-Trix (1940), With Two Decks (1940), Advanced Card Magic (1948, 23 p.), and Forbidden Wisdom (1948, 23 p.)
