Biographies & History in Magic & Conjuring: page 2

Dr. Cannon was probably magic's most unusual character. He lived for many years on the Isle of Man where he ran a healing sanctuary. He had his own fully equipped theatre - The Enchanted Hall. Goodliffe, who was afflicted by a crippling disease, was encouraged by Dr. Cannon to take a free course of treatment.

Goodliffe knew Cannon well as a result and provides an absorbing portrait of this man on the recording. Of course you hear Cannon speaking as well. Fraud, fake or genuine mystic? Decide for yourself after listening to yet another voice from the mysterious past.

Believe it or not,...

A specially-recorded hour-long interview of Don Driver (interviewer is the late David Alexander) that gives history, insights, and advice on how to make money selling the most popular trick deck in the world. Don also tells many stories and anecdotes of how he got into magic, side shows and ultimately pitching Svengali decks.

duration 1h 5min

This is basically Wolfgang's life story, a great motivational blueprint to achieve your dreams.

How to gain the competitive edge in your life and business. Become aware of everything around you. Clarify and achieve all your goals. Learn to adapt to change. Create a positive image with every one around you. Wolfgang has inspired and motivated more than a million people around the world. This is a comprehensive study on how to gain mastery over your own life, whether in the corporate, or personal field. Every aspect is clearly presented, without losing the true sense or heart of the matter....

The Delphos Kleeblatt, a German newspaper, was established by Carl Jettinger in December 1889 on a suggestion by Edward Gallaway. It ran until 1905. Gallaway approached Jettinger with the idea, having just returned to Delphos from a stint as a typesetter at a German newspaper in Indiana, and convinced him to partner with him in this newspaper startup. However, before the newspaper was launched Gallaway changed his mind, left Delphos, moved to Ft. Payne in Alabama and started there the Payne Weekly People. Carl Jettinger, a bit miffed by first being convinced of the great idea, and then Edward bailing out...

A fascinating casebook of true stories from the self-styled "Card Detective" that reveals the inner workings of backroom poker cheats, dice scams, bunco artists, horse race swindles, rigged games of the carnival and midway and much, much more.

Written in a breezy style, "Mickey" MacDougall takes the reader along for an entertaining and informative ride as he consults with casino bosses and card room owners to stamp out cheaters and grifters.

Swindlers take many forms and purvey their trade anywhere people gather: aboard trains and cruise ships, at the racetrack, in back alleys, military...

A silent film record of Dai Vernon's visit to Britain in 1958.

If you have only read about the Professor Dai Vernon but never seen him in real life, then here is your chance for a glimpse into what he was like. You will see him sightseeing and you will see him perform several of his feature routines such as the Symphony of the Rings, card production, color change, wand spin vanish and more.

• Portsmouth: H.M.S. Victory and Dicken's Birthplace
• Polo at Cowdrey Park
• Stratford-on-Avon
• Fellow Magicians
• Leipzig's Card Levitation
• Card Production
• The Symphony of the Rings
• Colour Change
• Wand spin Vanish
• Jumping Jack
• Charlie Miller's Diminishing Cards ...

One of the world's foremost authorities on magic books, palming coins and tokens, Mr. Heyl brings you a fascinating ebook on collecting. Includes: Early American Editions of Robert Houdin's Autobiography, Boy's Own Book, American Magic Books, Odd and Unusual Books, Two Worthy Wizards, Mythical Magic Books, Cards for Conjuring, 17th Century Notes, Dainty Conceits, Hocus Pocus, Peripheral Bibliographies, Magic, Black and White, The Cheaters, Rid, Rowlands, Juggling, Sports and Pastimes, Scarce and Rare, Little Known Conjurer's Medals and Tokens.

[This is a collection of articles that appeared in the MUM a long time ago.

1st edition 1964, 1st...

This is Thomas Carlyle's long essay on Count Cagliostro, published in 1833 in Fraser's Magazine. He is examining the hero and his shadows - what was false about Cagliostro. Cagliostro was a Sicilian mountebank, whose lasting notoriety was a bit part in the Diamond Necklace Affair that rocked pre-Revolutionary France, and whose most enduring work was the confession extracted by the Roman Inquisition, a tome published in 1792, three years previous to Cagliostro's demise in an Inquisitional cell.

1st edition 1833, 61 pages; PDF 42 pages.

This is a fun and informative article by an anonymous amateur magician detailing various mishaps of magic performances. Along the way we learn the modus operandi of all kinds of illusions, from Buatier de Kolta's vanishing cage all the way to the bullet catch.

This article was originally published in Chamber's Journal of December 16th, 1882.

1st edition 1882, 5 pages; digital edition 8 pages.

A very interesting article about early conjuring, conjurers, books and manuscripts. Includes detailed research on how the term 'hocus pocus' came about.

An exploration of the origins and early development of the "perfect little pocket trick" known as "Chink-a-Chink", the non-coin prototype of the Matrix effect; with how-to and performance tips, and advice on custom-made sets and "impromptu" sets as well (with photographs).

Three types are covered:

1. mechanical chinck-a-chinks utilizing a shell
2. chink-a-chinks with only the hands utilizing a spare object
3. four objects and two covers

1st edition 2012, 38 pages.

1920's film footage plus booklet revealing the closely-guarded secrets of the Indian Cups and Balls, the Mango Tree effect and much more. Together with attempts at the Indian Rope Trick plus bonus footage of Kuda Bux doing the Fire Walk.

Here is some amazing 1920's film footage capturing street magicians at work with some of the great Indian classics that are so rarely seen by Westerners. Much of the material on this download DVD (it is accompanied by an exciting musical track) is explained in the 40-page PDF (to download it see your digital shelf).

You will see great performances of the...

A history of the circus in Britain during the 19th century. One chapter deals with America, another with circus slang. Perhaps most interesting are the recollections of a gymnast and how he made it into the circus.

From the Preface:

This is a biography of Chris Van Bern (1872? - 1950) christened The Busy 'B' by The Magician Monthly in 1911 because of his versatility as a variety performer. His presentations were original and he was something of a 'character'. He became a member of so many local magic clubs throughout the UK that it is believed his record has never been surpassed by anyone. He was Honorary Vice President, for example, of The Modern Mystic League (Blackburn & District Society of Magicians), and The Order of The Magi (Manchester). A generous man to all magicians he co-authored A Whirlwind of Wizadry with De...

Charles Oswald Williams was a good friend of Professor Hoffmann, Chung Ling Soo and many other notable magicians. He was also a magic dealer and inventor, amongst his customers was a young Cardini. Williams also had the honour of being one of the first magicians to perform in The Magic Circle's inaugural show.

Charles Oswald Williams was at the inception of the Golden Age of Magic and his life story followed the development of Magic as we now know it. This ebook chronicles his life story in parallel to the rise of Magic. In addition, it contains a full account of The Magic Circle's first show in London in 1906, describing...

This is the long-awaited follow up to the first volume. It is a quality soft back publication, perfect bound. It contains a lot of information that arrived too late for inclusion in the first volume. We are grateful to all those who have helped us produce this set of books on the Remarkable Chan Canasta.

• Publisher's Introduction
• Further Discoveries by David Britland
• Chan Canasta article (reprinted from Magic Magazine)

The first volume can be found here: Chan Canasta: A Remarkable Man Volume 1

1st edition 2001, 45 pages.

Chan Canasta (1920 to 1999) was something of a TV sensation in the 1950s as one of Britain's leading mentalists. His blend of psychology and traditional conjuring which he called psychmagic, was a breath of fresh air. This beautifully ebook is a unique record of his mentalist effects and unique entertaining style.

"Martin has excelled himself with the production values. It looks beautiful; maybe it is the most attractive looking book I have ever seen. If you are interested in Canasta then you will have to buy the book." - Peter Zenner

"I'm not sure that there have been other books quite like this....

This is a very good book on Cagliostro, because Trowbridge does not simply parrot the opinion of other authors who wrote about Cagliostro, but he did his own research and came to his own conclusions. One can certainly argue about some of Trowbridge's conclusions, but overall this is a very thorough and detailed description and analysis of Cagliostro's life.

• Preface
• Bibliography
• Part I
  • Chapter I: The Power Of Prejudice
  • Chapter II: Giuseppe Balsamo
• Part II
  • Chapter I: Cagliostro In London
  • Chapter II: Eighteenth Century Occultism
  • Chapter III: Masked And Unmasked
  • Chapter IV: The...

Evans raises the possibility that Cagliostro's real name might not have been Giuseppe Balsamo, as well as describes his Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry.

• Introduction
• PART I.—A Master Of Magic
• PART II.—The Egyptian Rite
• PART III.—A Visit To The House Of Cagliostro
• PART IV.—Reception Of An Apprentice In An Egyptian Lodge

Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, by real name Giuseppe Balsamo, was an Italian occultist, mentalist and magician, who managed to achieve entry into the royal courts of Europe where he practiced various occult arts, mentalism, magic, alchemy, etc. His fame continued beyond his death, but eventually he was labeled a charlatan. Regardless of how one wants to portrait Cagliostro, there is a lot magicians and mentalists can learn from him and his exploits.

• Proem
• I. A Master of Magic
• II. The Conjurer and the Cardinal
• III. The Affair of the Diamond Necklace
• IV. The Downfall of the Grand Cophta ...

Bert Pratt was a bookworm, somebody who worked his way through libraries and book stores to find the odd appearance of magic in non-magic books. He wrote a series of articles which were published in the Midget Magician, a journal that saw a print run of only 50. It is therefore safe to assume you have never read these articles.

It includes excerpts from books and magazines now practically unobtainable. Bert Pratt, writing as Ptinos, delved deeply into the old book marts of London, into libraries, into magazine files, to find magic and magical references. The resulting reading is charming,...

Arthur Duchek, born (almost literally on the highwire rigging of his parents' circus act) into a European circus dynasty in 1930, grew up to be a world-famous circus and variety artist and international entertainment agent.

He survived a devastating accident on the circus lot as a 4-year old child, an accident that left him with a speech impediment. His will power and determination, along with the help of an eccentric Parisian speech therapist, helped him overcome this obstacle. After joining his uncles with the circus in America, Arthur experienced unbelievable abuse at their hands.

You...

Life and adventure on the prairies, mountains, and Pacific coast.

Beyond the Mississippi is a travel log of Albert Richardson from a few years before and after the American Civil War. As the title suggests, he traveled west of the Mississippi through states and territories such as Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Iowa, Oregon, California, Nevada, etc. He describes nature, people, politics, and commerce. It includes exciting adventures as well as fairly dry facts such as how many bushels of grain a particular area produces. Overall it is quite readable and the...

The Life and works of Axel Hellstrom. Contents include:

• Hellstrom's history
• Axel Hellstrom's mnemonic system
• other performers
• Hellstrom & Houdini & the S.A.M.

19 pages