A classified list of United States patents relating to magic, illusions and allied subjects.
Finding patents related to magic is not so easy. Wobensmith wrote in the preface in 1928: "The Patent Office classification, while to some extent helpful, is by no means a satisfactory guide for the use of the magician in searching for available material, or for knowledge as to what has or has not been patented. Many of the patents comprised in the present list were discovered in sub-classes which in their designations contain no suggestion of pertinent material." Today the search is made easier through various online search facilities, but it still requires a lot of work to find all the relevant patents. That is why a list like this is invaluable.
Wobensmith, a patent lawyer, and amateur magician, used his access and familiarity with patents to compile this list and classification of magic patents. No hard and fast rule has been followed, as in some instances the patents have been classified according to the principle involved or the means employed, and in other instances according to the end attained or the effect produced. Included in the list are a number of patents that strictly do not relate to magical apparatus, but embody ideas and principles adaptable to the needs of the magician and showman.
Classification used:
- Part I. Illusions
- Human Transposition, Appearance and Disappearance
- Mirror Illusions
- Mirror Illusions (Pepper's Ghost Type)
- Levitation
- Vivisection
- Miscellaneous Stage and Pit Illusions
- Travel Illusions
- Projection Picture Auxiliary
- Transformation by Lighting
- Simulating Natural Phenomena
- Midget Illusions
- Puppet Shows
- Shadowgraphs
- Continuously Flowing Liquid
- Amusement Houses - Illusion Type
- Mirror Mazes
- Part II. Small Trick Apparatus
- Breakaway Fans
- Card Tricks
- Coin Tricks
- Coining Devices
- Drawer Boxes
- Trick Drinking Mugs
- Trick Knives, Swords and Daggers
- Printing Devices
- String Tricks
- Miscellaneous Small Trick Apparatus
- Part III. Miscellaneous
- Advertising Devices
- Stage Settings and Spectacles
- Costume
- Aerated Water Fountains
- Stage Noise Apparatus
- Amusement Houses - Surprise and Shock Devices
- Trick Chairs
- Collapsible Tables
1st edition 1928, 83 pages. Only 100 numbered copies were printed. PDF 83 pages.
word count: 4409 which is equivalent to 17 standard pages of text
