Gibecière
Courtesy of the Ricky Jay collection
Broadside for Mr. Mills, a contemporary of Diego Joseph Zamorano. Both men conjured with the advertised advantage of having only one hand.
G ere ··· i b e c i` Journal of The Conjuring Arts Research Center > ?
V T CVM QVE NEW YORK MMXI
The Conjuring Arts Research Center Board of Directors William Kalush Dr. David Singmaster Steve Cuiffo Philip Varricchio David Blaine
This issue sponsored by Bella Mondo Gourmet Food available from Wholefoods and fine grocers nation-wide. www.bellamondo.biz
Š 2011 Printed in China. ISSN 1558-8149 Gibecière is published semi-annually by The Conjuring Arts Research Center 11 West 30th, 5th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 212-594-1033 www.conjuringarts.org
Contents Pocket Notes—Stephen Minch 7 An Investigation into Magic in Japan after the Opening of the Country, Part VIII—Mitsunobu Matsuyama 9 Zamorano and the Criticism of Engaños a Ojos Vistas— Enrique Jiménez-Martínez 75 Fray Benito Jerónimo Feijoó on Magicians of Antiquity— translated by Lori Pieper 87 Attractive Treasury of Curiosities—Diego Joseph Zamorano translated by Lori Pieper 97 Where Zamorano Was Wrong (and Right)— Stephen Minch 177 Contributors 195
5 • Volume 6 ‹› Number 2
Pocket Notes The opening article of this issue is a fine study by Mitsunobu Matsuyama of Black Ishii, or Ishii Black as he is known in the west. Black was English by birth. Taken as a boy to Japan by his parents, he became a major star in Japanese vaudeville, principally as a storyteller, although he experimented with other entertainment forms. Western historians of conjuring know him through his authorship of a series of articles on traditional Japanese magic, run during 1914 and 1915, in the midst of World War I, in The Magician Monthly, a British trade journal published by Will Goldston. This series was and has remained among the most valuable records of the state of Japanese conjuring as it was performed at that time. Mr. Matsuyama has provided a short but fascinating biography of Black Ishii, accompanied by almost his entire series on Japanese magic, to which Matsuyama has provided enlightening commentary. Black Ishii played an important role in magic, both in Japan and in the west. His significance is so great that several book-length biographies have been written about him in Japan, and he deserves much greater recognition by historians of conjuring. Mr. Matsuyama’s article is a step in that direction. It is also thoroughly engrossing reading. The rest of this issue is devoted to a feud, one that took place in 1740 between two authors of conjuring, one well known, the other utterly forgotten—until now. Readers who were with us two years ago will recall that our Summer 2009 issue was devoted to the first English translation of Spain’s earliest book on conjuring, Pablo Minguet’s Engaños a ojos vistas or Deceptions in plain sight. Along with the many editions this classic text spawned over many years, there was a forgotten secondary work, Thesoro atractivo de curiosos... or Attractive treasury of curiosities.... Its author, Diego Joseph Zamorano, was a professional, or perhaps semiprofessional, 7 • Volume 6 ‹› Number 2
Gibecière conjurer. His book, published in 1740, was an open “challenge” to the validity of Minguet’s Engaños. This, Zamorano expressed prominently in the full title of his book. Criticism of an important work on conjuring secrets by a working performer of the period is of tremendous interest, and Zamorano’s book does not disappoint. This work is now extremely rare. Only two copies are believed to have survived. We are running Dr. Lori Pieper’s translation of the entire book, and we are sure it will engage you on a number of levels. The fine scholar of magic, Enrique Jiménez-Martínez, who provided background information in our Minguet issue, has graciously contributed an introductory article on Zamorano’s Attractive treasury and other criticism of Pablo Minguet’s Engaños, which provides some excellent and revealing research. Following the book itself, I have given my best imitation of Maurice Sardina by adding a few thoughts and observations about Attractive treasury that, in part, suggest its author was guilty of some distortion and misstatement in his eagerness to defame. The dispute between Zamorano and Minguet may be the first in the history of conjuring literature between two authors of conjuring books. We think you will find it as deeply fascinating as we have. A last note: In our previous issue Jim Steinmeyer contributed a wellreceived article on Fulton Oursler and his play The Spider. Max Maven sent along a delightful little piece of serendipity. In the 110th number of The Jinx (September 1940, p. 660), Annemann reported: Some people have discussed as to when the first magician-detective story appeared in print. Our only record is Mystery Magazine for Sept. 1918. It contained a feature story “The Magician Detective” by Charles Fulton Oursler. The same number contained a clairvoyant mystery story entitled “The Passage Invisible”, by C. T. Jordan, who was the Charles of card magic fame. •
Stephen Minch editor Gibecière ‹› Summer 2011 • 8
•An Investigation into
Magic in Japan after the Opening of the Country•
From Ikokujin No Mita Bakumatsu Meiji Japan by Shin-Jinbutsu Oraisha, 2005
Black Kairakutei dressed in komono style
AN INVESTIGATION INTO MAGIC IN JAPAN AFTER THE OPENING OF THE COUNTRY • Part VIII: Harry Black (Black Ishii) and His Chronicle of Japanese Magic Mitsunobu Matsuyama
W
hile this series has examined a considerable number of magicians who worked near the time Japan opened its doors and afterward, readers may wonder what effects, other than the Butterflies, Thumb Tie and Water Fountain Act were being performed. The reason for this patchiness in information is due mainly to the absence of a Japanese journal that covered the contemporary magic scene. Fortunately, the most valuable writings on Japanese magic effects and their presentation during the period have survived—in a series of articles in a widely read western magazine for conjurers! Their author was Black Kairakutei. Black Kairakutei was the first “Hen Na Gaijin Talent,” a foreign entertainer working within the Japanese entertainment industry, who resided in Japan and spoke colloquial, conversational Japanese. Although Kairakutei was born outside Japan, he became a popular professional storyteller in Japanese vaudeville theaters and enjoyed a great popularity throughout the Meiji Era. 11 • Volume 6 ‹› Number 2