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A borrowed cigarette is dropped into a plain cigarette holder. This is done in full view of the company and the cigarette marked. The cigarette holder has two small holes bored, one opposite each other. The performer next introduces 3 needle threaded and the needle is in full view pushed through the two holes which secures the cigarette. To prove that the cigarette is secured with the thread the conjurer lifts up the cigarette so that all present can see the thread through the cigarette and the holder.
THROUGH A SHEET OF GLASS. Solid objects are passed through a sheet of glass in full view. So cleverly is this apparatus constructed that the audience may surround the performer. No covering of any kind. The sheet of glass may be examined with impunity before and after the trick is performed. Suitable for the Platform or Drawing-room. Size: 8 inches by 6 inches. 1 2 / 6 t^4-00 P o s t Paid), postage 6d. Size: 10ÂŁ inches by 8J inches. 1 7 / 6 ($ 3 - 2 5 P o s t Pa'd), postage 6d.
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GOLDSTON'S MAGICAL QUARTERLY
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Incorporating the " MAGAZINE OF MAGIC."
1936.
SUMMER ISSUE. CONT E N T S . Page
Editorial ... 145 Elections 145 Question of the Next Wearer of Thurston's Mantle 146 Divination With Cards 147 Thought Reading Extraordinary ... 147 148 A New Billiard Ball Producer Okito's Inexhaustible Chinese Mat 149 Don't Discard Your Old Apparatus 152 153 Bodies For Burial ... 155 Ceeley and The Naked Lady 156 Visitors
Page
John
Nevil Maskelyne Memorial Fund De Biere's Widow's Fund Magical Books Rarely Pay The Whole Art of Ventriloquism ... Something Like a Conjurer ... ... Reviews ... ... ... ... White Magic News of Magicians ... ... ... News Items from the U.S.A. ... Reports of Magical Societies ... A New Magical Organization ... Letters to The Editor
158 158 159 161 163 168 169 170 171 173 175 177
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GOLDSTON'S MAGICAL QUARTERLY
145
As the last number of the Quarterly went to press, I received information of the deaths of Howard Thurston, Charles Morritt, and G. W. Hunter. I managed to insert short obituary notices on the first two by rushing them to the printer at the last moment. But what's in a notice ? If I were to devote the whole Quarterly to accounts of Thurston and Morritt, I think I could give no adequate idea of the places occupied by these illustrious men in the realm of magic. In Thurston, America has lost her finest showman, and I can think of none who will fill his place. In his earliest days he was faced with enormous difficulties. He had very little money and no influence. Most of his magical knowledge was gleaned, in the first place, from books. Enthusiasm, coupled with a pronounced flair for magic, overcame his every handicap, and took him, in the course of time, to the very top of the magical tree. He first appeared in Great Britain at the Palace Theatre, London, then under Morton's management. Thence he proceeded to India, where he laid the foundations of a great reputation. Kellar took him under his wing, and it was typical of Thurston that he made more than any man could have suspected of this wonderful opportunity. The death of Morritt has not, perhaps, come as a surprise to those who had learned of his recent failing health. Though perhaps not so well-known as Thurston, Morritt was a performer and inventor of the very highest class. He constructed a number of illusions for Harry Houdini; and for some years worked with J. N. Maskelyne at the Egyptian and St. George's Halls. G. W. Hunter, was one of those quiet workers behind the scenes in magic. A comedian by profession, he had been interested in magic all his life, and in the leisure hours of his years of retirement, he invented a great number of ingenious pocket tricks. Though he was eighty-six years of age at the time of his death, his mental and bodily activity was unimpaired to the last, and the news of his passing came as a great shock even to his most intimate friends. Well, these three have come, have tarried awhile, and have passed their way. Nothing I can write will bring them back. They were magical masters, all of them, and every magician worthy of the name must feel an abiding sorrow at their passing. As for the magical masters who are spared to us—notably Horace Goldin, David Devant, and Servais Le Roy—let us be wise, and give them honour in their time. That is surely the very least we can do for those who have done so much for lesser men.
ELECTIONS,
1936.
FULL MEMBERSHIP.
JUNE :
JULIO ADAMO, WONG KOON YOON.
146
GOLDSTON'S MAGICAL QUARTERLY
QUESTION OF THE NEXT WEARER OF THURSTON'S MANTLE. Despicable Twaddle. By CARYL S. FLEMING.
President, Pacific Coast Association of Magicians. What a crying shame that a lot of grown men should stoop so low as to desecrate the memory of the much-loved Howard Thurston by using it as a means for some cheap, hollow publicity for their own selfish aims. Many pretenders to the throne of magic have heralded themselves as the chosen one to don the royal raiments—and, by virtue of what great accomplishment on their own parts ? As to passing on such honors from the dead to the living—how is it possible to bestow, even if such were the desire, intangible, hypothetical titles or reputations. Certainly, the late Howard Thurston's reputation and accomplishments were his, and his alone, gained through his own personal efforts at study, research, originality, practice and perseverance and things of such nature cannot be bestowed, only in merest part, upon one man by another, as the brilliant Thurston undoubtedly knew full well. Even had some of these self-acclaimed successors received all of his apparatus and equipment, which they have not, for there is no legal question but what Miss Jane Thurston is the sole legatee in this item, what good would it have done them ? Is it not simple logic that Thurston must have thought that Jane was the one to carry on ? If any other opinion had been the case would not Thurston have taken means to insure his wishes being thus carried out instead of as they now exist ? It has long been a clearly demonstrated fact that it takes more than just apparatus and a desire to make a master magician, and those who seek to deceive the public by proclaiming their own greatness and basking in the stolen, reflected light of a great reputation deceive only themselves, for selfacclaim is but poor praise at best and borrowed crowns and sceptres have a peculiar habit of acquiring an early tarnish and the slight temporary glory and publicity thus gained soon turns into bitter defeat of the aims thereto. Trading on another's reputation is an un-
deniable admission of self-weakness and is downright theft, in this particular instance, of that which should remain in perpetuation of a great memory. True, that Kellar proclaimed Thurston as his successor, but he did not do so until ne was fully convinced by long demonstration that Thurston had both the mentality and the ability to do justice to the work Kellar proposed for him and even then, at Kellar's retirement, only a portion of his equipment and apparatus entered the possession of Thurston and never did all of it reach him, nor was it so intended by Kellar. The Great Houdini's brother, Hardeen, a performer of ability received the major portion of Harry's apparatus, but the reputation Harry created did not accompany it and despite his every effort, Hardeen has never attained the heights of public favour enjoyed by his late brother and gained for himself by dint of pure genius. The movies, with all their millions to to spend on publicity, never replaced Valentino in the hearts of his public and likewise, there will never be another Will Rogers. Both Ramon Novarro and Ricardo Cortez, to my personal knowledge, were groomed for Valentino's place on the screen, as were many others now forgotten, but such plans were soon found to be- impracticable and abandoned forthwith. No man will ever wear Thurston's mantle excepting Howard Thurston for he has taken it with him to his grave and will wear it rightfully in death as in life and anyone who is so foolish as to try to usurp the now vacant throne without first proving himself unequivocably in the minds of the public will only damage his own prospects of progress to the possibility of oblivion. And, the man who shall prove himself as having the ability to assume the mantle of magic will necessarily be great enough to weave his own by his own hand and will neither find it necessary, nor will he want, to steal his crown from the tomb of another and will find his own proper place in the sun without basking in the empty shadow of another's reflected splendour. Masters are creators and leaders; not copyists nor weak-spined imitators. Let those at whom this is directed take heed—for " Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting."—(Daniel v, 21). " Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's."—(Matthew xxii, 21).
GOLDSTON'S MAGICAL QUARTERLY
147
CONTRIBUTED Hubert Elliott, E. Lewis Philpot, Okito. DIVINATION WITH CARDS. Invented by HUBERT ELLIOTT.
Effect. A card is chosen, returned to the pack, which is then shuffled by drawer, and placed on the table. The conjurer then turns his back and requests his volunteer assistant to cut the pack into three heaps. When that is done and while the conjurer's back is still turned, the drawer is requested to run through the three heaps, take his card out of the heap it is in, and place it in one of the other two heaps. The conjurer then turns round once more and runs through the three heaps once, and then announces which heap the selected card was taken from, and the heap it was transferred to. Working. The chosen card is forced. We will suppose it is the " Queen of Hearts." The conjurer cuts the pack for the card to be replaced and notices the card he cuts at. When the pack is squared up this card will be next to the chosen card. (This is a well known method of finding selected card). This card, we will say, is the 6 of Diamonds. If the drawer now shuffles the cards it is very improbable that these two cards will be separated. The cards are now placed on the table. The conjurer turns his back and the pack is cut into three heaps by the drawer, who also runs through the heaps and transfers his card from one heap to another. All the conjurer has to do to find out which heap the card was in and which heap it was transferred to, is to find the 6 of Diamonds, which is the heap the chosen card was in, and then find the heap the Queen of Hearts is now in (these being the two cards used in the example), and announce his knowledge. It is not advisable to let the audience know that you are aware what card has been chosen in this trick.
THOUGHT READING EXTRAORDINARY. Effect. Pack of cards is shuffled by volunteer assistant, who is requested to think of any card he sees, as the cards are spread out face upwards on the table, the conjurer giving assistant ample time to fix his choice on any card. Another spectator is now requested to name a number between one and ten. The card thought of eventually appears at the chosen number. Working. After the cards have been shuffled by the assistant the performer takes back the pack and spreads them out face upwards on the table, requesting assistant to think of any card; for example the 9 of Diamonds. Another spectator is asked to give a number between one and ten, for example No. 6. After asking assistant if he is quite satisfied with the card he is thinking of, also the spectator if he is satisfied with the number he gave, the performer picks up half the cards or thereabouts and spreads them face upwards parallel with the cards he left on the table, spreading both rows out with his fingers so that the index of every card may be plainly seen. The performer now points to one of the two rows—either will do—and asks assistant if the card is there. If it is, pick up this row, and discard the other altogether; if it is not in the row indicated then that row is discarded and the other picked up. The performer now has about half the pack of cards in his hand. During the rest of the trick the performer must keep the backs of the cards only exposed to audience, and no one must be behind him. He now asks the assistant if his card is red, in this case the answer is in the affirmative, as we are dealing with the 9 of Diamonds, but if the card was black the performer would not be embarrassed, as if he is told it is red performer knows the card must be either a Heart or a Diamond, and
GREAT TRICKS _.,
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REVEALED By WILL GOLDSTON 2nd IMPRESSION.
Chapter
1.—Some Magical Recollections.
Chapter 2.—Pocket Tricks. Chapter 3.—Routines: Thimbles. Chapter 4.—Cigar and Cigarettes. Chapter 5.—Rope. Chapter 6.—Billiard Balls. Chapter 7.—Suggestions and Advice. Chapter 8.—Card Tricks. Chapter 9.—Indian and Egyptian Magic. Chapter 10.—Miscellaneous Magic. Chapter 11.—Handkerchief Tricks. Chapter 12
The Magical Inventors.
Chapter 13
Stage Illusions.
Chapter 14.—Black Art Routine. Chapter 15.—These Men made Mystery. Chapter 16.—Magic in other Countries. NEARLY
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