Here, Golden considers the intersection between her work and that of illusionists through her collection of Genii: The International Conjurors' Magazine.
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I have a stack of about 15 magazines called Genii: The International Conjurors' Magazine that I got when I first moved to Los Angeles about seven years ago.
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In the early years, its founding preachers could be "angry" and "vile," but then the settlement was reorganized by rather jollier Puritans, one of whom liked Irish whiskey and Welsh conjurors.
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Priests were chosen for their knowledge and wisdom and were leaders of the organized religion. Conjurors, on the other hand, were chosen for their magical abilities. Conjurors were thought to have powers from a personal connection with a supernatural being (mostly spirits from the animal world).
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Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine is the largest selling magazine in the world devoted to magic and magicians. It is a monthly magazine first published in September 1936, currently edited by Richard J. Kaufman and owned by Randy Pitchford. The magazine is based in Washington, DC.
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The Lives of the Conjurors. London: Tinsley Brothers. pp. 108-110. The story was given to Sinclair by Campbell's son Thomas, a philosophy student from a college in Glasgow who was living at the household. Folklorist Andrew Lang suggested that Thomas had produced the phenomena fraudulently.
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From left to right. Walter Franklin Prince, Daniel Frost Comstock, Mina Crandon, O. D. Munn, Harry Houdini. Prince was skeptical of the claims of physical mediums. To help expose fraud, he familiarised himself with the tricks of conjurors and became a member of the Society of American Magicians.
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Greenwood Press. p. 6. "Thomas Frost' s The Lives of the Conjurors was the first book-length history of magic and is understandably required reading for the would-be historian of magic." M. Thomas Inge described the book as "a full-fledged chronicle of magic and an invaluable reference work".Inge, Thomas M. (1978).
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His impressive collection is now owned by David Copperfield. In 1949, Mulholland was issued a public $10,000 challenge. John J McManus (Magic Collector) issued the challenge in the Conjurors' Magazine (June 1949, Vol 5 Issue# 4). The full page ad called for Mulholland to re-create his famous 'Hooker Rising Trick' under controlled stage conditions with McManus providing the necessary props.
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Heuzé wrote two books that revealed the tricks of conjurors and fakirs, they were republished in 2005.Les Fakirs Indiens. Artefake. On 11 December 1928 Heuzé and a magician known as "Karma" took part in a contest with the Egyptian fakir Tahra Bey. At the Circus de Paris before a large audience, Bey inserted long needles through his cheeks and chest muscles.
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In 1919, G. Huddleston writing in Nature, claimed to have spent more than thirty years in India and knew many of the best conjurors in the country but not one of them could demonstrate the trick.Huddleston, G. (1919). The Indian Rope Trick. Nature 102: 487 (20 February 1919) Lord Frederick Spencer Hamilton in 1921, described an alleged demonstration of the trick, told to him by Colonel Bernard.
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Wheldon, Wynn Pierce, "Orson Welles the Magician". Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine, Volume 63 Number 2, February 15, 2000 At intermission September 7, 1943, KMPC radio interviewed audience and cast members of The Mercury Wonder Show—including Welles and Rita Hayworth, who were married earlier that day. Welles remarked that The Mercury Wonder Show had been performed for approximately 48,000 members of the U.S. armed forces.
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Dai Vernon (pronounced alternatively as "DIE" or as "DAY" as in DavidWhen asked which way to pronounce his first name, Vernon would say "either, or either," (i.e, EE-ther or EYE-ther) Vernon, Dai. The Vernon Touch: The Writings of Dai Vernon in Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine from 1968 to 1990. Washington, DC: The Genii Corporation, 2006.) (June 11, 1894 - August 21, 1992), a.k.a.
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Multiplying billiard balls (Excelsior Ball Trick, August Roterberg, 1898) is a magic routine that is popular with both amateur and advanced conjurors but still rarely seen. As its name implies, the magician uses sleight of hand to manipulate a number of billiard balls (the balls are often smaller than actual billiard balls), giving the impression that he is making them appear and vanish at his command.
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The latter was one of Home's favorite props: his special instrument was ornately-decorated, with a very short keyboard. Its shape was dumpy and squat more like a concertina than an accordion. Except when it was playing by itself away from everyone, he held it beneath a table, his hands away from the keys. Stage conjurors, the most damaging witnesses against séance tricks, explained how it could be done.
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Hughes was born in Essex, England, but moved to the United States and became an illusionist. He would wear dark makeup, exotic clothing, and claim to come from Ava in Burma. He billed himself as "The Fakir of Ava, Chief of Staff of Conjurors to His Sublime Greatness the Nanka of Aristaphae". In addition to billing standard European tricks as great Oriental feats, he invented many tricks of his own.
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14 Little Tich became interested in the travelling performers whom his father often employed to entertain guests at the inn. He would mimic the dancers, singers and conjurors, causing much amusement to both his family and his patrons. So good were his impersonations that his siblings frequently took him to neighbouring public houses where they would get him to perform in exchange for money. These experiences prepared Little Tich for his future career.
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Conjuring is an illustrated book by James Randi. Randi gives a detailed history of conjuring, more commonly known as magic, said to be the world's second oldest profession. It includes detailed portraits of conjurors, including the Harry Blackstone, Sr., Harry Blackstone, Jr., Harry Houdini and his entourage, Howard Thurston, Robert Heller, Joe Berg, and others. Randi explains the history of famous magic tricks like the Rabbit from a hat, Bullet catch, and the Indian rope trick.
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It is an annual invitation-only event inspired by and meant to resurrect the spirit of collaboration and camaraderie seen in the once-held magicians event (The Ibidem Event) hosted by P. Howard Lyons. Slaight's own magic tricks (the Magnetic Miraskill, OTWONE Prediction and others) can be found in most magic magazines from the past 50 years such as Ibidem, Genii – The Conjurors' Magazine, and Magic – The Independent Magazine for Magicians.Canadian Magicians Archive: Slaight, Allan, Accessed August 26, 2015; Magicana. Allan Slaight Biography.
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The Native Americans living in the Carolinas believed in the immortality of the soul. Upon death, the soul either enters heaven to live with the gods or goes to a place near the setting sun called Popogusso, to burn for eternity in a huge pit of fire. The concept of heaven and hell was used on the common people to respect leaders and live a life that would be beneficial to them in the afterlife. Conjurors and priests were distinctive spiritual leaders.
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For the private individual it would have had a deep impression, akin to absolution, but to a monarch it may have altered his behavior. By ridding the impending evil inherent in a bad omen, a namburbi “bolstered the king’s self-confidence, strengthened his resolution, and steeled his will to fight.” An entire staff of conjurors organized like a ministry, poured over omen collections and prepared rituals to counter any portent that was diagnosed. A namburbi was a central part of the substitute king ritual.
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In 1846, an amateur performance of Ben Jonson's Every Man in his Humour included Dickens playing Captain Bobadil.Schlicke, p. 13 Mitchell had a fondness for international entertainments, and presented German conjurors, Tyrolean singers, dramatic readings by Fanny Kemble, P. T. Barnum's infant prodigies – Kate and Ellen Bateman, aged eight and six – in scenes from Shakespeare, and, most popular of all, the Ethiopian Serenaders who enthused London about the American-style minstrel shows, a form of entertainment that remained popular for decades.Mander and Mitchenson, pp.
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The Mercury Wonder Show ran August 3–September 9, 1943, in an 80-by-120-foot tent located at 9000 Cahuenga Boulevard, in the heart of Hollywood.Wheldon, Wynn Pierce, "Orson Welles the Magician". Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine, Volume 63 Number 2, February 15, 2000 The brand-new, two-pole Big Top offered 1,100 bleacher seats — all of them free — to service members. In the center were 400 folding chairs for the public, with tickets priced at $1.65 to $5.50 for adults and 55 cents for children.
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In its heyday between 1912 and the 1920s the Electric Palace was the centre of entertainment in Harwich. From the beginning the programmes were full of variety and often the major part of the bill would be taken up with vaudeville rather than films. The venue was regularly played by a wide spectrum of entertainers including acrobats, burlesques, conjurors, hypnotists, impersonators, singers, patterers, knockabouts mimics, dancers and comedians. Notable among this latter group was the young Scottish comedian Will Fyffe who was stationed at Felixstowe during the First World War.
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He became very well known throughout the region, at first for his clowning at open air events like Powell's equestrian show, later for more highly developed shows under cover - by 1834, when he was performing at Newcastle Races, he was referred to as "the king of the clan" of conjurors. His performance there took place in a "Grand Pagoda", decorated with Chinese figures. The entrance fee for his show was twopence, while many others charged just a penny. The show was an elaborate one - it included not just Billy, but his own company of actors and his own band.
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Its accommodation . . . should include a roofed in verandah > shelter facing the sea, a large reading room intended to be supplied with > newspapers, ladies' and gentlemens' lavatories, rooms for attendants, and > drinking fountains . . . Band performances might at the discretion of the > Council be permitted in the public hall, but no beach minstrels, or > conjurors, or variety entertainments . . . The Urban Council should instruct > their surveyor to prepare plans and specifications for this pavilion to cost > £2,000, the plans to be so arranged as not to interfere with the view of > residences then and thereafter to be erected on Beacon Hill.
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In 1792 Lemoine started the Conjurors' Magazine, with embodied a translation of the treatise on physiognomy by Johann Kaspar Lavater. It sold well, but by 1793, when it became known as the Astrologer's Magazine, Lemoine's connection with it had practically ceased; it did include reprints of some stories of his from the Arminian Magazine and elsewhere. In 1793 he started the Wonderful Magazine and Marvellous Chronicle, to which he contributed biographies including one of Baron Diego Pereira d'Aguilar. In 1794 Lemoine was in the copperplate printing business, but lost heavily, was imprisoned for debt, and separated from his wife.
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This illusion was first recorded by Thomas Frost in Lives of the Conjurors, 1876, as a performance by an old Brahmin in India in 1828 or 1829. The Brahmin died in 1830 without explaining his trick. He was followed by Sheshal, the Brahmin of the Air, who exhibited the illusion at Madras in 1832, apparently using only a stool, a hollow piece of bamboo, a piece of hide and some beads (pictured). Frost thought that it was "probably not very far from the truth" that there were supporting steel rods concealed within the bamboo and the hide, and that the rods were connected with a seat concealed within the performer's robes.
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In opposition to this, spiritualists have said that Houdin was unable to explain the phenomena at a Home séance. Regarding both these claims, Peter Lamont has noted: > It is probably worth noting, if only to avoid confusion, that such claims > (much like those made by spiritualists that conjurors were unable to explain > the phenomena) were often unfounded. For example, spiritualists claimed that > Robert-Houdin had been unable to explain what happened at a Home seance, and > critics claimed that Home had refused an invitation to perform in front of > Robert-Houdin. There is, however, not a shred of evidence for either of > these claims.
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The panel heard from a variety of military staff who believed in PK and made visits to the PEAR laboratory and two other laboratories that had claimed positive results from micro-PK experiments. The panel criticized macro-PK experiments for being open to deception by conjurors, and said that virtually all micro-PK experiments "depart from good scientific practice in a variety of ways". Their conclusion, published in a 1987 report, was that there was no scientific evidence for the existence of psychokinesis. Carl Sagan included telekinesis in a long list of "offerings of pseudoscience and superstition" which "it would be foolish to accept (...) without solid scientific data".
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In 1984, the United States National Academy of Sciences, at the request of the US Army Research Institute, formed a scientific panel to assess the best evidence from 130 years of parapsychology. Part of its purpose was to investigate military applications of PK, for example to remotely jam or disrupt enemy weaponry. The panel heard from a variety of military staff who believed in PK and made visits to the PEAR laboratory and two other laboratories that had claimed positive results from micro-PK experiments. The panel criticized macro-PK experiments for being open to deception by conjurors, and said that virtually all micro-PK experiments "depart from good scientific practice in a variety of ways".
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Heavy rain had made the ground soft and muddy, but did not deter the usual huge crowds who were entertained between races by "conjurors, learned donkies, posture masters, Punchinellos &c;". Several false starts saw the race beginning half an hour late, at a few minutes after three o’clock. Although the early pace was fast, almost all the leading contenders were still in contention as the field turned into the straight, and spread out across the width of the course. The closing stages saw four horses enter the final furlong almost level: Ascot and Lord Jersey's Ibrahim raced along the inside rail, while Mundig and the 100/1 outsider Pelops ran up the stands side.
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Within some magical traditions today, such as contemporary witchcraft, hoodoo and Hermeticism or ceremonial magic, conjuration may refer specifically to an act of calling or invoking deities and other spirits; or it may refer more generally to the casting of magic spells by a variety of techniques. Used in the sense of invoking or evoking deities and other spirits, conjuration can be regarded as one aspect of religious magic. In the context of illusionist magic practiced today as entertainment only, "conjurer" or "conjuror" is still a common term used by practitioners. In times past, illusionist conjurors were suspected of using magic power to create their entertaining illusions and even suspected of casting spells.
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In 1914, music hall was by far the most popular form of popular song. It was listened to and sung along to in theatres which were getting ever larger (three thousand seaters were not uncommon) and in which the musical acts were gradually overshadowing all other acts (animal imitators, acrobats, human freaks, conjurors, etc.) The industry was more and more dominated by chains of theatres like Moss, and by music publishers, since selling sheet music was very profitable indeed—a real hit could sell over a million copies. The seats at the music hall could be very cheap and attracted a largely working class audience, for whom a gramophone would generally be too expensive. Although many ordinary people had heard gramophones in seaside resorts or in park concerts organized by local councils, many more would discover the gramophone while in the army, since gramophone manufacturers produced large numbers of portable gramophones "for our soldiers in France".
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