John Helvin

The Magicians on BBC1

2012-02-01T15:41:00.000Z

Pete Firman recently gave an interview about the BBC series The Magicians. To hear the interview, click the link below. The link opens in a new window.
Radio Teasdale

The LaBaL

2012-01-11T12:52:00.000Z

The January issue of Al Smith's The LaBaL is now available. It contains contributions from magicians such as Chris Wardle, Paul Hallas, Walt Lees and Peter Duffie. The publisher now accepts payment through Paypal. Full details on prices and how to place an order can be found via the following link:

http://johnhelvin.net/labal.html

The Magicians, BBC1, New Series This Week

2012-01-02T13:59:00.000Z

The second series of The Magicians airs its first episode this Saturday. The format is to be different; each show will be broadcast live. Barry & Stuart are still part of the team; joining them will be Pete Firman and American magician Jason Latimer. You can read about the new series at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019fyjl

and if you want to be in the audience during one of the later shows, there is still an opportunity to get free tickets from

http://www.applausestore.com/applausestore-book-show.php?id=195&bid=1
The links will open in a new window.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-24T10:44:00.001Z

Merry Christmas to one and all!

For readers of Mystery Magazine

2011-12-02T11:49:00.001Z

I've just received my copy of the October's issue of Mystery Magazine. The gremlins were at work with the typograpy and lack of space (it was an issue covering the British Ring Convention and so I was lucky there was any room for my article at all) meant that the explanation to the illustration was dropped. So, for those, wondering what the heading to the second paragraph was, it was meant to read "Dice In the Ancient World."

And here's the illustration again and the explanation that was dropped for those readers who are interested (if any) what the numbers on the illustration mean.

(1) Acetabulum/Acetabuli. There can be ornamental handles on these; it was the handles that prevented stacking. This vesselwas a small dipping bowl, usually filled with vinegar.

(2) & (3) Examples of micras paropsidas. These weresmall dishes that held sweets on a dinner table. (2) could sometimes be no morethan 4cm or 5cm high. Note the similarity of (2) to a Hindu cup and (3) to anoriental rice bowl; both of which have a lengthy history of being used for cupsand balls routines.

(4) Aboxwood cup. Around 5cm high.

(5)Knuckle bones. These are the basic, unpolished type. They were sometimes carvedand polished into better shapes.

(6) Aminiature dice set with cup/container. From base to lid the cup might only be2cm to 2.5cm high. Only three dice are shown but occasionally ten or more mightbe in the set. The material the container could be made of varied from leatherto metal. The dice, like larger dice, would be made of wood, ivory, stone ormetal.

(7)Dice. The length of one edge might be up to 1cm. They could be bigger but itwas unusual.

(8) Calculi made of polished stone.

(9)Calculi/calculum or stroggula lithidia (in Greek). A natural pebble. There wereno industry standards on calculi and so a board game might have the shapes ofboth (8) and (9) making up the game pieces.

(10)Ivory calculi. The size could be about that of a penny or a little larger, sayof a 10p piece. The smaller kind appear to be more common.

Seneca the Youngermentions (1) and (9) when referring to the cups and balls being performed.

Alciphron mentions (2) or (3) and (9) when describinga performance of the cups and balls.

Martial mentions (5) and(7).

Ovid mentions (7), (8),(9) and (10).

Juvenal mentions (6).

New Publications

2011-11-18T15:55:00.001Z

The Book on Joseph Merrick is in the last stages of production and will be available in December. The book about Dickens has been ready for some time but the publication date is early next year to tie in with the Dickens bicentenary.

Remembrance Day

2011-11-11T10:08:00.001Z

Paul Zenon in The LaBaL

2011-10-03T13:35:00.000+01:00

The October issue of Al Smith's The LaBaL is now available and it includes an interview with Paul Zenon (as well as some great card magic by its contributors). For details on how to get a copy please see the advert for Al's magazine on my website (link opens in a new window) http://johnhelvin.net/labal.html
The interview with Paul mostly deals with his career and background in magic.

For those few that haven't noticed, in the last few weeks Paul has hit the headlines because of his interest in scepticism. Below is a video of his appearance on the TV program This Morning discussing his views.

Paul's own website can be found at
http://www.paulzenon.com/
Paul runs a charity for the elderly called the Wonderbus; the website can be found at
http://www.thewonderbus.org/
(Both of the above links open in new windows.)

Family Documents

2011-09-30T12:51:00.001+01:00

Just a quick message to relatives. The family documents that I promised were to be put online, and therefore available to all who have the direct link, are now indeed uploaded and online. In the next number of weeks the link to them will be sent to you. This took longer than planned, namely, in finding a link everyone could use and share. I'm now looking for a backup link for possible use. A list of the handful of documents not uploaded will be included.

Dear Virgin Media

2011-09-13T16:42:00.007+01:00

Dear Virgin Media,

Please stop stalking me. For some years now you have written to me almost every week; sometimes twice a week. Surely it must be obvious from my lack of response to your missives that I am not interested in your services. Joking aside, please stop writing to me.

Another thing that is of concern to me is the amount of paper you’ve wasted in paying me and others so much unwanted attention. Whilst recycling this week, I’ve looked at the last number of letters you sent me, and the booklet that accompanies each, and I’ve realised that nowhere on them does it say that they are made from recycled paper or from sustainable forests. Also, over the years, the amount of paper you’ve sent me must be equal to that required to print a complete copy of the works of Shakespeare (or two). Multiply that by the number of people in our small street that also receive letters from you and the paper could be equal to what is required for a number of copies of Shakespeare per week. How much paper is being wasted nationally? How many books could have been made from that paper if it wasn’t turned into advertising, asking the same people each week, for the so many thousandth time, to subscribe to Virgin Media.

If you want to advertise, then please do it in a way that makes the use of paper worthwhile. If you can afford to give away that much printed paper FREE every year to the nation then why not publish paperbacks of poetry, text books, classic novels and suchlike and donate them FREE to the ever-decreasing library services of the UK. At the back of each can be your advertising. UK library services need public sector benefactors more as the government reduces their funding each year.

Ask yourself which is better. The pointless waste of money used in your advertising letters going straight from letter boxes to recycling boxes – or communities being more aware of your advertising, because of how you were a part of helping save their libraries by reducing their costs?

If you're listening, rather than just talking at people through your advertising, then give it a thought.

Here We Go Again

2011-08-23T13:22:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I received an email from a wholesale supplier congratulating me on expanding my products to beyond just books and then he went into a sales pitch. I thought to myself this is just spam - until today. A friend sent me a link to a site that has a very similar web address as my main site. I clicked on it and saw reviews of toys (actually advertisements) by a person who only gives their name as Helvin. Apparently, some people are assuming that it is me. I can categorically state that it is not. Whoever it is also has a Twitter account using the name Helvin. There is no overt claim to be me but at the same time no forename is given by this other Helvin and the similarity of the web address is a bit odd. A check on who owns the site led to the discovery that the owner has used a service which (contrary to the principle of WHOIS) keeps their real name secret; rather odd for a site that merely advertises toys. What have they to hide? If they are going to recommend products shouldn't the person doing the recommending make it clear who they are?

Unfortunately, all I can do is state that the site - despite having a similar web address to my main site and using the name Helvin - is nothing to do with me and its reviews/advertisements are also nothing to do with me.

Music With Cards!

2011-08-20T20:21:00.001+01:00

I had that feeling of "I wish I thought of that first" when I saw this video.

Teller Speaks About Penn & Teller: Fool Us

2011-07-31T11:43:00.002+01:00

In an interview about their new show Tell A Lie, Teller discusses why he regards Penn & Teller: Fool Us as a great television series.

[Thanks to Daniel Lander for providing the link for this video]

Beware Another Scam

2011-07-26T13:42:00.001+01:00

Another fraudster is exploiting my book, A Briefe And Pleasaunt Treatise Entituled, Natural And Artificial Conclusions - this time on Ebay. The seller is selling the book, as a new item, at £21.69, even though the retail price is only £10. Also, I've never heard of this 'bookseller' before, I've never sold them any stock and they don't have an account with me.

If anyone wants to buy a genuine copy at £10, and doesn't wish to do so through my own website, then I suggest visiting Word Power Books - they are a walk-in bookshop and online bookstore that sell to the general public and educational bodies.

UPDATE 30/07/2001: Since writing this blog entry the seller has altered the price to £19.52. Perhaps he reads this blog and doesn't want to be thought of as the seller in question!

The Complete Cups & Balls by Michael Ammar

2011-07-22T14:01:00.002+01:00

This is possibly one of the best books on the cups and balls for the beginner – or the book collector. Yes, there are other books on the subject that are considered classics but note that I wrote ‘for the beginner.’ What puts this book a notch above others (along with the quality of Ammar's text) is the layout of each page and how the illustrations are designed. It is not simply that there are plenty of photographs to illustrate each move; the design of the page clearly links relevant text to each illustration – sometimes using arrows to connect text to a particular area of a photo. There is very little room for misunderstanding what is meant. That value of that point will make more sense if you have read earlier books or booklets that deal with the same subject. It is not unusual for the small number of badly drawn illustrations in them to confuse matters more than help.
Another point in its favour is it discusses timing and misdirection; which many other books on the cups and balls hardly ever mention let alone discuss the principles.
Finally, there is the sixty page bonus of brief essays from renowned practitioners of the cups and balls including Bob Sheets, Gazzo, Paul Gertner, Tommy Wonder and David Williamson.
A question that might sensibly be asked is how much do the DVDs of the same name by Michael Ammar relate to the book – and the answer is very much so. Anyone failing to learn the cups and balls by using the book and the DVDs together should consider getting a hobby or profession that does not involve using their hands. Or consult a neurologist to find out what is wrong with their hand/eye coordination.
If I am to level any criticism about the book it is that the ‘complete’ used in the title is not deserved. I believe it would require an encyclopaedic publication to get even near deserving that accolade. But with any publication from any publisher the title is not to be taken so literally; for anyone with a genuine interest in learning the cups and balls and who will truly see it through to the end, this book is as complete as it needs to be.

Magicaean World Magic News

2011-07-21T10:03:00.000+01:00

Here is a link to a new website that is still being shaped by its owners. It's a website that pulls together news about magic from around the world. The Magicaean is designed to build its content from RSS feeds and other sources; even so, it still needs input from its readers so please visit it and read how to contribute something and keep the site updated. If your website or blog is solely about magic and is regularly updated, then its content could be included or linked to by The Magicaean.

http://www.magicaean.com/

Mystery Man: Google Genius

2011-07-14T15:12:00.000+01:00

I was using Google Earth to view the Acropolis in Athens when I noticed that one of the people in the panoramic photos had done something clever. He's a magician in his own way! I've made it into a little video:

The LaBaL July 2011

2011-07-13T17:00:00.000+01:00

July's issue of Al Smith's The LaBaL is now available. As per usual there's plenty of card tricks and articles with some opinions that might cause some people's teeth to grate.

For those that didn't know, The LaBaL has its own Facebook page:
The LabaL Facebook page

EMC Day 2 And A Dead PC

2011-07-11T00:19:00.000+01:00

After enjoying the second day of the Essential Magic Conference online live broadcast, I shut down my PC only to hear it make an unpleasant noise and then it was no more – the poor thing ceased to work after many years of reliability. Unfortunately, a new PC was not in place until Sunday afternoon; and so, I missed the third day of the EMC.

All is not lost however, for those that subscribed to the conference, the videos of each day’s broadcast is being made available on the EMC website in the members’ area. I can at least see the final three sessions that I missed.

A less immediate solution to my PC’s demise is that it contains many files relating to books to be published or reprinted. They will be retrieved from the hard drive but the conversion to the more up-to-date 64 bit software may mean some re-editing and so on. I’m not sure what kind of delays this is going to cause in my work. It’s a case of get on with it and find out.

Essential Magic Conference Day One

2011-07-08T11:09:00.000+01:00

Day One consisted of Sessions 1, 2 and 3; although there were technical difficulties at the beginning, the quality of Day One's EMC was on par with last year's. The majority of the speakers were brilliant; some were excellent; a few need more experience.

All in all, it was very enjoyable. For me, those who stood out above the rest for performance were Akira Fujii, Lu Chen, Dani DaOrtiz and Rene Lavand; the latter deservedly received a standing ovation from the other speakers. The talks given by Rudy Coby, Apollo Robbins, Topas and Stan Allen were, as one of the other speakers phrased it on the live chat feed that accompanies each live broadcast, "pure gold."

I'm looking forward to the Second Day which begins at 3pm today (GMT).

Paul Daniels Interview in Mystery Magazine

2011-07-07T12:31:00.001+01:00

In the latest issue of Mystery Magazine, there is an interesting interview with Paul Daniels (and I'm not saying that because I was the interviewer). The magazine, as ever, has plenty of news from the UK magic scene, including reports on recent conventions.
The magazine, if you're not already a subscriber, is available as a download or in printed format from
http://www.themysterymagazine.com/

Penn Jillette Talks About John Archer and Ben Earl

2011-07-05T10:12:00.000+01:00

Penn, of ITV's Penn & Teller: Fool Us, talks about John Archer and Ben Earl on his video blog Penn Point. John Archer is deservedly praised by Penn.

Penn & Teller: Fool Us

2011-07-03T14:00:00.002+01:00

The third episode of Penn & Teller: Fool Us has been aired and so far all three episodes have been enjoyable. Having said that, a very interesting viewpoint on the format of the show has been expressed by magician Rob James. It's a thought provoking piece and here is the link to it:

http://rob-james.com/foolus.html

The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells

2011-06-29T15:39:00.000+01:00

The short story The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells
read by Roy Trumbull

This recording is used here under the
Creative Commons License: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative
Works 3.0 United States

The recording is streamed from IA and embedded as per their permissions.
I hope you enjoy it!

Essential Magic Conference 7th, 8th & 9th of July 2011

2011-06-25T11:13:00.001+01:00

The Essential Magic Conference is less than two weeks away. I thought that last year's conference was more than worth the fee - especially as the DVD set (free to that year's subscribers) for the 2010 conference now sells at a higher price than the subscription fee.

Last year's conference was thought provoking and full of good debates, strong magical performances and lectures. There's an exciting line up of speakers for 2011 including Rene Lavand, Paul Daniels, David Berglas, David Copperfield, Max Maven and others. There were some extra freebies last year and this year's freebie is volume one of Opus Magazine. The publishers/editors of Opus, JJ and Chris Power, are attending the conference and presenting a talk on the magazine.

The subscription fee for the three day online conference is on par with some one day magic conventions here in the UK and far less than the cost of any three day magic convention here or anywhere else. No travel fees, no hotel fees - just switch on your computer, log in to the site and watch the conference live.

For more information and details on all the speakers visit:

http://essentialmagicconference.com/

The Magician by Ingmar Bergman

2011-05-27T13:41:00.006+01:00

Compared to some of his other films The Magician (the original Swedish title is Ansiktet) is not his best in terms of film as art but it is, as many critics have written, one of his most accessible for audiences in terms of plot and meaning. I am unable to give any details of the plot here without ruining the enjoyment of a film which is an act of legerdemain in itself, as it reveals secrets beneath secrets.

What can be said is that some research must have been done in writing the film. The different attitudes of the people towards magicians of the period within which the story takes place is spot on – and central to the plot. The only real factual blunder is a portrayal of one illusion that probably didn't exist at that time.

When someone has seen the film, there is plenty to talk about but to do so with someone who hasn't seen the film is just being a spoil sport; so although I'm itching to discuss certain topics in the film, in fairness I won’t.

The above image shows the Tartan DVD (easily found second hand); there are also others, including a new one on Blu-Ray.

Books by Al Smith

2011-05-12T11:02:00.000+01:00

I've received a number of inquiries recently about books by Al Smith. It's the same question and so I might as well post the answer here. I've been asked which books by Al do I stock. I only stock one and that is Card Stalking. For all other titles, and inquiries about his magic magazine The LaBaL, you should ask Al directly by contacting him at:

albertesmith@myway.com

To purchase a copy of Card Stalking you can find it on places like Ebay or on my website. If you buy it through my website, then postage is free to anywhere in the world. All other sites charge postage and packaging.

A selection of books by Al Smith:

John Archer Interview

2011-05-04T17:22:00.002+01:00

In April's issue of Mystery Magazine you will find an interview - by Walt Lees and myself - of one of the winners of Penn and Teller: Fool Us, John Archer.

Click on the link below for more details.

http://www.themysterymagazine.com/

Derren Brown’s Faith Healers

2011-04-29T12:55:00.000+01:00

The recent Derren Brown special on Faith Healers was an interesting dip into the murky world of those who exploit people who have religious faith. Anyone who was interested in the program can follow it up by reading James Randi’s book The Faith Healers, published by Prometheus Books. The book gives a history of the subject and an analytical survey of faith healing in modern America.

Something to watch for in the near future is a Channel 5 program called Impossible hosted by Philip Escoffey. The show will be in a reality TV/game show format apparently. This continues the trend that has been present for some time now. BBC’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, BBC’s The Magicians and ITV’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us have all had a reality TV/rise to the challenge aspect to the them. The Derren Brown special on Faith Healers was just that, pushing Nathan, sometimes unwillingly, through his paces to meet the aim set by Brown. The last Derren Brown series, in which people were trained/mentored to tackle challenges, from escapology to being a quiz whiz, is another example.

I, for one, hope this trend fades. It detracts from the real point of interest which is magic and mentalism. I believe that the choice to do that, unfortunately, lies in the hands of those that hold the purse strings to make any of these programs and not with the performers.

New Publication Dates

2011-04-13T14:27:00.001+01:00

These are the new publication dates for these books:

The Art of Iugling by S.R. - 31st May 2011

Hocus Pocus Junior - 1st of July 2011

The Persians by Aeschylus - 1st of August 2011

Pre-orders will be fulfilled first on all titles.

An update on the previous blog entry:
Well, looking into one situation led to discovering other problems elsewhere that have to be dealt with that made the first one look insignificant. But solutions have been provided and it's all being dealt with bit by bit. Phew! A big thank you to Amazon and others for their help. That's all that can be said for now.

Beware A Book Scam

2011-02-28T16:08:00.001Z

It was brought to my attention that there is a bookseller selling copies of my Thomas Hill book on Amazon.com and other Amazon sites. The seller claims that they are new copies. I would just like to make it clear that I have never heard of this bookseller before and I have no record of supplying them with any copies of the book. This has been explained to Amazon who is now investigating if the seller is falsely describing second hand copies as new or is selling a pirate edition of the book.

Part of the scam is the greatly inflated price of the book. The seller is charging $51.97 when the retail price is actually $16.50.

The seller has a website where it is claimed that they sell unusual titles on behalf of publishers; so I’ll just repeat, as a publisher, I’ve never heard of this bookseller before.

Until it is discovered who is behind the anonymous website, the books that were to be published this month and in March will now be delayed. It’s along shot that the book is being pirated but until it is confirmed it is not I don’t want to risk two more potentially being treated the same.

Website Working Again

2011-02-25T17:15:00.000Z

The webhost techno boffins sorted out the problems with my webiste. I wasn't even able to access the website emails for a while.
Hopefully, everything should be working normally. Those who have sent messages using the contact form on the contact page or direclty to the website email address will now start to receive replies. I'd like to thank Beatrice Thomas for dealing with most of the website matters; she will be doing so from now on in order to allow me to get on with other things.

Web Host Problems

2011-02-11T17:03:00.000Z

Just to let people know that my web host is having technical problems (whatever that means) regarding some of the websites it hosts, including mine. For that reason, while they sort out whatever the problem is, my web site will be unavailable at times. I don't know how long they will take. Hopefully not too long.

R. Paul Wilson on BBC's The Magicians

2011-01-21T14:09:00.000Z

Having seen three episodes of The Magicians I've warmed to the show. The second two episodes were much better than the first. I suggested in an earlier blog that making such a series from a magic perspective isn't easy and one of the consultant producers, R. Paul Wilson, recently gave an interview regarding the making of the series and the difficulties involved in making it. He explains why it was a "massive challenge."

Here is the link to the audio interview:

http://www.linkingpage.com/magicnewsfeed/2011/1/18/mnw-202-r-paul-wilson.html

Derren Brown in Big Ma; also, don’t blame The Magicians.

2011-01-07T16:23:00.001Z

“And now, Derren Brown in Big Ma.” Or at least that is what it sounded like as the television announcer introduced the broadcast of Derren Brown’s stage show Enigma. I enjoyed the show very much; so did others I’ve spoken to about it. The quality of the show compared to Brown’s last television special (a man being made more assertive) demonstrates a significant difference to be noted. The Derren Brown television programs have been made by a production company that has undergone a change which, I believe, has brought about that difference. The production company, Objective Productions, was sold a few years back. It was owned by Michael Vine and Andrew O'Connor, two men with a worthy background in magic; it is now in corporate hands that appear to lack that necessary background.

This might not seem a big deal. However, ask anyone who worked with the late Ali Bongo on a magic television show and they’ll repeat the often repeated praise of how invaluable he was during production. When the non-magic types would want to follow standards suitable for non-magical performances, Ali Bongo would step in and do his best to get them to understand that by doing that they were taking the magic out of the magic. There’s more than one anecdote about the usually calm and shy Ali Bongo being incensed into a temper and telling producers “You can’t cut from one camera to another now. It’ll make it look like it’s just a camera trick!”

With non-magic types now running the shop at Objective Productions, it’s difficult to not consider the possibility that their input led to a special that was poorly received by some viewers and was subject to harsh reviews in some magic magazines. The far superior Enigma, however, is the result of Derren Brown and Andy Nyman being left to their own devices and creating precisely what they wanted to create.

That kind of non-magic influence on a television magic show can, I believe, been seen on BBC’s The Magicians. The first episode has not been warmly met by some critics. I’m withholding judgement until I’ve seen more episodes. There were more magicians working backstage on that program than appeared on screen but it seems, judging by the editing, that the non-magic types had the final word and so I say don’t blame the magicians for any sense of dissatisfaction experienced during that episode.

Tonight we have Penn & Teller: Fool Us on ITV1. Ali Cook has published an interesting blog regarding his appearance in the show http://alicook.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/penn-and-teller-fool-us-friday-7th-jan-900pm-itv1/

Tomorrow is the second episode of The Magicians and later there is the Derren Brown evening on Channel 4. I don’t recall seeing that much magic in one week for a very long time. I think it was way back in the 1990s when the BBC had a magic at the BBC week; just before magic disappeared from the BBC schedules completely.

The Magicians Website

2010-12-21T15:56:00.000Z

The BBC website for the new magic series The Magicians is now live and can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcone/magicians/

I'm looking forward to seeing this series.

This is, as far as I know, my last blog entry for 2010 so Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays to everyone!

ITV to bring out rival magic show to the BBC's 'The Magicians'

2010-11-30T13:17:00.000Z

It's only been a short while since the BBC announced they are to make a new magic series The Magicians, in which magicians will compete against each other. Well, ITV1 has announced they are to make a similar series called Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Another coincidental similarity is that both series are being hosted by comedy presenters. Lenny Henry will host The Magicians and Jonathan Ross will host Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Which series will be the better? I hope they're both good. I hope this is the beginning of a comeback for magic on both channels. I can only wait and see.

Gambit Magazine

2010-11-10T17:53:00.000Z

The second issue of Benjamin Earl’s magazine Gambit is now available. The magazine has changed slightly from the first issue. I still have some reservations about the use of space in such a slim magazine and feel more could be put into it. To be fair to Earl, the magazine is still a work in progress and Earl is obviously working towards improving it with each issue (and succeeding). I think the premise of the magazine, which is to concentrate on card magic, is an excellent one and I hope it flourishes (no pun intended regards card handling) and I am definitely going to keep it on my reading list. The original Gambit website has closed down and now the magazine is available through Earl’s website.

http://www.benjaminearl.com/gambit-magazine/

This is an opportunity to remind you of other magic magazines available in the UK.

Mystery Magazine edited by Walt Lees and published by Paul Cook’s Magic Books By Post.

http://www.themysterymagazine.com/

Magicseen published by Mark Leveridge.

http://www.magicseen.co.uk/

The LaBaL published by Al Smith. Al doesn’t have a website for The LaBaL. To inquire about subscriptions please email Al on albertesmith@myway.com

Finally, there is The Crimp by Jerry Sadowitz. For details on that, please go to the Magicians Only section on his website.

http://www.jerrysadowitz.com/

Translator Traitor.

2010-10-29T15:23:00.000+01:00

There’s an old proverb that goes ‘translator traitor.’ It refers to the fact that even the best of translations can misrepresent the meaning of the original. It has also been applied to translations where over enthusiastic liberties have been taken to deliberately misrepresent the meaning of the original. That sounds a pretty awful thing to do but when it happens, the majority of the time the translator’s intention was not malicious in any way – merely very poorly thought through.

One example is the translation of the works of Chuang Tzu by Herbert A. Giles. He was an exemplary scholar and a talented translator. The setback was that he allowed his ardent Christian faith to sometimes cloud his judgement. That’s not a criticism of Christianity; it’s a criticism of Giles. His translation of Chuang Tzu is very readable and enjoyable. The trouble is that he betrays the original text and its meaning by presenting the writings of the Taoist as being essentially Christian in places, even though they were written hundreds of years before Christianity was created. He goes so far as to include God, God with a capital G, God of the Old and New Testament, in the text of Chuang Tzu despite the fact that God is never mentioned once in the original book. Giles even goes so far as to abandon the real title of one chapter and replace it with The Tao of God.

Giles’ choices involved a decision to not translate at times and to fictionalize a part of the text. He was not alone in this ‘translator traitor’ activity. One of the more creative translators, who is now ironically praised for his creativity in doing it, was Edward Fitzgerald who rewrote more than translated the text in regards to his version of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. A more modern offender, more liable to cause offence, was J. B. Phillips. He was a scholar who knew Classical Greek and translated the New Testament. He too allowed his personal view of Christianity, his interpretation of it, to interfere with writing a truly accurate translation: he rewrote parts of the New Testament that personally offended him. Not big parts; merely little parts; not many parts; but nevertheless he rewrote what he believed to be Holy Writ. He was, of course, taken up on it by other scholars.

An example is the raising of Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus asks to see the body of Lazarus the reply is a concern about the smell of a body that has been decomposing for some days – Jesus ignores that and repeats his request. For Phillips, the idea that the odour of putrefaction should dare to enter the Holy nostrils of Christ so offended him that he rewrote the brief passage rather than provide a true translation of it. I’m not mocking Phillips in describing his reasoning that way because that is how he described it himself when he tried to defend his ‘translation.’ Bizarrely, he didn’t seem to understand the fuss about his occasional creativity regards translating the New Testament and his translation is still available, completely uncorrected, and is sometimes described as a paraphrasing of the text rather than a translation.

The reason for these examples is to show that no area of translation - be it religious, historical, philosophical or whatever - is free from the phenomena of Translator Traitor. Also, that such behaviour is not always deliberately mischievous. The intention, not thought through, is usually well meaning.

That brings me to suggesting to those that can that they should read and compare Professor Hoffmann’s translation of Robert Houdin’s Secrets of Conjuring and the original French text. Even if your French is abysmal, it becomes apparent that Hoffmann (Angelo John Lewis) applied a lot of effort in tinkering with the text. There are footnotes where he admits as much but they hardly touch on the amount changes he made. In his preface, Hoffmann writes regarding his translation “I have aimed at substantial rather than absolute fidelity” and he calls his preface the Editor’s Preface and not the Translator’s Preface. All in all, I don’t criticise Hoffmann for his translation but for those interested in the history of magic I do recommend taking time to compare the texts. On one hand, Hoffmann did the editorial job that Robert Houdin’s original (completely uncritical and lazy) publishers should have done and so the text gained something. On the other hand, the particular tone of Robert Houdin’s character expressed in his text is lost and replaced by that of Hoffmann. If you compare Hoffmann’s Modern Magic with his translation of The Secrets of Conjuring it is evident that the author’s ‘voice’ and ‘character’ are one and the same. Robert Houdin’s character in the original text is less formal than Hoffmann; his forms of expression reflect the French society he grew up in and not Hoffmann’s British Victorian stuffed shirt society.

The differences in Robert Houdin’s text and that of Hoffmann are, thankfully, not as dramatic as the examples given regarding Giles, Fitzgerald and Phillips. Nevertheless, it truly is worth a look.

La Belle et la bête by Jean Cocteau

2010-10-14T17:29:00.001+01:00

When Jean Cocteau went to make films he took with him the traditions and methods of the theatre of his time. This is best seen in his film La Belle et la bête (Beauty and the Beast). The film, while inexplicably overlooked by modern audiences, has been very influential in film making since it's release in 1946.

Many film makers have copied, sorry, included an homage in their films of the imagery to be seen in La Belle et la bête. The strongest imitator has been the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, so much so that film historian Sir Christopher Frayling was expecting a note of credit at the end of the Disney film - but there was none to be seen.

All sorts of film genres have imitated, sorry, paid homage to Cocteau's imagery in this film. Even horrors films have perhaps over exploited, sorry, paid homage to one particular scene from La Belle et la bête. It the part of the film when Belle has arrived at Bête's house. Her arrival and exploration of the house is laden with visual beauty and mystery. One shot is the very scene that Cocteau presented to the film backer as a drawing and based that drawing alone Cocteau received the money to make the film. Belle is moving down a corridor lined with doors and light gossamer like curtains which billow in a breeze.

Below is a picture from the film Dracula 2000 with the leading lady in a similar corridor. You may have seen many other moments like this in other horror films.

Putting aside the topic of paying homage to the imagery of Cocteau, the film has moments that owe a debt of gratitude (as do all film makers) to the theatrical and cinematic technical innovations of George Méliès - whom Cocteau was familiar with because of his theatre work. Cocteau seems to have relished the use of these and ingeniously created his own to work along side them. By modern special effect standards the film appears to show it's age and yet it is that quality that now, as Sir Christopher Frayling states in his commentary, makes the film even more fairy tale like or myth like in it's look. Some of what Cocteau did could be reproduced now in a modern theatre stage version of La Belle et la bête without any change to the methods. Other things, such as moments of graceful slow motion done by using high speed cameras, firmly lock the film into being a cinematic experience.

The tentative connection to George Méliès and the theatre methods used in the film make the film of interest to those interested in the history of magic and it's influences.

One last point is something I noticed entirely by chance. The actor playing Ludovic, Belle's brother, is a doppelganger for art critic Andrew Graham Dixon.

[Copyright of the photographs belongs to the film makers and the BBC.]

A Spell Of Cards & Another Spell of Cards by Al Smith

2010-10-11T14:18:00.002+01:00

An old proverb says “As many heads, as many opinions.” It’s an apt proverb to apply to the many different types of card tricks. For every magician that likes one type of card trick, another magician will dislike that type. Nevertheless, almost every category of card trick survives over time because of the magicians who do like them and part of that survival is the improvements and innovations created by them.

Al Smith’s two books are mostly, note the word mostly is used and not exclusively, about spelling tricks. As a writer who seems to never miss a good opportunity to employ double meanings, Al’s use of the word ‘spell’ in the titles refer to time spent with cards as much as the main type of card effects explained. So be assured that not every card effect in the books is a spelling one.

Just as with his book, Round the Square, these two books lead the reader through the principles behind the various kinds of spelling tricks in order to provide the reader with the ability to create his or her own card effects. Also, just as in Round the Square, Al puts in plenty of thought regarding the performance of each effect and not simply explaining how the effect works. And once again, where appropriate, Al provides the genealogy of an effect giving deserved credit to other magicians.

For anyone wondering about the worth of spelling tricks, you should give pause to the thought that very few of the classic tomes on card magic don’t include such card effects and The Encyclopaedia of Card Magic devotes a whole chapter to the subject. In the latest issue of The LaBaL, professional card magician and author Paul Gordon contributed a humdinger of a spelling effect called Standard Bikes and a variation on it called Standard Bikes With Aces.

For details on how to purchase copies of A Spell of Cards or Another Spell of Cards please contact Al Smith by emailing albertesmith@myway.com

The Magicians, a new television series

2010-09-23T16:35:00.002+01:00

Twitter was a-buzz today with news of the BBC bringing a new magic show to prime time television in the New Year. R. Paul Wilson and Alexis Conran, of The Real Hustle, will be the magical brains behind the program whilst other magicians appear in the program. The program will be called The Magicians; there have been some emails asking if (because of the name) the series connects in any way with my art exhibition Magicians which begins on October 31st of this year – no, there is no connection whatsoever. There will be an aspect of competition in the series. For more details see the BBC press release by clicking on the link below.

The Magicians

I've Loved You So Long (on DVD)

2010-09-20T23:20:00.001+01:00

These days, it’s rare to find a film which puts any trust in the intelligence of the audience. Even the most well intentioned real life dramas spend a lot of screen time directly explaining, in dialogue between characters, every step of the story in case the audience are not able to follow the plot. It’s a shame that this has become such a prevalent trend. It shows a lack of faith from the film industry towards their potential customers. It also means that dramas of high quality, such as I’ve Loved You So Long, are rare.

I’ve Loved You So Long puts trust in the audience’s ability to pull together the details to understand the film as the stories unfolds. Information on the underlying family mystery is presented to us not merely through the usual, overdone, method of dialogue but also through visual and emotional means. Film is a visual medium after all and to not make full use of that is to undermine the medium itself.

Kristin Scott Thomas is excellent in her role of Juliet. We learn a lot about her character through what she doesn’t say, refuses to say at times, and expresses in silent but emotional reaction to the others around her. Books and reading are made into themes, or recurring symbols, in the film. Something which is appropriate since the film is like a visual novel, using literary techniques of a novel to gently expound the inner life of the central characters. I’ve Loved You So Long therefore touches our emotions in a subtle but very strong way and the ending becomes deeply emotional.

To say any more would be to start to give away the plot. I can’t recommend this DVD enough. It’s probably Kristin Scott Thomas’ best film role to date.

[Photograph copyright by the film makers].

Cards On The Table by Jerry Sadowitz

2010-09-16T16:31:00.000+01:00

Just a brief note on the excellent book Cards On The Table by Jerry Sadowitz. I’ve noticed copies of this book on sale on sites such as Ebay; the price tends to be £25 to £60. There is no need to pay such a high price. The book is still in print and available from the publisher Martin Breese at £15.

This is not a book for amateurs but the effort put into learning the tricks is well worth it; for example, Name a Card Triumph and Ambitious Spots are both rewarding tricks to learn that never fail to amaze spectators.

Update Regarding My Website

2010-09-15T16:16:00.000+01:00

Well, my website has been cleansed of the naughty spambot software that was attacking it and creating fake web pages full of spam. My lenghthy and daily chore of deleting huge numbers of files is now thankfully at an end. My webhost did their job well and by the end of next week I’ll be able to restore any missing files that are meant to be there.

Round the Square

2010-09-10T17:14:00.000+01:00

Magic squares have a reputation of being the least appealing form of magic because there is a mathematical principle seen to be involved. To be honest, when I have read ideas for magic squares the information given usually does live up to a promise of dullness. The problem tends to be a complete lack of regard for performance. The best card trick in the world becomes lack lustre when thought and preparation regarding performance is missing.

Al Smith’s book, Round the Square, focuses on the very need - the very aspect of how to incorporate a magic square into a performance. The end result is magic. It can be presented as mentalism, psychic phenomena, an experiment in superhuman mental agility or plain old magic. In some of the tricks, any aspect of calculation appears to be hindered or impossible on the part of the magician and yet the magician succeeds in bringing about a magical conclusion. Al Smith cleverly creates a situation where the audience believes that what has happened involves far more than any mere mathematical principle and calculation. And they would be right. We all know that if you choose any line of numbers in a magic square it will add up to the same number on that magic square. But how is it possible for the magician to predict, in an envelope sealed before the performance, what that number will be when it is a volunteer randomly choosing the numbers that will fill a grid to form a magic square? After all, how can a magician know what numbers will be chosen prior to the trick being performed?

The book does not simply list and describe tricks; it teaches the principles involved, step by step, before explaining tricks such as Origeightor which received a lot of attention back in 1992 when Al Smith published it in Abra and Paul Daniels adapted it for use in one of his television shows. After explaining Origeightor Smith improves on it and then goes through many of what are seen as the weaknesses of magic squares and provides easy, workable solutions to aid performance. If you want to add a different form of mental magic to your repertoire then Smith’s book is more than worth a look. It will inspire your own ideas and improvements. For those who are interested, details on how to buy a copy can be obtained by emailing albertesmith@myway.com

Back To The Blog

2010-09-06T23:43:00.000+01:00

I have been neglecting my blog for some time; this has simply been down to being involved in others things to the extent that I had no time to post any blog entries. That does not mean that I do not have blog entries ready and waiting to be posted. They will begin to appear this week and hopefully I will be back to posting two entries or so a week. I hope to include more reviews of books because the response to those type of posts have been good so far.

There are various bits of news to relate but I will leave that for another post. The only titbit of information I will give here is that my website has finally (as all websites do at some point) become victim to spam hackers. I spent an evening deleting files that were generating themselves in my webhosting account. They have stop appearing for the moment but are likely to reappear. I am relying on my webhost to sort out the problem.

I can only wait and see.

J. C. Wagner

2010-08-16T18:08:00.001+01:00

J. C. Wagner died last night. To read more about him, please click on the link to view the blog of R. Paul Wilson.
http://machinebreak.blogspot.com/2010/08/farewell-jc-wagner.html

DEALING WITH MAGIC: The Rise & Fall of The Supreme Magic Company

2010-08-02T12:09:00.000+01:00

Every now and then on magic websites or in magazines you’ll read the sales pitch that a particular book is the most important thing to have happened in magic that year or whatever. Whether or not such products live up to that description I don’t know but I do know that this book by Ian Adair is an important event for anyone interested in the history of British magic.

Adair modestly deprecates his own effort at autobiography at the start of the book by stating “In writing this book, I didn’t set out to win any literary prizes, nor will I expect grand reviews for my writing skills.” Actually, his book should receive grand reviews for him having at least written and made generally available some form of memoir about contemporary magic in the UK whereas many, whose magical careers have included writing, have not.

It’s never easy for someone to write a memoir on a particular form of career where others in that field are inevitably mentioned. It immediately prompts responses from readers with details that may aid, support or contradict the information given - sometimes in an unkind way. And so it takes a brave person to put themselves into such an arena, especially if it includes a controversial topic such as the demise of The Supreme Magic Company. But that is a process which historians rely on. Sometimes the people who won’t normally put pen to paper on the subject of a period in their life suddenly do in response to someone’s autobiography.

Adair’s autobiography is a very candid one. He writes of his successes, which is natural considering his successful career in magic, but he also includes his personal failures and does so without any trace of self-pity or excuse-making.

The first half of the book is Adair’s autobiography from childhood to present day. The second half of the book consists of mini-essays or memoirs of people and events. That may seem to be a strange thing to do but it has allowed Adair to give space for detailed information on specific topics about The Supreme Magic Company and even his own method of creating magic tricks.

The book is available directly from Ian Adair; for inquiries please email magicianadair@hotmail.co.uk

Card Stalking by Al Smith

2010-07-26T13:12:00.000+01:00

Every now and then, a modest looking publication comes along that deserves a lot of attention. Card Stalking by Al Smith is one of those books. It is not a book for absolute beginners; it is one from which professional magicians can obtain some new card tricks for their working repertoire.

While every trick is original, Smith gives the history for a type of trick if there are earlier similar versions. Full acknowledgment is noted where known. To his credit, Al Smith thereby lists the shoulders of the giants he is standing on in having created some of these tricks rather than take the full glory for himself (which seems to be the trend these days).

Several tricks have motivated me into practising some card sleights which I have not used in a long time and to be honest, it reminded me of how useful they are. Most of the tricks have a comment section at the end which sometimes provides useful alternative methods for performing a trick.

If you wish to know more then please click here to see Al Smith’s flyer for the book. To make inquiries you can email Al Smith directly at albertesmith@myway.com.

Sand Sculpture Festival at Weston-super-Mare

2010-06-17T15:41:00.001+01:00

The sand sculpture festival at Weston runs from the 22nd of May to the 5th of September. Below is a video of a selection of photos I took of some of the sculptures. It isn't free to get in but thankfully it's worth the small fee they charge. For more details go to www.westonsandsculpture.co.uk/

Wig On and Wig Off.

2010-06-04T10:54:00.000+01:00

Whenever I watch Heston Blumenthal on television, there's been something about him that seems familiar. When I realised what it was, I had to put together the two pictures below. I wonder if Fabio can cook?

Martin Gardner dies at the age of ninety-five

2010-05-24T10:00:00.001+01:00

I have just heard that Martin Gardner has died; he was ninety-five years old. Most of the obituaries and articles that have suddenly appeared announcing his death present him as a mathematician and puzzle master. As yet, I’ve haven’t found any that speak of him being a creative and talented magician. When he wasn’t writing directly about magic, the subject of magic still permeated most of his other writings.

Gardner knew such luminaries as Dai Vernon and Faucett Ross and was a friend to other creative card men, such as Bill Simon. One of Gardner’s books, The Encyclopaedia of Impromptu Magic, is highly regarded; Paul Daniels and other professional magicians have praised it and remarked on its usefulness in providing material for ‘on the spur of the moment’ publicity opportunities.

So while many of the articles describe Gardner as a polymath in terms of mathematics, philosophy, literature and other subjects – let’s also remember that he was just as influential in the world of magic, and as in all the subjects he wrote about, stimulated curiosity and intelligence regarding it.

Answer to 'Who Is It?' Competition Number 3

2010-05-19T17:39:00.000+01:00

To my surprise, a lot of people quickly provided the correct answer. From these correct answers a name was randomly chosen 'out of a hat' and a large bar of chocolate is on it's way to Janis.

The answer is R. Paul Wilson, one of the stars of BBC's The Real Hustle. In the film Shade, he plays Mr. Andrews and is seen only briefly. The film is full of references to card magic (see the review in the latest issue of The LaBaL for full details) and begins and ends with a shot of a pair of hands displaying sleight of hand with playing cards. The film itself is not award winning material but worth a look for people with an interest in the history of card magic for a game of 'spot the reference' in terms of character's names, etc.

Who Is It? Competition number 3

2010-05-14T12:05:00.000+01:00

I've decided to make this a difficult one. No picture clue this time; it's all down to your knowledge of British television magicians. He appeared, fleetingly but instantly recognizable, in the film Shade - which is about card players and con men. His name didn't appear in the end credits. If any British magician was going to advise on and appear in this type of film, it would be him. Those are all the clues that you are going to get. A real toughy, this one.

On other matters, I haven't commented on the election because there has been an overdose of the subject in every form of media. Now that we finally know the result here is my only comment:

Welcome to Britain's new sitcom: Dick and Dom in Da House.

Let's hope we laugh more than we cry.
[Photograph the property of Getty]

Walter Booth, Magician and Filmmaker.

2010-04-30T14:36:00.003+01:00

In any of the popular histories of magic there is usually a slight detour into the era of silent films. The French filmmaker Georges Méliès is usually the example cited. A British equivalent to Méliès was Walter Booth. Lamentably, despite his creative contribution to film making he is possibly one of the most unappreciated and overlooked filmmakers of early British cinema.

Booth was born in 1869. He was a porcelain painter and an amateur magician. At some point, he joined Maskelyne and co. at The Egyptian Hall. Some time after that Booth joined the filmmaker R. W. Paul. I don’t know how that came about. It may have been because J. N. Maskelyne and R. W. Paul were friends and therefore Booth would have had the opportunity to meet Paul.

Booth brought a good deal of inspiration to R. W. Paul’s films. Trick photography and themes of magic and magic related topics became subjects of their silent films. Paul and Booth seemed to have shared Maskelyne’s scepticism towards Spiritualism and so there are a couple of humorous films on that, one of which includes an expose of the kinds of tricks that might be used at a fake séance.

Booth moved to several other film companies after leaving Paul’s firm. I do not know of any one DVD that brings together all of Booth’s existing films; however, the British Film Institute released the collected films of R. W. Paul (depending on the outlet where you buy a copy, prices can vary from £6 to £20). For some reason, after Paul left the film industry he burned all his negatives; this collection by the BFI is pieced together from many different sources and many of the short films consist only of fragments. Nevertheless, it is about two hours and twenty minutes long, which consists of sixty-two short films, and the commentary by Professor Ian Christie does discuss Booth during appropriate films which were written and directed by Booth. Booth made about thirty-five films and fifteen are on this DVD. They are not all magic related but his knowledge of stage work, theatre acts of his day and of the trick photography of Méliès is apparent in these films.

In 1915, Booth went into advertising and little is known of his career from that point. We do know the date of his death, 1938.

Conclusions to 3D Tests

2010-04-26T16:00:00.000+01:00

The first thing to do is to provide some information which will answer the questions I have been sent.

The most popular format for 3D pictures, without using special glasses or viewers, is the one that uses the cross eyed technique. This sounds a bit odd but bear in mind that the Magic Eye 3D images that were once so popular relied on people going slightly boss-eyed; so it's not unusual for the viewer to develop a knack of doing either. There came a point where the cross eyed method became more preferable, perhaps because it was easier to learn. Way back when, books like Magic 3D by Tom Johnstone discussed how to create the images and may have been the first to use the phrase 'photographic freeviewing' to describe viewing 3D photos without special glasses. The principles involved were partially used in other books such as Boris Vallejo's 3D Magic mixed Magic Eye images with 3D renderings of Vallejo's fantasy artwork. Both books introduced the cross eyed method on some of the images as an alternative to Magic Eye boss-eyed technique.

In some ways the crossed eyed method harks back the Victorian stereoscope viewers. On these the double image of a scene used what is now known as the 'parallel' method. The image for the left eye was on the the left and the image for the right eye was on the right. The cross eyed method has the image for the right eye on the left and the image for the left eye on the right. That is about the only difference.

The images used to be created by one method; there were two cameras, not more than six centimetres apart (to approximate the view of a pair of human eyes), and each take a photograph of the same scene at the same moment. When the photographs are placed or printed side by side they can be viewed by either the parallel or cross-eyed method as 3D images.

Computer technology eventually had a say in the matter and various methods were thought of to take a single photograph and alter it, pixel by pixel if need be, to create a second photograph which, when placed next to the original, would create the required 3D effect when viewed cross eyed or through a stereoscopic viewer.

Hopefully, that is enough dull tech stuff to satisfy the curious.

The results of the software I have been testing is that only the double images created for the cross eyed method are of any worth; even then I still have to correct each image for anomalies. The other 3D images it can produce, such as anaglyph (which require the red/blue lenses on 3D viewing glasses) are abysmal.

Below is a 3D image, for the cross eyed method, of Veronica Lake. I do not know the name of the owner of the copyright of the original to give them credit. This image and the one in the previous blog entry were chosen by others as photos to test the software. Once again, the instructions are to click on the image to load a larger version; then look at the two images cross eyed until a new image appears between them - that image will appear tobe 3D.

Courtney Love in 3D

2010-04-22T14:09:00.002+01:00

I have been trying out various software for rendering photographs into 3D images with the aim of rendering some of my artwork into 3D format. So far, one seems to be better than any of the rest but I won't give it's name because I have not fully tested it.

I give an example of the 'crossed eyed' variety of 3D image below. It is made from a photograph that Courtney Love posted on Twitter today [copyright of the original photo belongs with Courtney Love]. To view the image as a 3D picture, click on the photo to load a larger version (it's a large file so be patient); then look at the double image and make yourself go crossed eyed until a third image appears in the centre. That image will be in 3D. Alternatively, if you are a collector of Victorian stereoscopic photos, get out your stereoscopic viewer and look at the photo through them.

The software also has the ability to create a single red/blue anaglyph, which has to be viewed with glasses that have red and blue lenses. If I get the hang of creating those images I might upload an example.

One final note, I've been ill recently and so have not been posting any blogs or updating my websites. Normal service will resume soon, along with another 'Who Is It?' competition.

Silhouettes

2010-04-09T14:03:00.005+01:00

Dai Vernon is a name that few people interested in magic will not know. Apart from his well acknowledged ability of sleight of hand, another talent he had was cutting silhouette portraits and this skill contributed to his income.

Silhouette portrait artists still exist and armed with scissors and paper, they attend weddings or other functions and can cut a portrait for someone in less than two minutes. Others work from a studio, cutting portraits in a matter of minutes for each client.

Here is a video of Denise Clark cutting a portrait.

Here is a video of Tim Arnold who has been a silhouette artist for over thirty years.

Silhouette artists can also be found in Britain; one example is The Roving Artist Ltd, a business employing more than one such artist.

[The videos are copyright by the named artists]

Classic Secrets of Magic

2010-04-07T17:51:00.000+01:00

This week I acquired Classic Secrets of Magic by Bruce Elliott.

As a writer Bruce Elliott had many faults. His ability varied on each work he wrote and the stories he wrote for The Shadow Magazine, when Walter Gibson would be on holiday, are considered the worst of all the Shadow stories in style and content. The phrase ‘Homer nods’, which refers to when a writer’s standard slips down to far below his or her best, can be applied to Elliott’s work with an unkind frequency. This would not be a big deal with the many magicians who write magazine articles about magic or pen their on book on the subject. They are magicians first and writers second. Elliott, however, was an author who wrote mystery fiction, science fiction and television screenplays. He was also one of the editors of the magic magazine The Phoenix. It is reasonable to expect a more consistent standard in his writing. To throw even more mud, he was published by main stream publishers who should have pointed out his lapses before they were published, providing Elliott with the opportunity to correct them.

So, with these faults, why are his magic books of any value? Quite simply, it’s the magic they contain. Once in a while, not too often to be a problem, his explanations can be as clear as mud but, usually, overall the magic is good quality. In this particular book Elliott’s few unclear moments are made even worse by the illustrations that accompany them. A lot of magic books in the past have ‘stylized’ or cartoon style artwork. This is usually not a problem except when sleight of hand is being illustrated. The unnamed artist (possibly Stanley Jaks) uses an unrealistic style where fingers appear to either be made of rubber and form strange contorted positions or the fingers are bizarrely long as if illustrating sleight of hand for orangutangs. A small number of the illustrations are just plain wrong in what they are supposed to depict and so it is best to rely on Elliott’s text.

Despite its faults, I like this book. It goes over some of the classics of magic and provides, what were then, up to date additions to their performance – as well as the handling of various tricks by (his then) contemporary magicians. The latter, of which I wish there were more, provides details about the acts of performers of that time and their personal ‘twists’ to some well known magic tricks.

Although I’ve criticised Elliott, don’t be put off reading his material. In the greater part of his writings he explains quality magic with an easily understood straightforwardness. The rare hiccup in meaning can be overcome with a little thought and the correct props at hand to follow his words.

Tragically, Elliott was only in his fifties when he died. He was hit by a taxi and the accident left him in a coma. He died about four months later.

This Only Works on One Day of the Year.

2010-04-01T15:17:00.000+01:00

Write down a three digit number. Each digit must be different. The difference between the first and last digit must be great than one. This is number ‘A’. Reverse the order of the digits of ‘A’ to create a second number. This is number ‘B’. Subtract the smaller number from the greater. You now have a third number, ‘C’. Reverse the digits of ‘C’ to create a fourth number, ‘D’. Add ‘C’ and ‘D’ together. The result is number ‘E’. Multiply ‘E’ by 1,000,000. The result is number ‘F’. Subtract 966,685,433 from ‘F’.

Substitute the digits with the appropriate letter from the following list: 1=L, 2=O, 3=F, 4=I, 5=R, 6=P, 7=A. Read the result backwards.

Answer to ‘Who Is It?’ [number two] And More.

2010-03-26T11:50:00.005Z

The answer to the ‘Who Is It?’ competition was Pete Firman. It was a nice easy one this time where almost everyone gave the right answer. A name was chosen at random from said people and a large bar of chocolate is now is now on its way to Alan.

In fairness to Mr. Firman, having subjected him to an optical illusion, it’s only fair to provide a link to his website and point out that he’s on tour at the moment and may be appearing at a theatre near you.

Also, to be fair to the victim of the ‘Who Is It?’ competition number one, here is a link to Max Somerset’s website.

There are two items of note that I’d like to recommend today. The first is an article by Romany, Diva of Magic. She wrote an interesting piece for the Secret Art Journal about how to build a small theatre in your own home.

The other item was twittered by R. Paul Wilson earlier this week. Madhi Gilbert is a young man of great will and determination. He has learned sleight of hand with playing cards, performing false shuffles and more. Why is this a big deal? Well, Madhi Gilbert has no hands. So I’m not entirely sure what you call sleight of hand when the magician doesn’t have any hands. Here is a link to his YouTube Channel where you can see him demonstrating his skill. I can only feel admiration for this young man, especially when people with two good hands give up on learning sleight of hand so easily because they regard it as too difficult.

One final bit of news is that the Bizarre Bath Comedy Walk begins its 2010 season next week on the 30th of March and its well worth attending. The Walk begins outside the Huntsman Inn on North Parade, every evening at 8pm.

Who Is It? [number 2]

2010-03-24T14:10:00.001Z

Here is another 'Who is it?' question. I made it this morning; it's based on the Dragon illusion which can be found on YouTube but I've changed it and added to it to make it resemble a famous British magician. Just to be clear, based on the number of Harry Potter related answers I received in the last 'Who is it?', this has nothing to do with Harry Potter or any other fictional magic character. This is a real person.

Bristol Day of Magic and 'Who Is It?' Answer

2010-03-19T11:16:00.000Z

This year the 50th Bristol Day of Magic is being held on Sunday the 9th of May at the Winter Gardens and Playhouse Theatre in Weston Super Mare. The performers include Geoffrey Durham, Michael Vincent, Rafael, Pilou, David Stone, Ian Keeble, Etienne Pradier, Ray Davenport, John Kimmons, Graham Jolley and Tony Stevens. During the day, at the Winter Gardens there will a one man show, lectures and close-up shows - as well as a Dealers Exhibition which includes some of the leading magical suppliers in the UK. In the evening the Gala Show takes place at the Playhouse Theatre. For more details and a downloadable application form, please visit the website of The Bristol Society of Magic. I attended the Bristol Day of Magic last year and I have to say it was absolutely fantastic and I fully recommend it to anyone interested in magic.

On Tuesday I posted a photo of Kong impersonating a famous British magician and asked who is it? The answer was Max Somerset (Kudos to Max Somerset, Sophie Evans, Paul Cooke and everyone else involved in The Sorcerer's Apprentice) and a large bar of chocolate is now on its way to the person who was the first to provide the correct name. For some reason, a lot of people said it was Dumbledore. What are you people like? Eh? If Kong and I get bored next week, we might post another photo of him doing another impersonation.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T09:56:00.002Z

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Who Is It?

2010-03-16T15:29:00.001Z

Here is a photograph of Kong. We were both feeling a bit bored with all the paperwork we've been doing and so we did this photograph.

Kong is impersonating a famous British magician. Who is it?

PETERBOROUGH MAGIC DAY

2010-03-15T14:11:00.000Z

The Peterborough Society of Magicians are holding their 21st Annual Sale, Exchange and Lecture Day on Sunday the 28th of March 2010. Doors open at 10.00am and close at 5.00pm and it is to be held at the Millfield Community Centre, Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 2PE. There will be lectures by Martin Cox and Christian Lee and a workshop by Al Smith, the editor The LaBaL. For more details, including on how to register, please visit the website of the Peterborough Society.

Sand Art

2010-03-04T14:20:00.000Z

Way back when, at a time when the BBC still had the good taste to include magic shows as part of their output, Paul Daniels would include unusual acts as part of his show; one of those acts was sand art.

Fortunately these days, the internet provides access to examples of sand art. Ilana Yahav is a world renowned sand artist appearing on television from Europe to the Far East. Of course due to British television companies' perverse stand, in complete contradiction to the rest of the world, to avoid broadcasting any act that might come under the label of variety we're unlikely to see her on British television. (Years ago, the then person in charge of the BBC who said that 'variety is dead' further demonstrated the 'accuracy' of his knowledge of public opinion by also saying that Doctor Who was unpopular and cancelled the show, apparently with the view that it would never be aired on our screens again. Hmm.)

Anyway, below is a video of Ilana's work entitled One Man's Dream. Ilana Yahav's website can be found at http://www.sandfantasy.com/

Patrick Page Memorial 1st March 2010

2010-02-24T16:05:00.001Z

I received an email today informing me that there will be a memorial for Patrick Page on Monday the 1st of March. For details please visit the Facebook page RIP Pat Page where you will find posts by Sharron Rose, who is assisting the Page family with arrangements. She provides details about the memorial, where to send flowers or how to make charitable donations to St. Christopher's Hospice in memory of Page. Anyone wishing to attend the memorial should contact Sharron Rose using the email address she provides on the Facebook page.

Patrick Page 17 March 1929 to 11 February 2010

2010-02-13T11:47:00.005Z

Patrick Page died on Thursday the 11th of February after a long illness. Tributes have begun to appear on the internet; Magicweek have a short article on him this week and social networks such as Facebook have had messages expressing the sadness felt at Page's death. Among those were messages by professional magicians such as John Lenahan, Ali Cook, John Archer, Pat Fallon, Paul Gordon and many others.
A Facebook group called RIP Pat Page has been created and the number of members quickly went into hundreds. Some of the members knew Page as a colleague or friend; others, like myself, were inspired by his writings. Like a lot of people interested in magic I bought, as a child, his book The Big Book of Magic (which I still have). If I remember correctly, at the time it caused a bit of a grumble amongst some magicians because it revealed so many secrets to the general public. Page, I am told, was a quick wit ready with a funny remark for all occasions. One Facebooker related the memory of Page being in an audience watching a magician pulling a seemingly endless amount of flowers and other items out of a box. Page dryly remarked "I hope he finds what he's looking for."

Ultra Balloon Modelling

2010-02-05T11:03:00.007Z

When it comes to balloon modelling the best I can do is make a little dog, teddy bear or squirrel. Even with those, it takes a lot of imagination to picture what they are supposed to be. Balloon modelling tends to be scoffed at by some people interested in magic but it is easy to forget how advanced balloon modelling has become. Here are two photographs of dresses made by balloon modelling. More pictures can be found by clicking here. [The photographs are copyright by the website given in the link.]

The Immaculate Card Magic of Walt Lees

2010-02-03T16:25:00.005Z

I’ve had a fortunate week for finding and buying second hand books. Among them was The Immaculate Card Magic of Walt Lees edited and photographed by Lewis Ganson. The modest appearance of this thin book doesn’t prepare the reader for the amazing quality of the card magic it contains. There are four card routines explained step by step, in great detail, and illustrated with photographs of each step. At the moment my favourite is the one called Four Blank Cards. The phrase ‘jawdropper’ gets used a lot these days to describe the effect some magic tricks have on an audience. Well the four routines in this book truly are jawdroppers. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a DVD out there somewhere based on the routines in this book.

Another book that is a treat is John Fisher’s Magic Book. This book was written for the general public and not for magicians, for this is a magic book with a difference. Rather than teaching the readers magic tricks to perform to their friends, this book is the magician. The reader simply chooses a trick, gathers together the list of props (household items) and then follows the instructions. A mini-miracle or puzzling swindle will then take place before their very eyes. Some of the tricks have now become familiar to us, many have not and some are variations on tricks we thought we knew all about. They are all very simple and intended merely for the entertainment of the reader. It’s the sort of thing that Lewis Carroll would have loved to have written.

John Fisher's book is, sadly, long out of print. Walt Lees' book is still in print and available from Magic Books By Post.

Chance Photography

2010-01-25T11:59:00.009Z

Sometimes with photography we don't realise just what we have really taken a picture of until we look at the print or until a friend points out what we have overlooked. There are plenty of examples on the internet and here are just some and one trick photograph.

Here we see how the photograph was actually shot.

[Unfortunately, no information was given about who the photographers were or about copyright. If you recognise your work feel free to contact me and I'll add a copyright notice]

The LaBaL: January Issue & Facebook Page

2010-01-21T16:52:00.009Z

Just a quick word about The LaBaL. The January issue is now available. It features reviews of Joshua Jay's Magic: The Complete Course, Magicseen Magazine, David Gemmell's Pasteboard Adventures, Lewis Jones' The Magic Gourmet and Paul Gordon's The Real Secrets of Card Magic. There are articles with opinions on Magic-Con, the public's perception of magic, The Duckworth Lewis Method, Noah Kelly and Stateside News from Paul Hallas. The issue includes a number of card tricks including by Paul Gordon (here are links to Paul’s website and blog) and Chris Wardle (website).

There is now a Facebook page for The LaBaL. It has only just been created and the number of members are therefore low; it would be appreciated if you could join the page, building up the numbers and also provide LaBaL’s publisher with feedback on each issue. It is important to note that The LaBaL is not a glossy magazine; it is a combination of a magazine and a fanzine (Al Smith, the publisher, combines the words and calls it a Magzine) of professional magic in the UK and is for magicians with a serious interest in magic. Details on how to buy a single issue or a full subscription can be obtained by visiting the Facebook page or by viewing the advertisement on the links page of my website.

[The above image is copyright by Al Smith and The LaBaL (c) 2010]

Mystery Magazine for January

2010-01-15T16:21:00.005Z

The third issue of the new British magic periodical, Mystery Magazine, was delivered this week. Editor Walt Lees and publisher Paul Cooke are certainly pulling out all the stops to provide us with an all colour extravaganza on a monthly basis.

This month the president of The Magic Circle, Jack Delvin, discusses his career and the present status of modern magic in a six page interview. There is also a lengthy review of the International Magic Convention which took place last November. If you have never attended a magic convention, then this article will provide you with a taste of what one is like.

The magazine is, for me, a welcome return of what was best about Abra (Abracadabra magazine) which closed down last year. Paul Cooke, owner of Magic Books By Post, has updated the Abra style of the magazine with an all colour format. The magazine even has its own website with an easy online method of purchasing single issues or a full subscription. While not Abra, it is apparent even after only three issues that it is becoming something more than that and I look forward to seeing what it is like by the end of the year.

January Updates.

2010-01-12T15:51:00.006Z

The book The Art of Iugling by Sa Rid, 1612, has been delayed. This has been because I found copies of Sa Rid’s other book Martin Mark-All and I’m including the text in the book to be published. The delay is not a long one. The publication date is now in February. The publication of Hocus Pocus Junior will be not be that long thereafter.

Publication of the first book, and any other book, of the Ancient Greek Drama Series has been suspended for an indefinite period. One of the plays was converted into a film script and I await an answer regarding the option being taken up by someone. I personally do not see it happening but with agents being what they are I am patiently doing as I am bid (for a while) before inevitably forging ahead with my own plans.

I’ve neglected uploading more videos to You Tube. This has simply been down to lack of time. The winter months kept me busier than I expected. The promised videos will begin to be uploaded soon but not at the rate I hoped. I have some academic research which begins in February and which continues through to the summer and this will mean focusing my time on what is absolutely essential. So editing and uploading videos has to take second place for a while.

Entertainment Defying Acts

2010-01-06T17:51:00.008Z

This week the BBC broadcast the film Death Defying Acts starring Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta Jones. The basic gist of the film is that a fake psychic tries to swindle Harry Houdini out of a $10,000 prize for evidence of contacting his late mother. There were two main areas of disappointment regarding this film.

The first was that the writers did not appear to know very much about Houdini. It was almost as if the story was about another magician entirely. As it turns out, the original writers had a story that did not involve Houdini at all but, as usually happens with the many handed interference - sorry, contribution - of a production team, one of the main characters became Houdini. After which there was very little obvious consultation of any authoritative biography, of which there are many. They instead used the popular urban myths about Houdini that have been bandied about since his death.

Would the film have been more palatable if a fictitious magician was used? Not really and that was the second area of disappointment. My wife Jill, who knows nothing about Houdini and therefore could not be put off by any form of representation of him in a film, was quickly made so bored by the film that even the dreaded washing of the dishes had a greater allure for her. Followed by any other activity she could think of to do. The pace and plot did not particularly grip our attention and the actors had little room in either to have the opportunity to make us feel any empathy for the characters they portrayed.

[The above image is copyright by the film-makers]

Carmina Burana and The X-Factor

2009-12-16T13:13:00.004Z

The X-Factor occasionally uses a piece of classical music named Carmina Burana composed by Carl Orff. The lyrics are from a medieval poem Oh, Fortuna. However, some talented Smart Alec's on the Internet have created a game called misheard lyrics. Below I've embedded a video of some one's misheard lyrics of Carmina Burana. [This was brought to my attention by Tweets regarding Richard Wiseman playing the video at a comedy venue.]

Drag Me to Hell and the Lamia

2009-12-11T16:46:00.006Z

This week, one of my birthday presents from my wife was the DVD of Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell. I have always liked Raimi’s films and so I enjoyed watching it. There were two good aspects to this film. One was that is was a modern reinterpretation of the basis of the plot of the classic 1950s film Night of the Demon (in itself based on a ghost story by M. R. James). The other was how the story was told and the dénouement. Of those things, I should not write of them here because it is unfair to anyone who has not seen the film yet.

My only criticism of the film is Raimi’s holding onto little visual touches that go back to his early films and may even be an injoke reference to them. There are only a few but their timing produces a comical rather than chilling effect. If they had not been included I would regard the film as a modern horror classic; as it is, those brief moments ruined the chilling, on edge, hairs tingling on the back of your neck type atmosphere that the plot works so carefully to create.

The evil in the film is a fictional one made up by Sam and Ivan Raimi; in giving it a name they chose the word Lamia, which is from ancient Greek mythology and bears no resemblance to what appears in the film.

The precise nature of the ancient Greek Lamia is somewhat fuzzy. Its incorporation into the literature of later civilizations involves them moulding its qualities to the ideas of their own time. A near modern example is John Keats’ poem Lamia, where the creature is hinted at being somewhat vampire like. Unfortunately, during the nineteenth century the vampire was becoming a popular image in literature and just about every mythological being that had very little information to suggest its nature was being pigeon-holed under the label of vampire.

In the myth, there was only one Lamia (rather than a generic species of vampire) – a beautiful mortal woman who was one of Zeus’ lovers. The story goes that Zeus’ wife, Hera, was prone to dishing out harsh punishments on her husband’s lovers and their children; in this case Hera would murder each child that Lamia bore. It eventually drove Lamia mad. She became insanely jealous of women who enjoyed motherhood and she began murdering and devouring their small children. Somehow, and mythology seldom goes into details, this activity changed Lamia into an immortal monster who preyed upon children. Later use of that story was to present Lamia as a bogey-woman, a means to scare naughty children with the threat of her coming to devour them if they did not behave.

[The above image is copyright by the film-makers]

Telephone Land Line Now Fixed!

2009-11-30T11:24:00.004Z

Just to let all concerned know that my telephone land line has now been repaired. My apologies to anyone who was inconvenienced over the weekend.

Landline Problems

2009-11-27T11:39:00.003Z

Our telephone land line is not working properly and our service provider states it could be next week before an engineer will be available to repair it. The delay is understandable, considering the amount of engineers that must be busy reparing the damage that the storms caused in the UK recently.

So if anyone has been trying to reach Jill or myself by our land line telephone number and not getting through, then please phone my mobile number instead.

3D Magic Spectacular on Television

2009-11-13T13:24:00.009Z

Next Monday, the 16th of November, at 10pm, Channel 4 will be broadcasting Derren Brown Presents The 3D Magic Spectacular. One of the guests will be Pete Firman. To obtain the necessary 3D glasses, you will find that they are being given away free in Sainsburys. For more details, including on other 3D television programs next week, go to Channel 4. I am hoping that the program will be as spectacular as the title claims. If you cannot see the program on Monday then you have a second opportunity on Sunday the 22nd of November at 10pm.

[The above image is copyright by Channel 4.]

Bright Star

2009-11-11T13:24:00.008Z

I took Jill to see the film Bright Star yesterday. I generally have concerns about biopics due to how sometimes writers feel the need to pointlessly beef up the plot. One example of that is the BBC drama about the Pre-Raphaelites which for some reason was misnamed as Desperate Romantics (as Germaine Greer pointed out The Romantics, such as Keats, had been dead for some time before the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood evolved).

I need not have worried. Jane Campion’s film about John Keats and his relationship with Fanny Brawne is told in a subtle, gentle way that gets under your skin and pulls at your heart strings. The photography is beautiful and creates a variety of moods throughout the film. The leading actors, Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish, have a fair physical resemblance to John Keats and Fanny Brawne (pictures of whom can be found in Andrew Motion’s excellent biography of Keats) and their portrayal of the young lovers, the uneasy beginning of their relationship and how it was frustrated by the cruelty of circumstance, is believable and deeply moving.

The house where the story is set (although it was not filmed there) is now a museum dedicated to Keats. Keats House in Hampstead is still open during the winter and costumes from the film are, for the moment, on display there.

If you have seen the film and have been inspired to find out more about Keats and Brawne then a good place to start is Motion’s biography of Keats, any edition of the published letters of Keats (they include his letters to Fanny Brawne) and any of the paperback editions of Keats’ poetry – where you will find the sonnet Bright Star! which he wrote especially for Brawne.

[The image above is from the website for the film, is copyright by them and is one of their free wallpapers.]

Mystery Magazine

2009-11-09T16:09:00.005Z

Today I received a copy of the first issue of a new British magic magazine, Mystery Magazine. The editor is Walt Lees - magician, author and editor of well earned renown - and it is published by Magic Books By Post.

There are a number of things that I like about Mystery Magazine. I guess each of us will discover our own individual reasons for liking it. Mine include its quality of not clashing with or competing with other non-magic club periodicals. It is different enough from Magicseen and The LaBaL to justify my subscription to all three and not once have an overlap of articles, views or magic tricks. I am not going to go into depth about this issue's contents; you will just have to buy a copy and at a price of £2.50 that will hardly break the bank.

The magazine is monthly. It's full colour throughout and contains tricks, articles, reviews and news. Its format and contents is the result of Walt talking to people in the magic community and listening to what they would like. Walt's editorial clearly justifies the final result and so does reading the magazine.

Updates on Projects

2009-10-26T16:41:00.001Z

The question that I have received most is ‘Why have you stopped uploading videos of your work?’ I have not stopped making the videos, they simply have not been uploaded yet. The reason for the delay is that I have been using different methods of filming other than time lapse photography and the results require more time in editing them into short videos. The reason for the change was to obtain a better quality of picture in the videos. The camera and software being used had a setback of a low resolution when in time lapse mode. It is a bit of an oddity considering all the other modes have a high resolution.

I have tried editing together a series of photographs for several oil paint portraits and the results are okay. Because the paintings take more than one day, it is a reasonable method to use but it is of no use when concentrating on a drawing or ink sketch which can be finished in an hour or two. It is too much trouble to get the right amount of photos, it interrupts my concentration and prolongs the task in an unacceptable way.

For these reasons, the time from the picture being completed and the video of the work being uploaded is now much greater.

Another reason, as far the project The Dead is concerned, is that the videos have been held back until after this year’s Remembrance Day. Although it was explained that the project is for Remembrance Day 2010, based on only one video from the project being made available there has been continual questioning from people regarding its use this year. Therefore, as stated above, no more videos from that project will be uploaded until sometime in November.

The only other piece of news is that the project Magicians has been given a longer time scale for completion due to the list of portraits required being lengthened.

LATE MAIL

2009-10-22T10:25:00.003+01:00

LATE MAIL
by John Helvin
(with apologies to W. H. Auden and his poem Night Mail)

This is the mail train not crossing the border,
Not bringing the cheque nor delivering mail order,

No letters for the rich, no letters for the poor,
The Royal Mail is on strike and what is it for?

Streamlining and cutbacks are to be had;
Most of the workers regard this as bad.

Computerisation and potential less hours;
Management and union relationship sours.

I’d rather my mail was hand sorted whatnot,
Than expertly bungled by the new ‘I, Robot.’

But are these the issues? Is this the debate?
The news simply repeats that our mail will be late.

There’s no documentary. What are the details?
Will Christmas post consist only of emails?

Will the news be the same old tales of yore,
That the Royal Mail is failing – we’ve heard it before.

The postal worker’s story is yet to be told;
Will any film-maker make as so bold?

The Georgian House in Bristol

2009-10-13T13:21:00.006+01:00

About a week ago I took Jill to visit the Georgian House Museum on Great George Street, just off Park Street in Bristol. Jill is avid about all things Georgian, especially if related to Jane Austen or gives an insight to the period in which Austen lived. She said she preferred this house to the one in Bath - No 1 Royal Crescent. There are differences, such as the museum in Bristol is free whereas No 1 Royal Crescent has an admission fee. I think both are excellent. I can see some differences due to a fee being charged for the Georgian house in Bath. They can afford to finance a shop, guides and so on. The lower amount of funding for the house in Bristol is apparent if you know what to look for, or rather to look for what is missing in terms of staff, brochures, a shop and so on. Even so, a lot of care has gone into making the Georgian House in Bristol well worth a visit (or more than one).

One point to mention is how easy it is to miss the correct street. On a prior visit to Bristol, Jill and I were directed to the wrong George Street. This time, before setting off, I made a point of using Google Earth to be absolutely sure of finding the place when we arrived in Bristol.

The man who had the house built was John Pinney. Here is a portrait of him in one of the rooms. Pinney was a wealthy slave plantation owner and the house has a room dedicated to the subject of slavery during the Georgian period and its connection to Bristol. It is not often that I see a house museum highlight, in any way whatsoever, the human cost that made the original owner wealthy enough to afford such a house. Even when a house was built by someone who had no direct connection with slavery, it was still a period when William Blake justifiably wrote of some working conditions in Britain as being within ‘Dark Satanic Mills.’

The house has on the walls, besides portraits of Pinney, paintings from the Georgian period including one by a relation of Sir Joshua Reynolds. In the dining area is one that has a detail that may be of interest to magic historians. It is of three children and one is building a house of cards. Look carefully at the cards and you will see that the backs of the cards are blank and the corners are square and not rounded. Similar cards are on display on a card table in another room. Packs of cards which are reproductions of those from around that period can be bought from The Card Collection. I bought a deck for Jill last year. What is interesting from a conjuring point of view is how very different the physical quality of the cards are from modern day ones and how much that affects using sleight of hand.

I could find no information as to who the artist was; the style reminds me of Gainsborough but if it was him the museum would have had a note somewhere stating that detail. If anyone can let me know who the artist is I would appreciate it.

The museum has four floors to explore and overall it is very atmospheric, informative and enjoyable.

Stupid Gifts

2009-10-09T10:51:00.010+01:00

Well, Christmas hit the shops last month. The local supermarket has Halloween items on display next to all the Christmas items (and the growing amount of toys). Christmas won’t get a mention in my bookshops until the 1st of December. Even so, it is present buying time for me from now until Christmas because of anniversaries and birthdays. Looking for sensible presents that people might actually want to receive is a tiring business and so I tend to have break and check out the weird gifts for a while.

I assume the manufacturer obtained permission for this one, the Maggie Thatcher Nutcracker. Says it all about the politics of yesteryear.

For anyone who wants a large tattoo but does not want the pain of getting it done, you can now buy tattoo sleeves. Just slip them onto your arms and pray that no one will notice the fabric.

For any film buffs who are a bit, or quite a bit, of a 'lack of taste' nature you can buy the blood bath shower curtains in homage to Hitchcock's Psycho.

There is lots of weird stuff out there in internet land so I won’t go on and on. There are just three more that, as opposed to the above three, I would actually consider buying.

The first is carpet skates. Yes, that is right, carpet skates. I am getting too sedentary and need the exercise. Their plain stupidity appeals to me; nevertheless, I will fend off temptation and not buy a pair.

I am more likely to buy one of these watches. The Einstein Relativity watch or the Dali watch. I need a new one and these are in my top ten choices. On the Relativity watch the numbers move round. On the Dali watch, Dali's moustache is the watch hands and the ant moves round marking the seconds. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Duck Egg Meccano and David Copperfield: ancient theatre and modern magic.

2009-10-02T16:30:00.007+01:00

Duck Egg Meccano, that is how I have heard the latin phrase deus ex machina pronounced by someone. More properly the classical Greek should be used theos apo mechanes. Both mean the ‘god from the machine.’ That is a phrase which has taken on a whole range of subtleties during the last two and a half thousand years but in Athens of the fifth century BC it was, quite simply, a wooden crane that held an actor, usually playing a god, aloft in the air above the performance area as if floating or flying.

It could be described as a very basic, crude and simple version of ‘stage levitation’ with little in common with the more sophisticated and mystifying methods of a magician who performs levitation or flying on stage. It also seems that there was no attempt to hide the method used from the audience and the extent of its use in ancient Greek drama is debatable. It is supposed that the audience’s attitude may have quickly become somewhat jaded towards its use or possible overuse and Aristophanes made fun of the device in his comedy Peace as a reference to its use in Euripides’ play Bellerophon.

It is interesting to note that in its early phase of use the mechane was a novelty. Its use was mostly at the end of a play as part of the denouement to the story. Some modern commentators view its use as a means of resolving matters when the writer had put a character in a sticky situation and did not know how to extricate him from it. However another view by Oliver Taplin, which reads the texts more carefully, shows that the main issues raised in the plays are concluded prior to the appearance of any use of the theos apo mechanes. It is therefore possible that for its early use, it provided a spectacle as a grand finale to a play.

This possibility has not been given as much discussion as perhaps it deserves. The reason is that mentions of the mechane in near or post contemporary writings are negative but we should bear in mind that they were written when its use and function had lost its popularity and it had become a theatrical cliché.

Modern performers face a similar dilemma regarding stage effects or even magic effects. Way back in 1994 David Copperfield performed at Earl’s Court in London and part of the act was him ‘flying.’ This might not sound a big deal because most magicians can perform levitation tricks of one sort or another. The thinktank behind Copperfield’s act added a bit extra. In an age when most audiences can speculate as to how a levitation trick might be done, Copperfield got into a large clear Perspex cabinet, had the lid put on and then floated inside the cabinet.

It was a touch used to confound those who thought they had correctly surmised the method behind it all. It was an important touch in an age when audiences know quite a bit about the workings of magical performances - because without a moment of that feeling of ‘okay, I’m not sure how that was done’ an illusion is not only not much of an illusion but the word magic loses its lustre in connection with it. If the method was made obvious or explained during the performance then a great deal of the entertainment value would be diminished or more probably simply cease to exist. It would be no more entertaining than watching someone swing across the stage on a thick rope like Tarzan and daring to call it magic or interesting. Who would go to see the next performance? That is a question that is to be asked of the ancient Greek mechane.

When the mechane was first used at the end of a tragedy, despite all its workings being on display, it was probably a surprise and a wonder for the audience. The same might not be able to be said after the same ancient Athenian audience had seen a whole load of plays end with the same spectacle over a few days during the annual dramatic festival. Oliver Taplin suggests that in the early use of the mechane most of the device was in plain view of the audience because a skene (a background building used as scenery) may not yet have been built. The moment the audience saw what we would call stagehands start to work the mechane, they would know what was coming. It would be as enjoyable as going to a three or four day dramatic festival of whodunits where in every single play ‘the butler did it.’

If it had been possible to add some mystery to how the mechane worked, rather like in modern magical acts which also continually reinvent the presentation of levitation, it may have maintained a better reputation for longer in relation to ancient Greek drama. It was impossible to do so however. The Greek dramatic festivals were a sort of community project. There were no professional actors. Each year, ordinary Athenian citizens were chosen to participate in staging the plays. There was no opportunity for professional secrets and there was no attempt to hide the mechane or its workings.

While the mechane was no mystery to ancient Athenians, it has provided a mystery for modern scholars. Apart from the debate on when and if the mechane was actually used in this or that play, a bigger puzzle is the design of the mechane itself. Modern works on the subject describe it as a wooden crane with a system of pulleys. It is not entirely a satisfactory suggestion (based on details from writers from after the period in question). I have not read of any modern engineering recreation which achieves the feats the mechane may have been used for in some plays – such as lifting a chorus of twelve to fifteen people into the air (a weight of about one ton) and swinging them onto the performance area, a horse being presented as the flying Pegasus, a chariot with riders, Medea in a chariot pulled by two dragons and so on.

I do not know for sure, but the puzzle of how the mechane would achieve such feats without breaking could be what inspires scholars to prefer interpretations of the ancient Greek theatre that do not involve the use of the mechane – hence the debate on when and if the mechane was actually used in this or that play. For me, that shows the mechane had potential for use in mystifying an audience. After all, consider the position that modern scholars are in; they have had the end effect described to them, the performance, but are at a loss to be specific about the method and the mechanism used. Saying a wooden crane with pulleys was involved is as vague as saying that you can build a cabinet by sawing wood or saying that a card trick is done by sleight of hand. It does not really tell you how it is done.

We are therefore not in a position to truly gauge its limitations in a useful way. We cannot, based on our present day designs of a wooden crane with pulleys as interpretations of a mechane, believe that a mechane could lift and move over a ton in weight (a chorus of fifteen people). However, I am not aware of the suggestion having been put forward of three mechane lifting five people each. Or five mechane lifting three people each. Or that the modern designs put forward for the mechane may not have any resemblance to the ancient mechane, which may have been able to lift and move a tad more weight than ours. It is one levitation trick where the real secret, the design of the mechane, was and remains known only to ancient Greek theatres and their audiences.

[Here are the books which helped inspire the above discussion: The Greek Theater and its Drama by Roy C. Flickinger, The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge, The Dramatic Festivals of Athens by A. Pickard-Cambridge, Greek Scenic Conventions in the Fifth Century BC by Peter Arnott, The Stagecraft of Aeschylus by Oliver Taplin.]

The Museum of Bath at Work

2009-09-22T14:42:00.008+01:00

On Saturday Jill and I visited The Museum of Bath at Work. The main exhibition is of a Victorian business named J. B. Bowler & Sons. The business was a curious mix of an engineering works and a soft drinks factory. At first, that may seem a strange combination but the enjoyable and informative exhibition (using audio commentary) explained the sense of it all. Once we had seen the Bowler exhibits there was more to peruse regarding the history of work in Bath.

The entrance fee is probably the lowest of all the fee on entry type museums and exhibits in Bath, the staff are friendly and informative, the refreshments area is quiet and cool (which was appreciated on a hot day) and near the refreshments area is some amusement for young and old alike. An assortment of Victorian costumes, along with false moustaches, etc, are available for those who wish to try them on and even photograph each other in costume. The costumes easily fit over your clothes. Above is a photo of Jill in one of the costumes she tried on; I’ve given the picture a sepia tone.

If you want to visit the museum then consult their website (and even a Google map) to be sure you know how to get there. It isn’t that far from The Circle or The Costume Museum but can be easily missed because the entrance is not on a main road.

A FOOTNOTE to my previous blog entry The Old Masters: In reply to the most popular question on anatomy, I recommend Anatomy For The Artist by Jeno Barcsay. Having said that, there are alternatives and this book is not for the beginner. If you do choose to use this book, be sure to avoid the small sized publication. Get the large version (24.5cm x 32.7cm x 3.2cm); if you buy the small one you will need a very large magnifying glass or bionic eyes to appreciate any of the detail that you will be trying to learn from the book.

The Old Masters

2009-09-20T16:19:00.005+01:00

I received an unexpected present from my wife yesterday. Jill bought me the anniversary edition of How To Paint Like The Old Masters written by Joseph Sheppard. This is an unusual and yet popular book. It has been around for thirty years and is in no way intended for beginners. If you cannot already paint a portrait there is no point buying this book (the publishers might tell you different). Even then, the book has a value more for Art History than practical application.

For in this book, Joseph Sheppard takes the reader through a detailed process of describing how paintings were done in previous centuries. His example artists are Dürer (1461-1528), Titian (c.1488-1576), Veronese (1528-1588), Caravaggio (1571-1610), Rubens (1577-1640), Hals (1580-1666), Rembrandt (1606-1669) and Vermeer (1632-1675). Instead of taking the usual route of other art books, where a painting of the artist is shown and then a less than helpful whistle-stop tour of technique is given, Sheppard paints a portrait from scratch and gives photographs of each stage. That may seem simple enough but the techniques and styles of painting have changed so much that the methods given in Sheppard’s book may astonish the young modern artist.

Most modern artists use the alla prima method. Alla prima means ‘all at once’ and describes how the artist begins and finishes a painting in one sitting. It is a loose term because sometimes two or three sittings may actually be needed. In alla prima what is central is that the colour and tone is built up all at once and not in layers, usually varnished layers.

That is how the old masters did it: in layers. Paint a layer. Wait a few days while it dried. Varnish/glaze it. Wait a few days for that to dry. Paint the next layer. Wait some more days for that to dry. And so on. A single painting may take weeks to complete and along the way the look of the painting might perturb a viewer. The flesh colour appears in a portrait during the latter half of the painting as a translucent wash; before that, the subject may appear very grey or silver in one method because those are the colours used in the primary layers. The final result is worth it if you have the patience, or rather, if your client has the patience.

Another set back for the novice with this book is the necessity of making your own paints and preparing your own linseed oil. The painting methods can be done with paint from a tube and bought artists linseed oil but the end result can be hit or miss. Sheppard is somewhat upbeat on the point and encourages the reader to make up his/her own mind. However, way back when, many years ago when I received training from Ed Howard, I spent a lot of boring hours preparing oil paint from scratch. I also did what is called ‘washing’ the linseed oil to take out any colour from it that ruins the delicate colour of a thin translucent layer of paint. Even the artists’ linseed oil bought from art shops does not match this and tends to have the colour of honey rather than having a clearer look about it. The home made DIY method is troublesome and boring but produces a better quality of paint and final picture. However, the difference is hardly visible in a photograph or print and so the modern, quicker methods prevail and with some sense when art is now more commonly seen by the public in printed mediums.

Even if you cannot paint, have no intention of learning to do so but have an appreciation of 16th and 17th century art then Sheppard’s book could be useful to you in deepening your understanding of the trouble that Titian, Rembrandt and others went to in order to paint a single portrait

In Flanders Fields

2009-09-11T16:26:00.001+01:00

The Weird Book Room

2009-09-09T13:27:00.003+01:00

Due to illness there was no main blog post last Friday. Please accept my apologies. I am still not recovered and so this will be a brief blog entry; what energy I have is being used on meeting deadlines.

I am looking forward to seeing Derren Brown’s The Event. There is not enough magic on the main TV channels in the UK (if you have gone digital in the UK then you have more opportunity to see magic programmes - but not much more).

There is only a matter of days left in The LaBaL competition, so if any of The LaBaL’s readers want to make a last minute entry then now is the time. The winner will be announced in the next issue of The LaBaL.

And finally, in this brief entry, I leave you with a novelty I enjoyed yesterday. It is the Weird Book Room on Abebooks. Here is a list of some of the non-fiction titles of real books featured on that web page:

Doga: Yoga for Dogs
Bombproof Your Horse
The Great Pantyhose Crafts Book
The Lost Art of Towel Origami (I’ve ordered my copy)

The Thermodynamics of Pizza
Do-It-Yourself Coffins
How to Survive a Robot Uprising

Results of Oil Painting Poll

2009-09-03T13:04:00.002+01:00

Some weeks back I put a Poll on my blog asking people to vote for the next magician to have their portrait painted in oil paints. The Poll ended this week and I now have the results:

David Devant - 54%
J. N. Maskelyne - 23%
Harry Blackstone senior - 15%
Houdini - 8%

So, at the end of the week, I shall begin a portrait of David Devant. A video of the final picture will be posted on You Tube near the end of September. However, you will not have to wait that long for new videos of other artwork to appear on my You Tube Channel. Next week, I will be posting some videos of my new project The Dead.

Update on The Sherlock Holmes Museum in London

2009-09-02T14:11:00.007+01:00

Back in February of this year I wrote a review of The Sherlock Holmes Museum in London (You can read it in this blog by clicking this link). I gave reasons why it was a very good place to visit; I did, however, add a few criticisms. Well, recently, John Aidiniantz of the museum added this comment to my blog entry: "This is a good and well-balanced review of the museum and the criticisms have been accepted and addressed by the museum." Because the blog was so many months ago and therefore people may not read Mr. Aidiniantz's recent comment, I thought it was only fair to include it in a new blog entry highlighting that the museum has replied. After all, if one of the people involved in the running of the museum can take the time to reply, providing an update on the points made in the blog, then it should get a mention.

Snippets of News

2009-08-28T12:00:00.007+01:00

Well, last week the mysterious white box that controls my access to the internet died in a puff of smoke and so my access to my own website and work has been limited. All was fixed yesterday thanks to the speedy response of my internet provider. You might think that a week was a long time to achieve that but with some internet providers people can end up waiting months. I am grateful it was only a week.

That, of course, means the work on my website is a week behind. Apologies to those waiting for the two remaining sections to completed.

Anyway, the news that should have been in my blog last week (if I was able to connect to the internet) is that there is an interview of me regarding my artwork in the latest issue of Magicseen. The article includes some samples of my portraits. A better reason to buy the magazine is the other articles; there are some really interesting ones. There is an interview with magical inventor Ben Harris, Craig Petty writing about gaffed coins and a feature on David Copperfield – which is something we do not see often in British Magic Magazines.

Those of you who have visited my updated website have asked questions on my new art project The Dead. Here are the answers to the two most frequently asked questions. Firstly, no, it does not mean that the Magicians project is finished; that will continue along side this new project. Secondly, The Dead is timed for Remembrance Day next year, not this year.

A piece of news regarding the Magicians project is that the client, after reflecting on the matter for some time, decided that the portrait of Noel Britten should not be included in the project. The basis of his decision is that Britten’s public image is connected more to comedy than it is to magic. Various arguments against the decision could not counter two points on which the client remains firm. Firstly, although the magic which forms an integral part of The Bizarre Bath Comedy Walk has been performed for eighteen years or so now (by Noel Britten and JJ) and has a world wide reputation, the outward image is still focused on comedy. Secondly, while Britten is respected for his work by the magic community, the general public see him as a comedian and not a magician. For that reason, the portrait is offered for sale to the general public in a ‘sealed’ or ‘blind’ bid auction. The full details are on my website in the art section.

One final piece of news is that the paperback A Briefe And Pleasaunt Treatise, Entituled, Naturall and Artificiall Conclusions by Thomas Hill, the text of 1581, is now on sale. You can buy a copy on my website (using the link on the Home page) or from my Ebay shop John Helvin's Books.

The Essential Dai Vernon and other things

2009-08-14T14:09:00.001+01:00

My copy of this book arrived today; nice, new and shrink-wrapped. It is a very commendable asset to any magician or researcher in that it gathers together many of Vernon’s books into one handy volume. However, there are some disappointments as a book collector. Considering the large amount of photographs in this book, those of Vernon illustrating how sleights are done and the section of extra photographs, the paper chosen should have been of a better quality than that used. Mike Caveney’s Magic Words got it very right in the quality of paper for Revelation by Dai Vernon. Because of that, the photographs reproduced in that book have fantastic tonal quality and detail. Comparing my first edition of The Dai Vernon Book of Magic published by Harry Stanley in 1957 with its counterpart in L&L Publishing’s Essential Dai Vernon, the printed quality of photographs is better in the Harry Stanley edition simply through a better choice of paper. Oh well, we cannot have everything and the fact that The Essential Dai Vernon even exists is a boon not to be overshadowed by nitpicking.

Another worthy book that arrived today is The Notebook edited by Will Houstoun. It is a bit of a must for anyone interested in the history of magic and collecting or researching old magic books. Houstoun, a member of the Magic Circle, was shown a handwritten notebook in the Magic Circle’s library by the Executive Librarian Peter Lane. The notebook dates to the early nineteenth century. The unknown author of the notebook collects together eighty conjuring tricks, some by well known magicians of that period. Houston has provided a facsimile of the notebook with a transcription of the text, along with some helpful notes. I have read only one negative review of The Notebook and the author of that completely missed the point of the book as a social text and historical document. The book is not without flaws but no book exists that does not. If Houstoun reprints the book then, as with all books, the errors will be expunged.

On a completely different subject, my main website is still in the process of being overhauled. One hurdle not yet successfully leapt is programming a shopping cart and checkout for the site. This will make it possible for people to buy books directly on the site instead of going to one of my other three internet outlets. The advantage to this is mostly for UK customers. I have become dissatisfied with the increase in cost of postage and packaging being charged to UK customers by a company that I was going to use for mail order distribution. They want to charge customers a flat rate of £4.75 to deliver a single copy of A Briefe And Pleasaunt Treatise, Entituled, Naturall and Artificiall Conclusions by Thomas Hill anywhere in the UK. I have therefore decided that I will handle distribution in the UK and the postage and packaging for the book will be free to UK customers. While I get the checkout sorted on my main website, I have put some copies of Thomas Hill’s book for sale on my Ebay shop. The price is £10 and postage and packaging is, as stated above, free within the UK.

Vote For The Next Portrait Of A Magician To Be Painted

2009-08-13T11:33:00.005+01:00

The project of portraits of magicians continues (not all the portraits are available to see on the internet). Not all the portraits will be oil paint on canvas and I thought I would give people a chance to vote as to who will be the next magician to be painted in that medium.

So, below is a poll with four historical magicians. Vote for the one you think should be the next subject for an oil painting. Voting ends on the evening of the 31st of August. In the meantime, I will be painting some watercolour portraits of modern magicians and a pen and wash of Egyptian Hall during the Maskelyne period.

The above poll is in javascript and may not appear in some internet browsers if javascript is not enabled.

Argy-Bargy Week

2009-08-10T15:09:00.005+01:00

For those who do not know, and here I must remember that this is read beyond the shores of the UK, ‘argy-bargy’ means a heated argument. I have been caught in the middle of such debates recently on two different topics and, to my surprise, did well. I say surprise because normally I just cannot be bothered to even get involved where someone simply wants an argument. A discussion is worthwhile, lots can be learned from a discussion, but an argument is a waste of time where the only thing gained from it is negative feelings.

One topic, not discussed here, was on The Trojan War and the other was regarding the blog of Paul Gordon. Gordon is a card magician who has written many magic books. He performs magic for a living and so his books are based on years of experience. One of his blog posts made the point that his books should be read all the way through and not simply skimmed through to pick out a few tricks.

I left a comment on that blog agreeing and saying that any magic book should be read from cover to cover. Just because some books are divided into sections, sometimes trick by trick, is not an invitation to merely dip into a book instead of reading it. Gordon replied that his method of discouraging that was not to divide his books into such sections.

I thought that was that; an exchange of views in agreement and then onto the next thing of interest. I had no idea that I was inviting people's ire by writing that a magic book should be read all the way through. And so I have had a number of unwelcome arguments from people I do not personally know – but that did not stop them raising the subject with me.

Sense began to prevail when I was able to change the argument to a discussion. I put various questions to them, asking them to consider their own judgement on the matter based on those questions. Thankfully, the result was being told that they then saw my point of view or occasionally even agreed that I was right.

I am unable to give every detail but here are samples of what questions I put to them and some of the replies.

“Are the magic books you own expensive?” - "Yes.”
“Does each one cost more than an action film on a DVD?” - “Yes. A lot more.”
“Would you buy a film on a DVD and only ever watch the car chase scenes and not watch the whole film?” - “No, that would be stupid wouldn’t it? It would be a waste of money. Oh, right.”
“How much money are you wasting by not getting everything you can out of each magic book?” - “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

“Do the magic books you own give tips on performance?” - “Yes.”

“Are those tips given all together in one section or are they given bit by bit with each trick?” - “Bit by bit.”

“So, in buying a magic book written by someone you thought was worth learning from, those tips are important?” - “Yes.”

“But by not reading the whole book you are not getting to read all of those tips, are you?” – “No.”

“And you paid quite a bit of money to learn from that person through their book?” - “Okay, I get the point.”

Gordon made his point his own way as described in his blog. More than once people have told Gordon they own a particular book he authored, he then showed them a card trick, they were impressed and ask from which of his books they could learn how to perform it and Gordon’s reply was that they had already said they own a copy.

I made my point in a similar (but non-performance) way a few times by simply pointing out what someone has missed in a book. One example is that after having won over someone to the view that the whole of a magic book should be read, the discussion turned to the subject of MacDonald’s Aces and where could he read any similar four ace trick. I pointed out he had already named a book he owned that has a four ace trick with a similar presentation, And a Pack of Cards by Jack Merlin (under the heading “My Favourite Four Ace Trick”). He then admitted that he only read the sections on card sleights to learn them but did not read any of the cards tricks in the latter half of the book.

There is another aspect to be mentioned and it can be summed up by something that Walt Lees said to me in an email back in May of this year. At the Bristol Day of Magic I bought a copy of Revelation by Dai Vernon (thank you to Paul Cooke of Magic Books By Post). I emailed Walt and said I had a copy but had not begun to ‘read it’ due to illness. Walt, very correctly, was quick to chide my poor choice of words. Revelation was not a book simply to be read, it was to be worked through. And there we have a statement that highlights an important ambiguity of the word ‘read’. Someone can say they are reading a book on origami but what they mean is that they are working their way through the book, making the paper models. The same goes for any book on the subject of how to do something, including magic tricks.

Reading a magic book from cover to cover involves going through each magic trick step by step with the props/cards/coins in hand, learning each and every trick. At the end of that the reader will know enough about the book to judge which tricks suit him/her and whether or not the book is a good or bad magic book. Can you imagine a modern author of fiction being told that the plot of their latest novel is not any good based on reading only ten pages of it and not the whole book?

Every now and then I buy a magic book at a very cheap price. The person selling it made the price low because they thought the book was not very good, despite the good reputation of the author or title. They usually say something like they “tried reading it but didn’t get much out of it.” I have yet to buy a magic book on this basis (and read it and work though it) that did not turn out to be a gem.

I have been described as an omnifarious bibliophile and so to me the idea of someone buying a book and not reading it cover to cover is just plain sacrilege. Perhaps, due to that, you might choose to ignore my view but on the view of Paul Gordon and Walt Lees consider this notion. Their career is magic. Full time. It is their day job and not their hobby. Both are successful. Walt probably has more experience and knowledge on magic than ten or twenty randomly chosen magicians put together. Based on that ask yourself this: Would it be smart to take their advice on how to read a magic book and dumb to ignore it?

Film of J. N. Maskelyne Performing Plate Spinning

2009-07-30T16:18:00.005+01:00

If you know anything about the history of magic in the UK then you will have heard of J. N. Maskelyne. Amongst all the wonders that he performed in magic shows, he performed plate spinning. No, not the spinning a plate on a stick sort of thing. This is something else altogether.

In the book The Modern Conjurer by C. Lang Neil (1903 edition), two of the pages have film like strips printed down the edges. The blurb explains that they pictures taken using the technology of the cinematograph. I decided to see if I could make a video from the images of Maskelyne in action. I scanned the pages, edited the individual pictures into separate files and edited a very brief film using them. I have no idea what became of the original film. The book states the pictures were taken especially for the book, so it was probably never publicly used.

Well, here is the video.