Annemann Bullet Catching
TED ANNEMANN AND HIS DRAMATIC BULLET CATCH
Enjoy this short film featuring an actual performance of the Bullet Catch!
Black Magicians In American History
BLACK MAGICIANS IN AMERICA
Some Black entertainers who made important contributions to the history of magic in America!
Magic History 101: Levitating Block
LEVITATING BLOCK
Let me show you this vintage piece from my collection...
How I Acquired Houdini's Desk and Bible
I have discovered many magical treasures in my travels, but probably none as exciting as finding these items that belonged to the great Harry Houdini....
Houdini Comes Alive
WATCH AS PHOTOS OF HOUDINI COME ALIVE!
This is eerie...
Houdini Colorized Photos
A new AI technology software program has allowed us to colorize some of the photos in our collection.
Certainly gives us a different impression of how Houdini looked in life....
Houdini Speaks!
HEAR HOUDINI IN HIS OWN VOICE!
Authentic recording of Houdini introducing his Water Torture Cell Escape...
Houdini Archival Footage
WATCH VINTAGE NEWSREEL FOOTAGE OF HOUDINI PERFORMING ESCAPES!
Sawing In Half
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SAWING IN HALF ILLUSION
A hundred years ago, P.T. Selbit introduced this legendary illusion. Magic was changed forever...
Magic History 101: Moving Chalkboard Novelty
MOVING CHALKBOARD NOVELTY CARDS
A message appears with the sweep of the genii's hand!
Let me show you these two from my collection...
Ellen Armstrong
ELLEN ARMSTRONG
America's first African American female magician.
Never heard of her? Well, now you have...
Magic History 101: Chinese Flame Clock
CHINESE FLAME CLOCK
Invented by Ed Massey and then manufactured by Milson-Worth in the early 1950's, the Flame Clock is a fairly rare piece of vintage magic.
Let me show you this Chinese Flame Clock from my collection...
Richard Potter
RICHARD POTTER
Richard Potter was the Emperor of Conjurers.
He was the the first American-born professional magician.
More people saw his show in the early 1800s than any other performer.
He was the first black American celebrity.
And his story is truly amazing...
Magic History 101: Mystery Clocks
MYSTERY CLOCKS
Have you ever seen a Mystery Clock?
These are clocks whose hands move seemingly without any clockworks moving them.
How do they work?
Let me show you two Mystery Clocks from my collection...
Magic History 101: Magic Shop Stories
MAGIC SHOP STORIES
Sideshow Steve and I reminisce about visiting the famous New York City magic shops back in the 1970s...
Magic History 101: Vintage Magic Books
VINTAGE MAGIC BOOKS
A peek into two of the antique magic books in my library...
Magic History 101: Vintage Magic Props
VINTAGE MAGIC PROPS
A look back at some favorite magic props...
Magic History 101: Vintage Magic Catalogs
VINTAGE MAGIC CATALOGS
Before the Internet, there were the catalogs!
Here are my recollections of ordering from the giants of the mail order magic world...
Magic History 101: Johnson Smith Catalogs
JOHNSON SMITH CATALOGS
The Wish Books of my youth!
Here are my recollections of ordering from Johnson Smith...
Magic History 101: Magic 8 Ball
MAGIC 8 BALL
Though we know it as a fun novelty toy, the Magic 8 Ball got its start as an authentic spiritualist tool.
It is a fascinating story...
Magic History 101: Fruit Crate Labels
MAGIC FRUIT CRATE LABELS
I get a lot of questions about how I decorate my back library, where I have been filming the demo videos.
A quick, easy to find and inexpensive choice is to use fruit crate labels.
Here are some colorful examples from my collection...
Magic History 101: Phrenology
PHRENOLOGY
Phrenology is a quirky pseudoscientific idea that personality traits can be "read" by feeling the shape of the bumps on the head.
A replica of that head is in my collection...
Magic History 101: Antique Handcuffs
ANTIQUE HANDCUFFS
After last week's post about the handcuffs used by Tony Curtis in the 1953 Houdini movie, I got several emails asking to see more antique handcuffs from my collection.
Here are a few of the hundreds of cuffs I have collected over the years...
Magic History 101: Houdini Movie Handcuffs
HOUDINI MOVIE HANDCUFFS
If you think you can handcuff a magician, you are wrong!
Magic History 101: Oriental Magic
ORIENTAL MAGIC
Why do some of the old classic tricks have a Chinese or Hindu theme?