Magic Catalogues
When I began to learn magic, a great source of wonder and inspiration came from magic catalogues. Magic shops in North America and Europe would publish an annual catalogue with all the old tricks plus new ones that had been created during the year.
Louis Tannen is a magic company in New York City. The catalogue below was published over 50 years ago and the company is still in business. They have a great shop in NYC. If you visit the city and are interested in magic, it’s worth a visit.
Artwork in Magic Catalogues
Most catalogues were illustrated. A few would use photographs, but they were more expensive to produce. Usually, the company would have a few illustrators that would create the artwork for their catalogues. Some of the artists had a cartoon style, while others were more dramatic.
First Trick
The bottom trick from the above photo was one of the first tricks I ever bought. A dollar these days doesn’t seem like much, but when you’re 11 with a small allowance in the late ’70s, that was a few weeks of saving.
The trick, when it arrived was very disappointing because the method seemed too easy. I persisted and practiced and it made it into my show and was a really good trick!
The Tricky Bottles was a fun trick with a volunteer. They always had difficulty matching the magician’s actions, even though they followed along identically. It stayed into the show until I accidentally broke one of the bottles. I don’t recall why, but I never replaced the trick.
Catalogue Magic Created by Friends
The trick in the illustration below was invented by Don Wayne. He was a consultant for many years for David Copperfield. One or more of Don’s tricks would always be in one of David’s annual TV specials.
A few years before he died, I had a chance to work with Don Wayne. I consult for a great magician named Rick Wilcox. Every year I go to Rick’s theatre to help him improve the show. This time, Rick also invited Don. We had a blast that week creating some new mysteries for Rick’s show. I was really fortunate to get a glimpse of Don’s creative process!
Old Tricks in Magic Catalogues
The Dancing Cane trick has been around for many decades. Sometimes I like an old trick, but want it to look current. Take a look at the next photo and you can see how transitioning from a cane to an umbrella can do the trick.
Catalogue Magic has Changed
In a future blog, I’ll talk about how the catalogue is no longer in use and what replaced it in the digital age.