The Modern Mystic League
AUGUST 2023
Blackburn & District Society of Magicians
Don't Get Me Started! More Magic Annoyances...
During the summer, members sometimes find themselves away on holiday on the second Sunday of the month but, like the Windmill, the MML never closes.
Following our successful ‘Room 101’ theme last year, this August’s Members’ Day topic was “Don’t Get Me Started On . . . ” Despite a relatively low turn-out, we managed to sustain our grumbling for over two hours with plenty of ideas left for future sessions.
I began with disappointing books, taking as an example The Great Illusionists by Derek Tait. Although it has directly pinched the title of Eddie Dawes’s seminal work, the two books could not be more different. While Eddie was meticulous about citing his sources, Derek doesn’t bother. Some of the picture captions are laughable, and the angle taken on Chung Ling Soo and his family is just plain wrong.
This point was echoed by Roger Woods when referring to The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini by Ruth Brandon, which betrays a similar disregard for rigorous research. Roger is also not keen on Houdini – A Mind in Chains; a ‘psychoanalytical portrait’ of the magician by his doctor, Bernard C Meyer. It will be in our next auction!
Allan Clarke followed up by voicing his concerns about a book simply called Card Magic, which plagiarises material with no attempt at acknowledging sources.
I took up the baton again with reference to a first-edition copy of Charles Bertram’s book Isn’t It Wonderful?, signed by the author in 1904. It had been unwisely donated to the Staffordshire Magical Society, under the care of which it had been copiously stamped and badly treated, to the extent of a child (presumably) being allowed to scribble on some of the pages.
Roger then introduced the popular gripe about slovenly dress on stage, showing no respect for the audience. He cited several examples of the ‘ripped jeans and T-shirt’ brigade appearing at various conventions, and Craig Docherty and David Moss chipped in with more observations of their own.
Following our successful ‘Room 101’ theme last year, this August’s Members’ Day topic was “Don’t Get Me Started On . . . ” Despite a relatively low turn-out, we managed to sustain our grumbling for over two hours with plenty of ideas left for future sessions.
I began with disappointing books, taking as an example The Great Illusionists by Derek Tait. Although it has directly pinched the title of Eddie Dawes’s seminal work, the two books could not be more different. While Eddie was meticulous about citing his sources, Derek doesn’t bother. Some of the picture captions are laughable, and the angle taken on Chung Ling Soo and his family is just plain wrong.
This point was echoed by Roger Woods when referring to The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini by Ruth Brandon, which betrays a similar disregard for rigorous research. Roger is also not keen on Houdini – A Mind in Chains; a ‘psychoanalytical portrait’ of the magician by his doctor, Bernard C Meyer. It will be in our next auction!
Allan Clarke followed up by voicing his concerns about a book simply called Card Magic, which plagiarises material with no attempt at acknowledging sources.
I took up the baton again with reference to a first-edition copy of Charles Bertram’s book Isn’t It Wonderful?, signed by the author in 1904. It had been unwisely donated to the Staffordshire Magical Society, under the care of which it had been copiously stamped and badly treated, to the extent of a child (presumably) being allowed to scribble on some of the pages.
Roger then introduced the popular gripe about slovenly dress on stage, showing no respect for the audience. He cited several examples of the ‘ripped jeans and T-shirt’ brigade appearing at various conventions, and Craig Docherty and David Moss chipped in with more observations of their own.
As a dealer for many years, Brian Berry had plenty of tales to tell from his side of the counter, including the techniques employed by thieves when trying to steal items, customers who tear open packets to examine the contents before throwing them back in a jumble and those who carelessly handle books on display. Then there were the customers who promise to return for goods but don’t, or wait until items are being packed away before returning in the hope of a cheap sale. One amusing anecdote concerned a punter who thought a trick would literally work itself, and kept returning to complain because it wasn’t doing so! Brian concluded with a demonstration of a favourite close-up effect – the ‘voodoo doll’ which rises spookily from the palm of the hand . . . which also happens to be one of Allan’s ‘grumbles’, being possibly his least favourite trick in terms of method.
Brian was not happy with some of the habits of lecturers, and vowed never to purchase a trick which was not accompanied by paper instructions, as ’links’ would eventually become unavailable – a point proved by myself in relation to an effect purchased few years ago. This was taken up by Donald Monk, who had brought along a trick which he couldn’t fathom owing to lack of instructions, using a pair of dice and six prediction envelopes. A routine was worked out for hm by those present, and he went away happy.
The afternoon concluded with a general moan about unethical dealers who ‘rip off’ ideas with shoddy replicas, buy up limited first editions in bulk to sell on at hugely inflated prices, deliberately misrepresent the provenance of items and prey upon the relations of deceased magicians who are not aware of the value of the items they have left. Fortunately, these were felt to be in a minority, but no punches were pulled in naming current offenders.
All in all, this was a lively afternoon of debate and discussion in which all were engaged, and we went home feeling better after sharing our grievances.
Brian Lead
Brian was not happy with some of the habits of lecturers, and vowed never to purchase a trick which was not accompanied by paper instructions, as ’links’ would eventually become unavailable – a point proved by myself in relation to an effect purchased few years ago. This was taken up by Donald Monk, who had brought along a trick which he couldn’t fathom owing to lack of instructions, using a pair of dice and six prediction envelopes. A routine was worked out for hm by those present, and he went away happy.
The afternoon concluded with a general moan about unethical dealers who ‘rip off’ ideas with shoddy replicas, buy up limited first editions in bulk to sell on at hugely inflated prices, deliberately misrepresent the provenance of items and prey upon the relations of deceased magicians who are not aware of the value of the items they have left. Fortunately, these were felt to be in a minority, but no punches were pulled in naming current offenders.
All in all, this was a lively afternoon of debate and discussion in which all were engaged, and we went home feeling better after sharing our grievances.
Brian Lead