William Zavis Letters by Ricky Smith
The research center holds a vast trove of correspondence between a great number and variety of magicians. One section of the collection comes from William Zavis and is especially valuable for research purposes because he generally kept copies of his outgoing correspondence along with the letters he received. Further, Mr. Zavis worked as a US Foreign Service Officer for the United States Information Agency, or USIA, which meant he was stationed in a number of different countries, making his correspondence decidedly rich in its variety of locations and number of correspondents.
The Bullet Catch by Ricky Smith
Our latest exhibition delves into the Bullet Catch. It traces the feat through several of the different variations performed throughout history along with a detailed story concerning the recent and fantastic demonstration by David Blaine and Bill Kalush of the Carl Skenes’s method. Additionally, we have included a translation of one of the earliest known …
Jimmy Grippo, A Real Mystery Man by Richard Hatch
This awesome exhibition is loaded with wonderful new details of this grand master of card magic. Be sure not to miss our flash presentation of over 30 photos of Grippo. Many of which have never been published before.
View Exhibition // Visit the Gallery
Who Was This Magician?
This Houdini-era photo by the famed New York photographer Vanderzee has been around the magic scene for some time. Here at Conjuring Arts it has been a mystery as to the identity of this vaudevillian.
When the Conjuring Arts acquired a file of miscellaneous letters we found that this unnamed escape artist seems to be none other than the Great Bromo.
Please take a closer look at Bromo’s letter and over 90 other interesting letters from our collection.
Handcuffs: A Rogue’s Gallery
An interesting collection of photos of handcuffs and restraints. We are not sure who owned this collection. If you know please let us know. Enjoy.
The Many Faces of Magic
Fame escapes many fine magicians, but as this collection illustrates, it is not for a lack of trying. Some of these guys seem to have had great agents and fine stylists. Check out this interesting compilation of head shots, press photos and performance images of the Many Faces of Magic.
Magic Christmas
The holiday season is full of surprises and magic abounds…even through the mail. Check out our virtual gallery to see some clever greetings in the Magic Christmas Card Collection. Special thanks to Mark Setteducati for sharing some of his own cards, adding to Conjuring Arts’ collection.
The Magic of Paul LePaul
Paul LePaul (1900 – 1958)
“LePaul is one of the greatest manipulative magicians ever to practice the art of pleasant deception.” - John Mulholland
Paul LePaul was gifted with the rare combination of superb technique and master showmanship. Although he is widely known today as the author of the classic work The Card Magic of Paul LePaul, a work that showcased many of his innovations in advanced sleight-of-hand, LePaul was no stranger to the stage. He performed countless times on the vaudeville circuit and when that ended, he moved on to the hotel and nightclub scene.
View Exhibition // View LePaul’s notebook.
Card Men of Mystery
Most considered him to likely have been a card cheat, but Professor Hoffmann had seen him perform magic. In this exhibition we’ve exerpted a chapter from Hoffmann’s Conjurer Dick where we see that Charlier not only performed magic with cards, but truly followed the advice of Robert-Houdin and acted as though he was a man with real powers.
