Conjuring Arts in the NY Times!
On Sunday, March 7, 2010, the New York Times published an article on the Millionaires’ Magician, Steve Cohen, titled “Grand Illusions”. Mr. Cohen has been known to frequent the library when researching effects for his show Chamber Magic which plays at the Waldorf-Astoria here in New York. The article features a profile of Mr. Cohen as well as some of the tricks he performs. Additionally there are portions of the article which focus on where and how he acquires his secrets, one of which is Conjuring Arts!
If you don’t have access to the print edition of the article, it is available electronically here.
Shipping Now! Gibecière Winter 2010
Magic lovers rejoice! 
Due to the great efforts of our editor Stephen Minch the new issue of Gibecière (Winter 2010) is now off the press and making its way to subscribers from our offices in New York. This issue of the journal is robust and includes a fascinating article by Martin Gardner on the history of a specialized spelling effect with cards. Also included is an article by William Kalush on the general history of the speller which includes a facsimile reproduction of Dr. Elliott’s handwritten manuscript on the 3 card speller. Once again we are privileged to include another glimpse at the history of Japanese magic by Mitsunobu Matsuyama. After all that we still found room to include a translation of a newly discovered and possibly unique 19th century French pamphlet by Antoine Castelli entitled Amusemens physiques. Join or renew now to be sure you won’t miss this issue!
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.
Ricky Jay on 60 Minutes
Ricky Jay is featured on a recent 60 Minutes piece, titled “Scams: Pigeon Fever”, to discuss the nature of scams and human gullibility. Mr. Jay explains why experts in certain fields are more likely to be hoodwinked, demonstrates the blind faith people put in authority, and cautions against anything that seems too good to be true. Additionally they have a scene in Mr. Jay’s library where we get to see some excellent pieces from his collection as he discusses some prominent historical scams.
Watch the whole piece above or watch the excerpts featuring Mr. Jay below:
Magic: The Science of Wonder
A new magic event looms on the horizon! Magic: The Science of Wonder is a new museum exhibit which is going to be shown in Texas at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Featuring many notable performers, including John Carney and Richard Hatch, as well as a plethora of artifacts, video, props, and other potentially intriguing displays, this exhibit holds some promise. It aims to showcase the interrelationship of science and magic by not only demonstrating some perplexing effects but also introducing some of the subtle and crafty methodology magicians use to enhance their illusions.
They have also provided video clips of John Carney and Richard Hatch performing some particularly elegant magic:
Watch Richard Hatch’s beautiful routine with the Cups and Balls:
Watch John Carney as he does one of the most dazzling effects with coins ever conceived:
Zipcode Man
Street performer David Rosdeitcher has developed a most unusual talent. He has committed ZIP codes and their associated locales to memory and can tell you instantly where you are from when given the ZIP code. His initial street performing talent was juggling, and he developed the ZIP code memory feat when he moved to Boulder, Colorado, and found, since there were already some very talented jugglers performing in the area, he needed something new to help set him apart from the other entertainers.
Mr. Rosdeitcher’s earlier street performing had brought him to many different towns around the United States, and he was able to use his knowledge of the landscape to help him remember all the different ZIP codes, aided by the fact that they do have some logic to the way they are designated, i.e. the numbers start low on the East Coast and get higher as you move West. As the act proved successful, he started spending more and more time memorizing ZIP codes as well as pertinent facts about each location. Mr. Rosdeitcher has also taken to traveling abroad in order to expand his repertoire and currently can even perform the feat with many foreign countries’ postal codes and even say something in the person’s native language!
Our director, Bill Kalush, was on hand to witness one of Mr. Rosdeitcher’s performances. Bill was sure that he was going to see the Zipcode Man stumped, as he was in the company of Lennart Green, one of the premier masters of magic in the known and unknown universe and also a resident of Sweden. Both were shocked when Mr. Rosdeitcher, immediately upon hearing Lennart’s ZIP code, correctly guessed the magician’s place of residence (Gothenburg).
If you are interested in learning more about Zipcode Man, check out the interview he did with NPR (transcript available here): NPR Interview
