Gibecière

Our latest issue has arrived and is on its way to our subscribers! This issue completes the first dozen issues and marks the end of our 6th volume. Happy anniversary Gibecière!

As usual, we have a rich variety of contributions from a number of authors to make for some fascinating reading. In addition to some historical works, we even delve into a historical feud!

The first article is an intriguing look into the fascinating character Ishii Black by Mitsunobu Matsuyama in a continuation of his superb series of articles investigating magic in Japan. In addition to the look into Black’s life, we also have reproduced a series of articles that he contributed on Japanese magic, complete with commentary by Mr. Matsuyama.

The next series of articles are a present day look at what amounts to an historical feud! In our Summer 2009 issue, you will note that we offered a translation of Spain’s first magic book, Engaños a ojos vistas (Deceptions in Plain Sight) by Pablo Minguet è Yrol. Well, the book was not without controversy and one of Minguet’s contemporaries, Diego Joseph Zamorano, took him to task in Thesoro atractivo de curiosos… or Attractive treasury of curiosities…. Dr. Lori Pieper provides us with a translation of this interesting magical work and we are also treated to an introduction by Enrique Jimènez-Martinez and some present day commentary by Stephen Minch!

These are already being sent out to our members, so, if you want to get one, make sure that your membership is up to date. Also, if you are not a member, please join by going here. In addition to the journal we offer numerous other benefits, not the least of which is our searchable magic database Ask Alexander.

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Gibecière

The 11th issue of Gibecière is finished, and we are very excited. This particular issue contains a real treat as we have finally persuaded the delightful Jim Steinmeyer to contribute an article, an addition to our list of contributors that we have been hoping for since the journal began. Additionally we have articles by Mitsunobu Matsuyama, William Kalush and Stephen Minch, and a translation from Lori Pieper!

Jim Steinmeyer’s article, “The Spider in the Flies”, neatly transitions from Joshua Jay’s “Tragic Magic” in the last issue, as it has to do with murder, although it is not the magician this time who is the victim. There is quite a bit more to this novel mystery which we leave you to work out by reading Mr. Steinmeyer’s enlightening article.

Mitsunobu Matsuyama provides a seventh(!) installment in his fascinating series, “An Investigation into Magic in Japan”. This time the history intertwines with several of magic’s biggest names: Maskelyne, Devant, and Chung Ling Soo. M. Gintaro may have performed at the Maskelyne and Devant theaters more than any other magician, possibly more than 6,000 performances! Frank Kametaro was Chung Ling Soo’s right-hand man who also, tragically, gave the order to fire during the performance of the bullet catch which cost the life of Soo. These and several other individuals are documented in this installment.

We round out this issue with a new translation of the magic section of Ozanam by the ever diligent Lori Pieper. The translation is introduced by Mr. William Kalush and Mr. Stephen Minch in their article, “The Influence of Ozanam”, which looks at where the text may have come from and the later texts that may have benefited from its popularity.

In all, we are very happy with this issue and are sure that you will find much of interest.

These will be sent out to members as soon as we receive them, so, if you want to get one, make sure that your membership is up to date. Also, if you are not a member, please join by going here. In addition to the journal we offer numerous other benefits, not the least of which is our searchable magic database Ask Alexander.

Join Now

The Summer 2010 Issue of Gibecière is available!

For our spectacular tenth issue, we hear from a familiar voice, welcome a celebrated new contributor, and unearth a centuries-old manuscript that turns the entire timeline of magic history on its ear.

First, Barry Wiley chronicles the remarkable Nellie Bly, considered the first female journalist, and her shrewd exposure of fraudulent supernatural performers in early 20^th Century America.

Next we hear from the prolific Joshua Jay, who gives us a morbidly fascinating catalog of magicians who have met with tragic ends in the pursuit of their art.  Chung Ling Soo’s death is well-chronicled, but these magicians’ stories are equally (and just as eerily) compelling.

Finally, Conjuring Arts has uncovered a 17^th Century Italian manuscript whose contents both shed light on and call into question the timeline of many well-known conjuring tricks.  Lori Pieper once again provides the English translation, and Stephen Minch and William Kalush give context and commentary.

Back issues of Gibecière are available in our Store.

In addition to the translation, there are also introductory and supplementary articles by Stephen Minch, Juan Tamariz, and Enrique Jimènez-Martinez, including a checklist of editions by Mr. Jimènez-Martinez and William Kalush.

Original copies of Minguet are rather rare so it is a real treat to offer this translation which, combined with the supplementary materials, provides a unique opportunity to learn a great deal about a fascinating and previously inaccessible work.

Back issues of Gibecière are available in our Store.

We begin with “The Thought-Reader Craze” by Barry Wiley. Well known for his scholarship, this article features original research and commentary on the fascinating beginnings of the one-man mental act, and the techniques of contact mind-reading and muscle reading. A number of engaging characters and stories emerge during this study, featuring John Randall Brown, Washington Irving Bishop, and Stuart Cumberland.

Our second article in this issue features the fifth installment of Mitsunobu Matsuyama’s “An Investigation into Magic in Japan After the Opening of the Country”. The previous four installments have appeared in previous issues and are quite glorious. This article is similarly endowed.

Of course we have included a number of striking photos and graphics to highlight the text. Additionally, the issue features a number of improvements in design, including a splendid embossed cover, that make this one of the most beautiful issues ever.

Back issues of Gibecière are available in our Store.

We gladly submit a most fascinating Gibecière issue for your perusal. Please enjoy the following sundry articles:

The first piece, “Vernon the Mesmerist”, is by Peter Lamont, author of The Rise and Fall of the Indian Rope Trick and The First Psychic, and features the escapades of W.J. Vernon, a proponent of phrenology and mesmerism.

The next article features a further installment in Mitsunobu Matsuyama’s series “An Investigation into Magic in Japan after the Opening of the Country”. This time he looks at some of the first magicians to adopt western magic effects and some of the early foreign magicians to introduce western magic into Japan.

Finally we end with a look at the history of nail writing and pencil reading in “Lessons Written with a Small Gimmick” by Loren Pankratz. In addition to providing some of the earliest references to date for these secret subterfuges, there is also some intriguing information on two fascinating characters, William Eglinton and S.J. Davey, whose methods were considered superior to the prominent Henry Slade and still leave even present day magicians nonplussed.

Back issues of Gibecière are available in our Store.

Dr. William Spooner has contributed a history of the ideomechanic pendulum commonly known as the “Sex Detector.”

Volker Huber returns to provide a solution to the source of German artist Max Beckmann’s puzzling lithograph, “Magic Mirror.”

We have also included the first English translation of Satana raccolta Europea: passatempo dell’intermezzo nelle sedute: di magia egiziana: del cavaliere Bartolomeo Bosco, a rare and early biography of the renowned sleight-of-hand performer Bartolomeo Bosco. And we are very excited that this new translation includes an introduction by Ricky Jay.

Back issues of Gibecière are available in our Store.

In 1593, Venice, Italy, Horatio Galasso’s Giochi di carte belissimi (Most beautiful card games) was printed for the first time. No less important for our history than Scot’s Discoverie of witchcraft or Prevost’s La premiere partie des svbtiles, et plaisantes inventions, Galasso’s book broke new ground in early card magic. During the late 16th century we have numerous accounts of great sleight of hand men traveling around Europe performing card magic, but with Galasso’s seminal work we now have a book with numerous methods. Here for the first time is the explanation of what became the famous 21 card trick. Also here for the first time is the system that would later be attributed to Si Stebbins.

This rare treasure, which is only known in two examples, has now been translated into English by Lori Pieper.

More importantly, we now have the distinct pleasure of publishing the esteemed Vanni Bossi’s detailed analysis of this wonderful book.

Back issues of Gibecière are available in our Store.