Stanyon's Magic - Book three - Volumes 11 to 15 - 1910 to 1920

Coffret de 3 volumes  / Reedition en anglais de la revue Magic créée par Stanyon Ellis un magicien britannique qui fut également le patron d'une boutique de magie londonienne.

Le premier volume 1900-1904

Le second volume 1904-1910

Le troisième 1910-1920

Finally, we come to Stanyon’s Magic, yet another icon in the realm of  early 20th century conjuring publications. Two hardcover editions of  Stanyon were published in 1996, and I reviewed one of those in the  October Genii of that year. The following is excerpted from that review:

Ellis Stanyon was a magic dealer and writer who made his living first  and foremost selling props, but also dealt in both new and used books,  and produced a sizeable catalog of his own manuscripts and monographs on  a wide range of subjects magical. In October of 1900, Stanyon  introduced his own eight-page newsletter, simply entitled, Magic. This  first issue included: biographical articles on both PT. Selbit and the  "Wizard of the North," John Henry Anderson; the first installment of an  extensive series entitled "Lessons in Magic," this one concerning  "Practical tips on palming," specifically balls and coins; an article on  hand shadows; various messages, an editorial and "items of interest"  from the Editor/Publisher; letters from customers; and several pages of  Stanyon's own advertising. This kind of mix proved to be generally  consistent with the ensuing 177 issues, produced from 1900 up to and  until an interruption in 1914, and then resumed after the war in 1919  and 1920.

There is a treasure trove here in which history lovers will gain a  first-hand look at the state of the art a century ago, and working  conjurors will be richly rewarded in their search for old ideas to make  new again. There are contributions here that are not about, but rather  from, the likes of Hilliard and Hoffman! While the biographical material  was not included in every issue, it always makes for interesting  reading, whether addressing such notables as Selbit or Houdini (where we  are told that the substitution trick requires a mere "three to five  seconds" to complete), or lesser lights that Stanyon felt worthy of  attention at the time. Long before anyone knew the name of Harlan  Tarbell, Stanyon was amassing an encyclopedic record with projects like  his Lessons in Magic and his Dictionary of Magical Effects, a tremendous  resource well worth consulting for counsel and inspiration; just as  professionals today so often begin their work by turning to Tarbell,  many may find this a useful companion. Stanyon's voice was remarkably  modern, and his approach was deliberate and comprehensive; in the course  of these pages he also provides a 600-book bibliography totaling 48  pages which will be of interest to any researcher.

A feature which was missing from the first issue, albeit hinted at in  the Editor's introductory message to readers "... the interests of  magicians suffer no material injury by an expose of their secrets." bur  was a frequent feature of the magazine and apparently a source of great  notoriety for Stanyon was his "Explanatory Programmes," in which he  would describe the professional performances of the era in great detail,  and then expound at length on what he speculated to be the methods used  by these performers. This habit certainly attracted Stanyon a great  deal of attention, although it surely did little to endear him to many  working pros of the time. Stanyon seems to have delighted in the  controversy. While we're not certain who specifically objected, various  allusions to such complaints are periodically made by Stanyon, along  with occasional defenses of his position, the reprinting of supportive  letters from readers, as well as the claim that some professionals, such  as Chung Ling Soo, had offered Stanyon "carte blanche" and supported  his predations and exposures. Stanyon provides a clear statement of  purpose in his opening issue: "It is the desire of the Editor to  popularize the Art of Sleight of Hand which at the present day is so  little known." He was constantly pushing conjuring as a hobby that  everyone should do, and he seemed little concerned with the interests of  professional magi who might object to his methods or his exposure of  their own. What he wanted was more hobbyists, more readers, more  customers and so today he would likely be happy with the present state  of affairs—and probably pushing videos, too. (In a lengthy essay on  magic organizations, Stanyon makes a convincing case that magic dealers  are simply in the business of exposing secrets. While that is a position  that is difficult to disagree with, what is interesting is that Stanyon  presents this as a good thing. But I digress.)

In November of 1903 Stanyon speaks to all of these issues in a  full-page posting in which he claims that he has been threatened with  legal action for publishing "jealously guarded secrets of conjuring  tricks and illusions," while he makes a strong pitch that "A hobby is  what you want" and "Conjuring is a profitable hobby." Elsewhere Stanyon  makes this "special offer" to prospective subscribers: "To anyone  sending an annual subscription to Magic we will present gratis the  secret of any trunk ... sack, handcuff, or tape trick, or any  combination of these you have ever seen performed, and that you may  desire to have explained." Yikes! But while the Explanatory Programmes  no doubt infuriated his contemporaries (or at least those whose programs  were being described), they make for much of the most fascinating  reading in these pages. As only one example among the many installments,  there is a two-part segment on Nate Leipzig which is followed by an  installment of Stanyon's "Original Lessons" that includes approaches to  Leipzig's manner of forcing and controlling cards.

At times Stanyon comes off as something of a crank, but he wouldn't  be the first crackpot in magic to produce both quantity and quality (the  names of Tarbell and Jarrett come to mind, among others). He was,  clearly, quite an opera-tor; in November of 1915 he established "The  International Society of Conjurers," yet another ploy to build business,  familiar still to magicians today. In every issue the advertising pages  relentlessly push his latest lists, pamphlets, and so on without  respite. The guy knew how to make a buck off magic, but he also knew his  magic; along with that offer to new subscribers, one of his repetitive  ads read: "The secret of any trick, illusion or sleight may be obtained  from this Office, explained by Mc. Ellis Stanyon in his inimitable  style, carefully and clearly typewritten, and for the lowest possible  charge ..."

Back to the present: One can only exhale a sigh of relief that Mr.  Stanyon did not have the Internet at his disposal. Meanwhile, this  dig-ital edition includes some 1,500 pages, all 177 issues for a bargain  price. A time machine will cost you a lot more.

And finally: It behooves me to mention that the publisher of these  digitized journals also offers The Digital Wizard, another British  magazine of general magic, published from 1947 through 1956 and  containing more than 3,000 pages, and including a hypertext linked table  of contents. And Breese also offers The Gen (as reviewed by Eric Mead  in the June issue of Genii), simply one of the best magazines of  close-up magic over published, filled with 25 years of cutting-edge  material from magic's most progressive thinkers of the time, beginning  in 1946. In addition to consulting Eric's review, go find the charming  article entitled "Gen Day" on the Breese website, written by Hugh  Miller. Then, while you're there, buy the fabulous four-disc set. You  could not possibly be disappointed.