Stewart was born in Baltimore April 12, 1893 and became interested
in magic at age 15. He was attending a magic show for children and was called on stage to assist. His job was to confirm that a derby hat was empty and then to hold it. The Professor (whomever it was) then proceeded to produce a large load of items from the empty hat. That cinched it for Stewart and he never looked back.
in magic at age 15. He was attending a magic show for children and was called on stage to assist. His job was to confirm that a derby hat was empty and then to hold it. The Professor (whomever it was) then proceeded to produce a large load of items from the empty hat. That cinched it for Stewart and he never looked back.
A traveling salesman by trade, he apparently used magic occasionally to help sales or to engage potential clients in hotel lobbies and other public places. In addition to being a member of the Demon’s Club of Baltimore, he also belonged to the National Conjurors’ Association, Local # 5 in the city. An early reference to him performing appeared in the March 1913 Sphinx where he was reported giving a show for the Y.W.C.A. in Baltimore.
His bio and a cover photo of him appeared in the September 15, 1919 issue of The Magic World, edited by Charles J. Hagen, one of the driving forces behind the NCA. Stewart had a column in that magazine called, variously, “Card & Ball Tricks” and “Card and Coin Tricks.” In 1919, his program included tricks titled, The Shattered Romance; Photography Extraordinary; A Painful Experiment; The Flight of Time; The Knot That is Not; Stung; Lesson in Cooking; The Wandering Egg; Borrowing a Hat, and other platform effects.
Other contributions of tricks appeared in The Sphinx from 1911 to 1944. The Spirit Ball, was his version of a rapping spook communicating by knocking a billiard ball between two china plates. It was accomplished by an offstage assistant with a thread. The Clock Card Trick allowed the performer to have any card laid out like a clock to be chosen while the magician was out of the room, return and gather up the cards, place them in his pocket and then remove 11 of the 12 cards. Upon being told at which position on the clock dial the selected card had been, the chosen card could be pulled from the pocket.
One of his two scaling cards features his photo and is a “good luck” card. It features the U.S. Playing Card “Nautic” back design in red first introduced in 1919. It is similar to the modern “Streamline” back. The other card carries no image but carries the banner “When you play with BICYCLE you hold GOOD PLAYING CARDS” and offers his services for “all occasions.” It features a USPC Thistle back in blue.
Another local guy out there playing the town, hanging out at magic meetings and joining the long ranks of 40-milers.
Tom
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