J. F. Krayak – “Eminent Illusionist” and “European Mystitics”

This is another one of those posts about a magician who left behind barely a trace of his magical career. There is enough about him however, so that he is not completely forgotten. He had some pretty nice throw-out cards too.

 

The life of Joseph Frank Krayak will have to remain for the most part a mystery. As can be seen on one of the above cards, he lists his address as Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. He proclaimed himself the “Eminent Illusionist”. On another card is the phrase “European Mystitics”. It is the reader’s guess as well as mine, as to what Mystitics means. It sounds magical though, and I am sure it kept a potential audience guessing. The Billboard for January 8, 1921 tells us that he was performing in his home area.

There is very little mention of Krayak in the magic magazines of the past. His greatest moment occurred when he appeared on the cover of The Magic World for November of 1919.  The short bio written inside by C. J. Hagen is very brief and does not tell us much, and Hagen explains why.

Besides performing magic, Krayak was also an escape artist. Like Houdini, he was known for his straitjacket escape while suspended upside down. From what I have discovered, Krayak was one of the few magicians that did the stunt while Houdini was still alive. I guess most others waited until after his death, probably so as not to incur Houdini’s wrath. Below is an article in The Billboard for September 3, 1921 talking about his “strait jacket” stunt.

While he may have billed himself as “Krayak, European Wonder Worker” it would appear that most of his performing career was spent as a magician in various carnival sideshows, mainly on the east coast. The Billboard on November 5, 1927 wrote in its column “Midway Confab”, “Joseph Krayak, magician with some carnival, is requested to write home.”

One of the last references to Krayak that I could find appeared in Hugard’s Magic Monthly for August of 1957. It sort of sums up Krayak’s years as a performing magician.

 

Well, this trick sure sounds like a beauty. But then, beauty is in the “eye” of the beholder. Maybe this story about Krayak is just a load of “beans”!