Sunday, April 14, 2024

Cavalcade of Magic Inventors!


Carl Bremer's 1930 Card Box Patent 
At Propelled Pasteboards, we take pride in recognizing a broad array of magical figures, from fifty-milers to the biggest superstars.  Recently, however, in connection with some other research I've been conducting, I had occasion to note just how many posts have been devoted to magical inventors: the unsung heroes who often labor in obscurity to keep the art fresh and innovative.  So, I thought it fitting that we present Propelled Pasteboard's. . . 

Cavalcade of Magic Inventors  







 Our inaugural post focused on magic inventor E.J. Moore, seen here touting his "Water-Go."  Moore created several rope tricks that sold more than 25,000 units.  

 

 







The king of creating gaffed decks, R.W. Hull's inventions included his incomparable "Tuned Deck," featured across fourteen pages of Greater Magic.  

 





Read about Billy Russell's long career of creating original magic.  You'll learn about his vanishing manuscript, a masterwork years in the making for a planned book that never saw print -- and where you can find it.  

 

 

 



Joseph Ovette, famed for invention and re-invention of magic effects produced many low-quality  booklets which nevertheless held innovative gold.  

 



Any compendium of magic inventors is incomplete without the scrappy Horace Goldin, who, most notably, inventing several versions of the classic sawing illusion.  

 


 

 John H. Isley could have invented the one of the most popular pocket tricks of all time - Anti-Gravico.  Unless, of course, he didn't . . .







The Roucleres invented and performed a number of major stage illusions.  

         

 


 

 Earl Lockman developed and marketed several major stage illusions, as well as smaller items for performers.  

 



While you may never have heard of Bill Wagner (I certainly hadn't), you'll be amazed to learn that he invented several award-winning effects, including a spirit painting illusion and a mind-blowing prediction produced by Thayer Magic.  

 

 

 



Got an Okito Box knocking around your magic drawer?  Time to meet Theo Bamberg, the man who devised that gizmo from an ordinary pillbox.  

 



The back-hand palm has been deployed with great effect in some of the best magic acts in history, including those of T. Nelson Down and Jeff McBride (both featured on the site).  Who invented that move?  Well, it just may have been Otto Maurer, Jr., who picked it up from a Mexican gambler.  

 


 

 




That Ralph E. Powell invented the "Stung, Stung Again" card trick may well be the least interesting thing about him.  This post, a personal favorite, offers a jaw-dropping story that you simply won't believe.  







 

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