J.W. Wilson

I've long had a particular fondness for this card featuring J.W. Wilson, perhaps drawn by the incredibly cheesy devil-costume clad assistant whispering in this performer's ear.  This particular piece of ephemera dates to an era when artists like Thurston and Kellar distributed promotional pieces adorned with gorgeous lithography sporting imps, devils, owls and other familiars imparting secrets to the performer. Wilson went decidedly low-tech and low-rent on this piece, offering a friend in a devil get-up in this black-and-white photo. The Deland back suggests that Wilson may have hand-printed these himself.  

A group of Deland backs.  Wilson's is on the left.

So who was J.W. Wilson?   That Wilson is a common surname, and he insisted (generally) on only using the initials J.W.. made him somewhat difficult to track down.   (Consider the fact that these pages also feature a contemporary named John Darrell Wilson).  Scattered references reveal that together with the famed A.M. Wilson (ed. of the Sphinx), he was admitted to the Society of Buffalo (New York) Magicians in 1921. Later that year, the Sphinx reported that J.W. performed something intriguingly entitled his "Black Box Mystery" but left tantalizingly undescribed. (Additional research suggests it was a put-together production box).    In 1922, the Sphinx reported that Wilson was performing magic and Punch and Judy shows for American Legion halls.  By 1928, he hosted a group of Buffalo magicians, now using the name "John W. Wilson" and performed a spirit seance, and by 1933, this group elected him "stage manager."

The other textual clue on the card was the reference to The New York Clipper.  This periodical, it turns out, was a theater newspaper published in New York City through 1924, when its coverage was assumed by Billboard.  This helps date the card, and suggests that Wilson was playing the theater circuit.

Fortuitously, I came across this image of a 1918 issue of The Magic World on an Internet antique dealer's site, and Tom Ewing was able to secure a copy of the article for me.   It adds a few details: Wilson was born September 29, 1876 in Buffalo.  He developed a magic program and eventually added some large stage illusions, leading to a contract with United Booking Offices.  The illusions included Black Art and The Haunted House.  The Magic World found him working in Delaware and developing a new, Asian-themed act.  

 Despite my derisive comments about the production values of Wilson's throwing card, it turns out the image he used was a magazine cover portrait, which makes it a pretty cool collectible.

Finally, there is a coin move called the "JW Wilson Grip."  For a time, I assumed it was attributable to this performer.   However, continued searching led me to a September 2010 article in M-U-M by inventive magician Nathan Kranzo.  Fascinated by the JW Wilson move, he dug into the question, and came to believe that it had been developed by a Jimmy (sometimes spelled "Jimmie") Wilson, Jr. whose father, J.W. Wilson Sr. was also an accomplished magician.  Yet Richard Kaufman credits "Jimmy Wilson, Sr." for developing a coin grip in 1946 (see Genii, June 2003).  And the Conjurer's Magazine for May 1946 does contain  an effect called the "Five Coin Vanish" by one Jimmy Wilson.

The J.W.'s -  father and son - have left us with a few mysteries.

Senator Lightner, the Wizard

This throwout card for Senator Joe Lightner (1884-1946) has everything a person could want in a throwing card. First, behold the intriguing stage moniker -- Lightner, reminiscent of lightning, conjuring up powerful supernatural images. Then, look to the bold, unsupportable claim to the title "America's leading magician," an excellent piece of showmanship. Next, consider the dramatic portrait -- the conjurer's profile, with a top hat perched at a jaunty angle, simply exudes mystery. Finally, the card contains some real magic -- the face of the card entreats the holder to count the dice on its back. (A standard Deland back design makes this a puzzling endeavor.)

Several Deland backs.  Lightner's is on the right.

Lightner first performed as "Lightner the Wizard" in 1906. performing in Chautauqua.  He was close friends with Dr. A.M. Wilson, and after the good doctor's death, he joined a group of investors who bought The Sphinx magazine, becoming a shareholder and member of the Board of Directors.

While I was running the throwingcard.com web site, Tom Ewing kindly supplied the following report about Lightner from the October 1943 issue of The Sphinx:

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The Hon. Jos. G. Lightner, a member of the Missouri Senate, and leading citizen of his home town of Odessa, Missouri, is as proud of once having been a magician as he is of any of the various high elective public offices he has held.

Joe Lightner had his own show of magic for a number of years and as he was a good magician, it was a good show. It was during this period of his life that he first became a close friend of the late Dr. Wilson. During the latter years of the Doctor's editorship of The Sphinx, Joe aided him in innumerable ways. His devotion to Dr. Wilson and The Sphinx prompted him to become one of the first stockholders of the present corporation. At one period, Joe was also associated   with the Seven Circles magazine.

An early member of the S.A.M., Lightner regularly came to New York for the annual banquets. He has also attended many conventions of magicians. Joe likes magic to be fast, colorful and it must be entertaining. Although he has little time for his own magic today, he always seems to be able1 to make time to go to see the performance of some other magician. His love of watching magic is so great that he will travel great distances to see a performance.

 Joe Lightner in his quiet way is awfully good company and knows magic and magicians of today and yesterday. 

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He had a storied career in and out of magic, becoming president of a group called the International Magic Circle and regularly reporting on the Seven Circles Conclave.  His wife- named Marvel - also performed in vaudeville with comedian Gallagher Shean.   Collectors might be interested to learn that he inherited many artifacts from Doc Wilson, including the very first pack of Deland's Dollar Deck, autographed by Deland for Wilson.


Lightner died of a heart attack in 1946 at age 62.  Upon his death, The Sphinx described him as "a brilliant man of noble tendencies."

Frank Ducrot

Ducrot's card sports National Playing Card Company's Rambler no. 23 Blue Hindoo Back

Frank Ducrot was born Theodore Francis Fritz on May 7, 1872 in Brooklyn, New York. His interest in magic started as a lad growing up just a ferry ride away from Manhattan where the famed Palace of Magic where Francis J. Martinka’s magic shop was just waiting to entice him. As a performer, he toured the Chautauqua and Vaudeville circuits. His billing as “The Boy Magician” lasted into his 50’s.