Foye´ “The Magician Deluxe”

The internet can work wonders when it comes to doing research on the history of magic and magicians.  I found this throw-out card some time back on eBay.  I was able to get not only the card, but the original printing plate that was used to make it.  It was for a magician who called himself Foye´, “The Magician Deluxe”. 

Many months into the future, I was attending a book and paper/ephemera show.   A dealer told me that he had just bought a box of magic memorabilia that morning from another dealer before the show opened.  The dealer told me he would have it at another antique show the next month if I wanted to see the stuff.

Handwritten advertisement assumed to be written by Foye´ Pearson

 

When the next month arrived, imagine my surprise when I discovered that the box of memorabilia belonged to a magician whose name was  Foye´ E. “Al” Pearson.   In the lot were several professional photos of Foye´  and his wife Marie (It looks like Al and Marie were in show business together), along with a few magic props, some blueprints for illusions, and even his wallet with an old Ohio Driver’s License.  I bought everything that related to Al and his personal history.  Then the research began.

I have not been able to learn a great deal about Foye´ , but I did find a few things.  Foye´   Emerson Pearson was born on May 4, 1908 in Delaware County, Ohio.   As a young man he lived in Mt. Gilead, Ohio.  By the time he was around eighteen, he was a member of The International Brotherhood of Magicians, holding member # 702.  The only reference I could find on him and his magic career, was that he attended the first ever magicians’ convention held in 1926 by the I.B.M. in Kenton, Ohio.

Dante's use of "The Magician Deluxe"

 

I also found in the “Linking Ring” in 1926 an ad for Harry Jansen as Dante “The Magician Deluxe” in which he sends his “Season’s Greetings”. Now, I wonder, who called themselves “The Magician Deluxe” first?  It could be that the young Al Pearson liked  the way it sounded, after seeing the Dante ad. But maybe, Dante came across one of Foye’s throw-out cards and appropriated the name for himself.  We will never know for sure.

While his interest in magic was strong enough to have had a throw-out card and photos made, magic did not become his lifelong vocation.  According to his obituary which I found online, Foye´ was a retired Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army.   I am guessing that he probably went into the service during World War II as I found some documentation pertaining to his involvement in campaigns in the Pacific.  I also discovered that he ended his career as an Army recruiter in central Ohio.  Foye´ passed away on April 23, 1981 at the age of 72. His wife of many years preceded him in death by 3 months.

Al Pearson during his Army career

 

In March of 2015, 34 years after his death, there was an estate sale of the belongings of Mary K. Pearson Wolfinger in Mt. Gilead, Ohio.  In the auction listing there were two theatrical trunks of magicians’ effects once owned by her late brother Al, also known at one time in the distant past as Foye´  “The Magician Deluxe”.

Jansen, Thurston, and Tansan Sparkling Water

Contributor Gary Frank has written an excellent post on Harry August Jansen and his throw-out card that he used after joining forces with Howard Thurston and becoming “Dante the Magician”.  Mr. Frank has told us how in his early years Dante was known as “The Great Jansen – America’s Greatest Transformist” and toured the world.

While on tour, Jansen had this wonderful throw-out card made. The face of the card has an image of a young Jansen with the words “Your friend Jansen”. Below this it says “The World’s Greatest  Transformist”. On the back is an advertisement for Tansan Mineral Water.

The Tansan Mineral Water Company was founded by Englishman John Clifford Wilkinson. Tansan Sparkling Water came from the mineral springs of Takarazuka, Japan. Clifford-Wilkinson trademarked his product in the U.S. in 1896. Tansan produced their water in a plant near Kobe, Japan.

It would appear that at least two famous magicians had throw-out cards produced advertising Tansan Sparkling Water. One of course would be Jansen. The other would be Howard Thurston. Both men used these cards very early in their careers when they embarked on world tours with appearances in Japan. The time frame for these cards would have been the early part of the 1900’s. I have seen several variants of Thurston/Tansan cards. When they have been offered for sale, usually in an auction setting, they sometimes sell for extremely high amounts. I was fortunate to be able to add a Thurston/Tansan card to my collection, without taking out a loan for it!

For many years, I thought the throw-out card for Dante was the only one he ever issued. But, it just goes to show, you should never assume anything. I was pleasantly surprised and extremely thrilled, when I happened to find and acquire both of these cards.

Professor Stockley's Hundred Year Time Capsules

Albert A. Stockley, Jr. (1868-1946) was the son of a civil war veteran who operated a wholesale liquor store in Baltimore, Maryland.  Somewhere in the middle of life's journey, Stockley became interested in magic.  Magic magazines from around 1900 through 1907 contain a variety of notes about "Professor Stockley." None of these, however, were quite as historic as his inclusion on the very first published list of potential applicants for the Society of American Magicians in the February 1903 Mahatma.  That list included 14 hopefuls, mainly from the East Coast, but most notably Harry Houdini from New York City and Harry A. Jansen (later known as Dante) from Chicago.

Later that year, Francis J. Werner, founding Secretary of the S.A.M., travelled to Baltimore and had the opportunity to watch Stockley perform at Henshaw's Episcopal Church.  After witnessing Stockley entertain with a program that included "Flower production, hat load, cards, billiard ball and handkerchief manipulations, and rising cards, a la De Kolta," Werner reported to readers of Mahatma that Stockley was "a credit to The Society of American Magicians."

Given his historic early membership in the S.A.M.,  perhaps it is unsurprising that Stockley commissioned a throw-out card prominently featuring the Society's logo, and identifying him as a "Fellow" of that organization.  The card, seen here, has a blank back.  Stockley approached his hobby in a business like manner, packaging these cards together with a handsome brochure in a beautifully printed envelope to be sent to prospective clients.

Fast forward a century.  Around 2016, a "picker" working in the Baltimore area organized an estate sale for one of Stockley's descendants.  Amidst the accumulated treasures, he unearthed a handful of sealed envelopes containing Stockley's ephemera, each packet sealed a century earlier, ready to be addressed to a potential customer.  The discoverer turned them over to an eBay seller.   Our friend Bill Mullins, who has posted on this site elsewhere, bought one, and alerted your correspondent to their existence.  I contacted the seller and bought the few that remained.

When they arrived, I gingerly opened one of the envelopes, which yielded a card and a brochure.  It was like opening a century-old magic time capsule.  For anyone interested in magic history, this was an exciting moment.

While, of course, the throw-out card was the prize, Stockley's brochure also proved a treat.  The cover features the handsome portrait featured here, as well as a Shakespearean quote about magic.   Inside, the good professor attempts to attract business using Victorian language and testimonials that were the fashion of the time.  He boasts of "my large number of mystic revelations" featuring "some of the newest and most delusive that have been presented."   He promises to "continue to add the latest effects and discoveries in the mystic art, thereby keeping my repertoire replete with up-to-date attractions."   Buttressing his respectful announcement are a series of testimonials from lodges, social organizations and one military regiment, expressing gratitude for his "first-class entertainment," including one particular shout-out for his "mysterious cabinet."  People really could write in those days.

Howard Thurston

Howard Thurston (July 1869 – April 13, 1936) From his youth to his death, Thurston continued to achieve notoriety using his wit and innate ability to charm those around him. Over his lifetime, he crossed paths with some of the most noted performers in magic.

He joined forces with Harry Kellar, he nurtured a young performer named Harry August Jansen, and enlisted a worthy contender by the name of Raymond S. Sugden. He saw in both Jansen and Sugden a way to promote his name, but in doing it he lost, not only in fame, but it recognition. Both performers received praise and notoriety independently. At the end of his career, all Thurston achieved in his lifetime was lost by futile investments and owing taxes in both his own home state and the U.S. Government.

A rare photo of Howard as he performs a card trick for Jane

                                                                                  

Dante the Magician

Harry August Jansen (1883 - 1955) and his family came to the United States and settled in Chicago. Jansen made his stage debut at the age of sixteen. Years later, he toured the world as "The Great Jansen – America’s Greatest Transformist". From 1908 to 1911, Jansen and his partner I. F. Halton built magic props under the name Halton and Jansen Company. In 1922, Jansen began working for magician Howard Thurston in the capacity of shop foreman and master prop builder. Once the show was built, Jansen’s options were coming to a close.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a half sheet poster Jansen used during his early days of performing