Throwing Cards To The Audience By John Mulholland

[Reprinted from The Sphinx Vol. XXXV Number Three, page 77]

     Howard Thurston became interested in magic because of having seen Alexander Herrmann’s show and it is quite natural that he should have been impressed with Herrmann’s feat of scaling’ cards, for Herrmann made it so impressive that today those who saw him are apt of all his magic first to recall his throwing cards up to the gallery. Herrmann was, perhaps, the first magician to scale cards out to the audience. At any rate, he was the first to make that a feature of his show. 

Whether or not Thurston practiced this feat because of his admiration for Herrmann, it is true that no one since Herrmann is associated in the minds of the people as much with throwing the cards, and it was always a feature of Thurston’s show. It is particularly interesting that Howard Thurston and Alexander Herrmann did not perform the feat in the same way. They both used cards of much heavier stock than the ordinary playing card. This gave the cards added weight, which permitted them to be thrown much further than the standard playing cards could be thrown. 

     Howard Thurston gripped one end of the card between his first and second fingers and threw it by a snap of his wrist. Herrmann gripped the card about a half inch from the end and midway between the sides, with the tip of his second finger and the ball of his thumb. The first finger held the corner of the card, so as to give it an added spin when it was thrown. The actual throwing, that is the little snapping’ flick of the wrist, Herrmann did in the same way as Thurston. Besides the 

interest the audience had in seeing the cards thrown accurately and far, the cards were prized as souvenirs, as both Herrmann and Thurston always had their portraits on their cards. 

In India in one of the first conversations which I had with Mohammed Bakhsh, the cleverest of the East Indian conjurers, he tried to impress on me that he was familiar with Occidental magic, and a friend of Occidental magicians. As proof of this he offered me a cracked and grimy card which he carried in his wallet. He showed it to me as confidently as a schoolboy shows his first diploma. 

      It was an advertising card of Howard Thurston; one of similar thousands which Thurston had thrown to the audiences on his tour of India twenty-five years before. It was interesting to find that the name of Thurston spelled magic in the land where magic is supposed to be in the very air, quite as much as for forty years it has meant magic to millions of Americans.

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Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz and later Ehrich Weis) born March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American illusionist, stunt performer, and noted for his sensational escape acts. So much has been written about Houdini’s life from articles to books. The life he lived and the secrets he took with him over ninety years ago are still being researched and found today. There still seems to be an endless source of material around the world.

Over the past handful of years alone, anything from scrapbooks, posters, and letters seem to appear, and it doesn’t seem there will be any end in sight. The name Houdini will continue to live on as a goal setter. Whether it was his method of publicity, his public recognition, or just good timing; the name Harry Houdini has been the bar to reach for in magic.

Harry scaled playing cards with accuracy and he could cut a card in mid-air with a pair of scissors. Thanks to Jay Hunter for solving one part of the Houdini throw out card mystery. Jay found the following in "The Sphinx" for June, 1936. Included in John Mulholland's "Editor's Page", he included the following from Harry's brother, Theo Hardeen.  "...Hardeen wrote the following interesting letter to me: 'The very beautiful story about the card throwing of Herrmann and Thurston in the May issue interested me very much. However I think that it is a little incomplete in not mentioning the name of Houdini. In 1894, when Houdini and I were performing as the Houdini Brothers, Houdini threw out steamboat cards with his picture on the front. These were the regular cards, no thicker. Then when Houdini joined the Welsh Brothers tent show, after his marriage, and worked the act under the name of Harry and Bessie Houdini, Jim Bard of the famous Bard Brothers (Jim and Eddy) taught him how to do a back somersault. After that Houdini would scale out the cards and the last card, he would throw out, turn a back somersault and catch as it returned to the ring." 
        If it wasn't for one particular publication by someone who has surpassed Houdini in his prowess of handling cards, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the image below what appears to be the Houdini throw out card. Here is an image of the front of the card published in the 1977 book by Ricky Jay titled, Cards as Weapons. I want to make an open request, please. If you own this throw out card, it would really be nice to know what is on the back. What is the actual size and would you be so kind as to allow us to post a perfect image? One wonders, what happened to all of these cards? 

             To honor the man whose name continues to be brought up almost daily around the world, here is another image in the form of advertisement that nearly coincides with our site.

This 7.62cm x 11.43cm card was used to promote soap.

            It should be mentioned, the facts on the back of the card are not all correct (well, they got his name right). Possibly those were the facts they received at the time of the publication. This is one cards advertising Orocrema Almond Soap that was created in the early 1920’s. Each card measured three inches by four and a half inches (7.62cm x 11.43cm).

Loosely translated the card reads:

“A single film has been enough to make this fantastic artist universally known. Son of a wealthy merchant was born in Chicago, in 1887, where he studied the career of an engineer. Since childhood, he has always shown an engaging and decadent character that led him to the realization of his daring plans. He built an armored armor that was the main reason for his only film titled "Houdini and the human tank" that gave him popularity. He is of a nervous temperament, and his numerous prowess has made the stairway of the facade of a "skyscraper" with the sun helping his feet and hands. He is currently retired from cinematography.”
              Houdini's skills were somewhat legendary, as discussed on the sites Wild About Harry and The Great Harry Houdini. According to many sources, he would scale steamboat cards with his autograph on the face. Images of such cards can been seen on Pinterest and here on this site Propelled Pasteboards.

This three sheet poster is currently on display at the famed Winchester House in San Jose, California (Yes, that's me).

              As seen above, there was always one item that really would have made a perfect throw out card, but alas, it was only created as a poster.

Clarke on the Winter Solstice

So, here in North America, it is the Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year.  And as we ponder darkness and shadow, what a perfect time to reflect on this fine specimen, advertising the magical services of Brewerton Clarke (1905-1986) early in his career, before he became more widely known as Sir Felix Korim.  Note the unusual incorporation of the common devil theme -- Clarke casts a shadow in the shape of a demon.   Clarke, who began his career as a graphic artist, may have designed this card himself -- regular readers may recall that he illustrated one of the Moore cards we featured in our very first post.