Now that the S.A.M. has Harlan Tarbell up on charges for exposing via the five and dime stores in the form of ‘cut-out’ illusions, perhaps the wish of Tom Worthington and his Osirian may come true. This enemy (and I mean enemy) of exposing and his Baltimore barb has been for several years making thrusts at the S.A.M. and challenging them to name just one member suspended or expelled for exposure. Mr Tarbell, I understand, says that he is an ‘educator’ which means little or nothing to me as long as one ‘educates’ the wrong people. In the back of my mind I can see Mr Worthington already putting a keen edge on his pen and sketching a whitewash brush for the back page of a coming issue. It may not be needed, but he’ll be prepared.
Fred Keating did a very nice job on his reminiscent article in the April Sphinx. It not alone was of absorbing interest but the style and vein in which it was written was such as has not graced the pages of that academic journal in many a moon. John should put Fred on the staff between pictures.
While the periodical and its editor are in mind I recall a day when at the office and John told an S.A.M. member that The Sphinx could be subscribed to only if one were known to be a magician or genuinely interested. He stated that orders from ‘outsiders’ had been and would be returned. I wonder how this thought can be reconciled with the fact that The Sphinx is sold to agents who display it in their Broadway store windows for all who have a quarter ? Sure, they carry The Jinx too, but then I’ve never held my right hand behind while gazing only at the left. Both hands are in front pounding out inane and useless paragraphs like this one.
It is only because the circulation keeps mounting that I am able to enlarge this sheet little by little. I’m only too happy to be able to do so in return for the support it has received. When I look back and remember that I promised only three tricks for a quarter, I’m glad I’ve been able to give much more than that, because evidently it has been appreciated.
Berating myself for another slip, I can only apologize for the neglect in not giving credit to Mr Theodore Arnold for the work he put in on The Jinx Index which accompanied N°16 for January. I just didn’t have any time to go back and compile it and Mr Arnold kindly turned over for my use his own carefully made Index of The Jinx file. This is small return Ted, but I’ll make it up to you the next time you skid into the big city. I still have some of that Green River Rye left over from the tour.
Giving the benefit of the doubt to all comers, a subscriber pens, “Maybe Burling intends to continue the ‘Parts’ but it is taking too long.” That’s what I call super optimism plus.
More mail. Two letters in the same bundle. “I do not believe that the controversial articles help your magazine.” The other. “– and due to the Frank Lane controversy was able to sell them all. Many thanks for your courtesy.” No wonder the gray hairs are doubling up on me.
Dr Jacob Daley has found out what to do with the score card when he opens a new deck. He lays it on the back of the deck, makes a two card turnover and shows a face. Holding the two still together and the face up in the right fingers, the left hand turns the deck face up and the double card is inserted about half way, the right fingers underneath sliding the under (score) card of the two flush with the deck. The onlooker (if any) pulls out the face up card and finds a back on it too ! I might add a suggestion. Have a duplicate card to match the deck on the back. Change the score card to this. Then say you’ll have to throw it away anyway because that makes two alike in the deck. Tear it up and toss it aside. It’s the cute effect with a score card that counts. These little aside stunts most always click as well as more complicated effects.
Glenn Gravatt’s piracy on a grand scale has a copyist, of all things. His ad for the Encyclopedia in the current Sphinx implores one to buy the ‘original’ and not the ‘copy’ ! However, the ‘copy’ is a much better and more readable job. And well over 20% of the contents are effects published by Jordan and myself. Gravatt may alibi and excuse himself all he wishes and with ingenious trains of thought, but down deep it must hurt a little to know that the only way he can put out a book like that is to take the stuff from a scrapbook instead of working out his own material. A man must need the money real badly to prostitute his conscience. I hope it does him some good. But at least he used his own name. The copyist of the book didn’t dare do that. This ‘great inventor’ came along, slow on the draw as usual, but lacking the wherewithal so necessary at times, devised the scheme of putting it out in five separately bound parts at $2 per. The first part would finance the second, the second the third, ad nauseum. Dealers received copies with no comment and letters and advertising came from three different states. The pay off came when the bills were received along with the statement, “Please assist us in quick settlement so that we can pay the inventors and authors the royalty on those copies sold.” Well, we shall see. I burned up a lot of electricity checking the book against the tricky royalty clause with time limits and there are two items in the first volume at hand. I’ve contacted the advertisers and if they don’t get a statement (royalty or not) within 60 days, the whole mess goes to the P.O. Department for checking. Although the new name is Fairplay (?) Publishers, the old address of 507 Fifth Avenue, N.Y.C., will be familiar to quite a few who got stuck once before. I’ll give good odds though that no more than two parts (if that many) are produced, simply because this giant of the magical industry can’t seem to finish anything he starts anymore. I’ll have more about this later.
Max Holden informs me that Burling Hull is leaving soon on a trip to California. I hope he has a pleasant journey and am sure that many of the boys out there will be extremely glad to see him.
Henry Ford will have a museum for magician’s tricks and their apparatus. And the keynote of the news release was, “Ford feels that the art is slowly dying, now that people are educated to the tricks of the prestidigitator.” The underscoring is mine. What is it that Mr Tarbell calls himself ? Rather than tricks and apparatus, the museum should be built for magicians who want to “educate” the public. I’ll furnish the embalming fluid, Tom Worthington will chant a dirge, and the Society of Osiris (others may too, but of them I’m sure) will convene in a body and do a time step on the sarcophagus.
Entering the mind at the moment is the idea that I should give this issue a dedication, since I haven’t done such a thing since N°3. Therefore, after due consideration and many random thoughts, I’ll take pen in hand and sign off, dedicating this issue to the fact that within its pages there has not been included a card trick !
