That penny swindle in issue #123 made more friends than enemies, at least. The secret is "timing" and assurance. As no coin changes hands behind the back you must count 1-2-3 before bringing them back into view. But when you show the victim he has won or lost, there is no time lost in putting them back out of sight again. The N.Y. Knights of Magic certainly belong in high brackets, for their public shows, judging by that on Jan. 22 at the Barbizon-Plaza Hotel Theatre filled the seats and satisfied the people who paid. Sensible, too, is the policy…
There's an object lesson in the reading of the news clipping (Boston American, Sept. 13, 1940) reproduced at the end of this Editrivia. Elwin ("Le Conjuror") T. Shaw's technique for making blase reporters and columnists interested might well be followed by many others. The Walter Gibson just incarcerated in the N.Y.C. bastile for advertising a Seventh Day Adventist meeting by motoring through the city's streets with a picture of Hitler, IS NOT magic's Walter Brown Gibson, alias Maxwell Grant, confidant biographer of The Shadow. Just thought we'd put it down to squelch those ever-present "boys" who haven't enough engagements to…
Hallowe'en time is with us again, or maybe I should say "Houdini Day". I wonder how many of the boys took advantage of the chance to do a benefit show and be certain of press recognition due to the Houdini tie-up? We were going to put handcuffs and leg-irons on our cats but Sid Lorraine kept us on the time honored track by donating a couple of pumpkins for them. It probably will get to many readers too late, but we just learned the gag. Those "salesman's campaign (Presidential) buttons" which show a picture of BOTH candidates allow the "fence-walker"…
Magic should have a shrine for its relics. True, there are a few with enough reverence for their life-long hobby to acquire ancient pieces of apparatus and objects personally associated with "the greats" but it is all disjointed. Only a national group, in unity, could permanently house and care for such a collection. I doubt if there is any magus who hasn't got tucked away somewhere his first "pull" or homemade gimmick that is cherished because of the memories it brings back. I know I still have those first color changing cotton hanks which didn't match in size together with…
Time out for business: The Jinx does not accept paid advertising. Therefore we have had unparalleled response from dealers because we do not advertise other retailers. For this reason we've left out even our own address and subscription prices from most issues. Only because of requests we print these data: The Jinx is edited and published by Theo. Annemann, Waverly, N.Y., U.S.A. The subscription rates are; 8 copies for $1. By first class mail $1.12. By tube, $1.24. These prices apply to the entire world. (That's that for another 52 weeks. Ed.) Magicians should forget about any tricks pertaining to…
Buzz-buzz (meaning phone). "Yes?" (meaning us) "The board of directors calling, sir." "Yes." (tremulously but with thanks for the 'sir') "Professor Humdrum speaking." -- "Well?" -- "We know you do your best, and we stand for an awful lot, but why do you lay yourself and us wide open to "come-backs" as of that S.A.M. public night on November 18th?" "You mean ---" --- "You know what we mean. You should time your Editrivia better, maybe take lessons from Fulton Oursler who gets Liberty magazine on the press from four to six weeks ahead of publication dates." "But we never…
If ever there was an example of showmanship and downright personality making itself a success - that example is Dante. We've been a great advocate of David (Fu-Manchu) Bamberg and we've certainly extolled his merits here while lamenting conditions in this country that make it hard for a theatrical venture to succeed. Dante came to New York with a deprecating air. He wandered (?) westward, bought himself a piece of property, and, ostensibly retired. Rupert (Danton) Howard, for all that we boys knew, had the show. Dante came back. Mrs. Jansen and Mary remained in seclusion. Without so much as…
Dr. A. M. Wilson, he who published and edited The Sphinx for thirty years, once put into print a most biting remark, to wit; "The shores of time are strewn with the wrecks of failure in the magic game, the majority of whom had no adaptability or were wrecked on the rocks of sameness." Now that the first metropolitan-type of excitement has passed we New Yorkers can sit back and accept Dante in a position no other magician has been able to fill. He hasn't done it in the latter bracket for the show reeks of Thurston and depends entirely…
Dante, playing strictly to form, is the BEST MAGICAL SHOWMAN on the American stage today. He also is one to be gambled on, for, at least one of the recent performances saw him well under the influence of Bacchus. Dante has a banner to carry over here. He may have done "under the weather" shows in other climes during the 14 years of his absence, and there are but few of use who will begrudge him the same privilege over here. But -- Dante has it in the palms of those graciously handled appendages above his waist plus a demeanour…
Issue of October 5, 1940. Press time rumor has it that the Dante show closes its N.Y. run this Sun. night, Oct. 6th. We hope it's untrue for the same source informs that Dante may not be satisfied with the box office arrangements. To us this sounds silly for one of Dante's business acumen and sagacity. The public likes the show and every week in New York, down to the vanishing point of profits, is worth plenty when the production takes to the road. Perhaps Dante doesn't yet realize how magic shows of the big type have lost favor here…