As I grow older I find it easy to make mistakes, but I find it as easy or more to compare my errors with those of still greater men in our chosen profession. And that leaves me with plenty of ground to cover. When, in that answer to the "eight points" condition contract for The Sphinx vs. M.U.M. (Jinx #131), Mr. John Mahomet saw fit to say that "officers of the Society have elected to disregard their end of the contract", he erred, to be kind, for any faults he may have had in mind could only have been blamed…
We're more than a mite short on Editrivia this week, but the Scarne-Gali vs. Gali-Scarne news preprints are marvelously entertaining, and, we think, better than any other magical items on the spike. LIFE mag, Feb. 10, has some match tricks and gags to embellish a display of match cover designs. It's on the newsstands AS you read this. The S.A.M. Annual Heckscher Theatre show will be on Feb. 22. As the Hocus Pocus Review it quite obviously hints at magic, and, as usual, will be a sellout. Next week we'll try to have the act line-up. Mail box: "See by…
Magical doings have been more or less quiet these last few days. Can it be the lull before a big event to come — such as the 40th Anniversary Number of The Sphinx ($1)? We've heard even from Miss Dorothy Wolff, that it will be a prize issue from all angles. It's a happy thought about that venerable mag meeting its 40th birthday. Something would be lacking if our first bought magic paper didn't exist any more. Eighteen years have frittered by since that event in our life. We may have a difference in views as regards the present policy…
Our new Fifth Row, Center Aisle reviewing department will not be the sole effort of one individual but of from five to seven sincere advocates of bedrock reporting in the interests of magic. Cagliostro, Jr.'s article in this issue makes quite clear what we are pointing at. The other reviewers, scattered about the country, will take care of the performances occurring in their sections. We are interested only in shows for which tickets of admission are sold to the public. When a man entertains for people who have paid their money, he must be willing to accept an honest review,…
All of us have read books on card cheating, but it took a metropolitan court trial to give examples of chicanery which shame magical efforts for perfection of technique. "Stripper" decks were used for hundred dollar cutting bets, and the means by which "cold decks" were introduced into a game would be dubbed as "worthless" by those of us who buy information upon the subject from magician-card sharpers. We've never seen nor known one of such ilk who was worth a draw to a bobtail straight in a quarter limit game when it came to his profitable participation in a…
Scoop Dept. - On March 11th a congratulatory telegram was sent William and Geraldine Larsen by S.A.M. heads. It congratulated GENII for receiving M.U.M. contract for 1941-42. Thus, after nearly 40 years, THE SPHINX will remove its "official organ of the S.A.M." designative heading. It is rumored that disturbing rumblings in the state of Kansas have been traced to the grave of A.M. Wilson, M.D. Stuart Robson opened his Conjuror's Shop around a year ago and it seems as though his policies are what the paying customers like and want. He's moving into a showroom spot on N.Y.'s Times Square…
THE CLINIC club was formed by members of the Parent Assembly (N.Y.) S.A.M. in order to actually accomplish what should be any magic organization's first and chief reason for existence. At each meeting each member must perform one trick and submit to a follow-up criticism by all who so desire to criticise. Methods of procedure are smoothed out, unnecessary actions eliminated, and the suggestions never fail to come along. No sane devotee of magic could take umbrage at such a "clinic" and it is an answer to the problem of most new members to the various societies - how to…
The Linking Ring, January 1941, has a two page article by Fulton Oursler. It is titled The Sane Viewpoint of Exposure. We doubt if ever before such a point of view has been given such concise wordage. It's too bad that LR copies are not for sale to the public at large over magic counters, but restricted to members only. From a nationally known editor-author-amateur magus rabid, the paragraphs tell truths from a spectator's position. It may be a hard pill to swallow but once down it certainly will give relief. The printed stint makes exposing a minor factor in…
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…
We aren't running opposition to other publications with the greeting card displays in this issue. They aren't advertisements. We requested ideas and print them as received. Here is the thought. You, you or you might like to have a magical type of yuletide announcement for certain friends -- and certain club agents or committeemen on your list. The ones reproduced herein can be personalized for yourself at little cost. Follow thru; Cut out the one you like best. Paste it, nicely centered, on a sheet of white paper exactly 6 1/4 x 8 inches in size. Next cut out a…