To our knowledge the contents of this partnership agreement have remained confidential until now. The parties to the agreement were J.N. and Nevil Maskelyne (the Maskelynes) and David Devant. Devant was managing partner. The Maskelyne and Cooke Provincial Company made annual tours of Great Britain from 1899 to 1905. The Entertainment Bureau supplied high class entertainments for many years. There is much of interest in the partnership agreement and Anne’s article is a useful summary.
Michael Colley’s index will be a boon to any serious researcher who wants to check on relevant material in the Demon Telegraph.
When Davenports first published it in 1933, the content was mainly advertising. It wasn’t until Issue no. 61, when the New Series started in 1942, that more articles were added. There were articles aimed at performing magicians covering tricks, bits of business and performance advice. The series of articles on ‘Old Timers I Have Met’ and ‘Programmes of the Past’ are of especial interest to magic historians.
The Cambridge Pentacle Club was founded in 1919. Michael Colley has written the story of its first 100 years, making extensive use of the Pentacle Club archive and his own research. Until the 1960s the Pentacle Club was solely a university club. In the magic world its best-known undergraduate member was Alex Elmsley.
Michael’s book covers not just members, but also the well-known magical personalities who came to lecture at the club or perform in shows. Download the PDF and join Michael on his journey through time.
What was Lewis like as a person? John Davenport paints a picture of his grandfather.
Anne Goulden explains why Maskelyne & Cooke felt able to use this billing, despite never having performed before royalty.
It is very difficult to find reliable information on the salaries paid to variety acts. In this article Anne Goulden reports on Oswald Williams’ act at the Leicester Palace and compares his salary with the other acts on the bill. These are recorded in a salaries book which belongs to the British Music Hall Society Archive.
Anne Goulden has used private letters from Charles Glenrose to Claude Chandler to paint a picture of the 1922 season in Aberystwyth. The letters provide an insight that would never be obtained from contemporary printed material. Despite Glenrose’s hope and optimism, it was a tough season.
This article is an overview of the Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum’s exhibition The Amazing Chang: The magic of Whittington-Wickes (17 October 2009 – 10 January 2010).
Historians of Victorian entertainment will be familiar with the Egyptian Hall on Piccadilly in London. It served as an entertainment complex until it was demolished in 1905. Less well known is the fact that the Hall has been captured on wall tiles in the Hyde Park Corner pedestrian underpass.
Click below to download the PDF containing John Davenport’s photographs.
The British Music Hall Society archive has a salaries book from the Leicester Palace. Anne Goulden lists the salaries of magicians and top acts of the time. She also shows the effect of the First World War on salaries.
