Novelties

Some, but not all, magicians have interests outside magic. Gus Davenport in the 1960s enjoyed building an 00 gauge model railway with his teenage son John. The design concept was to have track circuits at different heights, so maximising the number of trains that could run simultaneously. This approach automatically generated the need for bridges and tunnels, both much loved by Gus and John. John makes a brief appearance, almost certainly correcting a derailment.

This film was shot by friend and magician Harry Baron. Harry managed Gamages magic department and also had his own magic company. He was a well-known figure in magic. See also N1969.

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E-newsletters like this one are sent out four times a year, highlighting recent additions to the website. If you’d like to be added to the mailing list, please contact the curator. The March 2024 issue included:
– A film clip of Gus Davenport performing The Three Shell Game in 1936.
– Zauber Burgen (Magic Castles).
– Devant, Maskelyne and the Crispin Family.
– Magic sets.
– Cecil Lyle’s Chocolate Box Illusion – now on film.
– Demon Series printed silks.
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Stefan Lüpges makes these unique handcrafted pieces in Germany. His website explains that the individual conical parts are cut out of a simple piece of wood. He also makes them out of a tree fungus or a root. Since the individual parts are cut in a cone shape, they clamp together when you pull them upwards creating a castle. When the turrets are pushed down, they reassemble into a piece of wood. The individual pieces can be removed downwards, creating a magical 3D puzzle. This example was purchased at the Nuremberg Christmas Market in 2023, but they are available from Zauber Bergen www.Zauberbergen.de.

Click on Details if you would like to download a PDF of this e-news.
E-newsletters like this one are sent out four times a year, highlighting recent additions to the website. If you’d like to be added to the mailing list, please contact the curator. The December 2023 issue included:
– A pen with a surprise.
– Gone but not forgotten: tricks with cigarettes and pre-decimal coins.
– Besoni: a versatile Victorian entertainer.
– Ever more impossible joints.
– J.N. Maskelyne reminisces.
– And have you seen . . . this electric window figure, now also on video.
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Copyright Novelties Mfg. and Sales Corp. The design of the US Revenue Playing Card stamp on the box allows the pack to be dated between 1940 and the 1965. The wolf on the back of the cards meant that the cards were often referred to as a wolf pack. See N2782 for another pack of art studies by the same manufacturer.

This is a rather unhelpful product. It needs a 9 volt battery to operate it, fair enough, but there is no on-off switch and the wire that connects a battery to the bow tie is very short. Made in Taiwan.

The Hackney Empire in East London opened on 9 December 1901. This badge celebrates 120 years of what has been an eventful life for the theatre. The story is told on the Hackney Empire website.

This is a remarkable object. By flipping the switch on the plastic top of the pen, the shape switches from a silver cylinder to a uniformly crushed surface. The change is reversible. CRUSHMETRIC is a design and production company established in 2019. It was co-founded by artist/inventor Noah Deledda. Their first project, the SwitchPen was launched in January 2022. The company is an interesting one and more details on its formation and other products can be found on its website www.crushmetric.com. This particular pen was a gift from Tim Rowett who works with Grand Illusions and is well known for his amazing collection of toys and novelties. In 2023 the pens are available from Grand Illusions at www.grand-illusions.com.

The Magic Circle in London moved into their new headquarters at 12 Stephenson Way in 1998. Prior to the move, there was an opportunity to visit the site while alterations to the building were still being made. Attendees were each given a mug, as illustrated. The message on the mug is “Vanished from The Magic Circle Building Site, 12 Stevenson Way”. The printing purposely becomes fainter towards the right. Note that the word Stevenson is misspelt, it should be Stephenson.

This could be presented either as a puzzling trick, or simply as a novelty. At first glance the rod has three lengths of cord running through it. Closer inspection reveals that a length of cord is different on each side of the rod. For example, the cord in the middle in the illustration is green at the top and white at the bottom. If you hold the white end of the cord and pull it through the rod, you would expect the cord passing through the rod to come out green, but instead it mysteriously comes out white. The cords running through the rod at its end behave in a similar colour changing manner. The rod apparently has magical properties that allow it to change the colour of the cords as they are pulled backwards and forwards through it.

The small booklet that comes with this gives advice on reading palms and explains how the hand can magically answer questions. When you place the hand on the board it will answer questions from your audience by rapping once for ‘yes’ and twice for ‘no’. Made in China. Copyright 2012 Fantasma Toys Inc.

Despite the name, this is really a novelty. There is a small magnet in the top of each bottle, and one bottle has a magnet in its base. This allows various ‘tricks’ to be performed. For example, the bottles will not stand together. Other ‘tricks’ are shown in the instructions illustrated here. British manufacture.