Many entertainers have financial difficulties in their early careers. David Devant wrote about his early struggles in My Magic Life.
In December 1892 he put on a show at Balham Hall. The show made a loss, but it turned out to be an important step in securing a place for him in Maskelyne & Cooke’s theatre at the Egyptian Hall. He used the show to showcase his new stage illusion, Vice Versa. The illusion caught the eye of the Crystal Palace management, and before long Devant had secured a booking at the Egyptian Hall. However, Vice Versa was too large for the Egyptian Hall stage. J.N. Maskelyne asked Devant to come up with something more suitable. The result was The Artist’s Dream, based on the same principle as Vice Versa.
Anne draws on previously unpublished material which allows the fascinating details of the story to be told.
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The March 2021 issue included:
– Gems from The Magic Circle Collection: Mr Maskelyne’s famous play by Anne Goulden.
– Gus Davenport – the man and the magician by John Davenport.
– Roy Field on Magic at the Seaside.
– Honouring Oswald Williams.
– Paul Freeman on Adalbert Frikell.
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 2020 issue included:
– What kept John Nevil Maskelyne busy in 1894?
– Steve Beam on bookplates.
– Space-efficient collections.
– Lewis Davenport’s travels in Europe.
– It’s December, so here’s an example of that perennial gift: the magic set.
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 July 2019 issue included:
– Letters from The Front by Michael Colley.
– Ephemera other than posters and programmes.
– Wynne Davenport’s stage dresses.
– Peter Warlock paintings.
– A Maskelyne designed cash register.
– Novelties.
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.
The two parties to this partnership agreement were J.N. and Nevil Maskelyne (the Maskelynes) and David Devant. Devant was the managing partner. The Maskelyne and Cooke Provincial Company carried out annual tours around Great Britain from 1899 to 1905. The Entertainment Bureau operated for many years supplying high class entertainments. There is much of interest in the agreement, including the agreement on profit sharing. Anne Goulden has produced a useful summary of the main points covered by the agreement in an Article on this website which can be found here.
In Great Britain it was necessary for dramatic plays to obtain approval from The Lord Chamberlain’s Office before they could be staged. This document dated 29 August 1905 grants permission for ‘Will, the Witch and the Watchman’, a dramatic sketch in one act, to be presented at St. George’s Hall, London. No changes to the submitted script were requested. J.N. Maskelyne had not long moved from the Egyptian Hall to St. George’s Hall. It may be that changes had been made to the script, so that it required new approval, or perhaps the change of venue from the Egyptian Hall made reapproval necessary.
The date is probably late December 1904, because the season started on Boxing Day. J.N. Maskelyne was busy making arrangements for the opening of St. George’s Hall, so he arranged for Martin Chapender to take over the final weeks of the lease on the Egyptian Hall, prior to its demolition. The season ran from Boxing Day to Saturday 21 January 1905. The show was very well received by audiences and the press.
29th consecutive year, 1901-1902. The bill includes the sketch ‘The Entranced Fakir’, the first performance of which was on 6 April 1901, according to the book on the Maskelynes at the Egyptian Hall by George Jenness. The date must therefore be no earlier than this. It was in ‘The Entranced Fakir’ that Maskelyne first showed his latest, world beating, levitation. J.N. Maskelyne’s plate spinning and Valadon were also on the bill. Animated Photographs were presented by Mr. E.A. Maskelyne and accompanied by the Mechanical Orchestra.
Devant announces new animated photographs for his ‘Cinematographe’. He also explains that to ensure he is able to obtain good pictures of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee procession on 22 June 1897, he has 140 seats for disposal on Mr. Maskelyne’s Grand Stand. The fascinating story of Maskelyne’s Grand Stand can be found in ‘John Nevil Maskelyne’s Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee speculation‘ by Dr Edwin A Dawes on this website. See Devant and early cinema for similar items.
27th consecutive year, 1899-1900. The programme includes Herr Valadon who first appeared at the Egyptian Hall on 6 August 1900, according to the book by George Jenness. The programme date must therefore be after 6 August 1900. The animated photographs included the recent solar eclipse, taken in North Carolina by Mr. Nevil Maskelyne. Apart from the colour of the paper, the programme is the same as programme Ref. no. N2078.
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