How Has Magic Progressed Over The Years? Years? Introduction:
Over the years, Magic has grown and progressed. It has changed massively from the original roots of simply using sleight of hand to steal food from the rich. It has now become a major art form that absolutely anyone can learn but only the truly committed and gifted performers continue and are enjoyable to watch. There are millions of magicians worldwide and that gure is rapidly multiplying. Timeline of Magic: 2700 !" – leight of hand was developed by the slaves to steal food from the rich. !edi, an "ncient #gyptian magician, performs the very rst $ups and %all &outine for the 'haraoh of the time. (e also pulled the head o) of a chic*en and then put it bac* on+ #00$%000 The !ar* "ges- ittle is *nown about the history of magic. Magic as entertainment is not *nown of. %000$%&00 – The Middle "ges- Magic was still associated with witchcraft. Magic became more popular and many magicians used the old cup and ball e)ect on the street to /bus*0 for money. money. They also developed new sleight of hand or applied new techni1ues to small objects such as coins. %&'# &eginald cot is forced to publish / The Discoverie of Witchcraft’ to to save many magicians from being persecuted as witches+ (e had to reveal many conjuring secrets. Magic and witchcraft were still lin*ed, and many copies of cot2s boo* were burnt in the early 34th century. %720 Isaac 5awl*es, #nglish Magician retires. (is performances left him with a fortune of of nearly ten thousand thousand pounds+ "mong his tric*s, was the card on ceiling – an e)ect still used by many magicians today. today. %7&0 6oseph 'inetti, 7considered to be the major gure of eighteenth century magic,7 is born. 7'inetti is said to be the rst recorded performer to do the thumb tie e)ect7 and he also performed the famous orange tree illusion where oranges grew on a tree in front of people0s eyes+ %'0& 6ean #ug8ne &obert(oudin is born. (e is *nown as /the father of modern magic0. (e brought performances to the stage. (e was an incredible stage manipulator and performed the famous bullet catch 9a gun was pointed at his mouth and then red. The bullet was then caught
in between his teeth:+ !avid %laine recently performed this on a T; special. %'7# – (arry (oudini is born. (e was the /
?–3?3?: 9&eal name "ngelo 6ohn ewis:, It was a denitive wor* on the state of the art in that time. %')# – !ai ;ernon is born. (e is *nown as 7The 'rofessor7 and 7The Man That 5ooled (oudini7. (e was the most in@uential ABthcentury magician and many of his e)ects and sleights are still used and admired today. %)02 The 7 Expert At The Card Table7 was published by The $harles T. 'owner $o. It was written by . C. #rdnase. It is considered by many card wor*ers as the most important boo* on its subject even today. %)02 May 3B, The ociety of "merican Magicians is founded at Martin*a0s Magic hop in Dew Eor* $ity. It is the oldest magic society in the world. %)0& 6uly The Magic $ircle was formed in the F<. Its rst 'resident was !avid !evant. It is a very serious society that also ta*es eGposure of methods very, very seriously+ %)%% – /Our Magic’ by Devil Mas*elyne and !avid !evant is published. It is arguably one of the most important boo*s of magic theory. %)%' (oudini rst performs Morritt2s ;anishing #lephant at the (ippodrome on 6anuary 4. %)2% '.T. elbit performs the rst ever 7awing a lady in half7. In the present day this is a very popular piece of magic that has been adapted to loo* even more convincing+ %)2( On "ll (allows #ve at 3-AH pm, (arry (oudini dies. !irca %)#0 #dward M. Massey invents the nger chopper, which becomes many young magicians2 rst tric*. %)#) The rst publication of / Roal Road to Card Magic’ Critten by 6ean (ugard and 5red %raue is released. It is still an important teGt for card beginners today.
%)&2 The rst publication of / Modern Coin Magic’ Critten by 6% %obo. It is considered by some, the 7bible7 of modern coin magic %)&( !avid $oppereld is born on eptember 3H. (e is a very successful stage illusionist in ;egas. (e has been named /a living legend0 by the F" ibrary of $ongress and has millions of fans worldwide. (e has inspired a recent generation of stage magicians and illusionists. %)(0 ance %urton is born on March 3B. (e is particularly well *nown for his dove act in which he elegantly produced doves from thin air+ (e performed more than 3,BBB shows for over ,BBB,BBB people+ %)(* The Magic $astle is formed by Milt arsen in (ollywood F". (e converted a 3?B= ;ictorian mansion to a centre of magical eGcellence. Many leading magicians have performed there. %)(' The boo* / Thirteen !teps To Mentalis" b $orinda0 was published. It is one of the most famous boo*s on mentalism 9mind reading or psychic phenomena:. %)72 Dew Eor*2s rst magic show spot / The Magic To#ne $ouse’ is opened by #d !avis and ta*en over by !orothy !ietrich 9who was a teenager: and !ic* %roo*J. It featured performers such as 5ran* Karcia, 6ac* ondon and (arry %lac*stone. 'erformers who got started performing there included, &occo ilano, 6ohnny "ce 'almer, 6e) Mc%ride and Michael $haut. Eears later, Michael organiJed / Monda %ight Magic’ when /The Magic To#ne $ouse0 closed in the 3?=B2s. &occo still regularly performs at /Monda %ight Magic’ . %)7# The musical The Magic !ho# starring !oug (enning 9who was a magician and illusionist: opens on %roadway and ushers in a new 7Kolden "ge7 of magic. %)77 Marco the Magi presents &e 'rand David and his o#n !pectacular Magic Co"pan premieres on 5ebruary AB in %everly, Massachusetts. It becomes the longest running 7&esident Magic how7 in history. %)77 6e) heridan, Dew Eor*2s celebrated $entral 'ar* treet Magician publishes (!TREET MA')C * An )llustrated $istor of Wandering Magicians and Their Con+uring Arts’ . 6e) was the rst magician to perform in the streets of Dew Eor* for over 3BB years+ %))# The rst magic stores appear online following the older teGt type newsgroups and bulletin boards. Information sites soon follow, changing
the way magic is learned and distributed throughout the magic community. %))7 – /The Mas*ed Magician0 9;al ;alentino: provo*es a lot of controversy by eGposing magic secrets on the major 5oG T; specials/Magic0s %iggest ecrets 5inally &evealed0. !avid %laine also brings 7 !treet Magic7 to "merica in his T; special. %))' – /World Of )llusion’ at Madison 1uare Karden launched the career of $riss "ngel. This was followed by / Criss Angel Mindfrea, 0 which ran until ABB>. 20%% $ !ynamo releases series 3 of magic series -Dna"o Magician )"possible- on F more series in the following years. 20%2 $ On 6uly , AB3A, !ynamo was promoted to an /"ssociate of the Inner Magic $ircle0. 20%* + %en (anlin releases his mostly hidden camera magic show on IT; called /Tric,ed0. (e tric*s celebrities and members of the general public using magic in an uneGpected way by posing as a wor*er in shops or oLces etc. 20%# + ,e-ruar. /Tro is released on #. Troy performs magic for the general public and performs big stunts and magic e)ects to random people. 20%& – /)"possible’ the largest magic show ondon has seen in decades, brings together = worldclass illusionists and magicians in a huge show. It will run for a limited season at the Doel $oward Theatre 9A 6uly A? "ugust:. The show is directed by "nthony Owen, and features 6amie "llan, Magical %ones, "li $oo*, $hris $oG, 6onathan Koodwin, %en (art, uis de Matos, and
6earning and Teaching of Magic:
Magic began as a very secretive art form and only a select few magicians are spo*en of from the deep history of it. Over the years, boo*s have been published to teach others how to perform the tric*s magicians perform. In 3= a magic boo* 9 The Discoverie of Witchcraft’ : was published to save magicians from being persecuted as witches+ "fter that, only certain magic boo*s are widely *nown by all magicians. " few eGamples of these
are- /The Tarbell Course of Magic’ , /Corinda’s /0 !teps To Mentalis"’ , /The Expert At The Card Table’ , /Modern Coin Magic’ and /The Roal Road To Card Magic’. Magic sets are regularly given as presents to children at birthdays and $hristmas. (owever, the tric*s revealed within tend to be straight forward and don0t tend to reveal too much of the deeper parts and secrets of magic. "s technology has progressed, so have the teachings of magic. Magic tapes and !;!s began appearing in magic shops all over the world. uch !;!s will not be found in the regular shop. Magic shops are often well hidden 9now a days in industrial estates:. There are a few /on street0 magic shops dotted around though that are easy to nd if you *now what to loo* for+ Magic !;!s are now slowly growing out of date and the magic community is turning to instant download magic from online magic stores. Dot only do they arrive instantly but they are also very easy to just carry around on a memory stic* and be watched anywhere. Magic clubs are to be found all over the place+ The most famous are probably The Magic $ircle 9F<: and The Magic $astle 9F":. (owever, as the younger generation 9mostly teens: are becoming interested in magic, more junior magic clubs are opening. In the F<, we have The Eoung Magicians $lub, which is run by The Magic $ircle. Magic clubs often have regular meeting where magicians can socialise with one another and share new magic. (owever, the heart of all teachings at Magic $lubs is done by the teachers 9referred to as lecturers:. Magic lectures have become very popular and clubs normally hire famous magicians from within the magic community to deliver them. These magicians are usually ones that create a lot of magic or are gifted performers and have won many magic competitions run by magic clubs themselves. Many magic shops are now selling online lectures as often lectures are diLcult to get to so the magic companies record them and sell them online. This form of lecture is becoming increasingly popular amongst the magic community. Magic conventions are growing more popular and each year more and more magicians visit them. $onventions are now opening up more to the young generation by having junior wor*shops and lectures teaching magic that will appeal more to the young performer. Magic conventions always have magic stalls where the visiting magicians can buy the latest and greatest magic e)ects and !;!s. They always consist of lectures and performances from the greatest magicians in the world. %lac*pool Magic convention is an annual event and is the biggest convention that most magicians will have heard of. Magicians from all over the world visit
%lac*pool for this > day convention and many famous magicians from all over the globe are always found there too+ " lot of magic is always taught at these conventions and it is said to be one of the best places for a magician to learn and practice magic.
