Jim Steinmeyer (53 page)

Information on Dooly’s church is from the
New York Times
, May 25, 1885. Additional information on Dunn’s House of Refuge and William Round is taken from articles in the
New York Times
, January 15, 1883, January 14, 1889, April 21, 1891, October 31, 1892, October 26, 1894, and Round’s obituary, January 6, 1906. Professor Hoffmann’s
Modern Magic
(Routledge and Sons, 1877) has been in print since its original publication. Howard Franklin Thurston’s early life is reconstructed from U.S. census records, Thurston’s autobiography,
My Life of Magic
(Dorrance and Company, 1929), and
Our Life of Magic
. Thurston’s autobiography includes many romantic elements of his childhood travels. Other elements are taken from Thurston’s autobiographical screenplay outline, “Jimmy,” in the collection of Jim Berg and Fred Baisch at Twin Cities Magic in St. Paul, Minnesota. For example, in “Jimmy,” Thurston explains that it was Reddy who bought Jimmy the book on magic. The family problems are also suggested in “Jimmy.” Alvin Richard Plough’s article “Thurston, the Man,” from
The Linking Ring
, July 1942, recounts Thurston watching the Ink to Water Trick.

Henry Sawyer’s remarks are recorded in the Mount Hermon Academy archives. I’m especially grateful to Peter Weis for the Moody’s philosophy and how it was represented in the founding of Mount Hermon. Thurston’s academic and athletic records are from his files as well as accounts in the school paper,
The Hermonite
. The Christmas party is reported in
The Hermonite
, January 4, 1891.

Information regarding Thurston’s time at Burham Industrial Farm is from
My Life of Magic
and from letters in the Thurston files at Mount Hermon Academy. I was also grateful for insights from Philip Kaminstein, archivist at Berkshire Farm (formerly Burnham). George Daily has a document, with Thurston’s signature, from his days at Burnham.

I’ve reconstructed Herrmann’s show from newspaper accounts and reviews that season. I previously wrote about Herrmann in
The Glorious Deception
, and am grateful for the perspective of James Hamilton, a researcher on the Herrmann family. The Boston critic is quoted in H. J. Moulton,
Houdini’s History of Magic in Boston, 1792-1915
(Meyer-books, 1983).

Thurston’s account and early recollections are taken from
My Life of Magic
and from his St. Mark’s Church speech (May 6, 1928), which was recorded in manuscript and is in the Twin Cities Magic collection. I’ve also used the newspaper article “When Thurston Spieled Freaks,” by William E. Sage, the
Cleveland Leader
, October 30, 1912. Robert-Houdin’s mistake is from the English edition of his autobiography,
The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin
(Dover, 1964). Thurston family information is from the U.S. census.

Thurston’s early show business career is taken from the Grace Thurston manuscript, Grace Thurston and William L. Rohde,
My Magic Husband, Thurston the Great
(Phil Temple, 1985), the original of which is now in Rory Feldman’s collection. Thurston’s time with Sells Brothers is recounted in Harlow Hoyt’s
Town Hall Tonight
(Bramhall House, 1955).

Houdini’s association with the Columbian Exposition is from William Kalush and Larry Sloman,
The Secret Life of Houdini
(Atria, 2006), and the Dahomey Village is described in guidebooks and photo books of the fair, as well as Bernth Lindfors (editor),
Africans on Stage
(Indiana University Press, 1999).

Thurston’s carnival career is from David Lano,
A Wandering Showman, I
(Michigan State University Press, 1957); I’ve reconciled the dates of Thurston’s and Lano’s accounts.

The account is from
My Magic Life
,
My Magic Husband
by Grace Thurston and William L. Rohde, and the St. Mark’s Church speech. Thurston recounted the Harry Davis dime museum in a 1930 letter to his brother Harry, from Ken Klosterman.

I’ve been asked by many magicians and collectors about the veracity of the Grace Thurston manuscript, as Grace’s account—Thurston’s rough early career—was a revelation when it was published. I have no doubt that it is accurate, as the early memories, names, and dates have since been corroborated by independent sources like
A Wandering Showman, I
. However, Grace Thurston’s manuscript must be read with caution. It postdates Thurston’s own autobiography as well as George Boston and Robert Parrish,
Inside Magic
(Beechhurst Press, 1947) and Grace quoted from both without attribution, using these books to bolster her memories. In some cases, she took stories from Thurston’s autobiography and inserted herself into them, neither adding to the information nor correcting mistakes. This external evidence indicates that Grace Thurston’s book was composed (or completed) sometime in the early 1950s.

Information on Dr. Elliott and the Back Palm is from Harry Houdini (editor) and Clinton Burgess,
Elliott’s Last Legacy
(Adams Press, 1923) and from correspondence between Elliott and T. Nelson Downs (collection of The American Museum of Magic, Marshall, Michigan), for which I thank William Kalush, Ricky Jay, and James Klodzen. It is also discussed in magazines
The Sphinx
, August 1910 and October 1922,
Mahatma
, June 1900,
The Wizard
, December 1908, and
Hugard’s Magic Monthly
, June 1943. Information is also recounted in Howard Thurston’s
Howard Thurston’s Card Tricks
(Howard Thurston, L. Upcott Gill, 1901). A rare journal, called
Entertaining
, October 1908, contains Elliott’s account of the trick; this is from Mike Caveney and discussed in Caveney and William Rauscher,
Servais Le Roy, Monarch of Mystery
(Magical Publications, 1999).

The Thurston Brothers show is discussed in
My Magic Husband
and in Robert E. Olson’s
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
(Hades Publications, 1993).

I’ve reconciled accounts of the Rising Cards from
My Magic Life
and
My Magic Husband
, taking into account the mechanics of the trick as well as later historical accounts, which demonstrated the evolution of the routine. Thurston described his use of Moody’s words in
My Magic Life
.

The creation of the Rising Cards was fully burnished by the time of Thurston’s autobiography,
My Magic Life
,
My Magic Husband
has an alternate version, although Grace borrowed many of the details from her husband’s book, including the mistakes. I’ve reconciled the accounts, based on historical evidence.

Roterberg’s
New Era Card Tricks
(Routledge, 1897) did not include the name Soerenson, but Roterberg offered the name to Houdini in a December 8, 1901, letter in the collection of the Conjuring Arts Research Center. I’m grateful for William Kalush’s help with this.

The account of Thurston, Texola, Evans, and Maitland is taken primarily from
My Magic Husband
, but there are corroborating details in
My Magic Life.
I wrote about the Thurston, Robinson, and Herrmann meeting in
The Glorious Deception
. Robinson’s account is from Todd Karr (editor),
The Silence of Chung Ling Soo
(The Miracle Factory, 2001), and a contemporary account appears in the
Denver Post
(October 23, 1898).

I think that Thurston’s performance for Herrmann, a fascinating event in the history of magic, provides a rich situation and a problem for historians. Each of the eyewitness accounts, previously cited, had reasons to tell the story from their own perspective. Unquestionably, the best account is from the local newspaper, but it omits any of the scheming or a hint of motives. Yet I feel that the presence of the reporter, on Herrmann’s stage, indicates the treachery involved. Thurston was not the wide-eyed beginner, pleading for a break. Robinson was not the helpful professional, offering to aid an associate. There are many minor villains in this story, at least one victim (the unsympathetic Leon Herrmann), and no real hero. I’ve dramatized the events based on these four accounts.

Official records, including censuses, show their ages, proving that Harry was a younger brother to Howard. To most who knew them, Harry seemed older, and Thurston’s autobiography mentions only one brother by name, Harry, but includes a reference to his childhood with an “older brother,” unnamed, adding to the confusion. This older brother would have been Charles. Harry is discussed in
Inside Magic
, and Percy Abbott,
A Lifetime in Magic
(Abbott’s Magic, 1960). The archives of Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, confirmed Harry’s position as bill poster.

Thurston’s poster was reproduced in Henry Ridgely Evans,
The Old and New Magic
(Open Court Publishing, 1906).

Information on Hilliard appeared in Robert Lund’s article “John Northern Hilliard: An Appreciation,”
The New Conjurer’s Magazine
, June 1947; Hilliard’s
Billboard
magazine obituary (March 23, 1935); and W.C. Brumfield’s
Indianapolis Star
article, March 15, 1935.

The Plimmer story is from Howard Thurston’s “The Experiences of a Magician,”
The American Magazine,
January 1920. I wrote about Pastor and vaudeville in
The Glorious Deception
. This account of Pastor is also based on accounts from Douglas Gilbert,
American Vaudeville, Its Life and Times
(Dover, 1963); Parker Zellers,
Tony Pastor, Dean of the Vaudeville Stage
(Eastern University Press, 1971); and Frank Cullen,
Vaudeville Old and New
(Routledge, 2007).

George White remained a mystery for many years, but recently I located a record of him returning on a ship with Thurston; this offered a middle initial and accurate age, yielding census records. Armed with this information, my friend Diego Domingo has unearthed valuable information on his family and his later life.

Curiously, the “Zenda Waltzes” (the title is plural) became so associated with Thurston that it became a standard melody for magic acts. It was featured in Cardini’s innovative sleight-of-hand act, popular through the 1930s and 1940s. I heard the melody played at my first magic convention, Abbott’s Magic Get-Together, in 1971, where it was part of the repertoire.

Thurston’s early vaudeville success is from
My Magic Life
and from
My Magic Husband
. His letterhead appears in
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
, and the review is from Edwin A. Dawes (editor),
The Wizard Exposed
(David Meyer Magic Books, 1987).

The vaudeville comedy magician Emil Jarrow, famous for making a borrowed bill disappear and reappear inside a lemon, used to claim the “Boat Sails Wednesday” story. But I’m sorry to say that my research points to Sweatnam. The dates are right and the style of humor is right. Of course, like any great show business story, it is foolish to vouch for it. It appears, with Sweatnam, in the autobiography of Al Jolson’s brother, Harry Jolson,
Mistah Jolson
(House-Warven, 1951).

I wrote about the American magic acts coming to London in
The Glorious Deception
. Houdini’s successes appear in
The Secret Life of Houdini
and from Kenneth Silverman,
Houdini: The Career of Ehrich Weiss
(HarperCollins, 1996). The
Times
review appeared on July 10, 1900.

Thurston’s success at the Palace is recounted in
My Magic Life
and in
My Magic Husband
.
The Black and White Budget
and review of George appear in
The Wizard Exposed
.

Thurston’s
Howard Thurston’s Card Tricks
has been in print in numerous editions. David Meyer (compiler),
Howard Thurston’s Card Tricks: An Illustrated and Descriptive Checklist
(David Meyer Books, 1991) provides the history of the publication.

Thurston’s exaggerated biography is taken from a ten-cent souvenir booklet in George Daily’s collection,
Thurston’s Easy Pocket Tricks
(Pfeifer Show Print, no date, but circa 1907), subtitled “A Two Hour’s Performance with One Hour’s Practice.” If that title doesn’t seem incredible to anyone contemplating a public performance, then nothing inside the book will surprise.

Robinson’s material is from
The Silence of Chung Ling Soo
, and the Thurston credit to Robinson is from
The Wizard Exposed
.

I wrote about Maskelyne and Devant in
Hiding the Elephant
and
The Glorious Deception
. The history of Egyptian Hall is detailed in George Jenness,
Maskelyne and Cooke Egyptian Hall, London, 1873-1904
(George Jenness, 1967), and Devant’s history is from David Devant,
My Magic Life
(Hutchinson, 1931). Downs’s report is from the December 1902 issue of
The Sphinx
.

The Houdini-Thurston correspondence is from Conjuring Arts Research Center. The letter to Harry was recalled in a February 18, 1931, letter from Harry to Howard, from Rory Feldman.

The description of Thurston’s new act is from
My Magic Life
,
My Magic Husband
, and
The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston
, as well as later reviews that included individual effects, as in the Thurston Scrapbook from the Billy Rose collection, New York Public Library; this includes reviews from the later Australia tour. Both Thurston and Grace Thurston conflated some of the effects from later shows. Early Thurston lithographs show his Oriental costume.

My speculation about the inventors of Thurston’s act is based on the current London magicians, as well as their later relationships with Thurston. Fasola certainly met him at this time, and would have had a strong influence. I’m grateful to Gary Hunt and Trevor Greenwood for their research into Fasola’s career. Notice, also, that special effects designers, like Langdon McCormick, were probably involved in many of Thurston’s scenic effects.