The History of Magic as a Form of Entertainment

A

Adrian Tugui

Mar 4, 2012
136
0
28
Oltenița, Romania
www.e-monalisa.ro
"The History of Magic as a Form of Entertainment in the U.S/UK"
Nice title, huh?
That's the title of what I want to write for an English certification. Basically I need to write a fairly long and fairly complex essay on this subject. My question to you, oh all-knowing comunity, is *where can I find information on this subject*? My work should be about ~20 pages long, so I need plenty of information. I would like to cover some general history of how magic appeared in the U.S./UK ( my work should be about U.S. OR UK, not both ) in the beginning and then talk about some influential magicians that lived in either U.S. or UK. I'm open to advice on my contents though. I chose this subject because it is of high interest for me, so I am eager to find out as much information on this subject as I can :D
I'm counting on you guys to help me with this one.
I would also like to perform some "tricks" to the two teachers I'm going to present my work to. Up until now I only thought to do the "chain of handkerchiefs from mouth" ( I don't know the real name ) somewhere through the presentation. My interest as a performer is in doing mentalism, so I have little to no knowledge about this type of tricks. Any advice on where can I find information on how to perform the effect?

For who is really interested in helping me, I really am open to any kind of advice.
Thank you so much in advance !

EDIT: If anyone knows if this type of work has been done before, please point me to it. I won't copy-paste it in a copy of Microsoft Word pirated from the internet, but it would serve as a wonderful source of inspiration and *how it should look*.
 
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A

Adrian Tugui

Mar 4, 2012
136
0
28
Oltenița, Romania
www.e-monalisa.ro
Didn't do too much research to be honest. That's why I'm asking you guys. I mean, I read the history of magic from the first volume of Tarbell, but it doesn't really focus on my subject and I don't think my teacher would like it if I talk about 'magic in the bible'.
 
krab

krab

Apr 17, 2013
885
4
Ady01 said:
Didn't do too much research to be honest. That's why I'm asking you guys. I mean, I read the history of magic from the first volume of Tarbell, but it doesn't really focus on my subject and I don't think my teacher would like it if I talk about 'magic in the bible'.
Click to expand...

The Ricky Jay books would be a good start. Pricey though, but well worth it if you are a student of the history of magic and street acts.

Also there should be no problem talking about magic in the Bible if you frame it from a literary stand point not a theological one.
 
Craig Browning

Craig Browning

Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
Illustrated History of Magic by Melbourne Christopher and from what I've been told "Hiding the Elephant" by Jim Stinemeyer is most excellent. Sadly, the best sources tend to be biographical.

There's a handful of noted collectors you may be able to track down, they have an organization but I'm not familiar with the name of it so you may want to google them -- Magic Collectors or some such?

I nearly forgot. . . there is the Houdin Musem in Paris that might be of help if you can speak to one of the curators. We installed the Thurston props there about 25 years ago.
 
krab

krab

Apr 17, 2013
885
4
Not to be rude but it feels like you are asking us to do your home work. i have been out of high school for 16 years now and I can still smell when someone is trying to get me to do their paper for them.
 
A

Adrian Tugui

Mar 4, 2012
136
0
28
Oltenița, Romania
www.e-monalisa.ro
Your nose needs a bit of care, because this is not at all my intention. Excuse my way of telling you this, but all I want is some advice. This is the first time I do something like this and I don't want to end up copy-pasting a big chunk of text from wikipedia.
 
krab

krab

Apr 17, 2013
885
4
If you were thinking about copy pasta a wiki page then you have no direction for the work. So...

You are asking the wrong questions. You need your thesis statement for the essay. Once you have that then you will know where to go with the paper. You can't cover the entire history of magic in one essay. This should have been covered in your writing class. This is why it smells like you are asking us to do your work for it. It's not my nose.
 
A

Adrian Tugui

Mar 4, 2012
136
0
28
Oltenița, Romania
www.e-monalisa.ro
I'm from a small town in Romania. They don't really teach much here, they just expect results. I'm sorry if it seems that I'm asking you guys to do my homework. I said it and I will say it again: this is the first time I'm doing this. Don't take me too hard.
 
Craig Browning

Craig Browning

Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
Ady. . . I can understand where both of you guys are coming from and I think it's more the language barrier and how text on a forum can alter our perceptions.

Now are you doing an actual thesis or just a paper? There is a difference but more importantly, there's an app for that. . . Quite literally, Microsoft has templates for laying out a term paper and Thesis, you just need to follow along with the questions they ask you and type in your information. Just go to the Microsoft Web-Site and the downloads link, you'll find tons of stuff designed to help students as well as professionals.

When it comes to creating this paper I'd suggest you take a deep breath and accept the fact that you are going to have to do a lot of reduction; there's simply too much material to draw from and as you said, it will overwhelm you. If I were you I'd cover the first 150 years of this history in one section. . . no more than a page & a half in length that takes you from how things were just prior to Houdin to the so-called "Golden Age" of magic (late 19th into the early 20th century). In your next big section focus on Magic & Television, which was the next major breakthrough; start with Dell O'Dell and Mark Wilson all the way up to the late 1990s when Angel, Blaine and Derren Brown hit the scene -- they are the big three to this point in time. You will then want to look at live performance magic during that same period of time (1950s to present) and as such do a short synopsis about the big headline acts through that age, how Doug Henning almost single-handedly made magic popular again with the general public followed by Sigfried & Roy and of course, Copperfield and finally, how the tiger incident in the S&R show along with the sensation created by Blaine & Angel more or killed off the big stage trend almost over night . . . within a couple of years nearly every major magic production in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, etc. died off . . . but, you probably should cover a more global view on things and not focus on the American glut around such things. . . there are a couple of American characters you should bring out like Le Grand David which was a 2 hour re-enactment of a 19th century era big illusion revue here in Massachusetts that ran for over 26 years (until the lead star passed away about two years ago). There is the whole FISM competition thing in which you should make note of Lance Burton's climb to success, etc.

You might also offer a brief niche on close-up and small stage/comedy headliners . . . these guys are the real life's blood to magic in that they are the sort most of the public will encounter.

Close Out Your Report by offering a summary about how magic has changed since 1997, when David Blaine & Criss Angel hit the scene, reviving an interest in side-show type performances and mentalism as well as the art of being a street performer. Pay emphasis on street performance and talents like Danny Hustle and the various other buskers of note from around the globe.

I'd prefer you not say too much about Mentalism though it is a must if your report is to be complete. Just be kind and refer to it as a kindred art-form but not one in the same thing as Magic. If you wish, PM me and I can help you with that part, in the meantime you may want to go to Lybrary.com and download my free pdf on Mentalism, it will give you a great deal of insight but again, some of it shouldn't be shared with the laity.

I think this gives you a fairly well rounded layout for your report; between what I've shared here and the Microsoft Templates you shouldn't have any difficulty in delivering a very solid report. The only hard part now is to get the books and do the footwork; write solid notes, pull together an outline that you can easiest follow and voila!

While it is still in development you may find some resource material here that will prove of benefit.
 
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