About MagicTrickCollection.net
About MagicTrickCollection.net: is an independent magic history blog for magicians, collectors and enthusiasts. It tells the true stories behind classic illusions, the master magicians who performed them and the apparatus that made them possible. It is written by Steven Warburton, a magic collector and former performer.
What You’ll Find Here
- The stories behind classic illusions. Who invented them, who copied them and how they changed magic, from Sawing a Woman in Half to the Zig-Zag Girl and the Asrah Levitation.
- The master magicians. Houdini, Thurston, Blackstone, Dai Vernon, Slydini, Cardini, Malini and the performers who shaped the art.
- Collecting. How to identify, value and care for vintage magic apparatus, and the makers whose work collectors seek out.
- Magic for young readers. Clear answers to the questions children ask about magic and famous magicians.
Who Writes This Blog
Steven Warburton is a former performing magician and escape artist who became a curator of rare and vintage magic tricks.
His magic began in 1974, at age 12, with a Marshall Brodien TV Magic Show set. Weekends at Phil Thomas’s Yogi Magic Mart in downtown Baltimore followed, where Phil Thomas and visiting professionals mentored him. Performing as “Etienne,” he entertained at children’s hospitals, church groups and nightclubs, and in 1979 he met Phil Thomas’s public challenge to escape a straitjacket worn under a second transport jacket.
Today Steven curates a collection of rare and vintage apparatus, including a Zig-Zag Illusion built by Walter “Zaney” Blaney’s Show Stoppers company. Read his full story on the Curator page at MagicTrickCollection.com, or see every article he has written here.
How We Research
- Sources first. Articles draw on published magic histories, period dealer catalogs, magic periodicals, patents and the archives of magic societies.
- Disagreements are shown, not hidden. Magic history is full of rival claims. When sources disagree on a date or an inventor, we say so.
- First-hand where possible. Photographs of apparatus from the collection are our own.
- History, not exposure. We tell the story of an illusion. We do not reveal the working methods of illusions that magicians still perform.
Corrections
Spot an error? Please tell us through the Contact Us page. Corrections are made promptly and noted at the end of the article.
Our Relationship With MagicTrickCollection.com
This blog is sponsored by MagicTrickCollection.com, Steven’s collector-focused business devoted to rarity, provenance and the history of magic apparatus. Links to MagicTrickCollection.com are links to our sponsor. Some links to Amazon point to Steven’s own books or are affiliate links; see our Affiliate Disclosure for details.
