Conjuring Arts Research Center – Grand Opening in NYCInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Researching Magic News and History

The New York Sun reports
this morning on the opening of the Conjuring Arts Research Center” described as
the “only publicly accessible, fully staffed, nonprofit magic library in
America.”

The new library is set just south of historic Herald Square in the heart of
the city that never sleeps.

Harry Houdini later in life expressed interest in starting a magic school and
library in the city. A century later, founder William Kalush has accomplished
this vision.

Want to know which illusionist first sawed a person in half or which
Albany-born magician performed for Abraham Lincoln’s guests at the White House?
You now have a central place to find answers to such questions, after making an
appointment to visit.

Mr. Kalush said he hopes the center will draw writers, historians,
collectors, scholars, enthusiasts, film producers, and performers who are
seeking to study the history of magic and its vibrant connection to the
present.

You can see the collection online at http://www.conjuringarts.org.

The new library boasts tons of old books — over 9,000 volumes covering magic
history, bibliographies, even fiction works related to magic.

Of peculiar interest to us (and frankly all of our interests could be
described as “peculiar”) is the collection of “instruction sheets, scrapbooks,
magicians’ correspondence, manuscripts, and other primary source material.”

The mission is noble: Mr. Kalush believes “You shouldn’t have to be a rich
collector to read material about magic history.” The goal is the scanning and
cataloging of “every magic book, letter, broadside, interview – in short,
everything related to magic.”

The article does not discuss whether there will be any restriction on access
to prevent the merely curious from learning important magic secrets. We do note,
however, the advisory board includes magicians, magic students, and David
Blaine.

The library/center wants to network with universities, museums and other
educational facilities.

Financial backers of the institution are designated by their support-level
with names from famous card magicians such as Charlier, Hofzinser and
Erdnase.

Benefactors receive special access to “Ask Alexander” billed by the center as
“the most comprehensive magic history database ever assembled.”

Michael
Close (in February 2006’s Genii) and Martin Gardner
(in February 2006’s M-U-M) have favorably reviewed the center’s first
publication, Gibeciere. (The links for the first pages of each review are
included here through the Center’s web site).

Read the full article at the New
York Sun here. Check out the center’s
web site here.

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