Http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21861418

Magicians have stolen each other's secrets for as long as the art of magic has existed. But the interconnectivity of today's world is making it easier - and magicians can't always rely on the law to protect them.

I think Copperfield and possibly Houdini were the only people who sued over what they said were "original" effects and won.
I put "original" in quotations, because someone addressed the fact that Copperfield's "Snow Storm" presentation had in fact been done by someone else.
(No, don't ask. I don't remember the details of who and when.)

However, for the most part, magic is seen as a "performing" art. It doesn't take much to go from; "I can buy that in the magic shop, so I have a right to perform it." to "I can figure out -a- way to do the same effect, so I have the right to perform it!"

It's very sad.

I do a Cups and Balls routine that commercially available (Mark Wilson's Complete Course of Magic). Gazzo has made HIS cups and balls routine avalable. I won't do it because I think it's complete onto itself and I'd just be a guy doing Gazzo's routine. I made one slight change in Mark Wilson's routine and I think that satisfies my feeling that it's now "my" routine.

Teller won his case regarding Shadows.

I didn't know about Teller's case. That's good.

The "most famous trick" (producing a live rabbit from a hat) was "stolen" (not the secret technique of getting the rabbit INTO the hat so that it could be taken out of the hat, but the EFFECT of producing the bunny from the hat,
was "stolen" by other magicians who first heard of the first magician (as far as we know!)who had done it.

The story, if you haven't heard it, will, I think, be of interest, to younger magicians.

I filed a copy of the story of the bunny from the hat, which was published in "HUGARD'S MONTHLY, about 60 years ago. At first opportunity, I will embark on an archaeological "dig" in my files, find it, and reprint it here.

I would like that. Thank you.

I'm back from the dusty "archives". SUCCESS!

Here is the story, titled "The Birth of a Rabbit", from the December 1948, Vol VI, No. 7, page 490 of "Hugard's Magic Monthly".

"The following story of the origin of the familiar magician/s trick, the rabbit from a hat, is taken from the London Daily Mail of 2/7/48.

Some two hundred years ago, in 1726 to be exact, Mary Toft, the wife of Joshua Toft, a humble citizen of Guildford England, came home with the strange tale that while coming through the woods that afternoon she had been assaulted by a huge white rabbit. Joshua pooh-poohed the tale as a mere hallucination but a few weeks later Mary had certain symptoms and the local physician, Dr. J. Howard was summoned.

Next day Dr. Howard told his friends that Mary Toft had been delivered of five little white rabbits and naturally this strange story spread rapidly throughout the neighborhood. Dr. Howard continued in attendance on Mary and he certified that in all, she gave birth to twelve white rabbits.

News of the phenomenon reached London and two envoys from Court circles were sent to Guildford to investigate. They came, they saw Mary, they saw the doctor and they saw the white rabbits and they returned with the doctor's certificate that the strange birth had actually taken place.

The Court phycician, Sir Richard Maningham, however, was a skeptical man. Mary, meantime had given out that she was expecting more of the same, so Sir Richard had her taken to London and placed in a hospital under strictest supervision. No more rabbits appeared and Mary, to the intense indignation of the populace, was put on trial as a common cheat. Sir Richard introduced evidence that Mary had tried to bribe the hospital attendants to smuggle a white rabbit to her and Mary broke down. She confessed that she had hoodwinked Dr. Howard and her husband. It seems that she was tired of the hum-drum life she was leading and yearned to stir up some excitement (Details of how she worked the trick are lacking--they would be interesting).

TO BE CONTINUED! Now that I have your attention, I will resume this article, SOON!!! (How's THAT for a "cliff hanger", eh?) hee hee!

OK~! (That's enough with the threatening PMs already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I'll pick it up where I left off.....tomorrow.......OK! today::::::::::::

Herewith, as Paul Harvey "usta" say: "THE REST OF THE STORY."

"In the meantime, a magician then performing in London, hit upon a brilliant idea. One morning Londoners
found their city placarded with huge posters announcing a new illusion, "The Birth of a Rabbit." The pros
and cons of Mary Toft's tale were still in full swing and the magician's announcement brought him a packed
house.

At the appointed time in his program, the magician referred satirically to the tale of Mary Toft and her
rabbits, then he borrowed a hat (high hats were in fashion then) from one of he dignitaries present and
placed it, crown downwards, on a small isolated table. With the usual mumbo-jumbo and magical passes, he
brought out of the hat a magnificent white rabbit, all alive, kicking and squirming, to the huge delight
of the onlookers. The trick was a success and he was rewarded with crowded houses.

Other magicians were quick to adopt the new trick and that is why, right down to the present time, the
production of a rabbit from a hat is a sine qua non at any magical performance."

Do I "hafta" translate "sine qua non"?

To date, about 40+ readers have visited the post above!

I'm glad I saved those old "Hugard's"!

Years ago, I considered doing the "rabbit from hat trick", but, in thinking about it, I decided that just picking up the hat, would "telegraph" what was about to happen. So, using the old table steal that John Booth had described in his "Marvels of Mystery" (which was the same steal that both the Blackstones had used to produce the "stage full" of flowers) I produced the little beast from a couple of big silks. It was the show closer for many years.

It always played well, and, got me off with nice applause. THEN!!! One day in the early '70s, while listening to a "talk show" on a jump between schools, I got the "idea" of really getting a "reaction" from the audience (even high school "kids"!)when the bunny appeared. In one high school in Oklahoma, the bit got the biggest LAUGH and APPLAUSE, that it ever got.

I wrote up the entire story about my "AWWW" trick, in my book. --And, anyone can do it! It's all in the "set up" and TIMING!

Dick, thank you very much for shining a light on the origins of the rabbit from the hat trick! This has always been a mystery to me. That the Toft Tale is such a colorful and hilarious story to boot, is the icing on the cake.

Bitte Schoen Uli!

Can you imagine, if there had been TV back then! Mary would have been on all the TALK SHOWS! hee hee (probably THAT magician, too!)

Penn & Teller sued a magician and won

If you feel that you can “MAKE A SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT TO MARK”S ROUTINE to make it your very own, why don’t you make a slight adjustment to Gazzo’s routine to make that your very own?

Lastly, do you really think you can make a “SLIGHT” adjustment to a routine and call it your own? :