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Jaxon Inner circle Kalamazoo, Mi. 2537 Posts |
I just went to a campground my family goes to all summer. The place is here in Michigan called Oak Shores (A great place by the way so if you ever come to Michigan you should check it out). They have something going on each week end. This week end they have the Civil War Muster. A large open field is set up like the Civil war with the white tents, gift shops and people dressing and acting the part of the civil war. Then they reenact a battle.
I was very impressed in the detail they put into it all. The event really had the feeling that you've gone back in time and are meeting people of that era. (That is until you see a sign that says (Credit Cards accepted.. ) Anyway, I decided to look around to see if magic is something that might fit in this event. As it turns out there was quite a bit of magic and magicians going on during the 1800's. From my search it seems there where a few venues for magicians. One being the traveling magician on his wood create table. Others where more like Mediums to hold a seance. I would like to find more information on magicians of this era. Especially if they had anything to do with the Civil war or their soldiers. At the event at the campground they also have a dance that features a live band playing the music of that era and all the dances they'd do back then. So it's about that era as well as the war itself. As I looked around at the shops there I saw many items I could use in magic including old looking decks of cards and money from that age (replicas). I'd appreciate and thoughts on this or any sources for where I might find more information. Ron Jaxon |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Rick Green is currently doing a Civil War magician. There were a number of magicians in the area during this historical period, among them Anderson from Scotland.
Check in the historical section of the forum for more information.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Payne Inner circle Seattle 4571 Posts |
Max Howard perfoms an incredible Civil War era act. It is a theatre piece however and wouldn't play in a reenactor enviroment but it is by far one of the best magic shows I have ever seen.
"America's Foremost Satirical Magician" -- Jeff McBride.
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Frank Tougas Inner circle Minneapolis, MN 1712 Posts |
There was a magic special a few years ago called Magic Road Trip (I think that's the one it is on). It was hosted on the travel channel by one of the stars from the Brady Bunch (Can't recall the actors name but he was seen more recently on MTV's The Surreal Life.) There was a gentleman who did magic from the civil war era featured on one of the stops. I'll check and see if I can get the name of the magician who performs. Basically it was classic magic the stuff that was available during that period in history. Also he did a bit of a seance revolving around the battlefield at Gettysburg proported to be the most haunted place on earth. Anyone else remember it?
Frank Tougas Frank Tougas
Frank Tougas The Twin Cities Most "Kid Experienced" Children's Performer :"Creating Positive Memories...One Smile at a Time"
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I never saw that one, but I have had a lot of information from Rick about performing for reenactors. I'll pass this on to Jaxon.
The world of Civil War reenactors is quite unusual. The serious ones will criticise everything from the thread count in the fabrics you wear to the materials your props are made from. But if they see that you are really serious, that is, if you make the effort to come up with the right costuming, etc., they will go the extra mile to enjoy your performance. Since the Confederacy issued only a couple of coins, and they are rare, indeed, you can use any US coins from the time period. Modern Magic and earlier books will be suitable for most references. Don't even think of using modern playing cards. Period playing cards had no indices. These are available from Dixie Gun Works, as well as other sources. They are more expensive than modern cards, but you shouldn't have to buy many decks. Dixie Gun Works is a fairly good source of certain types of accessories, but you might want to check with a good suttler for your materials. I would contact a reenactors group before I made a big investment in costuming.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Jaz Inner circle NJ, U.S. 6111 Posts |
Didn't see the war road trip thing but the Brady actor on Surreal was Christopher Knight.
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Jaxon Inner circle Kalamazoo, Mi. 2537 Posts |
Thanks everyone.
I found a couple of things on line about this. I wonder if any of you have ever seen any of the books on this page. I'm not sure how far I'll pursue this but it entered my mind when I was there. I also found a kind of neat web page about an artist who made a statue of "The traveling Magician." The look of the statue really inspired me to look into this a little further. Click here to check that out. Ron Jaxon |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I'm not sure how I feel about these books. I took a look at the site, and was impressed at first. Then I noticed a couple of things.
1) The template to make the web site still has unfilled sections in it -- "Company Name Here" "Slogan Goes Here." Sloppy work! 2) The books still looked interesting, though. After all, we aren't judging this guy by his webmastering skills. Then I read the description of the fourth book on the page: Quote:
In this, the Second Volume of the series you will be afforded the opportunity to meet several other key Magicians from the Civil War Era as thier lives and thier Magic are unfolded before you. Volume # 2 will introduce you to Professor Pinetti, Bartolomeo Bosco, Signor Blitz, John Wyman, Jr., The Davenport Brothers, John Neville Maskelyne, and Bautier DeKolta and familiarize you with two popular phenomena of the Era, "Phantasmagoria" & "Dr. Pepper's Ghost". He misspelled "Buatier DeKolta." And the name I have always seen for the illusion is "Pepper's Ghost," not Dr. Pepper's Ghost. Kind of strange. In the description of volume 1 of this treatise, he refers to Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin as Jean Robert Houdin, which is totally incorrect. So, I think his historical accuracy may be questionable.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Frank Tougas Inner circle Minneapolis, MN 1712 Posts |
Thanks Jaz it was indeed Christopher Knight. The special was featured on the Travel Channel in 2003 and titled Magic Road Trip. The civil war magician featured was Joe Kerrigan who performed at the Civil War Dinner Theater in Gettysburg. Other luminaries featured on this special were Lance Burton, a good portion of Mac Kings act, Dorothy Detrich (The original first lady of magic)and John Bravo at the Houdini Museum in Scranton PA, and street magicians Bieno Svengali? Zach Waldman, and Brian Gillis and the beautiful Sisuepahn Phila.
Frank Tougas
Frank Tougas The Twin Cities Most "Kid Experienced" Children's Performer :"Creating Positive Memories...One Smile at a Time"
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