I had to tell all of you before I burst. I just started collecting antique magic catalogs. I just scored two Kanter's magic shop catalogs No.9 from 1958 and catalog No.8 from 1950. I can't wait till they come in the mail. I am very excited to get this little glimpse of that wonderful past!

Your Friend,
Baldeswitch

If it is Kanter's Magic Shop in Phila, That is where I bought my first "real" magic tricks. 20thCentury Silks and Milk Picture. and Coins Thru Glass

I have 2 Kanter catalogs at home ,do not remember the years but 1 is hardbound and I heard they are hard to find. Do not know for sure though. I also collect old catalogs as well as books and misc. ephemera related to magic, preferably inscribed.
Rennie

I was a young man of 14 when I received my first Kanter's catalog and like a fool I read it until it fell apart and was thrown in the trash. Drat!

Did the same with my Douglas Magicland and Vic Lawston's House of 1000 Wonders catalog too.

Thank goodness I still have my original (not the smaller reprint) Popular Mechanics special Magic Issue.
Also dog eared and sans covers.

As a boy scout, I attended the 1957 Jamboree at Valley Forge. One of the events was a train ride into Philadelphia to see Independence Hall and the Library Bell. Everyone else went to see the historic stuff. I went to see Kanter's and Jack Chanin's.

I still have my original Kanter's catalog with all the magician photos and also my Douglas Magicland catalog. For a kid growing up in the country, these catalogues were the portal to a world of wonders.

I'm certainly glad to learn that there are people here as old as me that are also pack rats. Sometime when Lucy's on her soap box, can I just give her your phone numbers? Why not keep Kanter's catalogs? I still have the tricks that are in it!

There are claw marks on everything I've ever turned loose.

Enjoy!

Bob
Magic By Sander

I went to Kanter's in the late 50's. I got a used copy of Greater Magic for $5.

I rember going past the Latin Casino near 1311 Walnut in Philidelphia. I still use
my changing bag and Wonder Box. I got a few other books also.

My Weller Egg has turned to pieces.

When we went to Philly to go to Wanamaker's (boring!), I headed off to Kanter's. This was about 1963, and I believe the store was run at that time by Lee Grey.

I still have a beautiful set of Jumping Gems from Kanter's, which was and still is one of the great pocket tricks. SETH

I think I have a Kanter's Catalog--Soft cover, from the late 50s, I think. I never made it to the shop. I got it from my Aunt, who also gave me a copy of Greater magic, and other nice things. She had an antique shop in OK, and an old sailor (or his heir, perhaps) sold them to her, cheap.

Just recently purchased on ebay P&L Glass Thru Hat that is in near mint condition; other than age related changes on the surface, there are no dents or dings anywhere. The instructions had Kanter's Magic Shop stamped on it...first time I ever heard of this shop.

I pulled out my Abbott's Encyclopedia of Rope Tricks. It has a sticker inside the front cover, and it has a picture of 'Golden Wings' by Boris Vallejo, and says 'From the Books of Bascom Jones'

The next page there's a stamp that says 'Kanter's Magic Shop, 1311 Walnut St., PHILA, PA.'

Did a search and this thread came up. Was Bascom Jones a regular at Kanters?


Dave

I never got to Mitchell Kanter's shop. Here comes the "but": But my parents went to a business convention in Philadelphia in the mid '40s. They checked the yellow pages, and found "Kanters". I was just starting out, had done some shows, and, was slowly accumulating a few props (other than the "home made" variety!)

They brought me a die box. In the next several years, that die made it into a lot of hats, and those doors (top and front) were opened and shut, a gezillion times! That box finally retired when I had read Tarbell, and learned to do sleight of hand tricks.

I dug into an old trunk, a few years ago, and, it was still there! The paint was scratched, the hinges (installed with little "gimp" tacks, were loose, ETC. My friend, the late Bruce Jensen, loved to restore old props. He did. Now the hinges are attached with tiny screws, the paint is better than the original, the die and sh**l are "too nice to use", and, I can pick it up, occasionally, and relive those distant days, when I dreamed of becoming a professional magician!

Jay Marshall developed a very good die box routine, which he used in USO shows, in the '40s. He had modified a Kanter die box, like mine, to make it easier to do. He had John Shirley make up about a half dozen to sell to those who would appreciate them. I was was one of those who "appreciated". I may sell that one, but, I think that that old Kanter box will be one of the last props that I dispose of.

I still have one or two Kanter catalogs, and a "mint" condition set of Kanter/BREMA Chinese Sticks. At 85, I'm starting to sell a few of those wonderful props, of my youth!

Bill, I attended the 1950 Jamboree at Valley Forge, as ASM of Troop 19, Section 33. We visited Philadelphia, too, but, because of leadership responsibilities, I didn't get to do any "exploring"!

I did get to visit Jack Chanin's shop, when I was helping "behind the counter" of Magic Inc's joint at the SAM (Legionnaire's disease") Convention. Jay and I climbed those stairs! I had known Jack since 1954, and, had only visited with him since that date at a few conventions. I never saw so many cigar boxes in my life!!! Jac had, a "few" years before, been innocently "involved" in starting the SECRET SIX, and, with Jay's and Dick Jarrow's "blessing", I had joined the "SS", too. My number is 6 7/8! Dick Mossey and I are the two surviving members!

Dick,
You wrote that when your parents went to Kanter's they
-----quote----
brought me a die box. In the next several years, that die made it into a lot of hats, and those doors (top and front) were opened and shut, a gezillion times! That box finally retired when I had read Tarbell, and learned to do sleight of hand tricks.
-----unquote-----

Did you bring the die box out of retirement when you gave up being "suave and debonair?"

----- Sonny

Well....no, I didn't! It was "buried" in a case of props that I had used when I was a young teenager. When that agent in Norfolk, "convinced" me to abandon my "swayve and deboner" act. (Thank heaven!) I quickly learned to just be "myself". That "vest pocket agent", Blackie Norton, and Billy Redd, another "vp agent" kept me busy enough, that I could send home my Navy pay check every month. I "lived" on my show money. (I even rented a place, so I could get out of the noisy barracks.) Then, I bought my first car, so I could get to dates outside of Norfolk.

When I got to know Jay Marshall, we were talking about the die box one night, and, he showed me his routine, that he had used on USO shows, etc. I was so impressed that I bought an English (Davenport) die box. I already had a couple folding opera hats from those early days. I had stayed away from die boxes & hip hop rabbit props, 'cuz too many kids had them, and those props, were only good for one time! I used Jay's routine for a whole season in the Dakotas, and it played very well.

BTW, when Bruce Jensen "updated" and repainted my Kanter box, it was "too nice to use"!

I am starting to dispose of some of those old props. Are you interested? hee hee

Greetings! I'm looking for any information regarding my grandfather's set of magic boxes. (My grandfather was president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians during the 80s.) One of these boxes is referred to in my family as the "Houdini box." Family members claim it was owned by Houdini. After a bit of research, I've learned it is an Okito Checker Cabinet. (Or Okito Berg Cabinet?) I have a typewritten note with instructions on using this cabinet and it is stamped "Kanter's Magic Shop 1311 Walnut St., Phila. 7, PA." (That's how I found this thread.) If any of you know how I can get more information about any of these things, I would appreciate hearing from you.

The Okito Checker Cabinet is exactly like the one shown in this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8aiw6mXa48

Is there a way to figure out the value of old magic catalogs? I have a Moores magic book/catalog from 77'

It is fun to look thru about 1nce a year.