Greetings Fellow Magi,
I'm fascinated by the creative mind of Harry Roydon and collect the pocket tricks he invented and sold. However,I know very little about him. Is there anyone out there who knew him or has any substantial information about him or his magic? I currently own the following Roydon items,most being new old stock with original packaging and instructions: Cardo Escapo,Coin Capers(pat.1958),Daffy Dice(pat.1956),Funny Money,Genie Beads(pat.1957),Little Fooler(pat.1958),Riddle Ribbon,Rising Pencil and Wacky Washer. I'm sure there are many more. If anyone could supply me with scans or photocopies of Roydon catalogs I'd very much appreciate it. I'd be happy to provide copies of instructions to anyone who needs them.
Kindest Regards,
Dave Pierce

Roydon's Fantastic is one that I had. Cards repeatedly appear between two cardboard panels rubberbanded together. Someone was selling remakes of it on Ebay a couple years ago and then they suddenly disappeared. Maybe they were told to stop??

I have precious little about him in my Brief Biographies of Magic Inventors:

http://www.magicnook.com/forum/bioQRS.htm

and scroll down to Roydon. If you can add anything at all to his biography from your research, I'd appreciate it.

I LOVE the swallowing swords made by Roydon. I had 3 of them (gave one to a friend) along with another that did basically the same thing, but in a different fashion and came with another matching blade that could be reproduced somewhere else. Imagine pushing a sword into the side of your stomach, breaking off the blade (leaving it "inside" you), and reaching around to the other side of your body and slowly pulling it back out, just as it went in. I believe he also made the first "roll-up" type vanishing/appearing wand.

Steve

Harry was good friends with my sales manager's (Jack Barrows) stepfather, Alex Great aka Kim Kee. Harry was responsible for many ideas that he doesn't get credit for today. I have a few of his original protypes that we hope someday to release that were given to Jack by Harry. He was quite the 'thinker'.

My favorite is "Fantastic." Gene Anderson turned me onto it 30 years ago. Currently you can buy it on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Magic-Tr......07V3H7IC

Dennis Loomis

Hey DENNIS~ AND Michael BAKER~~~ Do you remember Gene Anderson's routine for FANTASTIC in an "IRELAND YEAR BOOK" from the late '70s??? I have a copy of that yearbook. I always enjoyed Gene's sense of humor. Lines like; VARIABLE TENSION GRIPPER, caught my interest.

Hey RICK FISHER~I knew Alex Great, but never knew he was Jack's stepfather. I've used A&B Shooting Wand (.22) for over 50 years. It's always a show stop laugh. (average 30 + seconds)

As a young man in South Bend Indiana, Harry Roydon was one of my mentors. A reat guy!