I've always like Nelson Hahne's classic magic catalog and magic book illustrations. So I decided to make a topic just to post some of his artwork.









Hahne's self-portrait for the cover of Linking Ring, June 1949 -






More to come ...


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More Nelson Hahne magic artwork -





















Feel free to add more (try to post relatively high-resolution images ... sadly a lot of the catalog cuts that exist
online are low-resolution and don't show his artwork to it's best advantage)



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A couple of more Nelson Hahne illustrations for U.F. Grant -

I really like the old magic illustrations, Tarbell, Mishell, etc, and the older catalogs.

Nelson Hahne illustrations for National Magic Co. catalog (circa 1930's) -

Here is an illustration which I don't think is by Nelson Hahne , but this drawing sums up what many of us love about the old magic catalogs. The illustrations by Hahne, Tarbell, Mishell, etc. contributed to much of the "romance" that we find in those old catalogs. The drawings were fun to look at (if not always -- ahem -- 100% accurate in how they depicted the effect ... ) This one is scanned from an issue of New Tops magazine from Abbott's . It's possible it is drawn by the Abbott's staff artist , Howard Melson, although I do not know for sure because it is unsigned.





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Nice

Very Cool...

I really miss all those fantastic magic catalogs and drawings. I realize we live in a technological time now...but I used to spend hours going through the UF Grant Popular Magic Catalogs...and the Abbott's Catalog...and of course the Lou Tannen Catalog. Too bad that we have lost some of the great ways to shop for our magic. I relished the arrival of the Nelson Catalogs...thanks for sharing the drawings...love it..!

Dr. Dan

I always thought Hahne was one of the best magical artists.

Hahne, Francis Martineau and John Kirby are my three favorite illustrators of magic effects...
In my opinion, Ed Mishell was not at the same level.

There were some other great illustrations in the P and L range, that evoke that wonderful feeling we all had when studying these catalogs.

here's a John Kirbly illustration:

Click here to view attached image.

Mishell definitely has a more "cartoony" style.

Another illustrator who contributed to our dream books was Tom Lawless.

Nelson Hahne illustration for Grant's 'Pent-A-Checkers' -









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Not too many magicians are aware of the fact that Marty Hahne of Dazzling Magic is Nelson Hahne's nephew.

I did not know that ! That's very interesting. Thank you.


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I don't think the drawing was a Hahne or Mel.
Chuck Romano wrote a book on all the illustrators in magic.
Sid Lorraine (Sid drew them and his wife Irene inked them all) for many of the Abbott's catalogs, Eddie Clever (PA) Linking Ring. George Johnstone (he did the Okito on Magic book).
Hahne did a lot of magic cartoons for the Lining Ring that I got to look at a lot when I worked not the Klosterman collection.
Nice Topic.

Nelson Hahne illustration for Max Holden advertisement in Genii magazine , December 1938.

AHhhhhhhhhhhhh Memories - just looking back into the (Original) Owen Brothers Catalog, equipment $35.00 prices -Now $359. and I still have Catalogs and Equipment - from the late 50's and early 60', when we lived in the San Fernando Valley, L.A., Calif. Their catalog included drawings by Dossett, Hanhe, Hill and others. Ralph

Here's an illustration by Nelson Hahne done for the Thayer catalog, illustrating Thayer's "Latest Flower Growth" (this is from about 1940, according to David Charvet).



(note the typo in the Thayer catalog ad: misspelling Gerrie Larsen's name "Gerrie Darsen".)
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Here is a photograph posted by David Charvet of a Thayer's Flower Growth apparatus that he has in his collection. I post it here as a rare example of when the actual prop outshines the illustrator's imagination . (usually it's the other way around !)




Although I do like the conical tube in the Hahne illustration. I imagine that was how the original apparatus looked , but the tube in the photo above is a later replacement. However, those feather FLOWERS are incredibly gorgeous! (the Thayer catalog description says "cloth flowers" , but these are clearly feather flowers. I wonder if Thayer switched later to supplying it with feather flowers ? The catalog is the late 1930's/early 1940's , but the apparatus in the photo may be from a few years later than the catalog.) Would that every feather flower bouquet and Botania looked that good instead of like some clown's feather duster.



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I think the Cone shaped tube give more of an illusion.