MAGICOL #162

[Dustin Stinett]

The February issue of Magicol arrived just in time for my stint as an alternate juror in The People v Tran this past week; thank goodness!

This issues feature is a lengthy piece by Leo Behnke on magic fiction. Its an excellent primer on this subject in which he discusses several areas of the genre including mystery, romance, childrens, etc. (though how he could leave out Magic by William Goldman escapes me).

There is a short piece on the demise of a piece of rare Thurston ephemera by Jay Hunter. While it is amusing in a way, it will bring a cringe of dismay to the collector.

In The Ship That Made Ice Famous, Michael Claxton outlines ten connections between magic and the Titanic tragedy.

John and Anne Davenport pen a neat piece on something I never heard of; stanhopes. These are very tiny optical pieces with a microphotograph or drawing that can be viewed by peering into one end of them. They are so small that they can be mounted into a finger ring, which is what Lewis Davenport apparently did. Its an interesting piece, though Im still looking for the reproduction of the image of Mr. Davenport that was apparently meant to appear with the article. Maybe next time.

Clay Shevlin continues with his series on bibliographies with the conclusion of the essay that appeared in November. (Clay posts them here as well, so keep an eye out for it.)

There are two Farewells in the issue: One for John McKinven and the other for John Salisse. Both men were great stewards of magic collecting and scholars of magics history and will be missed by many.

Terry Harris, Magicols resident investigator of magical apparatus, set pieces and the like, continues his hunt for some magic tables and now, in this issue, a backdrop depicting a locomotive that goes along with those tables. (My late father would have killed for that backdrop to put in his dream train room.)

And, as usual, Editor Meyer adds his thoughts and observations on various issues in his Notes & Comments.

Magicol remains one of the greatest bargains in magic. For a measly $25, you get four issues of Magicol as well as the opportunity to attend the Collectors Weekend (which is fast approaching).

The Magic Collectors Association does not have a web presence, but you can get information via email at magic.collectors@sbcglobal.net.

Salute!
Dustin

[Dustin Stinett]

Clay Shevlin has indeed posted his Magicol column HERE.