Collector's Weekend

[RickBelford]

Could anyone who attended the Collector's Weekend please give a review of how it went -- lectures, tricks performed, etc.?

[Michael Edwards]

Here's a very quick overview, Rick. I'm sure others will add more depth to individual aspects of the conference:

This year's Magic Collectors' Weekend was held May 16-18 in Ft. Worth, Texas. Among the lecture presentations were Pat Culliton on Houdini in Hollywood, Stephen Forrester on New Discoveries about Reginald Scot, Bill Rauscher on S.S. Adams, Phil Schwartz on Thayer Magic, Terry Wong on Tenyo, David Hira on Ren Clark, David Haversat on Jack Chanin, Jim Matthews on Edward Saint, Dan Barth on Wagon and Tent Show Magic, Tom Ewing on James Wobensmith, and Michael Cannick on interesting people he has encountered as a magic book dealer. Arthur Moses exhibited part of his Houdini collection and Derek Kennedy exhibited his P&L collection. Among those demonstrating "Tricks Old or Seldom Seen" were Lisa Cousins, Stephen Forrester, Bill McIlhany, Walter Graham, Derek Kennedy, and Claude Crowe. This year's event honored Ren Clark and Arthur Emerson. Richard Hatch and his wife Rosemary Kimura performed their "Chamber Magic" -- a blend of music and magic -- for the closing banquet. The Magic Collectors Weekend returns to Chicago for next year's meeting which (I believe) will be May 15-17.

Michael Edwards

[CHRIS]

This was my first MCW and I loved it. My personal highlight was the dealers room. Being a book freak I enjoyed having most of the second hand dealers in one location for browsing and chating. The only problem with having my own dealer stand, was not enough time available for strolling through the dealer room.

Lecture highlight for me was Bill Rauscher's account of the S.S. Adams company. His talk was funny, articulate, well informed - in one word - outstanding. From the performance side I was delighted to see Stephen Forrester present the Down's 5 coin star beautifully executed. I would love to be able to do that piece of sleight of hand.

But most importantly, I made some new friends, and tied tighter bonds with old ones.

Chris Wasshuber
http://www.lybrary.com/ preserving magic one book at a time.

[Lisa Cousins]

Stephen Forrester was a highlight for me, too. "Tricks Old and Seldom Seen" is a segment where collectors are invited to demonstrate a vintage prop. Stephen's idea of demonstrating two actual routines of T. Nelson Downs (instead of a prop)was ingenious and refreshing. Because I was also one of the presenters, I got a lot of time backstage with Stephen and got to see his sleights at close range - incredible!

It was also an amazing treat to see Richard Hatch ("Bookseller To The Sincere") in his magician mode. He opened with a very witty Cups & Balls, and closed with the linking rings - two good classic magical choices. His observation that these were "Tricks Often Seen And Seldom Enjoyed" certainly didn't apply to his performance.

I must also single out Linda Moses, wife of organizer Arthur Moses, for the tote bag full of snacks that we all received at registration. That came in SO HANDY through the event. Rumors that the snacks were in fact our Saturday banquet, and were to be saved until then, proved quite unfounded.

[Brad Jeffers]

Lisa, What was the effect that you performed?

[Lisa Cousins]

Oh, it was this effect that I got from "The Boy Magician," where I whack a rabbit over the head with a red hot poker....

No - it was a [censored] stand. Black velvet (which of course was strictly for style, and had nothing to do with the m.o.) with five golden circles. [censored] appear and disappear within the circles. Again, having nothing whatever to do with that stylish black velvet.

Lisa

[Michael Edwards]

Lisa was wonderful. I'm not sure how stylish that inconsequential ( ;) ) black velvet was; but Lisa certainly added elegance and class to the evening. (Though seeing her whack a rabbit or two would have been fun. Maybe next year...)

Stephen Forrester is, indeed, a remarkable -- and a very nice -- man. He has put together a magic book collection of some 5,500 volumes. What's more, he actually reads...and masters...the books he collects. His love for the art, its history, and its performance are apparent.

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention Tom Ewing, who once again presided with grace and charm as program chair and master of ceremonies for the Weekend.

[Mike Rose]

I thoroughly enjoyed this years Magic Collectors Weekend. Its a great idea to move it out of Chicago every now and then since the organizers tend to give a "local flavor" theme to their particular weekend (the Ren Clark talk this year was just one example). I, too, enjoyed the bag full of treats, but unlike Lisa whose snacks , "came in SO HANDY through the event," mine were eaten upon arrival (flying makes me hungry). David Haversats talk on Jack Chanin was one of my favorites, and he has just published a book on Chanin (which he had available at the Weekend). Ive not had time to read it yet, but from a brief perusal and from what I heard at the talk, I recommend the book. Dave can be contacted through his magic shop in Seymour, CT (the See-More Magic Shop). Although Im not an apparatus collector, the display exhibited by Derek Kennedy was impressive. He had on display every piece of P&L equipment from the 1939 catalog. He even had each piece labeled with the page number so one could look up the catalog description of any piece (Derek also provided copies of the catalog). This, and Arthur Moses display of rare Houdiniana were real treats.