What is Classic Correspondence

[caveman]

Readers of MAGIC magazine are reminded each month what Classic Correspondence from Egyptian Hall Museum is when they stumble into my column near the front of each issue that is filled with old black and white photographs numerous annotations. But it occurred to me that Genii readers might have no idea and since a banner ad is now appearing on the Genii Forum, I thought I should explain.
Fourteen years ago George Daily and I purchased the famous Egyptian Hall Museum after the passing of its long-time curator, David Price. Back in 2006 I started selecting old, interesting letters and annotating them by explaining who the parties were, what and who they were talking about and generally put the whole letter into context. Sometimes the writer and recipient are famous magicians, other times they are names long forgotten but each one tells a story that can be found nowhere else. The columns are illustrated with photos, programs, newspaper clippings and posters from Egyptian Hall Museum. Eventually, I put the first 24 columns into a book with additional graphics and text.
Now you might be able to figure out what Classic Correspondence from Egyptian Hall Museum II is. Right, it's the second volume of annotated letters and I'm thrilled with the finished product. 6 by 9 inches, printed in full color, beautiful custom end sheets and filled with magic history that has been packaged into bite size chapters that are fun to read. Some fans received copies for Christmas and I would love to hear their opinions of the physical book and its content. There will be a volume three so suggestions are always welcome.
http://mcmagicwords.com/books_classic_c ... nce_2.html
Mike Caveney

[Richard Kaufman]

And the books are highly recommended!

[Gregory Schultz]

Mike I so appreciate the Classic Correspondence. It is so entertaining and fascinating to read.

[Leonard Hevia]

It's my favorite part of Magic. The letter from George Boston to Larry Carter (Charles Carter's son) in this month's issue of Magic is absolutely fascinating.

[Dustin Stinett]

This is a marvelous book. And Mike makes history come alive with his insightful and humorous comments, which he gets to do more of in the book form versus what is in MAGIC.

[Ian Kendall]

I love these books. I got volume II for Crimbo, and I'm looking forward to delving into that.

It reminds me of coming out of the first Lord of the Rings film - thinking 'I've got to wait another _year_ for the next one?'

Hurry up with Volume III

Since Mike asked for actual feedback, I prefer reading the books than in the Magazine.

[Joneseymagic]

I completely agree with Ian!

I was lucky enough to obtain a copy of vol. 2 at The International Convention. This and the first volume, are two of the most beautiful magic books I've ever seen.

The binding, layout and reproduction are lavish, and the contents are fascinating. It's great to have Mike's columns expanded and collected in one place. Roll on vol. 3!

[caveman]

All posts are greatly appreciated. I like to think that this monthly column is a win - win for all parties concerned. MAGIC editor Stan Allen gets a historical article that a small (but very loyal) slice of his audience really enjoys. And I get to stretch the writing of a book out over 2 years. Of course the other benefit is, with these articles being exposed to a large general magic audience, there is always the chance that a few more people might become interested in magic history. And when the book is published, all of my effort becomes available to an audience outside of MAGIC magazine.
That could be you.
Mike Caveney

[MManchester]

Mike makes history come alive with his insightful and humorous comments

And it's a shame that so many of his magic history books are out of print.

[caveman]

With regards to what Dustin and Ian wrote, I agree, I like the articles in book form as well. Magic Magazine has to fit these articles into a given amount of space so I sometimes limit the text and the number of photos. But when it comes time to layout the book, I answer to no one. I print the photos as large as I want, add additional graphics, and add additional annotations. Without MAGIC magazine there wouldn't be any Classic Correspondence, but I do like seeing the finished books on my shelf.
Mike Caveney

[Dustin Stinett]

There is a big upside to having Mike's articles in MAGIC, as well as John Gaughan's "Chamber of Secrets" pieces in Genii, and that is that they expose younger folks to the history of magic and collecting. I'm not sure there is a way to express the importance of that. It's fine that they can find the "answers" on the Internet, but they also need to learn to enjoy reading and researching and touching this stuff so it continues after our generation is gone.

[caveman]

Speaking of Classic Correspondence. If you are anywhere near the Magic Castle on Wednesday night this week, I will be doing a talk on the history of Egyptian Hall and how the Classic Correspondence from Egyptian Hall Museum columns come together each month. My plan is to fill the Inner Circle at the Castle with rare posters, photos and letters that appear in volume II of my Classic Correspondence series of books. Books will be available along with the magic poster post card sets that were recently produced by Taschen Books. 100 beautiful post cards in a custom box for $20. Don't know how they do it. Hope to see a good crowd there at 8:00 on Wednesday.
Mike Caveney

[Ian Kendall]

Nope, can't make Wednesday. Can you switch to another day, or - even better - Scotland?

[John Carney]

For those not in the know … this is not "dry as dust" magic history.

Classic Correspondence is an informative, insightful, and fun read!

[Dustin Stinett]

Mike's talk last night was fantastic. And I was very happy to see some younger faces in the audience. It got me to thinking: I wish there was a way to get him in front of an even younger group.

Mike reminds me of the "cool history teacher" that we all had in school. You know, the one everyone wanted to take instead of the stodgy old guy that just prattled off events and dates that needed to be memorized to pass his tests. As I said above, Mike Caveney makes history—in this case magic history—come alive. He makes it fun.

Perhaps the folks who organize the Lance Burton Magic Youth events can book Mike for those events and get him in front of those kids. They will love it, and maybe, just maybe, enough of them will catch magic history fever and realize that there is more to our art and craft than just the tricks.

Thanks, Mike, for a wonderful night!
Dustin

[Jonathan Townsend]

...It got me to thinking: I wish there was a way to get him in front of an even younger group...

It's called YouTube.

And TED (perhaps a magic based brand of?) talks are another route to larger audiences.

[Dustin Stinett]

It's not same. Is magic on Youtube better than magic seen live?

[Jonathan Townsend]

It's not same. Is magic on Youtube better than magic seen live?

There is no "the same". Put what you feel is worth seeing (and of course it's yours to start) up there and those who wish to watch it will. It's that simple. One could argue that the rest is counterproductive fussing. If you want to argue for "this" versus "that" link to examples and make your case.

[Bill Mullins]

...It got me to thinking: I wish there was a way to get him in front of an even younger group...

It's called YouTube.

And TED (perhaps a magic based brand of?) talks are another route to larger audiences.

Mike is on Vimeo.

On youtube, he's in Spanish.

[Dustin Stinett]

Jonathan, you're nuts. Frankly I find conversing with you counterproductive, even when I can understand what the bloody hell you're talking about. And this time you seem to be arguing that the best way to decide if something is worth seeing in person is to see it on video first. What a crock. Do I really need to give you examples of how much better magic is live versus on video as you seem to be asking? Apparently you don't get out much. The only way for me to prove that requires you to see magic in person. Good luck with that.

[Ian Kendall]

And TED (perhaps a magic based brand of?) talks are another route to larger audiences.

We had a Magic TED. It was three years of the EMC.

[Jonathan Townsend]

...this time you seem to be arguing that the best way to decide if something is worth seeing in person is to see it on video first...

while not a bad idea it's already been done by the likes of news clips, advertising, quotation in scholarly review... and not what I was arguing for.

If someone feels their lecture/performance is worth making available to the public as resource/inspiration/example- there's youtube.

What is EMC to folks just starting out today?

[Leonard Hevia]

Just received my copy of Classic Correspondence II. Great stuff in here, and beautifully produced! It's the kind of book one leaves on the night stand next to the bed for a bit of reading before calling it a night. It's a good idea to pace yourself and read just one letter per evening to savor it's contents.

If you want to know which two illusions Will Goldston offered to sell to Thurston, who turned them down, it's in here. Goldston was not letting them go for a low price. If you want to know which turn of the century Victorian magician possibly sacrificed his canaries for the De Kolta birdcage vanish, it's in here.