The Genii Forum

I would like to know more about Magick by Bascom Jones...

Bascom Jones:
At what age did he publish this?
When is his birthday and when did he die?
Was he a performer?


I know Magick magazines are available in I believe 4 bound editons from Collectors Workshop.

Magick:
How many years did it run?
How many issues were there?

Looking forward to any information.

Bascom Jones was born circa 1924. He lived in South Carolina during his junior high school years. At that time he was doing magic and, in fact induced my kid brother, his age-mate, to take up the study of magic secretly. (He didn't want Bascom to know it until he was proficient. As a consequence, he let Bascom know after Bascom started Magick.) Bascom moved away and I didn't run into him again until 1963 or 1964 -- at a magic convention in San Diego where Fred Shields re-introduced us as he knew that I had known Bascom earlier. At that time Shields and Jones were writing "Double Daring" for _Genii_.

In 1970 Bascom asked me for some ideas about the magazine he was planning to publish. He was so pleased with my answers that he gave me an honorary subscription. The first issue featured my "Dexter the Dexterous" and Bascoms sketch of my face. He also used that same sketch to accompany my "The Mississippi Switch" in issue number 7.

I later did several other pieces for the journal. My sister did one and my brother did one. In his editorial comments in one issue of about 1983 he mentioned that as a young teenager he had had a crush on my sister.

I know the journal continued into at least as late as 1984 but I don't remember how much later. All my copies were lost in a disastrous move in which my library went by the board. I left California in 1979 and didnt see Bascom since.

8/02/04 12:09

magicking...

I may have some of the answers you are looking for:

Magick is comprised of 496 issues with a special insert included with every other issue. The first one was published on July 17, 1970, the last published on November 12, 1993... there was a 497th issue published but this was not by Bascom but a blank edition published by a PEA member in honor of Bascom's passing ... on the back page in the place of Bascom's usual "The Mystic Word" column was a picture of Bascom (his well known logo) and the following:

"Published No More
Editor....Bascom Jones
March 23, 1994

Dear Bascom,
For 24 years you have filled
our lives with magic.
Thank you."

Hope this helps...

Success!!!

Tony Blake
The Thoughtreader

Thank you both, it was what I was looking for. I have several issues of Magick and someone said there were only 183 and I was sure there were more as I have nearly that many myself. I did not realize it was still going strong in the 80's and into 93...Wow I wonder why I didn't hear of it and subscribe. If only the internet were availble in this small town at that time. We have only had dial-up service for a few years! I doubt we ever have broadband.
Anyhow I appreciate the information.
Magically
God Bless
Mike aka magicking

Bascom Jones was a wonderful person. He published a lecture I gave at Docc Hilford's Weerd Weekend as several "bonus inserts" that he included in Magick. He would call and begin the conversation with, "Hey." I instantly knew who it was. Bascom was great fun.

There were four of us that knew he was going into the hospital. We thought it was just for a bit of repair work. I had just finished writing a huge biography of Gene Roddenberry, was exhausted and was going on a cruise to unwind. I called Bascom a few days before his surgery and asked if he wanted me to drive up to Bakersfield. He said no, it was only a quick bit of repair and we made plans to meet at the Castle to see Tom Waters perform a few weeks hence. Bascome surprised me by saying that he'd found the last question mark tie tack that he gave all his special contributors and that he would put it in the top drawer of his desk for me.

Two days before my ship docked I turned to my wife and told her that Bascom was dead. I made a ship-to-shore call and learned from his sister-in-law that the surgery had shown that he was riddled with cancer, that there was nothing they could do. The doctors sewed him up and made him comfortable. He died the day before my call.

No funeral. Maybe a memorial at the Castle, but I didn't hear about it. A friend of his went up and helped his widow close up his affairs. I mentioned the tie tack and, sure enough, it was there in his desk, waiting to be delivered to me. I treasure it to this day.

Thank you, David. A month ago I was rummaging through a drawer and found a question mark tie tack.
I wonder what that is for? I had completely forgotten until you reminded me. How often does one wear a tack these days?
September 5, 2004 3:53 P M