Captain Kettle

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Captain Kettle

Postby PressureFan » November 5th, 2022, 4:20 pm

I’m wondering who magician Captain Kettle was.

I first read about him in the December 1986 M-U-M Billy McComb issue. Billy writes of meeting him in ‘We meet Captain Kettle & buy a card trick’, page 18.
The trick is done with eleven cards and a duck & deal procedure. Captain Kettle would sell the secret formula on a slip of paper for “the price of a pack of cigarettes.” I used to carry the formula in my wallet for years.

I assume he performed in the character of Captain Kettle from Charles Cutcliffe’s books. (Like performing as Jack Sparrow.)
There’s an illustration of him in the November 1913 issue of ‘The Magician Monthly’.
https://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/i ... by-elcock/
The review accompanying the illustration says;
“The magician who calls himself Captain Kettle (and always looks the part) …”

He’s also mentioned in Magigram Volume 13, available at Lybrary.com;
‘Kennaugh Kalling - Alan Kennaugh on the Show Business Scene
Captain Kettle set Lewis Ganson on the Boil’

I have an old 1997 post from Tom Alder;
“I am seeking information about a magician/conjurer who used to perform
as Captain Kettle at the early part of this century.
Captain Kettle although not a top liner appeared at many Music Halls
throughout UK including the old 'Canterbury', the first purpose built
hall situated in Lambeth, London, He appeared at the Southampton
Hippodrome in November 1910 and the Royalty Music hall, Chester in
March 1911.
He was sometimes billed as 'The King of Dollars', 'Capt. Kettle
Comjuror' or as, when he appeared at Southampton, 'Capt. Kettle the
Nautical Wizard'.
Writing in the 'Magic Circular' over twenty years ago, Peter Blanchard
wrote that Capt. Kettle was slick at back and front palming of cards,
fanning them and springing them; and coins seemed to melt into his
fingers as they vanished.
According to the same writer, the Captain kept a small magical shop in
Portsmouth in 1938.”

That’s all I have.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Tarotist » November 5th, 2022, 5:27 pm

Lewis Ganson mentioned him a lot. I think in some ways he was a mentor to Ganson.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Tarotist » November 5th, 2022, 6:55 pm

Lewis Ganson's very first book on magic was "Expert Manipulation of Playing Cards" which I suspect is out of print and unobtainable. He mentions Captain Kettle therein in the section on card fanning thus:

"I had the good fortune to receive personal instruction on this subject from Charles Kettle and I have yet to see anyone produce fans better than he can. He was over 70 years when he was teaching me and his hands were as sure and subtle as a young man. He had a remarkable knowledge of all branches of magic and I often asked him to put his knowledge into book form, but his reply always was that he was doing a better job giving personal instruction. If he is still with us when this book is published, I hope he will approve and take credit for imparting his knowledge in such a manner that I have been able to make my hands move to the direction of his brain. I feel that he would like nothing better than this record"

Ganson also mentions Captain Kettle elsewhere in the book in connection with two flourish catches one of which I perform to this day. In addition to these source I think I have seen Ganson mention this gentleman in print elsewhere too.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby PressureFan » November 11th, 2022, 2:52 pm

David Britland found a story about Captain Kettle in the Chichester Observer - Saturday 11 February 1939, that is available through a subscription to the British Newspaper Archive.
Thank you, David!

This is terrific. Capt. Charles Kettle was a real person and lived in Portsmouth. C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne did indeed base his Captain Kettle novels on him. Capt. Kettle performed magic and owned a magic store on Arundel Street.
According to the post by Tom Alder, the shop was in Portsmouth in 1938.

My interest in Captain Kettle was piqued by the trick Billy McComb shared in the 1986 M-U-M (I have it in front of me now), and I’m so gratified to find out more about him.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby AJM » November 11th, 2022, 4:18 pm

He did well for a few years then went off the boil…

I thank you, I’m here thru Friday - try the veal!

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby PressureFan » November 12th, 2022, 2:11 am

The Chichester Observer columnist who met Captain Kettle wrote that he owned a magical store in Arundel Street, "started by dire necessity.” You don’t suppose…

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Q. Kumber » November 14th, 2022, 5:58 am

The outline of Charles Kettle's routine for The Endless Chain is given in the booklet of the same name (1983) complied by Will Ayling and is part of the Supreme Magic Company's 'Know-How' series.

The 'Know-How' series by Will Ayling was simply a follow-on for the Ganson Teach-In series after Lewis Ganson passed away.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Joe Lyons » November 14th, 2022, 9:09 am

Looks like he was Mersano, Emperor of Coins and Cards and Mersano, Mysterious Sailor before he became Captain Kettle.

He was called Charlie Massano by Frederic Culpitt.

Also he ran a "Death to Life Illusion" and "Human Spider" at a sideshow while his wife, Margaret, told fortunes.

He is reputed to have died while sheltering from an air raid in WWII.

From a 1957 Magic Circular:

"Dear Editor,
As all our members, I always look forward with
fervour to the receipt of "The Magic Circular".
In the February issue I was interested in Percy
Naldrett's article "Odds and Ends", for reading about
old masters of magic always seems to have a stimulating effect.
I was particularly interested in the mention of my
old friend, Captain Kettle. This is the first time I have
seen his name in print since 1919 when I last saw him
doing his act as " Captain Kettle, the unique little
man with cards and coins"—and a neat little act it
was.
Yes, he used to pride himself on his performance of
the vanishing bird cage, and I can assure you it was
very effective in his hands. I am led to believe that he
was the first to bring the trick to this country.
His sideshow illusions were faultless and those
which remain in my memory are "The Human Spider",
"She", "Neptune" and "La Morte".
I was privileged to render assistance in some of the
ideas for his shows, a number of the drawings of
which I still possess among my collection. He also did
an escape act, being handcuffed, leg-ironed and neck
padlocked to a large wooden cross.
His wife did palmistry under the name of Madame
Ella.
All this seems a long time ago, but I never forget
clever artistes in magic and am sure many members
enjoy reading this type of article.
Yours sincerely,
J. S. LIAUTARD.

Most of this from Ask Alexander.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby PressureFan » November 15th, 2022, 2:47 pm

Thank you, Joe! That's huge. So much great information. Somewhere there must be a photo of him and his notable beard.

To those in the know;
I’ve typed up the text of the Chichester Observer article. Would I be allowed to post it here, or would I need permission of the British Newspaper Archives?

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Richard Kaufman » November 15th, 2022, 8:11 pm

The article is likely still copyrighted, so if the newspaper is still being published, you should ask permission. If it's no longer being published, then it's likely not a problem to cut and paste it here.
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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Jonathan Townsend » November 15th, 2022, 9:37 pm

Joe Lyons wrote:...
Yours sincerely,
J. S. LIAUTARD.
Author's real name?
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby PressureFan » November 30th, 2022, 10:59 am

Here is the transcript from the Chichester Observer - Saturday 11 February 1939, page 5. Capt. Kettle—the Original.

________________

* * *

Capt. Kettle--the Original

You remember Captain Kettle and the amazing adventures attributed to him by that popular author of the last generation, Mr. C. J. Cutliffe-Hyne?
I must admit I knew very little about the character myself, and certainly didn’t realise that Captain Kettle himself still outlives his fictitious “other self”--until I met him in Chichester last week.
Capt. Charles Kettle, who inspired Mr. Cutliffe-Hyne to pen his beloved old salt, who met with adventure in every port in the world, now lives in Portsmouth. When I ran into him he had just finished giving a sleight-of-hand turn at the British Legion Club, who invited him down for their concert. As he packed his box of tricks up, he told me something about his real self. Although I was only with him for about half an hour, I listened to enough stories to write his biography.
* * *

Chosen Out of 400
“Skip,” as he affectionately called by his comrade and pupil, ex-Petty Officer Alfred Farne, who was also performing his black magic under the Captain’s guidance, is now 73. He was in the Mercantile Marines for over 50 years, and it was after he left the service that Mr. Cutliffe-Hyne saw him playing the title role of his own character on a provincial stage. This was at the time when it was proposed to film the Captain’s adventures, and Charles Kettle was immediately chosen from 400 others to play the role. His opinion of film is not high—in fact, he thinks them “the biggest atrocity thrown at the public.” These producers, he says, can make an actor out of anyone.
* * *

Married at 17
Captain Kettle is described in the stories a marrying a Baptist minister’s daughter, but this is far from the truth of his real life. Charles Kettle has been married three times—the first when he was 17. His present wife is still in her thirties. “That’s what comes from being popular,“ he comments.
The short, pointed beard which Cutliffe-Hyne gave his character is strictly accurate. Kettle has worn it since he was 20. But the closing episode, in which he loses a leg in a fight with a shark, is imaginary. Capt. Kettle is still “sound in wind and limb.”
* * *

Broke in Bucharest
The sleight-of-hand business in which Charles Kettle now dabbles—he owns a magical store in Arundel Street—started by dire necessity. He was once in Bucharest—he has been round the world nine times—without a cent, and he used his ability for impromptu turns to find a way out of the city. Since then he has never forgotten his “magic,” and for the past four years has been instructing ex-Petty Officer Farne along the same lines. He now has enough confidence in his protégé to watch him doing turns on his own.
* * *
_____________

Thanks again, David Britland for the find in The British Newspaper Archive.
They sent me this reply to my transcript request;

"The British Newspaper Archive is made possible thanks to a partnership between the British Library and Findmypast with the aim to digitise newspaper pages from the British Library's vast collection and bring them online to our website.

If you plan on creating your own text transcriptions from the newspapers then please be advised that unsigned newspaper text goes out of copyright 70 calendar years after the year of publication. Signed newspaper text goes out of copyright 70 calendar years after the death of the author(s). The vast majority of newspaper text in unsigned, signed text includes content like readers’ letters, serialised stories, and (clearly attributed) guest articles.

If the text of the article you plan on transcribing is unsigned you are free to transcribe it and use the transcript as you please without permissions or accreditation as it is out of copyright. If it is signed, it may still be under copyright, I note that your article about Capt. Kettle is technically signed under a pseudonym (“The Bachelor”) and my understanding is that this doesn’t count as being “signed” – in all probability “The Bachelor” was an employee or contributor of The Observer and rights would belong to the paper. I believe you are safe to proceed with transcribing the text. We would be very pleased, however it is not a requirement, if you could note that you made your discovery in The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)."

Many thanks to The British Newspaper Archive!

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Tarotist » November 30th, 2022, 2:45 pm

There are several references to Captain Kettle by Lewis Ganson is his Routined Manipulation series and also in his Expert Manipulation of Playing Cards book. Probably in some of his others books too I imagine.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby BarryAllen » November 30th, 2022, 6:42 pm

Tarotist wrote:There are several references to Captain Kettle by Lewis Ganson is his Routined Manipulation series and also in his Expert Manipulation of Playing Cards book. Probably in some of his others books too I imagine.


Indeed there are Mark.

I remember reading the name Capt. Kettle being mentioned by Lewis Ganson, so have scoured my books accordingly.

Here's the other references that I can find.

Within 'The Art Of Close-up Magic Volume 2' (Harry Stanley 1967/Supreme Magic Company 1971) there is a section covering The Egg Bag. Within that section, Lewis states (quote):

"Credit is given to the late Charles Kettle who showed me the De Biere version and prompted me to experiment on my own account".

Within the Introduction of Lewis Ganson's Teach-in Series covering the Okito Box (Supreme Magic 1978), Lewis states (quote):

"Capt. Charles Kettle also had a hand in educating me in its use".

Within the Ganson Teach-in Series 'A New Look At Card Fans' (Supreme Magic 1978 & 1983), within the Introduction, Lewis states (quote):

"I turn to my old friend and tutor, the late Charles Kettle, for the origin of the decorative card fans that we see today. He told me that he and some of his contemporaries, when waiting in their dressing-rooms in variety theatres between houses (most shows were twice nightly), tried to see how many different patterns they could make with the cards. It is likely that many of the card fanning effects that we use today were born in this way. Charles Kettle taught me how to fan cards without them being treated with fanning powder - indeed in those days, we did not know that an application of a certain powder would have made our task much simpler".

Within the Lewis Ganson Teach-in Series titled 'The Three Card Monte As Entertainment' (Supreme Magic 1980 & 1984), he gets another mention within Part One - Sleight Of Hand Methods'. Talking of 'The Basic Move': which covers bridging and the overthrow; Lewis states (quote):

"The move was taught to me in 1936 by Charles Kettle, in my opinion one of the cleverest British sleight of hand magicians of all times. The version he used was that employed by clever tricksters on the racecourses, trains and fairgrounds in this country".

Clearly Capt. Charles Kettle was a major influence upon Lewis from an early age of his Magical Apprenticeship and it's good to see that he wasn't forgotten when Lewis so expertly put pen to paper throughout the following years.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby PressureFan » November 30th, 2022, 9:49 pm

Thank you, Tarotist for the Ganson reference!
A big thank you, Barry for the deep dive into your Ganson files. That’s first-hand information from his colleagues and peers. I appreciate it. I had no idea Capt. Kettle was so accomplished and influential until now.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Tarotist » November 30th, 2022, 9:50 pm

It is very interesting that Captain Kettle indirectly had such an influence on magic because he mentored one of the greatest magic writers in history. I strongly suspect I have learned more from Lewis Ganson than any other source.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby PressureFan » November 30th, 2022, 10:06 pm

Thank you everyone for the information on Capt. Kettle. There must be a photo of him and an obituary out there somewhere.

Be the first one to post a photo or a free link to a photo of magician Capt. Charles Kettle here, and I’ll donate $50 to a charity of your choice.

Be the first one to post the obituary or a free link to the obituary of magician Capt. Charles Kettle here, and I’ll donate $50 to a charity of your choice.

Thanks,
PressureFan

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Tarotist » December 1st, 2022, 1:22 am

I now know that Captain Kettle had a beard! In my capacity as a psychic reverend I got in touch with him in the Spirit World and he told me where to look. Not a photo but the next best thing. He is the chap with the beard if you look carefully on the right hand side of the page. It says something about "a slick card act". You will have to blow up the cartoon to see it properly.

https://www.davenportcollection.co.uk/i ... by-elcock/

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby BarryAllen » December 1st, 2022, 3:52 am

PressureFan wrote:Thank you, Tarotist for the Ganson reference!
A big thank you, Barry for the deep dive into your Ganson files.

My pleasure mate. I haven't got a massive library of books - in fact, just one smallish book cabinet. However, the books that I do own (mainly 1940's/early 1980's) have been read from cover to cover many, many times over the years. Lewis Ganson remains, along with Harry Lorayne, my favourite author.

I fully echo Mark's comment above entirely. I've learnt a lot of Magic over the years from Lewis Ganson's superb instructions.

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby Tarotist » December 1st, 2022, 2:37 pm

Oh yes! I certainly agree about Harry Lorayne! The clarity of his writing is excellent! He can describe the most intricate of sleights in a way that is easily understood. It was a big thrill for me when he agreed to write a foreword to my own book. And it was quite an effusive foreword!

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Re: Captain Kettle

Postby PressureFan » October 29th, 2023, 1:05 pm

A brief mention of Captain Kettle;
http://www.michaelcooper.org.uk/C/billy%20norman.htm

"Vic had a real Punch and Judy Show, with a wonderful dog Toby, which he had trained himself. He had a marvellous front man - we call them 'bottlers' - to do the collecting, Captain Kettle had flamboyant trousers, banged the drum and played the pipes of pan.
"Vic knew I was keen and he taught me and let me into the secrets of Punch. Most Punch and Judy men were very secretive about this, and I was very privileged really. He showed me how to make and use a swazzle, the reed with which we make Mr. Punch's highpitched voice. I used to make mine from a flattened piece of silver spoon with a tape across the middle, but I can do the voice without a swazzle. My grandfather made me a folding booth, a fit-up as they were called, and I have used it ever since."
Vic Taylor wrote a book about his life ("Reminiscences of a Showman," Allen Lane, the Penguin Press) in which he refers to the value of a good "bottler". He was so pleased with Captain Kettle's efforts that he went halves with him in the takings of their show at Hayling, though the more usual bottler's share was fourpence in the shilling. Mr. Taylor, who died in 1982, was a magician and entertainer as well as Punch and Judy man, later taking over a Havant pub called The Speed the Plough from his fatherin-law. Mr. A. Funnell. Many is the time that Vic sawed his wife in half, but it did her no harm - she is still living in Havant."

My offer for a photo or obituary has expired. I'm going to spend the money on Halloween treats. Maybe Kettle Corn.


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