Who made John Ramsay's props such as those for the cylinder and coin?

[Suresh]

Curious to know who made John Ramsay's props such as those for the Cylinder and Coins. Also, do the originals still exist and, if so, where can one see them?

[webbmaster]

I don't really know but back in the day, Conrad Hayden was THE guy making good gaffs. Maybe it was him. David Roth would know.

[Richard Kaufman]

No one would know the answer to this question at this point.

[Brad Henderson]

Is andrew Galloway no longer Alive? Might he know?

[Ian Kendall]

Andy is alive, but I imagine Ramsay had the cylinder made long before he became the student.

[Jonathan Townsend]

Interesting question. There's some information and photos in Galloway's books and the booklet on the rope trick.

[Andy Galloway]

I am still alive, if only just. The fake stack for the Cylinder & Coins was made by a local tinsmith and John made the rest of the props for the trick by himself, also for his cups and balls routine. His secretary Mrs French made the Tasselled Rope Trick and he kept his close up props in a small case which I used to carry for him at conventions. Shortly after he died it and some of the medals and cups he won for conjuring and gardening went missing from his house. I believe the Magic Circle has a few coins and thimbles he used in their museum.

[webbmaster]

Thank you Andy. That was a very interesting post.

[Richard Kaufman]

Good to hear from you Andy!
For the cups and balls, ramsay used small cardboard ice cream containers he painted silver, I believe.

[Andy Galloway]

That is correct Richard, he originally used metal cups, but they were lost when his close up case was stolen on a bus trip and could not be replaced. However, when he noticed that small ice cream cups were approximately the same size and shape he used them from then on.

[Jim Martin]

Hello, Andy,

Thank you for your posts - I so appreciate your first hand knowledge and comments about one of the major influences on our art.

Best,
Jim

[Richard Kaufman]

Andy, do you give the dimensions of the cups anywhere?

[MagicbyAlfred]

That is correct Richard, he originally used metal cups, but they were lost when his close up case was stolen on a bus trip and could not be replaced. However, when he noticed that small ice cream cups were approximately the same size and shape he used them from then on.

That is a fascinating fact. That he painted them silver, as was mentioned, is not surprising, as one might be inclined to try to make them more spiffy and look more like "magical" apparatus. Yet I can't help but wonder if, generally speaking, just leaving the ice cream cups as they were might have been significantly more disarming and impactful to the spectators.

[Jonathan Townsend]

Andy, would you discuss John Ramsay's routine which included producing glasses? That would be the routine before he adopted paper cups.

[Richard Kaufman]

Painting them cuts down on visual clutter.

[Q. Kumber]

What surprised me was that John Ramsay had a secretary.

[John Bowden]

What surprised me was that John Ramsay had a secretary.

He was a successful shopkeeper, (judging by his ability to maintain extensive gardens) and as such would have had need for an accounts secretary or bookkeeper.
It would have been at a time when there were extensive book-keeping practices ie copying from Day book to Journal to Ledger and then to statements.
Computers have taken away all those jobs and what once took maybe two or three weeks to do can be done in an hour or less.

[Andy Galloway]

The cups measured two and a quarter inches high, two and three eights across the base and two and one eight across the top. They were painted aluminium or silver to simulate metal. I believe it was Stanley Collins who reprimanded John for using cardboard cups not knowing the reason why he had to.
I never saw him perform the version which produced glasses as it was one of his earliest. He said it was a set of metal cups which were gimmicked to hold small shot glasses with enough room underneath for a ball. After a short series of passes, the glasses were released for the climax of the routine.
His secretary was Mrs Agnes French who started in his grocer`s shop as a counter assistant and being very bright became his book keeper, handled all his correspondence and organized his trips to conventions. She typed the original manuscripts of the books he wrote with Victor Farelli and acted as his hostess when he entertained any magicians and other artists who played the local Gaiety Theater including a young Julie Andrews and her parents.

[Richard Kaufman]

Thank you, Andy!