History of Magic - The Best Magic of the World

History of Magic

Magic, sometimes referred to as illusion, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by staged tricks or illusions of seemingly impossible feats using natural means.

At the American Museum of Magic, we help to educate individuals young and old about the history of magic and the people who have performed it.

How far back can we go?

An Egyptian papyrus dated around 2500 BCE portrays a magician named Dedi performing an animal decapitation trick for the pharaoh.

Until the 18th century, magic shows were a common source of entertainment at fairs, where itinerant performers would entertain the public with magic tricks.

A notable figure in this transition was Isaac Fawkes, an English showman, who began to promote his act in advertisements from the 1720s. He claimed to have performed for King George II.

The Birth of Modern Magic.

A founding figure of modern entertainment magic was Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, originally a clockmaker, who opened a magic theatre in Paris in 1845.

Known today as “The Father of Modern Magic,” Robert-Houdin transformed magic from something performed at fairs to a performance that the public paid to see at the theatre.

John Henry Anderson was pioneering the same transition in London.

In 1840, he opened the New Strand Theatre, where he performed as The Great Wizard of the North.

He became one of the earliest magicians to attain a high level of world renown.

The British performer John Nevil Maskelyne and his partner Cooke were established at the Egyptian Hall in London’s Piccadilly in and continued there for 31 years.

Alexander Herrmann (1844 –1896), also known as Herrmann the Great, became the idealized model for how a magician would be perceived.

Herrmann was a French magician and part of the Herrmann family name that was often deemed the “first family of magic.”

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magicians such as Maskelyne and Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini achieved widespread commercial success during what has become known as “The Golden Age of Magic.”

Performance magic became a staple of Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and music halls.

Magic easily moved from theatrical venues to television specials, which brought stage magic to huge audiences.

Famous magicians of the 20th century included Okito, David Devant, Harry Blackstone Sr., Harry Blackstone Jr., Howard Thurston, Theodore Annemann, Cardini, Joseph Dunninger, Dai Vernon, Fred Culpitt, Tommy Wonder, Siegfried & Roy, and Doug Henning.

Popular 20th- and 21st-century magicians include David Copperfield, Lance Burton, James Randi, Penn and Teller, David Blaine, Criss Angel, Hans Klok, and Derren Brown.

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