Making money appear!

Wars aren't cheap. Put aside the human sacrifice and the social, environmental and political upheaval, there's also the financial cost.

For America - and for many other nations - World War Two was their costliest war. The total bill was almost US$5 trillion (adjusted for today's prices). And, given that the U.S. didn't join the war until December 1941, this money covered just the 3 years and 9 months of their involvement. Great Britain and other nations endured six years of war.

While the government might wish to hire a load of magicians to make money appear, that wouldn't work in reality. But, many magicians were employed to make money during the war. Here's how...

One way that modern governments finance war, is by putting additional money into circulation. In effect, printing money ('magic money'?). But, putting lots of money into an economy will drive up inflation. To compensate for this, governments sell debt securities, known as war bonds. The function of a war bond is to remove money from circulation. They, and schemes such as war savings stamps, are often made available in a wide range of denominations to make them affordable for all citizens. 

This is where magicians, and a host of other performers and celebrities, come in. The U.S. Government employed them to sell war bonds, using entertainment to boost a patriotic fervour.

 

One of the most famous magicians to promote war bond drives was Orson Welles. Although better known as an actor, writer, director, and producer - and one of the greatest film-makers of all time - Welles was an active magician. In 1942, he produced and emceed the first two hours of a seven-hour coast-to-coast war bond radio broadcast, titled Pledge America. The show raised more than US$146 million for the war effort (in today's money).

Orson Welles performs a card trick before the war bond drive broadcast Pledge America (1942)

(Source: Creative Commons Licence)

Hundreds of American magicians performed in war bond rallies. They included Elmer Applegit, Jack Curtis, Joseph Garofalo, George Farron, Elmer (Edgar) Pelkin, Will Rock, Alton Sharpe, Don Tanner, Rajah Tiller, Jimmy Trimble, Morton Vivani, Richard Wehmeyer, and Joe Scott. Scott had enlisted into the U.S. Navy in 1943 and was responsible for putting together war bond shows across Midwestern America. Rajah Tiller was one of many magicians to receive a United States Treasury Citation for the success of his war bond shows.

War bond shows were different across the country. In December 1944, Will Rock performed in an inter-service show that toured Missouri. It involved a twenty-man choir from the navy, a thirty-piece army band, a group of Women’s Auxiliary Corps performers, and some heavy equipment, like guns and tanks (parked outside the theatres) to draw crowds.

Magicians even invented tricks specifically to help sell war bonds. Elmer Applegit created the Defense Bond trick, which was widely performed during the war. It was a ‘ripped and restored papers’ effect, where a small poster of a Swastika and a poster of the Rising Sun emblem were destroyed. Then, their tattered remains were magically transformed into a poster urging the audience to “Buy Bonds!”. A variant, the Victory War Bond trick followed, as the war drew to a close.

George Farron demonstrating the Defense Bond trick (October 1942)

(Source: Genii Magazine)

Advert for Abbott's Victory Poster Trick (April 1945)

(Source: Tops magazine) 

Another war bond-themed trick was the ‘Newsweek War Bond Poster’. A magician shows their audience a copy of the American weekly new magazine, Newsweek. With a magical flourish, the magazine doubles in size. Another magical flourish doubles the size of the magazine again. Finally, the magazine (which is now poster size) is turned around to reveal a poster extolling the need to 'Buy War Bonds'.

 

An example of the ‘Newsweek War Bond Poster’

(Source: Author’s collection) 

Other dealer items included production items such as silks printed with 'Buy More Bonds' and giant war bonds.

War bond tricks frequently appeared in magic magazines of the day, and sometimes in books. Examples include 'The Enlarging War Bond' contributed by Ray Muse to Genii Magazine (August 1944), a war bond-themed rope escape in The Linking Ring (November 1942), and one involving three coloured paper plates that reveal a war bond message, also published in The Linking Ring (January 1944). These themed tricks continued after the war, with The Sphinx publishing an effect where war bonds transform into a giant victory bond (October 1945). And, Frank Lane's Funny Talk for Magicians (1945) featured a trick where a folder of war savings stamps, turns into one full of war bonds.

'Buy War Bonds' magic trick

(Source: Tops, October 1943)

In Patriotic Magic (1942), a book of magic tricks themed around patriotism, author Solomon Stein included an advert for war bonds.

Advert for war savings stamps in Patriotic Magic

(Source: Stein, Solomon. Patriotic Magic (1942))

Plenty of magic magazines also carried regular adverts for war bonds, often as space fillers between articles. Or, promoted war bonds in their editorials or articles. "Your war bond may buy the bullet catching trick that will finish Hitler. Buy Bonds today!", wrote editor Geraldine Larsen in Genii Magazine (February 1943).

War bonds advert in Genii Magazine (November 1943)

(Source: Genii Magazine)

Newly-started publication, The Conjurors’ Magazine, offered U.S. Government war bonds as prizes for magicians who submitted the best articles or tricks for publication. This drummed up content for the fledgling magazine, but also raised money for the war effort. Magic dealers often sold war bonds or offered them as prizes for competitions.

War bonds advert for Montandon Magic and Julien J. Proskauer (November 1943)

(Source: Genii Magazine)

War bonds were also offered as prizes at magic conventions. In September 1943, Percy Abbott’s tenth annual Magic Get-Together included a feature show styled as ‘Victory Night’ (somewhat prematurely) with magicians presenting patriotic-themed effects. The best of the presentations was awarded a war bond and war bonds would also be given to audience members. 

Advert for Abbott's 10th Annual Magic Get-Together, offering war bonds for competition prizes

(Source: Tops)

And, magic societies would often club together to either buy a war bond or run war bond sales. Leading from the front, the Parent Assembly of the Society of American Magicians bought several US$1,000 war bonds (each equivalent to US$15,000 in today's money). Smaller clubs followed their lead. The Bat magic magazine reported that California's Oakland Magic Circle bought a US$1,000 bond. Well known vaudeville star, Caro 'Gig' Miller bought a US$1,000 bond, to kick start a war bond sale by the nearby San Jose Mystic 13 society. Other magicians would buy large bonds and occasionally combine this with publicity to promote their benevolence and the war bond cause. 

In other self-promotion, magic celebrities helped out by endorsing war bond sales. In October 1942, on sixteenth anniversary of Harry Houdini’s death, his widow Bess Houdini, paid for a full-page promotion in Genii magazine in which she printed, “It has been said, 'All the world is a stage and we are the actors.' Right now the biggest show in the history of the world is going on. Buy more U.S. War Bonds and Our Boys will Top the Bill”.

Bess Houdini's full-page advert for war bonds in Genii Magazine (1942)

(Source: Genii Magazine)

Aside from Orson Welles' Pledge America event, the U.S.A.'s largest war bond tour was the Hollywood Victory Caravan in 1942. During a three-week cross-country rail tour, performers such as Laurel and Hardy (who appeared as magician’s assistants in the film A Haunting We Will Go later that year), Cary Grant (actor and magic hobbyist), Bing Crosby and Bob Hope participated in performance and rallies to promote the sale of war bonds.

Movie still from A Haunting We Will Go (1942) starring Laurel and Hardy, with Dante

In addition to war bond shows, magicians were also hired to do other war drives, such as fundraising to buy new warships, aircraft or tanks. Or to get people to participate in salvage or paper recycling schemes.

Richard Wehmeyer performing in front of a war drive poster

(Source: Tops, January 1945)

In the United Kingdom, instead of war bonds, the National Savings Movement was instrumental in raising funds for the war effort during both world wars. A War Savings Campaign was set up by the War Office to support the war effort. Like the U.S.A., local savings weeks were held which were promoted with posters with titles such as "Lend to Defend the Right to Be Free", "Save Your Way to Victory" and "War Savings Are Warships".

Related article: H.M.S. Wizard, a blog about a warship funded by public donations following a 'Warship Week'. Blog link

Related article: Magic at the Movies, a blog about magic-related movies made during World War Two to keep the public entertained, including Laurel & Hardy's 'A Haunting We Will Go'. Blog link

Related article: "A magician is an actor playing the part of a magician", a blog about magicians-turned-actors who appeared in movies made during World War Two. Including James Stewart, Cary Grant and Orson Welles. Blog link

Related article: Entertaining Hitler: Gogia Pasha, the Gilly Gilly man (and war worker), a blog about Gogia Pasha who entertained Hitler by producing coins from nowhere, to which Hitler said "I could use you in the Mint!". Blog link