Magic at War

In this post, we discover three further examples of war-themed tricks invented by magicians to keep their acts topical for audiences and capture the national mood during World War Two.  Cheeri-Boo ‘Cheeri-Boo’ was manufactured and sold by London-based magic dealer Lewis Davenport & Co. The performer shows a set of coloured cards (roughly A4/US Letter size). When cards of leading Nazis Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Goering are shown, the audience is encouraged to  “Boo!” . When pictures of HM King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Winston Churchill are shown, the audience cheers. To cause some mischief, the magician makes Hitler’s trademark moustache disappear, before making it reappear and move around the dictator’s face in a comical fashion. An example of the ‘Cheeri-Boo’  cards hand-painted by Laurie (Source: Author ’s collection)   Advert (extract) for  ‘Cheeri-Boo’  by Lewis Davenport & Co in The Demon Teleg...

In this post, we discover three examples of war-themed tricks invented by magicians to keep their acts topical for audiences and capture the national mood during World War Two.  Doomed Dictators For this variation of a ‘torn and restored’ trick, three printed papers are shown by the magician. One features Germany’s leader Hitler, another depicts Italy’s leader Mussolini, and the third shows Japan’s leader Hirohito. Calling on the audience to ‘boo’ the images of these three dictators, the magician rips up the papers to show his disdain for the Axis Powers. But, in a patriotic nod to the Allied victory hoped for by the audience, the magician restores and transforms the papers, forming a poster of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  Raw materials to manufacture magic tricks were hard to get hold of as World War Two dragged on. Even paper was rationed. Nonetheless, London-based magic dealer Lewis Davenport & Co. managed to get hold of sufficient quantities of paper...

Mark Raffles, celebrated British magician, pioneering pickpocket entertainer and World War Two veteran, sadly passed away on 18 September 2022, aged an  incredible  100 years old. In his honour, this special blog recounts Raffles ’  life and wartime service. Becoming a professional Mark Raffles (Albert Taylor Jnr.) was born in M anchester in January 1922.* His first professional performance, aged 16, was in 1938 at the Queen's Park Hippodrome in Manchester. He adopted the stage name Ray St. Clair, much later changing this to Mark Raffles. Because of a debilitating stammer, he performed a silent magic act.  Ray St. Clair / Mark Raffles (1940s) (Source: Mark Raffles) War work in the Blitz He was only in the second year of his performing career when Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. Initially Raffles was too young for military service, but when he turned 18 years old in early 1940, the law required him to register to be called-up.  The a...

The story of a German illusionist who performed for both the Germans and the British during World War Two. And whose magic helped him avoid combat and earn freedom from captivity. Born in Germany in 1911, Friedrich Mahlo became interested in card tricks at twelve years old. His hobby helped him overcome shyness in front of his classmates.  When he was 15, his father took Friedrich to receive magic lessons from Berlin-based Friedrich Conradi, a magician and magic dealer. Conradi sped up the teenager’s learning. As he turned to adulthood, Mahlo also turned to magic full-time, becoming a professional magician in 1930. He performed as Maldino, a stage name he kept throughout his career.  Germany’s Weimar Republic suffered a deep depression following the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Mahlo took what bookings he could to make ends meet. He favoured those in other European countries where the economic crisis was not as severe as that in his home nation.  Mahlo started his career with ...

As war clouds loomed, foreign magicians performing in Europe had to gamble. Should they continue to fulfil their theatre contracts, or run for the border. If they stayed, they might find the borders closed, their act confiscated, and their company interred as 'enemy aliens'. These dilemmas also faced visitors to Germany in the months leading up to the war and magicians touring neighbouring countries. Most magicians decided to get out in good time, but some took this decision right to the wire.... Charles Larson Magic collector Charles H. Larson (1870-1950) ran the Larson Museum of Magic in New York City in the 1930s and 1940s. His collection contained nearly 40,000 items and he frequently made trips to Europe in search of magic. In autumn 1938, he visited magic shops and clubs in Berlin, Germany but suddenly realised he was the only person staying at his hotel: "I went to the American Counsel's representative,... and he said 'We are advising everyone to leave at on...