Magic: the Science of Illusion

By 1750, most magic we know of took place at fairs in Europe. Several magicians had made a living there, but then the fairs were scaled back and shortened. In response, magicians started moving into the cities.

At first, magicians performed at inns and public houses, or rented rooms for their performances. Eventually, magic caught on with the upper classes. Magicians started performing in large theaters and gained respectability and status. Many magicians capitalized on the public's interest in science, drawing people to their magic shows with scientific sounding terms or combining their shows with science lectures.

The great traveling show also arose in this period. The network of small vaudeville theaters created another venue for magicians. Magic shows of all sizes flourished—it was a time of enormous development for magic. Many of the trends that exist in magic today have their roots in this period.

The science of finding a wealthy audience
In the late 1700s, scientific lectures became popular with wealthy people in England. To capture that audience, the magician Katterfelto added science into his act. Before each show, he'd lecture for an hour on scientific topics. Katterfelto used a solar microscope to show thousands of tiny creatures hidden in a drop of water, beer, milk or anything else he wanted to magnify.

Puttin' on the ritz to get high-class crowds
When you see a male magician dressed up in tails, you're seeing the unofficial "dress code" made popular by French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin in 1845. He was one of the first magicians to dress in eveningwear for his show, instead of the usual long, star-covered robes. Robert-Houdin's new look helped upper-class audiences feel comfortable, with a stage set up to look like a friend's parlor.

Magic finds a permanent home in the city
When the Egyptian Hall was built in London in 1812, "England's Home of Mystery" was mainly a museum. Over the years, magic shows replaced lectures and other programs until 1873, when magicians John Nevil Maskelyne and George Cooke moved in permanently. Maskelyne and Cooke brought audiences back by constantly changing and adding to their show.

The big traveling show becomes popular, and Kellar was big
Magician Harry Kellar was the first American-born magician to create a blockbuster traveling magic show. He toured around the world, mostly in the United States after 1884.

Kellar had a staff of assistants and a show that filled the stage. He sometimes "borrowed" popular tricks from other magicians and repeated them in his own style. He believed that the United States would support only one big magician at a time. For his time, he was that magician.

When Kellar left, his show went on
When Kellar wanted to retire, fellow magician Howard Thurston bought his props and took over the show. Kellar toured with Thurston in 1908, passing on the role of most popular magician in America.

Thurston kept some of Kellar's illusions, but added his own ideas to make the show even bigger. He made a car full of people disappear. He levitated a woman out over the audience and around the stage, eventually making her vanish from the air. Thurston hired other magicians to help him tour several versions of this popular show.

Short magic acts make the variety show circuit
In the late 1800s, most magicians got their start in the variety shows of vaudeville. A typical act lasted only 10 to 12 minutes. But a magician could take that act on the road for years.

Cardini's card handling set a new standard
In Cardini's legendary vaudeville act, he played a tipsy gentleman surprised by cards that just kept appearing in his hands.

Coming back to life was a great trick–until he really died on stage
The foremost African-American magician of the early 1900s, Benjamin Rucker, performed under the name Black Herman, and was widely popular. Black Herman was good at being buried alive. People paid to see his "corpse," feel that he had no pulse, and watch his coffin be buried. Days later, Herman would rise from the dug-up coffin and lead the audience into the theater.

One night in 1934, Black Herman collapsed on stage and died. But the audience wouldn't leave. Huge crowds gathered outside the funeral home to see the end of the "trick." Herman's assistant finally said, "Let's charge admission. That's what he would have done." So they did.

Magic never showed the "torture" of women before 1921. In that year, magician P.T. Selbit shut a woman in a wooden box, with ropes holding her down, and cut the box in two. The audience loved it. Magicians everywhere rushed to make their own, bloodier versions.

Why did it catch on in 1921? The numbing, brutal world war? Anger over women's recent and often violent battle for the right to vote? Whatever the reason, magicians still twist, stretch and carve up women on stage.

• handle animals, from rabbits and doves up to large cats and snakes–no allergies allowed

• be beautiful, glamorous, charming, sexy, persuasive and funny without upstaging the magician