Library Magic

Much of the magic that I perform was handed down to me from my father Marvin the Magnificent and his father Mervyn who learned his trade from those who came before him. Yet conjurors are always in search of additional sources of knowledge, and so as a youngster I spent a lot of time in front of the magic section at my local library. The books I took home helped me learn many new tricks and find out more about the history of magic and magicians. I've found that I am not alone in this, and many of my compeers in conjuring are equally familiar with the 793.8 classification in the nonfiction section of their libraries, which is where most books on magic are found.

This involvement with libraries at an early age sparked a lifelong love of these institutions and is why I perform in them so frequently today. One of the many great benefits of public libraries is that they offer their services for free. I love knowing that anyone can attend my shows and hope that over time I've been able to inspire others to learn more about magic from the books at their local branch.

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So many magicians have fond memories of spending time in libraries that familiarity with 793.8 sometimes is used as an underground code to identify oneself to other conjurors. My friend David Williamson, in fact has a t-shirt available to help with this. Click on the picture at left to check out the options, which include many colors. In the meantime, I hope to bump into you at the library at 793.8.

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