Flea Market Finds

Doug Henning was a major influence to most of the magicians of my generation. I have a little bit of an obsession about collecting items relating to his 1974 Broadway show The Magic Show. It was a good day at the flea market this weekend.

Henning by the way, blew the dust off the traditional image of a magician. He did away with the black tux and tails and bounced onto the stage in a range of multi-colored outfits that connected with the fashion of the time. It wasn't so much the particular style of clothes he wore - which can seem dated today - but that he was able to show that magic didn't need to be stuck in a particular clichéd framework. He was exuberant and irrepressible in his style and there was an indefinable extra quality having to do with skill and his own personality that made his magic stand out over others.