Henry Ridgely Evans (1861–1949) was an American amateur

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

and magic historian.Pritchard, William Thomas. (1958). ''This is Magic: Secrets of the Conjurer's Craft''. Citadel Press. p. 112

Biography

Evans worked in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

as a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and wrote books on conjurer tricks and magic. He has been described as a "great historian of the magic arts" and "an exemplary historian and biographer of magic". He was a critic of

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

and

theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

and exposed the fraudulent tricks of

mediums Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...

. Evans contributed to the book ''Magic Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography'' which received a positive review by the psychologist

Joseph Jastrow Joseph Jastrow (January 30, 1863 – January 8, 1944) was a Polish-born American psychologist, noted for inventions in experimental psychology, design of experiments, and psychophysics. He also worked on the phenomena of optical illusions, ...

. Author

William Lindsay Gresham William Lindsay Gresham (; August 20, 1909 – September 14, 1962) was an American novelist and non-fiction author particularly well-regarded among readers of noir. His best-known work is '' Nightmare Alley'' (1946), which was adapted to film i ...

described Evans book ''History of Conjuring and Magic'' (1928) as a "treasure house of data on magic, magicians, and productions."

Correspondence with Harry Houdini

The magician

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

wrote that Evans book ''The Old and the New Magic'' was a notable book on the history of magic but he "falls into the error of his predecessors in accepting as authoritative the history of magic and magicians furnished by

Robert Houdin The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. He has made no effort whatever to verify or refute the statements made by Robert-Houdin, but has merely compiled and re-written them to suit his twentieth-century readers." Houdini had originally planned to write a book known as ''History Makers in the World of Magic'', however he gave up on this idea and handed over the material he had written to Evans who was also working on a similar book of his own. Houdini proposed that on the title page the book appeared "as originally planned by Harry Houdini & Henry R. Evans." It is unclear if the book was ever published. Evans had worked on a scrapbook that contained matters dealing with spiritualism and trickery. He gave it to Houdini in 1924. It is now estimated to be worth over $35, 000.Houdini, Harry. ''Magic (Auction Catalogue)''. Manny Weltman Collection. New York: Swann Galleries, 2002.

Publications

Articles *''Egyptian Mysteries and Modern Freemasonry'' (1903) The Open Court *''Eliphas Levi-Magician and Mystic'' (1904) The Open Court
''Some Magicians I Have Met''
(1905). '' The Open Court''. Vol. 19, Issue 8.
''Madame Blavatsky''
(1904). ''

The Monist ''The Monist: An International Quarterly Journal of General Philosophical Inquiry'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of philosophy. It was established in October 1890 by American publisher Edward C. Hegeler. History Init ...

''. Vol. 14, No. 3. pp. 387–408.
''Cagliostro-A Study in Charlatanism''
(1903). ''

''. Vol. 13, No. 4. pp. 523–552.
''Jugglers and Juggling''
''

The Linking Ring ''The Linking Ring'' is a monthly print magic magazine published by the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) for its members since 1922. It is based in Bluffton, Ohio. In 2007, Samuel Patrick Smith, a magician, author and publisher based ...

'', February and March 1938. Books
''The Shorthand Clerk: A Manual of Practical Instruction''
(1880)
''Hours with the Ghosts, Or, Nineteenth Century Witchcraft''
(1897)
''Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography''
(1897)
''Magic and Its Professors''
(1902)
''The Spirit World Unmasked''
(1902)
''The Napoleon Myth''
(1905)
''The Old and the New Magic''
(1906)
''The House of the Sphinx: A Novel''
(1907)
''Cagliostro and His Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry''
(1919, 1930) *''Adventures in Magic'' (1927) *''History of Conjuring and Magic'' (1928) *''Cagliostro: A Sorcerer of the Eighteenth Century'' (1931) *''A Master of Modern Magic: The Life and Adventures of Robert-Houdin'' (1932) *''Edgar Allan Poe and Baron von Kempelen's Chess-Playing Automaton'' (1939) *''Some Rare Old Books on Conjuring and Magic'' (1943)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Henry R. 1861 births 1949 deaths American male journalists American magicians American skeptics Critics of Theosophy Harry Houdini Historians of magic Parapsychologists Writers from Baltimore Critics of Spiritualism