Oscar Schutte Teale (September 9, 1847 - April 8, 1934) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

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 writer.

Biography

Teale was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He worked as an architect by trade and was interested in magic. He was the fourth President of the

Society of American Magicians The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and t ...

. He worked as a private secretary for 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 ...

. He wrote a series of articles on magic and debunking

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) ...

in the ''

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

'' magazine in 1925. In July 1925 it was alleged that Houdini and Teale visited the offices of Houdina Radio Control and damaged most of the furniture by smashing them against the floor and walls. Houdini had accused the company of using his name unlawfully. A summons for disorderly conduct was issued against Houdini but the charges were dropped because George Young the manager failed to appear in court. Teale worked as an editor, illustrator and

ghost writer A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

for Houdini. He stated that Houdini contributed fragments to his books but the majority of the writing was done by hirelings. When Houdini's book ''A Magician Among the Spirits'' (1924) was published, Teale stated that he had written "the damnable work". Teale designed the

exedra An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...

monument for Houdini's family. In October, 1916 it was installed at Machpelah Cemetery. He was elected into the Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame.

Publications

Articles *Teale, Oscar (1925). ''The Mystery of Spiritualism - Magic Versus Spiritualism'' (First Installment). Sphinx 24 (2): 46. *Teale, Oscar (1925). ''The Mystery of Spiritualism - Magic Versus Spiritualism'' (Second Installment). Sphinx 24 (3): 84–85. *Teale, Oscar (1925). ''The Mystery of Spiritualism - Magic Versus Spiritualism'' (Third Installment). Sphinx 24 (4): 134. *Teale, Oscar (1925). ''The Mystery of Spiritualism - Magic Versus Spiritualism'' (Fourth Installment). Sphinx 24 (5): 156. *Teale, Oscar (1925). ''The Mystery of Spiritualism - Magic Versus Spiritualism'' (Fifth Installment). Sphinx 24 (6): 183–185. *Teale, Oscar (1925). ''The Mystery of Spiritualism - Magic Versus Spiritualism'' (Sixth Installment). Sphinx 24 (7): 207. Books *''Higher Magic: Magic for the Artist'' (New York: Adams Press Print, 1920) *''Open Sesame'' (New York: Adams Press Print, 1920) *''Elliott's Last Legacy'' (New York: Adams Press Print, 1923) llustrations by Oscar Tealeref>Gresham, William Gresham. (1959)
''Houdini: The Man Who Walked Through Walls''
Henry Holt and Company. p. 303 *''A Magician Among the Spirits'' (1924) [with

]

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teale, Oscar 1847 births 1934 deaths Architects from New York City American magicians American skeptics Harry Houdini Critics of parapsychology Writers from New York City