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a history of

FISM™

Part 1:   The convention that never was

In similar fashion, other clubs' annual events were evolving into two, and even three, day affairs. At least as early as 1920, the National Conjurers' Association (formed in 1911) was referring to its annual two‑day gathering as a convention.

The cultural cross‑pollination of magic continued, as the developing clubs set up lines of communication with each other. This was further abetted by advances in transportation. By 1907, new designs in ship building had reduced the time required for travel between Britain and the east coast of the United‑States to just five days, and during the preceding decade the newfangled automobile had been improved to the point that the entire U.S. could be traversed by car in a mere two months.

The push toward a cosmopolitan magic community was derailed by the burgeoning tensions in Europe that eventually led to the first World War, five years of grim, unfathomable slaughter starting in 1914. Perversely, the involvement of this country's troops in the fighting led to a much improved mutual comprehension between Europe and America, in terms of their respective cultural variables. But the war took an immense toll. By the time the conflict ceased, much of Europe had been devastated, and to a great extent countries pulled back from interaction in order to work on internal problems. The U.S. developed a generally xenophobic stance, focusing on its own swift technological growth and treating Europe as, more than anything else, an export market.

It was during this period, in 1922, that a new organization was born: the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Previous magic clubs had been located in major cities, with populations large enough to support regular meetings. The IBM came into being from an opposite tack. It grew out of a loosely evolved network of magic hobbyists located outside the larger cities, who corresponded by mail. (Despite the aspiringly lofty title, the early member, ship was based entirely in Canada and the United States.)

The fact that the body of IBM members was spread out over such a wide area quite naturally led to the idea of creating a get‑together in a reasonably central location. The initial one, often cited as the first bona fide magic convention, took place on June 9 and 10, 1926 in Kenton, Ohio where the association's headquarters were located (as was, not coincidentally, the group's prevailing leader and convention organizer, W. W. Durbin).

The IBM gathering was a success, with over 150 registrants from across North America. The next year's turn, again in Kenton, drew some 400 people, and even with the onslaught of the Great Depression in 1929, attendance stayed in the several hundred range in the ensuing decade.

Word spread quickly regarding the success of the IBM event, and the idea caught on elsewhere. The SAM held its first formal convention in New York in 1928. Two years after that, the New Zealand Society of Magicians followed suit. The Canadian Magicians' Association, guided by John Booth, produced a conclave in 1931. That same year, the British Ring of the IBM held the first of their still thriving annual conventions. Also by this time, the annual meeting of the Magischer Zirkel in Germany had expanded into a three‑day conference.

Regional events began cropping up across the United States, such as the South-eastern Magicians convention in 1931, the Keystone Federation gathering in the northeast in 1932, and the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians conference in Seattle, Washington in 1933. As Harry E. Cecil observed in the Linking Ring for September, 1933: "The West have their magicians conclaves, the East have many too, the South is getting stronger as time goes on.... Gatherings of magicians are much more in evidence than ever before.'

The events at that first IBM convention were much the same as what you'll find at most such get‑togethers today, with a couple of notable exceptions. There were shows and banquets, dealer displays, sightseeing excursions, outdoor publicity stunts, speeches and a business meeting.

There were no lectures. In those days the idea of someone explaining tricks to an assembled group was virtually unheard of. The earliest forerunner of the modern magic lecture was probably a series of papers prepared at the behest of W. Golden Mortimer, SAM founder and that organization's first President. The initial talk was delivered at the December, 1904 meeting by Oscar Teale. Entitled The Twentieth Century Magician, it addressed the topic of Stage Deportment, and, as with the succeeding entries, it included a lengthy discussion period following the discourse. These talks were far more academic in nature than most lectures today, and for the most part technical information was not imparted. One exception, arguably the first magic lecture in the modern sense, was when August J. Rehbein taught an original method for calculating the day of the week for any date at the meeting of November 4, 1905. (That was a Saturday.)

Some of the subsequent conventions did feature lectures. The 1930 IBM convention in Fort Wayne, Indiana featured an informal talk by Howard Thurston offering a back, stage look at his touring show. At the second British Ring convention in 1932, Will Blyth spoke on The Development of Magic. The next year, Max Sterling addressed the topic of "Showmanship and Stagecraft." (No tricks were explained; instead, a brave volunteer named Morris Ross performed, followed by Sterling's detailed critique.) The German convention of 1938 featured an elaborate "Magic Seminary" program with tricks explained by five instructors, augmented by technical films; however, attendance at this session was open only to professionals. The general trick‑teaching lecture did not come about until the mid‑1940s, ushered in by such as Harlan Tarbell and Dai Vernon.

That first IBM convention in 1926 was also without a contest, but that apparent lapse was rectified the following year, when Al Saal produced a competition. This was not the first magic contest; there are accounts of such activities on a local level going back at least ten years earlier. However, at this time contests were by no means common, and the idea of a running one that was open to a hypothetically worldwide pool of entrants was new.

Participation was explicitly limited to amateurs. There were prizes in the form of merchandise donated by dealers for the best original trick in several categories. (The winner for Best Coin or Dollar Bill Trick was a graphic artist from Toronto named Sid R. Johnson, the only contestant to earn a perfect score of 500 points from the three‑man panel of judges. His performance also tied in the Best Line of Original Patter category. A few years later he changed his performing name to Sid Lorraine.)

From the reports, it would seem clear that those early IBM contests were approached in a rather frolicsome spirit, in keeping with the other new feature that had been added to the annual schedule starting with the 1927 edition: a grand parade including ornate floats. The contest was a hit, and quickly grew; by the 1931 convention in Columbus, Ohio there were 24 categories, and no less than 91 awards!

In contrast, the contests that were developing in Europe would seem to have held to a more refined standard. In 1932, the annual banquet of the French Syndicat International des Artistes Prestiditateurs (founded in 1928) was linked to a contest where the winners received medals from the Municipal Council of Paris.

And, having made our way back to Paris, let's rejoin Dr. Dhotel and his speech. What was so novel about his plan was not the concept of a multinational attendance. Many magicians' gatherings, starting with that one in Ohio, had labelled them, selves "International," and some of them actually were. Foreign magicians were often present at the various banquets and conventions, sometimes due to the fortuitous timing of a professional tour, sometimes through deliberate effort. (The first SAM convention in 1928 had included representatives from clubs in 11 countries.)

No, what made Dhotel's proposal truly Visionary was that his desire for an international congress did not involve self‑aggrandizement, but rather had the express purpose of furthering relationships between the magicians of many countries. His attitude was exemplified in early 1937, when he coaxed the ASAP into changing the date of its annual banquet from April to June in order to accommodate any foreign magicians who might be Visit, ing the Paris International Exhibition set to open that summer.

With an exceptional lack of chauvinism, Dhotel propounded the idea of a series of annual conventions, to be held each time in a different country perhaps, he suggested with admirable foresight, as far away as Tokyo.

The boldness of this prospectus was all the more striking given the tenor of the times. In the preceding year alone, the kings of England and Egypt had died; the Nazis had come to power in Germany; a Civil War had erupted in Spain; military purge trials began taking place in Russia; Japan invaded China; the ruler of Iraq was assassinated; there were governmental coups in Greece and Nicaragua; riots broke out in Czechoslovakia; Italy withdrew from the League of Nations. And it was very obvious that things were going to get a lot worse.

In the face of this upheaval, Dhotel's dissertation can be viewed as magnificent optimism & extraordinary naïveté. Whichever the case, work pushed forward in planning the convention, and word began to spread regarding the project. Meanwhile, the political landscape of Europe continued to rupture.

On September 17, 1938, the Magischer Zirkel von Deutschland led by its enterprising President Helmut Schreiber (who would later become the famous illusionist Kalanag) produced its annual conference in Frankfurt. For a number of years, this had been billed as an International Congress, and in fact the 400 registrants included magicians from over a dozen countries. France was not among them.

Early the following year, the ASAP organizing team led by dealer André Mayette and graphic artist Robert Veno (co‑editors of Le Magicien magazine) officially announced the completed planning for an International Congress of Magic, to commence on October 7, 1939. The events would include a stage show for magicians only, a public gala, dealer displays, a banquet, a contest, and a sightseeing tour of the city.

For a number of years, Sphinx had been running a monthly "Paris Notes" column by Victor Farelli; now he began to promote the convention. In the March issue he explained that informational brochures about the convention were available in French, English and German. In the April column he reported that events would be held at the Palais de la Mutualité. In his September entry he wrote he that arrangements had been made with several railroad companies to offer discount fares for registrants. The cost of attending the three‑day event would be 100 francs ‑by the exchange rate of that time, approximately three dollars.

An understated comment by John Mulholland was appended to Farelli's September write‑up: "(The European war makes it seem unlikely that there will be a convention. ‑Editor)"

Indeed. That month, Hitler invaded Poland, and the world was once again at war. There was no convention in Paris.

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