Articles - Collector Books Jack Gwynne: The Man, His Mind, and his “Royal Family of Magic”Author: Charvet, David
Pages: 297
This is a comprehensive work of the life and magic of Jack Gwynee written in 2 parts. The first part has an extensive coverage of the life and performances, which includes many photos of apparatus, shows, and family.
Part 2 covers the magic apparatus and illusions of Jack Gwynne. The “Livestock” section covers the “The Box, Tray, and Screen” and the “Spee-Dee Rabbit” productions. You will no doubt recognize “Jack Gwynne’s Rabbit Box” sold by Thayer or the “Hong King Dove Screen” which is credited to “Doc” Nixon although improved by Gwynne.
Of course, no book on Gwynne could be complete without the “Flip-Over Dove Vanish” which was originally sold by Thayer and then by countless others. “The Vanishing Rooster” is a sucker-type vanish leaving the audience to believe the table holds the vanished bird and is aided by a glimpse of feathers.
The section on “Glasses, Bowls, and Liquids” contains a number of effects including “Two Trays and Twelve Glasses of Beer” which was also produced by Thayer. “The East Indian Sands” trick dates back to Modern Magic and made famous more recently by Doug Henning. This includes Gwynne’s presentation of the effect and the recipe for making the sand. “Bowl of Water Production” which uses a draped table to aid in the production although the book states it was the P & L type table he used in his own act. This section also includes a “Bowl Production on a Tabouret” using a very clever principle. “Bowl of Water Vanish” involves some significant apparatus to accomplish the effect and not the usual simple tray with an assistant method. The section concludes with the “Silks from Fishbowl” effect and the “Stack fo Fishbowls Production.”
The final magic section is on the “Night Club and Stage Illusions.” “The French Guillotine” is a 6-foot high head chopper made by UF Grant but invented by Gwynne. “The Girl is the Fishbowl” illusion is a production of mermaid from a box looking like a fishbowl who is then pulled from the box from a rope held by her teeth. The “Gwynne Substitution Trunk” is one that can be examined by anyone including magicians who also fail to discover how the box is faked. “The Miracle from India” is a suspension effect, which offers Gwynne’s improvement of the “Super-X” illusion which allow for the performer to walk around the assistant while suspended. “The Flying Carpet” illusion rights were sold to UF Grant, which is another suspension effect suitable for the school show performer where elaborate illusions are not practical. “The Temple of Angee” represents Gwynne’s best known and most copied illusion which was sold by Abbott’s without permission as the “Temple of Benares.”
The book concludes with some sketches and notes from Gwynne’s notebooks and includes the “Smallest Production Cabinet”, “Girl Vanish” and an idea for a variation of the “Disembodied Princess.”