Author Archives: jculpepper

I’ve just joined the editorial advisory board of one of my favorite academic journals: Early Popular Visual Culture. The publication is a respected venue for sharing interdisciplinary research related to all forms of popular visual culture before 1930. This fits well with one of my primary research areas: the golden age of stage conjuring (1875-1925). I am both […]

I’ve just finished the first magic class of the year at Montreal’s National Circus School and am still feeling that post-teaching rush. It’s quite exciting to be sharing magic history, techniques and the latest examples of “magie nouvelle” — a new, interdisciplinary mixture of circus and magic arts — with the next generation of performers who will be […]

I had the enjoyable task of preparing magic for a Massey wedding over the weekend. Master Emeritus John Fraser, president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown, hosted me in the Robertson Davies suite. This is a beautiful room with the feel of a gentleman’s study c.1920. Practising sleight-of-hand there was a communion with several aspects of the […]

The inimitable Anna-Karyna Barlati, librarian at the National Circus School, asked me to recommend three magic books for the students here. Only three? This was no easy task. The NCS library is frequented by students ranging in age from early teens to late twenties. I kept this in mind while also nourishing a healthy bias for […]

For throw-back Thursday, here is a clip of our talented friend Andrée-Anne Gingras-Roy operating her 100-year old player piano. Andrée-Anne is a professional musician with Compagnia Finzi Pasca. If you saw the Sochi winter olympics in 2014, then you saw her play the glass organ on live television for millions of viewers. We lived in […]

Robert Heller (William Henry Palmer) Birth Date: August 19, 1829 (Canterbury, England) Death Date: November 25, 1878 (Philidelphia) Info: Robert Heller, born William Henry Palmer in Canterbury, England, was inspired to pursue a career as an illusionist after seeing a performance of French master magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. Heller traveled to New York in the […]

Yesterday, I watched as three letters were magically added to my sister’s last name. Friends, family members, administrators, professors and her fellow classmates filled the auditorium. Her full name was called, a master’s hood was placed around her neck, and Smith College President Kathleen McCartney handed her a well-earned degree. This fancy piece of paper, combined […]

Which books have you destroyed? Which books have you written in, doodled on, dog-eared, stained and flipped-through while backpacking? These copies, though their treatment would repulse most collectors and librarians, are usually the ones that we know most intimately. As a scholar, I spend a lot of time reading pristine editions of rare books. I’ve worn […]

  Touring Cirque du Soleil headquarters is the circus equivalent of Charlie visiting the Chocolate Factory: The building is filled with wonderful toys, objects, and artists whose characteristics stretch the imagination. A couple weeks ago, David Simard from Cirque du Monde, gave attendees of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education conference an extremely informative tour. […]

Joseph Michael Hartz Birth Date: August 10, 1836 (Liverpool, England) Death Date: June 29, 1903 (London, England) The illusionist Joseph Michael Hartz, like Robert Heller, was inspired to become a magician after witnessing the performances of Robert-Houdin in England. Encouraged by his father, who was a watchmaker by trade, and the success of his debut […]