Percival Magic Collection
Scope and Contents
The John H. Percival Magic Collection contains books, periodicals, ephemera, manuscript materials, newspaper clippings, autographs, magicians’ promotional materials, typescripts, and photographs spanning the years 1888-2009, with the bulk of materials from 1940-1970.
The largest portion of the collection consists of Percival’s book collection, which features over 1,200 volumes on magic tricks, ventriloquism, spiritualism, stage entertainment, and gambling, among other topics. Items of particular interest include Will Goldston’s Exclusive Magical Secrets, which took Percival two years to find and is secured with a lock and key, Harry Houdini’s exposé of fraudulent spirit-mediums called A Magician Among the Spirits, a mystery novel by Clayton Rawson titled Death from a Top Hat, and a practical guide to fortune-telling, Zancig’s New Complete Palmistry.
The sizeable periodicals collection includes both extensive runs of well-known titles, such as M-U-M, The Linking Ring, and Tops, and single issues or small runs of obscure titles. Within the periodicals one can find instructions for magic tricks and effects, news about magicians and magic shows, and announcements for upcoming conferences.
A significant portion of the ephemera consists of conference programs, mailings, and meeting notes describing the activities of national and international magicians’ organizations, including the Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Other ephemera include magic dealers’ catalogs, advertising both supplies and books, a number of printed magicians’ secrets, information about individual magicians including Tex McGuire, Dell O’Dell, and many others, scrapbooks and clippings about magicians and magic shows, and keepsakes from magic conventions and other trips. Also included among Percival’s ephemera is an autograph book of magician’s signatures which he collected between 1916 and 1931.
A small series of Percival’s personal papers include his correspondence with fellow magicians, including his close friend H. Adrian Smith, whose own collection of magic books can be found at Brown University’s John Hay Library. Personal papers also include notebooks, early drafts of articles, newspaper clippings about Percival’s performances, and Percival’s own promotional materials.
The bulk of these materials were collected by John H. Percival; a small number were added by friends or librarians after his death (see Accruals for more details).
Dates
- 1888-2009
Creator
- Percival, John H., 1888-1974 (Collector, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open to research.
Biographical / Historical
John H. Percival was born in East Providence in 1888 and developed an interest in the magical arts after seeing a magic show when he was a child. From the age of eight until his death at eighty-six, Percival remained active as an amateur magician, using the pseudonyms ‘Mysterious John’ or ‘Rene’ when he performed. The first trick Percival learned involved breaking a matchstick in two, wrapping the pieces inside a handkerchief and removing the matchstick whole at the conclusion of the trick. When not engaged at his day job with the New England Telephone Company, Percival attended performances and magicians’ conventions where he became acquainted with many 20th century magicians, including Harry Blackstone, Howard Thurston, and Harry Houdini.
Percival acted as a ‘stooge’ for Houdini — a plant in the audience during the latter’s performance — during a few shows the legendary magician performed in Providence. When Houdini called upon an audience member to bring him a pair of handcuffs from which to escape, it was Percival who provided the special cuffs. He also inspected the tank used by Houdini in his escape from the Chinese Water Torture Cell. In a 1963 interview with M-U-M, Percival remarked that he and Houdini got into an argument over the examination of the front bars of the tank, though whether this was a genuine tiff or merely acting for the benefit of the audience is not clear.
Percival was active as a magician for much of his life, appearing in clubs, lodges, and churches where he performed a variety of illusions, including escapes, but card tricks were his specialty. Though he would occasionally enlist his wife, Irene, as a partner during a mindreading act, Percival was mainly a solo artist, which could have its pitfalls. During what was doubtless a memorable performance at the Iroquois Theatre in East Greenwich, disaster struck when a drop crashed down from the ceiling onto his carefully arranged prop table.
Extent
103 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
German
French
Portuguese
Arrangement
The John H. Percival Magic Collection is arranged in five series, one of which is further arranged into subseries. The series and subseries arrangement of the records is as follows:
Series 1, Books on Magic, 1848-1990
Series 2, Periodicals on Magic, 1899-1984
Series 3, Ephemera, 1888-2009 and undated
Subseries 1, Catalogs - Magic Supplies and Books, 1888-1999
Subseries 2, Magic Tricks and Performances, 1933-1984 and undated
Subseries 3, Magicians, 1907-1989 and undated
Subseries 4, Magic Organizations, 1908-1982, 2009 and undated
Subseries 5, Magic Conventions, 1927-1984
Subseries 6, Scrapbooks, Posters, and Miscellany, 1910-1969 and undated
Series 4, John H. Percival Papers, 1904-1976 and undated
Custodial History
John H. Percival donated this collection to the Providence Public Library in 1970, with additions in the following years until his death in 1974. The collection was originally part of the Library’s Art and Music Department. H. Adrian Smith, who was a magic collector, bibliographer, and the executor of Percival’s estate, assisted in preparing the collection for cataloging in 1980. The full collection was transferred to PPL’s Special Collections in 1980 to better assure its long-term preservation. Bound manuscript entitled “Mysteries”, by John J. Goodwin; bound by J.R.H. Ellis; donated by C.J. Hagen of NY, date unknown. Packet of news clippings and promotional materials donated by magician Mike Johnson of Seaside, CA in 1990. Tony Kardyro’s Close-Up Deceptions donated by Mary Piacitelli in 1999.
Accruals
A small number of items have been added to this collection in the years since Percival’s death, both through donations and through acquisitions by librarians. Unfortunately, not all accruals were thoroughly documented. Accruals are expected but infrequent.
Separated Materials
A full list of John H. Percival’s books on magic can be found in an external spreadsheet attached. Each of these titles can be found in the library’s online catalog. A full list of titles also can be accessed through the online catalog by searching “John H. Percival Magic Collection.” During initial cataloging in 1980, books were arranged by author’s last name and assigned volume numbers. This arrangement and numbering system has been maintained, with additional books assigned volume numbers at the end of the sequence.
Creator
- Percival, John H., 1888-1974 (Collector, Person)
- Title
- Percival Magic Collection
- Author
- The collection was processed by Elise Petrarca in 2012. Additional processing by Angela DiVeglia, 2017.
- Date
- 2012, 2017
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Providence Public Library Repository
150 Empire Street
Providence RI 02903 United States of America
401-455-8021
special_collections@provlib.org