Will Goldston (1878–1948) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

stage magician in the first half of the 20th century.

Career

He was born in the city of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and became interested in the subject at the age of eleven. As well as being a performer he was involved in the merchandising of "magic tricks" and was employed by the

Gamages Gamages was a department store in Holborn, London. Trading between 1878 and 1972, it was particularly well known for its toy and hardware departments. History Gamages began life in 1878 in a rented watch repair shop and, after quickly becoming ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

in central London, 1905-1914. During this time he edited the ''Magician Annual'' (1907–1912) and, in 1912, ''Will Goldston's Exclusive Magical Secrets'' in an edition of one thousand that was republished in 1977. He was a lifelong friend of Harry Houdini. Houdini biographer

William Lindsay Gresham William Lindsay Gresham (; August 20, 1909 – September 14, 1962) was an American novelist and non-fiction author particularly well-regarded among readers of noir. His best-known work is '' Nightmare Alley'' (1946), which was adapted to film i ...

noted that "Houdini's correspondence with the London magic dealer Will Goldston covered some twenty years; the Escape King wrote his friend at least once a week." Gresham, William Lindsay. (1959). ''Houdini: The Man Who Walked Through Walls''. Holt. p. 111 Goldston supervised the publication of Houdini's book, ''Handcuff Secrets'' (1909) and published his ''Magical Rope Ties and Escapes'' in 1921. Goldston published many other magicians' works through his own publishing company Will Goldston Ltd. He was the founder and president of the London-based Magicians' Club which he founded in 1911. Passing a coin through sleeve trick

Goldston was a prolific writer on the history of magic and illusions. He was sometimes criticized for revealing the secrets of magicians. In response to this, Goldston wrote that "It is a fact that many of the cleverest members of my profession have selfishly carried their secrets to the grave. Houdini and Chung Ling Soo are cases in point. That is not fair play. Magic must live after its creators have passed on. I feel I have a duty to perform, and trust that, after my death, others will be found to carry on the work that I have started." In his book ''Sensational Tales of Mystery Men'' (1929), he suggested that Chung Ling Soo's death was the result of a planned suicide. This opinion has been criticized by other magic historians such as Will Dexter and

Jim Steinmeyer Jim Steinmeyer (born November 1, 1958) is an American author, inventor, and designer of magical illusions and theatrical special effects. He holds four US patents in the field of illusion apparatus, including a modern version of the Pepper's Gho ...

. Goldston died suddenly on 24 February 1948 in Folkestone, according to a report in

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

newspaper.

Spiritualism

Goldston was one of the very few magicians to ever be converted to

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and Mind-body dualism, dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (w ...

. He believed

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...

phenomena and spiritualism to be real; however, he also wrote that many mediums were frauds who used conjuring tricks. He summarized his views on spiritualism in his book ''Tricks of the Masters'' (1942).Goldston, Will. (1942). ''Tricks Of The Masters''. G. Routledge & Sons, Ltd. pp. 1-13

Publications

*''Secrets of Magic for Professional and Amateur Entertainers'' (1904) *''Latest Conjuring'' (1905)
''Crystal Gazing: Astrology, Palmistry, Planchette, and Spiritualism''
(1906) *''The Young Conjurer: A Book for Amateurs'' (1910) *''Juggling Secrets'' (1911) *''Secrets of Stage Hypnotism, Stage Electricity, and Bloodless Surgery'' (1912)
''Stage Illusions''
(1912) *''Exclusive Magical Secrets'' (1912) *''More Tricks and Puzzles with Patter'' (1915)
''Card & Ball Tricks With Patter''
(1916) *''Will Goldston's Easy Road to Magic: In Seven Lessons'' (1916)
''Magic for the Forces''
(1918)
''Easy Magic With Patter''
(1919) *''Tricks You Should Know'' (1920) *''Will Goldston's Card System of Exclusive Magical Secrets'' (1920) *''More Exclusive Magical Secrets'' (1921) *''Simple Conjuring Tricks that Anybody Can Perform'' (1922) *''Further Exclusive Magical Secrets'' (1927) *''Great Magicians' Tricks'' (1931) *''Secrets of Famous Illusionists'' (1933) *''Great Tricks Revealed'' (1936) *''Tricks of the Masters'' (1942)

References

External links

Sanders The Great: Will Goldston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldston, Will 1878 births 1948 deaths English magicians English spiritualists Harry Houdini Historians of magic Entertainers from Liverpool

Career

Spiritualism

Publications

References

Further reading

External links