Thomas Nelson Downs (March 16, 1867 – September 11, 1938) was a manipulative magician known for his coin tricks. Downs was also known as "The King of Koins". Magic historian David Price has written that Downs "was the first of the great manipulative magicians and probably the greatest of them all."

Biography

Born in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, and is the county seat of the county. With a population of 27,591 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the 16th largest city in the state. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Vetera ...

, he was the youngest of six children in the family of Thomas and Cordelia Downs. His family moved to Iowa from the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

state. Downs' father, the Marshall county superintendent, died when his son was not even a year old. Downs never took any training in magic; all his tricks were self-taught. By the age of 12, he became an expert in card and coin manipulation. He further mastered his skills by the age of 17, when he took a job as a railway

telegrapher A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is a person who uses a telegraph key to send and receive Morse code messages in a telegraphy system. These messages, also called telegrams, can be transmitte ...

and had plenty of time to practice with coins. In September 1895, Downs decided to quit his telegraphy job and launch a career in magic. At first, he toured Iowa with his partner, Sam Spiegel, a

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

ist. By 1897, Downs concentrated only on the coin tricks – a rare specialization at that time, and established himself in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

, which was a popular avenue for magicians. The success of Downs career allowed him to get booked into

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes refe ...

's New York theatre, and to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's Palace Theatre soon after that. At the peak of his career, Downs travelled frequently, and performed at royal courts. While performing his tricks, he could palm up to 60 coins at a time. One of his most famous tricks was "The

Miser's Dream Miser's Dream is a magic routine where the magician produces coins from the air (and often other places) and drops them into a receptacle they are holding, usually a metal bucket. It has also been called "Aerial Treasury". It was invented in the 1 ...

", in which he seemed to pull countless coins out of the thin air. In 1912, at the age of 42, Downs decided to retire in Iowa. After moving back to Marshalltown, he rarely left the area. Not quite comfortable with idle retirement, Downs kept busy by opening a vaudeville house on Main Street, a few blocks from his own home at 7 South 3rd Avenue. He also sold a line of magic equipment. Many visitors, other magicians, streamed to his home to share gossip and the latest tricks as well as to brush elbows with the famous sleight of hand artist. The most famous of these visitors included

Chung Ling Soo William Ellsworth Robinson (April 2, 1861 – March 24, 1918) was an American magician who went by the stage name Chung Ling Soo (). He is mostly remembered today for his extensive use of yellowface in his act to falsely represent himself to be ...

(William Robinson) and

Dai Vernon David Frederick Wingfield Verner (June 11, 1894August 21, 1992), better known by his stage names Dai Vernon (pronounced alternatively as "DIE" or as "DAY" as in David) or The Professor, was a Canadian magician. Vernon's sleight of hand techn ...

. Downs was a friend with the magician

Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

, however, both were involved in an intense rivalry in private. Houdini had stated that Downs had operated a "fake magic shop" and was in trouble with the federal government for a "swindle." By 1896, Downs had campaigned against

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

, this was before Houdini's crusade against fraudulent spiritualists. In his letters, Downs claimed to have performed a stage escape from

handcuffs Handcuffs are Physical restraint, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a Link chain, chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm whi ...

several years before Houdini. He also took issue with Houdini's self-advertisement.Rosheim, Mark. ''Introduction''. In Thomas Nelson Downs. (1999, reprint). ''Classic Coin Tricks: An Unabridged Reprint of Modern Coin Manipulation''. Dover Publications. p. 18. After the death of the famous Harry Houdini, Downs had an unknown affair with Harry’s wife, Bess Houdini. This fact had never been revealed until this page was edited by a descendant who confirmed it to be true. Downs wrote several books on magic before and after his retirement. His first book, ''Modern Coin Manipulation'', was published in 1900 and is still issued in reprints today. His other books include ''Tricks with Coins'' (1902) and ''The Art of Magic'' (1909). Downs was married twice. He had a son in his first marriage with Nellie Stone, who died in childbirth in 1895. He subsequently married Harriett Rocky on June 3, 1905. He retired around 1928. In 1935 he was honored with a testimonial dinner.

Death

Downs died on September 11, 1938, in

. He had suffered a stroke, which paralyzed his left side. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Marshalltown. His gravestone reads "King of Koins".

Legacy

The Historical Society of Marshall County features a display about Downs in its museum.

Publications

*''Modern Coin Manipulation'' (1900) *''Tricks with Coins'' (1902)
''The Art of Magic''
(1909)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Downs, Thomas Nelson Downs, T. Nelson Downs, T. Nelson Downs, T. Nelson Coin magic Harry Houdini People from Marshalltown, Iowa Downs, T. Nelson