The Davenport Story (Vol. 1) by Fergus Roy

Details:
The oldest family magic dealers in the world reveal in spectacular detail secrets gathered over their 110 years as dealers, performers and hoarders of magical memorabilia. This first volume of “The Davenport Story ” entitled “The Life and Times of a Magical Family, 1881-1939″ tells how George Ryan, a working class barrel maker but an enthusiastic self-taught magician and juggler, at only 16, founded a magic business in a highly competitive mar­ket. How he acquired his stage name of Lewis Davenport and by marshalling the resources of his family saw his em­bryo business prosper and ultimately through succeeding generations made the house of Davenports one of the most recognisable names in magic.

In addition, he and succeeding generations were magical performers of repute and interwoven into the story is not only how they developed their acts but also how they interacted with leading magicians and events. The story calls upon unique ar­ chive material acquired from the likes of The Servais LeRoy Company, Chung Ling Soo, Maskelyne’s, Will Goldston, Arnold De Biere, Okito, Cardini, Kalanag, The Great Levante, Mur­ ray and many others.

More volumes are planned and will include, ‘The Lost Legends ” which comprises three major works that were either lost or not known to exist. These are Robert Harbin’s lost book “Magic Marches On” Edward Victor’s lost fourth book “With Magic Hands, ” which adds to his famous trilogy, and a brilliant unknown work by G. W. Hunter, The World of Magic, ” written in 1889 which expertly analyses a host of the leading magical acts in an era where technique and innovative presentation was of the highest order.

The concluding part of this first volume, “The Life and Times of a Magical Family, 1939-2009 ” will be published in due course.

Contents:

Acknowledgements 1
Foreword ü – üi
Contents iv

Chapter 1
What’s In A Name (1881-1904) 1 -43
Picture Gallery 29-43

Chapter 2
The Marvellous Davenports (1904-1909) 44-98
Picture Gallery 76-98

Chapter 3
Go West Young Man – Go West! (1910-19) 99 – 168
Picture Gallery 138 – 168
Davenport Catalogues & Posters 169- 184

Chapter 4
The Roaring Twenties (1920-29) 185 -271
Picture Gallery 239 -271

Chapter 5
“We Burn The Candle At Both Ends” (1930-34) 272 – 333
Picture Gallery 312-333

Chapter 6
The Golden Years (1935-39) 334 – 397
Picture Gallery 377 – 397

Appendix One – Lewis’s Diary of Acts Seen 1904 398 – 404
Appendix Two – Lewis Davenport’s Act 405 – 427
Appendix Three – Davenport Family Trees 428 -431

Index 432 – 440

• Publisher: Lewis Davenport Limited
• Pages: 440
• Location: London, England
• Dimensions: 8″x12″
• Date: 2009
• Binding: hardbound

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