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Stewart James

Stewart James, one of magic's most prolific inventors, was a Canadian postman.

Biography

Inspired by imaginary friends to create magic, Stewart James was one of the 20th century’s most prodigious inventors of magic effects and one of the art form’s most prolific authors. Though he was a skilled magician who performed for the allied forces during his Canadian tour of duty during World War II – James is best known in the magic world for his uncanny ability to create.

Throughout his 88 years of life, he conceived and published over 400 different trick "plots," which have been adapted by countless other magicians for use in their performances. He can be described as a mastermind who focused his energy on imagining new impossibilities at a table backstage instead of presenting them on-stage. One of his legendary effects was Miraskill published first in The Jinx, No. 24, September 1936, page 147, then in Jean Hugard's Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (1937). Some of his effects were call Jogestja, using letters from his full name.

The collected volumes of his magic written by his Allan Slaight are some of the largest books on magic ever published.

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-[[File: DavidBerglas2.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ David Berglas]]]]
+[[File: StewartJames2.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Stewart James]]]]
-'''David Berglas''' was a psychological illusionist and mentalist, known as the "International Man of Mystery" and was one of the world's leading mentalists.
+'''Stewart James''', one of magic's most prolific inventors, was a Canadian postman.
 == Biography ==
-Known for his numerous publicity stunts including going down the notorious Cresta Run blindfolded, manipulating and even smoking cigarettes underwater(!), performing various versions of Russian roulette, presenting hilarious pick-pocketing routines and touring the world, lecturing on and demonstrating memory feats. His signature pieces include the levitation of a heavy table and a dangerous pulse stopping routine.
+Inspired by imaginary friends to create magic, Stewart James was one of the 20th century’s most prodigious inventors of magic effects and one of the art form’s most prolific authors. Though he was a skilled magician who performed for the allied forces during his Canadian tour of duty during World War II – James is best known in the magic world for his uncanny ability to create.
-In his 2009 Enigma show brochure, [[Derren Brown]] describes David Berglas as "One of our greatest living magical performers" and thanks him "-for his constant inspiration and generosity. Each show is indebted to his artistry and astonishing body of work. Thank you David".
+Throughout his 88 years of life, he conceived and published over 400 different trick "plots," which have been adapted by countless other magicians for use in their performances. He can be described as a mastermind who focused his energy on imagining new impossibilities at a table backstage instead of presenting them on-stage.
+One of his legendary effects was [[Miraskill]] published first in The [[Jinx]], No. 24, September 1936, page 147, then in [[Jean Hugard]]'s [[Encyclopedia of Card Tricks]] (1937).  Some of his effects were call Jogestja, using letters from his full name.
-The "Holy Grail" of Card Magic is known as "The Berglas Effect" which is his version of [[Any Card At Any Number]] (ACAAN).
+The collected volumes of his magic written by his Allan Slaight are some of the largest books on magic ever published.
-Some of the celebrities he has entertained include Winston Churchill, Aristotle Onassis, Paul Getty, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Michael Jackson, the Sultan of Brunei and most of the British Royal Family.
+[[Stewart James|Read more about Stewart James....]]
-In 1999 he established a non-profit organization called, the Foundation for Promoting the Art of Magic (FP-AM). This has benefited the magical fraternity and has donated substantial funding for educational establishments like The College of Magic in Cape Town, South Africa.
-[[David Berglas|Read more about David Berglas....]]

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Revision as of 16:14, 5 October 2025

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