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[[File: Charlier1.png |right|thumb|200px|[[ Charlier]]]]
[[File: JNHilliard.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ John Northern Hilliard]]]]
'''Charlier''' was magician in the late 1800s. A specialist in card magic, he is best known for creating the [[Charlier Cut]] and a card-marking system using pin pricks.
 
'''John Northern Hilliard''' (1872 - 1935) was a Rochester newspaper man  and clever amateur magician.
 
== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Charlier is only reputed to have performed in public once on January 25th 1882, at the Neumayer Hall, Hart Street, London. Mostly he gave lessons and exhibitions of card magic at private homes.
Hilliard was dramatic critic with The Chicago Herald and later on the staff of The Rochester (N. Y.) Post Express. After moving to New York, he met [[Howard Thurston]] while a reporter on The New York World and became interested in magic. John was credited with securing the master magician with his first engagement on the stage. Several years later Thurston induced Hilliard to give up his newspaper work and become his personal representative.


[[Professor Hoffmann]] first met him in the mid 1870s from an introduction, possibly by [[Hellis]]. Hoffmann descibed this “Polish Gentleman” as one of the greatest of living card experts. The others who took lessons or were acquainted with this gentleman said that he was from Alsace, another pupil, Samuel Heilbut, was told he was Russian. The mysterious gentleman could pass as being from any number of countries as it was reported that he spoke nine to ten languages fluently. Most thought he was French as this was the language he frequented lapsed into when speaking English, but he did not appear to speak English with a French accent. By the same token some friends said that he had a fondness for using scraps of Turkish in conversation. In Britain he was known simply as Charlier; [[Trewey]], a French illusionist recollected that he met someone very similar in appearance in Nice in 1874 called Monsieur Arelier, it was also noted that [[Henry Ridgley Evans]] was informed that a conjurer call St Jean appeared in San Francisco two years later performing under the name Carabaraba who also fitted the description.  
With the urging of [[Floyd G. Thayer]], John starting writing for [[Thayer's Magical Bulletin]] magazine. In 1925, Hilliard became an advance man for The Thurston show. During this time he accumulated notes on what he was learning about magic. In 1932, Carl Waring Jones urged him to turn his notes into a book, offering to publish it. But Hilliard suddenly died of a heart attack in 1935 while in a hotel room in Indianapolis.


[[Charlier |Read more about Charlier …]]
[[John Northern Hilliard|Read more about John Northern Hilliard…]]

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John Northern Hilliard (1872 - 1935) was a Rochester newspaper man and clever amateur magician.

Biography

Hilliard was dramatic critic with The Chicago Herald and later on the staff of The Rochester (N. Y.) Post Express. After moving to New York, he met Howard Thurston while a reporter on The New York World and became interested in magic. John was credited with securing the master magician with his first engagement on the stage. Several years later Thurston induced Hilliard to give up his newspaper work and become his personal representative.

With the urging of Floyd G. Thayer, John starting writing for Thayer's Magical Bulletin magazine. In 1925, Hilliard became an advance man for The Thurston show. During this time he accumulated notes on what he was learning about magic. In 1932, Carl Waring Jones urged him to turn his notes into a book, offering to publish it. But Hilliard suddenly died of a heart attack in 1935 while in a hotel room in Indianapolis.

Read more about John Northern Hilliard…