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[[File: JNHilliard.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ John Northern Hilliard]]]]


[[File: DavenportBrothers1.png|right|thumb|200px|[[ Davenport Brothers]]]]
'''John Northern Hilliard''' (1872 - 1935) was a Rochester newspaper man  and clever amateur magician.


'''The Davenport Brothers''' were the American magicians [[Ira Erastus Davenport]] (1839-1911) and [[William Henry Harrison Davenport]] (1841-1877) who performed in the late 1800s.  Sons of a Buffalo, New York policeman, Ira Davenport, Sr, and Virtue Honeysett, the brothers are famous for deceptively presenting illusions that were claimed to be of a supernatural origin.
== Biography ==
== Biography ==
The Davenports began performing in 1854, less than a decade after the [[Spiritualism]] movement had taken off in America. After stories of the [[Fox sisters]] began to receive public attention, the Davenports started reporting similar occurrences happening to them. Their father resigned from his police job and took up managing his sons and the group was joined by [[William Fay]], a Buffalo resident with an interest in conjuring. Their shows were introduced by a former "Restoration Movement" minister, Jesse Babcock Ferguson, a longtime follower of Spiritualism, who falsely assured the audience that the brothers worked exclusively by spirit power rather than the deceptive trickery of commercial magicians. Ferguson was apparently sincere in his belief that the Davenports were possessed of real spiritual powers.
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.


The Davenports' most famous effect was their box illusion. The brothers were tied up and closed inside a large box which contained a number of musical instruments. Once the box was closed, the instruments would be made to sound. Upon opening the box, the brothers were found tied in the same positions in which they had started the illusion. Those who witnessed the effect were made to believe that supernatural forces had caused the trick to work.
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.
 
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[[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…