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


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


'''Burling Hull''' (b.1889-d.1982) (also know as "Volta, "Volta the Great", and "The White Wizard" ), born Burlingame Gilbert Gault Hull, was an inventive magician, self-styled "the Edison of magic," specializing in mentalist and psychic effects.
== Biography ==
== Biography ==
His father was an amateur magician. In his earlier years he performed a skillful manipulation act, making billiard balls and silks vanish, multiply and reappear, while dressed entirely in white. Under the name '''Clif Westfield''', Hull performed professionally in his teens with magic, [[chapeaugraphy]], [[shadowgraphy]], ventriloquism and dancing.  
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.
 
Hull claimed to be, and is generally credited as, the inventor of the [[Svengali Deck]], which he patented in 1909. He was a prolific writer, with 52 published books to his name. He wrote on a wide variety of magical subjects, including card tricks, mentalism, escapes, razor blade swallowing, sightless vision, billiard ball manipulation, silk magic, publicity and showmanship. His [[33 Rope Ties and Chain Releases]], written in 1915, is still popular today.


A shrewd businessman and marketer, Hull not only produced many titles about magical effects, he gave talks to magic conventions on business methods for entertainers. He was active in the movement to protect magic trade secrets by both patent on the gimmicks and copyright on the texts, as applicable, but he undercut his own ethical stance against plagiarism by publishing secret material from other magicians who had stolen from him, in order to get revenge for having been plagiarized.
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.


[[Burling Hull|Read more about Burling Hull...]]
[[John Northern Hilliard|Read more about John Northern Hilliard…]]

Latest revision as of 10:23, 20 February 2026

Previous featured articles are located in Category:Featured Article

Proposed candidates are listed in Category:Featured Article Candidate

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…