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Will Goldston

Will Goldston (b.1877-d.1948), was originally a stage magician then became a magic dealer, publisher, agent and author.

Biography

After years of conjecture about Goldston's place and time of birth, research by Fergus Roy found Goldston's birth certificate, showing that he was born in Liverpool, England.

Goldston became interested in the subject of magic at the age of eleven. Originally employed as a dental technician this did not last long and at the age of sixteen he made his professional debut as a magician. Using the stage name of Carl Devo. At the age of twenty-one he was topping the bill at provincial theatres with his Black art act.

In 1900 Goldston and his younger brother, James Mayer Goldston a.k.a. Mayer James Goldston, ran the "Mahatma" Magical Co. in Liverpool. Goldston sold the business, as well as his magazine, Magician Monthly to A.W. Gamage at the end of 1904. Mayer James, also a magician, professionally known as Mokana, died a year later in the January of 1905, aged 23 years, of malarial fever in Calcutta while touring India with the Coronation Circus. Mokana is attributed to inventing the hollowed out shoe heel that swivels to reveal a secret space.

In 1902 he married Leah Halter, who performed as Leah Laurie and later as La Devo.

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