HISTORY
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Of
the several branches of the magic family, our direct ancestor
is sleight of hand.
Prestidigitation means "nimble, quick
fingers," and legerdemain means "light of
hand." From the European tradition of object manipulation
sprang toss manipulation - juggling.
Although
true juggling has been around for 4,000 years, it was an
adjunct to magic until about 109 years ago. The most prominent
"jugglers" of the early vaudeville era were object
manipulators, balancers and club swingers. As more performers
began turning to true toss juggling, they began distancing
themselves from the magic family. But slowly.
In
1902, magicians formed their first modern guild, the Society
of American Magicians, a tightly-wrapped organization
dedicated to promoting magic and maintaining the secrecy of
the art. This fraternity reigned for 20 years until a
rebellious group, dissatisfied with the elitist, big-cityoriented
structure of SAM broke off to form the International
Brotherhood of Magicians. The rebels have become, in numbers,
the world's largest magic organization.
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Although
both SAM and IBM are now amicable, with presidents of one
often becoming presidents of the other and
magicians holding dual membership, the split in 1922 was
dramatic. Houdini, the president of SAM, was reportedly
furious at the split and vowed revenge.
It
was fitting, therefore, that the IJA should be formed of the
rebel group. Juggling had become an art independent of magic
almost 70 years before the 1947 formation of the IJA. Even the
magicians who juggled recognized a need to separate the two.
The IBM had become too large. Juggling needed room to grow on
its own.
There
were other reasons, too. There was a growing body of
non-magician jugglers on the scene that would lend substance
to an independent group. Jugglers within the IBM and SAM often
looked down on magicians. Except for the well-respected
sleight of hand artists, they considered magicians as
tricksters rather than athletes.
Magicians
convened in a heavy party atmosphere primarily to show each
other tricks. Jugglers, on the other hand, wanted a
picnic atmosphere and informal conventions - celebrations
rather than meetings. And the magicians' continued tradition
of secrecy was stifling the growth of juggling.
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Where
the schism of SAM and IBM had been something of a load bang, the
formation of the IJA from the IBM didn't even amount to a pin
drop. The giant IBM never felt it, and to this day relations
between magicians and jugglers are like those of old family members
who merely live in separate towns. No magic convention show is
complete without at least one juggling act, and a good many jugglers
include a little magic in their acts.
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With
the happy success of the IJA and juggling in general, it
becomes difficult to keep the magnitude our big brother in
perspective. The sweep of magic can be grasped in a few facts:
the IBM alone has 11,000 members, with conventions the size of
the IJA's members roll; they have more regional conventions
and "conclaves" than we have clubs; their clubs are
spread across the nation sometimes two or three to a city.
Their
structure is perfect for fostering growth. As fraternal
organizations along the line of Elks, Moose and Lions, they
draw the joiners. As guilds, they virtually require membership
of working magicians. Unlike jugglers, the top
cream of magic professionals invariably belong to one
more magic associations.
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