The Online Magic Store Blog: Stage Illusions

A 19th-century stage magician’s props on a velvet table: a silk top hat, white gloves and a wand, lit by gaslight

Who was Alexander Herrmann?

Alexander Herrmann, “Herrmann the Great,” learned magic from his brother Carl, starred in America with his wife Adelaide and died on a trai…

An empty Victorian American theatre stage with a carved wooden throne-like chair and a small table, lit by gaslight

Who was Harry Kellar?

Harry Kellar went from boy assistant to touring star, known for his levitation, and handed his show to Howard Thurston in 1908.

An empty vaudeville stage with a long painted illusion box on trestles and an antique crosscut saw

The history of sawing a woman in half

How P. T. Selbit, Horace Goldin and Robert Harbin turned sawing a woman in half into one of magic’s most famous stage illusions.