Who was Howard Thurston?

Howard Thurston (1869–1936) was an American magician from Columbus, Ohio, who began as a card manipulator and went on to lead one of the largest magic shows on record. He worked with Harry Kellar, took over as Kellar’s successor and became known for big illusions such as a floating lady. He also wrote about magic, and his early card book is free in our store.

Who was Howard Thurston?

Howard Thurston was born on 20 July 1869 in Columbus, Ohio, and died on 13 April 1936 in Florida. Britannica describes him as “originally a card manipulator” who later became known for his large stage illusions.

One note on dates: most sources, including Britannica and Wikipedia’s summary of his life, give his birth as 20 July 1869. The body of the Wikipedia article gives a different date, 24 June 1867. We use 1869, the date most of our sources agree on.

How did he get started in magic?

Both Wikipedia and a 2021 history in Scottish Rite magazine say he ran away from home as a boy and ended up travelling with a circus. Both also say that seeing the magician Alexander Herrmann perform was the moment he decided to become a magician himself.

What was his card act?

Thurston first made his name with cards. Wikipedia says he built an act around making cards vanish one at a time at his fingertips and a version of the rising cards, where chosen cards rise from the deck one by one. His own early book, Howard Thurston’s Card Tricks, covers the same ground: its contents include the continuous front- and back-hand palm, vanishing five cards one at a time, productions at the fingertips and “Thurston’s new rising cards”. The book’s opening section even promises to tell how he mystified Herrmann.

If you’d like to try a simple version of the effect yourself, our guide on how to do the rising card trick is a good place to start.

How did he become Kellar’s successor?

Wikipedia and Scottish Rite magazine both say Thurston worked with the stage magician Harry Kellar, and that when Kellar retired, Thurston took over as his successor. Wikipedia, Britannica, the bookseller Lybrary.com and Scottish Rite magazine all describe Thurston as Kellar’s successor. We haven’t found two sources that agree on the year, so we leave it out.

How big was his show?

Very big. Britannica says he “led the largest magic show in history”, and the Scottish Rite article quotes the historian S. Brent Morris calling it one of history’s largest magic productions.

Sources differ on the details. Wikipedia says the show was so large that it needed eight train cars to move it, while the Morris quote in Scottish Rite puts it at approximately ten. We can’t tell you which figure is right, so we give both.

What illusions was he known for?

One illusion Thurston was known for was a floating lady. Britannica names “the ‘floating lady’” among his large stage illusions, and Wikipedia says he became well known for a levitation illusion that Kellar had also performed. The Scottish Rite article describes him floating an assistant above the stage and out over the footlights, where she vanished.

We won’t explain how it was done. Like most grand illusions, its mystery is part of what makes it worth seeing.

Did he write books?

Yes, several. Besides his early card book, both Wikipedia and Britannica list his autobiography, My Life of Magic, published in 1929. Wikipedia and Lybrary.com also list a series of books of easy tricks for the public.

Why does Thurston still matter?

Thurston’s career shows how a magician could start with a pack of cards and end up running a show big enough to fill a theatre. If you enjoyed his story, read our profiles of T. Nelson Downs and Carl Hertz.

What helps you take it further?

• Howard Thurston’s Card Tricks by Howard Thurston. A free, complete 44-page PDF of his own card system: indispensable sleights such as the pass, the force and the change, the continuous front- and back-hand palm, the “Thurston” system of card manipulation and his rising cards.
• The Art of Magic by T. Nelson Downs (1909). A free, complete 364-page PDF whose chapter on the rising cards covers De Kolta’s and Thurston’s rising cards.

See all our free ebooks.

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