Do You Believe in Magic?

John H. Percival Magic Collection at the Providence Public Library

The image above is from one of the inscribed books donated by Percival. This autograph is in a copy of John Booth’s Forging Ahead in Magic, published in 1939. The book features a “whopping 555 methods to improve your act and make it more profitable” (Lybrary, n.d.). This particular inscription was written by Booth to Percival (“a real gentleman”) in May of 1949.

Guest post by Sky Fody, School of Information, University of South Florida.

The John H. Percival Magic Collection at the Providence Public Library

John H. Percival, a magician¹ local to Providence, Rhode Island donated over 1,200 items to the Providence Public Library (PPL),² relating to magic and stage magicians throughout history.³ Percival was an active stage magician from age eight up until he died at 86. His day job, when not performing, was at the New England Telephone Company. Percival later also worked as an audience plant at several of Houdini’s shows.

History and Scope of the Collection

The volumes in the collection cover several topics related to amateur magic, from tricks and ventriloquism to gambling and Harry Houdini’s exposé of fraudulent spirit-mediums.⁴

The items Percival donated to the PPL include:

• correspondence between Percival and fellow magicians

• an autograph book of magician’s signatures. ⁵

• books,

• ephemera

• periodicals

Magician of the Week

The “Magician of the Week” posts by librarians at PPL highlighted a different magician each week that could be found among their collection’s holdings. Although these posts were just a snippet of what could be found in the Percival Magic Collection, they were a truly enlightening glimpse of the extensive history of stage magic.⁶

Lady Francis (Frances R. Francis) is described as “one of the top femme magicians in the country.”

1. John H. Percival Papers (MSS011) Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online. John H. Percival was born in East Providence and developed an interest in the magical arts after seeing a magic show when he was a child. From the age of eight until his death at eighty-six, Percival remained active as an amateur magician, using the pseudonyms ‘Mysterious John’ or ‘Rene’ when he performed. The first trick Percival learned involved breaking a matchstick in two, wrapping the pieces inside a handkerchief and removing the matchstick whole at the conclusion of the trick. He attended performances and magicians’ conventions, where he became acquainted with many 20th century magicians, including Harry Blackstone, Howard Thurston and Harry Houdini.

2. Providence Public Library.

Providence Public Library. (n.d.). Collections overview. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

Providence Public Library. (n.d.). Providence public library history. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

3. John H. Percival Magic Collection

4. Providence Public Library Special Collections, Petrarca, E., & DiVeglia, A. (2017). 012 - John H. Percival Magic Collection Finding Aid.

5. Image at top of this post is from Booth, John Nicholls. 1939. Forging Ahead in Magic. The Secrets of Successful Magicians, Not Their Tricks, but the Practical Ideas and Business Methods Wherby They Have Gained Prominence and Profit. Philadelphia, Pa.: Kanter’s magic shop. E-copy is here: Lybrary. (n.d.). Forging ahead in magic by John Booth. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

6. Goffin, J. (2011, August 24). Magician of the week #1. Special Collections at PPL.

Goffin, J. (2012, November 21). Magician of the week #23: Lady Francis. Special Collections at PPL.

Link to all the “Magician of the Week” posts.