Ancient world
Cups and balls
One of the oldest tricks there is. Balls appear, vanish and travel between cups. Writers in ancient Rome mention street performers working with cups and pebbles.
Timeline
A short history of magic
From street conjurors with cups and pebbles to theatres, television and the phone in your pocket. A few of the moments that made magic what it is.
Draft. Awaiting review by our resident magician.
- TODO: 12 of 12 entries still need their dates and facts checked
1584
Magic explained, not feared
Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft explains how conjurors' tricks are done, to show they are skill rather than sorcery. It's one of the first printed books to describe magic tricks in English.
1634
The first how-to books
Hocus Pocus Junior, one of the earliest books written to teach conjuring in English, appears. Magic starts to be passed on in print, not only from hand to hand.
1845
Magic moves into the theatre
Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin opens his own theatre in Paris. He performs in evening dress, as a gentleman, rather than in a wizard's robe, and is often called the father of modern magic.
1870s
London's home of mystery
Egyptian Hall in London becomes famous for magic shows, with a long-running residency by John Nevil Maskelyne and George Cooke.
1902
The Expert at the Card Table
A mysterious author calling himself S. W. Erdnase publishes a book on card cheating and card magic. Magicians still study it today, and still argue about who wrote it.
1902
Magicians get organized
The Society of American Magicians is founded in New York, followed by The Magic Circle in London in 1905 and the International Brotherhood of Magicians in 1922.
1900s–1920s
The golden age of stage magic
Touring illusion shows fill theatres around the world, and Harry Houdini becomes famous for escapes no one thought possible.
1948
A world championship
Magic societies from many countries form FISM, an international federation, which goes on to hold the World Championships of Magic.
1963
A castle for magicians
The Magic Castle opens in Hollywood as the clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts, a place where magicians gather, perform and learn from each other.
1970s–1990s
Magic on television
TV specials bring magic into living rooms around the world. A whole generation discovers the art without ever going to a theatre.
2000s–today
Magic goes online
Video sharing puts great performances a click away, and teaching moves online too. It raises a new question for the art, the one this site takes seriously, of how to share magic without exposing it.
The next chapter is yours
Every magician in this timeline started with one trick.
Learn your first trick