I.B.M. Ring 362 The Maine Mystics Bangor, Maine
Home News Officers Members Next Meeting Calendar Archive Hire a magician Join us!		Ring Name Raffle 2007 Sunday, March 18, 2007 As I.B.M. Ring 362 was first being formed in January 2006, there were many different views on a name for the new Ring. In order to give everyone a chance to be heard, the newly elected officers of the Ring wrote into the Bylaws and the Policy and Program Manual a mechanism to give members the opportunity to select the Ring's name for the duration of one year at the March meeting via a Ring Name Raffle. The members agreed that this was a good idea, approving it when they ratified the Constitution, Bylaws, and the Policy and Program Manual in March 2006. The Ring Name Raffle honors the ephemeral nature of magic by providing the opportunity for the Ring to honor magicians past and present by naming our Ring after them for one year. The Board shall review all proposed names to ensure that: 1) the name is not in use by another Ring (see the list of current names), and 2) the name is not demeaning to magic. Names must be submitted not less than sixty days prior to the Ring Name Raffle, so the nominations for the 2007 Ring Name Raffle are closed.

Ring Name Raffle 2007 tickets were sold in advance of the March 18, 2007 meeting. Advance ticket sales were $50 for The Maine Mystics and $50 for Chung Ling Soo Ring. At the March meeting, ticket sales were $10 for The Maine Mystics, making the totals:

The winning ticket drawn was for The Maine Mystics.

Dr. James William Elliott Ring

Dr. James William Elliott was a physician who largely abandoned the practice of medicine to pursue his love of magic. The good doctor hailed from Rumford, Maine, and while attending college in Boston, he befriended Harry Houdini. Elliott is most well known for creating and perfecting the front-back palm.

Elliott died in Boston of diabetes, and on his deathbed he asked Houdini and Clinton Burgess if they could go to his father's house in Rumford to gather his notes and publish them in a book later titled Elliott's Last Legacy. Elliott's grave site is several miles from the home of Ring 362 member Scot Grassette in Rumford.

Elliott was a very popular magician. Particularly some of his card effects were considered best of its kind. Nobody knew the secrets to some of Elliott's tricks. People waited impatiently for the release of this book. But it was met with some disappointment that not all of Elliott's tricks were described. We do not know which tricks these critics mean. The reason might well be that Elliott died before he could finish his book. Burgess and Houdini had to collect Elliott's notes and fill in some of the missing explanations. However, Elliott and Houdini believed that all the material in this book was new and had never before been published.

According to Milbourne Christopher's Illustrated History of Magic, Dr. James William Elliott replaced Bosco as the new Bosco in the Le Roy, Talma, and Bosco show, shaving his head to fit the part. He toured with the popular show for five years.

"Dr. James William Elliott Ring" was the first name to win the Ring Name Raffle in March 2006. Here is a message from Scot Grassette from January 2006:

I just received my copy of Elliott's Last Legacy. My copy has Houdini's obituary 1926, glued to the inside cover, it is beautifully signed in calligraphy by the compiler of the book Clinton Burgess 1924. It is an Advance Issue, Copy #9. (Happy Birthday to me!)

I am taking some time to share some little known facts and comments about the greatest magical legend to come from our great state.

Dr. James William Elliott

a. Born in Rumford Maine April 27th 1874

b. Burdett Business College MA 1892

c. Harvard University MA - Preparatory Medicine 1893 to 1894

d. Bellevue Medical College NY 1898 - (graduated with honorable mention)

e. 1898 Elliott issued a challenge in the September issue of Mahatma to all the card manipulators in the world for a contest in card manipulative dexterity, yet all these years the challenge was never accepted.

f. When exhibiting before the public, Elliott wore a handsome gold, diamond-studded Howard watch, attached to which was a fob of unique and (for a card manipulator) most appropriate design. This fob consisted of four gold frames which held, under glass, the four Aces of a Junior-sized deck. This beautiful fob was presented to Elliott in 1894 by the card manipulators of Boston; attached to its upper and lower ends by miniature gold rings were gold plates upon which were engraved his name and title-firmly linked together for over twenty-two years-"James William Elliott, Champion Card Manipulator of the World."

g. The writer knew Dr. Elliott intimately, and classed him among his very best friends. Having recently accompanied him on a tour around the world, covering extensive experiences in India and Australasia, Elliott was a very popular magician of his time.

h. "I do not recall ever hearing him indulge in, or even listen to, unseemly language or lewd conversation; never heard him utter a profane word; never knew him to use tobacco or wines in any form. In short, I learned to regard him as an exemplary man, most chaste in habits, and all-around most lovable character I have ever known, better than whom I do not think ever lived". Clinton Burgess

i. Dr. Elliott had two mottos-"Practice" and "Quality." He practiced incessantly for weeks-possibly months-in order to master but ONE sleight; then again underwent another long siege of practice until he had mastered ANOTHER, and so on, for hours at a stretch, thru many weary weeks and months, he spent the earlier years of his life, MASTERING the most useful and practical sleights with cards. Elliott the master over every known card sleight of importance, the originator of scores upon scores of master sleights, and the foremost card manipulator of his time.

j. Elliott used ordinary cards and pure manipulative skill only, and for twenty-two years he was recognized by card experts and the Magical Fraternity in general as the peer of all card manipulators.

k. "Without question, doubt or contradiction, in my mind, Elliott and I were unsurpassed in that particular line of manipulative skill, and I must explain that Elliott loved to manipulate cards. He would practice cards morning, noon and night, and I know that the cards would lie at his bedside. It is proverbial with the bachelor that 'his pipe is his wife,' but the pack of cards was Elliott's, not better half, but four-fifths". Houdini

l. Although Elliott is most known for his front back palm, the riffle pass, and many other card sleights his 322 page book is filled with many wonderful stage and parlor effects all which are Elliott's originals including illusions, livestock, and mechanical apparatus. Scot Grassette

m. Many who are to-day recognized in the World of Magic as leaders were his pupils-Howard Thurston, for example, took many lessons from Dr. Elliott in card magic. (taken from the Eulogium by Dr. Ezra Lee Buckley 1924)

n. Elliott passed away from intestinal nephritis Jan 28th 1920 Buried in Abbott's Mills Cemetery a few miles from his boyhood home in Rumford Maine.

My question to you is; Why have I never heard of this man until about a year ago? Alan Drew knew of him, and his book quite well. Information like this should somehow be passed on to preserve our heritage of magic within our local. Don't you agree?

Scot

The Maine Mystics

My suggestion for the Ring Name is as follows: "The Maine Mystics" and here's why. There are many gifted performers & entertainers both professional and amateur. Unifying this group under a State name gives more prestige and recognition than a single individual that only magicians may or may not know. As new and younger members join our ranks the association and unity within our group can only grow.

Danny Baker

Chung Ling Soo Ring I would like to advance a name that looms over the history of magic as the name of a consummate artist. This American magician learned magic from an early age, taking work in a brass foundry so that he could construct props that he couldn't afford to buy. He worked for many years as an assistant to Harry Kellar and Alexander Herrmann, then struggled to emerge as a stage performer in his own right, enduring many failures. Finally, he abandoned his birth name, nationality, and even his identity, emerging as one of the greatest stage magicians of all time: Chung Ling Soo. Chung Ling Soo dazzled audiences in Europe as the marvelous Chinese conjurer who caught fish from the air, produced a living woman slowly and visibly from a giant, smoke-filled lantern, tossed worn-out animal skins into a cauldron of boiling water and plucked forth animals restored to life. He maintained his assumed Chinese identity offstage through an elaborate ruse that fooled most of the public. To those who might say his portrayal of a "Chinaman" was too insensitive for our age of hypersensitivity, I would point out that Chung Ling Soo was warmly welcomed into the European Chinese community, who were fully "in on the joke" but saw how he had genuine respect for Chinese culture, even in the cartoon way that he presented it to Europeans. No other famous magician so inspires us to persevere in the face of adversity and repeated failures in the quest to attain the lofty pinnacle of artistic success that was Chung Ling Soo's. Many of you have read Jim Steinmeyer's extraordinary recent biography of Chung Ling Soo, "The Glorious Deception." If not, I encourage you to do so; I did, after a rave review by Teller. This book was lovingly excerpted in Genii in 2005. Perhaps some will feel that it is presumptuous for a group of hedge-wizards in a small, sparsely populated state to dare to attach the name of Chung Ling Soo to our small group. I think that William Robinson would have understood our aspirations, our admiration for his ultimate success, and our wish to guide our course using the most blazing star in the heavens of magic: Chung Ling Soo. Yours, Paul _________________ Please see also these links on Chung Ling Soo: Chapter One of The Glorious Deception by Jim Steinmeyer The Glorious Deception by Jim Steinmeyer at Amazon.com Hear Teller speak (!) about Steinmeyer's book at NPR See a marvelous collection of Chung Ling Soo posters at MagicGallery.com Article on Chung Ling Soo at CaliforniaScienCenter

Ralph Greenwood Ring

Angelique Steelgrave suggested that the Ring be named for Ralph Greenwood, a Portland magician who has influenced a generation of Maine magicians. The Board considered this name at the February 2007 Executive Meeting. As reported in the February 2007 issue of MUM, S.A.M. Assembly 174 in Portland recently changed its name to honor Ralph Greenwood. As S.A.M. Assembly 174 is the only other magic club in Maine, the Board of I.B.M. Ring 362 disqualified this nomination.

Ring Contact Report 12/19/2005
RINGNAME
Currently Inactive
FANTASIO RING
GARDEN CITY RING
JEAN HUGARD RING/ Currently Inactive
OLIVER RING/ 6 active members
MAURICE ROOKLYN
CHARLES WALLER RING
VIENNA AUSTRIA RING
BANGLADESH RING Inactive Ring
KHAKA METROPOLITAN RING
De Vlaamse Goochelaars Van Belgie
BELGIUM RING
GENT BELGIUM RING
Sao Paulo Ring
CALGARY MAGIC CIRCLE
M.A.S.E. MAGIC CLUB
OGOPOGO MAGIC CIRCLE/ Inactive ring
The Vancouver Magic Circle
ERNIE CROCKFORD RING/VICTORIA MAGIC CIRCLE.
LEN VINTUS RING
THE CONJURORS' COURT
THE DOUG HENNING MAGIC WAND CLUB
HAT AND WAND RING
LONDON, MAGICIANS GUILD
NIAGARA LES WISMER RING
OSHAWA RING/ CURRENTLY INACTIVE
OTTAWA SOCIETY OF MAGICIANS
THE KAWARTHA SOCIETY OF MAGICIANS
THUNDER BAY MAGIC CIR
P.Howard Lyon's Ring
THE SID LORRAINE HAT & RABBIT CLUB
WINDSOR MAGIC CIRCLE
REGINA SASKATCHEWAN/ 4 active members
CHINA RING
Magicians' Association of Macao
BRITISH RING
Robert Houdin Ring of Nantes
Frence Riviera Ring
PARIS RING/ CURRENTLY INACTIVE
Paris France Ring
GERMANY RING/ NOT ACTIVE
THE Germany Ring
Magischer Ring R̦thenbach/
Alexandros ring of Athens
GUATEMALA RING
MAGICIAN'S ASSOCIATION OF HONG KONG
HUNGARY RING
S.K. VASANTHA KUMAR RING/INACTIVE
EDDIE JOSEPH RING
I.B.M. INDIA RING
GREAT APPADURAI TAMILNADU RING
P.C. SORCAR RING
MAHARASHTRA RING//Inactive Ring
RAJDHANI RING 3 acitve members
THE JAKARTA RING
JAVA RING// 2active members
THE IRISH RING
JERUSALEM RING/CURRENTLY INACTIVE
PATI BAR-ON RING
Vladimiro Dei Ring
Carlo Rossetti Ring
MILAN ITALY RING
NAPLES RING/5/23/01 ring is inactive
PADOVA ITALY RING
Club Magico Di Roma
TARANTO ITALY RING/RING IS INACTIVE 5/200
1 Trieste Magica
JAPANESE RING
YOKOHAMA RING JAPAN/Inactive
LEBANESE MAGICLUB/ Inactive due to violence
THE MAGICIANS SOCIETY
MEXICO CITY RING
NETH ANTILLES RING/ Currently Inactive
FRED KAPS RING
Kiwi Magic, the Tony Wilson Ring
NORWAY RING/CURRENTLY INACTIVE
MAGO CHANG RING// INACTIVE THREE ACTIVE MEM
INNER MAGIC CLUB
THE MAGICIANS FOUNDATION OF THE PHILLIPINES INC
PORTUGAL RING
RUSSIAN RING/ CURRENTLY INACTIVE
THE GREAT WONG RING
SOUTH AFRICIAN RING/ CURRENTLY INACTIVE
SIR LANKA MAGIC CIRCLE/ Inactive
SWISS RING
Taiwan Magicians Association
BANGKOK THAILAND RNG/ Inactive
Gulf Ring
GREATLAND MAGICIANS//Inactive RIng
Judge Arnold Drennen Ring
RENAISSANCE RING OF THE SHOALS
SPACE CITY MAGIC
MONTGOMERY MAGIC CLUB
BILL PITTS RING
LOGAN PRITCHETT
SEARCY MAGIC SOCIETY
WILSON BURKEY RING/ 6 active members
BERT EASLEY,DANNY DEW RING
Mystical Magic
TUCSON MAGIC CLUB
HARRY BLACKSTONE JR
MAGIC GUILD OF S. CALIFORNIA
DALE SALWAK RING/CURRENTLY INACTIVE
CARL FLEMING RING/ ibmring21.com
THE UNIVERSE #2100
MERLIN EIFERT RING
MONTEREY BAY RING/ Currently Inactive
JOHN FEDKO RING www.ring313.org
The Coachella Vallley Magic Club
VICTOR SAINT LEON RING
Paul Shartle/Karrell Fox Memorial Ring
HONEST SID GERHAT RG
SAN FRANCISCO RING
SAN JOSE
SANTA BARBARA RING/CURRENTLY INACTIVE
MARK WILSON RING
DAI VERNON RING
The Jeff McBride Ring
VISALIA CA. RING/CURRENTLY INACTIVE
MILE HIGH MAGICIANS SOCIETY
PRESTO DIGITATORS www.prestodigitators.c
om HARTFORD CT. RING
FRED E. POWELL RING
STAMFORD RING
NATIONS CAPITOL RING
BOCA RATON RING/CURRENTLY INACTIVE
SPACE COAST MAGICIAN/THE AL FOX CLUB
MARTINEIZ RING
SEASIDE MAGICIANS
THE RON MURPHY RING
Ft Lauderdale Magic Society DR. Mark Horowitz
CONRAD C. BUSH/www.darrelhidle.com
BOB HUTCHINGS RING
PALADIN RING
KEN KRICK RING -LAKE COUNTY MAGIC CLUB
SYD BERGSON RING
F.A.M.E./BEV BERGERON RING
The Golf Coast Magicians Guild/
"Gentleman Jim" Heuser Ring
INEZ BLACKSTONE KITCHEN RING
Warren Hamilton Ring
MIKE ELLIS RING
The Georgia Magic Club Inc.
C.S.R.A. MAGIC CLUB
MACON GA. RING
MIKE FULLER RING
HAWAII MAGICIANS SOCIETY
THE FRED PETRICK"MOMBO" RING
QUAD CITYS/ C THOMAS MAGRUM RG
JUSTO HIJO OF MAGIC
Tri-State Magic Club
T. NELSON DOWNS
THE BECKER RING/ 6 active members
The Chazz Treasure Valley Magic Club
Magic Wand Ring/ www.angelfire.com/wizard/cigtg/
HARLAN TARBELL RING
JIM RYAN RING/// Inactive
HAROLD MARTIN RING
THE LINCOLN RING
Magician's Guild of Michiana
MYSTIC I.K.I.
A. H, STONER
GENE KEENEY
KOKOMO IN RING/ CURRENTLY INACTIVE
BOB HURT RING
LAKE COUNTY RING//Inactive Ring
MUNCIE MYSTIFIERS
The Jack Bridwell Ring
TERRE HAUTE IN. RING/ CURRENTLY INACTIVE
WIZARDS OF WICHITA
THOROUGHBRED MAGIC GUILDF
www.lmcmagic.com OKITO/LANCE BURTON RING
PIKE BURDEN- PETE KLEINPETER RING
GLEN GHIRARDI
CAJUN CONJURORS
EARLE CHRISTENBERRY JR
J. B. BOBO RING
SILENT MORA RING
CAPE COD MYSTICS/ 6 acitve members
SPRINGFIELD MA RING/ Inactive Ring
GEORGE DENCY RING
THE KING MAGIC RING
DUKE STERN RING
NEIL FOSTER RING
THE HARRY CECIL RING
LEONARD EVA RING
JOHN DEVRIES CLUB
THE FOX RING
MAGICIANS GUILD OF LANSING
DR. BORIS ZOLA RING
CHARLES A ROMIG/ inactive
CARL JONES RING
TRI-LAKES TRICKSTERS
OVERHOLSER-HUDSON RING
MISSOURI MINIPULATORS
HEART OF AMERICA RING
MISSOURI AMBASSADORS OF MAGIC/BEN STONE RING
Spirit of St. Louis
GENE GRANT
BILLINGS MAGIC SOCIETY
JACK GWYNNE RING/ Currently Inactive
C. SHAW SMITH RING
Fayetteville Area Magicians Society (FAMS)
THE PIEDMONT TRIAD MAGIC CLUB
WALLACE LEE AND DICK SNAVELY RING
The Western Wizards of North Carolina
The Coastal Carolina Conjurors
BILL MORTON RING
SCOTTSBLUFF RING/ Currently Inactive
BLACK RICHARD RING
LeRoy, Talma, and Bosco Ring
Audley Walsh\Conrad C. Bush Ring
JACK MILLER RING
HARRY BLACKSTONE MAGIC SOCI www.4dice.com/ibm200/
PYRAMID GARDEN STATE
OCEAN COUNTY NJ RING//Inactive Ring
DANNY O'DAY RING
Fantasma Ring
RENO NV. RING/ Currently Inactive
CLARK & RUTH FONDA
SOUTHERN TIER MAGIC CIRCLE
GENE GORDON
FINGER LAKES RING
HARRY ROZ-ON
EDWIN SLOANE RING/ Roch Magicians Club
RING OF ILLUSION
FRANK GARCIA RING
HARRIS A SOLOMON
DON CONNELLY RING/ www.ring101.org
HORACE MARSHALL RING
ROTH MILLS RING
HAINES/W.W.DURBIN
BLACKSTONE RING
WHEELER MCGORY
DAYTON MAGIC CLUB
WALTER F. WILLIAMS, JR. KNIGHTS OF MAGIC
N.O.M.A.
THE TOMMY WINDSOR RING// Inactive no contact perso
MIDDLETOWN RING
TOLEDO SOCIETY OF MAGICIANS
DOERIGHT-TUTTER
THE SEYMOUR DAVIS RING
THE BOB KLINE RING 65
THE FLOATING RING
THE LECTURE RING
ALLENTOWN SOCIETY OF MAGICIANS
DELAWARE VALLEY CLUB
THE HARRY KELLAR RING
WIZARDS OF THE NORTH
EDDIE CLEVER KEYSTONE
TAMPA RING
POCONO MOUNTAIN RING
Mingus Magic Ring
WILKES BARRE RING
The Bob Elliott Ring
WILLIAM BAKER
The John Murray Ring// www.angelfire.com
The Coe Norton Ring
GREENVILLE RING
The Society of LowCountry Magicians
THE GRAND STRAND MAGICIANS SOCIETY
SPARTANBURG SC. RING
The Tri-Cities Magic Club
M.H. ORTWEIN RING RING WEBSITE: seam2003.org
SMOKEY MOUNTAIN MYSTICS
SOCIETY OF MEMPHIS MAGICIANS
SAM WALKOFF RING
NASHVILLE MAGICIANS CLUB
ABILENE RING/ Currently Inactive
CARL MOORE RING
The Walter Blaney Ring// INACTIVE ONLY 5 ACTIVE ME
LETTIE BARNES RING
WILLARD THE WIZARD/ Joint SAM and IBM Ring
El Paso Magician's Circle
REN CLARK
RIO GRANDE VALLEY MAGIC CLUB
BOB BLAU RING
MAGIC ROUND TABLE
WEST TEXAS WIZARDS// Inactive at this time
BLACK GOLD RING
M.S. MAHENDRA RING
E.TEXAS COURT OF MAGIC
WICHITA FALLS RING
WILFORD HINKSON RING
EARLE EDWARDS RING
HORACE BENNETT RING
JIM MURPHY RING
BLUE RIDGE MAGICIANS
OSCAR ZAHNER RING
NORTHEAST MAGIC CLB
Northwest Ring of Fire
SEATTLE RING
SPOKANE MAGIC CLUB
GREAT VIRGIL AND JULIE RING
GREEN BAY RING/ Inactive ring
BEN BERGOR
MILWAUKEE RING
OSHKOSH WI. RING/ Currently Inactive
HUNTINGTON WV. RING
RHODESIA RING/ Currently Inactive