What has been lost cannot be measured in dollars, says one magician
The Internet has been accused of all manner of dastardly deeds, so the fact that it stands accused of killing off brick-and-mortar magic shops comes as no surprise.
(Valentine’s Day Google Doodles through the years)
What makes this particular loss notable, says the author of this Salon article, is that it’s more than just the stores themselves that will be missed by those who once patronized them: gone, too, is a vital piece of the culture of magic.
Since the late 19th century, when two German brothers named Francis and Antonio Martinka opened a conjuring store in New York, brick-and-mortar magic shops have played a central role in America’s magical culture. For more than a hundred years, these often small, dark chambers have been a gathering place where traveling illusionists and celebrated performers like Houdini, Thurston and Kellar discussed their latest creations, shielded from the pestering presence of hobbyists and the general public. More important, up until a decade ago, they were the only places where magicians could teach eager teenagers like myself the right methods to produce ashen apparitions and the more complicated tricks that inevitably follow.
But then the Internet broke that monopoly. Today, any 10-year-old kid can type “magic tricks” into Google and gain access either via YouTube or other websites to the biggest trade secrets in a matter of minutes. He can watch a video or buy an expensive apparatus without leaving his house, seeing a live demonstration or talking to another human being.
After reading the story I moved on to the comments, where … well, where there was yet another example of an endangered species: civil discourse. I quickly gave up wading through the sludge, as I find myself doing more and more often on more and more web sites.
The experience left me wondering if perhaps the Internet and the magicians and the few remaining magic store owners could put aside their differences for long enough to pool all of their magical powers … and simply make the trolls disappear.
We’d be forever grateful.
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