| Go to page 1 ~ 2 (Next) |
|
|
Ron Crumley
Elite user
1950 - 2012
448 Posts
|
Posted: Aug 11, 2004 3:40pm
Where Doulas Magicland was located for years is now part of the Dallas freeway system. When I was 12 and on a family vacation, we stopped at Douglas where I spent every dime of my "vacation money" on Key-Rect. At that time it sold new for $18.
|
Rennie
Inner circle
Manteca, California
1853 Posts
|
Posted: Aug 13, 2004 7:52pm
The Douglas Magicland catalog was my very first magic catalog I ever got. It was my magic wish book.I currently have 2 more of the catalogs in my collection, not my original though.
My first purchase was Kenard's Mystery Box, which I also have in my collection but also not the original one I bought.
Rennie
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve it is not.......
|
DonDriver
Inner circle
1642 Posts
|
Posted: Sep 8, 2004 12:36pm
A good friend of mine that lives in Dallas says he thinks Douglas has closed.Does anyone know what the story is?
Thanks Don
|
Frank Tougas
Inner circle
Minneapolis, MN
1712 Posts
|
Posted: Sep 28, 2004 6:11pm
I haven't heard of it for a long long while. The name was changed to Jefferie's Douglas Magicland. It was great, the fastest delivery at the time, and this was before UPS, FedEx, etc.
Frank Tougas The Twin Cities Most "Kid Experienced" Children's Performer :"Creating Positive Memories...One Smile at a Time"
|
Julie
Inner circle
2299 Posts
|
Posted: Sep 28, 2004 10:46pm
I lived in Dallas for awhile during the time "the Magic Jeweler" (can't remember his name/won all kinds of awards, builds Magic, etc). owned the store. It was a GREAT stop on Saturday afternoons!
|
tabman
Inner circle
USA
5950 Posts
|
Posted: Nov 24, 2004 10:49pm
When we used to play in Dallas at Willie Nelson's Whiskey River Club, Magicland was a regular stop for me. I had a good friend that workded there in the 70s. I first saw Card Warp at Magicland. One of the best two bucks I ever spent on magic.
-=tabman
...Your professional woodworking and "tender" loving care in the products you make, make the wait worthwhile. Thanks for all you do...
http://Sefalaljia.com
|
Spinnato
Veteran user
387 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 14, 2005 11:43pm
These post brought back fond memories of Douglas Magic. In fact, my friend was just showing me the catalog we used to order from in the 60's. You guys remember the 60's don't you? 
|
Derek Dean
Regular user
Monterey, CA
125 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 15, 2005 5:01am
I'm not sure whether it's good or bad that I remember the 60's, but I do, ha, and one of my fondest memories is the Douglas Magicland catalogue that my dad brought home from one of his business trips to Dallas. I literally spent hours looking at that little gem. Frank, maybe the shipping was fast for you, but it seemed like forever to me from the moment I slipped my order into the mailbox to when it finally got back to me. Of course, I'm sure it was only a matter of a week or 10 days, but it sure seemed like forever. But oh, when that package arrived, the wonders that were inside. My first square circle, popcorn box, and vanishing milk pitcher all came from Douglas Magicland. Funny, I still have those catalogues, and they still look mystical to me, ha, and I filled 2 foot lockers with all the neat stuff I got from them, all of which I'm lucky enough to still have. I never had the chance to see the place in person, but my imagination is alive with what it might have been like to step inside.
|
Spinnato
Veteran user
387 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 19, 2005 11:39am
Derek;
Great memories, huh? Interested in selling any of those catalogs??
|
Bill Palmer
Eternal Order
Only Jonathan Townsend has more than
23786 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 21, 2005 8:15pm
Howard Hale "The Magic Jeweler" bought Magicland and moved it twice. Then he sold it to a fellow named Mark. It has since closed its doors.
Too bad. It was one of the oldtimers.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC
My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups."
www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
|
Derek Dean
Regular user
Monterey, CA
125 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 22, 2005 6:43am
Spinnato, thanks for the offer, but my childhood remains firmly fixed between those magical pages, and it's still worth an occasional visit. Bill, thanks for the update.
|
Spinnato
Veteran user
387 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 23, 2005 11:28pm
Quote:
|
On 2005-01-22 06:43, Derek Dean wrote:
Spinnato, thanks for the offer, but my childhood remains firmly fixed between those magical pages, and it's still worth an occasional visit. Bill, thanks for the update.
|
|
I completely understand. If you look really, really close you'll see my childhood as well. You're a lucky man. Enjoy.
|
Derek Dean
Regular user
Monterey, CA
125 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 4, 2005 3:22am
In case you guys didn't see it, there is a nice story written by Bev Bergeron on page 70 of the January issue of The Linking Ring. I wasn't really aware of the history involved, and it helped me realize just what a large part that great shop played in the role of many aspiring magicians. Thanks Bev.
|
Chessmann
Inner circle
My Dog Has Peed On
2756 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 25, 2005 12:30am
For a long time, Magicland was in downtown Dallas. It's sign was a well known landmark, and I think it is still there as a protected historical landmark. In the mid/late 1980's it moved to the suburbs area of north Dallas (LBJ and Midway, for you Dallasites). There was a fire not too long after it opened.
I think it was the fire that initiated the sale to Howard Hale, and the store moved to the SE corner of Marsh Lane and Forest Lane. Stayed there a few years, and then Howard Hale sold it to Mark Roberts. The store later moved to the opposite corner of the same intersection (NE corner).
A few months ago I went to the store and it was shut tight. Sad. We do have 2 other shops in the area (Plano and Frisco), but the history of Magicland, and the memories of visits in the early 70's, buying my first fake dog poop (hey, I was a kid then!).... I could go on.
My ex-cat is named "Muffin". "Vomit" would be a better name for her. AKA "The Evil Ball of Fur".
|
RADIOMAN
New user
Collegeville, PA
24 Posts
|
Posted: May 28, 2005 1:55am
HI SPINNATO,
Somewhere among my books is a brown envelope with a recent catalog from Magicland and one from circa 1953 from Douglas Magicland. They are almost identical except that the newer one deleted the prices and sent me a separate price list. The 1953 Douglas catalog has the prices published with each ad. I remember sending for the Silk 'N Sorcery book by Hugard and two small colored silks. The silks cost 35 cents each and I think the book was $ 2.00...That was a lot of money for a youngster in grade school!!
I would be glad to send you the newer catalog when I find it. I want to keep the old one for sentimental reasons.
Bob
Robert Daniels. "The Great Mystini"
|
RADIOMAN
New user
Collegeville, PA
24 Posts
|
Posted: May 28, 2005 2:18am
I have a black and white photo somewhere (and the negative) of the sign at Douglas Magicland. It shows a clown popping out of a box and says Douglas Magicland. I took the picture when I visited the shop with my parents on vacation in August 1955. The shop was located at 409 North Ervay Street in downtown Dallas. I was 12 years old and really into magic. The salesman showed me a couple tricks, including the penny to dime and the rising/falling steel ball and tube trick. I bought both of them.
I remember the showroom wasn't too large, about 18 by 20 feet. Various costumes hung on a rack along one wall behind a glass showcase. That's where I saw those tricks displayed. There was also a backroom behind a drawn curtain. That was the stockroom: no one was allowed back there.
If anyone wants a picture of the sign, let me know. I will look in my files for it.
Bob
Robert Daniels. "The Great Mystini"
|
PennyMagic4U
New user
78 Posts
|
Posted: Oct 13, 2005 11:56am
For all of you not from Dallas - it was a landmark that started many a young man down the right path. Yes it is a sad report but the shop has closed. Last time I was in there it was a pretty sad site. Most of the inventory was old and not much on the shelves. I think the last thing I ordered from them was a Raven PK. Most of the shops are gone. If you get to the Dallas Fort Worth area - the best shop in the metroplex is Magic ETC just west of Downtown Fort Worth. Man are we getting old or what?
JCPENNY
Simply Magic
PennyMagic4U by Jerry Penny
|
Bill Palmer
Eternal Order
Only Jonathan Townsend has more than
23786 Posts
|
Posted: Nov 30, 2005 4:35pm
Several major magicians used to work at Magicland.
Jimmy Wilson -- now known as Mark Wilson -- was a counterman there.
Gloria MarcoM worked there after Tom Palmer (erroneously called Tony Andruzzi) abandoned her and their kids.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC
My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups."
www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
|
RandyStewart
Inner circle
Texas (USA)
1991 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 29, 2006 12:25am
Quote:
|
On 2005-11-30 16:35, Bill Palmer wrote:
Several major magicians used to work at Magicland.
Jimmy Wilson -- now known as Mark Wilson -- was a counterman there.
|
|
Wow I didn't know that. It's been a couple of years since I've been in Dallas but according to these dates, I stopped in at the shop a few months before it closed (had no idea it was to be so) and rummaged through a box of old MUM magazines for sale. Picked up several of them including one with Don Drake on the cover, a VHS tape on Shimada from the 30 something remaining videos, and watched a kid scratch effects off his magic wishlist. He reminded me of myself in Robinson's shop long before he closed his downtown shop to pursue his Collector's Workshop efforts.
This is all news to me.
www.sevillamagic.com
www.lovethatkimchi.com
|
Paul Budd
Loyal user
It's a shame he's only made
280 Posts
|
Posted: May 5, 2006 11:17pm
We're talking about Dallas shops.....I must tell this story........absolutely no embellishments, I promise.....my wife would validate this......a very magical story.........the one and only time I made a magic shop appear:
I live in Tyler, Texas and was a member of IBM ring 266 in the mid-90's..........for a very long time, I would hear guys talk about "Queen of Hearts Magic and costume Shop"- - - - - 'in Dallas'...........those of you who are familiar with the Dalls metroplex know that people outside that area frequently say "in Dallas" when they actually mean in "the metroplex"..........anyway....I'd heard about it for a long time, and my wife and I were going to a wedding one weekend in big "D"......I think we were on Greenville Avenue, but I'm not certain. It's critical to understand that I didn't have the faintest idea where this shop was located......no idea whatsoever...........we were driving along, and were about 4 miles away from the wedding's location, when I just happened to say to her, "You know, for the longest time, I've heard guys talk about Queen of Hearts Magic and Costume shop, and I've never been to it.....I sure wish I knew where it was."...JUST AS I'm coming to a stop at an intersection....I glance to my right at her and looking out the window, sitting right on the corner is a brick bldg. with the words, "Queen of Hearts Magic and Costume Shop" painted on the window, whereupon I say, "It's right there." - - - my wife completely freaked! It was the nearest to a paranormal experience I've ever had in my life.....I have never forgotten it!
His face isn't really this long in-person!
___________________________________________
Once Upon A Magician blog
|
Bill Palmer
Eternal Order
Only Jonathan Townsend has more than
23786 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 4, 2006 11:38am
Queen of Hearts was not part of Magicland. It was "Tony" Cassini's shop. He moved from Florida under a cloud of, well, failure to deliver merchandise. He's gone now, as well.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC
My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups."
www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
|
Nongard1
Special user
647 Posts
|
Posted: Oct 6, 2006 8:54pm
I bought every one of my first tricks from them in the early 70's and did my first professional show in 1976 -- and EVERY item in the show came from them.... even the dove pan! Got paid $20 for theat first show and probaly spent it on more magic....
|
cdgabby
New user
1 Post
|
Posted: Nov 5, 2007 7:26pm
Howard Hale (my ex-husband) and I bought Douglas Magicland from Mr. Jeffries in December of 1982. We moved the store to Marsh and Forest Lane after a few years. After our divorce Howard kept the business and moved it across the street. He then sold Magicland to Mark around 2003. The store closed a few years after. Derek Kennedy at Magic Etc in Ft. Worth bought most of the antique fixtures and inventory that was left.
Magicland was a great business and it is sad that it is gone. I enjoyed owning it and working there for 10 years. It was a blessing in my life. It has a lot of rich history and many interesting stories.
All the best, Cheryl Hale Gilmore - now in Southern California and out of the magic business. I can be reached at cheryl.gilmore@hotmail.com if you have any further questions.
|
Larry Kellogg
New user
9 Posts
|
Posted: Nov 21, 2007 8:15am
Douglas Magicland advertised their catalog for 10 cents in Popular Mechanics or Popular Science in the 1950s. That’s how I found out about the shop. I lived in a very small town in Kansas and regularly mailed money orders to the shop for magic equipment. One day the postmaster asked me why I sending all that money to Douglas Magicland. I told him I was going to be a magician. He asked if I’d like to do my show for the Kiwanis Club. That first gig got my name on the front page of the newspaper. One of the lines in the article said, “He almost appeared to be a professional.”
|
doulos
New user
Fort Worth, TX
61 Posts
|
Posted: May 29, 2008 2:22am
I moved back to Texas in the early 70's. My first trip to Magicland was about in '74. This shop fit the typical setting from the generations it came from with the architecture of a bygone era. Almost every square inch of that shop was filled with trick, prop, joke, gag, costume, mask or wig. Strange thing was that as filled at the shop was, it didn't feel cluttered. I remember many a time Mr. Jeffries pulling something off the shelf to demo. He was a nice man, but had a peculiar method of presentation. I went as often as I could, but it was never enough for me. It just wasn't the same after the move from downtown. I can't belive they took down the building it was in. I was equally as sad to see the new place close. I could have stayed in that old shop for hours.
Over the last few years I have made it regularly over to the West side of Ft Worth to once again lean on familar counters. If you are in town, belive me, it is well worth the trip to drop in and visit. Even tho' it is not the same shop, it is nice to see someone that has the commitment to keeping real magic alive. - Thanks Derek!
-Shoop
|
wkitwizard
Elite user
Los Angeles
466 Posts
|
Posted: Dec 22, 2008 9:16pm
Ok, I have to add my "two cents". I was ten years old, living in Memphis during 1955. There was this new signer, everybody was talking about who would perform at the state fairs-Elvis. I was born in Dallas, and spent many summers there-including my first visit to Douglas Magicland in '55. Still have every catalog they published from 1925 until 1973. Although the shop was crammed, it was a fantastic experience for a young boy who longed to perform magic. Many memories-all good.
Nothing is truer than the incomprehensible, because the sum total of our knowledge consists of the fact that we know nothing. Our reality is an illusion. Thus illusion is reality-Punx
|
magicnewswire
Inner circle
1916 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 28, 2009 3:39pm
I'm reading this as I interview Mark Wilson and he reminisces about MagicLand.
Dodd Vickers
Host/Producer/Editor
The Magic Newswire
Twitter
iTunes Link
|
Ray Pierce
Inner circle
Los Angeles, CA
1636 Posts
|
Posted: May 8, 2009 9:04pm
Wow, did I have my Magicland stories!
I grew up in Ft. Worth so a trip 30 miles away to Dallas was a BIG deal for a kid in the 60's. We had "The Joke Shop" on Main St. in Downtown Ft. Worth (where I eventually worked on weekends) that had a magic section but Magicland was the holy grail! I remember Mr. Jeffries always being a great host with the most unassuming presentations anywhere! lol... "Low key" wouldn't begin to describe him. I would save up and my parents would take me over there 3 or 4 times a year to get my new toy.
I remember being 12 and finally saving enough for a set of multiplying candles. Now, I had spent 2 years working on the billiard balls so I figured the candles had to be VERY hard but I felt I was ready to tackle it. I marched in and proudly ordered my set (right hand). The place was always packed on Saturdays with merchandise and items flying out the door. Someone brought out some really complicated looking gimmick and I (with my 4 years of magical experience) said, what is this? Some kind of cigarette tank or pull system? lol... the guy looks right at me and said, Those are your candles, Kid! lol... I vowed never to open my mouth in a magic shop again... but of course that didn't last long!
It was such a joy to go and feel the history of the place as Mark Wilson was my new idol in magic and to know he worked there made it a destination of dreams for a kid my age.
I was sorry to hear it closed as it formed my early years in the craft.
Ray Pierce
www.HollywoodAerialArts.com
|
Christopher Lyle
Inner circle
Dallas, Texas
5227 Posts
|
Posted: Jun 12, 2009 3:26am
I moved out to Dallas in October of 1998 and visited Magicland for the first time. It was a great place. Mark Roberts was the owner and it was a Magician's Hang Out. As previous posters have mentioned, it has since closed and last I heard, Mark is has been selling cars ever since. Haven't heard about him at all...kinda dropped out of the magic scene since closing up shop. Sad really...I always liked Magicland and had no idea of its history.
THE PLACE to go in DFW now is Magic Etc. which is owned by Derek Kennedy. Other shops around town are The Illusion Warehouse which was owned by Bruce Chadwick until recently (he just turned the whole place over to his son Bronson). Then you have Queen of Hearts in Plano and Main Street Magic over in McKinney. I have been out here now 11 years and have NEVER been to Queen of Hearts. I have heard the people who own it now are not magicians, are not friendly, and are not very helpful to those who come in the shop to purchase.
I have never been to Main St. either but understand their a pretty good shop...
Christopher
In Mystery,
Christopher Lyle
Magician, Comic, Daredevil, and Balloon Twisting Genius
For a Good Time...CLICK HERE!
|
JNeal
Special user
784 Posts
|
Posted: Jun 22, 2009 8:35pm
I never visited Douglas Magicland, but I guess I got one of their catalogs around 1963, I remember because the Beatles' first major album came out. Now the most important image in the catalog was on the back cover...the envelope with the wings that advertised 2hr service! As a kid, I could just picture my money order arriving there and people scurrying about to make the 2 hour time... and off to the post office and back to me!
I wore out that catalog trying to figure out each trick and deciding what to spend my $5.00 on. By the time I made a decision( a couple of weeks had passed) and I probably had $7.50..which meant I had to reconfigure what to buy! I never had much money , so I never bought all that much from them...but each purchase is remembered fondly and the images in the catalog were fantastic evocations of magic's golden age...at least to me.
Years (decades) later, while reminiscing about Douglas Magicland with a friend, I was bemoaning my beloved and now lost catalog and how it meant more to me than any of the props I purchased from it. He asked which was my favorite catalog...I said the 1967 edition with the yellow cover and he remembered it. Long story made shorter..a wek or so passed and he surprised me with a gift..HIS copy of that same catalog in pristine condition.
Having been in magic for many years now, I've given away all my books, rarities, and collectibles, well...all but one...that Douglas Magicland catalog!
|
| The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Flavors from the past... » » Douglas Magicland - Dallas |
|
|
| Go to page 1 ~ 2 (Next) |
![[8]](/forums/images/digits/8.gif)
![[1]](/forums/images/digits/1.gif)
![[7]](/forums/images/digits/7.gif)
![[3]](/forums/images/digits/3.gif)
![[6]](/forums/images/digits/6.gif)