In a world where a talking egg can sit on a wall talking to Alice, an egg can have a wife, and little baby eggs.

... or a washhand and an empty plastic hotel type of soap box (which turns out to contain a soap at the end).



Posted: Sep 27, 2008 6:01am
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Apart from other critics on Bat Whaley's writing on the Egg bag, one statement must be straightened up.
"Then, around 1891, Herbert A. Albini reduced the socalled Bamberg Egg Bag to the size of his spread-fingered hand to permit one-handed turning of the bag inside out. Subsequently this has been the standard size."

Will Goldston, The Magician Annual 1910-1911, p 63 with a live chicken finish in a plastic or metallic shell. The way the eggs are hidden under the vest is better illustrated in The Magician Annual than in the Linking Ring Vol 2 No 5 p 8
The Will Goldston Egg Bag is a big bag and we are 20 years after Albini's alleged change and Will Goldston is a very big name in British magic.
The conjurer shows a large cloth bag and hands it to someone in the front of his audience for examination.
On receiving it back, the conjurer casually turns it inside out and thus convinces everyone in the audience that there is no secret or trick about the bag. Then, holding up his right hand to convince everyone that he has nothing hidden in the hand, the conjurer slowly places it in the bag and produces an egg. He repeats the operation until six eggs have been produced.

Judson Cole, in vaudeville had one of the great, funny egg bag routines.
Charlie Miller is the one really credited with "reviving" the trick. When he was living in Indianapolis with Harry and Margy Riser, he described what he thought would work, and Margy did the sewing.

Magic Inc., marketed this, then Ken Brooke took it to the next level by working with Miller to create, IMHO, the best description of the routine and how to do it.

Johnny Thompson made some improvements to the bag design, curving the gimmick and rounding the corners of the bag.

Lynn Healey made the best bags in the beginning days of the trick. Now Lynetta Welch makes the "standard" (she'll make them custom to fit you).

Hrere are a couple of links that might help. Neither give a pre-1870's reference to the egg bag. Hoffman was the earliest on these two links.
http://magicref.tripod.com/booksjr/novakegg.htm
http://magicref.tripod.com/magref/arteggbag.htm
Sidney Clarke's, ANNALS OF CONJURING, offers a recording in the Spectator, 1-8-1712, a nameless performer uses an Egg Bag to produce hundreds of eggs (yawn), and then a live hen. This would have been page 134 of the original THE MAGIC WAND magazine. Sidney Clarke suggests it was either David Cornwall or Issac Fawkes. September 1713, David Cornwall performed the eggbag at Southwark Fair. The Egg Bag trick is depicted on the frontispiece of Simon Witgest's book, NATURAL MAGIC, printed between 1680 and 1695. The Egg Bag was first explained in English in THE OLD HOCUS POCUS around 1710. It appears in all major conjuring books thereafter, such as the 1727 edition of THE WHOLE ART OF LEGERDEMAIN. A rhyme was published in 1717 about a magician at Bartholomew Fair: A famous trickster next invites my eyes, By Slight of Hand he could the world surprise; The cards alive, to flying Birds are chang'd; And on the table num'rous Eggs are rang'd; A living Hen appears upon the board (and the poem goes on for about 12 lines). I Hope these references help.
Garry Hayes