I am going to be busking/walk around at a heritage day event for my town. The people who run it are on a low budget and I have said I would perform if I could except tips(I have no problem with this since it is for my home town). This is fine with them and all is set(it's in Sept by the way). Although I don't have to do this I would like some ideas on effects that may have been performed around the early 1900's. Also, any book or websites that have info on performing style/magic history from that time would also be helpfull.

Please forgive me if there would have been a better forum for this topic.

Thanks a bunch,

Caleb

Hi Caleb,

The cups and balls are the trick most associated with any time frame. It is a classic and an excellent finalle. I would suggest that instead of doing walk around you make a table and work in one spot. A most excellent table that looks from the period can be made from a waiters tray stand, a small piece of plywood, and some fabric covering.

You are asking at the right time as you still have a couple of months to prepare.

As a resource on what will work, how the show should be structured, and how to collect tips, you can find a wealth of information on my site.

You have stumbled onto the right place to ask the question and here or at the site I mentioned you will find a great number of professional buskers who will be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Best,

Dan-

Greetings and Salutations Caleb,

I don't know what character/style of show you've settled on, but have you thought of a medicine-style magic show, using the pumping of some old-time elixir to theme your show? Denny & Lee has a number of old routines and acts for just a few bucks each. I'm sure other dealers could put you onto them as well but I've found Denny to be quite helpful in this area.

Then the sky's the limit as many effects, including the classics like, the cups and balls, linking rings, egg bag, C&R rope, TT and vanishing hankie, Miser’s Dream, silks, Professor's Nightmare, etc., can all be used to illustrative the marvelous curative effects of your elixir -- Caleb's Curative and Ephemeral Elixir.

With a little time, which you have, you could come up with some small bottles and printed labels, and hawk those as souvenirs for the show and the festival.

The possibilities are endless. Do a couple of searches. Dr. Wilson who posts here regularly has a web site and can probably direct you to a wealth of info.

Good luck.

Joe in KC

Live a great adventure, make magic happen!

Thanks a lot Joe and Dan for the great ideas. Please keep um coming. Also any ideas on where I could find a older styled cup set for the C&B's?

Thanks again every one

Greetings and Salutations Caleb,

Hmmm, old-style cups? I'd say, off the bat, Boscos from Harries in Sweden will set you back about $100, including shipping. Then there are the Phoenix cups, ranging from seconds on ebay for around $75 to $250 new from your favorite dealer.

Your best bet is to search the threads in this forum. There are a couple of indepth discussions on this topic, and Bill Palmer and James Riser both have excellent sites devoted to the cups.

Good luck in your search, don't get too deep into your cups and become a collector-junkie like some of these guys!

Joe in KC

Make magic happen, live a great adventure!

For cup history and finding cups that are historically close to what you need you won't need to go farther than Bill Palmer, a member here.

Mark

Hello All,

Yes I would have to agree that Bill Palmer and Bob Read are 2 of the top historians out there when it comes to the the C & B.

As to what you can do during heritage days, you could, as a start, get a good solid background in Magic, eg: the history of our art ("Street Magic" by Jeff Sheridan), just to see what 'Buskers did back then. Then get some solid theatre experience, then think about hitting the streets. This is but one way to start.

Danny, tried to get onto your site, but was unable.

MagiUlysses, greetings & salutations to you also... Sound advice. If you happen to be looking for a great set of cups, why look any further then the......

"Michael Lee Millennium Cups"? Yes, they are still available!! The MLMC are larger than the NO LONGER made Paul Fox chick cup and are made in both copper or brass.


Loads don't like to be dropped!!

Michael Lee

Joe,
I bought a few of those medicine show routines from Denny. I really enjoyed them. I also liked your Bally post a while back. How's the busking going in your part of the world?

Jim

Caleb,

I have done the same type of show here locally and would highly recommend a table of some sort. Try not to set up in the Kiddie Section (Adults are not there to be entertained but just to watch their kids). Also try not to set up in the Craft sale section. As far as vintage magic look to some of the older books like Tarbell. Even though this was originally published in the 40's there is some magic dating back to the 1900's for sure. I would recommend a Svengali routine. I am going to try a Svengali routine this year.

Dane

I know you said you were going to entertain, and pass the hat, but what about pitching some Svengali decks and making some money from that?

If you are thinking Svengali decks anyway, look around here for links to Don Driver, whose Svengali pitch is not only entertaining, but will teach you how to make some money (which is the real purpose of the video tape) as you sell some decks.

Bro David

Greetings and Salutations James,

Glad you liked the bally. Feel free to borrow anything that might be worthwhile to you, I put it together off the top of my head from a variety of sources. Some of those medicine pitches are a hoot! Not doing much in the way of busking. My girlfiend and I are also business partners in running several shops at a RenFest, and between that the the 9-to-5s, it's kept us glued to the grindstone. I'm hoping to hit a couple of small city festivals and street fairs later this summer.

Hey, it's good to hear from you. I see from some of your posts that you're on the street. Fat hats to you. Have fun playing on the street!

Joe in KC

Make magic happen, life a great adventure!

Oh boy, so many great ideas. I also thought about maybe pitching Svengali's.

Thanks so much everyone and keep the ideas coming. I wish I could comment more but I have a lot of testing this week so I will try to post some of my own ideas when I get a chance. Thanks Again!

This is a great thread. I'm glad I found it. I'm putting Doc Grayson's Olde Tyme Medicine Show together and this has provided sources to go after for information. I'm going to Denny's. Thanks.

Martin

Thanks so much for all the help so far! I have decided aside from my act (have have not yet decide how themed it is going to be) I will also be doing a Svengali pitch. I am still working out a lot of the details. Thanks so much fo rall the help and I hope to get much more.

I do have to ask whats a good idea on how many decks I should buy? It's a small town but there should be a good turn out. Any ideas on amount would be great! Thanks!

Greetings and Salutations Caleb,

You've just struck the motherlode question! First thing to do is find out what kind of attendance the event has had in the past, what kind of increase they are expecting this year, and then throw the dice.

The shops my partner and I operate are primarily retail, and we figure up our inventory based on what percentage of the gate we figure will be interested in our products. For a couple of my products I figure somewhere around 15 percent of the gate will buy my product and order accordingly. What works for you in your venue is a SWAG (scientific wild-@ss guess).

Surf over to Danny's site and drop in on Mark Lewis and his forum, he is a Svengali pitchman from way back, and quite good at it. He also sells either a book or video on pitching the Svengali. I have a couple of bucks to burn, I think I'll pick one up to curb my intellectual curiousity.

Good luck.

Joe in KC

Make magic happen, live a great adventure!

Hi Michael,

I was probably updating something at the time. Please try it again, would love to see you there.

Best,

Dan-