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 ankee Gathering
XIII, the biennial convention hosted by the New England Magic Collectors
Association (NEMCA), was held November 11-13, 2010 at the
DoubleTree Hotel
in Westborough, Massachusetts, USA. The Yankee Gathering is is
one of the premier magic collector conventions in the U.S. and the
world. The three-day schedule of events included Lectures,
Performers, Auction, Dealers, Exhibits, a Banquet, a Flea Market.
Also presented were historical magic performances by Scott & Britni
Morley beautifully re-creating the act and personas of Harry & Bess
Houdini, William V. Rauscher with an entertaining and informative
presentation of magic effects from the past (ably assisted by Lisa Patire,
Joe Patire, and Alan Wassilak), Leland Faulkner expertly presenting
the nearly-lost vaudeville art of chapeaugraphy, and David Ben
(assisted by Julie Eng) with a full stage show of conjuring wonders.
The Guest of Honor at this Yankee Gathering was Ken Klosterman
of Loveland, Ohio, USA. One of the leading magic collectors in the
world, his collection includes more than 8000 magic books and 4000
historical pieces of magic apparatus, including the Light & Heavy Chest
used by Jean-Eugčne Robert-Houdin in 1856 to
help quell the revolt of the Marabouts against the French in Algeria.
Klosterman's collection is beautifully displayed in his famous Salon de Magie,
located in an old mine shaft on his 250-acre horse farm. He has
performed magic professionally both with a dove act and as "Ken &
Judy" with his wife, Judy, as his assistant, in feature shows and TV
spots locally and at conventions throughout the USA. He was
president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in 1995-1996.
He is a Life Member of the Society of American Magicians. He has been a contributing author to The Yankee
Magic Collector, he wrote the book Rising to Any Occasion (a
magic forcing book), and he has written articles for the magic periodicals
Magic-Gram, The Linking Ring, and Apocalypse. A
distinguished member of the magic community for more than 50 years and a
leading magic collector and historian, we were delighted to salute Ken Klosterman as our Guest of Honor at this Yankee Gathering.
At the Gathering, we were privileged to once again have a number of engaging
and educational lectures from world-class
experts in magic history and collecting. We give our deepest thanks
to them for sharing their time and knowledge with us:
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William V. Rauscher, GOEBEL: The
Man, The Magician, The Collector |
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Robert Albo, Small Cabinet of
Wonders (a deeply moving farewell by Dr. Albo to his collection) |
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Chris Woodward, "Lucille": A Child
Prodigy |
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Vincent Golden, Hidden in Plain
Sight: Magical Collections of the American Antiquarian Society |
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Charles Greene III, Giving New Life
to Old Posters: Vintage Poster Restoration |
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Bill Spooner, In Search of Eugene
Hellman |
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Tom Ewing, Sorcar — Maharaja of
Magic |
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Dean Arnold, The Fays: Tragedy and
Trials |
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