A rare photo of Harry Blackstone and Percy Abbott together!  It would have been taken prior to 1929. From left to right is Ted Banks, Arthur Derway, Harry Blackstone, Frank  Luckner, and Percy Abbott.  They are dressed in shirts from the "Lamb Knit" company of Colon.

Abbott's Get Together is a long running convention for magicians in the United States, which is held each year in Colon, Michigan. It was founded in 1937 by Percy Abbott (1886-1960) and his business partner, Recil Bordner.

The Get Together is well-known within the magician industry as an annual event to gather and share information as well as some of history's most closely guarded secrets with their peers.

There are routinely multiple stage shows, a "close up magic" gala, lectures, contests, and a dealer's room. The 70th anniversary of the Get-Together took place on August 1-4, 2007.

This is Harry Blackstone.  His second wife is at the top center, just in back of him.  She is the mother of Harry Blackstone Jr. Sally Banks (Della Coppin), wife of Ted, is at the lower left.

January 3, 1938...The narrative is from the Crosley Radio Corporation: " Harry Blackstone, world's greatest magician, was in Cincinnati during   Christmas week. Here he is shown making a high-ball sing in the glass,   while a group of envious eyes looked on. Offered a highball to drink and "cheer up", Blackstone replied, "Cheer me   up, nothing! I'll cheer the highball up and make it sing!" And that's what he did before a group of skeptical onlookers, as he took   up his magic wand and touching it to the glass, bringing forth in all   distinctness of tone a program coming from the WLW transmitter at Mason."

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Percy Abbott, an Australia-born magician who owned several Australian magic supply companies in the early 1900s, co-founded the Blackstone Magic Company in Colon, Michigan with Harry Blackstone Sr. in 1927.


Eighteen months later, the two parted ways. In 1934 Abbott reopened the business as the "Abbott Magic Company" with a new partner, Recil Bordner, and in an attempt to boost poor sales, they decided to hold an open house.

Fifty magician from the area of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio came to watch as Bordner performed with other magicians while Abbott was the MC. This event was closed to the public, but boosted sales so much that they held another open house the following year to even more success. In 1937 it was officially opened to the public and moved to the high school gymnasium.

This Amazing piece of Americana is captured in the documentary film "Street Of Cards" For the first time the public is not just confined to the gymnasium. Street Of Cards will guide you through the entire 4 day convention in this rare 53 min glimpse of the world of wonder and
Real : Magic.


Percy Abbott finally arrives in England in 1959...
greeted by fellow magicians.

"STREET OF CARDS"
DOCUMENTARY FILM PREVIEWS
(click to view)