1201 pages of great Magic!!!

Gibson, Walter ; Elliott, Bruce

The Phoenix [ Magic Magazine, published every other Friday ; complete run, 300 issues ]

New York, NY: Walter Gibson and Bruce Elliott / Bruce Elliott 1942-1954. First Edition. A complete run of 300 issues of the Phoenix, continuously paginated across issues. 1201 total pages of Magic!!! Each issue with four pages. 8 1/2 x 11 inches, one sheet folded. B&W reproduction process. Includes index issues for #1-50, #51-100, #101-150, #151-200, #251-300, plus Elliott Christmas single page. Lacking only the index issue for #s 201-250. Illustrated. Occasional tears/folds. Most issues are not folded, near fine on average with age appropriate paper toning. Minor "basement smell". These are the ORIGINAL INDIVIDUAL ISSUES, NOT the later Louis Tannen reprints. The collection is 3 1/4 inches high when stacked. Near Fine. Wraps. [27640]


A remarkable and tenacious accomplishment, with 300 issues running from ~Feb 1, 1942 through the last issue published on Feb 5, 1954. The second issue was dated Feb 14, 1942 - there is no date on the first issue. The Phoenix was edited and produced by Walter Gibson and Bruce Elliott with the intention of providing the same "budget of workable magic, bi-weekly or weekly, depending on the demand of our readers" after the loss of Annemann's magazine "The Jinx". The first 73 issues were edited by both Walter Gibson and Bruce Elliott. Thereafter by Bruce Elliott. The many contributors were paid "in kind" with subscriptions for submissions of usable material. Initially eight issues for a dollar, finally 26 issues for four dollars. An iconic publication, a way for magicians to share with each other during and after the war. Many well known names as contributors.

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