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A Short History of Magic

This article will be just a brief history of magic and conjuring. A fully detailed history would need a huge amount of space and would easily fill a series of books! So, this guide will give you a few details of how magic has evolved over the years and has become the wonderful art that it is.

What Were The Old Magicians Like?

Whereas modern magicians are known as being entertainers the old age magicians were more like sorcerers and charlatans. They developed their trickery not for entertainment purposes but often to swindle people out of their money. They would also pretend that their magic skills were for real and not just a show of sleight of hand and deception. Obviously in those old days before modern science brought knowledge to the masses, people were much more susceptible to fall for such antics. Luckily nowadays magicians use their powers for good!

Development Of Modern Magic

There were many magicians who were influential in the development of modern magic but it was not just the magicians that shaped the future of magic. The first general entertainment theatre which had magic shows for the paying public was open by a guy called Charles Mouton. Another big influence was a famous magician called Robert Houdin who produced a wonderful magic show in Paris. (Houdini named himself after the French magician Robert Houdin) Over the years magic has evolved from its humble sleight of hand beginnings to the stage that it is at now where it fully embraces modern technology and exploits it to the fullest extent to achieve unheard of magic tricks and effects.

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