Red Magic

"Red Magic"

The New York World last week burst forth with pages unique to U. S, newspapers. These pages were called the Red Magic Section and were advertised prior to their appearance as pages personally edited by Harry Houdini, President of the Society of American Magicians. Red this magic section was--red with ink. Magic this section was not, save as parlor tricks and picture puzzles are magical. One was not taught how to exorcise satanic presences, to stir a cauldron fraught with "eye of newt and tov.gue of toad," to draw a charmed circle or utilize the mystical phases of the moon. "Magic" was used in its popular, journalistic sense in naming the new section. And a popular, highly successful journalistic departure the new section promised to be. It reminded readers of the "find-the-face" picture puzzles once run by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, expanded, colored up, bigger and better in every way. There was the letter puzzle which come:; out: "Wise you are, wise you be. I see you are too wise for mo." There was the well-known optical illusion of the elephant swallowing a peanut. There was a well-known matchbox trick, fully explained diagrammatically. A note referred the reader to the World's Magazine Section--where were set down little-known facts about Harry Houdini: that he was born to the name of Weiss, son of a scholarly rabbi; that he tock his name from a French magician, Robert Houdini; that his "greatest trick" is allowing himself to be garbed in a dress coat, packed in a bag, boxed in a locked and corded trunk, whence he appears in a few seconds and reveals his wife (or other colleague) garbed, packed, boxed, locked, corded in his place.