Since 1805 — Present

The Magician Archive

A researched archive of the world's magicians, from the father of modern conjuring to today's world champions — browsable by era, country and genre, with every date sourced.

35MAGICIANS
6ERAS
10COUNTRIES
1750–2026YEARS COVERED

We never explain the secrets

You will not find any explanation of how a trick works on this site. Being astonished without knowing is the whole value of the art.

Eras

Browse by era

From fairground trick to theatre art, through television, and back to arm's length. Follow what changed in each era.

1700–1800 Fairs and Courts Before purpose-built theatres, conjurers worked the fairgrounds and the courts of princes, selling to crowds or to aristocrats. The paying ticket-holder in between did not yet exist. 1
1800–1880 Dawn of Modern Magic The era in which conjuring shed its fairground roots and became a theatrical art. Performers set aside wizard robes and walked on stage in evening dress. 8
1880–1930 The Golden Age Full-evening touring shows filled grand theatres worldwide. Magicians became international stars, and Japanese troupes toured Europe and America. 9
1920–1970 Refinement of the Craft An era that prized the performer's hands and timing over machinery. Close-up work and pared-down stage acts were established as art forms. 9
1960–2000 The Television Era Television specials delivered magic into millions of living rooms overnight, expanding the audience by orders of magnitude. 6
1990– Contemporary Close-up work returned to centre stage, and talent shows and streaming keep producing new stars. 2

Selected

One name from each era

Start here. Five names sketch the whole two-hundred-year arc.

🇮🇹 1750–1803 Giuseppe Pinetti Giovanni Giuseppe Pinetti, known in France as Chevalier Joseph Pinetti Half a century before Robert-Houdin, he raised conjuring to a courtly art — the most celebrated performer of the eighteenth century. Fairs and Courts Stage MagicIllusion
🇮🇹 1793–1863 Bartolomeo Bosco Giovanni Bartolomeo Bosco The master of the cups and balls, and the leading sleight-of-hand performer in Europe in the first half of the nineteenth century. Dawn of Modern Magic ManipulationStage Magic
🇺🇸 1853–1932 Adelaide Herrmann born Adelaide Scarcez The Queen of Magic, who took over the show after her husband's death and kept it running for thirty years. The Golden Age Stage MagicIllusion
🇯🇵 1889–1972 Tenkai Ishida 石田天海 — born Ishida Teijirō He crossed to America with the Tenkatsu troupe and stayed for over thirty years — the first Japanese magician whose techniques entered the international repertoire. Refinement of the Craft Close-upManipulation
🇮🇳 1913–1971 P. C. Sorcar Protul Chandra Sorcar India's great illusionist, who toured more than seventy countries — and whose last engagement was in Asahikawa, Japan. The Television Era IllusionStage Magic
🇯🇵 1965– Tomohiro Maeda 前田知洋 Miracles at arm's length — the performer who made close-up magic familiar in Japan. Contemporary Close-upCard Magic

Magicians →