Burling Hull, Circa 1935
Scope and Contents
A small collection of materials related to American stage magician and self-styled “Edison of magic” Burling Hull. The centerpiece of the collection is two typed and signed letters, undated, and addressed “Dear Stanley.” One is on letterhead for Hull’s 1935 publication “Stage Magic” and details his move to DeLand, Florida near Daytona Beach. “Florida is my idea of Heaven,” he writes, before discussing his new home (a “5 room cement block house”) and show style: “Took us a while to get used to slower style homefolksey shows but now have it and WOW them with 1 and 2 hour shows and illusions.” The second letter, also on personalized letterhead, provides information on booking supper club engagements. Included with the letters is a copy of Hull’s newsletter “Great News”, which he describes in the “Stage Magic” letter as “a periodical for entertainment buyers in the south”, but which is primarily a promotion for his own shows. The newsletter contains reproductions of Hull’s recent news clippings, testimonials, and advertisements for both Hull himself and for his fellow performer Miss Karol Carroll. Both letters are signed Volta, one of Hull’s many pseudonyms.
Dates
- Circa 1935
Conditions Governing Access
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
Biographical / Historical
Burlingame Gilbert Gault Hull (1889-1982) was an American magician specializing in mentalism and sleight of hand, the self-styled “Edison of magic.” He was a prolific writer, with more than 50 books on magic to his name, and an advocate for the recognition of intellectual rights to magical methodologies. Hull worked and performed under a variety of stage names and pseudonyms, including “Volta”, “Volta the Great”, and “The White Wizard.”
Extent
From the Collection: 30 Cubic Feet (68 boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Latin
From the Collection: French
From the Collection: Italian
From the Collection: Welsh
From the Collection: Danish
From the Collection: Swedish
From the Collection: Spanish
From the Collection: German
From the Collection: Norwegian
From the Collection: Persian
From the Collection: Japanese
From the Collection: Russian
From the Collection: Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
Creator
- From the Collection: Scheetz, Nicholas B., 1952-2016 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu