The Magic Club of Vienna, or the Magischer Klub Wien as it is referred to in local circles, is the oldest association of magicians in Austria. It was founded in 1908 and has become a welcome meeting point for amateur and professional magicians. During World War II the Magic Club of Vienna became a regional branch of the German Magic Circle.
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by staged tricks or illusions of seemingly impossible feats using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.
Austria, formal name: the Republic of Austria, is a country in Central Europe comprising nine federated states. Its capital, largest city and one of nine states is Vienna. Austria has an area of 83,879 km2 (32,386 sq mi), a population of nearly nine million people and a nominal GDP of $477 billion. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The terrain is landlocked and highly mountainous, lying within the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 m (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 m (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other regional languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
In 1958 and 1976 the "International Federation of Magic Societies" (FISM) entrusted the club to organize the World Congress of Magic in Vienna. The Magic Club of Vienna is a founding member of FISM, and also initiated the Magischer Ring Austria (Magic Ring of Austria), but to which it no longer belongs.
Vienna is the federal capital, largest city and one of nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city, with a population of about 1.9 million, and its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger.
In 1989 Magic Christian became president of the club. In the same year he founded the first Young Magician's Club in Austria.
Magic Christian is the stage name of Christian Stelzel, a professional Austrian magician and author. Christian was born on July 17, 1945, and presently lives in Vienna.
The President is a leader of an organization, company, community, club, trade union, university or other group. The relationship between the president and the Chief Executive Officer varies, depending on the structure of the specific organization. In a similar vein to the Chief Operating Officer, the title of corporate President as a separate position is also loosely defined; the President is usually the legally recognized highest rank of corporate officer, ranking above the various Vice Presidents, but on its own generally considered subordinate, in practice, to the CEO. The powers of the president vary widely across organizations and such powers come from specific authorization in the bylaws like Robert's Rules of Order.
Today the Magic Club of Vienna has more than 34 adult and around 20 junior members; the latter group are taught the art of magic in their Young Magicians Club.
The Magic Circle is a British organisation dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic.
The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and to maintain and improve ethical standards in the field of magic." To promote these endeavors the S.A.M. presents awards and fellowships in recognition of outstanding achievement in the Art of Magic.
The International Federation of Magic Societies (FISM) was founded in 1948 and is one of the most respected organizations in the magic community. It is an international body coordinating dozens of national and international clubs and federations around the world. Together these clubs represent approximately 50,000 magicians from 50 countries as of 2015. The organization hosts a self-named "FISM" conference every three years, where magicians compete for "Best of" categories. The most recent FISM was in 2018, held in Busan, South Korea. Founded in 1948, it is one of the most recognized magic organizations in the magic circle. Currently, there are more than 80 member organizations and about 50,000 members from 50 countries and regions, including Taiwan’s Black Hat Magic Association and the Taiwan Magic Development Association (TMA). Another 808 magic item shop is also in the process Apply for membership. The FISM organizes a worldwide magic convention every three years. The member organizations fight for the right to host. Top magicians from all over the world will compete for the title of “World Magic Champion”. Prior to this, various regions will hold regional selections. FISM Europe, FISM Asia, FISM North America, FISM Latin America, FISM Africa, FISM Oceania, and member organizations have the quotas recommended by their regional selection committees.
International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri, and there are over 300 local groups, called Rings, in more than 30 countries, largely concentrated in cities of the United States and Canada, though there are members of the international organization from at least 80 different countries. The organization publishes a monthly periodical entitled The Linking Ring, which features tricks, coverage of shows and events in the magic community, and interviews with magicians.
A magic convention is a gathering of professional magicians, magical hobbyists, dealers, collectors of magical apparatus, books and ephemera, and other students of the art of magic. It provides a place for lectures of subjects related to the craft, as well as a series of sample performances of noted or innovative techniques. Many conventions also hold competitions to judge who excels at a particular style, and present awards in various categories such as sleight of hand, card tricks, mentalism, stage illusions, and International Magician of the Year. The largest magic convention is The Blackpool Magician's Convention which is attended by over 3,500 magicians.
Johnny Ace Palmer is an American close-up magician. He is famous within the worldwide magical community for his prodigious sleight-of-hand abilities.
David Berglas is a magician and mentalist. His secret technique of locating a particular card within a pack has been described as the Holy Grail of card magic. He was one of the first magicians to appear on UK television.
Alan Scott Watson is a professional magician living and performing in Auckland, New Zealand. He has been performing professionally for more than 30 years and has won some of magic's highest awards and accolades. He is the president of the Brotherhood of Auckland Magicians.
A magic club is any group of local magicians who meet together on a regular basis. A club can be open to all with an interest in magic or it may be only possible to join by invite or by meeting some sort of notability criteria. Some clubs may specialize in types of magic, or be primarily youth oriented.
Magic Youth International (M.Y.I.) was the highly respected junior branch of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.). The global membership of the I.B.M. actively supported this dynamic youth-focused program to promote, educate and enhance the activities of young magicians around the world.
Ottokar Fischer Marteau was an Austrian magician.
F.A.M.E. was a pioneering organization in the magic field for adolescents and teenagers that existed in New York City, United States from the early 1940s until the early 1980s. Initially it had been called the Peter Pan Magic Club until the name change of F.A.M.E. in the early 1950s. After overseer Abraham "Abe" Hurwitz died in 1981, the remnants of the club became the Society of Young Magicians, which was started by F.A.M.E alum Dick Brooks.
Michael Douglas "Mike" Caveney is an American magician, author, publisher, magic historian and collector. He is a life-member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood and a member of The Magic Circle of London. His work as a magician and publisher spans over four decades. He has appeared onstage or on TV in more than 20 countries worldwide and most of the 50 States.
John David Milner is an English magician, stage and TV performer. He learnt magic from the performer and mentor to many well-known magicians, Ken Brooke. In 1963, he was a finalist in The Magic Circle's Young Magician of the Year competition. He became a full member of the Magic Circle in 1968 and became a member of British Actors' Equity Association in the same year. Two years later, Milner again was a finalist in the Magic Circle's Young Magician of the Year competition. He became a member of the Inner Magic Circle with a Gold Star in 2000.
Steve Gore is an English magician from Bradford, West Yorkshire. He is probably best known for creating; "Trick Photography, Visions from Vegas, The Casino Con & most recently the GPS Deck, Amnesia Deck and Together Forever." Trick photography was stated as "Close up trick of the year" in 2010 by MagicWeek.
John van der Put is a magician and comedian from the United Kingdom who performs under the stage name Piff the Magic Dragon. A winner of multiple awards from British magic societies, he toured as a supporting act for Mumford and Sons, and has appeared on Fool Us and America's Got Talent. He lives in Las Vegas and is resident at The Flamingo.
The Magischer Zirkel der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik was a national magicians' association that was active in East Germany from 1956 to 1969, and again briefly in 1990.
Norbert Ferré is a French magician and artist manager.
