The Ancient Order of Illusion | archival display of magician's banknotes | Banner Repeater, London | 2012
The Ancient Order of Illusion 28th April - 13th May 2012
A selection from artist
Jonathan Allen's archive of magician's money will be presented in the
reading room, amongst the archive of artists published material.This esoteric
genre of printed publicity-ephemera thrived as magicians sought out new
ways to attract and maintain audiences during theatrical magic's 'golden
era' (1890s - 1930s). An early example, a fifty-pound note printed in
1855 by magician Signor Alfred Bosco proclaims “Bank of the Great
Wizard of the World … Temple of Natural Magic and Ventriloquism.”
His efforts did little to improve his fortunes, as he was still to die
in poverty.
Most of these fictitious banknotes appropriate the ornamental elements
of existing currency - the American dollar bill being the most common
contemporary template - with hand-drawn and collaged elements vying with
photographic portraits of performers and a parodic re-invention of the
language of finance and capital: 'The United Snakes of America', 'The
Ancient Order of Illusion', a 'Worthless Series', the 'Bank of Neverpay:
One Dud', and 'Just a Phoney Certificate'.
Still in use today, magic bank-notes sometimes feature as props within
magicians' acts, or 'perform' in their own right whereby selective folding
or viewing reveal optical illusions and other perceptual conceits. Their
main function, however, is the inflation of the reputation of the magician
through the dissemination of theatrical counterfeit. Jonathan Allen will
introduce the collection on the opening night: 28th April. He is an associate
curator of The Magic Circle Museum.
