68: Collecting Magic with Kent Blackmore

Support the podcast on Patreon!

Magicians have secrets that you don’t see on stage.

I’m not talking about HOW they do the tricks—the trapdoors and mirrors—but the mundane secrets that make the show happen. 

The tour schedules, the marketing plans, the box office reports and the horror stories of gigs that went off the rails.

Kent Blackmore, digs up those secrets.

An author and magic historian, Kent has dedicated his life to telling the stories of Australia’s most colourful figures. 

From William Fraser, the Convict Conjurer, to magic superstars like Les and Esme Levante, Blackmore has spent decades piecing together posters, newspaper articles, and ephemera to explore that just their stage personas but the stories of people behind magic.

On this episode of Scamapalooza, I talk to Kent about collecting and conjuring.

KENT’S WEBSITE: https://sydneymagic.net/