Stewart James Explained

Birth Name:	John George Stewart James
Birth Date:	May 14, 1908
Birth Place:	Courtright, Ontario
Death Date:	November 5, 1996
Nationality:	Canadian

Stewart James (May 14, 1908 – November 5, 1996) was a Canadian postman who became one of magic's most prolific inventors.^[1] He spent most of his life in Courtright, Ontario.^[2]

Biography

Stewart James was highly respected for his creativity and invention of magic tricks; inventions of James's are used by many magicians despite his low name recognition^[3] Martin Gardner described him as "a magician who has probably devised more high-quality mathematical card tricks than anyone who ever lived".^[4] James ran a publishing company named Jogestja, Ltd.

Books

• One More Thought on Cards (1955)
• Compiled and edited the Abbott Encyclopedia of Rope Tricks
  • Abbott's Encyclopedia of Rope Tricks, Vol. 1 (1941)
  • Abbott's Encyclopedia of Rope Tricks, Vol. 2 (1968)
  • Abbott's Encyclopedia of Rope Tricks, Vol. 3 (1980)
• Stewart James in Print: The First 50 Years (1989), edited by P. Howard Lyons and Allan Slaight
• The James File, Vol. 1 and 2 (2000) by Allan Slaight, contains nearly 1700 pages of Stewart James's magic.
• The Essential Stewart James (2007)

Awards

• The Academy of Magical Arts Creative Fellowship (1981)^[5]

References

https://www.sarniathisweek.com/news/local-news/courtrights-einstein-of-magicians-honoured-with-waterfront-storyboard?fbclid=IwAR0A4gWAOrRq2HZr3UAF_huW34Rpv9OHXeBL9j6CnmUZ5ioBcCXjtd69BQE

Further reading

• James Bibliography, Ibidem #22 (October 1960), and reprinted in Ibidem, Vol. 2 (2001).
• Cover Linking Ring, November 1990.
• Cover Genii 1991 March
• Obit - Genii 1996 November
• The Life and Magic of Stewart James online exhibition
• David Ben post on Genii

Notes and References

1. Warlock. Elizabeth. May 1990. Our Side of the Pond. The Linking Ring. 70. 5. 100. subscription .
2. Beam. Steve. November 2007. No Oxymoron. MUM. 97. 74–75. subscription .
3. Book: Randi, James . Conjuring . 1992 . St. Martin's Press . 0-312-08634-2 . New York . 26162991. James Randi.
4. Book: Gardner, Martin . Origami, Eleusis, and the Soma cube : Martin Gardner's mathematical diversions . 2008 . Cambridge University Press . Martin Gardner, Mathematical Association of America . 978-0-521-75610-5 . Cambridge . 213601602. Martin Gardner.
5. Web site: Hall of Fame. The Academy of Magical Arts.