Archive feature from 2008: Davenports Magic Shop
Everyone was saddened to read Davenportsā recent tweet announcing the closure of its magic shop in Londonās Charing Cross Underground Arcade after 36 years. I was lucky enough to be sent there once to meet Bill and Roy Davenport, and, to mark its final day ā 30 January 2020 ā we thought weād post the feature I wrote about the shop and the family who have run the business since 1898.Ā
By Liz Arratoon
Whether youāre looking for cups and balls or a Ā£1,600 substitution trunk, Davenports magic shop in London is an atmospherically lit, red-lined treasure trove of tricks, books, DVDs and ghastly things such as severed hands and fake blood. Started by mail order in 1898 by Lewis Davenport, it is the oldest family-run magic business in the world. Today it is managed by his great-grandsons, Bill and Roy, although their mother, Betty, who has been working in the shop for 60 years ā since she was 14 ā still goes in every day.
It is a flourishing concern, and Bill points out that their bestseller is one of the smaller items from a vast range of 1,600. āGenerally speaking, itās packs of playing cards. Most come in from America but there are dozens of different types of cards and card tricks. We go through an awful lot of them.ā
But how did it all begin? An early poster describes Lewis as a ābewilderistā. Roy explains: āHe was a self-taught manipulator. Heād make cards, billiard balls, thimbles or coins appear from thin air. Heād started off as a juggler but bought a magic book and got into magic. His father had died when he was eight. So by day he was an apprentice barrel-maker but did shows in the evening to support his family, and met other magicians who needed tricks.ā Lewis made improvements or added a novel twist to standard tricks, started selling them to his friends and began to build up his business. He was a star of his time and his name helped the shop to do well.
Working in Germany during the thirties, he recognised that war was imminent and had a brainwave. Roy continues: āHe was massively ambitious and stole a lead on all the other magic dealers. Germany was the China of the day, mass-producing stock. He was wholesaling all round the country and bought up items literally by the million, and filled the store. He supplied other dealers throughout the war. That has stood us in good stead ever since.ā
But the fact that the business survived owes a great deal to Betty. In 1962, Lewis and his son, George, died within 12 months of each other, leaving everything to her. Roy says: āMagic has always been a male-dominated bastion, and a lot of people assumed sheād sell, but she kept it going. She carried the London shop alone until 1979. It was an extraordinary effort.ā
In 1984, Davenports moved to its present subterranean hideaway in the arcade at Charing Cross Underground. As Roy explains: āFrom 1961 we were opposite the British Museum. Youād have coachloads of children deposited at the museum, who all ran over and spent their 50p on stink bombs. It sounds great but the magician at the back who wanted to spend Ā£100 couldnāt get to the counter or discuss things openly. The advantage now is that weāre dead centre in London but weāre out of the way. Magicians find us and theyāve got complete privacy.ā
One of Davenportsā new ventures, its magic school, began because they found a lot of people were unsure where to start, and it attracts a cross-section of students. Bill says: āItās really successful. Weāre trying to explain the basics of card magic and non-card magic, manipulation, and give them some idea of how to progress. Weāre making it as interactive as possible so people can learn a move or routine in the class and get instant feedback about how it looks. People want to learn techniques but we do try to encourage stagecraft, misdirection and some idea of the audience.ā
For those who cannot get to London, Bill has a couple of suggestions: āNormally, we tend to recommend things based on the personās experience, their individual needs and budget. For youngsters, a Svengali deck is very good. Often trick decks can only do one thing but this oneās great because it has a huge variety. Itās not too expensive and you can get up and running with it.ā He adds: āThe Miracle Ring is another trick I love. You have a little metal ring and you throw the ring at the shoelace and they link together. Anyone can do it.āĀ
He recommends Spellbinding Boxes for more experienced practitioners. āYou have a coin that can be signed and put under a handkerchief. It disappears, and then you have a small brass box. The spectator opens the box, inside thereās another smaller box, so you go through about five and in the innermost box is the personās signed coin. Itās good for beginners to intermediates but can also be done in a professional environment.ā
And Bill mentions Rainbow Cascade, a card trick that Davenports has sole rights to, which ātakes a bit more practiceā. He explains its intriguing effect: āYou show some cards, which change from being face up to face down, face down to face up as you count them from hand to hand, and for the kicker at the end you turn them over and theyāve got these glittery prismatic backs, completely different to anything youāve seen before.ā
As for the future of Davenports, Billās 12-year-old son, Alex, is already inventing his own tricks. āWe donāt pressurise him but heās come up with some very clever things.ā
His great-great-grandfather would be proud.
Davenports is looking for a new central London venue for its shop, but until then it has more than 1,400 items available to buy online here.
Pictures of Betty and Bill Davenport taken in 2008 by Stephanie Methven
Twitter: @davenportsmagic
Follow @TheWidowStanton on Twitter
Ā© Liz Arratoon
This feature first appeared in The Stage
