H. J. Burlingame

H. J. Burlingame (1852 - 1915) was a professional magician for a brief time but more noted as a magic dealer and author.

H. J. Burlingame
Born	Hardin Jasper Burlingame June 14, 1852 Manitowec, Wisconsin
Died	August 27, 1915 (age 63)
Categories	Books by H. J. Burlingame

Biography

His father and mother were among the earliest settlers of Chicago. After living in Wisconsin for some time, they moved back to Chicago. When he was about twenty, Burlingame went to Holland, subsequently traveling throughout Europe on foot as correspondent for an American paper.

Burlingame took lessons from David Tobias Bamberg (Okito's father) in Europe and eventually used the stage name "Jasper Bamberg" while performing in Chicago.

After having returned to live in Chicago for some years he returned to Europe and made a professional tour as a conjurer. He then came back to America, residing in Baltimore and Cincinnati, finally back to his old home of Chicago to settle down.

At one point, operated 3 businesses at the same time. Chas. L. Burlingame & Co. (manufacturing apparatus and illusions), Ralph E. Sylvestre & Co. (specializing in stage mindreading and fake mediums) and George L. Williams & Co. (for the general public)

His gradual bad health culminated in a general nervous breakdown forcing him to leave Chicago and take a long rest. In 1907, he moved to Syracuse, Indiana where he resided until his death.

Books

• Leaves from Conjurers' Scrap Books (1891)
• Around the World with a Magician and a Juggler (1891)
• Tricks in Magic, Illusions and Mental Phenomena, Vol. I (1895)
• Tricks in Magic, Illusions and Mental Phenomena, Vol. II (1896)
• Herrmann The Magician: His Life, His Secrets (1897)
• Tricks in Magic, Illusions and Mental Phenomena, Vol. III (1898) which contains "Bibliotheca Magica", one of the first comprehensive bibliographies on magic.
• How To Read People's Minds (1905)
• Magician's Handbook: Tricks and Secrets of the World's Greatest Magician Herrmann The Great (1942)