Henry R. Evans

Dr. Henry Ridgely Evans (November 7, 1861- March 29, 1949), born in Baltimore, Maryland, was an amateur magician specializing in history of magic.

He studied law at the University of Maryland, and began a practice in Baltimore City, but soon abandoned the legal profession for journalism. He worked for "The Evening News," "Day," and "Times" of Baltimore,

He only occasionally performed in public for charitable purposes. His interest in magic and occultism led him to investigate spiritualism, which he expressed his views on the subject in his book "Hours with the Ghosts or Nineteenth Century Witchcraft: Illustrated investigations into the phenomena of spiritualism and theosophy."

He died at his home in Baltimore, Maryland.

Honors

• Cover of Mahatma Vol 4, No. 5 (November,1900)

Books

• Hours with the Ghosts (1897)
• Magic and Its Professors (1902)
• The Spirit World Unmasked (1902)
• The Old and the New Magic (1906)
• The House of the Sphinx (1907)
• Adventures in Magic (1927)
• The History of Conjuring and Magic (1928)
• Cagliostro and his Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry (1930)
• A Master of Modern Magic: The Life and Adventures of Robert-Houdin (1932)
• Edgar Allen Poe and Baron von Kempelen's Chess-Playing Automaton (1939)
• Some Rare Old Books on Conjuring and Magic (1943)

References

• Bat No. 65, May 1949, page 490