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William Benjamin

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William Benjamin

Cover of Sphinx Sept. 1912
BornWilliam Benjamin Caulk
July of 1863
Terre Haute, Indiana
DiedJuly 23, 1941 (age 77)
Terre Haute, Indiana

William Benjamin, lived in Terre Haute, Indiana was a magician and taxidermist.[1]

He was an inventor of numerous tricks and illusions and earned reputation in the West and Southwest as a magician of skill.[2] Caulk was featured in the show "Robertson's Hindoo Illusions" in 1899 and 1900. He served as a member of the advisory council of the ornithological congress at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.[3]

Linking Ring (Vol 4, No. 1) listed him on the IBM membership list for 1926 as member number 201 and in the August 1934 issue it reported that Wm. B. Caulk, of Terre Haute, Indiana, received five hundred dollars for his effects in Wm. E. Robinson's "Slate Writing and Kindred Arts."

He contributed numerous articles to Albert Hopkins' book "Magic: Stage Illusions, Special Effects and Trick Photography".

His letterhead proclaimed "W. Benjamin, Prestidigitateur" and incorporated a red court jester clutching a magic wand surrounded by playing cards, blooming flowers, a bird cage, a fire urn and a rabbit while standing on a platform supported by two interlaced serpents. Above his name was a bird with an envelope secured around its neck. Between his name and title were five rabbits are escaping from a top hat.[4]

References

  1. Sphinx September 1912 (cover)
  2. Magic And Its Professors by Henry Ridgely Evans (1902)
  3. Classic Correspondences, Magic Magazine, October 2006
  4. http://tribstar.com/history/x1155669755/Historical-Perspecitve-William-Benjamin-Caulk-acclaimed-as-magician