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The Magic Cafe Forum Index :: Canadian Association of Magicians! :: Info on an old Montréal magic shop? (7 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

Good to here.
Louis.P.M
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Montreal, Canada
218 Posts

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Sup!
So I have a weird question. I randomly bought an old copy of Erdnase on eBay from an American seller, and to my surprise, there was a stamp inside from “Cramer Novelty and Magic, Bleury St., Montréal”.
It’s actually my home city and I never heard of it! Google searches didn’t give any results and my name isn’t “David Alexander” so that’s pretty much the extent of my detective skills.

So has anyone heard of it and would have more information about it?
John Vincelli
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Montreal, QC
34 Posts

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Interesting. I've never heard of this either. The fact the name of the store is "Cramer Novelty and Magic", an English name, means this must've been around before the French language laws. It's definitely from before the 1970s.
John knows!
Louis.P.M
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Montreal, Canada
218 Posts

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Pre-70's would make sense

I took it out just to make sure I had written it correctly. The stamp indeed says:

S. CRAMER
Tricks - Novelties - Souvenirs
909 Bleury St.
Montreal
John Vincelli
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Montreal, QC
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The original book came out in 1902. IT's been reprinted over the years by several publishers. The version I have was published by Dover in 1995. Check the first few pages of the book and see if you can find when your version was published. That might give an idea of how old that book is and to when it the store possibly existed.

I also searched on Google and couldn't find any info on this old store.
John knows!
Louis.P.M
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Montreal, Canada
218 Posts

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It's a blueish Frederick J. Drake & Co
Since we no longer have that wonderful website with all the editions I'll go from memory Smile

I think it was from the 1940's-60's since the 1905 reprint was kinda brown/beige
John Vincelli
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Montreal, QC
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I wonder if there's a magician old enough to know of a shop from the 50s and 60s.
John knows!
mantel
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Might be Sam Cramer.

“Sam was a pioneer dealer in magic in Canada some 40 years ago and circulated perhaps the first magical catalogue and monthly “broadcaster” of magical news.“ -Genii August 1968 (Sam Cramer)

https://geniimagazine.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sam_Cramer
Louis.P.M
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Montreal, Canada
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Oh wow! That looks like it Smile

I think I had PDFs of old Genii magazines but I doubt it contains that issue from all the way back in 1968... if I didn't lose them first in USB key hell years ago.

(On a plus note, I found the Erdnase editions website has simply moved: https://www.magicana.com/exhibition/intr......tes-map)
mantel
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Quote:
On Aug 24, 2022, Louis.P.M wrote:
Oh wow! That looks like it Smile

I sent you a Private Message.
todsky
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www.magicstore.ca
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Cramer's was my first magic shop as a young magician! On the corner of Guy and Ste Catherine (after they moved from Bleury), Alex Chervin was the guy behind the counter. Wonderful demonstrator, and he really helped me make good decisions with my magical purchases.
Todsky's Magic Shop: over 15,000 tricks, books, DVD s and Card decks. www.magicstore.ca
JD
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Montreal, Quebec
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During its final run - think it closed some time in the mid-80s - Cramer's was on Guy just below rue Ste. Catherine. The shop was just about the size of a kitchen in a mid-70s, middle-income suburban bungalow, but it worked. I typically hung out at Phil and Evy Matlin's Perfect Magic, but would occasionally pop into Cramer's if I happened to be downtown. Alex was a personable, patient chap. It was my understanding he'd drive down to the US to buy the magic equipment he was selling; I think I may even have asked him about where he got his supply, to his annoyance.

It was unfortunate to see the store close. That being said, Montreal's two predominant magic shops - Perfect Magic and Magie Spectram - are also now both gone. It's the end of an era in a city that has produced some real world-class talent.
jlevey
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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And there was, of course, also le magazine Magie Marcis, located near St. Denis and Avenue Mount Royal.
Jonathan
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