In 1996 John, Anne and I agreed that the completed manuscript would be issued as a Magical Pro-File and indeed it is number ten in our award- winning series of books on the history of magic. Months turned into years as the story of St. Anne's research took her far beyond the room as she delved into the Davenport family collection and tracked down elusive newspaper and magazine articles. Herself a member of a multi-generational family of magic (Anne married John Davenport, son of Gus Davenport and grandson of Lewis Davenport, in 1977) she was not intimidated by the enormity of the task and threw herself into it wholeheartedly. At the very least, it was a daunting task. The complete story would have to include not just the wondrous view from the front of house, but also the often acrimonious interaction that occurred behind the scenes between brothers, sons and partners. One can only wonder if Anne Davenport knew what she was getting herself into when she decided to document the Maskelynes' tenure at St.George's Hall. George's Hall and that three generations of Maskelynes employed scores of noteworthy magicians, you begin to realize that the history of the Maskelyne family is actually the history of magic in England. James's Hall in 1873 and that twenty-eight of the next sixty years were spent at St. Maskelyne and his friend George Cooke opened at St. minute book that reveals the sometimes rancorous tone of the board meetings. Another shelf holds business records, including a Maskelyne's Ltd. Here, meticulously arranged, are hundreds upon hundreds of programmes, photographs, letters, playbills, reviews, advertisements, post cards and legal documents, all pertaining to the Maskelyne's theatrical ventures in London. Rather it is the wall of black binders that forms the heart of the collection. John is not a collector of "pretty things" although the lithographs that adorn the walls of the room will most assuredly take the breath away from even the most ardent collector. The material is kept in this room because it is the one room in the house large enough to contain what has become a monumental archive.
John has spent decades collecting not just magic related ephemera but, more specifically, memorabilia pertaining to the Maskelynes' theatres. On the top floor of John Salisse's home in Hampstead, England there is a room that contains the results of one man's passion. I say that because I have been to the room. It didn't seem possible writing a detailed history of St.
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