Murphy's Law: 1928

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

>
>         Bill, this is really impressive, much earlier than
> anyone else has been able to push this back.  Do you have an
> early cite for the related aphorism you mention at the end of
> your message?
>
>
> John Baker
>

Yes, I do.




"HOW CONJURERS REHEARSE." _The Magic Wand_ (London) May 1913 p. 529

"There is an old saying among conjurers that it is impossible for a
performer to know a trick thoroughly well until everything that can
possibly go wrong with it has gone wrong - in front of an audience."


"WHEN MISTAKES OCCUR" By AN OLD HAND _The Magician Monthly_ (A. W.
Gamage, Ltd. London)  Vol 17 No 6  May 1921 page 75

"Mistakes are often a blessing in disguise. They help you to know a
trick properly; in fact, you can hardly say that you have mastered a
trick thoroughly until everything that can possibly go wrong with it has
gone wrong in the course of a performance before an audience."

"SLIGHT ACCIDENTS"_The Magician Monthly_   Vol 17 No 11  Oct 1921 p. 129

"Has it not been truly said that a conjurer does not really know a trick
properly until everything that can possibly go wrong with it has gone
wrong in the course of a performance before an audience.  (If you didn't
know that before, cut it out and paste it on the wall in front of you -
or frame it, if you are afraid of damaging the wall-paper.)  That saying
is a true one."

"Some Anxious Moments" _The Magician Monthly_  Vol 19 No 12 November
1923 p. 147

"Ah, well, if it be true - as I have heard - that one does not really
know a trick properly until everything that can go wrong with it has
gone wrong - in front of an audience - all I can say is that I think I
must know some tricks - just a few - very well indeed!"

"Random Remarks" by Percy Naldrett _The Magician Monthly_  Vol 23 No 2
Jan 1927 p. 22

"Mr. David Devant once said that one did not really know a trick until
everything that could go wrong had gone wrong."


If David Devant is truly the source of this adage, it possibly may be
found in one of his books:

Lessons in Conjuring  London  George Routledge & Sons, Ltd.  1922
Magic Made Easy  London  Cassell and Company, Ltd.  1910
My Magic Life  London  Hutchinson & Co., Ltd.  1931
Secrets of My Magic  Bideford, Devon, England  Supreme Magic Co.  1960
ca.
Tricks for Everyone: Clever Conjuring with Common Objects  London  C.
Arthur Pearson, Ltd.  1910
Woes of a Wizard  London  S.H. Bousfield & Co.  1903
Our Magic (by Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant)  E. P. Dutton & Company
1911,



>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Mullins, Bill AMRDEC
> Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 7:21 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Murphy's Law: 1928
>
> While reviewing some of the cites for Murphy's Law in the
> ADS-L archives, I ran across a supposition that it originated
> in theatrical circles, rather than aerospace.  I have access
> to a searchable archive of magic/conjuring journals, and
> found the following:
>
>
> "On Getting Out of Things,"  by Adam Hull Shirk _The Sphinx_,
> Vol 27 No 7; Sept 1928 p. 316
>
> "It is an established fact that in nine cases out of ten
> whatever can go
> wrong in a magical performance will do so.   The great
> professors of the
> art are not immune from the malignancy of matter and the
> eternal cussedness of inanimate objects."
>
>
> "Professional," by Clement de Lion _The Sphinx_, Vol 28 No
> 10; Dec 1929 p. 392 (quote from later in article, on p.
> 394-395) "Don't lose your temper if the tric you work on, go
> wrong, because all what can go wrong, ought to go wrong, so
> you get a chance to repare the fault, before you stand on
> stage."  [de Lion was from Denmark and English was not his
> native language; the quote is verbatim with typos, etc.]
>
> _The Sphinx_ was the premier journal for magicians in
> American during the first half of the century.
>
> Another, related aphorism I came across several times in the
> 1920s may be stated:
>
> You haven't mastered a magic trick until everything that can
> go wrong with it during a performance, has gone wrong with it
>
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