The origins of "Magicol" is sometimes up for discussion. This is the cover of the first issue of Magical from 1950. My father was one of the founders and the offices were headquartered at 170 Broadway NYC (his ophthalmology office). The "AIMS AND PURPOSES" can be read on the column on the left. Magic, ventriloquism, juggling, cryptogram, puzzle or card societies were all part of the thoughts of inclusion, given the lead article on the right.
The idea of a Houdini commerative stamp is discussed on page two wherein Congressmen and the Postmaster General were being made aware of the fact that 1951 marked the passage of 25 years since America's, if not the world's, greatest magician-showan and arent crusader against faraudulent spiritualists had occurred.
Morris Young far left, John McManus center and Bob Doidge far right. Doidge was a mentalist who went by the show name of "Calostro". They are standing in front of some of McManus's collection.
In the early 1950's Morris and Chesley Young along with Dr. Ben Braude came up with the idea that the U.S. Postal Service should have a postage stamp to honor Harry Houdini. They submitted the idea and their proposal for the design, which can be seen here, only to be turned down. In 2002 the Postal Service came out with a Houdini stamp. Whether they had any idea that the idea was introduced to them half a century earlier we'll never know. Dr. Braude, a dentist by trade, was an avid collector of autographs, ghost writer for card manipulator John Scarne, amateur magician and member of the Order of Merlin.
Morris and Chesley Young on the left and Dr. Ben Braude on the right at a meeting of the Magic Collectors Association in the 1951. On the easel is an illustration of their design for a Houdini postage stamp.
