David Devant

David Devant, real name David Wighton, ( born February 22, 1868 in London, † October 13, 1941 in London) was a British magician. He has performed both alone and together with John Nevil Maskelyne and his son Nevil Maskelyne. Devant was one of the best of British magicians of his time. With Nevil Maskelyne together, he wrote the book Our Magic, which became a standard work of stage magic.

Life

David Devant - son of a signer with low incomes - could only since the age of ten go to school. He wore during his youth by doing odd jobs for a living in the family. He took an early interest for the magic art, reading relevant literature and visited and analyzed performances of John Nevil Maskelyne and George Cooke as Maskelyne & Cooke in the Egyptian Theatre. In 1893 he was hired by Maskelyne and convinced him of the opportunities offered by the film for the stage magic. Among other procured Devant a Theatrographen, the first produced in England movie projector by Robert William Paul ( 1869-1943 ). When Cooke died in 1904, Devant took over his role in Maskelyne's performances in the duo, now Maskelyne & Devant said.

In 1905 Devant became the first president of the newly formed Confederation of Wizards The Magic Circle. Together with John Nevil Maskelyne son, he wrote in 1911 the book Our Magic, which describes the theoretical and practical foundations of stage magic. Incidentally joined Devant even with Nevils son Jasper Maskelyne as a " random boy from the audience " in London, while John was on tour. 1912 and 1913 Percy Thomas Tibbles occurred in Devants illusion Window of a Haunted House. In the year 1914, Devant and the Maskelyne parted, and in 1920 he retired for health reasons from show business. David Devant died in 1941 in London's Putney.

Devant has a place in the Hall of Fame of the Society of American Magicians today.

Writings

• My Magic Life. Hutchinson, London, 1931.