Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1924-07-23
Magic Tricks Made
Easy by Whittier
Clever Entertainer With
Punch and judy.

Phfladelphia.-Ha you ever won
dered who makes the Punch and judy
ngufes you see on the stage? Did you
ever stop to think of the man who
makes the magician's trick box. his
false bottom trunk, or the plug hat
out of which he pulls plant in full
bloom? If you took the trouble to
investigate these things you would
ma that the trail of mary a magi-
Clans success leads t. the home of
Eli Hackman on West Queen lane.
Philadelphia. If you should pursue
the matter still further, you would
get the story of this man who has
developed his hobby into a profitable
business.
Mr.. Hackman's vocation is prosaic
enough. He Is the building superin-
tendent of the Spring Garden station
and office building of the Reading sys-
tenn. When he is not railroading. how
ever, he is pursuing his avocation of
making Punch and Judy figures and
other magician's devices. Though his
avocation is paying him handsome
dividends, he refuses to consider it
business, and always refers to it as
his hobby.
Spent Hours Whiting.
Like most other boys, Mr.. Hack
man spent many hours whiting in
his childhood home in Carlisle. Pa.
Especially favorable opportunities
were presented for the development
of this bent, as his father was a wag-
onmaker and his son had access to
his woodworking plant. Before he
ventured to work with a jackknife
and piece of wood, Mr. Hackman
entered the field Of manufacturing
Punch and Judy figures by expert
menting on his mothers sewing ma
chine and stirling his rag creations
with SaWdust. Then he tried carving
the figures out Of wood. He worked
at it only spasmodically, however, and
up to the time when he moved his
family to Philadelphia in 1900 he had
only few figures on hand.
About this time the attention of
severn ventriloquists was attracted
to his work. Having had great diff
Guilty in obtaining satisfactory figures
from any other source, they asked the
erstwhile boy whittier to make several
sets for them. He undertook the
work, delivering the figures, and ever
since has been turning them out for
ventriloqufsts in all parts of the coun-
try. One thing led to another and
soon he had added a long list Of magi-
clans devices to his output
Just about everything used in the
way Of stage deception is included in
Mr.. Hackman's manufacturing roper
toire. Punch and Judy figures play a
prominent part He cuts them out of
wood-eyes, ears, nose and mouth and
ALL Then he walks across his second
story Darkroom to a cabinet filled with
every color and shade of paint. Here
they get their respondent colors and
are then turned over to Mr.. Hack
mans silent partner-Mrs. Hackman
who fits them out with clothing.
Entertalns Kids.
While Mr.. Hickman has ALWAYS
made a speciality Of Punch and judy
figures, you will find in his collection
devil with moving jaw and flashing
and smoke-emitting eyes, an anarchist
with flaming red hair, hangman, an
assortment of colored babies, singing
birds, man-eating whale and a pant
Ing, wheeling alligator. In a cabinet
on the other side of this second-story
Darkroom is a collection of plug hats,
dice, false-bottom boxes, magical flow
ers and trick watches
He presents no mean figure on the
stage with his floating voice and his
box of tricks. He can make a daffodil
grow in mans vestpocket. pull live
rabbits out of his ear and make his