The Original Tops Magazine in 1936 |
Original Tops
In January of 1936 Abbotts printed "An Independent Magazine of Magic" called "Tops". The magazine was printed on a monthly basis on a press that was purchased from Frank Damon (who was publisher of the Colon Express). Percy Abbott was the editor until 1941, when he was succeeded by Mel Melson (who did many of the illustrations in the Abbott magic catalog). The magazine was a big hit, being reasonably priced at $1 per year and you did not have to belong to a magic fraternity to subscribe. The magazine was about 40 to 60 pages in length and was filled with articles written by magicians giving instructions for performing their favorite tricks and illusions; gripe and advice columns; advertisements for all types of tricks and magic; and written materials concerning the presentation of magic.
In the middle 50's, Abbotts faced a new competitor called television and their sales dropped off enough so that the last issue of Tops was made in March 1957.
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The New Tops
After being absent nearly four years, in early 1961 Abbotts introduced "The New Tops" magazine with popular magician Neil Foster as editor.
Neil Foster came to Colon in 1959 at the request of Recil Bordner and was made Vice President of the company. Foster was a graduate of the Chavez Magic School and was world reknown for his dexterity and creative skills. Perhaps best known for his work with the "Zombie Ball" illusion, Foster would go on to retire from full time work at Abbotts in 1979 so he could instruct the Chavez course from his home in Colon. Neil Foster passed on in March of 1988 but left a legacy of magical accomplishments behind and one of those was the New Tops magazine.
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Neil Foster - Editor of the New Tops Magazine |
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Wizards of Baghdad in 1961 Tops Magazine |
Great Writers
The New Tops magazine was a big hit right from the start. The magazine did what the internet does today, keep magicians around the world up to date on the latest developments. The magazine had top talent writing monthly articles along with interviews and at least 1 feature article each month. Whether it was Karrell Fox's " Fox Tales" about his magical travels, Nick Trost's "Conjuring with Cards", Neil Foster's "25 Years Ago in Tops", or Duke Stern's "Crazy Pages", there was always something good to read in any issue of Tops.
Other monthly articles that subscribers could look forward too were "Mentalism & Things Psychic" by Bob Nelson, "Chatter" by Sid Lorraine, "For Women Only" by Frances Ireland Marshall, "Just for us Young Guys" by John Sherwood, "Kid Show Forum" by Bruce Posgate, "Gospel Magic" by Rev Robert E Olson, "Its a mystery to me" by Clarke Crandall, and "Pets N Prestidigiation" by Hal Diamond just to name a few.
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Presentation of Ideas
One of the best things about the New Tops was it's presentation of new ideas for old illusions as magicians across the country (and in many cases, the world) would share their ideas and presentations.
Super X Levitation on a Beach
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Super X Levitation at Halloween
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Learn new tricks each month with New Tops
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Tricks Tricks Tricks
Articles that forcused on presentation, patter, and opening lines helped every magician, whether he was performing expensive illusions or just doing magic at family get togethers.
Then of course, there were the tricks and in New Tops you had a bunch to choose from. In addition to ads from Abbotts latest tricks you could also find ads from Tannens and other magic dealers that had new things to promote. Each New Tops issue had several tricks that the subscriber could build/perform himself (such as the Girl Thru Ribbon Illusion) and many of the writers included some of their favorite tricks. Each September the entire magazine was devoted to tricks only!
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All Good Things...
Just as the original Tops was affected by a new form of communication (television), the New Tops would reach the same fate. By the nineties the internet was beginning to capture peoples imagination as the greatest communication tool ever.
By the mid nineties the "New Tops Magazine" was no more, being replaced by websites like this that could reach millions of people every hour, rather than just once a month.
New Tops magazine is still very popular and you can usually find a couple copies in most magic shops. There were so many printed in the last 60 years that they are hardly collectable and are a great value even today.
Currently Tops is alive and well in different formats. Abbotts has released both the original Tops on CD (1936 - 1957) and also the New Tops on (1961 - 1994) CD . Call Abbotts at 1-800-92-MAGIC and order your copies today, a great value for decades worth of magic and history.
In 2009 Abbotts created a completely new (and free) online version of Tops called "The Newest Tops" with some of magics top performers writing articles. Be sure to check it out!
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Magic Diplomat Neil Foster in Argentina
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Let's Not Forget - The Cartoons!
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And (of course) the Magic Ad's
Orange Tree Illusion in 1949
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Be sure to visit the latest Tops incarnation
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