International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.)


International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for professional and amateur stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri, and there are over 300 local groups, called Rings, in more than 30 countries, largely concentrated in cities of the United States and Canada, though there are members of the international organization from at least 80 different countries[citation needed]. The organization publishes a monthly periodical entitled The Linking Ring, which features tricks, coverage of shows and events in the magic community, and interviews with magicians.

Contents

1 History
2 Organization
2.1 Rings
3 Membership
4 Leadership
5 Conventions
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

History

The organization was founded February 10, 1922[1] in Winnipeg, Manitoba by Len Vintus (stage name of Melvin Justus Given McMullen) of Transcona, Manitoba, which would later amalgamate with Winnipeg.[2][3] Gene Gordon (aka Gordon Avery) of Buffalo, New York, and Don Rogers (aka Ernest Schieldge). Unlike earlier magic clubs, such as the Society of American Magicians (SAM) in the USA and The Magic Circle in England, the I.B.M. was begun by magicians living outside the major cities, who were unable to attend magic club meetings, and who kept in contact by post.[4]
Gene Gordon established the first local group, Ring 1, in Rochester, New York. The original Ring 1 eventually disbanded,[5] and St. Louis, Missouri later assumed the vacated title of Ring 1, which it continues to hold today. Since then, a new club, Ring 4, formed in Rochester.
The IBM holds an annual convention, usually in June or July. Although the SAM and the Magic Circle held banquets as early as 1905, the I.B.M. was the first to hold a magic convention, in Kenton, Ohio on June 9–10, 1926.[4] The 66th annual convention was held in Orlando, Florida.[6]

Organization

Each international territory has a Territorial Vice President who coordinates with the Rings in that country and other Territorial Vice Presidents.
[edit]Rings
The International Brotherhood of Magicians has a number of local clubs, located throughout the world, known as Rings. Each ring was originally numbered in sequence, based on when it received its charter from the I.B.M. Since then, some clubs have dissolved, and newer clubs have assumed some of the vacated ring numbers.

List of Rings:
Ring 1 - based in St. Louis, Missouri (originally based in Rochester, New York)
Ring 200 - based in Edison, New Jersey - Harry Blackstone Magic Society
Ring 266 - based in Tyler, Texas

Membership

Membership is open to amateur and professional magicians, as well as those who collect magic apparatus and effects. Active members must be at least 18 years old, and youth members must be 7–17 years of age. Active members must have had an interest in magic for at least two years, or one year for youth members. Membership requires the endorsement of two active members, and a pledge to uphold the code of ethics.

Leadership

Each year a new International President is elected to the I.B.M. [7]
Past presidents include:
Len Vintus 1922-1926
W.W. Durbin 1926-1937
John H. Davidson 1937-1938
T. J. Crawford 1938-1939
John Snyder, Jr. 1939-1941
Robert C. Anderson 1941-1942
Eugene Bernstein 1942-1946
John Braun 1946-1947
A. Renerick Clark 1947-1948
H. Adrian Smith 1948-1949
William R Walsh 1949-1950
Walter Coleman 1950-1951
James B. Lake 1951-1952
Arthur D. Reichenback 1952-1953
Forrest P. Hendricks 1953-1954
C. James McLemore 1954-1955
Charles A. RossKam 1955-1956
Chauncey Sheridan 1956-1957
L.A. Waterman 1957-1958
Verne W. Uker 1958-1959
Reeder C. Hutchinson 1959-1960
Harris Solomon 1960-1961
C.L. Schmitt 1961-1962
Irving Lewis 1962-1963
Arnold Drennen 1963-1964
Thorton Poole 1964-1965
Dr. Richard O. Mossey 1965-1966
Howard Bamman 1966-1967
Sydney S. Bergson 1967-1968
J. Ronald Haines 1968-1969
Royal Brin, Jr. 1969-1970
William G. Strickland 1970-1971
Austin C. Gorham 1971-1972
Robert B. Hurt 1972-1973
Earle J. Christenberry, Jr. 1973-1974
Charles Lantz 1974-1975
William Preston 1975-1976
Walter F. Williams 1976-1977
Jeffery Atkins 1977-1978
Bill Pitts 1978-1979
Ray Mangel 1979-1980
Bruce Posgate 1980-1981
Roger Crabtree 1981-1982
John Makar 1982-1983
William A. Wells 1983-1984
Donald E. Wiberg 1984-1985
William E. Spooner 1985-1986
Karrell Fox 1986-1987
June Horowitz 1987-1988
Edward A. Morris 1988-1989
Anthony Shelley 1989-1990
Michael Ellis 1990-1991
Michael J. Gorman 1991-1992
James L. Nagel 1992-1993
R.J. Obie O'Brien 1993-1994
Jep Hostetler 1994-1995
Kenneth Klosterman 1995-1996
Bev Bergeron 1996-1997
Abb Dickson 1997-1998
John R. Browne 1998-1999
Jerry Schnepp 1999-2000
Jack Greenberg 2000-2001
Robert A. Escher 2001-2002
Michael Stratman 2002-2003
David Sandy 2003-2004
Tony Wilson 2004-2005
Roger Miller 2005-2006
Fred Casto 2006-2007
Phil Willmarth 2007-2008
Joan Caesar 2008-2009
Jack White 2009-2010
Rolando Santos 2010-2011
Vanni Pulé 2011-2012

Conventions

In July 2008 the I.B.M. and the Society of American Magicians hosted a combined convention. More than 1,900+ amateur and professional magicians from around the world attended the gathering in Louisville, Kentucky. [8]
[edit]See also

Magic conventions

References

^ "The I.B.M.". Retrieved 2006-04-11.
^ Posgate, Bruce. "Magic". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada. Retrieved 2006-04-11.
^ "MagicTimes News Archives Volume 18, Issue 538". 1999. Retrieved 2006-04-11.
^ a b Maven, Max. "A History of FISM". Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques. Archived from the original on 2005-11-19. Retrieved 2006-04-17.
^ Burden, Mindy. "IBM--A History". Retrieved 2006-04-11.
^ "66th Annual Convention--Evening Shows". The Linking Ring (The International Brotherhood of Magicians) 76 (7): 56–66. September 1994.
^ http://www.magician.org/portal/en/node/574
^ http://www.magician.org/portal/fr/node/490

External links

International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) - official site