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Mahatma (magazine)

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Mahatma
First page of issue 1 (March 1895)
EditorGeorge H. Little
FrequencyMonthly
First issueMarch 1895
Final issue
Number
February 1906
104 (V9N8)

Mahatma was a monthly magic periodical founded by George Little, which was published March 1895 – February 1906 (issue 104).[1] According to Alfredson and Daily,[1] it was "the first English language magical serial of any substance". With the September 1902 issue, it became the official magazine of the Society of American Magicians.[1] Mahatma was printed in the back of New York City's Martinka's magic shop.[2]

Publication history

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The first issue of Mahatma was published in March 1895.[1] There was a gap in publication of 28 months between issues 8 and 9 of volume 1. During this time, the publishers put out 2 other magazines that followed the numbering of Mahatma: Vaudeville and Artist Era. Vaudeville claimed to be a continuation of Mahatma with a change in name and format, and ran for two issues (Volume 1 Numbers 9 & 10). Only two issues of Artist Era are known to exist (Volume 1 Numbers 11 & 13). When it continued publication of volume 1, Mahatma ignored the numbering of Vaudeville and Artist Era and continued with volume 1 number 9.

in 1902, Mahatma began publishing the meeting notes of the Society of American Magicians.[2] It became the society's official magazine starting with the September 1902 issue.[1]

A complete set comprises nine volumes, all containing 12 issues except for volume 9, which contains only 8.[1] Vaudeville and Artist Era are sometimes considered necessary to complete a collection.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Alfredson, James B.; Daily, George L. (1986). A Bibliography of Conjuring Periodicals in English: 1791 - 1983. York, Pennsylvania: Magicana for Collectors. pp. 230–231.
  2. ^ a b "Mahatma by George H. Little". Lybrary.com. Retrieved 2017-12-25.