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The Blackstone Name Game

Harry Boughton became Harry Bouton who became through some discount posters. Fredrick the Great. By the time 1918 opened he made one last name change. Harry Blackstone. For him it meant success for me―trouble. A few posts ago I published a brief essay on the role of Chicago in the history of magic and one sentence caused much fury:Harry Bouton was a struggling unknown until he borrowed the name of a south-loop hotel and became famous as Harry Blackstone. I decided that I should reveal a bit of the writer and historian’s process the process I went through before I wrote those words. The PeopleHarry Blackstone was an artist at flinging the bull though for Harry it was quite charming. The whole family seems to have the bullshitter gene. This is something beyond any argument. Yet we must give Harry’s words weight. It is his story and there must be a germ of truth in it. Speaking for myself who at one time has needed to lie about current and past activities. I understand it is easier to lie when you keep it closer to the truth. Inez Nourse became the first Mrs. Blackstone and was there when the name changed. She figures prominently in one of the stories. Harry’s biographer Dan Waldron. Dan wrote a Blackstone biography and examined the differing stories. He gave the most weight to Inez’s story. Pete Bouton. Harry’s brother confirmed one story and stars in another version of the story. Harry Jr and Gay Blackstone most likely never knew the real story and just repeated the various stories of Harry Sr. The Story: The name Blackstone came from the Blackstone Hotel. The Hotel was built on the former site of the Blackstone Mansion. The Chicago Tribune lamented the loss of another city landmark but the hotel that went up in its place was a grand one indeed. Finished in 1910 it was an important addition to the city. Harry said he was walking the streets looking for a new name when he saw the hotel sign. The Case: Harry born and raised in Chicago certainly knew of the Blackstone legacy in the city. He told this story more often than any other story. It made the mainstream press of which I base much of my extensive research more than any other story. Milbourne Christopher felt it was the most probable of Harry’s stories. There is one serious problem the name change happened in Ohio a long way from the Blackstone sign. Let us be honest here if you say this story is not true and Harry just repeated it for good publicity you are calling Harry a liar. For me the virtue of it being Harry’s story even with the hint of lie the hotel inspiration must carry some truth. The Story: The name Blackstone came from Blackstone cigars. Blackstone cigars were a common cigar brand early in the 1900s. I could find little else written on the history except that their production moved from one city to another in 1919. The cigars were prevalent enough to that he should know them. Inez said they were walking down a street trying to figure a new name when she suggested Blackstone after seeing it on a sign. She gave Harry the name. The Case: Inez Blackstone (nee Nourse) says this is the real name change story. It certainly can be true. There is very little to refute the story. At times. Harry said the cigars were an inspiration of course omitting Inez’s part. To play devil’s advocate did she insert herself in the story to add to her self-importance? Alternatively did she carry on Harry’s tradition of obfuscation?Pete his brother told the cigar inspiration story. One wag on the Magic Café uses him as a confirming source but in the same post admits Pete cannot be trusted. The only thing apparently he can be trusted on is that the hotel story is not true. Sorry you cannot have it both ways. I have also heard the story with Pete instead of Inez suggesting the name after the cigar. (This may also be storyteller embellishment.) Yet we still have to give the cigar inspiration weight in the truth derby. If you notice it is similar to the hotel story: walking down the street seeing a sign only the inspiration changes. The Story: Blackstone was his grandmother’s maiden name. The Case: False. Blackstone said it but family and census data proved it a lie. The Story: He overheard Blackstone by chance on an elevator. The Case: There is just no way to prove or disprove this yarn and in Dan Waldron’s words “vague and unlikely.”The Story: He wanted to change his name to Herr Bismarck but because of the WWI anti-German bias his lawyer then suggested Blackstone. The Case: I want to look at this story two ways first on the surface. Look at the timeline. It was 1918; America one year into the Great War and Harry couldn’t sell tickets as the German sounding Fredrick and was looking for a non-German name for the act. Harry would have to be the single dumbest man in America to want to change his name to Bismarck. Second a little deeper there is another similar story that Harry’s agent suggested the name Blackstone. I bet that the memory of the story changed and that over the years. Fredrick morphed into Bismarck and agent morphed into lawyer. Nevertheless. Inez refutes this story. She said Harry did not have an agent. If we believe her cigar story then this story is false. If we want to believe this story we shift the responsibility. We don’t answer the question cigar or hotel. We have a problem. Each story seems to have elements of truth; if we believe one part it disproves another. We still end with two credible options: Blackstone Hotel. Blackstone Cigars. Fifty-FiftyA Coin FlipI would like to try on another story one of pure fantasy. I have had to create names for performers shows tricks and stories. When I am stuck. I brainstorm. I search the dictionary the thesaurus read magazines skim books and make lists of words to juggle. It is a mundane process but true to life. Dan Waldron would have us believe for Harry any name would do. We are lucky Harry didn’t walk past a dime store; we would be talking about Harry Woolworth Sr now. No. I think Harry tried on many names in his search. He may have been walking the streets to do so. Somebody may have suggested the name Blackstone from the cigars. Were Blackstone cigars a status symbol? The hotel was. Even if the cigar was suggested it is naive to believe that Harry did not connect the name to the hotel and all its implications. Elegant high class regal that’s the Blackstone Hotel of 1918. That’s Blackstone. It is not the sound bite of publicity but it does ring of truth. The strange answer is that both the cigar and the hotel could have played a role in the name change. As I said this is a fantasy and no one has ever said such a thing. We are back to two choices: the cigar and the hotel. Author Dan Waldron admits the real story is lost forever. There is no way to discern the truth. The important thing is that Blackstone is. Ultimately. Dan is right when he says it “doesn’t matter.. one account is as good as the next.” He chose to go with Inez. (Dan may have other reasons. If her story is not true then he cannot rely on the other facts of her life with Harry. His book falls apart.) It is Dan's right to go with Inez and I admire that he at least had a point of view.“One account is as good as the next.” History is not nearly as clear cut as most of wish it to be. We deal with a human element that is fault ridden. Often we are forced to make a best guess or even a leap of faith. Every book on magic history any history is full of hundreds of these coin flips. After discussing my dilemma with several prominent and magic writer/historians they agreed that either story worked. Neither was definitive. Moreover for the type of piece I was composing it would not be wrong to write:Harry Bouton was a struggling unknown until he borrowed the name of a south-loop hotel and became famous as Harry Blackstone. Harry said it. I chose it. It was a writer’s right to do so.

Forex Groups - Tips on Trading

Related article:
http://chicagomagic.blogspot.com/2008/09/blackstone-name-game.html

The Blackstone Name Game

The Missing Body Parts of Famous People

John Wilkes Booth’s pet BonesJohn Wilkes Booth might undergo been a successful assassin but he was a largely ineffectual flee artist. Just 12 days after murdering President Abraham Lincoln. Booth was shot in the back of the neck and killed. His body was (eventually) buried in an unmarked grave at Baltimore’s Green Mount Cemetery. His third fourth and fifth vertebrae however were removed during the autopsy so investigators could access the bullet. For a peek at those bits of Booth’s spinal column just check out the display at the National Museum of Health and care for in Washington. D. C. Einstein’s Brain. Before he died. über-genius Albert Einstein considered donating his body to science. Unfortunately he never put his wishes in writing. When he passed away in 1955. Einstein’s family and friends made plans to cremate him but the pathologist who performed the autopsy. Dr. Thomas Harvey had a different idea. Instead he opted to remove the math man’s brain and then tell the family about it. For 30-some years. Harvey had Al’s gray matter tucked away in his Wichita home in two Mason jars. Naturally. Einstein’s loved ones weren’t thrilled when they open out but they eventually allowed the misappropriated mind to be sliced into 240 sections and disbursed to researchers for examination. Today many of the cerebral sections remain in scientific institutions with the bulk held at Princeton Hospital. As for Einstein’s body that was cremated and scattered in a secret location. Dan Sickles’ Leg. During the Battle of Gettysburg. Major General Daniel Sickles was sitting on his horse when a cannonball hit his right leg and almost tore the thing off. Though reportedly so unfazed by the event that he smoked a cigar en route to the medical tent. Sickles’ leg had to be amputated. The nonplussed Sickles saved his detached limb and later donated it to the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington. D. C. He even found a convenient use for the extremity: picking up chicks. Apparently. Sickles would bring ladyfriends to the museum when he wanted to impress them with his tales of bravery. The rest of Sickles was buried at Arlington National Cemetery after his passing in 1914."Stonewall" Jackson’s Arm. Confederate general Thomas Jackson got his call by sitting astride his horse "like a stone wall" while bullets whizzed around him during the Civil War. But that kind of bravery (or foolhardiness) didn’t serve him well. During the Battle of Chancellorsville. Jackson was accidentally shot in the arm by one of his own men. Said arm had to be amputated and afterward it was buried in the nearby Virginia town of Ellwood. Only eight days later. Stonewall was stone-cold dead of pneumonia. The rest of his body is resting in peace in Lexington. Va. Saint Francis Xavier’s Hand. Francis Xavier was a saint with a few too many fans. In the early 16th century the Spanish missionary was sent to Asia by the king of Portugal to convert as many souls to Christianity as possible. Turns out he was pretty good at the job. Francis Xavier became wildly popular and after his death in 1552 so did his relics. In fact demand out-fueled supply. Throughout several years and multiple exhumations his body was whittled away. Today half his left transfer is in Cochin. India while the other half is in Malacca. Malaysia. One of his arms resides in Rome and various other cities lay claim to his internal organs. The leftovers? They went to Goa. India.6. Saint Catherine of Siena’s Finger. Ever think you’re going to pieces? Saint Catherine feels your pain. After the holy woman died in 1380 her body became an object of veneration. Pilgrims believed touching her miraculously unrotted flesh could ameliorate illnesses and bring them closer to God so they flocked to visit the body from all over Europe. Eventually the Catholic Church laid Catherine to rest - part of her at least. Before she was buried one of her followers removed a finger (along with a few teeth and other various and sundry body parts). Meanwhile Pope Urban VI got a similar idea and took her head. Today both finger and head are on display at San Domenico Church in Siena. Italy. The rest of her is beneath the main altar at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva Church in Rome. Napoleon’s Penis. Exiled emperor Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5. 1821. The following day doctors conducted an autopsy which was reportedly witnessed by many people including a priest named Ange Vignali. Though the body was said to be largely intact at the time of the undertaking it seems the priest took home a souvenir. In 1916. Vignali’s heirs sold a collection of Napoleonic artifacts including what they claim to be the emperor’s penis. While no one knows for sure if it really is Napoleon’s uh manhood people have paid good money for the penis. Currently it’s in the possession of an American urologist. Oliver Cromwell’s HeadOliver Cromwell the straight-laced Puritan who usurped the English throne wasn’t exactly a wild man. His head however was sometimes the life of the party. Cromwell died in 1658 but two years later the reinstated English monarchy exhumed tried and hanged his body then dumped it in an unmarked grave. In addition as a warning to would-be killers his continue was placed on a pike in Westminster Hall where it remained for 20 years. After a subsequent sting in a small museum it was sold in 1814 to a man named Josiah Henry Wilkinson (perhaps looking to parade it around as an exceptionally gruesome ice-breaker at parties). Such was the ironic afterlife of the Puritan until 1960 when his head was finally laid to rest in a chapel in Cambridge. Sarah Bernhardt’s Leg. Ever tell an actor to "break a leg"? Be careful what you wish for. In 1905 the Divine Sarah injured her knee performing the last scene of the play "La Tosca." Sadly the injury never healed. By 1916 gangrene had set in and the leg had to be amputated. Afterward she continued to act sticking to roles that allowed her to remain seated. According to legend circus mastermind P. T. Barnum offered Bernhardt a hefty accumulate of change for the amputated leg but she turned him down. The true whereabouts of the appendage be a mystery. Thomas Hardy’s Heart. In his will. English novelist Thomas Hardy specifically requested to be buried with his beloved first wife. His friends however didn’t think this was good enough for the author and lobbied to undergo him buried in Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey instead. An ugly fight between Hardy fans and family ensued until they reached a compromise. The author’s heart was removed and buried with his wife; his ashes were preserved in a bronze urn inside the Abbey. There’s also a long-running (but unsubstantiated) rumor that Hardy’s sister’s cat snatched the heart of a delay and that a pig’s heart had to be substituted for the burial ceremony.

Forex Groups - Tips on Trading

Related article:
http://myamazingfact.blogspot.com/2008/09/missing-body-parts-of-famous-people.html

Just the facts

Hello and welcome to college. Or welcome back to those of us returning. I would desire to direct this piece to our students than our faculty and staff denizens of the "real world." Have you heard that distinction made before? Students often consider college to be a choose of limbo between adolescence and adulthood and in many ways it is. After we have we will never again be surrounded by so many of our peers; never again will most of the people we know have their room and board paid for by their parents. Never again can we apply as much free time as possible to having as much fun as can be open. Serious work and family obligations are just around the corner. In a few months you ordain hear shell-shocked seniors complain that they are not ready for the "real world."Or maybe you will be one of those seniors. I undergo a feeling that I will be for one. Let's adjudge it the "real world" is a little scary. But how separate are we really from this "real world?"College students live unique and busy lives which sometimes get little measure for keeping up with the news. But here on a university campus the obligation to remain informed is at least as strong as it will be in the be of our civic lives. Earlier I mentioned all of the things that we may never do again after we leave college. come up here is one more: we ordain never again be so firmly entrenched in the marketplace of ideas. Here at the university we are surrounded by experts in almost any field you care to name. We live in an environment that values curiosity and knowledge for its own sake. Intelligent and accomplished people can be found at every move to back up you find what you care about most in this society and to challenge your ideas. Thousands of peers are on transfer to contend your assumptions and your conclusions advance comfort. Now is the time to embrace that resource and the issues of the "real world" along with it. Informed citizenship is the foundation of democracy and there is no better place to become informed than on a university campus. As a journalist. I hope you will not desire the opportunity. In that spirit here are some facts to consider in no particular order:

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Related article:
http://www.ramcigar.com/news/2007/09/07/Editorialopinion/Just-The.Facts-2956072.shtml

Just the facts

Hello and welcome to college. Or welcome approve to those of us returning. I would like to direct this conjoin to our students than our faculty and staff denizens of the "real world." Have you heard that distinction made before? Students often consider college to be a choose of limbo between adolescence and adulthood and in many ways it is. After we have we will never again be surrounded by so many of our peers; never again will most of the populate we know undergo their dwell and come in paid for by their parents. Never again can we devote as much free time as possible to having as much fun as can be open. Serious work and family obligations are just around the corner. In a few months you will hear shell-shocked seniors charge that they are not create from raw material for the "real world."Or maybe you will be one of those seniors. I have a feeling that I will be for one. Let's adjudge it the "real world" is a little scary. But how separate are we really from this "real world?"College students be unique and busy lives which sometimes get little time for keeping up with the news. But here on a university campus the obligation to remain informed is at least as strong as it will be in the be of our civic lives. Earlier I mentioned all of the things that we may never do again after we leave college. Well here is one more: we will never again be so firmly entrenched in the marketplace of ideas. Here at the university we are surrounded by experts in almost any field you compassionate to name. We live in an environment that values curiosity and knowledge for its own sake. Intelligent and accomplished people can be found at every turn to help you sight what you care about most in this society and to challenge your ideas. Thousands of peers are on transfer to challenge your assumptions and your conclusions further comfort. Now is the measure to include that resource and the issues of the "real world" along with it. Informed citizenship is the foundation of democracy and there is no better displace to become informed than on a university campus. As a journalist. I hope you will not miss the opportunity. In that spirit here are some facts to believe in no particular request:

Forex Groups - Tips on Trading

Related article:
http://www.ramcigar.com/news/2007/09/07/Editorialopinion/Just-The.Facts-2956072.shtml

Just the facts

Hello and accept to college. Or accept back to those of us returning. I would like to direct this conjoin to our students than our faculty and staff denizens of the "real world." Have you heard that distinction made before? Students often consider college to be a choose of limbo between adolescence and adulthood and in many ways it is. After we graduate we will never again be surrounded by so many of our peers; never again will most of the people we experience undergo their room and come in paid for by their parents. Never again can we devote as much free time as possible to having as much fun as can be found. Serious work and family obligations are just around the corner. In a few months you will comprehend shell-shocked seniors complain that they are not create from raw material for the "real world."Or maybe you ordain be one of those seniors. I have a feeling that I will be for one. Let's admit it the "real world" is a little scary. But how separate are we really from this "real world?"College students live unique and work lives which sometimes leave little time for keeping up with the news. But here on a university campus the obligation to remain informed is at least as strong as it will be in the rest of our civic lives. Earlier I mentioned all of the things that we may never do again after we get college. Well here is one more: we will never again be so firmly entrenched in the marketplace of ideas. Here at the university we are surrounded by experts in almost any field you compassionate to name. We live in an environment that values curiosity and knowledge for its own sake. Intelligent and accomplished populate can be open at every move to back up you sight what you care about most in this society and to contend your ideas. Thousands of peers are on transfer to contend your assumptions and your conclusions further still. Now is the time to include that resource and the issues of the "real world" along with it. Informed citizenship is the foundation of democracy and there is no exceed displace to become informed than on a university campus. As a journalist. I hope you ordain not miss the opportunity. In that animate here are some facts to consider in no particular order:

Forex Groups - Tips on Trading

Related article:
http://www.ramcigar.com/news/2007/09/07/Editorialopinion/Just-The.Facts-2956072.shtml

Just the facts

Hello and welcome to college. Or welcome approve to those of us returning. I would like to enjoin this piece to our students than our faculty and staff denizens of the "real world." Have you heard that distinction made before? Students often believe college to be a sort of limbo between adolescence and adulthood and in many ways it is. After we have we ordain never again be surrounded by so many of our peers; never again will most of the populate we experience have their room and board paid for by their parents. Never again can we devote as much remove time as possible to having as much fun as can be found. Serious bring home the bacon and family obligations are just around the command. In a few months you will hear shell-shocked seniors complain that they are not create from raw material for the "real world."Or maybe you will be one of those seniors. I have a feeling that I will be for one. Let's admit it the "real world" is a little scary. But how separate are we really from this "real world?"College students live unique and work lives which sometimes get little time for keeping up with the news. But here on a university campus the obligation to remain informed is at least as strong as it ordain be in the be of our civic lives. Earlier I mentioned all of the things that we may never do again after we get college. come up here is one more: we ordain never again be so firmly entrenched in the marketplace of ideas. Here at the university we are surrounded by experts in almost any field you care to name. We live in an environment that values curiosity and knowledge for its own sake. Intelligent and accomplished people can be found at every turn to help you sight what you compassionate about most in this society and to challenge your ideas. Thousands of peers are on transfer to contend your assumptions and your conclusions further still. Now is the time to include that resource and the issues of the "real world" along with it. Informed citizenship is the foundation of democracy and there is no better displace to change state informed than on a university campus. As a journalist. I wish you ordain not miss the opportunity. In that spirit here are some facts to consider in no particular order:

Forex Groups - Tips on Trading

Related article:
http://www.ramcigar.com/news/2007/09/07/Editorialopinion/Just-The.Facts-2956072.shtml

some cigar facts I have seen online

cause label Average coat Average go calculate Average Smoking Time Belvedere 3 to 5 inches 30 to 36 (˜ ½ advance) 15 to 20 minutes Ascot 3 to 5 inches 30 to 36 (˜ ½ inch) 15 to 20 minutes Demitasse 3 to 5 inches 30 to 36 (˜ ½ advance) 15 to 20 minutes Petite Corona 4 ½ to 5 inches 40 to 42 (˜ 3/5 inch) 25 minutes Robusto 4 ½ inches 48 (˜ ¾ advance) 25 to 40 minutes Rothschild 4 ½ inches 48 (˜ ¾ advance) 25 to 40 minutes Petite Belicoso 5 inches 40 (˜ 6/10 advance) 25 to 35 minutes Corona 5 ½ inches 42 (˜ 7/10 inch) 30 to 45 minutes Corona Extra 5 ¾ inches 44 to 46 (˜ 7/10 advance) 40 minutes Corona Royale 5 ¾ inches 44 to 46 (˜ 7/10 advance) 40 minutes Belicoso 6 inches 48 (˜ ¾ advance) 35 to 45 minutes Panatela 6 to 6 ½ inches 34 to 39 (˜ ½ inch) 35 to 45 minutes Lonsdale 6 inches 43 (˜ 7/10 advance) 45 to 50 minutes Corona Grandes 6 to 6 ½ inches 44 to 46 (˜ 7/10 inch) 45 minutes benefit 6 to 7 inches 52 at foot / 42 at head 45 to 60 minutes Churchill 7 inches 47 to 48 (˜ ¾ advance) 45 to 60 minutes manifold Corona 7 ½ to 8 inches 49 to 52 (˜ 8/10 inch) 45 to 60 minutes Long Panatela 7 ½ to 8 inches 49 to 52 (˜ 8/10 inch) 45 to 60 minutes Gigante 8 ½ inches 52 to 60 (˜ 9/10 advance) 60 to 90 minutes Presidente 8 ½ inches 52 to 60 (˜ 9/10 inch) 60 to 90 minutes Immensa 8 ½ inches 52 to 60 (˜ 9/10 advance) 60 to 90 minutes Culebra (3 cigars intertwined) 5 to 6 inches each 34 (˜ ½ advance) Smoke each separately

Forex Groups - Tips on Trading

Related article:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=124212103&blogID=305429609

some cigar facts I have seen online

Shape Name add up Size Average Ring calculate Average Smoking Time Belvedere 3 to 5 inches 30 to 36 (˜ ½ inch) 15 to 20 minutes Ascot 3 to 5 inches 30 to 36 (˜ ½ advance) 15 to 20 minutes Demitasse 3 to 5 inches 30 to 36 (˜ ½ inch) 15 to 20 minutes Petite Corona 4 ½ to 5 inches 40 to 42 (˜ 3/5 inch) 25 minutes Robusto 4 ½ inches 48 (˜ ¾ advance) 25 to 40 minutes Rothschild 4 ½ inches 48 (˜ ¾ inch) 25 to 40 minutes Petite Belicoso 5 inches 40 (˜ 6/10 inch) 25 to 35 minutes Corona 5 ½ inches 42 (˜ 7/10 advance) 30 to 45 minutes Corona Extra 5 ¾ inches 44 to 46 (˜ 7/10 inch) 40 minutes Corona Royale 5 ¾ inches 44 to 46 (˜ 7/10 inch) 40 minutes Belicoso 6 inches 48 (˜ ¾ inch) 35 to 45 minutes Panatela 6 to 6 ½ inches 34 to 39 (˜ ½ inch) 35 to 45 minutes Lonsdale 6 inches 43 (˜ 7/10 inch) 45 to 50 minutes Corona Grandes 6 to 6 ½ inches 44 to 46 (˜ 7/10 advance) 45 minutes benefit 6 to 7 inches 52 at foot / 42 at head 45 to 60 minutes Churchill 7 inches 47 to 48 (˜ ¾ inch) 45 to 60 minutes Double Corona 7 ½ to 8 inches 49 to 52 (˜ 8/10 inch) 45 to 60 minutes desire Panatela 7 ½ to 8 inches 49 to 52 (˜ 8/10 inch) 45 to 60 minutes Gigante 8 ½ inches 52 to 60 (˜ 9/10 inch) 60 to 90 minutes Presidente 8 ½ inches 52 to 60 (˜ 9/10 inch) 60 to 90 minutes Immensa 8 ½ inches 52 to 60 (˜ 9/10 advance) 60 to 90 minutes Culebra (3 cigars intertwined) 5 to 6 inches each 34 (˜ ½ inch) Smoke each separately

Forex Groups - Tips on Trading

Related article:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=124212103&blogID=305429609