Olson, Robert E.: The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston, Volume 2 ©1993 Robert E. Olson, Hades Publicaions, Inc., Canada Hardcover, w/dj, 229 pages

Image courtesy QuickerThanTheEye.com

Comments: Second in a two-volume set. Note book covers for both volumes look the same from the front.

Contents (page numbers continue from volume 1, contents courtesy Evan Shuster, magicbooks.be):

215 Thurston Lithograph featuring the "Pigeon Pie" routine
217 Table of Contents
221 The Complete Life of Howard Franklin Thurston - Volume 2

223 Chapter Twenty-Five
- The Spirit Cabinet. Charles C. Gill, attorney. Charles Thurston murdered. Aerial Fishing. Gravitation Defied. The Miracle. Water Fountains.

231 Chapter Twenty-Six
- The Halls of Ivy. Johns-Hopkins. Salt Shaker, rides, stage effects, oil, groves, motion pictures. Winkelmann Wigs. Twinning. Livestock opening. Bowls. Doves produced and vanished. Cards. Rooster's head. The Model Maid. CREO. The Boy and Lion. A Bit Of Fun. Chas. Bell, Geo. French. Dancing Handkerchief. Geo. Schulte, opinion of Silk Tricks. Clock Dial. Dancers of Madrid. Shadows of Life. China-town Mystery. The Prophet of Nizam. Triple Mystery. The Bungalow. One million dollars in the past four years. Thurston not exposing.

243 Chapter Twenty-Seven
- Harry Jansen, Dante. Owning the show. Horace Goldin. P. T. Selbit. Sawing. The Jansen Travesty Band.

257 Chapter Twenty-Eight
- No such thing as mind reading. Eusapia Palladine. Notes on tricks. Trap plan. Show requirements. Cyril Yettmah's decorations. Tubes of Tubal. Vivisection. Ed Massey. Film to Life. Mummy Vanish. Twins in Chinatown Mystery. Johnny Get Your Rabbit. A Bit of Fun, The Girl and The Rabbit.The Spirit of Dixie. Sofa Illusion. Pharaoh's Casket. Au Sid of Pekin. The Hunter's Dream. Flight of Time. Fire and Water. Best magic show of Thurston's career. $12,000.00 in one week in Cincinnati. Will Goldston Illusions, Clifford V. Thomas, Artist.

267 Chapter Twenty-Nine
- Houdini. Herbert Brooks. Brooks Trunk. Howard Thurston vs. Grover G. George. The Court Case. Harry Jansen. The Vampire. The Lion Illusion. The Floating Ball. Levitation. Vanishing Lady. A cross bill threatened. Attorneys Fulton and Wicker. Judge on George's side. George to South America. 1923 - 1924. Blue Box Mystery. Music Masters. Shooting Through a Woman. Canary and Mazda Lamp. Abdul's Turban. Rameses' Magic Columns. My Lady's Parasol. The New Page. The Lady and the Boy. Thurston's Pets. Stage Hand Accused.

275 Chapter Thirty
- Thurston's Magical Apparatus. Controversy. Dr. Wilson. Dr. Henry Evans. "Is Magic Decadent?" Gene Gorden. 50,000 enthusiasts. Thurston Box of Candy. Harry Jansen. Thurston at the White House. The Billboard. L. W. Duncan to Thurston's defense. Servais LeRoy. Magic clubs on Thurston's side.

279 Chapter Thirty-One
- P. T. Selbit. The Mystic Maids. Dream Visions. Bathing in Broken Glass. Avoiding the Crush. Demise of St. Georges Hall. Selbit and Devant Corporation. The Living Pin Cushion. Broadcasting a Woman. Clive Maskelyne in Africa. The Elastic lady. Culpitt Doll House. Through the Eye of a Needle. Les Levante, The Triple Escape. Mystic Follies. Vanishing Horse.
W. C. "Dorny" Dornfield. James C. Wobensmith, Floating Lady, Four Girl Vanish. Temple Terrace Groves in Florida.

289 Chapter Thirty-Two
- P. T. Selbit and Thurston on the Vanishing Horse. Will Nicola is using Selbit's tricks sold exclusively to Thurston. Seven letters to P. T. without an answer. Melvill and The Million Dollar Mystery. Five new effects: The Human Pincushion, The Vanishing Horse (new version), Crushing a Girl, The Moth and the Flame and The Vanishing Whippet. Old ones revived: The Maid, Boy and Donkey, The Duck and Rooster. Ione. 1927. Patent #1,613,254, The Floating Lady. Tampa. Two #9 "Thurston's Book of Magic."

309 Chapter Thirty-Three
- The Indian Troupe. Fire Eating. Buried Alive. The Hindu Basket. The Indian Rope Trick. P. T. Selbit. Cyril Yettmah. Publicity.

325 Chapter Thirty-Four
- Boring a Hole Through a Man, Alpe Barbour. Horace Goldin. Dante in Europe. Selbit wants Thurston to stop Dante from using his illusions in Europe. Thurston 1928 coin. Al Smith envelope. Thurston Agent x-9 Articles. Jane with show. Saint Mark's Methodist church. Stands for Al Smith. Who's Who in America. Fooling the World magazine. The Dissolving Woman. New Tricks and Illusions: Beelzebub's Bowls; Cagliostro's Cylinders; Newspaper Necromancy; Miss Jane: silks; bowls of goldfish; Old Glory and Fancy Tap Dancing. Mystery of the Water Fountains 9in a new dress). Hypnotizing a Goose. Vanishing Whippet (pull back).

343 Chapter Thirty-Five
- Cyril Yettmah. Join him again next year. Work on the Million Dollar Mystery. Three Card Monte. Dropped Shadow Pagoda. Sympathetic Silks. Bamboo Stick. Handkerchiefs and Flag. Egg, Canary and Lemon. Iasia. The Billboard bad-mouthing Thurston. Showbusiness in Europe bad. Dante cutting Mystery play. Loan from Harry. Death of Gus Fasola. John Northern Hilliard advance man and press-agent. Started "My Life" for Howard, completed by Walter Brown Gibson. Sold a series to Colliers Magazine, May 11 - June 8, 1929. Other Thurston books. Gordon Dorrance, publisher. The Million Dollar Mystery. Iasia. Thurston Vice-president I. B. M., 1929

355 Chapter Thirty-Six
- Yetty on conditions in England.Jane and Harry Harris eloped. Plastic surgery. Harry Thurston's show(?). The Appearing Elephant. The Monkey Case. Enchanted Flower Pots. Magic Marksmanship. Magic Box Review. Miss Jane singing, dancing comedienne. Pandora's Pan. Swords of Damocles. CREO. Ripley's Believe It or Not. John N. Hilliard "paid the bill."

365 Chapter Thirty-Seven
- Publicity. Magic Box of Candy. The Bee Bee Confection Co. Barney Pressman. Sykes and Thompson sold thousands of boxes of candy. 59 tricks in all. Colliers paid $8,000 for Thurston's life story.Jane and Lee. School after the show (again). Crippled children show. Howard tells Harry he is in no way connected with his brother's show. Harry tells Howard about investing. Water Fountains. Blackstone in Detroit. John S. Van Gilder. The Escape Trunk. Mystery of the Blue Boxes (again). Miss Jane, song "My Daddy's a Hocus Pocus Man." Something to Wear. The Million Dollar Mystery. The Army and Navy Forever. Rod Through Girl. Dida. Hypnotizing a Goose. Pets. Rabbit-Rabbit.

373 Chapter Thirty-Eight
- Jane's Black Art Act. Herman HAnson. The Flamingo Curtain. Dancing. Opera length hose. Modest costumes. Leg make-up. Lillian Hanson always dignified. opening act with five assistants. Ned Wayburn. Sympathetic Silks. Tambor. Flowers and Paper Cone. Phantom Tube. Doves and Flowers. Herman Hanson Flag Cabinet. Magic Maze. Bamboo Frame. Merlin's Rod. Chinese Act: Water Cannister, Chinese Lanterns, Tap Dancing.

385 Chapter Thirty-Nine
- One hour show four or five a day. Biggest business ever. Like being in Jail. N.B.C. Thurston Radio Series. Walter B. Gibson put together 50 tricks with candy boxes. Petre-Lewis. Doc Bromfield. Recording the broadcasts. Swift and Company. Tricks and booklets. The show. RKO Tour. 1,600 performances in 54 weeks. Phenomenal success. Set new records. Out of a Hat. Dante. Herman Hanson. Cyril Yettmah. The Disembodied Princess.

397 Chapter Forty
- John Northern Hilliard. Carl Jones. Greater Magic. Modern Magic, Angelo Lewis. The gold mine. Otis lithograph Co. 3 sheet poster cost 6 cents each. S.R.O. Managers not wanting to spend money to get people in. Posters pasted everywhere the only way. Throw out cards. Lee under doctors care. Jane not with the show. Jane is with the show. The Big Store Company of Cincinnati. 1933. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. "It's fun to be fooled, It's more fun to know!" Exposing big tricks and illusions Thurston denies doing it. John Mulholland, The Sphinx. Other magazines. Hardeen admitted doing it. Vivisection.

405 Chapter Forty-One
- The Kissel. Speed. Jane. Divorce. Jane with the show on a full-time basis. Medicine. Thurston not a medicine man. Frank Buck and Thurston at the White House. Nina Leotha Fielding Thurston died April 18, 1934. Herman and Jane do show. William Morris Agency. Abe Lastfogel. $6,000 a week. Dorny on Thurston. Wants him for #3 show as Faust the Magician.

413 Chapter Forty-Two
- J. N. Hilliard passes away. Magic pig just a pig. Pauline Mark. Thurston's stroke. Herman Hanson and Jane carry on. Uncle Harry and Aunt Myrtle stop the show. C. Foster Bell. Miami Beach. Letter to George White. Houdini on Thurston's women. Jane's comments on the show.

423 Chapter Forty-Three
- Death of Howard Thurston, April 13, 1936. Bess Housini. His will. Daughter fights will. Paula to quit drinking. Jane wanted to do act, George White and Ken Claude. Uncle Harry stopped that. Tampa and the Thurston estate. Dunninger and agreement with Thurston. Claude Noble. Houdini. 1943. Death of Bess and Pauline. Girls in the show. Fellowship Award. Thurston's manhood. Banquets. Old New York. Staying at the top. Magic today. Thurston on television.

433 In Summation

435 Index