The Magi Magazine Club Journal of Manchester's Magic Club & Magical Society for Magician's - New Evidence Shows it was first published in October 1909
And also shows we Published a Prospectus from around May 1909 as well to attract new members to the Manchester Magic Club Founded in March 1909 making it England's 3rd Oldest Magical Society
UPDATED ON 28th JULY 2026 WITH NEW EVIDENCE THAT MAGI PUBLISHED SOMETHING EACH MONTH FROM 1909 BUT NOT A MAGAZINE WHICH NOW WE KNOW FOR SURE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED MAY 1910 AS A FIRST ISSUE OF THE MAGAZINE (ACTUALLY TWO COPIES OF IT) HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED - UPDATES ARE AT BOTTOM OF PAGE
As explained in the video above, recently there was some confusion uncovered in relation to what volume of the magazine for Manchester’s Magic Club & Magical Society for Magician’s, Mind Readers & Allied Arts that we should currently be on and as explained at the next link as a result of investigations the volume number has been raised by one due to the evidence of the error & confusion now uncovered
The Mystery of the Missing Magi Volume: Correcting the Numbering of The Magi Magazine
https://www.orderofthemagi.co.uk/the-mystery-of-the-missing-magi-magazine-volume
However my continued investigations in my role as current Entertainments & Public Relations Officer for The Order of the Magi have now as mentioned in the video at top of page uncovered evidence that we as a club have published a paper/magazine or publication (call it what you will) since OCTOBER 1909.
Mentions in editions of the Wizard Magazine from 1909 also show that as a club we also published a Prospectus from around May 1909 to help attract new members.
This shows we as a club certainly knew where to get things printed and could afford to do so even when such printed stuff was being given away to anyone who requested a copy of in this case the Prospectus for the club from around May 1909 onwards…
Indeed then in the September 1909 Edition of The Wizard Magazine, the magazine itself reports (no doubt having been told by The Magi) that The Manchester Magical Society is producing a paper of its own…
In that same September 1909 edition of “The Wizard Magazine” this column written by The Order of the Magi’s own correspondence Secretary appears
And again it clearly states that from October 1909 they will be producing a monthly paper….
So bearing that in mind take another look at my video and my reasoning as to why I (until and if ever any evidence appears to prove otherwise) now fully believe that we first published a Periodical from October 1909…
Now you may ask, but if the 1910 AGM of The Order of the Magi was held on Thursday 10th March 1910 as is reported in The Wizard Magazine of April 1910
and where Brother R. M. Varney is reported as being elected as official Editor of
The Magi Magazine, then why did they wait until May 1910 to start Issue 1 of that years magazine with Brother R. M. Varney named as Editor?
Well I strongly suspect the answer to that is very easy indeed, especially when you consider that the way they have worded things is in such a manner that it further points towards “The Magi” at the time of his election already being an existing printed monthly publication.
I suspect the answer is quite simply that the April edition was already pretty much finished and/or already gone to the printers ready for getting out at end of March (with April cover date) and so it was simply not possible to start listing him as officially elected editor of “The Magi” until the May 1910 edition which is why until any evidence comes to light to prove otherwise, it is my assertion and belief that is why The May 1910 Edition is often referred to in later years as Issue One of the Magazine when in truth evidence shows we published from OCTOBER 1909.
In any event we are still publishing and have never missed an issue in all those years.
I shall at the next AGM (March 2027) or before if the chance arises be proposing that based on this evidence the volume number is raised another year so that instead of the April 2027 issue being as it currently would Issue 1 of Volume 118 that instead it should be Issue One of Volume 119.
Each month members are emailed the Club Magazine and it is also uploaded to the “Files Section” of the Magi Members Only Facebook Group which fully paid up members of the Magi get access to.
Come Join us today at - https://www.orderofthemagi.co.uk/membership
Come Join us today at - https://www.orderofthemagi.co.uk/membership
On 27th July 2026 after several days and many, many hours going through Archives of Order of the Magi Related materials which are stored at Manchester Central Library I was delighted to finally find not just one but two copies (one which has been written on and one which had not) of the First Ever Issue of The Order of the Magi’s Club Magazine “The Magi” which we can now 100% confirm was first published on 1st May 1910 as per the image above and images which follow below
However this does NOT mean that we did not publish things before the Magazine, indeed I still believe we published a “Paper” on a monthly basis from some time in 1909, but it would have been literally only about A6 in size and printed literally on one side only with a running order and details of that months meeting…
We also of course did most certainly publish a Prospectus from early in 1909 as already mentioned earlier on this page and of which thanks to finding one in the Archives at Manchester Central Library you can also now see images of further down this page…
Anyhow more images of the first copy of the actual “Magazine” from 1st May 1910 now follow…
The Magazine was edited by Reg Varney from when it started until when he was taken ill in August 1910 and then sadly he died in July 1911 as detailed in this article about the “Mystery of the Missing Magi Volume” located here
https://www.orderofthemagi.co.uk/the-mystery-of-the-missing-magi-magazine-volume
Now follows a copy of Reg Varney the first Magi Magazine Editors advertising brochure for his Magic Shows
And now follow images of the Prospectus that The Order of the Magi would send to people who responded to their adverts in magazines such as “The Wizard” in 1909
However a Prospectus is not the only thing that I believe we were publishing as a club in 1909…
Take a look at this image
In the archives at Manchester Central Library there are lots of different ones of these but also it is true to say that many are missing along the way as well.
Given the reports about Magi Meetings that were published in the Wizard Magazines during 1909 & 1910 of which many gave listings of what people had performed on the night and also given that there were similar documents to the above with earlier numbers and dates on them in the Archive it is now my hunch that they had intended to publish the Magi Magazine from 1909 as stated in The Wizard Magazine.
But then due to financial Issues (which is the reason given at start of issue one of Magi Magazine in May 1910) it was delayed and instead I reckon (until proof if it does appears to prove otherwise) that they instead produced the single sided sheet/paper giving a running order of what was to be performed at that months meeting.
This would logically explain why The Wizard magazine never mentioned a delay in the Magi releasing their paper and why The Magi never mentioned it themselves in their Wizard Column after the September 1909 Wizard mention that in October 1909 they would release a “paper” of their own.
It is my belief (until and if ever any evidence is found to prove otherwise) that whilst the actual “magazine” was delayed until 1st May 1910 they instead published each month a “paper/sheet” giving a running order of what was performed and by which members at that months meeting.
This would still from a legal & historical perspective mean that the Magi had produced a Printed Periodical of some kind from 1909….
At the very least we know for certain The Magi was publishing a Prospectus from 1909 as a copy of some of it is reproduced further above on this page.
NOW TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THE ARTICLE AT THIS LINK
The Mystery of the Missing Magi Volume: Correcting the Numbering of The Magi Magazine
https://www.orderofthemagi.co.uk/the-mystery-of-the-missing-magi-magazine-volume
That article states that the first numbering error with the Magi Magazines and Volumes was in 1950….
My several days of research at Manchester Central Library ending on 27th July 2026 uncovered a copy of the magazine from 1944 which looks like this
Unfortunately I could not find a copy of the Magi Magazine from March 1944 two months previous to this edition where apparently the matter of incorrect magazine numbering was first raised, but this does show that the issue of numbering magazines incorrectly was mentioned in both the March 1944 & May 1944 Magi Magazines
I can confirm also that I did find copies of the magazine in the Archives from during the war confirming that we as a club have never missed publication of an issue from day one of publishing!
It is also true to say based on the contents of the Archives at Manchester Central Library that The Order of the Magi also published Programmes for all of the various public shows that they gave starting in 1909 and also for events such as their dinners which again seem to have started in 1909.
