Martinka & Company is America's oldest magic company. Throughout the years the company has acquired and combined with over 30 other magic firms including Hornmann and Milton Chase and its roots date back to the early 19th century.

Beginnings

The business was founded in 1877 by the brothers, Francis and Antonio Martinka.

In the back of their New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 store was a workshop where magic illusions were built for all of the famous magicians of the day. Customers of the past included Alexander Herrmann

Alexander Herrmann

Alexander Herrmann was a French magician, better known as Herrmann the Great. He was part of the Herrmann family name that is known as the "first-family of magic". Those who witnessed Herrmann the Great perform considered him the greatest magician they ever saw...

, Harry Kellar

Harry Kellar

Harry Kellar was an American magician who presented large stage shows during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....

, Howard Thurston

Howard Thurston

Howard Thurston was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio.-Life:Thurston had the largest traveling magic show for the time, requiring more than eight entire train cars to transport his props across the country...

 and Houdini. And in more recent times, Woody Allen

Woody Allen

Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...

, David Copperfield (illusionist)

David Copperfield (illusionist)

David Copperfield is an Emmy Award-winning American illusionist, and was described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. Copperfield's network specials have been nominated for 38 Emmy Awards and won a total of 21 Emmys...

 and David Blaine

David Blaine

David Blaine is an American illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records...

 have also visited the shop.

Projects

The Martinka brothers also built the special effects for shows including the original production of The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...

. In the 1940s, Martinka & Co. was involved in several top secret projects that still remain a mystery today.

In 1902, the Society of American Magicians

Society of American Magicians

The Society of American Magicians is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and to maintain and improve ethical standards in the field of...

 was founded in the backroom of the Martinka shop.

Owners

The business has had a string of famous owners including Charles Joseph Carter

Charles Joseph Carter

Charles Joseph Carter was an American stage magician, also known as Carter the Great. A native of San Francisco, California, Carter began his career as a journalist and lawyer. As time passed, he grew an interest in magic...

 The Great (1917), Harry Houdini (1919), Al Flosso

Al Flosso

Albert Levinson was a Jewish American magician and entertainer, better known by his stage name Al Flosso....

, the Coney Island Fakir (1939), and Jackie Flosso. Today, the firm is run by Ted Bogusta and operates a brick and mortar shop with a mini museum as well as an online magic auction. The company continues to purchase magic collections and libraries, which are used to supply magicians and collectors throughout the world with vintage and modern magic

Magic (illusion)

Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...

.

In 2004, the shop and museum moved from NYC to Midland Park, New Jersey

Midland Park, New Jersey

Midland Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,128....

. The company has resumed manufacture of magic tricks.

External links

• Martinka & Co. official website