McManus-Young:
A Preliminary Inventory of The Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
| Creator: | John J. McManus, 1889-1955 Morris N. Young, 1909-2002 | |
| Title: | McManus-Young Collection | |
| Dates: | 1949-1959 | |
| Extent: | 1 document box (.42 linear feet) | |
| Abstract: | Approximately 150 pages of correspondence and related material regarding the collecting and disposition of books, apparatuses, and ephemera relating to magic, illusion, and spiritualism as collected by Morris N. Young, M. D. and John McManus, Esq. | |
| Call Number: | Performing Arts Collection PA-52160 | |
| Language: | English |
| Access: | Open for research. Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival materials. | |
| Use Policies: | Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University of Texas at Austin assume no responsibility. | |
| Restrictions on Use: | Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Ransom Center's Open Access and Use Policies. |
Administrative Information
| Preferred Citation: | McManus-Young Collection (Performing Arts Collection PA-52160). Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin. | |
| Acquisition: | Gifts, 1957 and 2018 (18-07-005-G) | |
| Processed by: | Eric Colleary, 2021 |
| Repository: |
Scope and Contents
| In 1957, the University of Texas at Austin accepted a gift of over 2,000 books and periodicals on the practice and history of conjuring, sleight of hand and stage magic, card tricks, hypnotism, spiritualism, ventriloquism, and witchcraft from the collection of John & Hanna McManus and Morris & Chelsey Young. | ||
| This collection of material, mostly correspondence, documents the collecting efforts of McManus and Young and their efforts to place their collections at institutions across the United States. A folder of ephemeral material that came with the library includes ad cards, clippings, tickets, and bookseller lists related to magic and illusion. | ||
| The collection was a gift from Charles and Cheryl Young in 2018 and includes additional material from the center’s collection file from the original 1957 donation. | ||
Related Material
| The McManus-Young Collection is part of the Ransom Center’s library holdings. Other collections of their material are held at the Library of Congress and the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley. See also the Ransom Center’s collections on Magic and Illusion. | ||