Grand illusions

David Copperfield preserves the myths of magicians' past in his personal museum

BY SKYLAIRE ALFVEGREN

"This is his set of master keys," he says, continuing the tour. "He could open any handcuffs of his generation. The most famous pair of cuffs, the mirror cuffs, took seven years to make and 70 minutes to escape from." Houdini's Iron Maiden, his baby shoes and his first magic wand surround the famous Chinese Water Torture Chamber, the Museum's costliest piece, inarguably the most priceless item in the history of magic.

The museum is "a very special place," Copperfield says. Open to scholars with an interest in the conjuring arts, there are a few pieces in the museum which Copperfield keeps away from the prying eyes of the press. "They're for my brethren," he says.

Among the highlights of the museum are its antiquarian books, including the first tome on magic: the first edition of Scott's The Discovery of Witchcraft, written in 1584 to stop "people from burning magicians as witches!"

"In none of those books will you find an explanation of what we're doing," he says of the new illusions his team is currently working on. "We're actually creating new magic, and I'm very proud of that."

The Vegas resident is performing 10 weeks at the MGM's Hollywood Theatre this summer, the most summer shows he's ever done in his adopted home city. "I'm working on a lot of new illusions right now," he says, at least one of which he hopes to debut during his Vegas summer shows. "I'll give you a hint: these are dangerous things."

Each of Copperfield's illusions are tested out, not unlike previewing a movie with test audiences, before they make it into the show. "It's about a two-year process, generally," Copperfield says, and involves audience feedback and trial and error.

Copperfield's current show "is about making people's dreams come true. People dream about the perfect car; I make a car appear. People dream about traveling around the world, people dream about being reunited with loved ones. My ideal is to have people suspend their disbelief."

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