From August 24 to 27, 2023, the city of Ghent (Belgium) hosted the 9th European Congress on the History of Magic. A unique, timeless event, bringing together the greatest names in the art of magic for a series of exceptional conferences and events!
The first part of the event took place at the House of Mysteries, a magnificent spot in Ghent hidden away around the corner. This tastefully restored period marquee was the setting for an exceptional exhibition on the transformist artist Fregoli. Jack Cooper did us the honor of presenting his immense collection devoted to the artist. Between two original posters, we could find handwritten documents by Fregoli, photos of him and even a notebook listing all his travels.
Part of Jack Cooper's collection
Among other activities, the event included numerous conferences, with the French well represented. It was also an opportunity to visit the Ghent archives and discover exceptional magic documents, such as this Ghent manuscript telling the story of a magician:
Finally, we took advantage of the unique opportunity offered by this congress to officially announce the release of a work that concludes more than 10 years of research: the biography of Bénita Anguinet, co-authored by Pierre Taillefer and Thibault Ternon, a work of more than 120 pages that contains more than fifty previously unpublished illustrations (engravings, photos, letters, posters, etc.) and is published in limited quantities.
In short, the ninth EMHC congress was a complete success, and we're already looking forward to 2025 in Riga, Latvia, for the tenth anniversary of the event! Will you be there?