Davenports Magic

Davenports Magic, 5-7 Charing Cross Underground Arcade, Strand, London WC2N 4HZ Tel: +44(0) 207 836 0408; www.davenportsmagic.co.uk
Owners: the Davenport family

Underneath busy, bustling Charing Cross Station lies an almost deserted shopping arcade. Tucked away in that shopping arcade lies a very special magic shop.


My search for the elusive Davenports Magic reminded me at times of Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series - in the heart of London but invisible to outsiders; I guess this is probably appropriate for a purveyor of magic tricks!

The interior of the shop is quite dark and theatrical: among the spotlit glass-covered shelves are some mysterious items with intriguing names, such as “Count of Monte Cristo Escape” or “Demon Drawer Box”, as well as vintage editions of magic books (I spot one from 1924), and a 2-volume history of the Davenport family from 1881 onwards!

The shop counter doubles up as a performance area, used to demonstrate the different tricks and props sold; everyone behind the counter is a magician, including owner Betty Davenport, a sprightly old lady who's run the shop since 1962.

I found out that there are very few magic shops in the world that have been open since the 19th century, and none older that are still owned by the original family.

“You have Martinka's, of course [founded in the USA in the 1870s]– it was owned by Houdini at one time – and a shop in Barcelona that's older [El Rey de la Magia, founded 1881] , but I can't think of any others that have been open as long as us” says Betty.

The Davenport story starts with Lewis Davenport, a music-hall magician. So popular was Lewis that he was booked 52 weeks a year, each week in a different theatre!

As his performances were held in the evenings, Lewis decided to open a magic shop during the day. In 1898 he founded Davenports, opposite the People's Palace music-hall in Mile End Road. Over the years, the shop would move to the West End.

Lewis' son George Davenport (Betty's father) took over the family business in 1932, with a young Betty helping in the shop from an early age. “I left school in 1948 when I was 14, and used to have a little magic act as a teenager”, she recalls.

Unfortunately George died fairly young, and Betty had to take over the shop when she was only 28. It must have been a difficult task to carry on the family business in those circumstances, but the Davenports are made of fine mettle. “It wasn't easy, but I somehow managed” says Betty, showing the fortitude of her generation.

Davenports has changed over the years, reflecting the wider social changes taking part in the world: until around 1950, there were several places for traditional stage magicians to work – concerts, parties, music halls, and others. Due to strong demand, there many full-time, professional magicians – and they mostly wanted dramatic, stage props – their acts included sawing ladies in half and producing elephants on stage!

From the 1950s onwards the music-hall business declined, and with it magicians too; the top-hat and tailed full-time professionals gave way to amateurs and semi-pros – people with 9-5 jobs who did evening and weekend bookings. I guess this wasn't that different to Lewis Davenport, except in one way: due to the smaller venues they worked (usually children's or adult parties) the equipment they demanded was smaller as well.

Instead of full-sized stage props, clients went for medium-sized tricks – for example, pulling a rabbit out of a hat – but the props were still largely hand-made in each magic shop.

From the 1980s onwards, the world of magic was dominated by the rise of the amateur: individuals with good jobs that paid well, and had plenty of disposable income to spend on small but relatively pricey tricks (£20-30).

Betty believes the future of magic is bound to split into two groups of customers: 'hardcore' magicians who spend hours practising, and 'casual' magicians who want simple tricks to amuse their friends.

There's even such a thing as a 'too casual' market: possibly inspired by Harry Potter, some customers have been known to purchase magic wands - only to later complain that the wand didn't actually turn their black cat into a tortoiseshell!

With the exception of that particular market, Davenports aims to please both types of customers: these days, the range of items includes self-working tricks and instructional DVDs. However, most of their items are still unique and hand-made, as Betty explains:

“We have a man who makes brass coin boxes and a range of tricks – as and when I need them I place an order. We also have a lady who makes straitjacket escapes with a professional machine. By and large we don't get engulfed with Far East imports. The tricks that come from Japan and China, everyone's got them!”

As most customers these days are amateurs with disposable income, I wondered how the recession has affected the store. I thought Internet competition would affect their revenues, but the reality is very different: despite being a traditional store with a long and loyal customer base – including Paul Daniels and the late Tommy Cooper – mail and Internet orders actually outnumber physical sales!

“The reason we can keep going is due to mail orders – my son Bill is a whiz-kid at running our website. That side of the business is not subject to the vagaries of the British economic situation, and we get orders from every part of the world!”

Betty sees another advantage Davenports enjoys over newer rivals:

“The thing that is different about us is that the shop is in the same family, with the same method of trading. We've changed with the times and do business over the Internet, but we keep our traditions – and our customers.”

Both Betty's children are involved in magic: Bill works in the shop and these days runs most of the business, including beginners' and intermediate magic classes held at the shop; Roy is a professional magician who performs for the stage as well as corporate events – including several blue chip companies.

Encouragingly, both Bill and Roy's young children are also interested in magic; it seems Davenports is likely to continue in family hands, and I wish the 5th generation of this remarkable family every success!