Goodliffe's Abracadabra

Abracadabra was a British weekly magic magazine whose publication life spanned sixty-three years. The first issue was published on the 2nd of February 1946; the last issue was published on the 28th of March 2009; a total of 3,296 issues..

The Name of the Magazine

Although the magazine name was Abracadabra, it was also known as Goodliffe’s Abracadabra and the readers nicknamed the magazine Abra.

Origins

The weekly magazine, Abracadabra, was created by Charles Goodliffe Neale (1912 - December 26, 1980).. He was a successful magician and he published a number of magic books. From the very first issue, Goodliffe (as he preferred to be called) gave the magazine the cover tag line of Abracadabra being “The Only Magical Weekly in the World.” Goodliffe was a man of strong views and the magazine became the arena of many strong debates about magic and magicians, sometimes initiated by the readers themselves through their contributions and letters. He successfully managed to produce Abracadabra on time, every week, during his time as its editor and publisher. Its popularity was such at the time that its circulation included forty-seven countries..

After Goodliffe’s Death

After Goodliffe’s death Davenports (one of London’s oldest family run magic shops) and Rabbi Sam Gringras (Magico of New York) put together a rescue package and the magazine continued its publication uninterrupted, still being published on a weekly basis without missing an issue..

The Editors

All the editors have been professional magicians. Originally, Goodliffe himself was the principal editor with the help of associate editor Fabian (Ernest Raymond Griffiths, b.1912-d.1965). The next editor, who continued as editor after Goodliffe's death and kept Abracadabra running, was Donald Bevan. The final editor was Walt Lees..

The Contributors

Over the decades the magazine not only included articles from its regular readers but also from television magicians such as David Nixon, Wayne Dobson, Paul Daniels and Jerry Sadowitz. In its later years, contributions came from authors such as Paul Gordon and John Helvin. The contents of the magazine was news, reviews, magic tricks and articles on magic as a performing art and its history.

The Demise of Abracadabra

In issue 3295, on March 21st of 2009, the Davenport family announced that Abracadabra was to change owners. The new owner would be a “magical enthusiast” named Stephen Martin.. However, for undisclosed reasons, the deal fell through and the next issue of Abracadabra announced its closure as a publication. In his final editorial Walt Lees wrote “…when I took over the job, it was made clear to me that Abra was struggling. Times were changing and with the growth of so much internet traffic, the demand for a hardcopy weekly was falling off dramatically.” Lees was initially given a year to salvage the magazine, which became two years year. Lees wrote “… I did my best. Sadly my best wasn’t good enough.”. For some, this statement made it appear that Lees was taking the blame for the magazine’s demise and articles were written in his defence by people, such as John Helvin. and Al Smith, which highlighted contributing factors to the magazine’s demise which were beyond Walt Lees’ control.

The Legacy of Goodliffe's Abracadabra

It is only in hindsight that it is being realised that Goodliffe's magazine is a remarkable document of sixty-three years of social history regarding magic as a performing art in the United Kingdom. The value of the magazine to the magic community in the United Kingdom is such that in November 2009 Mystery Magazine began publication in the hope of "filling the gap" that was left when Abracadabra ceased publication.