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On this page you will find more photographs of FAUST's GREAT MAGIC SHOW, early photographs of GRANVILLE TAYLOR & VALERIE with "THE DEVIL'S BAR" act, his enlarged illusion act, and the evolution to FAUST THE MAGICIAN with his own GREAT MAGIC SHOW and TAYLOR-MADE MAGIC. |
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This is one of FAUST's Favorite Images. FAUST presenting "The Broomstick Suspension of A Witch". Blackpool Icedrome. l980 season. Faust presented a series of spectacular illusions in the centre of the arena, and solved the problem of walking safely on ice! |
| THE CRYSTAL CLOCK & SPIRIT BELL Made by the Master Magical Mechanic, John Martin, for Arnold De Biere, it was featured by The Great Lyle until he died in 1955. The Crystal Clock was bought by Granville Taylor from Lucille Lyle in 1960, with permission to perform it anywhere in the world. It has been presented by FAUST on seven World Tours. |
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GRANVILLE TAYLOR & VALERIE presenting "THE DEVIL'S BAR" act. Moss Empire Theatres, from 1957. Granville Taylor's father was a headmaster in a Junior school, and expected his sons to follow in his footsteps. But at an early age, after seeing Dante on film, and Lyle on the stage, Granville knew that he wanted to tour the world with his own big magic show. Granville graduated with a B.Sc. degree in 1952, and a teaching diploma in '53, but left the teaching profession to pursue his ambitions. His act was seen at Collins' Music Hall by the booker Cissie Williams, and soon he was booked for the No.1 theatres. |
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GRANVILLE TAYLOR & VALERIE with "The Card Castle" This Card Castle was one of the first 'props' Granville Taylor made. A replica of the one used by Murray, the Australian illusionist and escapologist, and the best version Granville has ever seen; and he has seen them all! |
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GRANVILLE TAYLOR with "fire-bowls to flowers", opening his "Devil's Bar" act |
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GRANVILLE TAYLOR presenting DAVID DEVANT's original MAGIC KETTLE. The Great Lyle owned Devant's original Magic Kettle, but he never performed it out of respect for his friend Chris Charlton who had been doing a different version of it for a number of years. Lyle died in 1955 when about to start another Moss Empire tour. Granville Taylor bought Devant's Magic Kettle, in its original travel box, from Lucille Lyle, in l957. The silver-plated kettle had been made by Devant's mechanic, Henry Bate. Granville Taylor used the kettle for over 35 years, until it became a museum piece. He sold it at Sothebys in 1994. It raised just over eleven thousand pounds. Granville had paid Lucille ten pounds for it! |
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THE BLACK AND WHITE BEER BARRELS MYSTERY - "Pulling a Woman thro' a 3-inch Hole". Granville Taylor first saw this baffling illusion performed by Jasper Maskelyne at the Victoria Theatre, (The "Vic"),Burnley, with one barrel on top of the other, and a steel manhole-type plate between them. Dante performed the same illusion with the barrels in a horizontal position. Faust decided to adopt the Dante style, because it gave more movement in the presentation as the barrels were on supports with castors, but it was many years before Granville discovered the secrets of this baffling mystery. He bought two wooden barrels from a Bolton brewery, and lined them with canvas. The brewery made the supports from oak, a local engineer made the plated steel rods, and another firm made the target. |
