Bellairsia: American Museum of Magic

American Museum of Magic

The American Museum of Magic is a historical site in Marshall, Michigan. It is the largest privately owned museum of its kind open to the public with nearly a million items from the Sixteenth Century to the present in its holdings.

The museum celebrates magic as entertainment, not the occult, and although it’s named American, it represents magicians throughout the world, containing authentic specimens of equipment and props, advertisement, scrapbooks, films and recordings, letters, costumes, personal items, and other extensive memorabilia.

Popular attractions are the original "Milk Can" and the "Overboard Box" escape equipment used by Harry Houdini. There are close to 15,000 books related to conjuring are in the museum library, with a unique, special archive on little-known magic practitioners as well as the big-time stars.

History

The museum houses the collection of writer, historian, and collector Robert Lund (1925-1995), whose collection was named the “largest such collection in private hands.” A native of Saginaw, Lund worked as a reporter and editor on newspaper staffs in Detroit, Chicago, and New York and, for three decades, as part of the magazine division of the Hearst Corporation. He was honored by the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the Society of American Magicians, the Historical Society of Michigan, and the Marshall Historical Society. The museum's historical marker was erected in 1985.

Robert co-founded the museum with his wife, Elaine (1926-2006), and opened the museum in its original location on April 1, 1978. Thanks to ongoing acquisitions, the collection expanded beyond its original size and the former Marshall Public Library purchased in 1999 for additional storage and showcases.

Bellairs Corpus

The National Museum of Magic in New Zebedee shares a similar name and purpose as its real-life counterpart. The Lunds inspired the characters Bob and Ellen Hardwick in The Specter of the Magician’s Museum (1998). Following their death, the Lunds were buried at Lakeside Cemetery in Colon, Michigan.