The Zancigs
Encyclopedia
Julius and Agnes Zancig were stage magicians
and authors on occultism who performed a spectacularly successful two-person mentalism
act during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Julius Zancig (1857–1929) -- born Julius Jörgensen in Copenhagen, Denmark and his wife Agnes Claussen Jörgensen (c.1850s -1916); also born in Copenhagen, and known as Agnes Zancig, were the originators of the routine.
act appeared over the years:
, tea leaf readers
, crystal ball
seers
, and palmists, working for private clients. For a while they resided in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
Julius wrote his last book, on crystal gazing
, in 1926. They were living in Ocean Park, California (now Santa Monica, California
), when Julius died in 1929, at the age of 72.
In 1921 a small (but by itself essentially useless) portion of the Zancigs' methodology was published by their friend and fellow mentalist-magician, Alexander the Crystal Seer
. Writing in 1929, the year of Julius Zancig's death, the British magician Will Goldston
also attempted to describe the code in some depth, but he did not reveal its entirety. In the 1940s Robert Nelson published a simple stage code which superficially resembled that of the Zancigs, but it did not permit the diversity of expression they had achieved.
To this day, the Zancig Code, also known as "Two Minds With But a Single Thought," is considered by many professional mentalists to be the most dauntingly complex two-person communication system of its type ever devised.
, of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy
, was approached by the fans who were starting the Laurel and Hardy fan club, "Sons of the Desert," he was asked to supply a motto for the lodge's logo and suggested a parody of the Zancigs' famous tag-line, "Two Minds Without a Single Thought!"
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
and authors on occultism who performed a spectacularly successful two-person mentalism
Mentalism
Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...
act during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Julius Zancig (1857–1929) -- born Julius Jörgensen in Copenhagen, Denmark and his wife Agnes Claussen Jörgensen (c.1850s -1916); also born in Copenhagen, and known as Agnes Zancig, were the originators of the routine.
Career
Several versions of The Zancigs' mind readingMentalism
Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...
act appeared over the years:
- From their first professional appearance in the 1880s, until her death in 1916, the act consisted of Julius Jörgensen Zancig and his wife Agnes Claussen Jörgensen Zancig. Julius and Agnes were very close to one another in real life as well as on stage and were billed as "Two Minds With But a Single Thought." They had been childhood sweethearts in Denmark but grew apart, then met and fell in love again after both had emigrated to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They were married in 1886. Theirs was the most popular and famous version of the act, and was successful for 30 years. - As a performing duo, The Zancigs toured the world, visiting EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. After several years of travel, they again settled in the United States. - During the early 1900s, Julius Zancig wrote articles for magazines. Both individually and as a pair, Agnes and Julius also wrote and published several books on such occult methods of divinationDivinationDivination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
and fortune telling as cartomancyCartomancyCartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were first introduced into Europe in the 14th century...
, palmistry, and scryingScryingScrying is a magic practice that involves seeing things psychically in a medium, usually for purposes of obtaining spiritual visions and less often for purposes of divination or fortune-telling. The most common media used are reflective, translucent, or luminescent substances such as crystals,...
with a crystal ballCrystal ballA crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid in the performance of clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone...
. On the title pages of these books, they styled themselves "Prof. Zancig" and "Mdme. Zancig." - In 1916, at around the age 59, Agnes died. Julius remarried to a schoolteacher named Ada, who had been born in Brooklyn, New York, and she became his new partner in the mentalism act.
- By 1917, Ada's dislike for public appearances had become so strong that Julius hired Paul Vucic (a.k.a. Paul Rosini) to take her place, under the stage-name "Henry."
- In 1917, Vucic was drafted into World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was replaced by David Theodore BambergDavid (Fu Manchu) BambergDavid Tobias "Theodore" Bamberg was an itinerant magician that traveled with his full evening magic show from the early to mid part of the 20th century. In Bamberg's autobiography, Robert Parrish wrote in the introduction that no other great illusionist could match David's skill. The Fu Manchu...
(1904–1974), the teenaged son of the stage magician Theo "Okito" BambergTobias BambergTobias "Theo" Leendert Bamberg was a professional magician. Born in Holland, Bamberg performed under the name Okito which was an anagram of Tokio...
. David Bamberg performed the Zancigs' mind-reading act with Julius under the stage name "Syko the Psychic". - In 1919, the Bamberg family left for Europe and Ada rejoined the act.
Retirement and private work for clients
During the 1920s, the Zancigs retired from touring. Julius was in his mid 60s, and the couple settled down to a quiet life as professional astrologersAstrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, tea leaf readers
Tasseography
Tasseography is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments....
, crystal ball
Crystal ball
A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid in the performance of clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone...
seers
Scrying
Scrying is a magic practice that involves seeing things psychically in a medium, usually for purposes of obtaining spiritual visions and less often for purposes of divination or fortune-telling. The most common media used are reflective, translucent, or luminescent substances such as crystals,...
, and palmists, working for private clients. For a while they resided in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
Julius wrote his last book, on crystal gazing
Crystal gazing
Crystal-gazing is a form of divination or scrying achieved through trance induction by means of gazing at a crystal....
, in 1926. They were living in Ocean Park, California (now Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
), when Julius died in 1929, at the age of 72.
Method
The Zancigs worked their stage act by means of an extremely elaborate and undetectable verbal code, which in later years became known as the Zancig Code.In 1921 a small (but by itself essentially useless) portion of the Zancigs' methodology was published by their friend and fellow mentalist-magician, Alexander the Crystal Seer
Alexander (magician)
Claude Alexander Conlin , also known as Alexander, C. Alexander, Alexander the Crystal Seer, and Alexander the Man Who Knows, was a vaudeville magician who specialized in mentalism and psychic reading acts, dressed in Oriental style robes and a feathered turban, and often used a crystal ball as a...
. Writing in 1929, the year of Julius Zancig's death, the British magician Will Goldston
Will Goldston
Will Goldston, , was a popular English stage magician in the first half of the 20th century.He was born in the city of Liverpool and became interested in the subject at the age of eleven. As well as being a performer he was involved in the merchandising of "magic tricks" and was employed by the...
also attempted to describe the code in some depth, but he did not reveal its entirety. In the 1940s Robert Nelson published a simple stage code which superficially resembled that of the Zancigs, but it did not permit the diversity of expression they had achieved.
To this day, the Zancig Code, also known as "Two Minds With But a Single Thought," is considered by many professional mentalists to be the most dauntingly complex two-person communication system of its type ever devised.
In popular culture
When Stan LaurelStan Laurel
Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
, of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
, was approached by the fans who were starting the Laurel and Hardy fan club, "Sons of the Desert," he was asked to supply a motto for the lodge's logo and suggested a parody of the Zancigs' famous tag-line, "Two Minds Without a Single Thought!"
Sources
- Goldston, Will. The Truth About the Zancigs in Sensational Tales of Mystery Men. 1929. (online version)
- Fixen, Laura G. The True Secret of Mind Reading as Performed by the Zancigs. 1912.
- Romano, Chuck "House of Cards - The Life and Magic of Paul Rosini". 1999