Winston Freer
Encyclopedia
History
Winston Freer was born in St. Albans, VermontSt. Albans (city), Vermont
St. Albans is a city in and the shire town of Franklin County, Vermont, in the United States. At the 2000 census, the city population was 7,650. St Albans City is completely surrounded by St. Albans town, which is incorporated separately from the city of St. Albans...
. In 1926, at the age of 16, Freer saw Howard Thurston
Howard Thurston
Howard Thurston was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio.-Life:Thurston had the largest traveling magic show for the time, requiring more than eight entire train cars to transport his props across the country...
perform and became interested in magic
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...
. He grew up to be one of magic's cleverest inventors.
In the 1930s, Freer worked at Abbott's Magic in Colon, Michigan
Colon, Michigan
Colon is a village in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,227 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Colon Township...
and performed under the name Alladin and later Doc Maxam.
Freer gained a reputation for performing effects like freezing ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
in his bare hand. He also startled magicians some years ago by performing a suspension while standing in the middle of a floor entirely surrounded. It was captured on the cover of The Linking Ring, August 1941.
Winston Freer also published his occurrence classification of magic in International Brotherhood of Magicians
International Brotherhood of Magicians
International Brotherhood of Magicians is the world's largest organization for professional and amateur magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St...
magazine 'The Linking Ring' which classifies effects from the audiences' point of view.
Freer also fancied himself a mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
. One of his most impressive creations was his Tile Puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
. What makes it so interesting is that neither the pieces nor the frame change shape or size in any way.
Published works
- Alagen Rope (with U.F. Grant) (1939)
- 25 Rice Bowl Methods (1954)
- The Magic of Doc Maxam (1954)