POSTOFFICE BOX 1.... • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

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M'"DRI"AI>~R. I:XTRACJRJ),HARY

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(201 ) 431-2429POSTOFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728

AXf-L"'fL1ST~O M

Copyright (1985) by Al MannExclusives

Towards the end of World War I, the GermanArmy had in its ranks a multi-talented young sol­dier named Joseph Vogt.

Joseph's mundane trade was that of a baker,and he was so employed in the Army. His army bud­dies, however, noticed that he was also a masterof an obscure science known as Mnemonics. Josephhad the ability to memorize instantly a long listof unrelated words or items dictated to him by any-one! But Joseph's display of Mne-

monics went far beyond the academic norm. He could also enterpret Psycho-Physi­cal impulses emited by the mind of anyone he came in contact with! In essenceJoseph was also a mindreader!

His army buddies marveled and applauded his demonstrations and althoughJoseph was a good mixer and well liked by everyone, they looked at him strangelyand wondered.

Other Mnemonics experts also marveled as not only could Joseph memorizeup to 30 words thrown at him but he could also sense what particular word of themany someone was thinking of. These demonstrations were uncanny and most amazing,and were to bring Joseph instant fame and unfortunately also an early death.

Joseph had been an specially gifted child that had developed a liking forthe occult sciences and the modern experimentation into Psychic Phenomena. Hehad mastered the art of the Mesmerist and was able to hypnotize, yet his lovewas his ability to read thoughts. In the entire civilized world, less than adozen persons were so gifted.

The academic psychologist had labeled his gift 'muscle reading' and saidthat it was the result of ideo-motor impulses emited by the brain. But thosewho are so gifted and demonstrate the technique at will know that the label isincorrect. Later , Joseph was to demonstrate to the world that physicalcontact was not at all necessary.

Joseph's stint in the army served him two purposes: He served his countryand at the same time, due to the isolated life of a baker, he was able to plothis future. He would some day soon, shake the world with his art.

In 1920 at the age of 26, Joseph was discharged from the military.14 days later and while still in uniform, Joseph declared himself a mind­

reader and adopted the name AXEL HELLSTROM. He asked Germany's top magician,Kassner, to connect him with an agent (Kassner's posters show him vanishing ajumbo elephant from the theatre stage).

continue on page 4

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AXEL HELLSTROM'S RAPID MEMORY SYSTEM

Copyright 1929 by Harlan Tarbell, 56 ElIOt Congres. St., Chlcaco

This system of rapid memory of thirty objects is the same a. used by Axel Hellstrom in his public performances. Those ofyou W:IO have seen Hellstrom at work know the speed at which he works. Men well versed In memory systems have marveled atHellstrom's presentation and. many requests have come in inquiring about his system. By special arrangements I am now able togive you his system.

It will appeal especially to the entertainer as It is designed for entertainment purposes.

There have been a number of routines and systems based On exaggerated memory stunts and ideas, but how man)' are youactually usinl{, and if you arc uoing anyone, have you developed proper speed and entertainment value? The old ideu of a•• o­eiaticn of exaggerated ideas still holds good for memorizing a list of articles, but Hellstrom has simplified matters through PIC­TURES arranged in groups of FIVES. This enables you to quickly memorize the basic code upon which your various experimentsare based.

Note the chart carefully. You must be able to carry a mental picture of it in four head. But it is easy if you work it outsystematically. There are three rows of ten pictures. Each row is in turn divided Into two gruop•. In each row the ones, twos,threes etc., are In a vertical row. For instance, I, 11, and 21 are in a row vertically.

LET us S'rAUT LEARNING THE CODE QUICKLY:

We will take the first 5, which have to do with your own person. Learn them in order.

I-In your left pocket.2-In your right pocket.3-0n top of your head.4-You steJl"oh It wIth the right foot.S-Lying on /loor in front of you.

Go over that routine several times until you cannot forget it. Your mind travels from left to right pocket, to top of head,down to raised right foot, and onto the floor. .

NOW FOR THE SECOND GROUP:

Here we gei. into pictures and you must memorize all five pictures in order,

\vAGON-tABLE-CRYStAI. nALI~AEllOl·I.ANE-nEJ)

Go over them several times in )'our mind. then associate them with thnir respeet.ive number-s. By icarninst groups uf lh't,pictures it is quite easy to place each picture iii Its place and assoCiate It with its number. .

Now .tart with number one and m~ntally recall the code cue of each· number according to th~ chart.

THE THIRD GROUP:

This group comes directly under the flrot group and 11 under I, 12 under the 2, etc.

nARRE~I'IANO-STAGE-ENGINE-CROCODn.E

. ',J

Note the variety of subjects so as to aid in your memory work. As.ociate each picture with its respective number.

Already you have half of the chart memorised.

Continue thi. routine with each of the group. of pictures.

Go over the thirty pictures one group at a time in your mind. Where you 'ail to remember one, take good note of it and youwill remember it easi~r the next time.

Wh~n you have memorized the pictures and can associate each wIth its respective number you are ready to go on with theact. Once you have the code picture. wen in mind you are eet for the future, for the objects an audience e1ve. you to remembercan alway. be associated with the basic picture code.

2

PRESENTATION3

(Some one saya, for instance, 'apple.')

the number one and then the word apple after It.

(Over)

Number one ia apple. Write down

Hellstrom presents the act Romething like this:

"Ladies and Gentlemen:

I would like to show you a very interesting "xperiment in the line of psycholoq. Will you be so kind as to have a penciland paper ready 101' the experiment? I want you to give me the names 01 thirty articles that you use In everyday life. Whcnsome one call. out an object and I repeat the object, write down the number one and then the name 01 the object after it. Thenwhen I repeat the nnme 01 anoth..r object write down the number two and the name of the object after it. Then three, foul',five and so forth until we come to the number thirty. In this way you can readily see at a glance at what number each objectis c'alled. You wiJI have control, thereby, over the whole experiment and can check up on me at any time.

Now for the first word.

Next.

(Some one UYI for Instance, 'clsantte.')

Write Numb~r 2-;-then cigarette under number one ahd apple.(Let ua ImagIne now that the audience calla all the followinlf objects In order):

3-<:ulpidor IO-Ipoon 17-ahoe4-luitcaae Il-telephone IS-aoap5-oranll'e Ill-bread .l~waatebuket6-coal 13-chair 20---<:at7-glasl 14-towel 2I-mirror8-elephant IO-ring 22-ham!I-monkey Io-mustard 24-boJogna

Hellatrom has named carefully and disti~ctiy, each number with ItI respective object.

25-atar26-candy27-cheeae28-street car29-lIour30-1'adio"

METHOD OF ASSOCIATION. .

Aa each object ia caUed he aSlociates It with the code picture alao at the same number.

For inatance, the code number for One il THE LEFT HAND POCKET. APPLE waa caUed out for number one He rinuucdiately picturea an aprle In hil Ieft-hand trouaera pocket. '

And 10 he eontinues,

Number 2-He Imagines he hal a cigarette in hla left-hand trouaera pocket.Number 3-He picturea a cUlpidor on tolLof .hia..llead..Number 4-,A suitc..e ia under his right foot. He hal hia foot on a aulteale.Number 5-An orange liea on the ground before him.

See how easy it il to memorize these five articles and to cal1 them frontwards or backwards or at any number given,

, An apple in the left pocket, a cigarette in the right pocket, a cuapidor on the head, the right foot il on a suitcase and 81orange lies in front on the 1I00r.

To continue:

O-He picturel the WAGON fuU of COAL.7-A GLASS tumbler il on the TABLE.S-An ELEPHANT la standinll' on the CRYSTAL BALL aimllar to the tamlliar-.elrcurplctUfiOf elephant on large woodei

bal1, '9-.-A...MQN~E¥-ia rldi1!l llII fop of the AEROPLANE. .

10-Tliliillia a SPOON on the BEl>, ,;erhallS Jeff there1>i'Oiii--orure e["idren at pIny,Il-There la a TELEPHONE on top of the BARR)!:L, perhaps put there for housecleaning.I2-The children have piled BREAD On top of the PIANO keya,13-A CHAIR sets at the eenter of STAGE.I4-The ENGINE haa a TOWEL hanring on a amaU pole at edlre of front of boiler to aet as aignal flag,15-The CROCODILE haa a RING around the end of hia tall

The moment you picture the eode word, yeu al80 picture that object asaocillted with It. Think of 9 and you think of th,aeroplane with monkey riding around on top of It. .

In th~a same manner you ean aasoclate the other objects with the eode picture..

I6-lmaeine some one dropping a glaag of MUSTARD on the ceJlar STEPS and breakinlf it.I7-lmall'ine a SHOE hanging on the CEILING.IS-The CLOWN is washing hia makeup oil with SOAP.I:J-Some one has thrown away '" WASTEBASKET into a scrap BOX.20-A CAT relts peacefuUr dlried up on the SOFA.

And_,ao on with, tho ft!.n.blinlr'ten,

IlOUTINE OF PIlESEN'fATION

I-·Call all one object after another in order.

Number I-AppleNumber 2-CilraretleNumber S-Cuspidor

-ete., until aU thirty are called,

~(To Audience): "If you will give me a number I will give you the name of the object at that number. (Audience callnumbers.) Number 28 il street car, 17 Is shoe, 20 il cat, etc." , '

3-"Glve me the name of the object and I will give you the number usoclated with it. Waste basket i. 19, ring is 15, etc4-CaU oil objects in order from back to front. Number 30 is radio, 29 ia tlour, 28 Is street car, etc., continuing until numb"

one i. called, '

The same system ean be uled with more numberi but experlenee shaWl that thirty A'''' enoull'h so as to, convince lIu~liencc 'remarkable mental power and at the same time entertain them and not tire them. Too many 1'erformero tire their audiences b,memory gystems that are too slow, too much repetition by beint drawn out. Present the Iystem as Hellstrom does, as )'OU "'"

find excellent entertainment. Speed is essentja]. Keep your pictured chart weJl In mind.

4

AXEL HELLSTROM AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

His first performance was done in a Hamburg coffee shop. This very firstperformance was a smash hit and soon his agent booked him in a cinema and asthe audience became bigger, his agent had a hard time finding large halls forhim to work and accomodate all the ticket buyers.

Everyone marveled at Hellstrom's uncanny phenomenon, including MasterMagician Kassner. After watching Hellstrom do many demonstrations, Kassnerasked him, "HOW COME YOU NEVER FAIL?" Hellstrom answered, III don't know butwhen I am on the stage and see the people, I know what to do. 1I

Kassner stated that Hellstrom was the best in his field, although he wasabsolutely sure that Hellstrom used stooges.

Wonder of Wonders! While Kassner played at one theatre only 15 days,Hellstrom was held over. at the same theatre for six months!

Soon Hellstrom dropped his agent and worked for himself. He would rent alarge hall, announce his show then stand at the door to collect the money andthen close the door and go on stage to do his show. He made so much money thathe stuffed into his pockets that some of it dropped on the stage. He did45 minutes. Memory and mindreading.

AMERICA:By the end of 1920, conditions in Germany were getting bad. There was lit­

tle money in circulation and unemployment rampant. Hellstrom asked Kassner toconnect him with an agent in America and Hellstrom left for the States in Feb.of 1921. He was sent to the west coast by the Immigration Department. He workedfor a while and then started working in the theatre of Springfield Oregon inDecember of 1921. He was 28 years of age.

Hellstrom had trouble presenting his show as he could not speak Englishwell. He thought that the best thing to do was to present a silent magic act.He borrowed 180,000 marks from a friend (at that time that converted to about$1100, a good chunk of money then). Hellstrom wrote to Kassner to help himbuy the magic apparatus. But this never materialized as the German mark commencedto plumet and by year's end (1922) it was down to 7000 for one dollar. (a yearlater it reached the low point of 4,200,000.000.000 for one dollar!)

Hellstrom wrote many letters to Kassner. He told him that in the smalltown he was in, people paid $2 for a show which was done only once every threemonths and that 750 people attended. A person had to work six months for thatin Germany. He pleaded with Kassner to come to America and that he would getrich in one year. That Goldin was making $1000 per week, but Kassner had hisgolden egg in Europe and stayed there where he was top card for several decades.

THE MINDREADER:Axel Hellstrom's 'cup of tea' was mindreading. He was an expert in it.

His demonstrations were uncanny. His broken English added mysticism to hisshows and a touch of authenticity. The world marveled. Soon his fame grew andthe repercussions were heard world wide. It reached the ears of famous psy-chic investigators like Houdini and Joseph Rinn. They heard about a German Mind­reader performing in the West Coast that could do 'non-contact mindreading!'

Axel Hellstrom created a sensation everywhere he performed and it was in­evitable that eventually he would end up where the action was. He moved toChicago. The U.S. Government had invented prohibition in 1920 and it wouldlast for 13 years until 1933, the same year that would see the demise of onegreat showman and mindreader, Axel Hellstrom. Speakeasies and the imbibing of

AXEL HELLSTROM

b. December 26, 1893Augsburg

d. July 27, 1933

Munich

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

~NEWSSECTU]

Chlcnl:"O Evtnln"-::Amerleaa IIh

"HERE:IT· IS""Here it is,"Axel ahl1OJmte8t:~he picks out the rogu:

gallery photo of the ma1Yw~·_nameSergt, O'Regan wro"How did he do it ?". wori)Jers;,t~ sergeant, at Axel's rigl"he didn't see what L wi:ote."· .Il.~w Aiel does it is stillmystery.

CHI_CANCHICAGO, TUESDAY, MAY2?, 1~28

CONCENTRATINGAxel Hellstrom starting to demonstrate his

power that is bewildering Chicago. He's. concen­trating while Sergt, O'Regan 'writes do'Yf'.a nameon his desk at the detective -bureau to test 'Axel'smind-reading ability. -

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POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLO. NEW JERSEY 07

AXEL HELLSTROM AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE7

bad liquor was the 'in thing.'In Chicago, Dornfie1d (Dorny) became Hellstrom's agent. Hellstrom

was in constant demand and appeared in Magician's conventions and receivedmuch publicity. He was known as a 'regular guy' by the magicians, which meansthat he drank 'regularly' or plenty. He was a good 'mixer' which also means thathe drank plenty and could drink anyone 'under the table!'

He re turned home to Munich every chance he had to vi's i t the fami 1y.His young nephew, Anton Vogt, admired his uncle with adoration. Axel

Hellstrom would perform anytime, anywhere, even in his own home! He wouldtell his relatives to hide something and that he would find it. If his Aunthad misplaced something, Hellstrom would jump up and say, "1'11 find it.

Anton remembers that his uncle's hands sometimes would tremble excessive­ly and someone had to run out to get a bottle of whiskey and after taking agood belt of it, Hellstrom would be back to normal and could do his show.

IN one of his visits to Germany, Hellstrom married and then travelledwith his young wife. The fast living soon took its toll and Axel returned toGermany for the last time. He was hospitalized and on his death bed he impartedsome secrets to visiting magicians. To one, he told the secret of the sensa­tional design duplication feat done on stage with blackboards.

Axel Hellstrom (Joseph Vogt) was born on December 26th, 1893 and diedon July 27th, 1933. He was 39 years of age when he died.

His widow remarried and survived him 50 years. She died in 1982.

* * * * * *The following articles and comments about Axel Hellstrom appeared in

The Linking Ring (IBM) and are taken from the collected notes of Axel Hellstromand Svea:

The most startling presentation on the bill, however, was that of AxelHellstrom, young German psychologist, who has puzzled scientific bodies in thiscountry and Europe with his uncanny ability to read the thoughts of the personswith whom he is incontact and interpret them correctly.

Fifty persons from the audience were seated on the stage during Hellstrom'sperformance, while he was tested by his brothers and laymen. He found the pinconcealed by Chief of Police Willis M. Kipker on the coat collar of another man.Later he selected a picture previously designated by Chief Kipker from thewallet in his coat and gave it to another member of the audience.

The Linking RingJune and August 1928

AXEL HELLSTROM by Dorny

Hellstrom, in spite of his Scandanavian sounding name, is a native ofGermany, having been born in Augsburg on Dec. 26,1893.

Being interested in things of an occult and scientific nature ever sincehe was able to read, Axel soon became involved in magic, hypnotism, telepathyand other things of kindred nature. He specialized in Mental Phenomena mostlyand discovered that he had the gift of mental perception highly developed inhis nature.

Working and studying along those lines almost exclusively, he has becomeone of the foremost exponents of mind concentration in the world. Many years ofresearch, study and application have developed this natural gift to such asextent that he has become highly sensitized in matters of this nature.

AXEL HELLSTROM

AXEL HELLSTROM by Dorny cont.

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE8

He makes no claim to supernatural powers and even goes so far as to saythat almost anyone with a good mental equipment may become highly sensitiveto mental suggestion, provided of course he gives as much thought and as manyyears to the subject as he has done.

Although his work is nothing short of miraculous, he is constantly inves­tigating and studying in order to develope his powers to the 'nth' degree ofperfection. He has baffled and entertained some of the most learned scient-ists in the world and they are unanimous in their praises of his work.

He is a quite modest and most unassuming chap off stage and has a host offriends allover the wox1d who like him for himself alone. His work has enabledhim to come in contact with some of the biggest people in the world of science,religion, politics and business.

Thurston was thorouh1y mystified when he saw Hellstrom for the first timelast spring in Milwaukee. He was gracious enough, after having seen his perfor­mance, to publicly admit that he had been completely baffled.

We all recall the wonderful demonstration he gave at the I.B.M. conven­tion last year in Lima and if conditions are favorable, he will appear againnext year.

THE LINKING RINGFeb. 1929 page 979

Hereward Carrington and Labero:

Then: Our good friend Labero in his broken English told us a littleabout himself. We showed him a picture of Axel Hellstrom and he lookedvery grave for a minute or so. Then Carrington explained to us that Labero afew years before was one of the greatest muscle readers and locators in Europebut had dropped it. Stan Hall had seen Hellstrom at the convention so of coursehe was anxious to see Labero do something. In all the time Carrington had beenwith him, he had never seen him work but on this night he concented.

Mr. Hall hid his I.B.M. pin somewhere in the house while we all settalking in another closed room. Labero then took his wrist and ran off drag­ging Hall after him. He went straight for the pin and located it within 30seconds! Great work and it had us going. Hall who has seen others do thiswork at the convention and elsewhere said it to be the best he has ever seen.

Then to climax it all, Labero correctly located a name chosen by Mr.Tyrer in the Hamilton Telephone directory. Not a book test but some kind ofmuscle reading. He certainly was the hit of the night with Mr. Carrington.

The Linking RingMarch, 1929 page 79.

MNEMONICS PLUS

Axel Hellstrom gave a memory test of 30 numbers and articles - - After theshow Axel presented me with his system and right away within four minutes I hadmastered fifteen articles and numbers. Bill Hi11iar will vouch for this, and Iguarantee that this system can be mastered in a few minutes and you can becomea memory expert right away, so here is a chance for magicians to add this featureitem to their program. Axel also gave a most wonderful demonstration inHarry Cecil's room on his mind reading. I decided that he should take up apen and go over to a table and pierce the pen through a glass with a cover onit and sure enough Axel Hellstrom went over and performed just what I hadwilled. Wonderful and way beyond me.

The Linking Ring, June 1929page 366

9AXEL HELLSTROM AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

MINDREADER EXTRAORDINARY

AXEL HELLSTROM, mind~eader extraordinary, of Chicago Ill. is securing agreat deal of club and private work with his unique mindreading demonstrations.Hellstrom is in a class by himself in his work, as he is practically without com­petition. It is the belief of the writer that his work more closely approachesgenuine Mind Reading than any other demonstrator. Hellstrom services are soughtnot only in Chicago but for a radius of many hundred miles. His demonstrationswill be remembered by all those who attended the last two I.B.M. conventions.

THE LINKING RING Dec. 1929 page 1070

Hellstrom is doing well, thank you. Says, "them da---d foreigners can'tunderstand English." A wonderful chap this Hellstrom. The only difficultyseems to be that he still thinks German while speaking English. Boy! We get agreat kick outta that.

THE LINKING RING Dec. 1929page 1125

A Mf"I)AL~The following appeared in the Sphinx for August, 1931.

By Johnny Jones

Axel Hellstrom Feted byChicago Magi

realization :of the fact that we. who knewand loved him as a brother should showour regard in such a noble manner. Emo­tionally snowed-under, Dorny finishe~

his speech by proxy. Axel was given arousing spontaneous ovation of severalmoments' duration. One usually has. todie to have people speak kindly of them,especially magicians, so put yourself inAxel's position, standing. in a 'banquethall and listening to all of these prema­ture obituaries. Maybe your emotionswouldn't run the gamut!

George Troseth,The Tricky 'I'rtckster, performed a mostunique location of three chosen cardsfor as many "chosen people," which in­cluded Smiling Joe Berg. After the au­dience. climbed 'back into their seats hedid a pretty sleight-of-hand four-ace ef­fect, and then sat down and behaved him­self for the rest of the evening. At leastthat was his intention until Dorny calledupon him to present a travesty on He'll­strom's act. 'I'roseth was led from theroom and Happy Russ Walsh gave thetest. Troseth came back with the com­mittee and proceeded to locate a bottlehidden under a table, which he gave toAxel. "Ax" pulled the cork and pre­pared to wet his whistle with a broad

George Tro­seth next took the floor in behalf ofThe Club Artists' Protective Associationand extended an official message of goodwill to our guest of honor.

At this time President Laurant calledupon Dorny to present Ax~l with a. beau­tiful medal from "the magicians ofAmerica" as a token of our regard andhigh esteem. Needless to say, Dornymade a splendid presentation address,and as he pinned the medal on Axel, thecrowd yelled for a speech. In startingto talk Axel said, "I have to concen­trate." He was deeply touched by the

On Monday evening,· July 6, at. 7: 30p. m., over fifty members of Chicago As­sembly No.3, S. A. M., mustered at DeLazon's Restaurant on Dearborn Streetin response to the B. Y. O. L. Invita­tions sent out only a few days beforeby petit Johnny Platt, the little fellowwith the big address book. The occasionwas to pay honor to our sincere friend

.and' brother 'entertainer Axel Hellstromand to wish him Bon Voyage and itsGerman equivalent.

AXEL HELLSTROM

J.V

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

A MEDAL cont , • ••

grin of anticipation. He hoisted thebottle and the grlIl vanished, for his

.. nose had told him·that it was OrangePekoe. After this rath-er Opera Comiqueintroduction to his act, Dorny asked theboys if they would like to see the oldMental Maestro himself do his stuff. Weall said yes.

Once Axel was out of the room, Dornyhad those' wishing to give a test decideon' wbat the test should be. Mardoni,Bergren and Dittmar, who had neverseen him work, asked for the privilege ofselecting tests and' were permitted to doso. For the benefit of those who are not.acqualnted with Hellstrom's method I.wish to say that the mental tests are notwritten, but those' giving the test aremerely requested. to concentrate on whatthey want. done and to guide him men­tally step by step untn the successrutaccompllshment of same. For the enter­tainment of the audience .as a whole, allin their midst are made famlUar wit'llthe problems so that they may followthem. If anyone is skeptical he is askedto think of. something and to tell noone about it, and Axel amazes him wIienhe does his bidding.

Eventually several tests were decidedupon and the dynamic little' Teuton wasled into the 'room and began to workwith marvelous speed and accuracy.First, Critenden had him remove a pic­ture from the wall and carry it to oneof the guests. Mardoni gave him twoproblems, one of which was to removean envelope from the pocket of one per­son and dellver it to another. When theenvelope was opened that person's namewas written on a piece of paper inside.

. Edgar Bergren' had him remove a hatfrom the hat-rack and place it up-side­down on Gene Laurant's head. Dittmar'stest was to find a hidden coin. Ralph

Fisher had him remove a pocket hand­kerchief from the person of Mr. Luedkeand place in Troseth's pocket. Many oth­er things were done, too numerous tomention. Ax was at his best; none ofus had ever seen him work as rapidly orbetter. Perhaps some of the credit isdue Russ Walsh, thegen&ous SantaClaus of the party, who started everyoneoff in the proper spirit withh.is tastyaperaUfs.. At 12:30 a. m., we reluctantly filed out.of the portals of hospitable De Lazons,regretting sincerely that this gallant af­fair was already passing into history.

. We stood around outside for a while, bid­ding adieus to. those who had to catchtrains to the suburbs and then the re­maining night hawks paraded en masseover to the Garrick to stand the faithful"Dog Watch" and talk of 1llusions be­tween our "coffee and." Ollie Thomastook six of us, including Axel, over to aspeak-easy for a good cry and then weagain joined our sedate pals at the Gar­rick and proceeded to rag the scale withimpromptu tricks' till daybreak. JoeBerg ran amuck with a deck of cardsand did some table-to-table entertainingworthy of a Hofzinser or a Leipzig.

When this epistle reaches the sacredpages of iM. U. M., the Hellstroms willhave been for many days over the Rhine,and Unter der Linden, where beer i~ asocial obligation and it's no disgrace toorder sauerkraut and wieners. Axel ismore than our friend who has goneabroad, he is a magical ambassador bear­ing a message of friendship and good­will from the. magicians of America toour German comrades. Hoch .der Hell­strom's, and, say, "Ax," please give ourregards' to Joe Vogt and his charmingfrau! Please write, and be sure to re­member that German dope for my scrap­book.

Auf wiedersehen!

11

AXEL HELLSTROM AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

CCtfTACT MI""~I-AI)."6

"All thinking in the civilized manis - suppressed action - - all willing isei ther pushing or pulling."

"The effort to concentrate thoughton a name or an object, tends constantlyto produce - muscular activity, eithersubconscious whisp~ring of the name thoughtof, or subconscious movement in the direct­ion of the object."

Podmore

ORIGINS: In the late 1860's a group ofteen-age magicians in Chicago started ex­perimenting with directional impulses.

If a magician holds a person's handin each of his own and the person is toldto think of one of his hands, the magiciancan tell him which hand he was thinking of!

Elaborating on this principle, a per­son can hide an object in the next roomand the magician can find the object sim­ply by holding the person's hand and in­terpreting the 'directional cues' causedby the person's thought! J. Randall Brown

Two persons are credited with thisdiscovery. One was John Randall Brown and the other person named Whitehouse.Whitehouse stepped aside while Brown started doing demonstrations in 1873. Heeventually became world famous as John Randall Brown, the Mindreader!

This art became known as Contact Mindreading and also Muscle reading.

1905: By the year 1905, theatre audiences in the Eastern USA became satiatedwith demonstrations of contact Mindreading. This was due mostly to the over expo­sure and over playing of the art. Fabulous showman like Bishop, Cumberland andothers had created such sensational interest that the act was written up and ex­posed almost daily. Several books explaining the art were sold to the public.Leading scientists studied it and experimented with it in their laboratories.

The subject of muscle reading was well treated in George Miller Beard'sbook, 'The Study of Trance, Muscle Reading and Allied Nervous Phenomena,' New York1882. Both the general public and the scientific camp lost interest inMuscle reading and the art almost dissapeared.

Two decades later, when Axel Hellstrom came on the scene, he had a newgeneration of Theatre audiences who had never heard of muscle reading. Everyonewas baffled with the art and showmanship of the German Mindreader. This was anew age, with new ideas and new energies. Hellstrom capitalized on it and appliednew meaning to the Mindreader's art. He was offering new and advanced methods.He offered to prove that he could do mindreading without contact!!!!

AXEL HELLSTROM

CONTACT MINDREADING cont•••

12

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

'" A NVTS~~LL~The art of Contact Mindreading (muscle reading, nerve reading) has been

fully covered in many books. The following is recommended reading:

Hellstromism by Robert Nelson; Hellstromism by Syl Reilly;Master-Mentality by Stanton CARLISLE;Contact Mindreading Expanded by Dariel FitzkeePsychic Magic Vol. 1, by Ormand MaGillEntertaining with Contact Mindreading by S. Edward Dexter

Plus: Practical Mind-Reading, A Course on Thought Transference­Telepathy-Mental Currents-Mental Rapport-etc. by WilliamWalker Atkinson. This booklet of 97 pages came out in 1908and was written for the general pUblic. It is good reading.

In A Nut Shell, the success of a Contact Mindreading demonstration depends on:

1. Choosing a good subject (or transmitter).The subject that will lead you to the hidden object must be chosen

carefully. One good way of doing this is to ~heck him or her for 'suggesti­bility.' This can be done by a trial test OR by using the same methods ashypnotists use. Try some preliminary tests like Chevreul's pendulum, the armsrising and falling test or the hands-clasp test.

Most operators choose three good subjects and then work with one andif necessary try with the other two.

2. Instruct the subject that he must 'will' you in what direction togo while he or she holds your left wrist with his right hand.

3. Let the subject lead you to where the hidden object is, although youare a bit ahead of him and pretending that you are doing the leading.

4. IRON RULE: The subject must not think of anything on the Mindreader'sperson or on his own person.

Besides the above method, there are two other methods for presnetingcontact mindreading to the public. The easiest method is by getting a carbon­impression of the committee's thoughts. Once you know what the test is"therest is showmanship as you pretend to read the thoughts by contact, etc.

Another method is by use of a confederate in the audience who guidesyou via body signals, or via an electronic device.

Both Dunninger and Bishop resorted to the carbon-impression method whenever necessary

The Mail Delivery test is the easiest to perform and the most impressive.You already know what the test is so all you have to do is deliver the letter.

The mastery over the art of Contact Mindreading comes with practice plusan intense love and a strong desire to demonstrate the mystery of Mindreadingand thrill your audiences with the feeling that they have just seen somethingunique and forbidden. Many practitioners have confided that it has takenthem a good two years of performing contact-mindreading to really get the'hang' of it.

13

330 THE SPHINXJA~U."'RY•.1936

The Life Secret ofAlex Bell.trom "HELLSTROMISM"

conlIGHTlO. 1915. tv In Aur-. "OI'"T A. IllUOH

The GermanMental Marvel

The first lind only comprehensive true explllnil tion of the mir'cle feats of the I,te Alex Hell­strom, Mindreader supreme; them'n who b'ffled the lellding scientific and magical minds ofthe world. The most unique, different and sensational entert.inment ever to be a topic of con­verution. tvery Magician-Student of the Occult-Entert.iner-Scientist snd profouftd thinkerhas long sought~ the true

SECRET OF GENUINE MIND READINGThis information-the true secret of how to read the thoughts in other's minds, honestly. f'irly.nd without recourse to trickery or fraud-is now available to you-Hellstromism as writtenand compiled by Robert A Nelson will definitely teach you these heretofore guarded and unpub­lished secrets-Learn how to duplicate the sensational feats of Hellstrom.

IIEI~LSTnOlUISlU is .It Si:\;tl" Sen.se UIGDLY DEVELOPEDA hla",t,,!' hl.nuM'ript••cluaU,. te eehina the oIecre1of how the .nt'ltl mtU' or woman un divine thethoulhts of otMI". Ihru mere physic.) cont.tl.• . . and without (OnIBct! Thil peeuU... vh..e ormindte.dinc h.e harfled lOme of lh~ lreatestlnind. of tod.y!! It....e.tne•• ]Jee in the f.etthat it it puhapt the fir.. and oab CitmprehenAve., tcmpt to aetompli'h nlindre.dinl b, J!\unf olLertlun (nod and trickery.

The Sensation or SensationsWithout prt-arr.nlemcns, allY lillie. any platelIlnd \il'ilb .ny ,roup of honett,. ,illcere epee,,alore, the opentor .Uow. the tped.l.... to merelyTHINK 0' eert..i" utfon..-menlal comm.nda • " •• hieh he promptly perlornu. A few of the thouAnda ~f ~sible't".u: To litld hidden obje~I'; 10 de)i"er ae.led JD¢SM,e.10 an unknown .ddreHn; to obey menial command. tueh ••to t.ltt: :Mr. A's h.ndk~rt'hfef .nd plaC"e it on Mutb.', he.d;

::r:":~7~h:dIt~i~:.~iCtu~:lbo:"~J;~;ee..::n::~dc:;o::~. ~."::t ~:dt.ke the ehee 'trillS hom it and tie .rC1und .nolher 'Pee'I.I"'..••f\rf"k.ete., etc, ThOluand.s 0/ .imUM le.u #If. per/onned. Jm.o.uift:only 10 the trustf'd lubj«.. Theu command. lire I.nl~reted1I1l11 UUlllNt with .muiRI rapidity, in attordanu- wisb dteIhQ""ht~ .(',,,.ny pOlU..~d ill the .Ubjt:d'. mind!

&pt')~n.. or Hen.rrornjfm Ire .bl., 10 cs.ecutemany or rhr:~ difficult l~tI by m.in..irUftl to~'aet with she .ubjeet only thra • Ump Wildt. chainor bRdken:hiel, and in fDUly ealelt wltMut Myphywieal .coptat'l wll.t~v~r. HeJl.lr01Itism it notIrit5ery, but a biehl)' de"detped len ........b:lhaen.e--becauN h <tnabln the operator to "'know"'he ,h••"'.. 01 oth..... """'0........- -J. ,,;.....r"KUl. tol'Ueio", "'diad.... or ".....,..,..~.Tbi. eOlde••ilhin the KOpe of ,elluJnC!l mindread­ins. wMn one mind., an:d without; ..eee..no to .ny.1 Ihe kl1lown five IenlCa can pereei:vo aDd UfttItethe Ibov.&ht. 0( .then! For thi. _ph~ • biplydenJoped inhlirion i. r:umtl..t. Eae:b .rep, baticand ad"an«d ia moat t"ompteteJy ~e.led .nd

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AXEL HELLSTROM AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

THf 6l"C~8()AlR() TESTA few days before Axel Hellstrum died, he

told a visiting magician the secret of his famousblackboard test.

The figure at right shows the effect ofspelling out the name of a person thought df.Axel's most dramatic version of this test wasdone with designs and called The Design Dupli­cation Test. The test makes a profo~fid im­pression on any audience.

Again, there are two method~ for perfor­ming this test. If the performer already knowswhat design or name has been chosen, via clip­boards etc. then all he does is dramatize thepresentation to thrill his audience.

The second method is by contact mind­reading. Please note in the figure, that thesubject holds the performers right wrist with MINDREAotR

his right hand! This has the tendency of for- Fto.M.--8nwNOOIl'1'TIUIN.... cUPluoN'rBOU..... Or.

cing the subject to send stronger cues.

The Black Board test is also presented in several ways. One way is to firstdetermine what the design or name is by placing the board with the designs orletters flat on a table and getting the cues from the subject via contact mind­reading and then tell the person to go to a black board and draw or write thedesign or name, while the performer steps to the opposite side of the stage toa second blackboard and duplicates the design or name.

The second method is for the performer to take up a piece of chalk anddraw the design or write out the name while the subject holds his writting wrist!

In one presentation of this effect Bishop first learned the word beingthought of by leafing through a dictionary backstage, while the subject held hiswrist. Then he came on stage and wrote the word on the blackboard while the sub­ject held his wrist!

NOTE: In doing the blackboard test as shown in the above figure, it isrecommanded that the operator first close his eyes and move his hand over thechart. Then the movement is relaxed and the subject is allowed to guide theoperator's hand to the first letter. The rest of the letters are gotten the sameway to spell a word or name. When the motion stops the operator opens his eyes.

ftE-l.I-STI201\t1 SN-Perhaps Axel Hellstrom knew that in going to Germany to be hospitalized

he would never return to America,. A few days before leaving, he sold his secretsto Bob Nelson of Columbus Ohio, for $500.

Nelson coined the word "Hellstromism," and published the manuscript bythat name two years after Hellstrom died. This publication has become a classic.It is as good reading today as it was when first issued. To the young initiate,it is a thrilling experience when reading it for the first time.

Axel Hellstrom and Svea have today a German translation of Hellstromismwhich they intend to publish to preserve the memory of their beloved uncle.

Nelson claims that 'Hellstromism' is True Mindreading not to be confusedwith contact mindreading! That Hellstromism is an enigma, a mysterious wordwithout definition!

POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY on28

15

(201 ) 431-2429

(Non-Contact Mindreading,THE FORBIDDEN WISDOM)

You have been called into a large hallwhere. a committee from the audience has hidden an object.

You stand in the center of the hall. You mayor maynot beblindfolded. A member of the committee is asked to stand behind you aboutfour feet and a bit on your right. You never look at this person once he orshe takes position! You never turn back to look at the person, although youmay turn your body left and right gropping for direction.

You ask the person behind you to "will" you to the locatiou of thehidden object. Within one minute you locate the hidden object!

That, Gentlemen, in the eyes of the beholder, is the gift of the Gods!

N.C.M.

* * *A controversy arose concerning Axel Hellstrom. Some investigators

(Joseph Rinn) asked if Hellstrom could do N.C.M. John Mulholland, Bob Nelsonand Tarbell swore that Hellstrom performed N.C.M. But Dornfield, who managedHellstrom for several years said, "No!" Dornfield said that Hellstrom onlydid contact mindreading.

The naked fact is that anyone who does contact mindreading on a steadybasis will eventually discover that he can get the cues non-contact! It is in­evitable to alight on this forbidden knowledge.

Here is what Robert Nelson said about it in his column in the Sphinx"Concerning Mentalists" June, 1930 p. 169.

"Hellstrom gave the magicians a jolt by doing his mindreading actwithout physical contact."

No doubt that Axel Hellstrom put on his N.C.M. performance to silencehis critics like Joseph Rinn and Houdini who had, years before been com­pletely baffled by the demonstrations of De Rubini, a N.C.M.

C. A. George Newman put out a challenge for Hellstrom, saying that hecould duplicate anything Hellstrom could do. Newman claimed that Hellstromwas avoiding him, but the truth of the matter is that Hellstrom was restingon his laurels and had no time for competitors.

"OVt>'rtlIt is worthy of note that N.C.M. is probably the only demonstration

that baffled the great Houdini! While HOUDINI was touring thewestern USA he saw a demonstration of N.C.M. by De Rubini. Houdini was soimpressed and mystified that he invited De Rubini to the annual banquet of theS.A.M. for June of 1926 where De Rubini again put on his demonstration andagain completely mystified everyone. This made the headlines in the NYC papers.

De Rubini called his art, "will-power transference" which is as closeto the truth of the phenomenon as one can get. Houdini remained baffled bythis demonstration to his dying day! He told his friend psychic investigatorJoseph Rinn about Eugene De Rubini and that he could not expain his feats.

AXEL HELLSTROM

16

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

N.C.M. con t ,

RltltI 6A""IE-I)-After Houdini died, his close friend Joseph Rinn arranged for a private

test of Eugene De Rubini. This test was held on January 2, 1929, at the home ofBernard Ernst, president of the SAM. Everyone was baffled and Rinn remainedbaffled also to his dying day. .

After the test Rinn sent a letter of inquiry to mindreader C. A. GeorgeNewman. Newman knew the secret of N.C.M. but of course would not devu1ge it. Heinstead answered Rinn with a long letter full of scientific gibberish andgbble-de-gook. (see 'Sixty Years of Psychical Research,' by Rinn)

BEGINNINGS:

a loting.which

During the hey-day of the s.tage contact-mindreaders, when the whole worldwas agog with its seeming miracles, Eminent scientist and Psychologist WilliamJAMES, who was teaching at Harvard University and was the president of theSociety for Psychical Research, studied the phenomena and called it "musclereading!" and said that it was caused by ideo-motor action caused bythe brian.

Professional stage mindreaders resented this label of muscle-reading, soof thought and effort went into the presentation of NON-CONTACT mindread­Many ingenius ideas and methods were invented. These created much interestgave the audiences new thrills.The following methods created a sensation:A walking stick separated the subject and the mindreader! The subject

took one end of the stick in his right hand while the mindreader took the otherend with his left hand.

In like manner asilk handkerchief was used! Also a piece of string, ropeor chain. A copper wire made sense due to the electricity angle.

A human chain was formed between the mindreader and the subject. As manyas 10 persons or more were asked to hold hands in a chain and separate themindreader from the subject. This test created a sensation in the press and alsoin psychic circles. The mindreader claimed that under those circumstances hecould actually perceive the thought of the subject. (This test can best bedone through A CARBON IMPRESSION of the committee's choice of tests.)

~IHG:SV"'Df"'~N'S Of the 19th century (contact) Mindread­ers, it is claimed that after Brown, there were non better then Bror Sundeen ofStockholm. He was even better than Bishop.

To prove that muscle reading had nothing to do with his performances,Sundeen used an 8 inch metal ring with a handle. The subject held the ringin his right hand and Sundeen stuck his arm through the middle, being carefulin not touching the ring. This created much talk since the ring resembe1ed aradio-direction-finding antennae. Mindreaders always claimed that brain wavesacted in the same manner as radio waves. So the ring gave the demonstrationa scientific tinge. The dead center of the ring pointed to the direction of thehidden object in the same manner as the r.d.f. antenae points to the radiostation that is sending out the signals. '

AXEL HELLSTROM

N.C.M. cont. ..

17

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

A hand full of Stage Mindreaders eventually discovered that they coulddetect the 'directional signals' unconsciously sent by the subjects, withoutcontact! All they needed was a good subject who would strongly 'will' theperformer in the direction of the hidden object.

All the Newman talk about 'increased susceptibility of the mindreader'was just rubbish~

N.C.M. IN A NUT SHELL:

1. The mindreader must pick a good sUbject~

2. The operator must have a way of seeing the subject secretly withoutthe audience being aware of it.

3,. The mindreader either must see the subject'S shoes or his face.

4. The effect is best done if the operator is blindfolded.

5. It is the subject who unconsciously (or consciously) guides themindreaCier to the hidden object,.

With the above in mind, pick a good subject, preferably one of the oppositesex who stands with the shoes pointing forward (instead of sideways).

Use a blindfold that allows you to see down the nose as well as forward.You must peek at the subject's feet by bending your head down in the pretenseof concentrating. The subject stands about four feet behind you and a bit onyour right side. You glimpse the shoes by looking under your right arm. The di­rection of the shoes points to the locality of the hidden object.

A blindfold that allows you to look back is also a solution. The AMEblindfold called Nebul-Eye is a good start. With this blindfold you can lookback and see the subject's face without anyone being aware of it. Here youinstruct the subject to look intensely in the direction of the hidden object.

In order to mystify your audience, they must not be aware that you cansee the subject.

EASY TESTS TO DO: These tests, although simple, will mystify anyone.

1. Have the committee select one corner of the room.2. Have the committee select one of three objects in a long table.3. Delivering a letter to one of six persons sitting on chairs widely

separated.4. Finding large objects like furniture in the room. This then leads to

finding small objects like books and trinkets on shelves, etc.With the blindfold that allows you to see behind you, you can focus on the

sUbject's eyes and then you can find small hidden objects like rings and pins.First the general location is found and then as the subject stares in the di­rection of the hidden object, the operator can look for the object until thesubject is seen to relax or look away or smile which tells the mindreader thathe has succeeded.,

POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLO, NEW JERSEY 07728

18

(201) 431-2429

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AXEL HELLSTROM AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

VDGTANT.,"Anton was a youngster when his

uncle came to visit from America. He admired his uncle deeply and loved hispersonality, his art and dynamic showmanship. His uncle told him stories ofhis life and showed him some tricks. Anton vowed to become a great magiciansome day. ~. was still in his early teens when his uncle came home for thelast time to die. Anton remained devoted to the memory of his famous unclethroughout his life and collected all the memorabilia possible.

Anton's parents forbade him to pursue a magician's career and insteadsent him to electronics school. After finishing school, Anton was inductedinto the armed forces. All through these years Anton practiced his magic andvisited his uncle's grave in Augsburg, near Munich.

When Anton returned from the war front in 1945, he went to visit hisuncle's grave but did not find it. It had been covered over by orders of hisaunt, Axel Hellstrom's widow. Anton never spoke to his aunt again.

In 1945, Anton took the name of Axel Hellstrom and started doing magicshows for the American Army.

AXf:oL Hf-L1STROM a S"~AAxel Hellstrom and his beautiful wife Svea toured the world

for 40 years with their magic show. A high point was a private show for theShah of Iran. Axel was noted for doing 25 differnt magical effects in eightminutes!

The back of Hellstrom and Svea's business card has some numbers printedon it, (see the rectangle on the lower left of the facing page). This cardshows a column of numbers starting at the top with 1000. Have some person addthis numbers starting at the top. Invariably the person will end up with thetotal of 5000, which of course is wrong. The correct answer is 4100.

Axel uses this trick to introduce himself and leaves the card with theperson.

Axel Hellstrom and Svea are now semi-retired although they still performshows occassionally. Axel is the last of the Hellstom's.

* * *IN CONCLUSION: Hellstromism is a good act to master. With it and a gooddoze of showmanship you can thrill the audiences today as was done 100 yearsago, and 1000 years from now the same art will thrill those audiences.

When Hellstromism is presented today to audiences who have never seenthe tests before, they respond with the same comments, thrills, bafflementand reactions as audiences did years before.

Non-Contact Mindreading is as easy, if not easier to master as contactmindreading, and it is the most baffling.

Wishing