By David Cain
Vin Carey (1898-1975) was a charter member of the IJA. He was a talented juggler, magician, and clown. He was also an important collector of juggling props and historical items. Let’s start by taking a look at a detailed biography of his life up until early 1965, which was published in the February 1965 IJA Newsletter.
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“Vin Carey was born in Lenox, Mass., April 5, 1898. At the age of 7, he saw a traveling magician and was so impressed that he decided then and there to become a magician. He stopped on his way home to show his grandmother what the magician had done, and an uncle showed him his first simple card trick. He mastered this trick and showed it to any and all who would take time to look. He soon had several more simple tricks that were shown to him by his friends. An uncle gave him a subscription to the Youth’s Companion, a magazine for children. The publication had a monthly column on the subject of magic. From this, Vin built up a repertoire of tricks.
At the age of about 12 or 13, his family moved to Pittsfield, Mass., where he discovered that the public library had many books on magic. He spent many hours poring over these books, and from them, gathered a knowledge of of magic which has been useful to him from then on. About this time, he met a boy who was studying the violin. This boy decided that he would start a boy’s orchestra. He gave Vin a pair of drumsticks for his birthday, and said, “You learn to drum and you can be in the orchestra.” Vin did learn and played the drums in the orchestra for many years. Occasionally, there would be calls for someone to do an act at the various functions where the orchestra played. Vin soon learned that he could get more money for doing the magic for 15 minutes than he could get for playing the drums for the entire night.
Gradually the drums were dropped and he became a professional magician. He moved to Springfield, Mass., about 1916, and learned that the Guy Brothers’ Minstrels were in rehearsal there and that four of his friends from Pittsfield were joining the troupe. Vin applied for the position of drummer on the show and was accepted. But he did not go with them, as he felt he could make far more money staying in the city. He went to the opening show of the season in West Brookfield, Mass., and there met the Kenyon Brothers, George and Cal. Vin was greatly impressed by the club passing of these two young fellows. It was many years later that he renewed his acquaintance with them.
Over the years Vin worked at many different jobs in many different cities and states, but he always relied on the drums or the magic to take care of him between jobs. In 1930, he moved to Baltimore, Md., in the height of the depression period and a steady job was hard to find. So, he turned back to the magic and built a two-hour show which he booked into schools and churches as a fundraising attraction. This stood him in good stead and he weathered the storm. He, of course, was playing club dates and an occasional vaudeville date when they were available. He met Lou Meyer on one of the first club dates he played in Baltimore, and a lasting friendship was then established.
In 1946, Lou and Vin traveled to St. Louis, Mo., to attend the International Brotherhood of Magicians convention. They met with Art Jennings and Roger Montandon. There and then the seed was planted that the following year matured into the IJA.
In 1947, about a dozen jugglers attended the IBM convention in Pittsburgh, Pa. They had been invited there by Jennings and Montandon from the talks of the previous year. Vin was at the convention and was attending a magic dealers’ meeting and so missed the luncheon where the IJA was formed. He was the first charter member to join when the jugglers returned to the hotel from the meeting.
In 1948, Vin made a couple of trips to Jamestown, N.Y., to assist Doc Crosby and Harry Lind in arranging the first IJA convention. At that convention, Vin was elected vice-president. And the following year, he was elected president. Vin has also served as director, honorary director and chaplain. Vin was a co-editor of the Newsletter with Vi Beahan and Jidge Mitchell for about two years or more, and later co-editor with Lou Meyer. Then he was editor. Thus, he served the Newsletter about five years in all.
At the early conventions Vin wrote to many of the members and practically brow-beat them into coming to the conventions, so he could have a variety bill on the stage show. He has appeared on all the convention shows but two. During the formative years of the IJA, he went to every vaudeville show, circus or night club where jugglers appeared and introduced them to the organization. He has sponsored more members than any other person except Harry Lind. Vin has never missed a convention.
Vin built and sold magical apparatus for many years and after World War I he opened a retail magic shop in downtown Baltimore. He operated this shop until 1956, when the absence of vaudeville and the night clubs stopped using magicians, made his business fall off until it was no longer profitable. Because he demonstrated magic all day and played club dates many nights, the magic became boring, so when the IJA was formed, he welcomed it as a new hobby. About 1949, the Elgins played the Hippodrome theater in Baltimore, and Cal Kenyon and Tommy Breen came to Vin’s shop to visit. It was then that he renewed his friendship with Cal, which first started in 1916 in West Brook- field, Mass. Since the second meeting, Vin and Cal’s friendship has grown stronger as the years rolled by.
In 1949, Lou Meyer wanted some pictures made of himself in clown costume. Vin said, “Wait until I can get a clown wardrobe together and we will both get some pictures.” From that time, he has been Vino, the Peerless Clown. He presents his magic as a clown and also works for promotions as a clown. He has worked in shopping centers, gas station openings, department stores, specialty stores, circuses and fairs.
Vin and Lou joined in a comedy act as the “Vinlou Brothers.” They rehearsed all winter to be ready for the 1950 convention in Elkhart, Ind. Both were officers in the IJA during the convention, and they were so busy with convention arrangements that they never did find time to don the makeup and wardrobe and do their act. They did, however, do part of it on the afternoon show at the Williamsport, Pa. convention. They have appeared as clowns at several of the IJA conventions.
Vin Carey
Vin Carey and Lou Meyer
Vin Carey and Lou Meyer
Vin was 66 years old on April 5, 1964, and is retired on social security. However, he still plays as many dates as allowed by the social security act. He is a past president of the Demons Club of Magicians, SAM; past territorial vice-president of the IBM; publicity director of the Jack LaPearl Ring of Circus Model Builders. He is a circus buff of the deepest dye, and sees from five to ten circuses each season, and often joins clown alley on some of them. His basement is a museum of juggling clubs and props of famous jugglers dating back to 1898.”
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The February 1952 IJA Newsletter reported the following. “Vin Carey, the West Franklin street juggling collector, just received a very old and revered Indian club from Joe Cook, the veteran comedian, and Vin is particularly impressed by the fact that it weighs 17 ounces. Joe juggled the silver-foiled pin in a number of long-run musical comedies from 1932 on, Vin tells us. Nowadays performers scream for 10-ounce clubs, he says. Vin’s collection of ancient clubs now numbers 20 and most of them are heavier than the effete modern apparatus. Included are a Morris Cronin Troupe club, vintage 1910 – 23 ounces, a Juggling Johnsons club, 1898 – 18 ounces; two Juggling Breen Family basket weave clubs, 1910 – 20 ounces each, and a Juggling Tierney Family club, c. 1930 – 19 ounces.”
Vin’s collection grew greatly from 1947 to 1974 and was on display in the basement of Vin’s home. The April-June 1974 IJA Newsletter reported some important news regarding Vin’s collection. “Several circus and magic museums were contacted with regards to showing this jugglers collection. The first one to show interest in having and showing the collection was the Circus Hall of Fame in Sarasota , Fla. On January 15th, Vin loaded the collection into his car and drove to Sarasota and delivered the collection to the Hall of Fame. He stayed long enough to see it arranged as a permanent display there. The inventory shows that there are 124 pieces in the collection of juggling props plus a number of pictures of greats from the past and present. It occupies a space about ten foot square and is most artistically displayed covering the walls and floor of the special cubicle built for the display… Each prop has a name of the original owner showing the approximate time of its use. The Hall of Fame considers it one of the best displays they have and believe it will be of interest to all visitors especially to those who have an interest in juggling.”
Below you can see three photos of the Vin Carey collection on display in the Circus Hall Of Fame in Sarasota, FL. Although most of the signs are impossible to read, I can make out signs for Bill Talent, Rosani, the Tierney Family, and Vin Carey, himself. The third photo shows Breenos (click here to learn about these props) at the top. Many of the props look extremely interesting and unique.
In 1980, the Circus Hall of Fame in Sarasota closed. In 1981, the town of Peru, Indiana bought much of the collection from the Sarasota Hall of Fame and opened their own International Circus Hall of Fame there. It still remains open to this day. However, the Vin Carey Collection was put into storage there and forgotten until I (David Cain) rediscovered some of it in 2016. Attempts to work with the Hall of Fame to bring these treasures out of storage have not been successful.
Below is photo of Vin Carey with the display when it was in Sarasota.
Vin Carey passed away in 1975.
David Cain
David Cain is a professional juggler, juggling historian, and the owner of the world's only juggling museum, the Museum of Juggling History. He is a Guinness world record holder and 16 time IJA gold medalist. In addition to his juggling pursuits, David is a successful composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer as well as the author of twenty-six books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).