The Queen of COINS
By William Pack | Magician, Historian, and Educator, https://libraryprogramming.com/
By No photographer credited - "Talma, the Queen of Coins" The Irish Playgoer and Amusement Record (January 11, 1900): 9., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109410095Mercedes Talma
(Mary Ann Ford)
B. 1861 – July 13, 1944
Probably owing to it being a more sexist time, there is scant biographical information about Mary Ann Ford. There are only brief mentions of her in books on magic history, and those are mostly in connection to longer articles about her husband, Servais Le Roy.
Ford was born in England. Early in her life, she became interested in performing and worked various jobs with several stage performers, gaining experience in stagecraft. While working as an assistant to a mind reader, she met Belgian magician Servais Le Roy. The magician was smitten and convinced Mary Ann to be his assistant. Feeling she needed a more theatrical name, he christened her Mercedes Talma. They were married in 1890.
Talma learned a great deal about magic from her new husband. She showed a facility and determination for highly technical sleight of hand magic. First, mastering coin magic. At the time, T. Nelson Downs was the “King of Koins.” He was regarded as the greatest of all sleight-of-hand artists. Critics noted that Talma was every bit his equal.
She performed a solo show of coin magic at the Oxford Music Hall in London. The stage setting was simple, a red plush background. She was beautifully dressed in a black gown with a red rose pinned to the dress and another in her hair. Her dresses were sleeveless, which belied the idea that “It’s up her sleeve.” Interestingly, Talma had very small hands and wore 5 ½ size gloves. Yet she was able to conceal as many as 30 half-crown coins in one hand. The half-crown is roughly the size of an American silver dollar. As a climax, she would cause a rain of silver coins to pour from her tiny hands, tinkling down the steps of a crystal coin ladder.
The engagement at the Oxford was so successful she soon gave a Royal command performance. She would perform for the Prince of Wales, Kaiser Wilhelm, and the Czar of Russia.
At the time, T. Nelson Downs
was the “King of Koins.”
He was regarded as the greatest of all sleight-of-hand artists.
Critics noted that Talma was
every bit his equal.
It appears she worked for a few years as a single until her husband created his “Le Roy, Talma, and Bosco” show. This solved the dilemma of the Le Roys being separated and working in different theaters. Besides doing a solo turn in the show, she assisted her husband in his grand illusions.
She also expanded her act to include bare-hand productions and vanishes of billiard balls. She created a handkerchief act entitled “The Legend of the Silkworm.” She caught a dozen colorful silk handkerchiefs out of the air. She then made them change colors. She produced a long roll of silk, 30 small American flags, and 23 flags from various nations, each approximately 4 x 3 ft, from which she produced pigeons, ducks, roosters, and chickens. In England, she ended by producing a giant Union Jack on a pole.
In 1916, Houdini said, “Talma is without a doubt the greatest female sleight of hand performer that ever lived . . . equally clever in all she does. Her coin work is perfect.”
There is a story that Talma was accosted by a group of men set on robbing her. However, when she began to produce coins and then vanish them at her fingertips, the would-be robbers quickly disappeared in confusion.
After LeRoy’s debilitating accident, Talma retired in 1930.
She passed away at age 76 on July 13, 1944.
