Mandrake Magicians Club

Country:	USA / English

Mandrake Magcian Club was a premium for Taystee Bread, the sponsor of the Mandrake the Magician Radio Show November 11 1940 to February 6 1942.

Membership

It is unknown if the Mandrake Magcian Club was active during the whole period of the Mandrake radio serial, but it was active in March 1941. According to Henry Souvaine Inc. the Mandrake club over the station WOR gained 300.000 members in three weeks

Membership Request

Those who wanted a membership in the club obtained a mailing card from the local grocer of "Taystee Bread", to be sendt to the local Taystee Bread office. The front of the mailing card promoted the radio serial while top back printed text reads:

 "Dear Mandrake I Would Like To Be A Member Of Your Mandrake Magicians Club So I Can Obtain The Club Pin And Learn How To Do Magic Tricks". 

Below the text the applicant filled out then his/hers name, age, address, the grade he /her was in and the school the applicant attended. In addition the name of grocer who gave he /her the mailing card. And the most important: name and address of three ladies who had promised the applicant to try Taystee Bread for a week.

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  WOR, New York City
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  KWK, St. Louis
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  WLAC, Nashville
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  reverse

Membership Package

When the applicant had sent the mailing card he soon received his membership package in the mail. There were at least two versions of the welcome card, with slightly different text.

The club members must have been disdained by mothers in the neighborhood in 1941, due to member liability at one of the welcome card:

 "Please also remember that in joining my club you gave me your word of honor to get three ladies to try Taystee Bread for one week. I am counting on you to keep this pledge and make sure, by checking these ladies again and again if necessary, that they do give Taystee Bread a fair one-week trial." 

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  Welcome Card
  New York City
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  Welcome Card
  Nashville (Tennessee)
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  Membership Card with attached badge
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  Membership Card
  back
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  Club Badge

New Magic Tricks

These pamphlets could probably be found in grocery store that sold "Taystee Bread". One probably had to show the membership card, wear the membership pin, use the "magic password" or the "secret sign" to receive such a pamphlet, since they were intended only for members of the Mandrake Magicians Club.

In the two different pamphlets that are known, these have a description of how to perform various magic tricks, as well as an advertising cartoon strip where children influence their mother to buy a "Taystee Bread". The one with the big red oval and the picture of Mandrake the Magician on the wrapper.

These pamphlets may have been used at different times in the different cities that had radio stations broadcasting the show. KPRC, KLUF, KFDM, KPAC are radio stations in Texas (Houston, Galvestone, Beaumont and Port Arthur) that all started airing the show on August 18, 1941.

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  WOR
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  KPRC, KLUF, KFDM, KPAC
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  WOR
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  KMBC wrapper

Mandrake Adventure

These pamphlets could be found in grocery store that sold "Taystee Bread" and could be obtained for free from the grocer in return for providing a magic password. This weekly magic password was revealed during the "Mandrake the Magician" radio show.

A colored cover and six illustrated "Mandrake Adventure" leaflets formed the "Mandrake and the Jungle Giants" story.

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See also

• Mandrake's Magic Club