Conjuror

        Conjuror:  A 19th-century device for cooking meat rapidly with burning paper as the fuel.  It seems to have been descended on 'necromancer' to which Hannah Glasse (1747) referred, ascribing its invention to an actor, Mr John Rich, and declaring it to be much admired by the nobility (in 1735).  However, the necromancer can be traced further back, to Bradley (1736), who gave a recipe for 'Thin Beef Collops, Stew'd.  From Oxford' which uses the same technique. Stead (1983) surmises from this that the method and the equipment might have been previously practised by students at Oxford University ('student bed-sitter makeshift cookery') but also utilized by the theatrical profession when in need of a hot meal and away from normal cooking facilities.

        The best description of the conjuror is Eliza Acton's in 1845, which was accompanied by a rare  illustration of the conjuror device (see title graphic above):

              'Steaks or cutlets may be quickly cooked with a sheet or two of lighted paper only, in the apparatus called the conjuror. Lift off the cover and lay in the meat properly seasoned, with a small slice of butter under it, and insert the lighted paper in the aperture shown; in from eight to ten minutes the meat will be done, and to be remarkably tender, and very palatable:  it must be turned and moved occasionally during the process.  This is an especially convenient mode of cooking for persons whose hours of dining are rendered uncertain by their avocations. The part in which the meat is placed is of block tin, and fits closely into the stand, which is of sheet iron.'



Text from Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion To Food. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1995

Killer Video Link:  Georges Melies, The Conjuror (1899)
 

Sir John Dee (1527-1608), Adviser and conjuror to Queen Elizabeth I of England. 

"The Prestige" (2006) (Slightly disappointing but worth seeing anyway. By Inception director/screenwriter Christopher Nolan.)

Compulsory Aleister Crowley photo (b. 1875- d. 1947)  (Several years ago, we visited Loch Ness and stayed at Craigdarroch House, a lovely small hotel adjacent to Crowley's Boleskine House "bad vibes" manse, later purchased by Jimmy Page, who apparently rarely visited the place.  I highly recommend the journey on all counts, but particularly for Loch Ness "monster viewing".)

Remarks Before The Society, September, 2006, Tuxedo Park, New York

Good (morning)(afternoon) everyone.

My name is Jane B. Cravan and today I am going to speak to you about one of the greatest and most famous mysteries in the field of cryptozoology, which is the study of still unknown species of animals. The cryptid, or unknown animal I am going to tell you about is the Loch Ness Monster.

The Loch Ness Monster, or "Nessie" as many people refer to her, is said to live in Loch Ness in Scotland, which is the largest and deepest lake on the island of Great Britain. It is more than 900 feet deep in some places – deep enough that if you stood Big Ben – the famous clock tower in London – end-to-end three times it still wouldn't reach the surface. It is almost as deep as the Empire State Building in New York is tall, and it is very, very cold and very, very murky.

The first person we know about who saw the Loch Ness Monster was Saint Columba, the man who brought the Christian religion to Scotland. In the year 565, Saint Columba heard that the monster murdered a man and the saint rowed out into the middle of the lake and told the monster never to do that again. As far as we know, the monster obeyed Saint Columba, and since then she has lived peacefully in the lake.

Many people have seen the creature since then, but it was only since the invention of photography that the whole world became interested in the Loch Ness Monster and learned what she looked like. In 1934, a doctor from London took her picture and after looking at her 50-foot body, humped back and long, thin neck, scientists began to say the monster was probably a plesiosaur, which is a swimming dinosaur from the Cretaceous period – 145 million years ago -- who survived in the isolated deep, cold lake. Many other people have taken her picture too and some people have taken movies. Some people think that the photos are fake and believe that the Loch Ness Monster is a log or a big otter or even an underwater wave that looks like a sea creature on the surface of the lake.

Last summer, I went on a search for the Loch Ness Monster. My Mom, Dad and I traveled to Loch Ness. We walked on the shoreline and took a boat down all 24 miles of the lake. When we were walking back to our hotel from the pier, we saw exactly what looked like a baby "Nessie" feeding on some vegetation on a small island near the shoreline. It looked happy and very peaceful. Unfortunately, it was too misty to get a picture, but I'm sure that what we saw wasn't a log, an otter or a wave. It had a humped back and a long, thin neck and looked just like the photos we'd seen.

Next summer, I am going to go back to Loch Ness and will try to bring back better evidence that the Loch Ness Monster exists. And when I grow up, I would like to be a cryptozoologist and look for the Yeti (or Abominable Snowman), Sasquatch (or Bigfoot) and other cryptids.

Thank you.