Lambton Musings LAMBTON’S HISTORY AND HERITAGE NEWSLETTER – FALL 2024 www.heritagelambton.ca
From Shadows to Spotlight: The Magic of Stewart James Fiona Doherty, Moore Museum
Stewart James was introduced to magic at a very young age. As a tinsmith, his father was asked to make small contraptions for magicians from time to time. His grandfather, a more willing contributor, had completed far more of these projects. Neither Stewart’s mother nor father were supportive of his interest in magic. Stewart’s father would open the mail when a parcel came for him, not wanting his son to perform a trick that he didn’t himself understand. But Stewart would soon modify the tricks that he purchased and upset his father. At his home “Aberystwyth” in Courtright, Stewart was often confined to the house and the small veranda outside his bedroom. His mother believed him to be unwell and liked to keep him close to home. Stewart only attended school Stewart James from the ages of seven to fifteen; however, this lack of schooling would not inhibit his ability to understand and create complex magic tricks. Magic was a distraction from his solitude, and he retreated into his practice with