He was droll, engaging and a master of grand illusion and platform magic.

We tend to be susceptible to grand illusion, where our impressions of a richly detailed world obscures a reality of minimal environmental information and quick action.

However, to perform the grand illusions like his father's it was necessary to appear in big arenas with more solid foundations, into which could be built stage trapdoors and tunnels.

He had no grand illusions about what art could do; but he had no doubt at all that it was still worth making art.

Grand illusions are usually very costly and, due to their size, are difficult to ship, which would explain the paucity of professional stage illusionists.