Let me introduce myself and explain how I came to call this site “Mahatmaland.” My name is Tom Ewing and I have been collecting magic for 40 years. I first began collecting under the tutelage of Indianapolis collector Frank Dailey who began taking me to the annual Magic Collectors’ Association weekends in Chicago in the mid-1970s. My collecting habit and involvement with the MCA escalated and in 1992 I took over as program chair from the late and wonderful Walter Gydesen. I held that post for fifteen years but now Gabe Fajuri handles that.  I still serve as master of ceremony for the weekends through the kindness of the world's leading collectors and researchers who unselfishly give their time and effort to make each weekend a success.

The genesis of Mahatmaland came about as a result of my decision not to write a book on the history of magic in Philadelphia. I have been collecting information on magic and magicians in this area for years, and in fact, wrote monographs on Frederick Eugene Powell and Kellar’s Egyptian Hall several years ago. I have also lectured on Philadelphia magicians. However, it became apparent to me that the market for magic history publications has always been somewhat limited (300-400 people), and also, many more people are using the Internet than ever before. And, the Web allows much more dynamic presentations of magic history. So, I decided to create this online journal of magic history instead.

Now, the name Mahatmaland. As most people in magic know, America’s first major magic magazine was Mahatma. It has been out of circulation since the early part of the last century. I like the magazine and I wanted to have my Website reflect the look and feel of this publication. Also, Mahatma’s have always been associated with magic and mystery and are recognized for high-mindedness, wisdom, and selflessness. Combining “Mahatma” with “land” I came up with Mahatmaland and I hope this site will be a magic land that graphically and editorially combines history with mystery. I welcome your input and insights as well as any articles you wish to submit, but most importantly, I just hope you enjoy the site.