Today's card tricking oboe who improvises nonsense phrases is from The Martlet, 1974.  (Magicians, especially, will have noticed the extra joke embedded in this: how the oboe has cheated in his card trick.)  That last panel, with the nonsense phrases, touches upon an occult secret that modern stage magicians have now forgotten, to the detriment of their careers.  Nonsense phrases, like the babbled syllables of the Ancient Egyptian wizards, the priestesses of the Delphic oracle, and the stage magicians of old (when "abracadabra" wasn't a cliché) profoundly affect the brain by instilling an altered state of consciousness.  Dr. Raymond Moody recently published his findings on the influence of nonsense and further explained why he has clients read a page of a Dr. Seuss book as preparation for a mind-bending experience within a Psychomanteum (Moody's version of the Necromanteion of Acheron).  Yes, a magician (whether on stage or in an occult setting) who utters hocus pocus gives those present a more extraordinary experience, from within their own brains.  Though the oboe magician in the comic panel cheats at its own card tricks, it knows how to perform genuine magic.  See Magic Words: A Dictionary.

In fairness, Buddhism has always said it's all an illusion.  From Spook Crooks by Julien J. Proskauer, 1932.

Due to smoking ordinances and fire codes, now only street magicians have smoke up their sleeves.  From Siren, 1930.

From Monmouth's 1910 yearbook.

Ever wonder why we don't see magicians' trained dragons on stage anymore?  We have the smoking ordinances and fire codes to thank for that.

"The dragon had been trained to do a lot of showy tricks."  From The Youth's Realm, 1906.

We're honored that Vegas magician Creed talked up our Field Guide to Identifying Unicorns by Sound and our Magic Words: A Dictionary.  We actually once attended a secret fire ceremony deep in the Nevada desert with Creed and, no kidding, we witnessed him reach out and seize one of the zillion stars in the Milky Way.  (You sure can see a stunning number of stars from way beyond the lights of Vegas.  Surely the Universe won't begrudge Creed's snatching one.  It was a moment we'll never forget.)

There are actually some good (though unspoken) reasons why magicians rarely attempt to pull rabbits from hats anymore.  Plus, this magician looks like our wizardly mentor Larry Hass, proving to our satisfaction that he's a time traveler.  From Unknown, 1943.

The secret is out -- magicians have long known the forbidden alchemy of transforming powdered milk into liquid.  From Cine-Mundial, 1940.

At our own wizard's manor , it's not a three-legged stool that's enchanted but rather a purple camel seat from the state of T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia").  We also have that legless, self-levitating chair for two.  From Twilight Land by Howard Pyle, 1922.

From Judge's Library, 1904.

You've noticed the phenomenon: stage magic so often has an undertone of seriousness, and ritual magic[k] is so often theatrical.  Our friend Clint Marsh has dedicated his life to the misfits of magic, collecting and spearheading subtle yet wondrous wizardry for enchanting everyday life.  In honor of his remarkable Fiddler's Green zine, we rolled our alphabet dice on a haunted mirror to see what mysterious messages might come through.