does anybody have any info on Frederick Braue, co writer of Royal road, etc? This question has come up on another Forum, and I was surprised that there is little , if anything about him on line.

Thanks...
Dale

Although not biographical in nature, Fred Braue did write a column (news/etc) in Hugards Magic Monthly newsletter. There are also, the famous Braue Notebooks..somebody out there may have info on them.

Best thoughts,
John Smetana

When I was a "mean little kid" (pre-teen) the Oakland Tribune (newspaper) had a kid's page, titled "AUNT ELSIE'S PAGE"... so one day they announce a cartoon contest.

I drew cartoons, so I sent one in. The following week the list of winners was in the paper... and I was winner of first prize and was told to phone the newspaper and ask for "Aunt Elsie."

Some guy answered the phone, I asked for "Aunt Elsie" the guy said, "That's me, I edit the page. My real name is Fred Braue."

And I won $5.00 (in the 1940s that went a long way).

Fred Braue's column in Hugards's Magic Monthly was one of the best features of the magazine. In one sentence Fred could give a tip that would make an ordinary effect a blockbuster.

Braue Notebooks?

Frederick Braue is my great grandfather!!!

-deven braue

Wow!

And welcome to the Genii Forum

Welcome aboard Devan... Fred was one great writer and editor.

And to see that early Biro cartoon, go HERE

And for an early photo of Pete the athlete, go HERE

Handsome devil, wasn't he.

HOly cow... isn't the internet amazing? Yah we won the city championship cuz I hardly played a game!

However, in the Police League, I had 400 batting average. I got the ONLY HIT in a one-hitter our opposing pitcher had, and in the same game caught a NO HITTER from our pitcher! Game was called due to darkness! Finally got to pitch one game and struck out 10 in the win.

Quit playing after a teammate died in a fatal accident.

Deven are you related to Genie?

A year before his death, my dear friend Jerry Camaro gave me his copy of the Braue Notebooks. It's a wonderful historical document that contains numerous gems.

Tom Frame

Do you say his name "Brow-ee"?

And, on a Royal Road tangent, was Mr. Hugard "Jean" (like Jean-Luc) or "Jean" (like Gene)?

Thanks.

Greg McAlpin

Based on a misprint I saw in the newsletter for The Lamb's Club, I believe it's pronounced "Gene".

-Jim

Several years ago when I was researching the Braue family, I spoke with quite a few Braues all over the U.S.

I appears, that the entire family is descended from four brothers who came to the U.S. from Germany in the late 19th century. It is pronounced differently depending on local family tradition, so there's at least:

Brow
Brow-ee
Bro

Jean Hugard was Australian, not French. So it's "Gene" as earlier stated.

Richard,

His real name, I understand, was John Gerard Rodney Boyce. The first book that inspired him to be a conjuror was Professor Hoffmann's translation of a work by Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. Hugard may have adopted the first name "Jean" as a tribute or homage to Robert-Houdin, in which case, it would be pronounced "Jean" (as in the French) rather than "Gene". It would not surprise me, however, if American magicians - then and now - pronounced it "Gene".

From talking with those who knew Hugard, I have NEVER heard anyone pronounce it in the French manner. It was always "Gene" with a hard G sound.

Thank you for the response!

yes i am related to him he's my great grandfather

deven braue

To 'Anonymous - Unregistered.' Hugard himself used 'Gene' as the pronunciation. At one point in his career he used the billing 'Les Hugardes' but dropped it when playing New Zealand, as the Kiwis kept asking where Les (Less) was.

Very cool, Deven.

I read that Fred Braue died in 1962 which was just before my time. Did you get to know him?

Are you a magician?

Was Fred Braue ever known as "Fritz" Braue?

I see card routines published by that name in the early days of Genii (1937, 1938).

As far as I know, that's the same guy.

-Jim

"Fritz" is a common first name in Germany! And "Braun" is a similar last name to "Braue".
Is Fred Braue of German descent?

Earlier in this thread, Bob Farmer wrote:

deven is my daughter, its her great uncle or great great uncle I always get confused. We just refered to him as uncle fred or fritz.. Im another fred braue
fred

Reinhard, isn't "Fritz" a common nickname or shortening for "Friedrich"?

Friedrich der Große (king of Prussia) was referred to as "der alte Fritz," I believe.

yes - fritz used often in germany as a nickname for friedrich but also as a name on its own.
Hannes

Thats rather cool.So,traditionaly uncles that do magic,(I am one myself) usualy spend time pulling coins out of ears, and being generaly nice.
Was your great uncle like this?
Im assuming he wasnt horrid, since your named after him..
Dale
( Im really glad i started this thread)

There's a ton on him in AskAlexander.org. I highly recommend it for this kind of research.

The MUM Obit for example has this info:

FRED BRAUE
Frederick George Braue, perhaps best known to magicians for his long-distance collaborations with Jean Hugard on some of the finest books on magic ever published, and lately Editor of Hugard's Magic Monthly, died on July 3rd after several months illness. He was only 56 when he passed away. Fred was a newspaperman for practically his entire working career and for the past 10 years was on the staff of the Oakland Tribune. He was a winner of a Joseph R. Knowland
award and edited an award winning special section put out by The Tribune on the opening of the Kaiser Center.

His hobby and real love was magic and he was a member and past president of the Oakland Magic Circle. He was also interested in music and drama and was one of the early members of the Alameda Little Theater. He was also well known as a master of ceremonies at public events.

MUM, vol. 52, no 3, august 1962, page 158.

actually before my time,, my father is also a fred braue.. he had stuff around the house marked uncle fritz
Im the JR fred