Misdirections is a 68 page chapbook by Carl Diehl (that's me!) about my grand-uncle, the magician, vaudevillian, and comedy emcee, Werner "Dorny" Dornfield (1892-1982) What begins as a biography of Dorny, soon broadens into a mosaic of many riddles and revelations that resonate across the contexts of art, magic, and everyday life. 

 

The book is printed with a Table of Clues that corresponds with this site, Painless Magic -- where attentive readers and magic sleuths can unlock additional anecdotes, images, and vignettes, including original animations by Bill Boyer. Doing so may yet reveal further insight into the life and times of Werner "Dorny" Dornfield.

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For those bibliomantically inclined so(u)rcerers curious to glimpse behind-the-scenes, here is a bibliography of sources  that I referenced, reviewed, and cited in the process of researching and writing Misdirections. Additional archival sites and sources are noted in the book, and throughout this website

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This project was generously supported through the Steven and Linda McGeady Family Faculty Development Fund award that I received as an adjunct professor at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2020. An initial research trip in 2018 was funded by the Portland State University Faculty Association.  Research at the American Museum of Magic was supported with access to the archives of the Robert Lund Memorial Library, in 2018 and 2021, with assistance from Kate Peterson, Ron Carnell, Sara Schultz, and Jeffrey Alan. I am deeply grateful for the time, knowledge, insights and experiences shared by the numerous magicians, artists, historians, relatives, colleagues, and friends  throughout this process

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The text of the book, and contents of the website attributed to Carl Diehl are released under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.  Image sources other than Carl Diehl are attributed in the book and on each page of this website, used with permission of the named source or based on public domain status of the image.

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To order a copy of Misdirections, please visit: antiquatedfuture.com

For more about Carl Diehl, please visit: electronicelsewhere.com

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Questions or Comments, please leave feedback here

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