In the 1920s, my great-uncle Manuel Rosenberg met, sketched, and befriended some of the most famous magicians and spiritualists of his time.
I learned this during a 2016 family tree deep dive, where I discovered that my Grandpa Simon’s brother, Manuel Rosenberg (January 29, 1897 to April 28, 1967), worked as a newspaper illustrator, art editor, and journalist. I also found out that the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library preserves an archive of 300 of his drawings, manuscripts, and clippings. Among them, I found evidence of his friendships with magicians and spiritualists of the era: escape artist and anti-spiritualist Harry Houdini, mentalist Joseph Dunninger, and illusionist Howard Thurston, for whom Manuel created sketches and illustrations for his serialized biography. He also befriended Swami Yogananda, a spiritual celebrity of the day.
Manuel Rosenberg and various sketches from 1922
Of course, his interests were hardly surprising. The Roaring Twenties may have been remembered for flappers and jazz, but the decade also saw a public curiosity in spiritual awakening, enlightenment, and heightened intuition. Much like the New Age movement of recent years, magicians drew on these fashions in their performances, and newspapers eagerly covered them. Indian philosophies introduced many Americans to yoga and the idea of karma, while fortune-telling, tarot readings, séances, and Ouija boards became popular diversions. Fascination with life after death carried an especially poignant weight in the wake of World War I and the influenza pandemic.
Great Uncle Manuel might not have been surprised to discover that, two generations later, I’ve been interested in astrology and tarot cards, practice yoga, and meditate. Maybe I’ve inherited his fascination with these subjects.