On this day in 1973, Richard Ross won the Grand Prix for the second time at the FISM International Congress in Paris. The Genii report on the convention—which came out in the July issue, confusingly published in October—described the event as “the best convention ever,” before highlighting strong performances by Geoffrey Buckingham, Shimada, Omar Pasha, Fred Kaps, Valerie, Jeffery Atkins, Dick and Diana Zimmerman, Topper Martyn, Juan Tamariz, Billy McComb, and Bob Swadling, among others. Coverage in the popular press was perhaps less glowing, with a lay reviewer in Oui magazine commenting: “Jay Marshall presented a young [magician] much given to grinning. His act involved the production of small, terribly ruffled, crushed-looking pigeons from hidden pockets in his coat tails….” The gap between how we are seen and how we see ourselves is a constant source of fascination.
