Maurice Rooklyn (1905 - 1992) was one of only a few Australian magicians to tour a big illusion show; along with Les Levante, he was the last of the big "traditional" performers. Rooklyn had an extensive and varied career, featuring juggling and ventriloquism in the early years, his famous 'Human Target' bullet catching routine, performing for television cameras in London in 1938, a hypnotic act, and moving on to manipulative magic in which his greatest fame was made with his astoundingly skilled billiards routine. His illusion show, though it was produced intermittently through the years from the 1940s on, was filled with some of the largest and most spectacular feats of the time. Rooklyn was also in business as an auction house operator. In later years, he would present mentalism, cruise ship performances, and some of his illusions such as the Sawing and the Spirit Paintings. He was, in 1974 and 1984, awarded both a Performing Fellowship and Masters Fellowship by the Academy of Magical Arts in Hollywood.

His book, "Spherical Sorcery and Recollections of a 'Pro" contains many anecdotes of his years performing, as well as highly detailed methods for his sleight-of-hand billiards routine. It does not serve the purpose of being a complete autobiography, and for that the reader is recommended to see the biography in the Australian Dictionary of Biography .

Maurice Rooklyn's name is honoured by the Sydney branch ('Ring') of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Sydney Ring 102 - the Maurice Rooklyn Ring. For some years the Ring met in the "Rooklyn Den" at Maurice and Konni's home in Wahroonga, Sydney, where the walls of two rooms were lined with memorabilia dating back to the 1930s.

Maurice had a severe fall down stairs in later years, and was seriously incapacitated before his death in 1992. His second wife, Connie ('Konni') was concerned to see Maurie's memory preserved and his collection placed into good hands. Some of the most significant parts of the collection, such as the billiards stand, trophies, sheet music and stage outfits, were presented to the Sydney Jewish Museum in 2005, where they have been put on display on several occasions. Before Konni's passing in 2007, I was asked, as a friend, to assist in selling, distributing and donating the Rooklyn collection to appropriate private collectors. Some institutional donations have been made to the State Library NSW, and the American Museum of Magic.  

The images in these photo albums come directly from Maurice Rooklyn's collection, and many were displayed on the walls of his Den. While the collection no longer exists as a single entity, the albums serve as an ongoing record of the life of one of Australia's most significant professional magicians. Most of the captions have been taken directly from the original photos.

See a video interview with Maurice Rooklyn here