The magazine was started in
Chicago by
William Hilliar and moved to
Missouri in 1904 when a Kansas City physician,
A. M. Wilson, took over as editor (Vol. 3 No. 8). The number of pages per issue varied from twelve to fifty or more. In 1906,
Houdini started his own magazine ''
Conjurers' Monthly Magazine in competition to The Sphinx'', but it went out of business after only two years. During the 28 years of Dr. Wilson's ownership, the magazine covered one of the golden ages of magic.
Vaudeville was at its height, bringing a variety of magicians from all over the world to the larger cities of North America.
The Sphinx has a long history of association with the
Society of American Magicians (S.A.M). In November 1902, it became the 'Western Organ' of S.A.M. In March 1909 it became the 'Official Organ' of S.A.M. From October 1927February 1942 and July 1947June 1951, S.A.M's
M-U-M periodical was published as part of
The Sphinx. When Wilson died in April 1930, William Larsen had entertained hopes of taking over
The Sphinx. Instead, that honor went to
John Mulholland of New York.
Theodore Annemann's attempts to buy
The Sphinx in 1938 can be seen in his
Jinx magazine. Some of the many contributors over the years were: Annemann,
Al Baker,
Milbourne Christopher,
Joseph Dunninger,
Robert Harbin,
Ed Marlo,
John Scarne,
Harlan Tarbell and
Martin Gardner (his first publication, at age 16). A complete set would contain 52 volumes, 597 issues, and almost 17,000 pages. ==Editors==