Paul Vandy (c. 1874 – 19 October 1950) was the stage name of Charles Edward Maynard (born Charles Edward Davis), known as the juggling magician, who was a prolific performer from around 1894 to 1930 and is credited as the originator of magical juggling. Billed as "The World Famous Magical Juggler", "The Jocular Juggler", "The Juggler King", "The Great Vandy", "the Best Plate Juggler on Earth", "the Greatest Juggling Novelty in the World", "the Peerless Vandy" and "England's Extraordinary Entertainer", he was primarily a juggler and equilibrist but also gained notoriety as a magician as his career progressed. Over nearly 5 decades Vandy's performances branched from the music hall circuits of the UK to the leading theatres of Europe, America and South Africa. Vandy was one of the owners of the Accrington Hippodrome (prior to it burning down circa 1908) along with Fred Willmott, Frederick Edward Weisker, John Leopold Weisker, William Johnson, and Albert Lindsay Parkinson. He was the partner of Ernest Valentine D'Iffanger (professionally known as Ernest Valentine) in a Theatrical, Musical and Variety Agency, located at 11 Nassau Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, under the style of Valentine's Agency; a business that Vandy took sole ownership of in late 1902. Vandy was also the proprietor of the Magical Pastimes Co and Vandy's Magic Saloon (West Pier, Brighton). Performance career 1892 – already a juggling success by the age of 18 When he started out he was represented by Tom Coleno of Nottingham. His act was so successful that at the age of 18 in 1892 a challenge was issued in The Era which read: "PAUL VANDY – the Novel, Fantastic Young Juggler and Equilibrist". At this age, his tricks featured juggling with lamps, blocks, plates. The first reference to Vandy's performance is found in The Era on 9 September 1892 and is described just two months later by the same publication as juggling with "incredible dexterity." By the end of 1893 he was billing in all Moss & Thornton music halls across the UK. At the age of just 19 the national newspapers were singing his praises. The Guardian described him as someone "who showed no little skills in his manipulations" and the Daily Mail described him as "a thorough master of his business". By the summer of 1893 he was being regularly billed as "The Great Vandy." By the summer of 1895 Vandy had become a top billing specialty