Biographies & History in Magic & Conjuring: page 5

Spirit materialization and fraudulent mediums.

A record of research and experiment in a much-talked-of realm of mystery, with a review and criticism of the so-called spiritualistic phenomena of spirit materialization and hints and illustration as to the possibility of artificially producing the same.

Excerpt from the author's preface:

Life and adventure on the prairies, mountains, and Pacific coast.

Beyond the Mississippi is a travel log of Albert Richardson from a few years before and after the American Civil War. As the title suggests, he traveled west of the Mississippi through states and territories such as Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Iowa, Oregon, California, Nevada, etc. He describes nature, people, politics, and commerce. It includes exciting adventures as well as fairly dry facts such as how many bushels of grain a particular area produces. Overall it is quite readable and the...

Indian Conjuring is an illustrated guide to Indian magic tricks by Major L. H. Branson, a British officer in the British Indian Army and magician. It includes explanations and step-by-step instructions for a variety of magic tricks that the author came across while serving in colonial India during the early twentieth century.

• CHAPTER I: A Comparison
• CHAPTER II
• The Cup And Balls
• CHAPTER III: The Bamboo-Sticks
• The Ring On The Stick
• CHAPTER IV: The Glass Box
• CHAPTER V: The Bowl Of Rice
• CHAPTER VI: A Rope Trick
• The Swastika
• The Egg Bag
• CHAPTER VII: The Dancing Duck
• CHAPTER VIII:...

This is the first real history of magic in the English language. It first appeared in serialized from in The Magic Wand.

Sidney W. Clarke tells the story of magic from its earliest traces in recorded history, all the way to the celebrated masters of Robert-Houdin, Maskelyne, and the ones who followed them.

[Note: This edition was newly formatted for convenient reading and searching on mobile devices.]

1st digital edition 2013, 288 pages.

Table of Contents

4. Introduction
9. Ancient Conjuring
15. The Mediaeval Jugglers
29. The Jugglers’ Tricks
43. Hocus Pocus
57. The English Showmen
88. Continental Conjurers In The XVIIIth Century
114. The Decline Of Conjuring
127. The Wizard Of The North And The Mechanical Conjurers
158. Robert-Houdin ...

This wonderful ebook recounts the story of Okito's very first stage show. It is history as told by the great Theo Bamberg (Okito) to magician and writer Joe Palen. He sat with Okito, as he found an old photograph (re-printed in the booklet) and told him stories of his props on stage, their origins and even some of their workings. This ebook is the result of that conversation.

Do not confuse this booklet with the much larger work with the same title: Okito on Magic: Reminiscences and Selected Tricks.

1st edition 1973, 12 pages; 1st digital edition 2012, 10 pages.

For a lifetime, Kodell traveled the world with his unique creativity, and a flight of birds. Headlining long running shows around the world in five-star venues from the Moulin Rouge and the Lido in Paris, the London Hippodrome, The Savoy Hotel, and the London Palladium in the United Kingdom, and the Ed Sullivan Show, New York’s Copacabana, and The Latin Quarter in the United States. He also accomplished a number of firsts in his career including being the first magician to perform in Las Vegas. Kodell always strived to be different with his magic and his life, from flying an airplane at the...

Life, Magic and The Forks Hotel. For nearly 40 years Karl worked his magic behind the bar of the famed Forks Hotel in Buffalo, NY. Magicians from all over the world would flock to the bar to see Karl and Eddie Fechter work. Many magicians got their start at the Forks. In this 45 minute interview Karl talks about how he got his start in magic, how he met Eddie Fechter, The Forks hotel, how the FFFF convention got started and more, all while telling some great stories. This is a great tale of magic history.

Listen to Orville Meyer as he recalls his creation of his bullet catch method which was so masterfully performed by Ted Annemann. A rare treat for all mentalism and magic history buffs. This recording was made June 20th 1985.

Ben Robinson, an expert bullet catcher himself writes:

This is a beautiful comics title which entertains as much as it informs you about the history of magic. See illustrated stories from the lives of Robert-Houdin and Harry Houdini. Learn the secrets of some of the most famous stage illusions as well as the 'most marvelous trick in the world'.

This was issued as #23 in the 'World Around Us' series. Art by George Evans and Gray Morrow.

The Illustrated Story of Magic was never reprinted. This digital edition is the first republication of this title in the Classics Illustrated series. Additionally it is the first digital edition of any of the many titles from the Classics...

A specially-recorded hour-long interview of Don Driver (interviewer is the late David Alexander) that gives history, insights, and advice on how to make money selling the most popular trick deck in the world. Don also tells many stories and anecdotes of how he got into magic, side shows and ultimately pitching Svengali decks.

duration 1h 5min

A candid intimate interview with the Italian Teddy Bear. With wit, honesty, and lots of inside details, Aldo shares with his fans his life as a comedy magician and lecturer; his view on magic, tells about his career, the move to the USA, his hobbies, and how he was able to survive until 60 just with a deck of cards and a piece of rope! He also teaches an easy Italian recipe for a great pasta dish, and he may even play the guitar and sing a song if pressed by Rachel (and helped by a glass of wine). Of course, he will also show and explain a trick never before released.

Aldo and Rachel have...

A heart-to-heart interview with Rachel Colombini conducted by Cameron Francis. Her beginnings in England, the move to the USA, how she and Aldo met, her difficult moment with open heart surgery, the recovery and more. She then shares a trick never before released and, why not, sing a song!

• Preface - Paul Gordon
• About the Author by Martin Breese
• Introduction - Paul Gordon
• Edward George Brown - a biography by Paul Gordon
• Obituary by Francis White
• Heartfelt Tributes
• - John Carney
• - Roger Crosthwaite
• - Members of The Magic Circle
• Trevor H. Hall & The Card Magic of Edward G. Brown
• Willane's Methods for Miracles
• Ibidem - P. Howard Lyons
• The 'Lost' Magic of E.G. Brown
• - Divination of Two Mentally Selected Cards
• - The Three Billet Test
• - A Cigarette Change
• - The Penetrating Tumbler
• - Handkerchief and Glass to Hat
• - A Nap Hand
• With Thanks to Edward George Brown
• - The Brown Detective - Peter Duffie
• - Thin...

A Journey Through a History of Magic traces the lives and times of famous magicians throughout history through to many popular present day performers. With pictures and photos that introduce you to many almost forgotten performers who have gained fame.

Featuring a few of the performers who have shaped the art and craft of magic through the ages.

• The History of Magic
• The Conjuror Painting
• Dedi the Magician
• Matthias Buchinger
• Hieronymous Scotto
• John Nevil Maskelyne
• Joseph Pinetti
• Louis Hasselmayer
• Robert Houdin
• John Henry Anderson
• Chung Ling Soo
• Charles Dickens
• Fox Sisters
• Annie Abbott
• Great Lafayette ...

A fascinating casebook of true stories from the self-styled "Card Detective" that reveals the inner workings of backroom poker cheats, dice scams, bunco artists, horse race swindles, rigged games of the carnival and midway and much, much more.

Written in a breezy style, "Mickey" MacDougall takes the reader along for an entertaining and informative ride as he consults with casino bosses and card room owners to stamp out cheaters and grifters.

Swindlers take many forms and purvey their trade anywhere people gather: aboard trains and cruise ships, at the racetrack, in back alleys, military...

Biography of Captain Gilbert S. Aleman's, a.k.a. Al Mann, early part of his life.

You may know Al Mann only as magician and mentalist. He was also a master mariner, a captain in the merchant marines, who spent years on the sea. This is an autobiographical account of his life before he became a mentalist. There is some mention of gambling, John Scarne, and how Al Mann got into magic, which may be of particular interest to magicians.

• Chapter I First Impressions
• Chapter II Rumors of War
• Chapter III The School
• Chapter IV Of Pins and Heroes
• Chapter V Through the Golden Gate
• Chapter VI Passage To...

Henry Ridgely Evans provides an account of the history of conjuring, from ancient Egypt through the Middle Ages and into the 20th century. He develops biographical portraits of many well-known magicians and includes descriptions of their acts. Perhaps the most unusual feature of the work is that at the very end he includes photos of the hands of many famous magicians.

From the Proem:

From the Foreword:

This is a very good book on Cagliostro, because Trowbridge does not simply parrot the opinion of other authors who wrote about Cagliostro, but he did his own research and came to his own conclusions. One can certainly argue about some of Trowbridge's conclusions, but overall this is a very thorough and detailed description and analysis of Cagliostro's life.

• Preface
• Bibliography
• Part I
  • Chapter I: The Power Of Prejudice
  • Chapter II: Giuseppe Balsamo
• Part II
  • Chapter I: Cagliostro In London
  • Chapter II: Eighteenth Century Occultism
  • Chapter III: Masked And Unmasked
  • Chapter IV: The...

Includes chapters on conjuring, fortune-telling and card-sharping.

• Preface
• Part The First. The History Of Cards
  • I. Introduction
  • II. Oriental Origin Of Cards
  • III. Introduction Of Cards Into Southern Europe
  • IV. Date Of Introduction Of Cards
  • V. Introduction Of Cards Into France
  • VI. The Cards Of Charles VI
  • VII. Invention Of The French Cards And Game Of Piquet
  • VIII. Cards In England
  • IX. History Of Tarots, As Told By Themselves
  • X. Modern History Of French And English Cards
  • XI. The Application Of Cards To Science
  • XII. Card Miscellanies
• Part The Second. Card Playing And Card Players...

A collection of basic information about circuses small and big, their names and when they were in operation.

• War Time Circus
• Shows Harry Bowman was connected with
• Famous Firsts in Circus History
• Circus Wrecks and Accidents
• Circuses and Tent Shows (in alphabetical order)

1st edition 1942, 31 pages; PDF 75 pages.

This work explores the history, meaning, and uses of playing cards.

From the foreword:

Showing at a glance the tricks performed by all the leading conjurors, extending over a period of forty-two years, from 1864 to 1906.

• Robert Heller
• Warren Wright
• Prof. Duval
• Signor Bosco
• Prof. Fuller
• Mons. Kellar
• Verbeck
• Prof. and Maude Anderson
• Prof. Anderson
• Herr Frikell
• Dr. Holden
• Prof. Hoffmann
• Bautier de Kolta
• Prof. Devono
• Herr Döbler
• Hartz
• Prof. Duprez
• Dr. Lynn
• Servais Le Roy
• Hercat
• J. N. Maskelyne
• Harry Kellar
• Imro Fox
• Prof. Hulbert
• David Devant
• Prof. Weber
• Prof. Geo. Davison
• Charles Bertram
• Dr. Nix
• Prof. St. Clair
• Chevalier Thorn
• Fred Harcourt
• Charles Karnak
• De Biere the Mysterious
• Paul Valadon
• Charles Morritt
• Melot Herman
• Carl Hertz
• Martin...

The renowned sideshow showman Ward Hall reminisced about the time Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus attracted a record-breaking crowd of over 20,000 people inside the sideshow. "The Greatest Show on Earth" was playing Montreal during the 1950s. However, over a decade later, Giovanni Iuliani surpassed this world-breaking record many times over.

200,000 ATTENDANCE RECORD!

In 1966, Giovanni Iuliani presented 5 major freak phenomena alive on a high elevated stage at two Montreal movie houses. These high attendance halls each featured on their giant screen the classic horror...