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You'll Always Have A DollarVal AndrewsThis is Val's own life story. Val is one of magic's most prolific writers and he draws from his vast magical experience as he recounts the story he knows best - his own. To people who know magic and the Show-Biz scene this is a marvelous recording to listen to. This is a licensed reproduction of the famous Magicassette series created by Martin Breese - now owned by Lybrary.com. runtime 1 hour | ★★★★★ $12 to wish listMP3 | |
You Can't Beat the GameBlakely Hall | $4 to wish list | |
Who's Who In MagicBarton WhaleyNew updated edition. This biographical guide lists over 5,500 men and women associated with the art of conjuring from earliest recorded times to the present: performers, inventors, writers, teachers, dealers, manufacturers, publishers, collectors, historians, and showmen of magic. Several are included from the so-called allied arts of magic. Thus it gives those whose deceptions or careers directly influenced magicians, such as pseudo-psychics and card sharps; and those who share many deceptive methods with magicians, such as escapologists, mentalists, and stage pickpockets and hypnotists.... | ★★★★★ $50 to wish list | |
Who's Who in MagicWill GoldstonThere are not many short biography compilations in magic and this one by Goldston is still one that is being consulted frequently. The most extensive one is by Bart Whaley (Who's Who in Magic) but while Whaley covers many more magicians he does not include portraits. Goldston includes many portraits of magicians and his biographical sketches can sometimes be much more extensive than in other such compilations. Goldston groups magicians as professionals, semi-professionals, and amateurs. He covers 90 professional magicians, 50 semi-professional magicians, and 69 amateurs. 1st edition 1934, 114 pages; PDF... | $20 to wish list | |
WD40Wayne DobsonWayne Dobson has had a life full of incredible highs and hard-to-bear lows, and in this candidly written ebook, he lays it all before you. The full story is here charting his meteoric rise to international fame and TV stardom in which, when he was at the height of his powers, he became a household name in the UK and was seen as a genuine alternative to Paul Daniels as a mainstream TV magician, right through to his valiant and uncomplaining struggle with MS. It's a tale of courage, is often very funny, and it is always fascinating. As well as Wayne's life story this excellent ebook provides... | $19 to wish list | |
Wayne Dobson Talks to Jay Fortune: The Magic Interview Series No.1Wayne Dobson & Jay FortuneWay back in 2005, I began broadcasting a world-first: an hour dedicated to magic, live from London. At the time, I was presenting my breakfast show on commercial radio. Every Monday evening at 7pm GMT, the airwaves went live with Radio Magic. Each episode featured a ten-minute interview with a famous star of magic (see The Magic Interview Series ebook). As a spin-off from that year-long project, I recorded a few long-form interviews with magicians and these recordings became available as CDs: thus, the Magic Interview Series was born. Looking back, I was podcasting before podcasts! Now, for the first time ever, these... | $19.90 to wish listMP3 | |
Victorian Seance and the Birth of MentalismPaul VoodiniPaul Voodini presents Victorian Seance and the Birth of Mentalism, recounting the rise of Spiritualism in the 1800s, the antics, tricks, and techniques of the fraudulent mediums, and how this led directly to the birth of that branch of the magical arts known as 'mentalism.' This detailed manuscript outlines and explains such techniques and methods as mesmerism and hypnosis, table-tipping, slates, automatic writing, book tests, 'reading' techniques and Q&A, spirit manifestations, the Ouija board, and much, much more. The text also touches on escapology, quick change, and other magical techniques. ... | $40 to wish list | |
Victor Farelli: A Magical MemoirPaul GordonThis is a brief historical account, a biographical essay, of one of the most intriguing characters in magic – Mr. Victor Farelli. 1st edition 2006, 36 pages. | $8 to wish list | |
Vanni Bossi: the man and the artistRoberto Bombassei & Biagio FasanoThe biography of a great artist and creative of the Italian and international magical world. Fifteen years after his death, the artist, magician and writer Roberto Bombassei, through a work of research and study, pays tribute to his mentor by publishing for the first time his biography: his beginnings, his path, his studies, his thoughts, his creations. Foreword by Tony Binarelli. English translation and additional notes by Biagio Fasano.
| $33 to wish list | |
Topper Martyn Interview: all 4 partsTopper Martyn | $22 to wish listMP3 | |
To the Sea in ShipsAl MannBiography 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.
| ★★★★★ $10 to wish list | |
Those Beautiful DamesFrances MarshallAn ebook honoring those great women in magic, some from the past centuries. A world survey of "Those Beautiful Dames." Featuring among others Debbie Henning. Dan Waldron has a section on the Blackstone Saga, covering the magical life of Harry Senior, then the Blackstone, Jr. we know. Beautiful and talented women figured in both their lives, with Gay Blackstone a star in the Blackstone show. Marion Nicola writes of her show and life with the Great Nicola, Val Andrews covers many famous lady assistants. Carol Roy, Mrs. Electric releases the inside story of their adventures in odd parts of the... | ★★★★★ $24.95 to wish list | |
This Is Magic: secrets of the conjurer's craftWill DexterThis work is sort of a condensed history of magic. The story of some notable tricks. For example, what was the oldest conjuring trick in the world? What was the newest? Were the Piddingtons really telepathic? How does a magician saw a girl in half? Do conjurers use marked cards? How do they do the Indian Rope Trick?
| $12 to wish list | |
The Unmasking of Robert-HoudinHarry HoudiniHoudini was upset that the widow of Robert-Houdin did not want to meet him. As a revenge Harry Houdini wrote The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, in which Houdini tries to push Robert-Houdin from his pedestal. He tries to show that most tricks Robert-Houdin claimed as his invention were in fact not his invention and that Robert-Houdin was not this great magician he usually is thought he was. But most of Houdini's allegations are fabricated and do not stand close inspection. Jean Hugard wrote as response to Houdini's nasty book Houdini's Unmasking, where Hugard point for point refutes Houdini's argumentation. I personally favor Hugard's opinion,... | ★★★★★ $6 to wish listPDF & EPUB | |
The True History of Pepper's GhostJohn Henry PepperJohn Henry Pepper took a projection invention of Henry Dircks, called The Ghost, with his permission, and made it practical so that it could more easily be performed. He earned a lot of money staging it. Even though Dircks did not want any payments from Pepper, there was a falling out between the two because the invention became known as Pepper's Ghost. Dircks wanted to have his name associated with it. This prompted Dircks to write The Ghost. Pepper's answer to that publication and dispute came almost 30 years later in this work The True History of the Ghost. He also includes the history and working of Metempsychosis... | $7 to wish list | |
The Robert Harbin BookRobert HarbinThis is a digital facsimile version of the original hardcover book. [The one hardcover I had left has sold. Sorry.] Back in the 1970s Martin Breese had the chance to record Robert Harbin on one of his early Magicassette releases. The Harbin Magicassette probably rates as the most popular of his recordings. In 1983 Martin asked the late Owen Griffith to transcribe the words from the Harbin Magicassette. The late and great Eric Mason created the illustrations for The Harbin Book. One day at a business trade fair Martin saw a full scale photo litho printing machine being demonstrated and decided to leap in to the deep end and he bought the demonstration machine and had... | ★★★★★ $49 to wish listPDF_facsimile | |
The Reference Guide to Early Works on Card CheatingT. HayesThis ebook presents an analytical review of works on card cheating that are written in English and published before 1900. Given this scope, The Reference Guide to Early Works on Card Cheating takes 151 publications, and documents the card cheating techniques that they describe. Only card techniques discussed in the context of cheating at card games are considered. The 146 defined techniques are used to evaluate the publications based on their breadth and their contribution to the literature. The breadth is indicated by the absolute number of techniques each work describes, and the contribution... | $20 to wish list | |
The Oldest Deception: Cups and Balls in the Art of the 15th and 16th CenturiesDr. Kurt Volkmann & June Barrows MusseyThis ebook is a treat for any magic historian as well as for anybody who likes to learn more about the history of the cups and balls. A collection of 20 woodcuts, copper engravings and oil paintings from the 15th and 16th century depicting conjurers with cups and balls is described in great detail by Kurt Volkmann, the president of the German Magic Circle from 1952-1958. For example, you will find the famous oil painting "The Juggler" by Hieronymus Bosch as well as an imitation and a very similar copper engraving. Read what we can learn from the various depictions of the cups and balls. One... | ★★★★★ $20 to wish list | |
The Old-Time Train GamblerGeorge Jean NathanStories of card and revolver play, told by a man who "worked" the trains with his confederates in the days when stakes ran high. If one believes this account, then a lot of the crooked gambling on trains was simply theft at gunpoint rather than sophisticated sleight-of-hand card advantage play. 1st edition 1910, PDF 7 pages. | $3.50 to wish list | |
The Old Showmen and Old London FairsThomas FrostA detailed chronology of places, dates and performers of fairs in and around London. We learn mostly of theatrical productions of various kinds including pantomime and dances, and menageries exhibiting exotic animals, and less so of tumbling and acrobats, juggling, balancing and the like. It includes some coverage of conjurers including Fawkes, Pinchbeck, Breslaw and others. There is some overlap of stories from Circus Life and Circus Celebrities because some performers and operators were active in both venues.
| $5 to wish list | |
The Old and The New MagicHenry Ridgely EvansFrom the introduction: The very word magic has an alluring sound, and its practice as an art will probably never lose its attractiveness for people's minds. But we must remember that there is a difference between the old magic and the new, and that both are separated by a deep chasm, which is a kind of color line, for though the latter develops from the former in a gradual and natural course of evolution, they are radically different in principle, and the new magic is irredeemably opposed to the assumptions upon which the old magic rests. Magic originally meant priestcraft. It is probable... | $12 to wish list | |
The Odds Against MeJohn ScarneIf he'd had a touch of larceny in him, he could have been the number one card sharp of all time. Instead, the author of these fabulous memoirs, born to a mother who considered gambling the "devil's tool," puts his extraordinary gifts to far different purpose. He has used his incredible gambling sense, his miraculously dexterous fingers, his brilliant mathematical mind, his fascination with carnival and gambling life, to become America's number one authority on gambling and odds. He was the greatest practitioner and analyst of card and dice sleight of hand. His artistry impressed FDR as... | ★★★★★ $19 to wish list | |
The Napoleon MythHenry Ridgely Evans(We are carrying this ebook primarily because of the author, Henry Ridgeley Evans, who published several interesting books on conjuring.) On its face the book is about the myth that Napoleon never existed. It was at one time a popular myth, hoax, or fake news as it would be called today. It also provides interesting lessons and insights on how myths can develop. Since there are a number of myths in the world of conjuring, this work can help one understand why and how some of the myths in magic may have developed.
| $5 to wish list | |
The Man Who Was ErdnaseBarton Whaley & Martin Gardner & Jeff BusbyThis book won the SAM Special Library Award. It details Martin Gardner's, Jeff Busby's and Bart Whaley's search to uncover the person hiding behind the pseudonym S.W. Erdnase. It lays out in detail the case for Milton Franklin Andrews. It describes the life of Andrews, how he started with magic, and how he transitioned to become a cardshark, including his travels around the word hustling and cheating to make a living. A detailed analysis of Erdnase's likely sources and inspirations, as well as other information about the book, its reprints, and other pertinent information will help every Erdnase researcher.... | $45 to wish list | |
The Making of Playing CardsLeo BehnkeLeo Behnke worked for many years for Paulson, a playing card manufacturer. He describes in this ebook the history of playing card production up to the process that is used for todays cards. He also describes in detail the 9 editions of the Magic Castle cards and how one can identify them. Beyond the interesting historical and technical descriptions Leo is offering, this information can also be quite helpful in creating a script or interesting line of presentation for a trick or routine. The contents of this ebook was presented at a Magic Collectors meeting in Las Vegas, April 8 2005. ... | ★★★★★ $3 to wish list | |
The MagiCIAn: John Mulholland's Secret CIA Life (Audiobook)Ben RobinsonThis is the audio-book version of The MagiCIAn: John Mulholland's Secret CIA Life. Listening time over 9 hours. The author, Ben Robinsion, reads the entire book. Additionally he also reads ten letters to and from Mulholland previously unpublished and not part of the book or ebook. Here is the first half of the first chapter: [If the embedded player should not properly work in your browser you can also download the MP3 here."John Mulholland is surely one of the most fascinating personalities in magic history. For his work to advance conjuring as a recognized art, he deserves tremendous respect, and no serious student of magic will want to skip this book." - Michael Claxton, Magic Magazine, Feb 2009. | $19.99 more than onetype to choose from MP3 MP3 | |
The MagiCIAn: John Mulholland's Secret CIA LifeBen RobinsonThe only biography of the master magician and spy instructor John Mulholland including his work for the CIA. "John Mulholland is surely one of the most fascinating personalities in magic history. For his work to advance conjuring as a recognized art, he deserves tremendous respect, and no serious student of magic will want to skip this book." - Michael Claxton, Magic Magazine, Feb 2009. | ★★★★★ $19.99 more than onetype to choose from softcover | |
The Magician as DetectiveDavid Alexander & Richard KyleThis product consists of an ebook with two parts and a video. The first part of the ebook is a reproduction of David Alexander's article from the Genii January 2000 issue where he introduced his candidate for Erdnase, Wilbur E. Sanders. The second part is an unpublished booklet titled The S.W. Erdnase Report by Richard Kyle which includes a narrative and several letters to David.
David Alexander and Richard Kyle would speak for hours on the phone exchanging their thoughts, their insights, and their discoveries regarding Erdnase. Richard Kyle would often write a letter to David afterward to memorialize... | $29.50 to wish listPDF & MP4 | |
The Magic of Al KoranMartin BreeseMartin Breese spent a substantial amount of time to piece together routines and information about Al Koran with the help of many of his friends, people who worked with Al Koran in some form or another, information on audio recordings, magazine articles and many other bits and pieces of information. Originally published in 1983, but revised by Martin Breese before his untimely death in 2012. The ebook contains virtually every Al Koran effect as performed on TV. It analysis the effect and the method, then provides the exact words of patter as used by Al Koran. There is a listing of all... | ★★★★★ $25 to wish listPDF & EPUB | |
The Lives of the ConjurorsThomas FrostThis is considered one of the best early histories of magic. From the Preface: The present volume closes the series of works on the entertaining classes which I contemplated when writing Circus Life and Circus Celebrities, the greater part of which was written before The Old Showmen and the Old London Fairs was commenced, though the publication of the latter work preceded that of the former. In embracing within the present volume the lives of the conjurors of every period and every country, while the record of shows and showmen is confined to London and the suburban districts, (which may now be said to embrace a circle of twenty miles across,) and that of circuses... | $8 to wish list | |
The Life of Mason Long the Converted GamblerMason LongBeing a record of his experience as a white slave; a soldier in the Union Army; a professional gambler; a patron of the turf; a variety theater and minstrel manager; and, finally, a convert to the Murphy Cause, and to the Gospel of Christ. This book is an illustration of this paragraph by S.W. Erdnase: Hazard at play carries sensations that once enjoyed are rarely forgotten. The winnings are known as "pretty money," and it is generally spent as freely as water. The average professional who is successful at his own game will, with the sublimest unconcern, stake his money on that of another's, though... | $10 to wish list | |
The Life of a ShowmanDavid Prince MillerThis is a wonderful account of a traveling showman's trials and tribulations in England and Scotland during the middle of the 19th century. Among other things, he was a conjurer. While this is not a book of tricks, one coin trick is explained as part of one story of his life. But much more interesting are the descriptions of various scams and the modus operandi of various ways to defraud the public by traveling hucksters the author encountered. The operation of the thimble rig is explained in detail. It is an account of how traveling showmen struggled essentially their entire life to make... | $10 to wish list | |
The Life and Times of Augustus Rapp the Small Town ShowmanAugustus RappExcerpt from the introduction by Robert Parrish: It appears that there have always been roving showmen: minstrels, montebanks, travelling players. Being such a trouper is a bit different from being an actor, or performing artist per se. You are not booked, your coming is not arranged for. You do not depend upon any of the machinery that makes the showman an organization man. You just take to the road and keep moving. Such showmen differ from pure vagabonds in that they have a calling; to perform. This distinguishes them from the great American character the Confidence Man, although the Confidence... | $25 to wish list | |
The Karl Norman InterviewKarl NormanLife, 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. | ★★★★★ $10 to wish listMP3 | |
The James McKinney & Co Bankruptcy FilesNational Archives (NARA)You will find three bankruptcy files in this PDF, one with No. 842 from 1899 which consist of 37 pages, one with No. 8576 from 1903 with 476 pages, which is the Jamieson-Higgins bankruptcy, and the bankruptcy No. 8577 from 1903 with 624 pages. The particularly interesting one is the last No. 8577 which was the James McKinney & Co. bankruptcy. The Jamieson-Higgins bankruptcy is included because James McKinney printed essentially all of the books Jamieson-Higgins published and they were also financially entangled. It also tells the tale how Chris Wasshuber located the files, had them digitized, and how... | $15 to wish listPDF_facsimile | |
The Illustrated Story of MagicClassics IllustratedThis 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... | ★★★★★ $10 to wish listPDF_facsimile | |
The History of Playing CardsEd. S. TaylorIncludes chapters on conjuring, fortune-telling and card-sharping.
| ★★★★★ $10 to wish list | |
The Great CarmoVal AndrewsThe Colossus of Mystery.
1st edition 2001, 80 pages; 1st digital edition 2019, 53 pages. | ★★★★★ $8 to wish list | |
The Goodliffe Years Vol. 2Goodliffe | $9 to wish listMP3 |