Magic & Conjuring: page 131

This book has an excellent illusion section, a decent chapter about escape artistry and also a fairly large trick section with all kinds of routines with cards, silks, ... The really good part are the illusions. You will find several clever ideas. Will Goldston was himself a craftsman and illusion builder. He can therefore write with authority.

1st edition, 1908?, George Routledge & Sons, London; 259 pages.

3. Introduction

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   PART I - TRICKS
9. New Card Catching on Plate
10. The Floating Disc Mystery
11. The Devo Torn Card
12. The Hildyard Target and Cage Illusion
14. The Handkerchief and Sword
16. A Dancing...

This is the last book in the 'Magician Annual' series of Goldston. It carries a slightly different title, 'Annual of Magic' instead of 'Magician Annual', but otherwise is kept in the very same style and type of contents as all the other books in this series. Beside tricks, illusions and patter, you will find a lot about magicians of this era. For example the "Who's Who and Why" is an interesting article.

1st edition, 1916, Will Goldston, London; 72 pages.

• A
  24. Abbott's Spirit Paintings Illusion
  16. Adhering Pips and Blank Cards
  7. Advertise, How to
  5. Advice for the Student
  37. Aeroplane and Trunk...

This was the first Magician Annual Will Goldston compiled and edited. It covers quite some ground. From juggling and optical illusions, to ventriloquism and palmistry. Of course you will find also magic illusions, tricks and patter. And if you want to read a little bit about hoop rolling, you can, too. These Magician Annuals are real fun to read. They are a great window into the past.

1st edition 1908, Gamage Ltd., London; 98 pages.

4. The Editor to His Readers, Will Goldston
5. Juggling Manipulations, Paul Cinquevalli
7. Crayon Drawing for the Stage, J. F. Burrows
8. Barrel and Packing-Case Tricks,...

This is the second volume in Goldston's Magician Annual series. It has a nice little section on Chapeaugraphy and a large section on patents. You will find there all kind of improvements to various apparatuses. And there is biographical information and recollections of famous magicians as well as a lot of photos of celebrities.

1st edition, 1909, London; 96 pages.

7. The Editor to His Readers, Will Goldston
8. Comedy Jugglers, The Great Weiland
10. Famous Magicians, Robert Ankele
11. Living Marionettes, Leah Laurie
13. Card Tricks, Dr. Elliott
14. My First Appearance on the Stage as a Magician, W. N. Winget
15. Episodes...

This book describes quite a number of card tricks and has a wonderful account of some of Buatier de Kolta's illusions, for example his famous "de Kolta Chair". An interesting story evolves around the cartoon on page 62, which depicts a famous magician's wife in a not very favorable light. Goldston released later a new edition which had this cartoon removed. Goldston also tried to buy back all the first editions but was not quite successful.

1st edition, 1910, London; 100 pages.

4. The Editor to his Readers, Will Goldston
5. An Interview and an Appreciation, Henry Byatt
7. Apparatus for Amateurs,...

This book is filled with a variety of interesting articles, from trick descriptions to patter suggestions, from biographical information to theory. Among others there is a trick contribution by Houdini. This book is layed out beautifully, almost like a magazine. Overall a very nice and interesting book to read.

1st edition, 1910, The Magician Limited, London; 106 pages.

3. Index
5. The Editor to his Readers
7. The Scribe, The Failure, and The Magician JOHN KEYMAN
10. Amateur Conjurer's Accessories GEORGE JOHNSON
12. The Magic of Suggestion PROFESSOR HOFFMANN
14. New Patter for Popular Problems WOOLFE CLYNE
23. Wine v. Water CHRIS VAN BERN
25. Telepathic...

This book has a broad range of contents, from stage juggling, to the history of playing cards (a really nice article), pocket tricks, illusions, biographical information, ... It is in the very same style as the other Magician Annuals. If you enjoyed those you will surely love this one, too.

1st edition, 1912, London; 99 pages.

6. Will Goldston, A Terrible Experience, Hohn Keyman
10. Original Patter for Original Minds, Woolfe Clyne
14. A Liner on Fire at Sea. An Original Lightning Painting Effect, Fred Velasco
17. Stage Juggling, Fred Velasco
21. Tricks for 1911-12, Jay Gee
29. The Magic Reel of Cotton,...

What an excellent book. The quality of the material is outstanding. What makes this book particularly rare is a chapter on juggling and how to fake great juggle skills. I have yet to see another book on magic with such an extensive chapter on juggling. You will also find the obligatory chapter on shadowgraphy, a good write up of black art, and large sections on cards, coins, and tricks with many other props. You will find billiard ball manipulation as well as stage tricks with large apparatus.

1st edition, 1902, Frederick J. Drake & Co, Chicago; 440 pages; PDF 325 pages.

• Introduction ...

The most famous invention of Nikola is his card system, which is described in The Nikola Card System and in an abbreviated version in Encyclopedia of Card Tricks. Cards are not the only area Nikola excelled in.

From the inside cover: Magical Masterpieces is no mere fanciful title. It is an apt description of a selection from the accumulated repertoire of a practical magician whose outstanding characteristic is the painstaking perfection and stamp of individuality of all his productions. It is safe to say that if a new book of magic provides only one workable and suitable addition to the reader's store it is a sound investment. The magician...

This is a gutsy and exceptionally strong effect. Look out for this guy. He will be releasing more of his strong ideas.

1st edition, 2002.

This little booklet details the code the Zancigs used. Laura Fixen writes in the preface that she was a student with the Zancigs and was taught their code.

1st edition, 1912, Laura G. Fixen; 27 pages.

3. Preface
4. How the Zancig System Was Obtained
5. How The Carter-Price Act Was Secured
6. How to Apply the "Second Sight" System
7. To Tell Letters
8. The Zancigs' Code
9. To Tell Numbers
9. To Tell Dates
10. To Tell Money
11. To Tell Names
12. To Tell Articles
13. Articles by Series
20. Countries
21. Lodges and Orders
22. Colors
22. Silent Cues
23. The Fays' Great Act
25. Advertisement

The title "Secrets - Malini, Leipzig, Vernon, Jarrow, ..." suggests a lot, but these are merely the interpretations and versions of U. F. Grant to some of the classics of Malini, Leipzig, Vernon, Jarrow and others. Grant uses only one page to describe each effect and method. This book is therefore to some degree a disappointment. Nevertheless I think it is a cheap way to learn the plots and a method to several of the greatest tricks of all time. Just don't expect very detailed descriptions. Grant displays in this book an arrogant writing style with comments like 'This is good' or "The best method" or "Fools...

This is a very clear description of how to build a Houdini-style Sub Trunk from readily available parts. Matt added several clear photos to illustrate various stages and subassemblies. If you have never built an illusion or if you don't know the secret of this classic trick, you will find this ebook very useful.

1st edition, 2004

The Volta System For The Feat Of Reading Sealed Messages ... says it all! Burling Hull’s personal verbosity shows up in this 16 page booklet of "the latest advances for the reading of sealed messages." In 1929, when this was released, it was the final word in sealed message reading. Today, it still ranks at the top of any list of secrets of this kind.

It covers: impromptu work with borrowed stationary; the first practical solution of what was once considered an impossible feat; the ability of this "Power" to always be available to the performer

These words from Burling Hull were used...

This book includes detailed work on the "Cups and Balls," and the first version of the "Stack of Pence" (i.e., "Stack of Quarters"). It is probably the first English book written from the viewpoint of a performing magician. Any serious magician should read this book, not to learn a lot of new tricks, but to realize how much has been known for a long time. This book is part of our history. I understand that $60 or more for a paper reprint is hard to justify, but now for a few bucks there should be no excuse to not read this wonderful little treasure.

1st edition, 1634; 52 pages.

3. The Epistle...

This is wonderful story magic of the bizarre kind. Great for Halloween. In total six effects are described, with photos and clear descriptions. James puts a lot of emphasis on presentation.

1st edition, 2005; 29 pages.

1. Bill Possession - Breathe new life into this classic effect with an original presentation that will leave any audience wanting more.
2. No Way Out - This is as strong, scary and visually as it gets. An excellent animation that is freaky and exciting. This is possibly the strongest piece in the entire manuscript. If you want something that'll involve an audience and hook them emotionally,...

A treatise on the fundamental principle, theory, and practice of picking pockets – for entertainment purposes only.

Eddie Joseph attended in 1923 the Indian National Exposition in Calcutta. There he wittnessed the reactions of visitors to a pickpocket incidence. This gave him the idea to build an act around pickpocketing. Subsequently he studied the methods of pickpockets, developed an act, and finally wrote this guide.

1st edition 1940; 30 pages.

This is side one of a digitally re-mastered (MP3) version of the original MagiCassette™ first released in 1986 by Martin Breese - now owned by Lybrary.com. You will hear Richard Webster who is one of the world's leading experts on the art of cold reading. Richard Webster is a New Zealander who has been involved with Magic and Cold Reading for many, many years.

Richard used to release his own exclusive publications but now that he has achieved international fame he is published by a leading American publishing house. He has written books on a diverse range of subjects from Hypnotism to Fung...

This is side 2 of the Martin Breese MagicCassete released in 1986. See Commercial Cold Reading side 1.

Recorded October 9th, 1986. Length 25 min.

This ebook describes 201 easy to do but effective tricks covering a wide range including feats of mentalism, tricks with paper and parts of your body.

From the inside flap of the original book:

After Rosini's death, Frederick Braue wrote in the February, 1949 issue of Hugard's Magic Monthly, "What a book Rosini could have written - and now his knowledge of audiences is lost. Others, take note." Unfortunately, Rosini never did get the chance to write a book detailing his own methods. He planned on writing one, but his dream was never realized during his lifetime.

In 1947 Paul approached his longtime friend and fellow magician Rufus Steele to aid him in writing a book of his tricks. Steele was a mysterious character whose background was questionable to say the least. An electrical engineer by trade, Rufus was also a gambler and...

You will find tricks with bills, cigarettes, coins, matches, silverware, napkins and salt shakers, all things which are readily available at any restaurant or dinner table.

This ebook was written for the performer, professional or amateur, who is seeking good, well-tested effects which do not require elaborate practice, preparation, or skill.

Martin has chosen only tricks which make use of objects found at any dinner table. All are performed while seated, with spectators on both right and left. A few of the effects are original, but most of them have been picked up from friends who picked...

This is certainly not 'the last word on cards'. There never will be a last word on cards. But it is a delightful collection of self-working card effects. Some of the brightest minds contributed: Ed Marlo, Eddie Joseph, Al Leech, Bill Simon, Eddie Fields, Oscar Weigle, Audley Walsh and of course Rufus Steele himself.

You will find the original "Sam and Moe" card story on which Bill Malone's "Sam the Bellhop" is based. I also found a very interesting magic card square routine that I was not aware of.

For anyone who likes clever card tricks which are based on subtleties, math and other clever ruses, this is a must read.

• Introduction ...

This ebook is a compilation of self-working card tricks with contributions by legends like Paul Rosini, Eddie Joseph, Edward Marlo, Martin Gardner, Ken Krenzel, Al Baker, Carmen Da Mico, H. Adrian Smith, Sid Lorraine, John Scarne, Dai Vernon, Audley Walsh and of course Rufus Steele.

• Contents
• Introduction
• Psychic Spell
• "Let's See What You've Done"
• Mystic Fifteen
• Hiding The Principle
• Double Thought
• Five Nine King
• A Bridge Trick
• Under The Table Coincidence
• Mental Discernment Improved
• The Reluctant Card
• Betting On A Sure Thing
• The Ten Of Diamonds
• Trick Of The Year
• Double Deuce
• A Set Of Surprises
• Rapid Revelation
• Two Souls With But A Single Thought
• The Missing Card
• A Beginner's...