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The Supernatural?Lionel A. Weatherly & John Nevil MaskelyneIn this work, Lionel Weatherly inspects and investigates stories of mirages, prophetic dreams and the experiences of historical figures like Joan of Arc. Illusionist John Nevil Maskelyne, who exposed the fraud of a number of spiritualists including the Davenport Brothers, and who created several famous illusions which are still being performed today, examines the truth behind a number of famous Eastern magical illusions. Maskelyne also scrutinizes mediumistic fraud, questioning the credibility of figures like D. D. Home and Madame Blavatsky, in an entertaining and carefully argued investigation... | ★★★★★ $12 to wish list | |
After Dinner Tricks and Puzzles with your Seal Brand Coffeeunknown | $10 to wish listPDF_facsimile | |
Amateur MagicianJ. Dazley TheobaldFrom the preface: The object of this work is to thoroughly explain to the Amateur Magician the various subterfuges which are made use of by Professional Conjurors to mystify their audiences, and to afford such instructions as shall enable any person to give a private performance. That there is plenty of room for a work on the subject of magical secrets and contrivances is evident by the few books that are in circulation, and even some of these are of but slight value, as they give graphic descriptions of what tricks are performed, while but scant and imperfect explanations of how they are... | ★★★★★ $8 to wish list | |
Magic and its MysteriesJ. Dazley TheobaldFrom the preface: In the following pages it has been my aim to give such plain and practical instructions, as shall enable the amateur conjurer to perform with confidence and success. In the limits of a book of this size, it is impossible to describe more than one-tenth of the various tricks in modern magic in vogue at the present day, and I have therefore carefully excluded the larger professional apparatus, such as are used only on the public stage, believing that what is most needed is a sound treatise on drawing-room magic, and I trust in the following pages the reader will find such... | ★★★★★ $10 to wish list | |
The Real New London Conjuror or the Art of LegerdemainunknownShowing the various ways of performing tricks by sleight-of-hand on dice, cards, etc., together with many surprising deceptions.
| $6 to wish list | |
The Art of Modern Conjuring Magic and IllusionsHenri GarenneFrom the introduction: I have written this work not as an exposure of the art of Conjuring and Magic, but simply to act as a guide for amateurs and young beginners; therefore I shall enumerate many tricks and illusions that my young friends can perform at home amongst their numerous friends. In addition to this, I shall also enumerate those tricks and illusions which demand a larger amount of room, and also require specially constructed apparatus; such tricks the amateur would do well not to attempt, as they are only suitable for performance on a stage. I shall give a description of most... | ★★★★★ $8 to wish list | |
The Study of Trance Muscle ReadingGeorge Miller BeardFrom the preface: The following narratives and analyses of facts relating to the investigation of important and interesting phenomena of the nervous system are published in the belief that they will be new, in whole or in part, to the majority of neurologists and practitioners, both in Europe and America. Some of the facts connected with the detailed history of muscle-reading are here put on permanent record for the first time, and have been obtained partly from memory and partly from public and private documents in my possession. It is interesting and incredible that these phenomena... | $8 to wish list | |
The Involuntary LifeGeorge Miller BeardThe 'involuntary life' would today be described as trance or as a hypnotic state. Beard writes: Every human being lives two lives, the voluntary, in which he acts more or less under the control of the will, and the involuntary, in which he acts automatically, and over which the will has but a limited power, or none at all. The acts of both the body and the mind, may be involuntary as will as voluntary, and in both body and mind, the two lives are constantly blended. However, he was a skeptic when it came to the popular practices and explanations of these phenomena by the means of animal... | $5 to wish list | |
Physiology of Mind-ReadingGeorge Miller BeardThe type of 'mind-reading' George Beard means here is what we today call muscle-reading, which is a term that Beard himself coined. Beard describes several experiments he conducted and describes very clearly the physiology of muscle-reading, and that it is an involuntary muscle contraction that has nothing to do with animal magnetism or thought transference. 1st edition 1877; PDF 10 pages. | $5 to wish list | |
The History of Playing CardsEd. S. TaylorIncludes chapters on conjuring, fortune-telling and card-sharping.
| ★★★★★ $10 to wish list | |
Wyman's Hand-Book of MagicJohn WymanThis work covers a lot of ground, from various parlor tricks, chemical tricks, card tricks, to a section on two person codes, and a section on artifices of cardsharks.
| ★★★★★ $8 to wish list | |
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 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.
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Circus Life and Circus CelebritiesThomas FrostA history of the circus in Britain during the 19th century. One chapter deals with America, another with circus slang. Perhaps most interesting are the recollections of a gymnast and how he made it into the circus. From the Preface: But of the circus artistes - the riders, the clowns, the acrobats, the gymnasts, - what do we know? How many are there, unconnected with the sawdust, who can say that they have known a member of that strange race? Charles Dickens, who was perhaps as well acquainted with the physiology of the less known sections of society as any man of his day, whetted public... | $5 to wish list | |
Isn't It Wonderful?Charles BertramA history of magic interwoven with Charles Bertram's recollections. From the introduction: The profession of conjuring, if not the most ancient, is certainly one of the oldest professions in the world, and, before commencing my account of the efforts made by a humble professor of the art, I trust that the reader may be interested by a short sketch of its history. Without this, it is possible that he might receive a book relating to the conjurer's art with a shrug of the shoulders. But conjuring, if it has now drifted down to the level of mere entertainment, has played its part in the history... | $5 to wish list | |
Herrmann the MagicianHardin Jasper BurlingameFrom the preface: Having devoted a number of years to the inventing, manufacturing and sale of many of the most popular magical apparatus made in this country, I now present to the reader, biographies of the two great conjurers known to the world under the names of Carl and Alexander Herrmann, both equally famous in their specialties. The main portion of the book is devoted to clear, compact and illustrated descriptions of the best tricks performed by the two Herrmanns, whom I unite under the appellation of Herrmann the Magician, and by other celebrated performers, such as Cazeneuve, Kellar, Vanek, Heller, Samuels,... | ★★★★★ $6 to wish list | |
Parlor Tricks with CardsWiljalba FrikellThe subtitle reads: Containing explanations of all the tricks and deceptions with playing cards. Tricks with cards performed by skillful manipulation and sleight of hand; by the aid of memory, mental calculation, and the peculiar arrangement of the cards; by the aid of confederacy and sheer audacity and tricks performed by the aid of ingenious apparatus and prepared cards. The whole illustrated, and made plain and easy. The first section of this book is identical with the card section in The Secret Out.
| $10 to wish list | |
The Sharper Detected and ExposedJean Eugene Robert-HoudinThe first part consists of stories about cardsharks and other crooks from Robert-Houdin's recollections. This is very readable and an entertaining part of the work. The second part explains some of the technical details of the methods used by cardsharks. However, the methods are for the most part only described in very rudimentary form. As Robert-Houdin writes himself, this is not meant as a way to teach you how to do it, but merely to give the reader insight in how the different ruses are accomplished. Nevertheless, it provides interesting insight into the ways and means of cardsharks. This... | $7 to wish list | |
The ExpositorWilliam Frederick PinchbeckA series of letters, between an unidentified friend and his correspondent (William Frederick Pinchbeck) comprising of how to train a pig, invisible lady and acoustic temple, philosophical swan, penetrating spy glasses, several magic tricks, such as how to catch a bullet, and reflections on ventriloquism. This book includes the first known description of the "Eight Kings" card stack.
| $6 to wish list | |
Lorento's Wizard's GuideLorentoThis is a fairly typical magic book from the 19th century. It mixes magic tricks and illusions with science experiments. Due to the fact that back then many did not have a basic understanding of physics and chemistry, many of these exhibitions of science appeared like magic.
| $5 to wish list | |
Magicians Own BookWiljalba FrikellThe authorship of this book is not entirely clear, but Frikell is a likely author of at least good parts of the book. However, most likely it is a compilation of material from different sources with potentially a number of editors and compilers. Some of the other names associated with this book are H.L. Williams, George Arnold, Frank Cahill, and John Wyman, Jr. The book covers not only magic tricks of various kinds, but also a lot of what we would call today "kitchen table top experiments" in fields ranging from mechanical and chemical to optical, math and others. It also features a section... | ★★★★★ $10 to wish list | |
The Secrets of Stage ConjuringJean Eugene Robert-Houdin & Professor HoffmannTranslated by Professor Hoffmann.
| ★★★★★ $5 to wish list | |
The Black Art or Magic Made Easyunknown
| ★★★★★ $5 to wish list | |
Tricks with Cards: A Complete Manual of Card ConjuringProfessor HoffmannA complete manual of card conjuring. This is not identical to the card sections in Hoffmann's other books such as Modern Magic etc. But this book has been released in sections under the titles Card Tricks With Apparatus and Card Tricks Without Apparatus since 1893. It appears Hoffmann was not too happy about breaking it up into parts.
| ★★★★★ $15 to wish list |