Theory, Articles & Reviews in Magic & Conjuring

A primer for working with a partner. This text addresses such questions as: why work with a partner, what do look for in a magician you want to work with, documents that both partners need to consider, the basics of putting a performance together and other information.

• Why a partnership
• What to look for In partner
• The partner agreement
• Partnered performance
• Transitioning
• Accent the positive
• Wrapping it up

1st edition 2016, 21 pages.

From the Preface:

Woes of a Wizard was written by David Devant before he was partner to J. N. Maskelyne in his famous Egyptian Hall in London. Devant became a partner after George Cooke, Maskelyne's former partner had left the enterprise. Devant was a natural choice as he was fast becoming the top magician in England. But at the time of this publication he was, as Paul Daniels says, "a jobbing magician." His base was just outside London, and he traveled the country repeatedly giving shows for society and in the Music Hall. In his famous book, now happily made available once again, he relates the stories that every professional...

This publication is intended to give you a general working knowledge of the parts of a stage and how to use them. It covers stage construction, stage terminology, lighting and cue sheets. This will give you a nutshell version of subjects that would normally take three book volumes to cover.

A general working knowledge will help you present your act in the best possible way. Most of the legitimate theaters require union workers to run the theater. They appreciate it when you know what you want, what their facility has to offer and how to ask for it.

1st edition 2003; 17 pages.

A practical guide to creating a basic professional virtual studio.

Times have changed and virtual magic shows have become commonplace all around the world. Do you have a virtual studio in your home and do your Internet broadcasts come across as professional? Or do you shy away from the technology and not sure where to start? Here is a great booklet aimed at the beginner in the virtual space who has a limited budget. A few options are shared, from basic to advanced, including how to make the best of what you currently have, and how to add to your studio with various simple, professional, yet...

Tamariz' False Clues method helps professional magicians to eliminate contradictions from their acts, guaranteeing they produce the effect they really want on their audiences. This ebook explains the method, helps you avoid common errors and provides an overview of the fundamental theoretical concepts you need to correctly use every aspect of it.

Contents

• Understanding and using Tamariz' False Clues method
  • Is it difficult to use the False Clues method?
• First Part: Preliminaries
  • Nelms' importance of meaning theory
  • Tricks lacking meaning are perceived as a challenge to solve a puzzle ...

This is a nice and sweet introduction to the concepts of misdirection and how you can apply them to your own performance.

1st edition 2012, 12 pages.

Table of Contents

4. Introduction
4. What is Misdirection?
6. The 4 Principles of Misdirection
6. Principle 1: The Off-Beat
7. Principle 2: The Eyes
9. Principle 3: Use Your Natural Style
10. Principle 4: Justification of Moves
10. Putting It All Together
11. Final Thoughts
11. Credits & Useful Resources

Dorny was a much liked and regarded magician of his time. One of the highlights of this book is the "Who's Who and Why" section which will tell you a lot about the colleagues of Dorny. There is also a good patter section and a number of tricks ranging from cards, coins, mentalism, most of them contributed by other magicians like Hugard, Blackstone, Jordan, Brema, Hilliar, ...

1st edition, 1921, W. Dornfeld, published by Arthur P. Felsman; 286 pages.

13. Overture
19. Act One - "Chatter"
65. Intermission - "The Ne-Kro-Mancer Man"
73. Act Two - "Who's Who - and Why"
181. Intermission - "War Magic"
193. Act Three - "Trix"
272. Finale

This issue will begin with an essay called "What a Place for a Mission Statement!" by Gregg Webb. Indeed, 9 issues in and a Mission Statement? Anyway, it should make Gregg's position on magic even more clear for any newcomers.

The next section is about ideas for mentalists. Here is how to revamp your entire lifestyle to make it easier to convince others that you are a mentalist ... before you even begin. You don't even have to change your name (although in some cases it may help). Other ideas include having your business card re-printed differently. And, looking through your wardrobe....

This is an all-mentalism issue, and the first essay is about the various kinds of mentalism, to help you describe your "powers" to your audience. These include Thought Reading, Remote Viewing, Precognition, Drawing Duplication, Clairvoyance, Psychometry, Living and Dead Tests, and also Metal Bending, and Psychic Healing (Faith Healing) and unusual "powers" such as Handwriting Analysis. Calling your feats by the correct type of power will go a long way in establishing yourself as an expert.

The next essay is about presentations that may be new to you so that your act will have more thought...

This volume, Volume 10, will be the last issue of Triplets. It will include Magic News including some new contacts and various pieces of magic news. Following this will be many "Thank you's" to all the people who helped me over the years.

The next essay will be a retrospective of the theories that have guided my movements of minimalism and streamlining. These go back to the 60's and 70's when every trick in every magazine ended with "lap the extra item", to end. Many other trends began with ideas that were ahead of their time. While there have been great thinkers along the way, my magic...

Now for my next trick..... Ladies and gentlemen watch as I take this silk...... And now, right before your eyes I will...... For my next trick......

Announcing each and every trick you do during your show gets boring to the audience. Nothing makes you sound more generic then constant repetition. For that reason, magicians have come up with methods to create flow through their performance. The methods they use between their magic is referred to as transitions.

The three basic transition tools are: announce, lead and connect. This text identifies the three transitions and helps you use...

A call comes in and their magician cancelled. They need a magic show in the next half hour. Can you be packed and ready to go? Maybe you are at an event and one of the sponsors comes up to you and says they need to fill a thirty-minute gap in their schedule. Are you ready to step on stage and go to work? The answer rests in what this text refers to as a tool box show. When the phone rings, if the money is right, all you need to do is grab your tool box and go to work. This ebook will help you take advantage of those "short notice" performance opportunities.

• Real world
• Tool box show purpose ...

One of the most important elements of a performance. Without allowing time for the audience to comprehend the magician is doing nothing more than running through a series of instruction steps. Time adds drama, energy and the sizzle needed to enhance magic.

Timing is a hard subject to cover. One does not learn from books or lectures. Those sources, like this text, help identify the value of time. The magician must acquire his/her own skills with the use of time.

This text will help identify how it is used, provide examples you can relate to, and get you started. Armed with this knowledge...

Bringing on an assistant to work with you does not have to be expensive. But it does need to be planned out. From adding the employee, to work costumes and through performance this ebook sets the foundation to get started. Begin with the magic you already own and with increased marketing watch your shows evolve to larger venues/audiences.

• Selection
• Payroll
• Sources
• Appearance
• Performance
• After the Show
• Train Wreck Performance
• Wrapping it Up

1st edition 2016, 23 pages.

This is a very in depth work on The Gozinta Boxes. This is not just a little eBook that teaches a single effect. It is a book on theories, philosophies, and thoughts on the effect; however, the thoughts on the effect itself that David discusses can be applied to all magic. This eBook really lets you in on the mind of David Devlin, how he thinks, how he puts routines together, and his feelings about magic as an art and the performance of magic. So, even if you do not use the illusion that is discussed you will learn ways of creating and improving routines of your own. The effect of the Gozinta...

This is a revised and updated edition.

"A magician is an actor, playing the part of a great magician" - Robert Houdin.

This classic quote is at the heart of Theatrical Magic by John Pyka (aka "Big Daddy Cool" Johnny Dellarocca). John is an accomplished actor and magician, with a degree in Music and Theater Performance from Eastern KY University and a thriving career producing theatrical entertainment for theaters, theme parks, cruise ships and corporate events.

In his ebook Theatrical Magic, John teaches the reader how to create theatrical presentations for by presenting the reader with creativity...

It's witty and it's full of wisdom. These are the ramblings of Mark Lewis on Internet forums. Irreverent and funny at times and full of deep thinking about magic and mentalism at other times.

Many incredible anecdotes of his varied life as a fortune teller, magician and hypnotist. In addition to this are techniques described on how to pitch svengali decks, how to do psychic readings, and most important of all how to do magic with showmanship and verve.

Included is a video clip of his legendary svengali deck routine which he has performed all over the world thousands of times plus tips...

Most magicians involve a part of their audience in some of their effects, be it the trivial act of picking a card, or a more involved on stage helper or assistant. We can call all of these people volunteers, because they volunteer to participate in one form or another. Jim Kleefeld has written the first detailed and thorough work on volunteers, how to pick them, treat them and plan accordingly. Since he is trained in theater and psychology, he is very qualified to understand the perspective of volunteers, how they feel, how they would like to be treated and how they might react.

You can find...

This is book two from Fitzkee's trilogy and is unlike any other book ever written on magic. It was the first book (and to my knowledge the only book) to attack magic methods from a scientific standpoint. Fitzkee develops here a classification of effects, from appearances to vanishes, and then describes a system to invent or develop new trick plots. This is an invention system. I would say it is one way to invent new trick plots. But even if you are not of the scientific sort, the classification and discussion of magic effects and methods is a tremendous resource to expand your horizon and think...

Can a magic trick be too perfect? Too impossible? Well, opinions differ. Some of the most prominent minds in magic disagree. Reading these essays will help you form your own personal opinion on this fundamental question. The theorists are:

• Rick Johnsson
• Jon Racherbaumer
• Tomas Blomberg
• Magic Christian
• Robert Neale
• Bob Fitch
• Jamy Ian Swiss
• John Carney
• Michael Close
• Darwin Ortiz
• Harry Lorayne
• Martin Lewis
• Patrick Watson
• Simon Aronson

1st edition 2008; 61 pages....

The original title is Les Secrets de la Prestidigitation et de la Magie. It was the collection of lessons and information Robert-Houdin intended to teach his sons to make them expert magicians. However, his sons did have other interests, mechanics and military, which led him to publish his recordings as book. Prof. Hoffmann has translated this masterpiece into English.

• Editor's Preface
• Author's Preface
• Introduction
• Home of Robert-Houdin
• Conjuring and Its Professors
• Art of Conjuring
• Coin Conjuring
• General Principles
• Coin Tricks
• Card Conjuring
• Sundry Expedients
• Cups and Balls
• Various Tricks ...

The oldest, most pernicious, and insoluble problem in the history of magic was stated best by Henning Nelms, in his 1969 Magic and Showmanship: A Handbook for Conjurers ...

"No matter how astonishing a trick may be, it suffers from one major fault - it has no point."

This ebook is the long-sought-after answer to that statement.

[Please note that access to appendix 11 and 12 requires registration at the author's website.]

• Acknowledgements
• Foreword by Eric Evans
• Preface
• A Long Time Ago
• A Lot of Simple Tricks and Nonsense
• Best Star Pilot in the Galaxy
• Scum and Villainy
• Hokey Religions and Ancient Weapons
• What Are You Trying To Push on Us
• Tremor in the Force ...

Essays and thoughts on the performance of restaurant magic.

"This is real world experience from a top pro who has spent his professional life learning what works, what is important and, most importantly, what is universal." - Richard Osterlind (from the foreword)

The Restaurant Magic Reader collects the many articles and essays that Jim Sisti has written over the last 20 years on the subject of restaurant magic. Between these covers, you will find thoughts and ideas on such important topics as choosing material, selecting a performing character, getting and keeping a restaurant magic...

Tips, Advice, Thoughts, Experience, The Business, Patter, Presentation, Acting, Skills & More

"The book is called The Real Secrets of Card Magic but it should more accurately be titled The Real Secrets of Being a Professional Magical Entertainer. In this new volume, Paul Gordon offers wisdom that could only be gained through years of actually performing magic for real people for his living. If you feel that you have a commercial repertoire of material and can present it in an entertaining fashion, The Real Secrets of Card Magic will surely help you to the next plateau of becoming a professional...

This ebook addresses in a fairly comprehensive and very thoughtful way, how should one approach a stranger with magic. I have not seen any other work which addresses this issue in such detail and with such practical advice. If you are looking to do some 'street magic', this is an ebook you should not ignore.

1st edition, 2005; 140 pages.

• Why the Public Approach?
• Reversing the Perspective
• Fundamental Human Nature
• People are Bored
• Personal Confidence
• The Freedom of Indifference
• Reframing Limiting Beliefs
• Performance Anxiety
• Practice Makes Perfect
• Testing the Waters
• It's Nothin' Personal ...

Dr. Bill Nagler is a psychologist and he provides a psychologist's in depth view of the world of magic. The information is radical and instructive.Why do top magicians rarely earn the sums of money that top stars in other entertainment fields earn? Why do some people hate magic so much? What is basically wrong with most people's approach to magic?

Find out for yourself and be prepared to be startled and perhaps end up changed in your attitude to magic. Bill includes his full close up act which helped him to pay his way through medical school. You'll see that he is not just a theorist! ...

This is an interesting analysis of how a magic trick works in terms of psychological processes. A better understanding of the underlying science does help the performing magician.

Translated from the German by Mrs. Emily S. Boyer. The original German essay appeared in Psychologische Skizzen by Edmund W. Rells, which was a pseudonym of Max Dessoir.

1st edition 1893, PDF 21 pages.

Jastrow explains the various types of deception and discusses in particular how conjurers as well as spirit mediums make use of them.

1st edition 1888, PDF 10 pages.

This study identifies deep lying instincts and impulses of the psychic life are the basic elements in conjuring. Its aim is to show the psychological reasons of deception of a magic effect. It also provides an extensive classification of magic tricks.

Contents:

1. Origin of Conjuring.
2. Classification and Typical Examples of Modern Conjuring Tricks.
3. The Training of the Conjurer.
4. Psychological Justification of the Rules and Practices of the Conjurer, treated under
   1. Attention
   2. Perception
   3. Suggestion and Association
   4. Suggestion and the Law of Economy
5. Sociological and Pedagogical Observations. ...

My oh my is this a great ebook! If you intend to earn a living doing magic or if you simply want to make your performances more professional then do yourself a favor and read and study this ebook. There are decades of experience bottled up in its wisdom. And on top of this it is fun to read.

The ebook starts with a superb introduction by Kirk Charles reproduced with kind permission of the Linking Ring. The ebook is edited and illustrated by David Britland with extra illustrations by JAT. And Martin Breese was the publisher. It was also Martin who recorded on tape Billy's recollections from which this book was largely...

Patrick Page had a monthly column in Pabular. This is a compilation of all those articles. You will hear the stories and anecdotes that make magic such a fascinating pursuit. You will also learn a lot from Patrick's incredible mastery and knowledge of magic. And if you like the more juicy gossip then you can read why Patrick Page was expelled from the IBM...

Martin Breese writes in his foreword:

I believe that Dennis Barlotta will soon be known as the foremost teacher of Slydini's system of misdirection. There have been others before that have tried to explain and teach Slydini routines, but nobody could capture the essence of what made Slydini the master of misdirection the way Barlotta has been able to.

Dennis has studied eight years under Slydini and has spent a lifetime mastering the Slydini method. Dennis told me: "While many magicians admire Slydini, they don't understand what made him unique or how his approach can be employed by them." This is the ebook that will help you...

If you are looking for answers about what we see, but not necessarily observe, you can do no better than to read this ebook, The Magical Mind, brought to you by two masters of perception.

With a new introduction by Ben Robinson, the expert on John Mulholland. From the introduction:

Mulholland had battled the use of propaganda during WWII, the Korean War and the Cold War. He knew that the work of those who sought to "brainwash" masses used the same tactics magicians use for entertainment – to lead the mind on ingeniously, step by step until self-logic is defeated. Gordon had taught thousands of...

In this book about all of Dr. John Nicholls Booth's (1912 - 2009) books the reader is treated to find information on many topics of interest written between 1929 and 2009 - 80 years! Ben Robinson and Dr. Booth worked on four books together from 1985 to 2009. Robinson indexed the first twenty-five years of Booth's celebrated Memoirs (the index published in 1990). The John Booth Reader gives a wonderful insight into Booth's multifaceted life of Unitarianism, preaching, stage and close-up magic, mountaineering, adventuring, filmmaking and travel to one hundred and forty six countries. The personalities...

In this second manuscript in Fogel's Top Secrets series, he explains his system of how to develop a new routine, what he calls "The Fogel Formula". It is a system of how to structure and proceed with your training and development towards a particular goal. Fogel is using his success system for things he wants to achieve in general not just magic.

Fogel demonstrates how his formula operates by applying it to a question he often received after his shows: "Can you tell fortunes?" To address this frequent question he developed a particular routine involving a zodiac chart. The chart, the routine,...

Originally entitled Artifice Ruse and Subterfuge at the Card Table, is probably the most cited and referenced book about card gambling moves - a classic in the history of magic literature. A must read for any card magician or aspiring gambling expert and an indespensable reference book. While the authorship of this book is hotly debated we are convinced it was Edward Gallaway. (For a detailed work on the search for Erdnase see Hurt McDermott's Artifice, Ruse & Erdnase.)

[A copy of this book is also included in Michael McDougall's Card Mastery. This ebook is also available in a German translation.

Paul Fleming wrote:

Subtitle of the book is: A series of artistic conjuring experiments fully explained in detail and supplemented by a preachment upon the art in the form of original essays upon the subject, The Actor Magician.

• PREFACE
• PROLOGUE
• PART I. MAGICIAN'S OPENING, PAR-EXCELLENCE
  • The Gloves And Pigeon Transformation
  • Chameleon Balls
  • The Astral Billiard Ball
  • The Phantom Billiard Ball
  • New Vanishing Billiard Ball. No. 1
  • New Vanishing Ball No. 2
  • The Travelling Balls No. 1.
  • The Travelling Balls No. 2
  • New Handkerchiefs And Balls
  • New Vanishing Handkerchief
  • The Multiplying Handkerchiefs
  • Handkerchief...

This ebook is published with Dani DaOrtiz' permission and blessing.

Card magic is evolving. Card magicians are no longer looking for the latest "moves" and "techniques", no longer are they caring for more ways to deal seconds and bottoms. What they are looking for are psychological ploys and techniques that will allow you to create impossible magic.

Dani DaOrtiz is a new force in card magic. He revolutionized it. But how many times do I hear: "I would do that... If I were him". Many magicians feel that DaOrtiz' spontaneousness and carefreeness is not a match of their personality.

In this report...

With 1000s of magic routines available, why do many magician's perform the same routines, without any change, modification or effort to make those routines unique?

The Creative Mind is simply Don Bursell's ideas for creating new routines, brainstorming new variations, and keeping track of those ideas.

The 2nd half are tricks that Don has created over the years, and based on advice from Jon Racherbaumer, wrote them down so as not to forget them. One of them, Headmover, has been an odd signature piece of Don's programs for over 20 years. Another routine, The Needles, is Don's solution to the East Indian...

Unless you are exclusively performing for friends and family, you should have a contract for each engagement. Of course, the best is to have a lawyer in your home state write up a contract specifically tailored to your needs and circumstances. But before you contact your lawyer you should sit down and read this ebook to learn more about contracts. The better prepared you are and the clearer you can present your needs to your lawyer the less time it will take and the less money it will cost. Your lawyer will also respect you more if you have a better understanding and know what you want and why...

Do you know the correct temperature for your library? What should the humidity be? Can you save rotting leather? What's the best method of storing playing cards? How do you recover computer disks that have been drowned? Just one reading of The Conservation of Magic will save you years of research and study in order to care for your artifacts so future collectors will find them in the best possible condition. Each chapter gives you the basics of understanding your magic collectibles, and then, step-by-step, how to care for them. You will learn how to look at your treasures like a professional,...