Magical Hints and Valuable Information
by Will Goldston

The suggestions for suitable programmes for different occasions form a unique feature of this book. Many books of magic give away secrets of tricks but leave the reader to judge for himself which tricks should be shown to children, which to adults if children are present, which to an audience of adults, and so on. By suggesting the right tricks for different occasions I trust I have helped some readers along the difficult road to success. After all, if the road were not difficult there would not be much fun in trying to find the way!

Another unique feature is the chapter on hints to magicians. Many a man fails, not because his tricks are not good, but because he is ignorant of some little detail, the knowledge of which is usually gained only by experience. Maybe some readers will find some of these hints unnecessary but I venture to suggest that there will not be one reader who will not find something to interest him, something which he will store up in his mind and use at the right time. Very often the difference between a show which is just so-so - not brilliant but not a failure - and one which is a complete success is very small, and on many occasions this difference has nothing to do with the actual performance, but with the performer's appearance, or his manner, or his method of going about his work.