(Claremont, New Hampshire: 4th May 1867 - 12th October 1950)
Stage name of William Henry Coffrin, aka "Wm. Vino". Pro circus "rube" and card manipulator. Invented the Si Stebbins System (1898). [Note that Howard Thurston mentions in his book Card Tricks that he himself invented the stack and that Si helped him with suggestions and ideas.] As "Wm. Vino" wrote Si Stebbins' Card Tricks. Also wrote Si Stebbins Legacy to the Magicians (1935).
This is the first known publication of the Si Stebbins stack and several tricks that go along with it. It is a reproduction from the Sunday 18th December 1898 issue of the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper.
1st edition, 1898; PDF 5 pages.
This is a collection of three similar but distinct publications by Si Stebbins, explaining his famous card stack and various tricks one can do with it. These three are reproduced in facsimile but made searchable with added bookmarks for easier navigation.
The first one has the title "Si and Mary Stebbins" and opens with a wonderful photo of Si and his wife Mary, original Barnum & Bailey Rube. It was printed by Press of Rex Printing House in Philadelphia. No publishing date is given but must be after 1913*. It features the system, rules, and 10 tricks followed by an additional section on Pinochle,...