Despite Hofzinser's wish to have all his apparatus and magic records destroyed, a lot has been preserved because his wish was never carried out. Ottokar Fischer wrote two books in German about Hofzinser: Kartenkünste and Zauberkünste. This ebook here is Richard Hatch's authoritative translation of the Zauberkünste book.
[A translation of Kartenkünste is also available as ebook from us: Hofzinser's Card Conjuring.]
Kartenkünste focuses exclusively on card magic, whereas Zauberkünste deals with everything else.
This ebook describes more than 80 effects created by Hofzinser including more than 100 photos and illustrations. Most effects were designed for use in Hofzinser's salon under close-up conditions, and over half include Hofzinser's original patter used in presentations.
Among the effects are Hofzinser's unique cups-and-balls routine, a copper/silver coin transposition, his linking ring routine, "The Word" (a brilliant book test), his legendary card rise, and "The Apotheosis of the Rose". A special feature of this ebook is its Appendix, which contains selections from letters which Dr. Hofzinser wrote to two of his students.
The Magic of J. N. Hofzinser contains all the material in the original German edition, as well as numerous new annotations, photographs and illustrations, and a comprehensive historical introduction.
- Contents
- Translator's Preface
- A Note on the Fischer Collection
- Acknowledgements
- In Memoriam: Ottokar Fischer
- Publisher's Preface
- Introduction
- I. Balls
- 1. Dr. Hofzinser's Original Billiardball Sleights
- 2. The Cups-and-Balls
- 2a. The Cups-and-Balls
- 3. Living and Dead
- 4. A Multiplication
- II. Banknotes and Coins
- 5. The Banknotes The Effect
- 6. The Ducats
- 7. The Miser's Dream
- 8. The Twenties
- 9. The Stockmarket Speculator
- III. Flowers
- 10. The Apotheosis of the Rose
- 11. The Magical Greenhouse
- 12. The Resurrection
- IV. Books
- 13. The Album of German Poets
- 14. The Library of German Poetry
- 15. The Word
- 16. Sympathetic Actions
- V. Eggs
- 17. A Delicate Subject: The Egg
- 18. An Egg Dish (The Omelette)
- 19. The Omelette
- 20. The Opal Goblet
- VI. Electrical Experiments
- 21. The Flower Casket
- 22. The Bell
- 23. The Flower Bell
- VII. Flags and Helmets
- 24. The Patriot
- 25. The Toast
- 26. The Shako
- VIII. Liquids
- 27. The Fountain of Love
- 28. The Ink of the Enamoured
- 29. The Liqueur Effect
- 30. The Wineshop
- 31. The Wine Analysis
- 32. The Self-filling Glass
- 33. The Coffee Trick
- 34. The Glass
- IX. Cards
- 35. The Rosebush
- 36. The Card Automaton
- 37. The Card Mirror
- 38. The Lonely Card
- 39. The Cardbox
- 40. Winter - Summer
- X. Skittles
- 41. The Grandpapa
- 42. The Magical Game of Skittles
- 43. The Skittle
- XI. Numbers
- 44. The Spiritist
- 45. A Calculation
- 46. The Slate
- 47. Mathematicians
- 48. The Number Disks
- XII. Rings
- 49. The Chinese Rings
- 50. The Ring in Danger
- 51. The Ring Case
- 52. The Magic Key
- XIII. KERCHIEFS
- 53. The Memoirs of a Handkerchief
- 54. The Red Kerchief
- 55. The Puzzled Tailor
- 56. The Protocol of Knots
- 57. The Mysterious Parasol
- 58. Dr. Hofzinser's Original Sleights with Silk Kerchiefs
- 59. The Serpent Handkerchief
- XIV. TIMEPIECES
- 60. The Watch
- 61. Corresponding Clocks
- XV. Birds
- 62. The Migration of Birds
- 63. The Migrating Canaries
- 64. The Bird-Sword
- 65. The Bird
- XVI. Non-Magical Experiments
- 66. The Paper
- 67. The Plates
- XVII. Tricks with Sundry Objects
- 68. The Flying Objects
- 69. The Glove
- 70. Four is One
- 71. The Metal Bell
- 72. The Lantern of Diogenes
- 73. The Thought of Photograph
- 74. The Pearls
- 75. The Glass Mirror-Goblet
- 76. The Ball of Wool
- 77. The Die
- 78. The Cartesian Diver
- 79. The Butterflies
- 80. Magnetic Forces
- 81. The Wonderful Wand
- 82. The Sugarbox
- Appendix
- Without Tailcoat or Wand: J.N.Hofzinser, the Man
- Excerpts from Hofzinser's Correspondence with his Friends
- Ten Letters to Carlo Marchini
- Works Cited
1st edition 1985; PDF 309 pages.
word count: 121597 which is equivalent to 486 standard pages of text