Joseffy, Josef P. Freud, was a magician from Vienna, Austria. He came to the US when he was 19 years old, and initially worked as manufacturer of props and apparatus for a magic shop in Chicago. Eventually he designed and built his own unexplainable creations, several of which are described in this ebook. However, only the effects are given, no methods are described. Abbott briefly outlines old methods for similar effects, but does not provide the methods Joseffy uses. This book is therefore a promotional item rather than a traditional magic book. It includes many staged photos of Joseffy presenting his illusions, but it is believed that many are misleading promotional shots rather than depicting the real situation as performed.
Joseffy performed professionally on the Chautauqua circuit and was also a skilled violinist and pianist. Eventually he dropped his performing career and worked as electrical engineer.
1st edition 1908, 24 pages; PDF 22 pages.
word count: 6619 which is equivalent to 26 standard pages of text