Title: “The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley Vol 2.” By Stephen Minch
Supplier:Magic Books By Post
Cost: £ 34.00
Difficulty: 4
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used, 4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
Review:
When I first sat down and considered the value of the first volume of this collection I said:
pdjamez wrote:There are many accepted classic texts in card magic and this is almost certainly one of them.
I'll now take this statement further and say that volume 2 has to be one of the 10 most important books on magic ever written. I have by no means read every magic book written, but I've seen enough to know quality when I see it. This, the second and final volume in Mr Elmsleys collected works, is quality and certainly deserves its place in my own personal top ten.
It differs from the first volume, not in its focus on card magic, but in the principles employed and again there will be something for everyone here. This volume should provide you with years of material and inspiration for your own work. As with the first volume the text is a collection of material submitted by Mr. Elmsley along with records and notes kept by his colleagues and close friends. Stephen Minch has done an expert job of selecting and describing the effects as well as providing observations that give you a real sense of what Mr. Elmsley was about.
Alex Elmsley (1993) wrote:Flourishes are a matter of style and personality. For me to make rules to govern another's style would be impudence.
Above is one of my favourite Elmsley quotes, and has become my default XCM defense. This is where this volume begins; with a small number of flourishes for card, coin and billiard ball. Next is a series of mentalism effects using a variety of methods and presentation styles. Some of these are very strong, and at the very least the principles outlined could be used in any number of effects.
The next two sections are a selection of card effects including Mr. Elmsleys classic Point of Departure, Diamon Cut Diamond, En Voyage and Between Your Palms among many others which you will recognise as the basis for many reworkings. The next section provides coin workers with a solid set of coin based effects including a very nice coin/card gimmick which is worth playing with.
The next section provides a massive selection of effects based on the faro shuffle as well as guidance on the sleight itself. From my other reading this is generally accepted as the best work on the faro shuffle currently in print, and you can see why. Having read this section you'll want to get your decks out and start perfecting that faro.
The penultimate section takes you through the stay-stack which was independently invented by Mr Elmsley along with others. This provides a sequence of great effects based on this principle. As with the faro, I am not a great fan of deck stacks but you can't help but be impressed with the scope of the effects that can be achieved. Bikes at the ready.
Finally, the reader is taken through a full description of Mr. Elmsleys Dazzle Act with which he toured the US in 1975. Dazzle by name and dazzle by nature. This is a lesson in routining and you can understand why most magicians of that time remember that lecture tour with great fondness.
Again despite the price of £34 this book is actually cost effective as it contains 103 effects. For the economically challenged thats just less than 34 pence an effect, and this is a strong collection from a deep magical thinker.
Stephen Minch has done an outstanding job of collecting together and presenting the thinking of Mr. Alex Elmsley. If you've moved on from beginner and actually want to start studying your art, I can't think of a better place to start than both of these outstanding volumes. For those who are interested in buying this volume, can I advise to get it quickly as it is going out of print, and magicbooksbypost was the last place which had them in the UK.
Overall:
A classic must have text for card magicians.
Effects: 10/10
Quality: 10/10
Value For Money: 10/10
Yes thats rights, its the perfect 10.
