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Hi all, I am keen to learn and study Magic and Magicians form centuries gone by and what i would like to know is can anyone recommend any good books on the History Of Magic. Thanks for your help

I don't think there are any definitive books on the history of magic (I could be wrong someone sort me out on this point if you wish). I know there are books which certainly track the early part of the 20th century. But the best way to get hold of books on the subject of magic, witchcraft, psychics etc... is second hand book stores. I have found all kinds of stuff when trawling the dusty shelves and the great thing is they are cheap!

Sorry I couldn't give a definitive go to this website and order item #467. But you never know you may find a real gem.

Let us know what you find.

Midas Kid is right, most books on magic seem to have a section on the history of Magic, or they refer to historical events associated with Magic. David Blaine's Mysterious Stranger has a surprisingly good section, Hiding The Elephant shows a lot of the background work and deals with the old established names very concisely, Nick Einhorn's book has a History of Mystery section so you're really spoiled for choice!

It would be great if you could find a local bookstore with a good selection of Magic books to browse but, assuming that isn't likely, places like Amazon and the on-line magic supplies outlets will all offer a selection and you might have to just close your eyes and pick one at random to start off. A lot of the more informative books seem to be published by Dover Publications, USA, but are widely available over here.

History of Magic and Magicians by H. J. Burlingame is quite a helpful book.
From the reviews I've read, the book "Hiding the Elephant" by Jim Steinmeyer is apparently quite good in giving you a history of magic - but the people who have read the book will be able to give you a bit nmore detail here.
The following website might also be of help:
http://www.uelectric.com/pastimes/

The Tarbell Course also covers some basic history of magic in the 1st 8 lessons.

By far the best place to look in print for basic histories of magicians, are the Milbourne Christopher books. Panorama of magic is, as far as I know still published through Dover Publications .Its chock full of photographs, and illustrations of magic going as far back as you can imagine.
Hiding the elephant is very good for more detailed descriptions of events from the last 100 years or so.
It may be worth looking at specialising on just one or two particular people . An interesting American figure well worth researching is Howard Thurston. He will bring you in contact with names like, Dante, Houdini, Kellar, etc.
British names worth looking at include Selbitt, the inventor of sawing through a woman, and many, many other incredible famous illusions .
David Devant, The maskelyne's, etc.
More modern magicians will be worth taking a look at as well. I have a thing about Robert Harbin, and collect his early work. Sadly though I don't own a copy of the harbin book, Maybe one day who knows.

have fun ....
regards..
Dale

try your local libary, panarama of magic is in mine.

I recently came across Dan Bradbury, a book dealer in Kansas, who specialises in magic books, particularly the history of magic. Look him up on:
www.bradburybooks.com
You will not be disappointed
Richard

Unfortunately, I cannot think of the name of the book right off the top of my head, but Harry Lorayne has a book that is a fairly comprehensive dissertation on the histories of the different arms of magic. It goes over escapology to mentalism and lists the main performers with short biographies of each in that particular area of magic. Definitely a book for historians.

"Miracle Mongers and Their Methods" by Harry Houdini is considered to be one of the best historical guides on magic. The entire book can be found by clicking here.

For general research on magic effects, I've found that the Magic Lineage Project is an excellent resource - found here.

Hope this was of some help.

Mike.

An author to look out for is Eddie Dawes of Hull he is recognised as an authority in magical history.

He has been described on another web site as

Dr. Edwin A. Dawes: is probably the most highly regarded magic historian walking the planet (as well as being an esteemed professor of biochemistry).

Conjuring by James Randi is a good introduction and is well-illustrated. May be out of print though.

have to be quick late for work AGAIN thanks TM
Magic magazine (march 2006)said that the book below was 'it's increadably dense' ie academic and hard work but very informative. One trick is from 1550
Magic on the early english stage by phillip butterworth
85 dollers available from bookstores, (amazon????)

Of course, you could just give me a call...

Someone mentioned Randi... I'd be rather cautious reading and buying into most anything from that man. He's evil and has ulterior motives when it comes to most of what he produces.

The Christopher book might be hard to find but it was, for many years, one of the "Bibles" when it came to knowing a bit about magic history, so check eBay and other such sources for used copies... even Amazon could help you on that front.

Walter Gibson, the man behind the famed SHADOW serials, had several excellent books on the topics of Houdini and strange magic related history. The other resource would be all the biographical tomes that have come out in the 20 years or so on Thurston, Houdin, Blackstone, etc.