talkmagic.co.uk

Hi Guys does anybody know if there is a book out there which charters the history of the art of magic, i know there a few which go into the basic details.

I mean a book that starts at the beginning and discusses how it has developed as an art form, which people have contributed to its progression and how it was used on the context of its time. If it were all in one book would be an interesting read no doubt.

Also what does everybody think of the 2 hollywood movies using magic as a theme, "the prestige" and the new one whcih i have forgotten the name of. Surely this can only be good to arouse new interest.

PS. Quote Scarlett Johansson "I'm a sucker for sleight of hand and card tricks, if someone comes up to me and shows me tricks right in front of me, I'm so impressed, they have me eating out of their hand" - as we speak thousands of teenage boys are buying 'royal road'....ha ha

You'd best start with ( the new edition) of
1.The Illustrated History of Magic by Milbourne & maurine Christopher .
Ask Amazon for cheapest. This starts with Ancient Egypt.
2. Panorama Of magic by M Ch. Now under a new title. check
3. The Great Illusionists. by Eddie Dawes. Chartwell Books.
4. Victorian Magic by Geoffrey Lamb. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
5. The Annuals of Conjuring by Sidney Clarke. Magic Books By Post.
6. Illustrated History of Magic Before Robert Houdin. by F. Guillemin.
Magic B By Post
7. Magic: A Pictorial History Of Conjurers In The Theatre. David Price.
This begins with Discoverie of Witchcraft. (erroneously, as
elsewhere,tabled as the first book on Magic in English.) If you can find
a copy.
8. DVD. The Story of Magic ( 1st. volume Early histiory. 2nd. In USA)
put out by jeff Busby in the USA.
These should keep you going for a while.

Allen Tipton

Good call Allen. I only have 3 of those in my own collection, but you've given me food for thought...

Now, what's the name of that magic bookstore in Birmingam...

Then there's the CD put out by Eddie Dawes which covers all his articles on the History Of Magic, as published in The Magic Circular. It has hundreds of pages and illusrations. Price is about £45 from Peter Scarlett.
The Dave Price book was published in 1985. Distributed in this country by Cornwell Books, 25, Sicilian Ave., London WC1A 2QH
It has 551 pages. ISBN no. 0-8453-4738-1
The late David Price ( Owner of the Egyptian Hall Museum) was very helpful to me with my Dante tribute show in 1980.

Seige. Do you mean Keith Bennett's ?
152, Yardley Fields, Birmingham B33 8!QU.
Tel. 0121-628-9697
0791 439743
e mail mail@kbmagic.com

Allen T

Allen Tipton wrote:Seige. Do you mean Keith Bennett's ?
152, Yardley Fields, Birmingham B33 8!QU.
Tel. 0121-628-9697
0791 439743
e mail mail@kbmagic.com

Allen T

Yes, I did Thanks for the heads up.

A couple of other books that include a lot of history of magic. Mainly the vicotrian Golden age of magic is. Hiding the Elephant and the Glourious Deception.

By Jim Steinmeyer.

Dunno about the books about history but i saw The Prestige a couple days ago. The movie was definitely worth watching. While magic is the central theme in the movie, it is not about the tricks, but more the fight between two men which starts off as a friendly rivalry to find out who is the better magician. It then escalates to a personal war between the two, not about being better, but about making sure the other suffers. The two realize that their childish rivalry is hurting others and ruining their lives but by then it's too late.

And then there's the book . . . The Prestige book was . . . well a disappointment-put it that way.

Hiding the Elephant is a great book in my opinion. I'd highy recomend it!

You really find yourself connecting with the various magicians throughout, infact I have to say I started to feel quite sad when some of them died. I guess it must be a pretty well written history book if it can generate such emotion through its style!

Jimi B wrote:Hiding the Elephant is a great book in my opinion. I'd highy recomend it!

You really find yourself connecting with the various magicians throughout, infact I have to say I started to feel quite sad when some of them died. I guess it must be a pretty well written history book if it can generate such emotion through its style!

Yes, please read this book. I fact it was during my first full professional performance that one spectator recommended me to read this book.

This was an excellent recommondation, though it NOT a book for magicians who are interested in the best availeble methods of making an elephant disappear/reappear.

Hiding the Elephant is a great book. By a great guy.

Although, I still can't get my head around how creative ideas involving animals came about...

Animals & stage illusion go hand in hand, perhaps from circus backgrounds?