Hi,

I am thinking of buying Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic before deciding which genres of magic I am particularly interested and therefore proceeding with either The Royal Road to Card Magic, Modern Coin Magic, 13 Steps to Mentalism, or all of the books mentioned.

I need to know what are the props or accessories I should be getting alongside with Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic. I have listed some that I think are required for practice after learning from the book (I am buying magic from Hocus-Pocus) :

Bicycle Poker Deck ($2.95)
Elite Parlor Rope ($9.95)
Super Soft Sponge Balls 1 1/2-Inch ($4.50)
Vernet Thumb Tip Soft ($2.95)

May I also know where can I find a good set of Cups and Balls as well? I heard the book also covers Cups and Balls as well as some magic with billard balls. Please add on any items to the above list which I may have left out.

Plus, is my preference for the Goshman's 1 1/2-inch super soft sponge balls okay? I do have smaller hands so I think I should start with smaller sized sponge balls before moving on to the standard 2-inch sponge balls.

I am also thinking of buying supplies from Penguin Magic as the store supposedly offers more affordable prices for magic supplies.

Please give advice or suggestions. thank you so much for your help and attention!

Best regards.

The Wilson bok is a pretty good start and your question is interesting. A better start than buying ten packet tricks !!!

I would go for two decks of cards with different coloured backs as you will need "stranger cards".

A close-up mat will help, but a piece of carpet will do if you are stuck.

Use ordinary clothes line ( with no core ). Not just for price, but because beginners do not like to destroy their props by cutting them up.

The 1/2 " balls are fine. that's what I use.

The billiard ball routine is a good one !
But as a beginner it may be too advanced. Of course the sooner you start ...

There is a decent cups and balls routine. Again the above applies. Buy a cheap set until you decide if you like them.

Please.
Do work your way through the book and don't jump around, trying a new trick each day, coins one day, cards the next.

Good Luck

Eddie

Sounds like you pretty much have it covered. One word of advice though. If you want to purchase a set of Multiplying Billiard Balls go to a shop and buy them over the counter not through the mail. Reason is sometimes the gimmick is not properly made for the set that you have. A good shop will let you inspect the set and will let you get the most perfect fit possible.
I made the mistake of purchasing a very nice French Polished set only to find that it was not servicable due to an improper match-up of the gimmick.
Iven

Mark Wilson book is an excellent start. There are magicians who make a reasonable living with less material at their disposal than there is in this book. Sometimes new p[eople sell beginning books short - don't there is a wealth of useable material in even the most basic books and the Wilson book is far beyond just the basic.

I agree about the rope - the fancy stuff is just eye candy for the magician and good soft cotton rope with a removable core is acceptable. Sometimes you can get lucky and find it in a hardware store. More often than not, however they sell unaccepatble rope for magic purposes. I get mine through magic suppliers a spool at a time. If you want a super white look to it soak a piece in a solution of one cup bleach and two cups water for about ten minutes, rinse thoroughly and let air dry.

I very much agree with the second deck. And don;'t forget to stop by the bank and pick up some half dollars, four at least. If you can get a foreign coin of opposing color but similar size to a half all the better. Enjoy your practice - don't sweat getting a lot of props to start and work on the basics.

Frank Tougas

You are really going about this the right way! The only thing I would add is to keep the cost of your props for the time being as low as possible. Don't buy a good set of cups for the cups and balls, or don't spend a lot on special magician's rope. Ordinary rope is just as good and much cheaper. As far a s cups go, you can do an excellent routine with paper cups and your sponge balls. (To keep this in perspective, Lance Burton did the cups and balls on national TV with three coffee mugs.)It's very easy to spend hundreds of dollars on magic props when you start out and you will find as you get more experienced that most of it could have been avoided.

The Mark Wilson Course is one of my favorite magic books. I got it when it was first released (It was spiral bound and had my name stamped in gold on the cover. It still rates as one of the best Christmas presents I ever got ) Over 30 years later, I still refer to it on a regular basis. Let me know if you have any questions about it and I will be happy to help out.

Good luck,
Richard

I got my copy of Wilson's book for 5 bucks off of Ebay or Half.com (can't remember which).

Look for the book in your library or on abebooks.com. 1 1/2" sponge balls should be good. I highly recommend sponge balls as a good thing for beginners, because they are very easy to learn (much easier than coins, for example). Plus, spectators love them. I also think the TT is an excellent buy -- I can't remember whether Wilson's book talks about TTs. Have fun.

I haven't been doing magic for very long, but I thought I'd chip in my 2 cents anyway.

First of all, let me say that Mark Wilson's book is excellent. I have his Cyclopedia of Magic, which is like the "lite" version of the Complete Course. I think you'll be very satisfied with it, as there's a lot to learn. I also recommend Royal Road to Card Magic if you really want to learn cards. The two books should complement each other nicely.

As for your essential props, you have a decent starting list. I would, however, get at least two decks of cards, one red and one blue, which is useful for learning color changes and other such moves. Alternate between them when practicing so they wear evenly, and be prepared to replace them in a few weeks when cards start getting warped, bent, and worn. Incidentally, WalMart sells Bicycle Rider Backs for $1.88/pack, at least around here.

Personally, I haven't been drawn to rope tricks yet, but I'll be getting sponge balls soon, and the thumb tip is of course a classic. I don't like it myself, but some people can pull it off really well.

As for the cups and balls -- and this is the main reason I wanted to reply to your post -- almost anything can make a good set. I'm currently practicing with cheap plastic cups that I already had in the kitchen (and that happen to stack well) and some cheap rubber balls from the dollar store. If you want something fancier for presentation, decent looking sets can be found for $10-20, but for now, just find some cheap cups that stack appropriately, and are big enough to hold your "final load" (a lemon or whatever).

As for Penguin, you'll find mixed reviews of them around here, mostly due to issues with their ethics regarding certain things. However, from a pure price and service standpoint, I've had good luck with them, and I absolutely love being able to see a trick performed before buying it.

Best of luck!

I have question:

What are the differences in the 1991 edition and the "revised edition" 2003?

Thanks, Magixx

I have a 1976 Third printing (not edition) This is 8 1/2 x 11" pages bound with plastic rings and a vinyl cover. I purchased it from Mark Wilson at a SAM convention almost 30 years ago.

Anyways, I have compared this with the new book and there is an additional section at the back with various closeup and stage routines. The rest of the book appears to be the same.

The cups and balls routine from this book is something that I still use. You really need to use cups designed for magic, because they are designed to nest and leave space inside for the balls

Ihave just purchased the 2003 version at B&N. It was ~ $20 and paperback. I had an older version from the library and it seems there is a new section in the back with a set of tricks called "reputation makers." Haven't got that far yet but they look pretty neat.

I used a library copy for a long time, then found a copy for under $10 through http://www.abebooks.com. My 1988 hardback arrived looking as though the previous owner had never opened it. Life is good!

John

I keep finding interesting material in this book.

I have a 2002 copyright edition, it has the extra section mentioned above(reputation makers). I highly recommend getting this extra material. There is a very nice ring on rope routine in that section that makes it worth your while.

The best way to determine if you are getting this extra stuff is by the number of pages. The older editions have about 471 pages, my edition has 503 pages. Check carefully on Amazon.com (i.e. contact the seller directly, don't rely on Amazon's description of the edition)

enjoy;
John

I was talking to Mark Wilson right after the new edition was released. It had gone out of print for about a year and I wanted to know what happened. Evidently, there was a legal dispute about who owned the copyright of the book and Mark had to fight to get the rights to republish the book. When he finally did, he felt that there should be something new in the new edition, so he added the last chapter. So, in answer to the question, the new edition is identical to the old edition aside from the addition of about 50 pages of new material at the end. There is some good stuff in there and I stand by my opinion that the Mark Wilson Course in Magic is the best value in magic available. Every magician should have a copy.

Thanks,
Richard

I agree Richard. The Mark Wilson Course in Magic is the book that got me started. It is a wonderful book packed with valuable information. You can't beat it for the money.

Regan

I remember that mine came in a small set with some basic props like a deck of cards, plastic cups & balls, rope, etc. It was a great set, and I think it was around $30 or $40 (maybe?). It was many years ago, and long after those props have disappeared, I still have the book and refer to it often. It is one of the best investments for anyone starting out in magic.

Brandon

Someone found Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic and gave it to me, and I loved it. Mine is kind of old now and has a torn spine and all, but I love it . It teaches the Victory Carton Illusion which uses not more than two cardboad boxes...very good. Everything is explained in fine detail. I still have it sitting on my little shelf in my room .

The detailed explanations and illustrations are 2 of the things that make this such a great book. I don't think anyone would be disappointed in purchasing it.

Regan

Hi
the mark wilson book is a great book I have got it and learned lots of good tricks and aslo ideas.

Ricardo the Magician

I'd add to your shopping list a couple of small silks, 9", red and green for use with TT/cards and some balls for C&B/practicing vanishes etc. The balls need to be about 3/4" You can use cork, wood or even childrens hi-bounce rubber balls. These are obtainable very cheaply at toy stores in different colours.