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Bill Hallahan Inner circle New Hampshire 3222 Posts |
When I was very young, my Dad had a magic book. It was the book that first got me interested in magic over 40 years ago. I haven’t seen the book in over 30 years now, and it’s probably close to 40 years ago since I last read it. The book is now lost. The house I grew up in has since been sold.
Unfortunately, I have no idea what the name of this book is. I’ve been trying to find out for a long time. I wanted to find it on my own, but my search has proven fruitless and I've purchased many books that turned out not to be what I was looking for (although I'm not complaining, in general they were good purchases). The Internet is my last hope! I first read the book sometime between 1962 and 1964, and I believe it was published in the mid 1940s, although I’m not positive about the publication year. It was a red hardcover book, and I recall that the tricks were numbered. I believe it had well over 300 tricks. It had a mix of silk, rope, egg, etc., magic. I do recall some tricks from the book. It had a simple line drawing of a TT being pushed into a handkerchief draped over the fist of the other hand. This was a cool trick where one handkerchief is made to disappear inside another handkerchief. I also recall another trick where a handkerchief could be used to repeatedly produce eggs. I don’t recall much crediting in the book, but when I was 8 years old, I thought it was one of the best books in the world! However, I do recall reading about the TT and thinking, “That’s lame. That’ll never work!” What does an 8 year old kid know?! All of the information above is sketchy, except for the book having a red hardcover, the tricks being numbered, and it containing the two tricks and the line drawing I described. Does anyone know what the name of this book is?
Humans make life so interesting. Do you know that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to create boredom. Quite astonishing.
- The character of ‘Death’ in the movie "Hogswatch" |
Julie Inner circle 3936 Posts |
Bill> This sounds like the book you remember may have been one of the many incarnations of 400 Tricks You Can Do by Howard Thurston (ghost written by Walter Gibson). This wonderful book has appeared throughout the years in both hardback and softcover editions as "200 Tricks you can do"; 300 Tricks You Can Do; and "400 Tricks You Can Do".
I agree with you, it is a GREAT book (and it brings back memories, doesn't it?) |
Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Julie, I'm truly shocked that a young lady like you would remember something that goes back as far as Bill's childhood (Julius Caesar and all those!). Surely you learned about it from a senior. I remember looking at a pyramid wall in Egypt and reading, "Bill was here".
Actually, Bruce Elliot wrote some books of that sort but they were in the 60s. For what Bill is seeking, the kind folks at Dover might be ready to help him. I can remember those old "rebound" magic books with the white ink titles in the school library. You could look at some of the cards in the backs of them and tell who at school you wanted to meet. It meant finding another interested in magic! Good Luck Bill! Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
Stanyon Inner circle Landrum, S.C. by way of Chicago 3433 Posts |
Actually, the book "400 Tricks You Can Do" by Howard Thurston was two volumes in one..."200 Tricks You Can Do" and "200 More Tricks You Can Do". The print year, in the copy I have, is 1940. The original copyright years are 1926 and 1927, held by George Scully and Company. It could have been a red colored book at one time and mine has just faded, but I don't find the two tricks mentioned contained within.
FWIW Cheers!
Stanyon
aka Steve Taylor "Every move a move!" "If you've enjoyed my performance half as much as I've enjoyed performing for you, then you've enjoyed it twice as much as me!" |
Julie Inner circle 3936 Posts |
...the fact that each effect is numbered seems to fit the presentation in the Thurston (Gibson) book(s), too.
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foolsnobody Special user Buffalo, NY 843 Posts |
Could it be Scarne's Magic Tricks?
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Harry Murphy Inner circle Maryland 5444 Posts |
Foolsnobody beat me to it! The Scarne’s Magic Book meets the criteria of a potpourri of magic (a little of everything) and each trick numbered. Mine sits on the shelf by Bruce Elliott collection.
Don Boles put out a small manuscript that described a stand-up and a close-up magic act (no or low cost and no cards) by giving the title of the trick and the trick number. It’s still in print (paperback and hardback) and available used for about $6.00 from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/offer-l......tion=all
The artist formally known as Mumblepeas!
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Julie Inner circle 3936 Posts |
...and Scarne definitely has many more illustrations than 400 Tricks You Can Do.
(Mine's a red-covered binding, too.) |
Harry Murphy Inner circle Maryland 5444 Posts |
Mine's the old red cloth, hard cover too! It has been well used over the years and is falling apart right now.
Don Bowles In his “Wizards Manual” had a chapter called “A NO-force, No-Card, NO-Sleight, No-Cost, Complete Act You Can Carry In your Pocket”. He wrote that one could check Scarne’s “Magic Tricks” out of the public library and then learn and perform the following” Rope Through The Neck (96) Releaso (16) Classical rope Trick (85) The Dollar that Wouldn’t Burn (49) with Sour Dollar (123) Clipped (145) Magic Birthday Square (150) Behind the Napkin Ball (167) or Strip Tease (80) And finish with Shirt Off (80). The numbers refer to the numbering of the tricks in the book not the page numbers! Don once did a club show out of pocket doing only Ring on Stick, Coins Across, Great Smoking Pipe, and Bill in Lemon. He was working at a carnival and would do clubs in the towns that the carnival played.
The artist formally known as Mumblepeas!
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Bill Hallahan Inner circle New Hampshire 3222 Posts |
Everyone, thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, neither of those are the book I'm trying to find.
I already have "400 Tricks You Can Do" and "Scarne's Magic Tricks." I bought Thurston's book hoping that it was the book from my youth. It's still a good book and I'm glad I bought it, but alas it is not the one. I can't believe I had forgotten this. I performed another routine from that book when I was a child. The effect was this. A handkerchief was shown and then folded in half. An egg was rolled out of the folded handkerchief into a hat. This could be repeated until presumably the hat would be full of eggs. Then the hat would be shown empty, usually by being worn! The trick involved a homemade gimmick. Bob, I'll check out Bruce Elliot's books.
Humans make life so interesting. Do you know that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to create boredom. Quite astonishing.
- The character of ‘Death’ in the movie "Hogswatch" |
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