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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The workshop » » Books on building small or parlour props (0 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

scolman
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Elite user
Cape Town, South Africa
454 Posts

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Hi all.
I've built a number of effects and I am proficient in woodwork, some metalwork and even glass but I am struggling to find a book that deals exclusively with building smaller props for use in a parlour environment. Everyone talks about the Osbourne books and I know they are excellent but they do focus on the large scale, stage illusions.
Can anyone suggest a source of info?
Simon
Bryan Gilles
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Inner circle
Northern California
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The Osborne "Black Book" has a lot of the smaller illusions. You may even try the Tarbell Books... They are (in my opinion) an essential piece in any magician's library... they have a lot of different illusions you can build; as well as, a wealth of other tricks to learn...

Bryan
scolman
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Cape Town, South Africa
454 Posts

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Thanks Bryan,
I'll look into the Black Book. I have an extensive library already but my focus up until a couple of years ago was on bizarre and mentalism and the I hadn't thought about the Tarbell set as a source of apparatus building ideas.
Simon
Michael Baker
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Eternal Order
Near a river in the Midwest
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Simon,

Assuming that you don't need plans, but just the basic method described, you should try to focus on books that were written during the period when apparatus was king... late 19th century and up to the late fifties, early sixties. That includes Tarbell, Hoffmann, Goldin, Goldston, Hilliard, Fisher, Harbin, Hoyam and many, many others. The hitch is that many of these books are on the endangered species list and sometimes very hard to locate. Learned Pig has many books for download.

Science and Mechanics put out a great book in 1961 called, Magic Handbook. It is full of plans and descriptions for enough apparatus to fill several shows. Sadly the book is very hard to find. Copies that I've seen on Ebay command large dollar amounts.

As a builder who is easily bored without a new project, I do this myself. Sometimes you can see a prop in an old photo and reasonably estimate what it does and a likely method. If you can read plans, you can make the quantum leap to drawing your own... sometimes even better than the original. Old magic catalogs from long gone dealers is also a great source for inspiration. Go to your local magic club and corner the older guys. Most of them know about stuff that the young guys have never heard of.

Collections of old magic magazines (LR, Tops, Genni, etc.) often have hidden gems in them. Again, the older ones are better for this type of research.

Good luck.

~michael
~michael baker
The Magic Company
Bryan Gilles
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Inner circle
Northern California
1732 Posts

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Oh... had another idea! Ralph Adams books are a good source as well!

Bryan
scolman
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Elite user
Cape Town, South Africa
454 Posts

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Thanks everyone.
Bryan, can you point me in the direction of a stockist of the Adams books or are they out of print?
Simon
Dave Fiscus
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Simon,
Like you I have searched over the years for books describing tricks I could build using my wood and metal skills. Michael is right on the money that the books of the late eighteen hundreds and the early part of this century are rich in mechanical pieces.
I'd also like to recommend my favorite "contemporary" books, those in Eric Lewis' Miracles trilogy, A choice of Miracles, Continuation of Miracles, and Crowning Miracles. In these books his hundreds of original tricks are described in detail, shown in excellent drawings (he was an artist as well as a performer and craftsman) and have workshop tips for making things work right. Mr. Lewis' work was so well respected that Bob Albo hired him to reproduce many of Okito's best pieces and illustrate large sections of the Albo Classic Magic With Apparatus series. Find and buy the Miracles books and you'll have exactly what you want!
Tyler_magic_skater
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Florida
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Profile of Tyler_magic_skater
I just went to a Micheal Baker lecture and he builds almost all of his effects. I would suggest asking about tips and tricks on building your effects.
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