Apologies if this is a dumb question... or if it has been answered a thousand times before, but...
Should I, as a beginner to coin magic, buy Bobo's Modern or Bobo's New Modern? Is the latter an expansion of the former or are both essential works in their own right?
Thanks for advice,
Jay

Bobo's New Modern Coin Magic is the big hardback. Same book as the paperback, but expanded. Welcome to the Café, Jay!

Doug

The Dover edition (paperback) of "Modern Coin Magic" will do you just fine. --and it's much cheaper!

By the time that you "work your way" through "BOBO #ONE", you will be "qualified" to decide on "BOBO #2"!!! Besides, the first Bobo should be considerably less expensive!!!!!

Having known J.B. for 50+ years, I'm sure that he would agree.

You may have to get a translator! ("Euros" and "dollars" are different--LOL!

I believe his full name was Beaubeau. Senator Crandall once introduced him as, "The only man I know with BO twice," Bobo wasn't pleased.

His book is still THE classic book on coin magic. His other early book, "Watch This One" is worth a visit, and his kidshow book sold by Magicinc.net

Hi Quentin! "Vous avex raison"! --or-- "Du hast recht" The name was changed from Beaubeau, to Bobo. I don't remember when. Probably when J.B. moved to the U.S.

BTW...J. B. was his first name. I'm not sure if J. was first, and B. was his middle name.

We met when he did a lecture for IBM Ring 103 in the late fall of 1951. I picked up several coin routines, that I've used ever since. The last time I saw him was in the mid '90s when we had lunch in Texarkana. Lillian had passed away. He had to reblock his show(s). We had a marvelous afternoon, catching up on the business.

His school show book has a lot of good material. It needed a better editing job than Frances gave it, but it's still well worth the price.

I remember when he worked the IBM convention in NYC (1964). He did material from one of his school shows. A number of the New York magicians walked out on his act. He wasn't 'hip' enough for them. We laughed. J.B. bought a new Buick every year, and had a beautiful home in Texarkana. For vacations, he and Lillian would go on cruises to South America, etc.

I NEVER saw ANYONE handle dice like J.B.

P.S. I forgot to comment on Senator Crandall's rather poor introduction of J. B.

I usually enjoyed Crandalll's sense of humor, but, IMO, that "BO" INTRO was in really bad taste.

J. B. was always a gentleman.

This might seem like a silly question but in what way is the new version expanded over the old? More comprehensive descriptions/explanations? Additional sleights or routines?

Just curious as to what justifies the cost difference (apart from the hardback binding)....

There is some additional material, and it's good stuff! There is more than enough material in the original edition, however. for a neophyte.

The copyright on the original edition ran out, Jay forgot to do some paperwork, and the Dover people moved in!

Decades ago when I was doing magic in the Crescent Hotel I was in the middle of a set and in walked two men that were given a very special table near the stage. One of the men was Bill Pitts (a former President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians). He has been my friend as long as I can remember.

After my set I went over to his table to thank him for coming to the show. He then introduced me to his guest. "Bob have you ever met J.B. Bobo?" --- Wow! That was flattering and I was more than pleased that I did not do coin magic on stage. Knowing that the documented coin magic expert was watching would have made me too nervous to work!

Of course, he autographed my (hardback) copy of his book for me. It's not for sale!

Wow! Bob, that is fantastic! And yeah, gotta agree. The Dover book is PLENTY! So is the online free PDF. If you have any version of this, ya golden!

Doug

According to The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture: J. B. Bobo was born on February 11, 1910, in Texarkana (Miller County), where his family owned Bobo Grocery Store. He was christened with initials only, and he patiently explained this when anyone asked what they stood for. His French immigrant great-grandfather, Jean Beaubeaux, had anglicized the family name from the original spelling.

Get the paperback / cheap version first. The hardback is much better, but quite a bit more expensive.

The additional material is great; some really good stuff. It's kind of similar to the difference between the condensed version of tarbell and the full 8-volume set. Volumes 7 and 8 have some great stuff in them.

But if you're coming at it from the perspective of starting out, I think just getting the cheapest edition you can find makes sense.

Buying good magic is an investment, not a bargain hunt.

I agree Bob. I'm a Sherwood cup, Lassen coin, Porper rings guy and I have a lot invested in a very good bookshelf.

But... in this case you have the option to check out a cheaper cut-down version ($1) to decide if you want to pursue the real thing seriously. The hardback generally costs upwards of $50 - which I agree is peanuts when compared with the amount of time you need to practice the material for, and the amount of use you get out of it, but still an amount that you might not want to just throw down without knowing if it's the right thing for you or not.

What part of "Free" is so hard to understand? Hey, pay for it, if you want to. Or...

http://www.lincolnmagic.com/misc_items/Bobo.pdf

(This copy of Bobo’s Modern Coin Magic was obtained for free via Lybrary.com, as they obtained the no-cost PDF files from The Learned Pig Project.)

Doug