I've been tying to start at the beginning, learning the most basic things, for coins and cards for the past several days (the extent of my journey so far:). My first actual book on learning magic tricks was "The Discoverie of Witchcraft," by Reginald Scott (1584). An odd choice, perhaps, but my first exposure was a class (that I ended up not being able to attend:-P) given in my medieval group (The SCA) by a professional magician. His class description said he would teach 3 tricks that were directly from Discoverie. So I found a reprint of the 1st edition on iBooks - which is really awesome. But anyway...to my question:

Is there a modern source for manipulation of balls? I don't mean only "cups and balls." I mean things like "TO MAKE A LITTLE BALL SWELL IN YOUR HAND TILL IT BE VERIE GREAT" (from Discoverie), and other similar tricks that one would do with coins. Scot starts out with balls, and then moves onto coins, saying: "The conveieng of monie is not much inferior to the ball, but much easier to doo." Gotta love that Elizabethan English:). When I was going through the sticky thread about recommended books, I found LOTs of suggestions for coins and cards, and I have ordered Bobo's Modern Coin Magic already:). But I didn't catch anything about balls. Granted I read the first few pages of the thread, and when I noticed it dated all the way back to 2001, I skipped to the last page and worked back until I had a good list that seemed to be recommended by several folks.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Ken

Ken! Start with TARBELL!!! LEARN PRINCIPLES FIRST! J. B. BOBO was a dear friend for FIFTY YEARS. "Modern Coin Magic" was the first "big book" on coins. It is excellent. Remember my note in the other thread. FESTINA LENTE!!!!! ONE STEP AT A TIME!!!!!

Yes, there are books that deal with balls. TARBELL has a lot of material with balls. I KNEW TARBELL,

I KNEW BOBO, I'VE KNOWN OR KNOW MOST OF THE CARDICIANS OF THE LAST FIFTY YEARS.--ED MARLO,ALEX ELMSLEY,PAUL LE PAUL, CHARLIE MILLER, FRANK GARCIA,JOHNNY THOMPSONM JON RACHERBAUMER. I KNEW GEORGE SANDS, I KNEW PAT PAGE, I KNEW STEWART JAMES. I KNOW DARYL MARTINEZ.

They are all EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELDS. Read Tarbell FIRST.

Dick, Tarbell is in the house!! Woohoo. Officially starting in 5, 4, 3......

Cheers,

Ken

Ken,

Al Schneider's basic vanish, found on The Al Schneider Technique DVD vol 1, is a workhorse slight that is the basis much of my small object magic. The one move is worth the price of the DVD.

If you are interested in cups and balls, I reocmmend Michael Ammar's The Complete Cups and Balls, either book or 2 DVD set.

As Dick has pointed out. Tarbell is a comprehensive study on magic and many routines promoted as new today have their roots in Tarbell.

Hudson.

"Gotta love that Elizabethan English"

That was just bad spelling...

Keith Hart

Tarbell is great, also Mark Wilsons Cyclopedia of Magic has a lot

Walter Gibson "ghosted" the Mark Wilson book. (Walter was most qualified. He wrote more magic books than any one else that I know. (He was also the writer of "THE SHADOW".) The Wilson "Complete Course" is fine for beginners. TARBELL discusses philosopphy, history, basic principles, besides tricks!

True, but the Complete Course was my first magic book so it will always be close to my heart.

Ah! Yes! My first magic book was THE MAGIC SHOW BOOK" by Alexander the Magician. It showed how to make a cardboard die box! It also showed how to make a magic table, witih a servante! It was a library book. Thirty some years later, Jay Marshall gave me a copy. I sleep with it under my pillow! Alexander was criticized for exposing.

I grew up with the Professor Hoffman books, "Modern, More,and Later Magic" NO COLOR PICTURES! "TRICKS, TOYS AND TIM" was another library book.

My library had a really good magic section too. A lot of classics and even The Illustrated History of Magic. Which I ended up buying at a old book sale they had.

Sponge balls