I have been out of the Magic scene for the past 15 years but am getting ready to reenter this wonderful world. When I was active, I collected the entire Magic magazine (9 volumes) and Genii magazine (72 volumes) collections up to the year 2000. (I know, collecting is a mental disease but I enjoyed the search & pursuit for missing issues.)

My purpose in collecting them was for them to become a reference for effects in my library. Back in 2000, I bound my Magic Magazine collection and put it in my library. However, the much larger Genii collection has always been boxed so it got little use. It is difficult to manage in an unbound state.

I was wondering if I should:
1 - Have it bound and be placed along side my Magic magazine collection in my magic library along with about 300 other reference volumes.
-or-
2 - Sell the unbound Genii collection (and subscribe to the electronic version).

Fifteen years ago, the Genii collection was appraised at $2,500 and the binding would have cost about $22 per volume. I don't know what it is worth now or what the binding would cost today. If I bound it, would I ever get the money back out of it? Probably not.

I believe that the digitizing of the Genii collection has diminished the value of the paper version but has made the information within available to more magicians worldwide. Good news for magicians but bad news for collectors.

Now I ask for your sage advise..... What would you do? Love it or List it? (if I could only ask the genii......)


Gary Salisbury
San Diego, CA

You could always purchase magazine boxes such as the ones listed here:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/catego......s/10567/

I mark the range (first and last issue) of the magazines on each box.

The value of old magazines has dropped because there are no longer buyers for them. It has happened to magazines that are not available electronically like Genii, so I have to discount that as having a large effect upon price.

Yes and no. Three words: Dewey Defeats Truman. That hard copy newspaper can still sell for $300 to $500. Probably higher for political memorabilia collectors. Likely lower for those who have no clue what I'm talking about it.

Accordingly, there is a possibility that depending upon which issue of Genii you're talking about it would sell for $20-$50 a pop. To the specific issue at hand (no pun intended), the most likely buyers are a rare breed indeed, this is true. But there are always buyers if you know where to look.

There are VERY few issues of Genii other than the two by Steranko, or possibly issues 2 and 3 of Volume 1 (to someone trying to complete a collection) that would sell for a high price.

Richard is correct. I have seen guys buy a whole collection of a magazine file for one issue.
Myself, I would not bind them. I would get archival boxes and put one or two volumes per box. When you bind them, it is hard to look at them and almost impossible to copy them. You are looking more like $40 a volume nowadays to bind them. I am sure you can find some very nice boxes that look like books on the ends to put them into.
Demand for magazine has gone way down. I know used magic dealers when buying a collection throw the magazines in a dumpster and then wet them down so they can't be removed as they have little value. Kind like burning the second Van Gogh painting so the surviving is worth more. I don't get it but it is being done. At auction, you can often find beautifully bound volumes of magazines for less than $200. It is a shame but the newer magicians do not want to read or research the older stuff. Give them a spoon fed dvd that they can learn by rote and they are happy.
Richard
BTW, I have a complete file of Genii, Linking Ring,and Magic Magazine all unbound and safely in file boxes on shelves.

@GS121002 - Just for the record, how much would you ask for the entire collection from beginning through 2010?

I have the linking ring magazine from 1956 to approx. l965 (12 each year)Yours FREE
E mail
wardedward260@gmail.com
Edward

What's the volume and weight of a collection like that? Must cost a fortune to ship... which limits your potential buyers. Maybe sell the collection on a magical convention? Of course, then you risk damaging them...

I can't even imagine the cost to ship these....