I recently heard a magician talking about this series, saying it is out of print. I am, however, just a bit skeptical about that, as it is, after such a classic. But with Our Magic out of print, and the publisher (Lee Jacobs) being an exclusively magic related publishing house, (houses of that type often print in limited numbers), I figured I should have a look. A quick Google search of this forum has yielded nothing saying anything of the sort, and the Lee Jacobs website says nothing about it either, so I don't know to think. Anybody have a better clue then me?

"Out of print" is a rather insteresting term. In the publishing business, it can mean that no further copies of an item will be printed, so the quantities are limited to what is currently on the dealers' shelves and in the warehouse of the publisher. But it doesn't necessarily mean "unavailable."

For example, Sheherazade is available, in very limited quantities. It is out of print.

Using this guage, as of now, the Fitzkee trilogy is out of print. Since Lee Jacobs passed away, it is unclear whether it will be reprinted. It may be picked up by some enterprising publisher, but right now, that doesn't seem to be in the offing.

However it is not unavailable.

What Bill says about "out-of-print" books is true; it simply means the regular stock has been exhausted, and that no more are available from the publisher.

But many out-of-print books are still readily available at retail stores. The Fitzkee trilogy is sold at a number of Internet magic stores; for example, see http://www.themagicwarehouse.com/booksge3.html#bk9084. And most out-of-print books are also available at "used" bookstores; the Advanced Book Exchange (ABE) Website is a tremendous search engine for used books. See http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchEntry

In fact, I believe that about 90% of all books are technically out-of-print at any given time. But unless you're looking for an autographed copy of the Tarbell Course or something really exotic, it's not all that hard to find what you want. SETH

Thanks for the clarifications. I consider myself reasonably in touch with the magic community, but not with the publishing business. I think I’ll hold onto my copies then!

Have a look at http://www.angelfire.com/musicals/fitzkee/index.html

(Doesn't have anything to do with whether or not it's out of print, but it does enable you to buy it, albeit in electronic form.)

Dave

I recently bought the entire trilogy at Denny's in Las Vegas.

Just noticed Showmanship For Magicians for £5 at http://www.kano.btinternet.co.uk/

Now that's gotta be a bargain.

Dave

Seth, I agree with you. Tsk, tsk, Bill [smile], if there are "quantities ... in the warehouse of the publisher" for sale, then the book is in print. "Out of print" = "no longer offered for sale by the publisher." Yours in bibliographical clarity ...