Secrets Of Magic

by Walter B. Gibson, Kyuzo Tsugami (Illustrator)

Secrets Of Magic Ancient And Modern Walter Gibson 1967 Illustrated First Edition Hardcover Rare. Secrets Of Magic. Ancient And Modern. Houdini’s Disappearing, Elephant, Levitation, Walking On Fire, Indian Snake Charmers, Buried Alive, Sawing A Woman In Half, Tricks Of Fake Mediums And Many More. 70 Amazing Feats Of Magic Revealed, With Over 100 Illustrations And Diagrams. Walter Gibson. Illustrated Kyuzo Tsugami 1967. Library Of Congress Catalog Card Number 66-19497. Illustrated. First Edition. Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, New York. Printed In The United States. Illustrated Hardcover. Overall Acceptable Condition. Some Wear Noted. Previous Library Book. Fully Bounded. Please See Additional Photos For Full Description And Images Of Item.

147 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 1973

About the author

Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897-December 6, 1985) was an American author and professional magician best known for his work on the pulp fiction character The Shadow. Gibson, under the pen-name Maxwell Grant, wrote "more than 300 novel-length" Shadow stories, writing up to "10,000 words a day" to satisfy public demand during the character's golden age in the 1930s and 1940s.

Reviews

[David]

this old and possibly out-of-print title is great eye-opener for a budding magician. the subtitle "ancient and modern" leans heavily on the ancient with the "modern" being tricks primarily from vaudeville days and the early 20th century. sawing a woman in half and making an elephant disappear suddenly seems so obvious in illustrations, but some illusions require a deft imagination at understanding the mechanics of the descriptions. showing how a trick is done isn't the same thing as the skill it takes to make it look effortless.

recently the BBC had a segment that made the rounds on the internet where a spiritual debunker was spending years learning the mystical secrets of the yogis of india, including a levitation illusion. while the narrator explains how the debunker had to spend a lot of time befriending the yogis to gain access, but when he did and the illusion was revealed, it turned out to be something straight out of this book! years spent befriending illusionist for information that was readily available to me in a book back in 1973? crazy!

despite its somewhat dated appearance, should you happen onto this at a library sale (as i did) pick it up for the aspiring magicians in your life.