hillcountrymagic
$65.00
Condition: Fair. Staining to cover but book itself is in good intact condition.
Originally published in 1876 by English barrister Angelo John Lewis under the pseudonym Professor Hoffmann, Modern Magic is universally celebrated as the foundational text of contemporary conjuring that permanently shifted magic from secret trade craft into a structured, academic discipline. The mid-century American editions—frequently reprinted around 1949 by publishers like David McKay—preserved Hoffmann's seminal 500-plus-page treatise, which meticulously details the core principles of sleight of hand, card and coin manipulation, parlor magic, stage illusions, and mechanical props. Featuring hundreds of classic woodcut-style illustrations and exhaustive breakdowns of 19th-century methods—from the Cups and Balls to elaborate automaton mechanisms—this American printing made a historical "magician's bible" readily available to a new generation of post-war performers and collectors seeking to master the roots of modern theatrical illusionism.
