Books

Maurice Fogel In Search Of The Sensational
by Chris Woodward and Richard Mark

When magicians caught a bullet in their teeth...
He caught six!

When magicians did spook shows...
His ghosts were nude!

When magicians did rope tricks...
He put a noose around his neck and jumped!

When magicians predicted a chosen number...
He predicted which of six rifles should be aimed at his forehead!

He was Maurice Fogel, the twentieth century’s most audacious mentalist and one of its greatest showmen. His feats of mind reading captured headlines around the world—when he wasn’t predicting them. He dared death, he read minds and he became a legend in his own time.

Here is a taste of a typical Fogel performance:

Six volunteer marksmen were invited on stage to operate six legitimate, loaded and fully functioning rifles. One man chose a rifle at random and fired at a saucer, shattering it to smithereens. The discharged rifle was set with the five still-loaded ones in a rotating rack and the rack spun until no one could know which was the empty weapon. Each marksman was assigned a random number and took a random rifle from the rack. Fogel next revealed a predicted number that had been in full view and isolated from the start. The marksmen were all told to aim at saucers over Fogel’s head—but the man assigned the predicted number was to aim directly at Fogel’s forehead. Then, on his command they all fired!

To some he was a mental wonder; to others, an enigma. For years he strode the stages of the world, reading minds and using his strange powers to defy death. Maurice Fogel: In Search of the Sensational is the chronicle of the life of a master mentalist whose like has never been seen. He baffled the world and his peers. He defied death for years on a near nightly basis. He created an extraordinary body of professional mentalism that has remained among the most coveted material in the field. This book contains that material, along with the advice, experience and stories of a lifetime of professional performance by one of the world’s most acclaimed mentalists.

Maurice Fogel: In Search of the Sensational is the story of an amazing life and the mental secrets of an amazing man— The Amazing Fogel.

Written and collected by Chris Woodward, an award-winning magician and Fogel’s son-in-law, in collaboration with mentalist and Fogel confidant Richard Mark, here at last is the definitive work on Maurice Fogel, the man and his secrets.

Pages 440 in elegant hardcover with book ribbon.

Price…………$79.50

Magic Of Ascanio Vol.2 - Studies Of Card Magic
by Arturo Ascanio

The Magic of Ascanio offers you, in four volumes, the complete work of the Maestro who changed the direction of magic in Spain and influenced many successful performers. Learn all about the legacy of a true master of our art: his ground-breaking theories, his legendary card routines and sleights, and his magic with pocket knives.

Studies of Card Magic
This second volume, with forewords by Roberto Giobbi and Aurelio Paviato, contains an exhaustive study of the Ascanio Spread and its variants, and all the lay-downs. These sleights, the cornerstones of Ascanio’s magic, have never been explained so thoroughly before. Careful study of this section alone will give you a complete understanding of these marvelous sleights.

Get ready for the pleasant journey of studying the early versions of Ascanio’s classics. Oil and Water using the Ascanio Spread (a three-phase routine) and Father Ace and Sons (versions 66 and 67) will take you into the wonderful world of Ascanio's routining. See the theory in action, with examples of concepts explained in the first volume, such as the Parenthesis of Forgetfulness, the Anti-Contrasting Parenthesis, Stressing the Initial Situation, Slow Execution, misdirection, and the In-Transit Actions.

The next three chapters include magic by Ascanio's mentors, Kaps and Carles, by his colleagues Dany Ray and Fu Manchu, and by one of his idols in magic: Ed Marlo, all with the Ascanio treatment. This section contains tricks shown to Ascanio by these great masters.

Chapter Seven includes Ascanio’s favorite routines: If You Don’t Pay Attention…, Aunt Enriqueta’s Aces, The Trick I Would Show Dai Vernon, Sleightless Oil and Water (or so it seems), and Aces with Love.

In Chapter Eight two other Ascanio favorites are described: The Wriggling Aces and Don’t Blink! Revisited. The Trick I Would Show Dai Vernon is a lesson on Conditioned Naturalness, and The Wriggling Aces was part of his winning act at FISM in Amsterdam 1970.

Chapter Nine includes two Ascanian classics: A Baroque Transposition and The Mechanical Strength of Thought.

Chapter Ten finally brings you some of Ascanio's minor masterpieces such as: Dolores’s Trick, The Pathology of Cards, X - 1 = 0, Triumph, Eight-Card Oil and Water, The Nine Facts, Antagonistic Aces, and A Hunger for Dreaming.

Pages 320 and 390 illustrations.

Price…………$69.95

Mentalism, Incorporated by Chuck Hickok

A Guide for Presenting Mentalism for Corporate Audiences

More than just another book of great effects, Mentalism, Incorporated presents a detailed description of a complete corporate mentalism act...one that has provenn itself successful before corporate audiences of all sizes.

Mentalism, Incorporated is the ideal book for the magician who wants to perform strong, entertaining mentalism. This well-written book not only contains detailed instructions for performing nine audience-tested mentalism routines, it also reveals the secrets that make each routine so powerful and entertaining. A must-have book for anyone who wants to learn more about the lucrative corporate marketplace.

“This book gives you the means to present a thrilling, entertaining mentalism act. I highly recommended this book!” -Banachek

“Chuck shares the ‘real work’ about performing corporate mentalism that is missing from other mentalism books!” -Larry Becker

“Chuck’s chapters on presentation and showmanship stand alone as relevant and extremely helpful advice for anyone who wants to present mentalism before corporate audiences.” -Barrie Richardson

“I believe "Mentalism, Incorporated" will become a mentalism classic.” -Richard Webster

Price…………$64.95

Mentalism Incorporated Volume 2 by Chuck Hickok

Mentalism, Incorporated: Volume Two continues and expands upon the philosophy and perspectives presented in the highly acclaimed Mentalism, Incorporated.

The purpose of this book is to help the reader become a better, more entertaining mentalist. Volume Two combines proven suggestions for performing mentalism along with easy to learn routines.

Volume Two begins with the first serious examinations of forces for mentalism in fifty years along with six strategies for effectively using forces in a mentalism act.

Volume Two continues with fourteen essays on mentalism that were previously available to only the world's top mentalists. Each essay contains practical ideas and thought-provoking questions for the serious mentalist.

Volume Two concludes with detailed instructions for performing three strong audience-tested mentalism routines... revealing the secrets that make each routine so powerful and entertaining.

Like Mentalism Incorporated, this is a book you will want to read more than once.

"Chuck shares the REAL secrets - how to be successful! In Mentalism, Incorporated: Volume Two he teaches you the positive attituted and practical approaches that have made him well known to audiences as well as fellow Mentalists world wide." - Bruce Bernstein

"Readers of Mentalism Incorporated will greatly enjoy this companion edition. It picks right up were the first volume left off. This is something Chuck Hickok fans will both benefit from and take delight in. The adventure continues." - Richard Busch

"When it comes to delivering Mentalism as solid corporate entertainment, no one does it better." - Lee Earle

"Like the first volume of Mentalism, Incorporated, this book gives you proven, crystal clear advice on what it takes to be a successful mentalist. This book has many practical suggestions not found in other mentalism books. If you use the ideas in this book, you will be a better, more entertaining performer." - Barrie Richardson

"If you are into mentalism, this is a book you MUST own. It's full of ready-to-use routines and thoughtful, practical commentary." - Ken Weber

Trouping with Dante

In the golden age of big illusion shows, his was the most golden of all. He had been born Harry Jansen, but the world knew him as "Dante, The Magician."

He played every continent on earth with one of the most magnificent magic shows of the twentieth century Sim Sala Bim was a spectacular extravaganza of magic, music and laughter. Every magic-smitten youth from Bangkok to Boston dreamed of being in the show.

This is the memoir of one young man whose dream came true.

Marion S. Trikosko spent two seasons as a stage assistant to the great man. Today, while excellent magicians still flourish, such huge and elaborate traveling shows as Dante's are extinct. What was the show like? How did it operate? What made Dante the celebrated magician he was, and a remarkable human being? What tricks and illusions did he perform, and what were their secrets?

These and many other questions are answered in detail by Trikosko, whose extraordinary powers of observation and remembrance take us vividly behind the scenes. A gifted writer, he guides us revealingly through Dante's magic world and, along the way, gives entertaining and personal glimpses into his own.

Hardbound and copiously illustrated, with a gorgeous full-color dust jacket.
With an introduction by Lance Burton!

Andrus Notes from Chazpro

This 100 page manuscript details several of Jerry Andrus' most famous effects. Through illustrated instructions, classics such as 'Zone Zero' and 'Sudden Surprise' are completely explained. The Book also contains photographs of Jerry performing magic, as well as some of his self-portraits.

Details several of Jerry Andrus' most famous effects!
Price………………….$48.00

New Era Card Tricks by August Roterberg

"New Era Card Tricks created a minor sensation among card magicians when it appeared in 1897. Not only was it a superbly produced book, it contained sleights and tricks unknown to most magicians." -Byron Walker

Available again just as it was meant to be!

Copies of the first editions of New Era Card Tricks are now prized collectors' items, selling for as much as $250.00 a copy. This newly published edition makes the book available to everyone.

Roterberg's New Era Card Tricks was revolutionary for its time, being one of the first truly original treatises on card magic.

The book includes instruction in the following categories: Sleights, Tricks with Cards and Prepared and Mechanical Cards. In many cases, two or three different methods are offered for an individual effect. New Era Card Tricks teaches mnemonic devices, color changes, tricks with seldom-seen apparatus, how to construct gaffed cards, mathematical effects, tricks with stacked decks, and much much more. Many of these tricks will be a revelation to the modern-day conjurer, proving the phrase "Everything old is new again."

Hardbound, 284 pages with over 200 illustrations
Price………………….$53.00

Card College 1 Roberto Giobbi’s

Finally, a Definitive Course on Card Magic! Card College has received the highest praise from amateur and professional magicians alike, throughout Germany, France and Spain. Now it is available to readers in English!

Never before has a course in sleight-of-hand card magic been so thoroughly illustrated for clarity and ease of learning. Clear engaging detailed writing coupled with hundreds upon hundreds of professional drawings aid the reader in attaining mastery over a deck in the shortest possible time. Card College contains up-to-date developments in the craft, giving the reader the best methods for creating amazement with an ordinary deck of playing cards, ranging from classic sleights and ruses to sophisticated modern techniques.

Card College is the first course of its kind written by a full-time professional magician, who offers his readers hard-won knowledge obtainable only through long experience: the best sleights and tricks, along with the psychology, misdirection and theoretical structures essential for successful card magic. Card College is written as both a course for the beginning student and a retraining course for the experienced card magician who has likely picked up a few bad habits and inferior techniques during previous study. Roberto Giobbi’s Card College is a four-volume course.

Here are some of the topics covered in Volume 1 Overhand Shuffle—False Cuts—Card Controls—The Glide—The Hindu Shuffle—The Spread Cull—The Key Card—The Riffle Shuffle Transfer Cuts—Card Forces—The Double Lift—Flourishes—The Top Change—Auxiliary Sleights Volume 1, with over 250 pages in quality hardcover, is now available.
Price............…$38.95

Card College 2 Roberto Giobbi’s

CARD COLLEGE, Volume 1 has met with overwhelming success and is being hailed as The Definitive Course on Sleight-of-hand Card Magic. We are pleased to announce that VOLUME 2 is now ready. Never before has a course in sleight-of-hand card magic been so thoroughly illustrated for clarity and ease of learning. Clear, engaging, detailed writing coupled with hundreds upon hundreds of professional drawings aid the reader in attaining mastery over a deck of cards in the shortest possible time.

CARD COLLEGE, VOLUME 2 contains up-to-date developments in the craft, giving the reader the best methods for creating amazement with an ordinary deck of playing cards.

Here are some of the topics covered in Volume 2 Palming—The Pass—False Counts—Card Reverses—More False Cuts—More Flourishes—The Glimpse—The Crimp—Routining—Psychology—Misdirection—Presentation—Advanced Overhand—Shuffle & Double-Lift. ROBERTO GIOBBI’S CARD COLLEGE, VOLUME 2 contains 250 pages in quality hard cover, matching format to VOLUME 1.
Price............…$42.95

Card College 3 Roberto Giobbi’s

Eagerly awaited, VOLUME 3 of Roberto Giobbi’s internationally acclaimed course on sleight-of-hand card magic is now ready. This new volume is 50 pages larger than the previous ones, and like them, contains only the best methods and tricks, meticulously selected and taught by a full-time professional, drawing from the world’s finest card magic.

In this third volume, Roberto Giobbi includes sleights and ideas gathered from the world’s masters, some never published elsewhere. In addition, this English-language edition contains tricks, tips and information not included in the German, French and Spanish editions. As in the preceding volumes, you will learn not just the techniques, but the psychology behind their application, along with professional caliber tricks and routines, drawn from Roberto Giobbi’s own repertoire.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE TOPICS COVERED IN VOLUME 3 BREAKS, STEPS AND JOGS—CARD CONTROLS—ADVANCED DOUBLE LIFTS—MORE FALSE COUNTS—RIFFLE SHUFFLE METHODS—THE K. M. MOVE— MULTIPLE SHIFTS—THE BIDDLE STEAL—MORE PALMING TECHNIQUES —COLOR CHANGES—THE SIDE STEAL—THE FARO SHUFFLE—THE DIAGONAL PALM SHIFT—AND MUCH MORE! ROBERTO GIOBBI’S CARD COLLEGE, VOLUME 3 hundreds of illustrations, 300 pages in quality hardcover is now available.
Price............…$42.95

CARD COLLEGE VOLUME 4 ROBERTO GIOBBI’S

Get Ready To Graduate ! CARD COLLEGE, Roberto Giobbi’s acclaimed course on sleight-of-hand card magic, has received the highest praise from amateur and professional magicians alike, throughout Germany, France and Spain. Now, with its appearance in English, acclaim for CARD COLLEGE has grown even more enthusiastic. The idea of producing a thorough course in card magic has seldom been attempted, and those few rare efforts are dated and often difficult to obtain. What Roberto Giobbi has done far surpasses his predecessors in a number of ways

Never before has a course in card magic been so thoroughly illustrated for clarity and ease of learning. Clear, engaging, detailed writing is coupled with over twelve hundred professional drawings to aid the student in attaining mastery over a deck in the shortest possible time. CARD COLLEGE contains up-to-date developments in the craft, giving the reader the best methods for creating amazement with an ordinary deck of playing cards, ranging from classic sleights and ruses to the most sophisticated modern techniques.

CARD COLLEGE is the first course of its kind written by a full-time professional magician, consisting of material selected from his own repertoire. Giobbi offers his readers hard-won knowledge obtained through experience, and teaches the best sleights, methods and tricks, along with the psychology, misdirection and theory essential for successful card magic. CARD COLLEGE is written as both a course for the beginning student and a retraining course for the experienced card magician who may have picked up some inferior techniques during previous study. Giobbi has selected only the best sleights and handlings from thousands of books on the subject, saving his readers countless hours of research and wasted effort spent on inferior approaches and ideas.

ROBERTO GIOBBI’S CARD COLLEGE is a four-volume course, containing over 1000 pages of easily understood instruction that starts with the fundamentals of card handling and progresses to the craft’s most advanced and secret techniques and each step of the way the reader is given astonishing card tricks, which provide practical applications for the sleights and concepts taught.
Price............…$42.95

CARD COLLEGE VOLUME 5 ROBERTO GIOBBI’S

It's finally here! In the fifth volume of the acclaimed Card College series, Roberto Giobbi has prepared a graduation party! In previous volumes the reader has been given a remarkable collection of tools for creating astonishing card magic. In the same vein, Volume 5 begins with a meaty chapter of new techniques and strategies, which include methods for covertly arranging stacks during performance, obtaining a duplicate of a spectator's signature with his knowledge, and secretly conveying cards to and from the deck-powerful tools indeed.

But then Volume 5 diverges from the established Card College formula. Judging that the reader now has more than a sufficient number of tools in his grasp, Mr. Giobbi provides eight chapters filled with tricks and routines that illustrate how various techniques are applied to create world-class card magic. These effects, however, are not mere constructions meant for teaching. Most have been drawn from Roberto Giobbi's professional repertoire-and because of this, even the classics of card magic are given a fresh gleam as Giobbi adds refinements won from years of performing experience.

His choice of material is impeccable, featuring not only original effects and handlings of his own, but tricks and routines by world-masters as well. One finds such gems as Fred Kaps' presentation for The Signed Card in Box, along with Giobbi's cunning treatment of this modern classic, Henry Christ's fabulous Ace routine and a superb handling of a forgotten masterpiece by Charlie Miller. And everything is taught with the clarity and attention to detail for which the Card College series has become known. Open this book and welcome to the party-prepare to graduate! Some of the topics covered in Volume Five include:

Making Secret Setups

False Shuffles

Obtaining Duplicate Signatures

Quick Tricks

Openers and Routines with the Aces

Favorite Effects

Gambling Demonstrations

Mental Mysteries

All in all, Volume Five features 34 professional-caliber routines that have astounded audiences the world over.
Price............…$42.95

Seriously Silly by David Kaye

A complete guide to performing magic for children. New York's top kid show magician, Featured on television, in newspapers, and magazines, shares his secrets of success. Featuring six never-before published routines, 27 secrets of funnier routines, 7 essays, plus 21 tips to keep parents from talking during your show! All this and more allows you to work more, and make more money!

-Turn your show into non-stop laughter with the techniques you'll discover only in this book.

-Learn the psychology behind children's behavior and how to apply that to a successful show.

-Unlock the top 10 keys to performing memorable children's magic.

-Get the secrets to making parents laugh too, so you get hired again and again!

-Discover simple steps that make kids demand you for their party.

-Understand the differences in performing for different aged children.

-Six steps to getting the most entertainment from a child volunteer.

-Solving the tip 19 problems of performing for children.

This is the first time David has released his routines to the magic community. These are his favorite routines form his hugely successful show. These will be the funniest routines you have ever performed.

-Five minutes with a Milk Pitcher that will change your show completely.

-The funniest Mis-Made Flag routine you have ever seen.

-Win your audience over with a charming routine to perform with very shy children, even 3-year olds can be stars with this trick.

-Step-by-step instruction on how to create your own hilarious routines.

David Kaye is a full-time professional magician and writes a monthly column about performing magic for children in MAGIC magazine. His shows have been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, and even the Late Show With David Letterman. He performs more than 300 shows a Year!

What People Are Saying:

"You could fill a book with what I don't know about doing magic for children. As it happens, David Kaye, master of magic for the miniature set, has done just that and far more. He has written a terrific book full of eye-opening ideas about 'how to entertain children with magic and comedy,' as the book's subtitle plainly labels it. Quite possibly the smartest book ever written about that form -- be it hobbyist, part-timer, or full-time professional. But having read it I can assure you that there is no magician on the planet, no matter your specialty, who will not derive immeasurable if unexpected benefit from reading this book."
- Jamy Ian Swiss, Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine

"David Kaye is the real deal. He has been a professional children's entertainer for more than 18 years, and during that time he has performed more than 7,000 shows. David has now assembled his thoughts on kid's show magic in a marvelous book titled Seriously Silly. This book may well become the definitive resource on this type of magic. Seriously Silly is a tremendously valuable book, containing insights that only come from years of experience. For the kid's show performer, it is indispensable. ...Highly recommended.
- Michael Close, MAGIC Magazine

"There is no book regarding the performance of magic for adults that is the equal of David Kaye's Seriously Silly. The psychological insight the author has regarding his young audience is staggering. Seriously silly offers lessons in performance and psychology that every performer, whether working for children or adults, can use to greatly enhance their shows. I don't publish many books these days, but I had no choice here: Seriously Silly is the best book ever written on how to perform magic effectively."
- Richard Kaufman

Price............…$64.95