Description

It is believed that the present work occupiesaunique field in the extensive literature of magic. There arealreadya large number of treatises on natural magic andlegerdemain, but inmost of them very little attention has beengiven to the exposé ofstage illusions, which are of great interestas they are so largelybased on ingenious applications ofscientific principles. Optics,mechanics, sound, and electricityhave all been pressed into serviceby the fin de siècleprestidigitateur. In the present work greatattention has been paidto elaborate tricks of this nature, and inmany cases the exposéshave been obtained from the prestidigitateursthemselves. In thefirst few chapters many of the best illusions ofRobert-Houdin, Dr.Lynn, Professor Pepper, Bautier de Kolta, Heller,Herrmann,Maskelyne and Cooke, and Kellar will be foundclearlyexplained.