Copyright 1985 by Ben Harris Magic of Brisbane, Australia.

SoftBound with 8pages and 13 photographs, along with 3 illustrations.

As it states inside:

"The contents consist of new and effective ideas with cards and coins. Everything is detailed herein so that even if you did not attend, you will be able to follow the contents with little effort."

Content's Include:

Pyramid Cards
Coming Together Again
Ron Hadley's "Flipping Triumph"
Oil and Water Delux
Pick-Up-Palm (P.U.P.)
Angel Aces
Righting A Wrong
Snappy Cannibal
The Three Card Game
Impromptu Daryl

Book measures approx. 8"x11 1/2". - $25.00

REMEMBER, all photos are Thumbnails - click on the photo to bring up the LARGER photo.

REMEMBER, all photos are Thumbnails - click on the photo to bring up the LARGER photo.

LayAway is available - if this is for you, just email for details.

If you're into GOOD CLOSE-UP MAGIC, then this is the book for you.

As Mr. Willmarth puts it: "Finally, it should be stated here that Matt makes no claim to be either a great technician or an originator of effects. Many of the tricks described here are old timers...but, remember, they are PROVEN old timers. Each one has demonstrated its worth over and over again. And, each one is described as Matt does it, with all the tips that he has developed in his forty years of constant ENTERTAINING. These are the tricks which have made Matt Shulien famous all over the world. They could do the same for you."

Chapters include:

ONE: - Not the Best, but the Biggest

TWO: Basic Sleights: Matt's Fan Location - The Crimp Location - The Palm

THREE: Quick Discoveries: Cut the Cards - The Card in the Hat - Air Pressure - The Card In The Cuff - The Card in the Card Case - One Hand Discovery (One Card) - One Hand Discovery (Two Cards) - Spell It - Three Reversed - The Invisible Hair - The Slap Discovery

FOUR: Tricks With The Change: The Change - The Professional Touch - Put It Back In The Deck - The Slam and Flip Over - That's Your Card (A Sucker Trick) - Matt's Ribbon Spread Trick

FIVE: Tricks With The Force: The Face Up Spread - The Fan Force - Matt's Face Down Spread Force - The X-ray Eyes

SIX: Miscellaneous Magic and Gags: The Vanishing Deck - Testing A Half Dollar - Bending A Spoon - Bending The Arm - Twister - Matt's Match Magic - The Jumping Match - Goldfish Eating

SEVEN: Card Routines: Where Do You Want Your Card? - The Mental Fan Force Routine - Counting the Cards - Matt's Crazy Poker Deal - The Cards and the Cigarettes

EIGHT: Tricks With Gimmicks: The Pea Can - The Half In Bottle - The Fifty Sponge Ball - Matt's Color Changing Knife Routine - A Knife Gag - The Case of the Missing Handle

NINE: Smash Discoveries: The Card In the Sugar - The Corner In The Glass - The Card In The Matchbook - The Card Under The Tablecloth - Here Comes Kelly (Card In The Glass) - The Card On The Wall

TEN: The Real Secrets of Matt Schulien.

REMEMBER, all photos are Thumbnails - click on the photo to bring up the LARGER photo.

2227-2589) A HANDBOOK OF CARTOMANCY by Grand Orient

Fortune-Telling and Occult Divination

HardBound book with 114pages. Copyright 1891, 3rd edition from 1897. Published, in London, by George Redway.

Contents Include:

Preface - The Oracle of Human Destiny - The Mystic Alphabet of the Magi - The Golden Wheel of Fortune - The English Method of Fortune-Telling By Cards - How To Find Lucky Numbers with Dice - To Read A Person's Character by Means of Cabalistic Calculations - The Mathematical Fortune-Teller; or, How to Tell Any Person's Age - The Signs of the Zodiac, and Their Influence on the Good or Evil Fortune of Children Born Under Them - Judgments Drawn From The Moon's Age - How To Determine The Lucky and Unlucky Days of Any Month In The Year - Miscellaneous Notes on the Observation of Times and Seasons - Miscellaneous Methods of Divination: - Prediction of Things To Come By The Grounds in a Tea or Coffee Cup - Divination With Needles - Alectromancy - Divination With Onions - Gastromancy - Lecanomancy - Margaritomancy - Rhapsodomancy - Oomancy - Spodanomancy - Gromancy

Measures approx. 4 3/4"x7".

David H. Winne bookplate on the inside front cover.

Some pencil notations and previous owners name rubber stamped inside.

A zodiac sign and number circular chart, in the back of the book, has been trimmed with six of the zodiac signs and four of the numbers not showing. - $75.00

2229-7538) A MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS by Houdini.

Original copyright 1924. Published by Harper Brother’s. New York and London. 294 pages. This is the 1972 edition published by Arno Press, Inc. Hardbound w/ DustJacket.

If you don’t want to pay up to $300 for the First Edition, this book makes a great reading copy. - $25.00

M07) THE ADVENTURE OF THE CLOUDED CRYSTAL by Ted Kelly. Actors play script. Published by Samuel French, Inc., New York, Hollywood, London, Toronto. Copyright 1982. Paperbound (measuring 5x 7 1/4) with 24pages. A play script having to do with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a Medium, and Harry Houdini. Originally commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville. The play takes place in a room, at the home of Mrs. Lillian Alexander, a celebrated spirit medium and psychic, New York City. It is 1922.

Story of the Play:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, and Harry Houdini, world's greatest magician and escape artist, are dear friends, although the issue of "Spiritualism" often causes them to argue. Doyle arranges a séance with a famed New York medium in the hopes Houdini will become a "believer". Houdini, however, plans to expose the medium, Mrs. Alexander, as a fraud. What he doesn't count on is the cleverness of the woman. She's well aware that Houdini defeats every medium he encounters, but she has no intention of being one more victim. The dramatic (and often funny) sparks fly as the two lock themselves in combat, with Sir Arthur and a young woman reporter on the sidelines. Ultimately, Doyle and Houdini have a stormy scene, and the magician finds he must retreat from Mrs. Alexander's skill and intelligence. It's the only time Houdini fails. He and the medium make a strange pact: to stay as far away from one another as possible. If Houdini "behaved" Mrs. Alexander won't reveal his secret to the world: He believes Sherlock Homes is a real person!

Haven't heard of this "Houdini Play" from 23 years ago? Well you have now!! - $35.00

M59) DOORWAY TO DELUSION by Paul J. Siegel

Due to the great success of Paul's first book Windows To The Mind, the publisher requested a second volume of mental effects.

Copyright 1972 and published by Mickey Hades Enterprises of Calgary, Alberta CANADA.

CombBound with 33pages.

Contents Include:

Foreword - Vision Diabolique - Color-Ception - Chronicle Cognitition - Beyond the Shadows - Tabagie - Legacy of the Gypsies - Numeration Sensation - Test of Lhasa - Money Madness - Psychic Perception - Locked Fast - Future Witness - Between the Lines - Eleusis Revisited - Book Thought - Fantasy In Flame - The Mephisto Writings - In Good Time - Word Plexia - Trance Image - Master Mind - Astral Relation - Dart Delirium - Insight Hindsight

Previous owners name rubber stamped inside. Measures approx. 8 1/2"x11". - $35.00

M61) WINDOWs TO THE MIND by Paul J. Siegel

Due to the success of this book, the publisher requested another volume of material from this author.

Copyright 1968 and published by Mickey Hades Enterprises of Calgary, Alberta CANADA.

ClothTapeBound with 33pages.

Contents Include:

Foreword - Envelepathy - Spectra-Ception - Frame of Mind - Ad-denda - Psychic Relation - Brainstorm - Solus Intra Tercet - Four Thought - Booknow I - Booknow II - Pronunciamiento - Living Color - Quest of Canore - Precardnition - Coincidence - Pent-A-Chance - Talismans of Pelazon - Mystery of Eleusis - Secret of Silence - House on Haunted Hill - Vates Sacer - Inside Insight - Spell-A-Thought - Spell-A-Pack

Previous owners name rubber stamped inside. Measures approx. 8 1/2"x11". - $35.00

REMEMBER, all photos are Thumbnails - click on the photo to bring up the LARGER photo.

M66) HOME PSYCHIC PARTIES FOR FUN and PROFIT by Richard Webster

PaperBound book with 64pages.

Copyright 1991 by Brookfield Press of Auckland, New Zealand.

Contents Include:

Introduction - Home Psychic Parties - First Stage Of The Party - Crystal Ball Gazing - The Reading - Persona - Products To Sell - Suitable Effects - Marketing - Advance Preparation - Psychometry Parties - Psychic Development Parties - Ethics - Who Attends Home Psychic Parties? - How Much To Charge - Conclusion - Suggested Reading.

Measures approx. 8 1/4"x8 3/4". - $45.00

M72) STRANGE SECRETs The Addenda

PaperBound book with 54pages.

Copyright 1984 and published by The Abbott Magic Company of Colon, Michigan.

Contents Include:

CHARACTER READING by R.S. Glover - Part One: Misfitting The Misfit - Part Two: Mixed Types - Part Three: Profiles, Texture, Color - Part Four: Spoiled and Sensitive People - Part Five: The Impractical Man

ASTROLOGIA by Howard P. Albright - Billet Reading Routine, Number One - The Automatic Prompter - How To Use The "Prompter" Cards - Sealed Message Reading Routine Number Two

Previous owners name rubber stamped inside. Measures approx. 8 1/4"x10 3/4". - $25.00

Published, in 1941, by Garden City Publishing Co., Inc in Garden City, New York.

Hardbound with a total of 301 pages!!

This is the first combined edition of the two titles, originally published in 1929 and 1932.

Contents include:

On the signature page it is signed:

I don't think I've ever seen Blackstone sign himself as a "Col" before.

Across from this Blackstone signing (on the inside of the front cover), it is signed at the top:

Then there's a rubber stamp showing the book came from the "Library of Magic" of C. R. Tracy

Under the rubber stamp, it is signed:

So, you figure it out.

Did Blackstone, Sr. sign this book for C.R. Tracy and then Mr. Tracy gave the book to Mr Strinky in 1962?

2335-8457) AL KORAN's LEGACY by Hugh Miller

HardBound with DustJacket (in protective Mylar holder) and 180pages.

Book measures approx. 6"x8 1/4"

Published and Printed by Repro Magic in 1972.

The Contents Pages were so detailed, I've reproduced them, below, for ease in reading. - $75.00

From The Title Page:

No copyright date given, but I guess we can assume it was in the early 1900s.

The content page was so detailed, I have reproduced it below for ease in reading.

SoftBound with 36pages.

Book measure's approx. 6"x8 3/4".

A second edition of this book sold on November 26th in the Martinka Auction for $117.00 (plus 10% buyer's premium)

2327-1478) THE ORIGINAL HOUDINI SCRAPBOOK written by Walter Gibson

Copyright 1976 and published by Corwin Sterling Publishing, Inc. of New York.

PaperBound with and 224pages. Book measure's approx. 8 1/4"x11".

On the free end page is written:

The next three listings are GREAT CARD MAGIC manuscripts by J.K. Hartman

These are the Originals and not the reprints.

2273-5522) MEANs AND ENDs by Jerard K. Hartman. - $35.00

Transcribed and self published in February 1973. 82pages in blue folder.

Chapters Include:

Part One: MEANs:

Riffle Selection Controls
A-D Multiple Control
Variety Pack

Part Two: ENDs:

More With Four
The Witchcraft of Discoveries
The Discovery of (Sand) Witchcraft
Psychosomagic
Odd Ends

2223-3247) ESCAPEs. Secret Workings for Handcuffs - Ropes - Chains - Padlocks - Straight Jackets - Boxes - Bags - Wrist Stocks - Under Water - Etc. Etc

Published by Abbott’s Magic Mfg. Co in Colon, Michigan.

Copyright 1955. Paperbound and 58 pages.

Previous owner's name rubber stamped on the inside cover.

Contents include: Foreword by Percy Abbott - Suggestions for Handcuff Escapes - Publicity Handcuff Escapes - Outstanding Chain Escape - Always Ready Chain Act - Siberian Chain Escape - Extraordinary Chain Release - Lightning Shackle Chain Release - Chain Handcuffs - Wonder Chain Release - Rod Tie - Wire Wrist Ties - How To Open Padlocks - Sack Escapes - Improved Sack Escape - Cloth Sack Escape - Triple Tied Sack Escape - Mail Bag - Iron Box Escape - Packing Box Escape - Escape Box - Box Escape (Underwater Method) - Stocks of Zanzibar - Stocks of Solomon - Mysterious Coffin Escape - From an Undertaker’s Coffin - A Double Exchange - Stick Post Illusion - Mysterious Monk - Ku Klux in the Sack - Pull Thru Sack Escape - A "Fooler" With Handcuffs - High Dives - The Abbott Straight Jacket - Prison and Jail Breaking - Spirit Stocks - Spirit Collar - Spirit Lock - Spirit Platform and Sack - Simplex Spirit Platform and Sack - The Ghost Walks.

Whether you’re trying build an escape routine, an escape show or just increase your knowledge of escapes, this Book Has Something For Everybody!! - $35.00

2183-6869)  THE MODERN CONJURER And Drawing-Room Entertainer by C. Lang Neil

Explaining and Illustrating Tricks By:

2163-5679) THE HOUDINI MESSAGEs by Francis R. Fast.

The Facts Concerning the Messages Received Through the Mediumship of Arthur Ford.

The detailed account of the Second Message is taken from stenographic records made at the sittings by Mr. John W. Stafford, Associate Editor Scientific American, and Mr. Fast.

Some soiling on the front and back covers, but doesn't go through to the pages inside.

Paperbound and measures 4 3/4"x7".

Copyright 1929, Fourth Printing. 24pages. - $75.00

REMEMBER, all photos are Thumbnails - click on the photo to bring up the LARGER photo.

My guess is Abbott's, or another publisher, printed both of these titles together after 1960. 

PaperBound and measures approx. 5 1/2"x8". - $25.00

Copyright 1920. HardBound with 497pages. Published by Adams Press Print. New York.

Synopsis:

First Stage: Literary. This Book (The Author’s Salaam). Other Books (Ponsin’s, Houdin’s, Hoffman’s, Sach’s, Hatton’s)

Second Stage: Retrospection, The Story of Magic (Mythological, Traditional, Historical, Modern Practice)

Third Stage: Evolution. A series of Arguments from Chaos to Art

Fourth Stage: Dramatis Personae. The Man (Personality, Character, Consistency, Stage Deportment)

Fifth Stage: The Dressing Room. Personal Equipment.

Sixth Stage: Practice. The Actual Work.

Seventh Stage: Minor Problems (The Dignity and Importance of Little Things, Simple Things, minor details and Other Things)

Eights Stage: Major Problems (Examples of Origination, Amplification, Development. Higher Magic)

Ninth Stage: Personal (The Author: How he became a Magician. Autobiography.)

1887-4286) HOUDINI, THE CAREER OF EHRICH WEISS. By Kenneth Silverman. Hardbound with DustJacket. Measures 6½"x9½". Copyright 1996. First Edition. Published by HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. New York. 466 pages.

Chapters include: Metamorphoses (One:1874-1898, Two:1899) - Handcuff King (Three:1900-1905, Four:1900-1904, Five:1905-1909) - The Upside Down (Six:January-June 1910, Seven:1910-1913, Eight:1913-1915, Nine:1916-1917, Ten:1918-1919) - A Magician Among The Spirits (Eleven:1920-1922, Twelve:Spring 1922-Spring 1923, Thirteen:January 1923-Spring 1924, Fourteen:Summer 1924, Fifteen:August 1924-February 1925, Sixteen:Fall 1924-Spring 1926 - Paligenesia (Seventeen:January-August 1926, Eighteen:August-November 1926) - Appendix and Source Guide.

This Pulitzer prize winning author, who has also written biographies of Cotton Mather and Edgar A. Poe, has drawn on fresh information to produce a fascinating and rich account of Houdini's life. Silverman tells the story of Houdini's origins as Ehrich Weiss, one of five sons of Rabbi Mayer Weiss, an immigrate from Hungary to America; his theatrical debut in dime museums and burlesque shows during the 1890s; and his rapid rise to stardom that culminated in twenty-five years of worldwide fame. The author also describes Houdini's tangled family life, his war against Spiritualism, and his encounters with such celebrities as Sarah Bernhardt, Jack London, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Most of all, he re-creates the illusions and escapes that Houdini performed throughout Europe, the United States, Russia, and Australia. Amazement's which made Houdini the highest-paid variety artist of his time.

The author treats in depth many unfamiliar facets of Houdini's career: Houdini as an aviator, a fight fan, inventor, author, film-maker, book collector, and fraud-buster. He reveals for the first time Houdini's affair with the widow of a famous American writer and offers new information about his early circus days, his run-ins with anti-Semitism, his struggle to educate himself, his stormy rivalries with other magicians, and his sudden death at the age of fifty-two.

This is Probably THE BOOK when it comes to a biography about Houdini. I remember Ken once telling me, "there are 10 versions for every Houdini story and if I couldn't prove the story as fact from fiction, it didn't belong in my book". 

The book is enhanced by more than one hundred photographs of Houdini and his escapes, many never before or rarely published. You have to read this book for yourself, it's simply Amazing!!

As a BONUS, this book has been inscribed and signed by the author:

"6/20/97 For Webster - Pleasure meeting you in Springfield - Ken Silverman".

The best biography about Houdini AND signed by the author, what more could you ask for? - $75.00

(I can, also, provide a NonSigned 1st Edition for $25.00)

1894-6397) THE GREAT HOUDINI BROADCASTs by Val Andrews.

Published in 1981 by Micky Hades Publications. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Staple bound with cloth tape spine.

Houdini died Halloween night, 1926, and it was reported that his secrets had been placed in a locked box to be opened in 1976 - fifty years later. The box, of course, was never found.

What if it had been?

What secrets would have been found?

This two-part fictional radio script has been prepared by the well known British writer Val Andrews.

It is based on the many events which surrounded Houdini's life.

The first part is a series of interviews with six of Houdini's friends, giving a background and insight into the personality of the man.

The second part deals with the opening of the box.

1794-1398) THE NEW MAGICIAN'S MANUAL by Walter B. Gibson. Paperbound with 142 pages, including the inserted sheets of cardboard "apparatus" required for certain of the tricks. Original copyright is 1936, the edition offered here is first publication in 1975 by Dover Publications, Inc., New York.

Chapters include: Impromptu Magic - Table Magic - Card Magic - Oriental Magic - Mental Magic - Programs of Magic - Additional Magic.

The BONUS offering is: this book is Personally signed by Walter B. Gibson to Chet Karkut.

A great addition to your library from the man who gave So Much to the magic fraternity through his writings. - $50.00

1795-4944) THE GREAT ILLUSIONISTs. By Edwin A. Dawes. Hardbound with DustJacket. Copyright 1979 and measures 8"x10". Published by David & Charles. Newton Abbott, London. 216 pages.

As the book states: "By the use of splendid and often unique illustrations of prints, playbills and memorabilia, coupled with a constantly entertaining narrative, this book traces the history of conjuring and illusion through the lives and achievements of the finest practitioners of the art, conjurers whose names have, in many cases, become legend".

Chapters include: In the Beginning - The Learned Animals - Bags, Bubbles and Bottles - The Phenomena - The Conjuring Quacks - Laughing Gas - Phantasmagoric Professors - The Jewish Connexion - Wizards From The North - Science Et La Prestidigitation - They Also Conjured - Egypt and the Sphinx - Maskelyne & Cooke, Royal Illusionists - The Great Gun Trick - Sounds, Shadows and Shackles - Epilogue - References and Notes.

As Patrick Culliton puts it: "a collection of Houdini’s fiction as ever published. Despite the fact that most of the pieces in this book were actually published in various print media during his lifetime, very few people have been aware of their existence. The material in this book was quite difficult to find."

The book was published in 1992 and contains just under 100 pages. I obtained a small number of these directly from Mr. Culliton. He was even kind enough to personally sign the book.

The second part of this offering has to do with Patrick Culliton getting together with some of his Hollywood friends and recording some of the stories. Pat’s joined on the cassette tape by: David Carradine, Cherie Currie, Robert Hays, Michael Cavanaugh, Tracey Williams, Nicholas Kepros, John Blyth Barrymore, Eugia Edwards, T. A. Waters, Doug Botnick, Wendy Talley, Gail Jensen and Allan Jones. I’m sure most of you recognize some of these actors and magicians.

A great piece of work by Pat and Tracey. I Guarantee you’ll ENJOY reading and listening to these stories by Houdini. - The Book is $25.00, the Cassette $15.00 -or- the pair for $35.00

(After viewing this Books Part 2 page, please click on any of the buttons above to move to any of the other Pages)

We, at SASC, are pleased to offer a LayAway plan for those of you who would like this service. Just email for more information.

All photo's are the Copyright of Stephen A. Sparks Collectibles and may not be reproduced in any form or manner without permission of Stephen A. Sparks.