David Abbott – Behind the Scenes with the Mediums

David Abbott – Behind the Scenes with the Mediums 

Scarce fourth edition from 1912 of “Behind the Scenes with the Mediums” by David Abbott, in very well preserved condition. The boards and binding are solid and tight save for light shelfwear. The pages are crisp and clean, save for a spot or two of foxing. A well noted spiritualist, David Abbott documents the “spirit channelling process” and exposes and explains the fraudulent “tricks” used by charlatans of the day. Please see pictures for complete Table of Contents, and below for more information on the author and his oeuvre of work.

David P. Abbott  

David Phelps Abbott (September 22, 1863 – June 12, 1934) was a magician, author and inventor who created such effects as the floating ball, later made famous by Okito. The best known of his books is Behind the Scenes with the Mediums (1907) considered to be one of the best exposures of the tricks used by mediums. One exposure being the “spirit portrait paintings” by the Bangs Sisters.

As a magician, he performed for invited guests in his private theater he built at his home from 1907 until he died. There he demonstrated his Talking Teakettle (around 1907, decades before miniature radio electronics came into use) and Talking Vase (in 1909). Abbott built his work of magic and deception on the devious principles he learned from spirit mediums. Many of the greats in magic– Kellar, Thurston, Horace Goldin, Theo Bamberg, Ching Ling Foo, Blackstone and Houdini among others–made pilgrimages to Omaha Field Club neighborhood “Mystery House” to be dumbfounded and to learn. Abbott was a friend of the magician Harry Houdini. His most well known work was Behind the Scenes with the Mediums published in 1907, which went through several editions.