Magic 1400s-1950s by Noel Daniel, Mike Caveney, Ricky Jay, Jim Steinmeyer

(Be aware that this is NOT the original HUGE (15″ x 10.5″ x 2″) Taschen book on stage magic issued in 2009. It is still a large book though: 13″ x 9″ x 1″. The loss in thickness comes about because it has only English text, whereas the original had text in English, French, and German; this takes up fewer pages, which means that some of the huge number of posters for magic acts, photographs of acts and magicians, etc. are also omitted. So, you’re losing something relative to the original but like its immense predecessor, this is still a beautiful book that belongs in the collection of anyone with an interest in stage magic.)

Effect: Magic has enchanted humankind for millennia, evoking terror, laughter, shock, and amazement. Once persecuted as heretics and sorcerers, magicians have always been conduits to a parallel universe of limitless possibility – whether invoking spirits, reading minds, or inverting the laws of nature by sleight of hand. Long before science fiction, virtual realities, video games and the internet, the craft of magic was the most powerful fantasy world man had ever known. As the pioneers of special effects throughout history, magicians have never ceased to mystify us by making the impossible possible.

This book celebrates more than 500 years of the dazzling visual culture of the world’s greatest magicians. It traces the history of magic as a performing art from the 1400s to the 1950s. Combining sensational images with lucid and incisive text, Magic explores the evolution of the magician’s craft, from medieval street performers to the brilliant stage magicians who gave rise to cinematic special effects; from the 19th century’s Golden Age of Magic to groundbreaking daredevils like Houdini and the early 20th century’s vaudevillians.

The Authors:

Jim Steinmeyer is the author of many books on magic history and practice, including Los Angeles Times best seller Hiding the Elephant (2004) and The Glorious Deception (2006). He has created deceptions featured by magicians such as Doug Henning, David Copperfield, and Siegfried and Roy, and critically acclaimed illusions for Broadway hits Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, and Into the Woods.

Mike Caveney is a writer, collector, professional magician, and the publisher of over 50 books on the theory, practice, and history of magic. His biographical works include Kellar’s Wonders (2003) with Bill Miesel, and Carter the Great (1995). An avid collector and performer for over four decades, he has appeared onstage or on TV in more than 20 countries.

The Contributing Author: Ricky Jay, who has contributed the introduction to this book, is one of the world’s great sleight of hand artists, and a distinguished actor, historian, and best-selling author. His Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women and Jay’s Journal of Anomalies were both New York Times “Notable Books of the Year,” and he defined the terms of his art for The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre and Encyclopedia Britannica.

The Editor: Noel Daniel is a graduate of Princeton University and a former Fulbright Scholar to Berlin. Her TASCHEN publications include TATTOO 1730s-1950s, Kay Nielsen’s A Thousand and One Nights and East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, Wintertime Tales, Magic, and The Circus.