$15.00
ESTATE - Condition Good
The book is a comprehensive, practical introductory guide designed to take a complete beginner—typically a child or teenager—and teach them the fundamentals of amateur stage and parlor magic. It bypasses heavy theory in favor of highly visual, step-by-step illustrated instructions.
The content is generally broken down into distinct sections based on the type of props required:
The Basics of Stagecraft (The Introduction): Before teaching any tricks, the book emphasizes the performance aspect of magic. It covers how to build a basic magician's table, how to create misdirection (getting the audience to look away from the secret action), and the importance of practice and "patter" (the script or story you tell while doing the trick).
Card Magic: A large portion of the book focuses on standard 52-card decks. It teaches basic sleights like false shuffles and cuts, leading into classic effects like "The Four Aces" and various "pick a card, any card" discovery tricks.
Dinner Table & Coin Magic: This section focuses on impromptu magic using everyday household objects. It details how to make coins disappear or pass through tables, mind-reading tricks with cutlery, and illusions using matches, string, and glassware.
Rope and Silk Magic: A guide to classic visual illusions, including "The Cut and Restored Rope" and making silk handkerchiefs vanish into thin air or change colors.
Making Your Own Illusions: True to the Octopus Books style, the back of the book usually features DIY craft guides. It teaches the reader how to use cardboard, paint, and mirrors to build classic "box" tricks at home—such as a production box to make a stuffed animal appear or a vanishing cabinet.
The Visual Style
If you remember flipping through this book, what likely stands out most is the formatting. Octopus Books relied on large, clear photographs or bold, two-color diagrams showing the trick from the magician's perspective so the reader could see exactly where to hide a coin or how to hold a card secretly