Modern Magic

[magicalt]

Does any one know what year the blue cover Mckay edition of Modern Magic was published.

[magicam]

Sometime between 1900 and 1928. Alas, the color of the cover won't be that helpful in dating the McKay editions, but the specific design of the cover and the address of the publisher would help narrow the dating.

[Nick]

The Library of Congress lists 2 copies of the David McKay edition with a publication date of 1904. But the colors of the bindings aren't given. http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebreco ... 29801&v3=1

Searching for "Hoffmann" "Modern Magic" at http://www.addall.com/Used/ brings up about 150 copies, some of which are the David McKay blue cover version. Alas, these copies don't show a date, but most of the booksellers estimate "c. 1900." I believe that the orange-covered and blue-covered David McKay versions are just variants of the same edition; so their publication dates would be the same.

[magicalt]

Thank you both very much for your help.

[magicam]

magicalt, bibliographers virtually never use binding color as a means of referencing an edition, because different cloth colors were often used when an edition was bound up, and frequently had nothing to do with the publisher, but rather the vagaries of the binder's stock of cloth. For example, many editions of Modern Magic, including the first edition, have multiple cloth colors. The foregoing is a technical point, but might be helpful to keep in mind should you want to ask for information about other books/editions in the future.

[Joe Naud]

I would check with Richard Hatch at H&R Magic Books. I have always found Richard to be extreemly helpful with things like this.
Peace, Joe

[magicalt]

Once again thanks to all for your advice. From what I have been able to determine it is from sometime during the 1920s.