Dover Books on Magic

A place where beginners can participate, ask questions, and post their views. However, beginners typically ask a lot of questions about sources, tricks, books, and so on. In fact, all magicians are interested (or should be) in the provenance of tricks, ideas, and related matters. This department will service these needs.
atkinsod
Posts: 67
Joined: February 22nd, 2012, 11:58 am
Location: USA
Contact:

Dover Books on Magic

Postby atkinsod » February 21st, 2014, 2:39 pm

I've recently posted an article on my website that lists all of the books that Dover has ever published on Magic Tricks. Are there any books that anyone knows of that are not in the list? For example, did Dover publish Hoffmann's Latest Magic or More Magic books? Also, in case you didn't already know, Dover has recently begun selling e-book versions of many of their books.

The link to the article (not yet linked from anywhere on my website yet): http://magicref.tripod.com/magref/doverbooks10.htm

Enjoy, and thanks for any additional input.

Doug Atkinson

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5962
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Bill Mullins » February 21st, 2014, 3:03 pm

That's a nice piece of work. There's a lot of overlooked magic in the Dover books, and usually at a good price. Fulves' Self-Working Table Magic is a particular favorite of mine.

It might be appropriate for the entry for Martin Gardner's Science Magic to reflect that the original Sterling edition is a compilation of MG's tricks that had been previously published in his "Martin Gardner's Corner" column in Magic Magazine, and in a similar column he wrote in Physics Teacher. (Some were in both mags, some only in one or the other.)

atkinsod
Posts: 67
Joined: February 22nd, 2012, 11:58 am
Location: USA
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby atkinsod » February 21st, 2014, 3:08 pm

Thanks, Bill. That's exactly the type of tidbits I'd like to add. I know that some were upset with Dover for grabbing up Modern Coin Magic, but overall I'd say that the Dover books have been a good service to promote magic.

I.M. Magician
Posts: 1124
Joined: August 19th, 2013, 10:49 pm
Favorite Magician: All of the very best!
Location: Magicville

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby I.M. Magician » February 21st, 2014, 3:56 pm

I must agree with you Doug in that those books have been a good service to magic. I enjoyed reading your Dover book list. It brings back memories of some Dover books I bought early on in my magic life such as MAGIC TRICKS AND CARD TRICKS by Wilfrid Jonson, MAGIC AND SHOWMANSHIP by Henning Nelms, and HOUDINI ON MAGIC by Walter Gibson.

The above titles are still among my favorites. Dover was to books what SS Adams was to tricks for a young guy starting out in magic in the old days. They were both affordable and accessible.

atkinsod
Posts: 67
Joined: February 22nd, 2012, 11:58 am
Location: USA
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby atkinsod » February 22nd, 2014, 5:15 pm

While most of the Dover books are readily available (even most of the out of print ones), a few seem to be harder to find. I expect they printed fewer copies of these books:

Hofzinser, Johann N.: Hofzinser's Card Conjuring.

Maskelyne, Nevil: Maskelyne on the Performance of Magic (Part One of Maskelyne and Devant's Our Magic) - I've never seen this one

Robert-Houdin, J.E.: King of the Conjurer: Memoirs of Robert-Houdin

Scot, Reginald: Discoverie of Witchcraft

David Linsell
Posts: 54
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Morton Grove, IL

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby David Linsell » February 22nd, 2014, 6:47 pm

To give you an idea of what these look like here off my shelve are are three of the scarce Dover titles:

Hofzinser, Johann N.: Hofzinser's Card Conjuring
(Dover published 1986)

Robert-Houdin, J.E.: King of the Conjurer: Memoirs of Robert-Houdin (Dover published 1964)

Maskelyne, Nevil: Maskelyne on the Performance of Magic (Part One of Maskelyne and Devant's Our Magic)
(Dover published 1976)

Image
Image
Image

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5962
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Bill Mullins » February 22nd, 2014, 7:59 pm

While most of the Dover books are readily available (even most of the out of print ones), a few seem to be harder to find. I expect they printed fewer copies of these books:

Hofzinser, Johann N.: Hofzinser's Card Conjuring.

Maskelyne, Nevil: Maskelyne on the Performance of Magic (Part One of Maskelyne and Devant's Our Magic) - I've never seen this one

Robert-Houdin, J.E.: King of the Conjurer: Memoirs of Robert-Houdin

Scot, Reginald: Discoverie of Witchcraft
I've seen the Hofzinser book for sale a couple of times in the last couple of years, for $40 each. I wonder if it will drop in value after the new big Hofzinser book.

The Reginald Scot book appears to still be in print.

User avatar
Richard Kaufman
Posts: 27173
Joined: July 18th, 2001, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Theodore DeLand
Location: Washington DC
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Richard Kaufman » February 22nd, 2014, 9:07 pm

Karl Fulves was behind the Dover reprint of Hofzinser, and boy was Sam Sharpe pissed off about that!
Subscribe today to Genii Magazine

Jonathan Townsend
Posts: 8749
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Westchester, NY
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Jonathan Townsend » February 22nd, 2014, 11:07 pm

Karl Fulves was behind the Dover reprint of Hofzinser
Have to thank Karl Fulves for making that book available and just at the time when I was new to magic and looking for a book on card tricks. I found it a trove of inspiring material and ideas. Card magic as vital art form was so much more appealing compared to the card game/cheating aesthetic about shuffling, dealing, finding aces...
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

User avatar
lybrary
Posts: 1169
Joined: March 31st, 2013, 4:59 pm
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby lybrary » February 23rd, 2014, 6:30 am

We retail all 3000+ Dover books as ebooks. Among them are 31 magic ebooks. You can see all Dover magic ebooks here http://www.lybrary.com/advanced_search_ ... mm-dd-yyyy
Lybrary.com Magic & Gambling
preserving magic one book at a time

atkinsod
Posts: 67
Joined: February 22nd, 2012, 11:58 am
Location: USA
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby atkinsod » February 23rd, 2014, 12:17 pm

Hey Chris,

At Lybrary.com, I could not find the following e-book that is listed at the Dove site: Fulves, Karl: Self-Working Close Up Card Magic

However, you do have listed the following e-books that are NOT currently listed (with e-books) over at Dover:
Victor, Edward: Classic Card Tricks
James, Stewart: Abbott's Encyclopedia of Rope Tricks
Sachs, Edwin: Art of Magic
Hatton & Plate: Magician's Tricks

And yes, I should have done better research: The Discoverie of Witchcraft is still available at DoverPublications.com. That's what I get for sticking to the "magic" category rather than searching the entire site. They do not list is as available in e-book format yet, though. That's one of the reasons I have formally linked to the article yet - it needs a bit more fine-tuning!

Thanks so much.

User avatar
lybrary
Posts: 1169
Joined: March 31st, 2013, 4:59 pm
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby lybrary » February 23rd, 2014, 3:39 pm

I do have "Self Working Card Tricks" by Fulves, but I guess that is a different title, or maybe just a title change. Dover sometimes likes to change the title and cover for marketing reasons.
Lybrary.com Magic & Gambling
preserving magic one book at a time

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5962
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Bill Mullins » February 23rd, 2020, 11:55 pm

A history of Dover. Apparently the new ownership is changing the direction of the company. I hope they keep the magic books.

User avatar
Zig Zagger
Posts: 508
Joined: March 20th, 2008, 6:59 pm
Favorite Magician: Aldo Colombini
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Zig Zagger » February 24th, 2020, 4:44 pm

Thank you for posting that link. A very interesting read on the Dover Book history and their overall contributions to the publishing industry!

Since the old links above provided by atkinsod and Chris Wasshuber six years ago do not seem to work anymore, I have tried to update them:

https://magicref.net/magref/doverbooksonmagic.htm

https://www.lybrary.com/search.php?keywords=Dover
Tricks, tips, news, interviews, musings and fun stuff: Have a look at our English-German magic blog! http://www.zzzauber.com
Advancing the art in magic one post at a time (yeah, right!)

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5962
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Bill Mullins » June 16th, 2020, 3:54 pm

LSC Communications, the company that owns Dover, is going through bankruptcy.

Ted M
Posts: 1196
Joined: January 24th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Dani DaOrtiz
Location: Madison, WI

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Ted M » June 16th, 2020, 7:39 pm

Nooooooooooooooooo!

MagicbyAlfred
Posts: 2399
Joined: June 7th, 2015, 12:48 pm
Favorite Magician: Bill Malone
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby MagicbyAlfred » June 16th, 2020, 9:02 pm

Nooooooooooooooooo!
No worries, Ted, in all likelihood they will survive. It's a Chapter 11 reorganization and restructuring, as opposed to a belly-up Chapter 13 complete (go-out-of-business) bankruptcy. Under the Chapter 11 scenario, debts to creditors are paid or partially repaid, on a manageable schedule, according to a plan submitted to and approved by the Bankruptcy court. Under a Chapter 11 plan, unlike Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a business can stay open and keep operating, even while the Chapter 11 proceedings are pending. It's no absolute guarantee of the company's long-term survival, but businesses that go through Chapter 11 often make it and continue to be viable...

Richard Hatch
Posts: 2108
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Providence, Utah
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Richard Hatch » June 16th, 2020, 10:48 pm

Doug, a couple of small corrections:
On Dover's reprint of Sharpe's translation of Fischer's Hofzinser's Card Conjuring: Although the original book was written in German, it was written in Austria, not Germany (1910) and though Sharpe's original edition was published in London in 1931, the Dover edition is a reprint of Fulves' Gutenberg Press edition of 1973, which included some corrections and additions by Sharpe (the Dover edition omits the color plate of Hofzinser cards included in the Fulves edition). I had Sam Sharpe sign my copy of the Dover edition and he wrote on the title page: "Dirty tricks edition for Dick Hatch, Sam Sharpe 1986". My recollection is that after Sam, as the copyright holder, complained to Dover, they made a token payment to him ($150? I have the figure in correspondence somewhere) in lieu of royalties. This may have led to their decision not to keep the book in print.

My copy of the Dover edition of Robert-Houdin's Memoirs says it is an "unabridged" reprint of the 1942 T. Werner Laurie Ltd. edition, "to which have been added a new Introduction, Appendix and Notes prepared by Milbourne Christopher."

Thanks for maintaining this site on Dover publications, very helpful to bibliographers!
Incidentally, back when I was running H & R Magic Books with Charlie Randall, we got a pre-publication advertisement from Dover for an edition of Harry Lorayne's Close Up Card Magic. The ad copy made it clear that they thought Harry was no longer among the living. He was notified and was able to kill the publication.

User avatar
Topovich
Posts: 47
Joined: March 4th, 2020, 7:39 pm

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Topovich » July 6th, 2020, 10:18 am

Some of the titles in the Dover series are under-rated and often go relatively unnoticed. A good example is Allan Zola Kronzek's A Book of Magic for Young Magicians.

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5962
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Bill Mullins » February 2nd, 2021, 1:57 pm

Despite the aforementioned bankruptcy, Dover is still alive. They are having a 20%-off sale in honor of Groundhog's Day. This may be your best chance to get a copy of "My Butt is so Noisy."

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5962
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Bill Mullins » February 2nd, 2021, 2:03 pm

And glancing at their magic books, I see Gilbert's Table Magic: Coin and Handkerchief Tricks by Alfred C. Gilbert, which isn't on Doug's master list posted above. Is this a new release, or was it just missed previously?

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5962
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Bill Mullins » February 2nd, 2021, 2:19 pm

And other apparently recent books from Dover:
Ellis Stanyon Magic
Alexander Herrmann Herrmann the Great's Wizard Manual:
August Roterberg New Era Card Tricks
Matt Patterson How to Make a Living as a Professional Magician
Arthur Good Magical Experiments
Diamond Jim Tyler Bar Bets to Win Big Bucks
Anonymous The Practical Magician and Ventriloquist's Guide
Harry Houdini The Right Way to do Wrong
Louis Nikola The Complete Book of Hand Shadows

Joe Lyons
Posts: 904
Joined: November 13th, 2017, 8:27 am
Favorite Magician: Wonder
Location: Texas

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Joe Lyons » February 2nd, 2021, 2:53 pm

If you search the Dover site for Magic under relevance you'll get a nice selection in the first few pages of results.

Just don't search by popularity - it will take a while to find something about prestidigitation.

User avatar
Topovich
Posts: 47
Joined: March 4th, 2020, 7:39 pm

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Topovich » February 2nd, 2021, 4:10 pm

Diamond Jim Tyler Bar Bets to Win Big Bucks
This is one I didn't know about. I love Diamond Jim's Bamboozlers series, and it looks like this is a recycling of some of that material.

Ad copy: "Between these covers you’ll find 67 illustrated feats ... This is a collection of “bar bets only” from the Bamboozlers series."

User avatar
JimKane
Posts: 42
Joined: June 16th, 2021, 1:06 am
Favorite Magician: Shimada

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby JimKane » July 27th, 2021, 1:18 pm

One Dover book on magic which is often and sadly under-included on the Suggested Further Reading lists frequently contained within books on General Magic is: 'Magic and Showmanship', by Hemming Nelms. Why this book does not get the institutionalized high-praise and notoriety along the lines of Fitzkee's 'Showmanship for Magicians', or, Burling Hull's 'Gold Medal Showmanship for Magicians and Mentalists', has always mystified me.

User avatar
Topovich
Posts: 47
Joined: March 4th, 2020, 7:39 pm

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Topovich » July 27th, 2021, 10:14 pm

I've often seen Hemming Nelms book mentioned alongside Fitzkee and others as an essential read about showmanship.

I agree with Jim that it's well worth getting.

User avatar
Gordon Meyer
Posts: 334
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Uri
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Gordon Meyer » July 28th, 2021, 1:00 pm

I completely agree, the Nelms book is an often overlooked gem. During lockdown, I revisited it after decades of neglect, and really enjoyed it. I stashed some notes about my reading here: https://gordon.typepad.com/magic/2021/0 ... d-gem.html

Andy
Posts: 9
Joined: March 20th, 2008, 4:52 pm

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Andy » July 31st, 2021, 11:36 am

I loved the Nelms book. My doctoral dissertation was on Piaget and a child’s understanding of magic. I used the categories of magic tricks to identify simple tricks that represented each cateogory, had a child watch a video presentation by me, and then respond to a series of questions. It was helpful

User avatar
JimKane
Posts: 42
Joined: June 16th, 2021, 1:06 am
Favorite Magician: Shimada

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby JimKane » August 1st, 2021, 4:49 am

I completely agree, the Nelms book is an often overlooked gem. During lockdown, I revisited it after decades of neglect, and really enjoyed it. I stashed some notes about my reading here: https://gordon.typepad.com/magic/2021/0 ... d-gem.html
Gordon, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the piece you wrote on your blog about the Nelms book. Excellent. Thanks for sharing and for posting the link. - Jim

Steve Hook
Posts: 838
Joined: October 21st, 2008, 11:50 am
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Steve Hook » August 1st, 2021, 6:13 pm

I completely agree, the Nelms book is an often overlooked gem. During lockdown, I revisited it after decades of neglect, and really enjoyed it. I stashed some notes about my reading here: https://gordon.typepad.com/magic/2021/0 ... d-gem.html
I agree with Jim Kane, Gordon. I really enjoyed your review. I, too, say "Thanks!"

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5962
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Bill Mullins » January 26th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Doug -- if you still follow this thread, here are two items to add to your master list.

The Magic Mirror -- I've never seen one, but it is reviewed in Genii Jan 1981. Apparently it is a sheet of aluminized mylar to be rolled into a tube, and placed on any of a selection of distorted pictures. The picture is highly distorted, but its reflection in the tube is normal. See here. Not to be confused with Dover's "Magic Mirror Coloring Book."

Master Magic -- a boxed set including 3 Dover books (Self-Working Handkerchief Magic, Self-Working Coin Magic, and Self-Working Card Tricks), two handkerchiefs/scarves, and a deck of cards. See here or here. Also seen under the title "Magic" with the same contents plus three coins. See here. (I wonder if the coins were custom struck for Dover, and would be collectable as magic tokens?)

Tarotist
Posts: 1544
Joined: July 29th, 2021, 7:16 am
Favorite Magician: David Nixon

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Tarotist » January 26th, 2024, 5:01 pm

I think the Nelms book is bloody awful and should be publicly burned.

Bob Farmer
Posts: 3385
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Short card above selection.

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Bob Farmer » January 26th, 2024, 6:17 pm

The Nelms book has excellent theory and terrible examples of tricks to illustrate the theory.

Tarotist
Posts: 1544
Joined: July 29th, 2021, 7:16 am
Favorite Magician: David Nixon

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Tarotist » January 26th, 2024, 11:06 pm

Coincidentally I was discussing the Nelms book on Facebook recently. Whit Haydn joined in and interestingly enough he wasn't keen on it either. I do know that some years ago Geoffrey Durham described the book as "sterile and unhelpful"

User avatar
Christopher1979
Posts: 571
Joined: January 23rd, 2017, 10:46 am
Favorite Magician: Ricky Jay, Dai Vernon, Darwin Ortiz, Ed Marlo
Location: Phoenix AZ
Contact:

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Christopher1979 » January 27th, 2024, 11:55 am

Coincidentally I was discussing the Nelms book on Facebook recently. Whit Haydn joined in and interestingly enough he wasn't keen on it either. I do know that some years ago Geoffrey Durham described the book as "sterile and unhelpful"
I used to watch a lot of Geoffrey Durham growing up. I liked his presentation of many magic effects.
Auctions & Consignment for Historic Memorabilia and Collectibles
https://www.britannicauctions.com/magic-collectibles/

Tarotist
Posts: 1544
Joined: July 29th, 2021, 7:16 am
Favorite Magician: David Nixon

Re: Dover Books on Magic

Postby Tarotist » January 27th, 2024, 12:41 pm

I have often wondered whether he ever worked in Selfridges. He looks and talks just like a guy I knew there. Probably not because that guy was not a magician.


Return to “Reference Room”