Stars of Magic

Discuss your favorite close-up tricks and methods.
Tom Gilbert
Posts: 944
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: NH
Contact:

Stars of Magic

Postby Tom Gilbert » July 8th, 2017, 10:14 am

Just received an email from Meir Yedid, he reprinted, in paperback the Stars of Magic book. He said he's changed it up a little from his hardbound edition.

User avatar
Richard Kaufman
Posts: 27047
Joined: July 18th, 2001, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Theodore DeLand
Location: Washington DC
Contact:

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby Richard Kaufman » July 8th, 2017, 11:42 am

There's a book that should only be in hardcover with properly rescreened photographs so they are as clear as in the original.
Subscribe today to Genii Magazine

Leonard Hevia
Posts: 1951
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Dai Vernon, Frank Garcia, Slydini, Houdini,
Location: Gaithersburg, Md.

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby Leonard Hevia » July 8th, 2017, 12:19 pm

Meir reprinted it in paperback as a copy that can be highlighted and notated. So you don't ruin your nice copy.

jason156
Posts: 230
Joined: August 6th, 2008, 5:38 pm
Favorite Magician: Bro. John Hamman, Simon Aronson, David Regal
Location: Central Florida

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby jason156 » July 8th, 2017, 1:43 pm

Paperback or not, I'm not sure I'd want to mark up a book I paid 35 bucks for. Just curious, what exactly are the changes in this edition?

Tom Gilbert
Posts: 944
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: NH
Contact:

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby Tom Gilbert » July 8th, 2017, 2:29 pm

I agree with Richard, wish he'd reprint the hardbound, but if he does he said it's not in the foreseeable future... The paperback, like the hardbound has enhanced photos and he said he's added some things. I'll have to look for one of Meir's hardbounds used I guess.

rpmagicshop
Posts: 40
Joined: March 10th, 2014, 2:03 pm
Favorite Magician: Michael Ammar

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby rpmagicshop » July 8th, 2017, 5:07 pm

I talked with Meir at NEMCON about reprinting the book , he said it would be to expensive in hardbound and there would have to be a large amount of interest before he did.
Rich
Also, I agree with Richard on being hardcover , books like this are far and few between and it is a classic
rpmagicshop.com

Leonard Hevia
Posts: 1951
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Dai Vernon, Frank Garcia, Slydini, Houdini,
Location: Gaithersburg, Md.

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby Leonard Hevia » July 8th, 2017, 6:33 pm

I'm just glad I had the foresight at the age of 12 in 1977 to order a copy from Tannen's. It was on the list among other classic sleight of hand texts recommended by Bill Tarr in his Now You See It Now You Don't volumes. Years later at Barry's Magic Shop I flipped through the Robbins reprint and was horrified at the low quality of the photos. It made me breathe a sigh of relief that the earlier cloth bound edition was in my collection.

If anyone wants to see the effects in this book come to life, I recommend the L & L Johnny Thompson Commercial Classic DVDs. Johnny performs many of the classic effects in this text superbly.

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4762
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby erdnasephile » July 8th, 2017, 7:28 pm

jason156 wrote:Paperback or not, I'm not sure I'd want to mark up a book I paid 35 bucks for...


I totally understand; however, I end up marking up all my books with dated notes in pen and pencil. It saves me a lot of time trying to remember ideas and variant handlings that I come up with while practicing and performing various items. I also tend to write down scross references a lot, and find this useful when I'm trying to research various effects.

User avatar
erdnasephile
Posts: 4762
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby erdnasephile » July 8th, 2017, 7:37 pm

Leonard Hevia wrote:I'm just glad I had the foresight at the age of 12 in 1977 to order a copy from Tannen's. It was on the list among other classic sleight of hand texts recommended by Bill Tarr in his Now You See It Now You Don't volumes. Years later at Barry's Magic Shop I flipped through the Robbins reprint and was horrified at the low quality of the photos. It made me breathe a sigh of relief that the earlier cloth bound edition was in my collection.

If anyone wants to see the effects in this book come to life, I recommend the L & L Johnny Thompson Commercial Classic DVDs. Johnny performs many of the classic effects in this text superbly.


In 1977, Michael Weber sold me my copy at Stan Allen's shop, and said he'd buy it back if I didn't like it. One the best investments I ever made!

How do the photos in the Tannen's hardbound printing compare with the photos in the original manuscripts? I've noticed some issues with the hardbound's photos (e.g., page 20).

PS: Ditto on the Thompson videos--they are wonderful!

Leonard Hevia
Posts: 1951
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Dai Vernon, Frank Garcia, Slydini, Houdini,
Location: Gaithersburg, Md.

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby Leonard Hevia » July 8th, 2017, 9:18 pm

erdnasephile wrote:How do the photos in the Tannen's hardbound printing compare with the photos in the original manuscripts? I've noticed some issues with the hardbound's photos (e.g., page 20).


The photos in the original manuscripts look much cleaner than the ones in my Tannen's 1975 reprint. I don't own any of the original manuscripts but I've compared the cover photos of the originals for sale on eBay with the corresponding pictures in my Tannen reprint and the originals look sharper. Evidently the quality of the photos degraded with each reprint down the line.

I.M. Magician
Posts: 1123
Joined: August 19th, 2013, 10:49 pm
Favorite Magician: All of the very best!
Location: Magicville

Re: Stars of Magic

Postby I.M. Magician » July 8th, 2017, 9:49 pm

Several years back, rumor had it that Robbins lost the original plates for the photos but I was told that it was not so. Apparently, the reprint lacked the quality that older editions had due to the way it was printed and not the source.

With today's technology, you would think that the photos could be improved to top notch quality. The last edition was supposed to include improved quality photos but I suppose compared to the Robbins edition.

I was hoping that the photos would be colorized for a deluxe edition but it appears that it will never happen. Instead, it's now a softbound book!

By the way, if I recall correctly, the first Tannen edition required an illustrated red paper paste over the book's cover due to a mistake in the title. So, one could say that this book has had a history of problems.

In spite of it all, it's still one of the best magic books ever!


Return to “Close-Up Magic”