Revelation has landed

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caveman
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Revelation has landed

Postby caveman » June 22nd, 2008, 8:34 pm

Finished copies of the regular edition of Revelation arrived in Pasadena and by coincidence, the following day, Michael Albright who did such a beautiful job of designing this book and David Ben and Julie Eng from Toronto who were also instrumental in making this project happen, stopped by for a visit. To say that we are all thrilled and delighted with the finished product is an understatement. The book quite simply took our breath away. The whole team could not be more proud.
We are shipping books out as fast as we can and they should start arriving in mailboxes this week. We know what Jamy thought of it, now we would like to know what you think. From the dustjacket to the printed endsheets and tipped-in vellum, to the added material and the restored photos of the Professor's hands. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
The deluxe edition (which sold out in five days) will be here very shortly.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Richard Kaufman » June 22nd, 2008, 8:39 pm

We're not honored by Mr.Caveney's presence here very often (and perhaps it's the first time). So make him feel welcome and answer his question when your copy arrives.

In the meantime, for those of you who didn't get to read Jamy's review of "Revelation" in the July issue yet, here it is:

Books Reviewed
By Jamy Ian Swiss

Revelation
Dai Vernon $65
This is the book I have always wanted to write. So begins Revelation, Dai Vernons companion volume to Erdnases Expert at the Card Table. Vernon produced the 50 typed pages of his manuscript between 1959 and 1961, by which time he had been inspired and fascinated by Erdnases seminal text for more than half a century. Despite Vernons intention to publish the book immediatelynot unlike Erdnase, Vernon too was in need of the moneyit did not see print until 1984, when Mike Caveney published it as Revelations.

That publication was met with controversy that has lingered ever since. The legend of Vernons book had grown to mythological proportions during the more than 20 years of its convoluted pathway to publication. By the time the book reached the light of day, readers were convinced that at least one of its longtime caretakers, Persi Diaconis, had deliberately withheld some of the original content. Multiple factors had contributed to fueling that interpretation, including the long delay in publication; Diaconiss statement in an introduction he contributed to that volume that We are all sad to see the material we have treasured see the light of day, (Diaconis, in the aftermath of the books release, was reputed to have bemoaned the fact that he hated seeing the animals using tools); the fact that much of Vernons work had drifted out through other sources, both above and below ground, over the years of delay; and as well, the ambitious design of the book itself, which, in a sincere attempt to provide a useful tool for the student, partly served to visually overwhelm Vernons contributions with a great deal of white space (in the margins in which Vernons comments were sprinkled), as well as with the facsimile text of The Expert itself.

To serious students, however, Revelations remains vibrant, intriguing, and invaluable. Just as Erdnases original volume seems to yield fresh gems every time one returns to mine its resistant yet precious ore, Vernons own additions can still serve as gold to the modern treasure hunters of card craft. In my own current reading, I was pleasantly reminded of a technique I had forgottenVernons touches on Erdnases Blind Shuffle for Securing Selected Cardthat warrants inclusion in anyones day-to-day technical arsenal (and also works exceedingly well following a Spectator Peek).

Cut to the crimpor rather, to 2007when publisher Mike Caveney was considering a long-awaited reprint of the 1984 release. Meanwhile, David Ben was consumed with researching all things Vernon for his planned two-volume biography (the first volume of Dai Vernon: A Biography was reviewed in the July 2006 Genii). In 2005, sources had given him access to a stunning treasure lode: the original typed manuscript of Revelation, along with not one but two sets of photographs of Vernons hands. Both sets of photos, intended as illustrations, had been misplaced over the years, significantly contributing to the long delays in the books original publication.

Given these remarkable resources, Mr. Ben contacted Mr. Caveney and proposed a remarkable new version of Revelation. The missing link between the two collaborators was also, by chance, quickly filled in, in the person of graphic designer Michael Albrightwho had recently designed The Vernon Toucha lifelong student of magic who had known Vernon since Mr. Albrights adolescence. The team was in place, and the project began.

And what a daunting undertaking it must have been. The collaborators were faced with attempting to integrate Vernons book, Erdnases book, not one but two sets of photographs, along with additional items that David Ben had also uncovered, some of which Vernon had intended all along to add to Revelation, others which had the potential to be included, the better to create a unique and indeed unprecedented volume of Vernoniana. The obstacles should not be minimized. There were hundreds of Revelations photographs, none of which were explicitly coded to the text. There were other Vernon photos, often in poor condition, of uncertain origin, depicting tantalizing mysteries. There were pages of hand-written notes. These were materials not only of another time, but born of multiple times. The enormous challengeshistorical, intellectual, and artisticwould be to put it together so as to produce both a worthy tribute as well a lasting, practicable tool.

I believe that these responsibilitiesto past, present, and futurehave been met to an extraordinary degree. Revelation is a masterpiece of concept, content, and design.

The experience of this bookand the book is an experience, an adventure, a wonderbegins with an eye-catching dustjacket, featuring two never-before published photographic portraits of Dai Vernon taken by Ross BertramVernons friend and colleague, and mentor to David Ben. Opening the over-sized volume, the reader is faced with a full-page frontispiece photograph, a close-up image of Dai Vernons left hand holding a pack in the manner of illustration number two from Erdnases first technical entry, his system of blind shuffles; overlaying this photo is a vellum sheet imprinted with a perfectly aligned enlargement of the matching Erdnase line drawing. The combined result is a stunningly elegant conceptionand the ensuing 378 pages are a fitting match for this beautiful entrance.

In an opening publishers note, Mr. Caveney explains his own involvement with the books history, offering along the way the surprising factproven in these pagesthat not only had all of Vernons annotations appeared in our 1984 edition, but that furthermore, additional material from Persi [Diaconis]s more recent conversations with the Professor had also been included in the original edition. Rather than content having been excised from Vernons manuscript, material had actually been added and expanded. Those entries are also included here, but are now carefully distinguished from Vernons original manuscript by being been set within square brackets. The publisher also explains how the book, originally titled Revelation by Vernon, came to be previously released as Revelations, a difference that will, as it turns out, always serve to conveniently distinguish between the two editions.

The designer, Michael Albright, next offers a charming and heartfelt four pages about his personal history with The Professor. Mr. Albright explains that Vernon showed me how to practice. He taught me the importance of detail. He helped me understand effect from a spectators point of view. But I think it is important to note, and should become obvious to readers of this volume, that Mr. Albright is not merely speaking of lessons learned about magic. Certainly they were teachings communicated to him in the context of magic, but clearly Mr. Albright has incorporated these lessons into his work as a designertraits he shares, I might add, with his collaborator, David Ben. Vernon was still working on the Diagonal Palm Shift as he neared the end of his life in Los Angelesthere are still Vernon moves and refinements from those late days that have yet to see publication. Perhaps Vernon provided a model for the kind of attention to detail that led Mr. Albright to make certain that every illustration in Revelation accompanies its pertinent text on the same page; no page need ever be turned in search of a photograph. I recall Michael Skinner, yet another Vernon acolyte and a legendary sleight-of-hand artist, once telling me that for all that The Professor had taught him about magic, the most important lessons he had learned from Vernon were about life, and how to live it.

There are those who will say that it seems impossible, given the details of Vernons personal life, that he would have valuable life lessons to offer anyone. This is a foolish and narrow view of the human condition. It has become fashionable in some quarters to take a revisionist view of many aspects of Vernons life. But in the consideration of art, we must invariably come face to face with the need to trust the art, not the artistand to do otherwise is to deny ones self appreciation of much, if not most, of the worlds greatest art, since very little of it was ever produced by perfect beings. Who would truly look to the likes of Pablo Picasso or Frank Sinatra as moral exemplars?

It is doubtless true that Vernon was not cut out to be a conventional husband, father, and provider. He, and his family, all paid prices for his obsession and for his genius; his son, Derek, once revealingly said that As a magician, Vernon was a great magician. And as a father, Vernon wasa great magician. But it would be a grave mistake to suggest that somehow these flaws rendered it impossible for Vernon to offer personal strengths and value to a lifetime of friends and colleaguesand hence Michael Albright, like Skinner before him and countless others, can offer praise and gratitude for the gifts and guidance they received firsthand. Revelation is a book of instruction in craft and artErdnase offers that readers should compose their own monologues in keeping with their particular personality, purely artistic counsel that Vernon endorses and adds, should be underlined and imprinted upon the memory. Revelation represents a substantial foundationperhaps even a cornerstone, when we look back on itto the edifice that comprises Vernons profound influence on the art and craft of 20th century conjuring.

David Bens introduction begins: There is a fine line between passion and obsession. By dint of both, Mr. Ben has become one of Vernons most important interpreters and historians. And alongside his exquisitely researched biography now stands Revelation as, I dare say, perhaps an equally important and powerful contribution to the Vernon legacy and to future generations of our art. Mr. Bens 13-page introduction is filled with pertinent details gleaned from his intense study of Vernons life and work, and includes an array of startling images, inaugurating the parade of visual wonders to follow. Here, for example, is a postcard Vernon wrote on May 11, 1961, to his friend Willis Kenney, announcing that he was in Missouri (at the home of Faucett Ross), attempting to bring Revelationan analysis and commentary on the Erdnase opusto completion. (In my own research some years ago in the Ken Klosterman collection, I found a letter dated April 16th, a few weeks earlier, that Vernon had written to John Braun, containing similar news: Am spending a few weeks with my old friend Faucett Ross and we having [sic] been working steadily on a book devoted to a discussion and analysis of Erdnase. This has been tentatively titled REVELATION. Vernon added, Hope to have it on the market within the next few months.)

Describing his experience of reading the original manuscript for the first time, Mr. Ben observes, The first thing that struck me when poring through these pages was Vernons voice. This leads us unmistakably to the next portion of the book: A page-by-page facsimile of Vernons original typescript manuscript. The decision to include this is a marvelous and insightful choiceit is not merely clever design and it certainly is not padding. Although I have read the 1984 Revelations countless times, the opportunity to sit and read the book from first page to last in one continuous piece delivers a radical new vision of the work. Divided merely into footnotes and factoids, one grasps little sense of Vernons voice or vision. But presented as a whole, one is suddenly taken by the breath and depth of Vernons passion and personality. Suddenly, one sees it as he intendedas an actual book, and whats more, as the book [he] always wanted to write.

Although Vernon was a capable writer, he never felt compelled to commit his thoughts to the permanent record. He could not have been further in style and personality from the obsessive nature of an Ed Marlo, desperate to record every thought as if it was a jewel, unable or unwilling to tell the treasure from the turds. Vernon was more interested in polishing the gems and flushing the rest, and would rather have a session or chase down another hustler than sit at home and preserve the record. Although Lewis Ganson, as Vernons frequent amanuensis, often failed to grasp the depth and detail of Vernons work, Vernon found little cause for concern; Ganson was a nice man, hard-working and sincere of intent, and that was good enough.

In this context, it is interesting to note that Revelation was the book that Vernon kept for himself. Lewis Ganson could not have done justice to it; Faucett Ross, though Vernon did not consider him sufficiently sophisticated to share the secret of the Kennedy Center Deal with him, nevertheless was far more capable of helping Vernon to gather his thoughts about Erdnase and record them on paper. (It is also notable in this vein that Vernon wrote the 1941 manuscript Select Secrets himself, and that the description of his top palmdubbed therein as Topping the Deckis the best description extant, despite at least three other significant descriptions in the literature. Vernons description is now reprinted in this Revelation thanks to the discovery of a set of photographs of Vernons hands illustrating the move and which now accompany ityet another stellar added value to this production.)

And so, at last, to the body of the book. As Michael Albright said to me, This is Vernonnot Erdnase, and that wise and deliberate prioritization is reflected in Mr. Albrights incomparable design choices. There is no facsimile of Erdnase, as there was in the 1984 edition; there is no reproduction of Erdnases elaborate title page or humorous preface. However, the entire working content of The Expert at the Card Table has been newly typeset, in a font equivalent to the original; similarly, all the original illustrations are included, albeit that all have been retouched for clarity and cleanliness. This material has appeared before and so, despite its remarkable depth and breadthincluding Vernons description of the riffle cull work belonging to The Mysterious Kid, a.k.a. Dad StevensI shall not take space to inventory it all here. Keep in mind however, that those of us who studied this material in the 1984 edition now get to see it all in an abundance of fresh light, as much of the workfrom the Stevens cull riffle to the Diagonal Palm Shiftis now accompanied by 168 rediscovered, never-before-seen photographs of Vernons hands illustrating the sleights.

The books design is built around a flexible but consistent grid, which strives to integrate Vernon, Erdnase, and the astonishing illustrations. That the design reads so effortlessly is testament to the degree of thought and effort that Mssrs. Ben and Albright expended in solving these sizeable challenges. Mr. Vernons text is always prominent and apparent, set in a more modern sans-serif font than that of Erdnase, and always two-columns wide rather than the single column width of the Erdnase text. The overall style of the design reflects a sense of the time in which Vernon produced his manuscript, namely the late 50s and early 60s. It is a difficult thing to incorporate differing fonts without damaging the look and feel of a book, as well as its readability. That every single photograph in the bookthe illustrative photographs, the portraiture and other snapshots, and even original Polaroidswas individually retouched by Mr. Albright in order to maximize both eye appeal and visual consistency is an all but inconceivable task in itself.

The book is a visual joya design that is never clever for its own sake, but provides ingenious, tasteful, and sophisticated solutions to genuine problems presented by the content. The results are breathtaking, and the totality of the effect amounts to a profoundly important historical artifact, an essential manual of our craft fleshed out with exciting new discoveries, all delivered in a package that amounts to a publishing objet dart.

And still, there is moremore than 100 pages of newly appended material. It begins with Walter Scotts belly cut, described in Mr. Bens introduction The bulk of the new content however begins immediately following the completion of the original Revelation, starting with Vernons work on the cheating maneuver known as The Spread, including a facsimile of Vernons hand-written instructions, accompanied by a dozen photographs. This is followed by a Three-Card Trick for Draw Poker, not a card trick at all but a cheating strategy for partners hustling in a six, seven, or eight-handed game.

The Cull and Stock begins with a letter, reproduced here and then subsequently typeset, which Vernon sent to Faucett Ross in 1963. Vernon provides a thorough description of this highly deceptive gambling demonstration of card control. In this, the performer announces his lucky pair and then further shuffles the pack. He asks the spectator to name any number of hands, whereupon the performer deals that number of five-card hands. In the course of the deal the performer deals himself the named pair followed eventually by the remaining matching pair, completing the four of a kind on the fifth and final card . Vernon also recounts an amusing tale of how Ed Marlo was thoroughly fooled by Persi Diaconis using both this demonstration, and by his execution of the Zarrow Shuffle in another (unidentified) effect. The letter, from a then 69-year-old Vernon, reveals a bit of the Professors sense of humor and personality. take care of yourself, he writes to his old friend, Faucett Ross. we certainly want to be around to see what the boys on Mars and Venus are using in place of the Center Deal and the Parasol Trick.

Next comes The Hop, a hustlers tabled shift, again provided both with a facsimile of Vernons notes, a typeset version, and accompanying photos of Vernons hands. This is followed by the aforementioned reprinted description of Topping the Deck accompanied by newly discovered photos of Vernons hands.

Next is reprinted an extraordinary letter, typed on linen, from Faucett Ross to T. Nelson Downs, reportinga mere four days after the eventon Vernons discovery of the card cheat Allen Kennedy and his remarkable Center Deal. In an accompanying commentary by Karl Johnson (author of The Magician and the Card Sharp, his entertaining and superbly researched history of Vernons search for the middle deal), Mr. Johnson declares that, The letter is, immediately, stunning to behold. This is true partly thanks to the remarkable materialsa letter and envelope constructed in linen by Vernons talented wife, Jeanne. But the artifact is also remarkable because, having only recently come to light, it provides yet another unarguable piece of evidence of the facts and timing of Vernons discovery of Allen Kennedy and his mysterious Center Deal. Those who would, in the face of such timely and incontrovertible exhibits, continue to deny the reality that Vernon indeed met whom he met, learned what he learned, and led the life that he lived, render themselves as stubbornly misguided as those handful among us who would still insist the earth is flat.

Included in this expansive section on the Center Deal is a somewhat comical article that appeared in a pulp magazine called Bold in 1954, recounting the myth of the Center Deal and getting most of the particulars wrong. Then the true mechanics of the sleight are presented, first in the form of a reprint of the Ross Bertram description from Magic and Methods of Ross Bertram, accompanied by the photos of Vernons hands that appeared in the Bertram volume. These photos however have been scanned from the original Polaroids, and further retouched, so their quality is far superior even to the images that appeared with the original description. Following this, David Ben provides seven pages of reflection and commentary on the Kennedy deal, expanding on material he published previously in Genii, and accompanied by 11 additional photographs of his own hands providing details of the technique. For the record, this now comprises the definitive instructive description of the Kennedy Center Deal.

The next segment reprints the classic Eddie McGuire description of the Walter Scott Second Deal, newly accompanied by 11 photographs of Dai Vernons hands illustrating the technique. There are some readers out there who will now be shaking their heads in wondermentas I was when I first saw the originals several years agoand wiping anticipatory drool from their lips. This chapter concludes with a breathtaking photograph of the famed New York Walter Scott session group, including Downs, Max Holden, Horowitz, McClauglin, Baker, McGuire, Cardini, and a blindfolded Walter Scott.

The following chapter features the Ping Pong Shift, a sleight that has been shrouded in mystery for decades, and appeared above ground in a tantalizing reference in the first volume of David Bens biography of Vernon; interest was further fueled recently by a description that appeared in the first volume of the Bruce Cervon Castle Notebooks. This segment, and several to follow, is written by Mr. Ben, and I daresay there are few individuals on the scene today who possess the requisite depth and breath of expertisemuch less the determined curiosityrequired to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of Vernons obscure pursuits that this entire project must have presented him with, and that is exemplified in these detailed explorations in the appended material. And so, in the case of the Ping Pong shift, Mr. Ben provides 10 pages of description, accompanied by photos of Vernons handsphotos taken by Jeanne Verner, printed from original negatives which Mr. Ben discovered in his archivesattempting to piece together the mystery. Yet one mystery still remains: Owl Turns Head. I have my own theory about what it means, but readers will doubtless enjoy formulating theirs.

Finally, the appended material concludes with what Mr. Ben has dubbed perfect the good, his analysis of two sets of photographs, reproduced in the book, of Vernon executing a gamblers tabled shift. Mr. Ben provides his best interpretation of what Vernon might have been doing and whyand has produced an extremely deceptive tool in the process that aficionados of such methodology will enjoy studying.

Have I adequately expressed the thrill of this remarkable book? My joy in reading it? My anticipation of savoring it in the years to come? Its true that I am fortunate enough to have paged through the original manuscript of Revelation; I sat across from Vernon as he discussed and demonstrated the Diagonal Palm Shift, and explained why he thought that his notion of twisting the deck after executing the Erdnase Top Palmas described in Revelationwasnt such a good idea after all. But now, the opportunity to read the unabridged text of Revelation in one continuous narrative, to study the Top Palm while seeing the Professors hands perfectly demonstrating the mechanicsone is presented with the next best thing: a personal lesson, the sense of a face-to-face encounter, that reminds me of the times I was that near to him, and may help bring many others, in the years to come, perhaps as close as it is still possible to get. The book is nothing less than a revelation.

Revelation * Dai Vernon * additional material by David Ben * 9 x 11 1/2 hardbound with dust jacket * 392 pages * lavishly illustrated with approximately 200 photographs * Mike Caveneys Magic Words; $65.00 + $5 Postage U.S.; Canada add $24 airmail postage; International add $40 airmail postage * A limited deluxe edition of 150 copies has already sold out.
Last edited by Richard Kaufman on June 22nd, 2008, 10:58 pm, edited 0 times in total.
Reason: Ease of reading Jamy's review
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Chris Aguilar
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Chris Aguilar » June 22nd, 2008, 10:42 pm

Some line breaks between the paragraphs would really help here.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Jim Maloney » June 22nd, 2008, 10:58 pm

Chris has a point. I've taken the liberty of editing the editor.

-Jim
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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Richard Kaufman » June 22nd, 2008, 11:57 pm

Thank you, Jim, for editing: I was being extremely lazy when I pasted in the text.
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DrDanny
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby DrDanny » June 22nd, 2008, 11:57 pm

Jeez, I was stoked for this book already. Now Jamy's put me High Alert. I may have to take the week off to lay in wait for the postman.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby castawaydave » June 23rd, 2008, 12:50 am

Well put DrDanny.

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Jinx
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Jinx » June 23rd, 2008, 6:18 pm

I got mine today.. This thing is so nice.. I plan on reading it all night long! Good job guys.
"There's a lot of good magic in that book, to bad you have to have skill to do most of it".

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Ian Kendall » June 23rd, 2008, 7:05 pm

One question - will the book be available from dealers, or must we order from the source (which may not be a bad thing)? Adding 40 dollars for postage does put the book somewhat out of budget :(

Take care, Ian
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby PickaCard » June 24th, 2008, 10:47 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:Books Reviewed
By Jamy Ian Swiss

Revelation
Dai Vernon
That publication was met with controversy that has lingered ever since. The legend of Vernons book had grown to mythological proportions during the more than 20 years of its convoluted pathway to publication. By the time the book reached the light of day, readers were convinced that at least one of its longtime caretakers, Persi Diaconis, had deliberately withheld some of the original content. Multiple factors had contributed to fueling that interpretation, including the long delay in publication; Diaconiss statement in an introduction he contributed to that volume that We are all sad to see the material we have treasured see the light of day, (Diaconis, in the aftermath of the books release, was reputed to have bemoaned the fact that he hated seeing the animals using tools); the fact that much of Vernons work had drifted out through other sources, both above and below ground, over the years of delay; and as well, the ambitious design of the book itself, which, in a sincere attempt to provide a useful tool for the student, partly served to visually overwhelm Vernons contributions with a great deal of white space (in the margins in which Vernons comments were sprinkled), as well as with the facsimile text of The Expert itself.

[...]

In an opening publishers note, Mr. Caveney explains his own involvement with the books history, offering along the way the surprising factproven in these pagesthat not only had all of Vernons annotations appeared in our 1984 edition, but that furthermore, additional material from Persi [Diaconis]s more recent conversations with the Professor had also been included in the original edition.



Jamy,

I am very skeptical that all of Vernons annotations were included in the original Revelations. As such, I am skeptical that they are all in the new edition as well.

For more than 20 years, I have heard from many magicians, read in many magazines and news groups on the internet that a lot of the annotations were removed.

Why did Mike Caveney wait all of these years to set the record straight? It just doesnt make sense.

I have a copy of the original and I was bitterly disappointed in the cryptic nature of the very few annotations.

I understand there is a lot of new content. However I doubt that this new content can live up to the Vernon annotations we have been waiting for all of these years.

It seems to me the true Annotated Vernon died with him (or may be hidden in Cervons Castle Notebooks).
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby DrDanny » June 24th, 2008, 11:21 am

PickaCard wrote:Why did Mike Caveney wait all of these years to set the record straight? It just doesn’t make sense. ...

Actually, I think it's you who makes no sense. If Caveney had all that material all those years, what reason would he have for holding it back? OTOH, if he didn't have all that material, how could he have published it earlier?

Give it up and enjoy what we've got, eh?
Just my opinion, and worth every penny you paid to read it.
DrD

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Richard Kaufman » June 24th, 2008, 11:24 am

PickaCard: For years I had also heard those rumors, and I was convinced they were true because of my sources.

However the fact of the matter is that those rumors were untrue.

Vernon did have lots more ideas and tidbits about things in Erdnase (I have quite a few of these on tape which will appear in a future Genii issue on Vernon and Erdnase), but they were never part of the Revelations manuscript in any form.

Everything that was part of Revelations at any time in its history is in the new book. End of story.
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby PickaCard » June 24th, 2008, 11:37 am

Richard,

I appreciate your reassurance.

Aren't you a little bit surprised that someone with your connections (and I assume knows Mike Caveney personally) would be so misinformed all of these years?

If I had published a Vernon book and the magic community kept on talking about how I held back, I would not have waited 20+ years to let them know that they were wrong.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Richard Kaufman » June 24th, 2008, 12:43 pm

Yes, I was surprised. But there's no question in my mind, as of right now, that everything that was in Vernon's Revelations manuscript has been published. Nothing was removed.

I can't speak for Mike Caveney ... he's not the kind of person who feels it necessary to defend himself publicly.

Either way, it's a moot point now.
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Dustin Stinett » June 24th, 2008, 12:46 pm

The only evidence Mike had was the word of Persi Diaconis; one of the guys everyoneincluding mebelieved was behind the alleged redaction. But when the original manuscript was found among the Jay Marshall collection (keep in mind that Jays stuff was about as organized as a common household junk-drawer), the evidence that finally proved Revelations was indeed complete was in. In fact, the first edition of Revelations had more material than the original manuscript of Revelation. This is absolutely indisputable evidence. Case closed as far as Im concerned.

Dustin

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby PickaCard » June 24th, 2008, 1:19 pm

Richard and Dustin,

Thank you for the insight.

I will now agree with both of you: moot point; case closed.

All of these years waiting for something that Mike Caveney knew did not exist the anticipation of the contents of the re-release I cant help but feel a little betrayed.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Richard Kaufman » June 24th, 2008, 1:24 pm

Don't feel betrayed. Mike Caveney published the manuscript Persi gave him--and it was complete.

Now, David Ben, who knows more things "Vernon," and has found more things "Vernon," tracked down additional material that no one knew existed. And Mike Caveney has used that material to publish an updated version of Revelation. Any fan of Vernon will want both editions.
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Dustin Stinett » June 24th, 2008, 1:52 pm

Betrayal only would have happened had Mike Caveney and David Ben chose not to publish this new-found material.

Dustin

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby caveman » June 24th, 2008, 9:48 pm

Now you can see why I have never posted on the Genii Forum before.
I don't know who Pick a card is and I think its better that way.
From the moment Revelations was published in 1984 I heard people say that parts had been excised. They said this information came from "reliable sources." Those sources were usually people who never spoke with me nor ever met Persi Diaconis.
The first time I heard this I asked Persi about it. He said, "Tell them that it actually contains 110% of Revelations." The extra 10% came from Persi's recent discussions with Dai Vernon about the manuscript. I had no reason to disbelieve Persi. For 24 years, every time someone has told me that annotations were cut out, I told them this story. If they chose not to believe me, that is their prerogative. But people, use your heads. Persi had control of the entire manuscript. If he wanted to keep this stuff secret, wouldn't it have made a lot more sense to just say "no" when I suggested that we produce the book.
And let's not forget that Vernon spent a week going over the manuscript with Persi just before we started work. Don't you think Vernon might have said, "Hey, what happened to this part?" Vernon was around for years after the book came out and he never suggested to me that anything was missing. Or was he part of the conspiracy too.
For 24 years I've told this story to every nitwit who ever raised the question and it never did any good.
My experience with the 1984 edition is this: true card experts thought it was fantastic and was well worth the thirty year wait. Card hacks couldn't get past the fact that Vernon's annotations were brief and spent their time staring at the blank parts concocting conspiracy theories. Presumably, that's why they are hacks.
Now we come to 2008. When I got the scans of the original typed pages, the first thing I did was to compare them, line by line, to our published edition. Amazingly, there was material in the book that did not appear in the typed version. This was Persi's extra 10%. In the new edition, Persi's additions have been set off in brackets to more clearly identify them. Finally, here was proof positive that the entire manuscript did appear in the first edition.
And let's not forget all of the other additional material that David Ben has discovered and all of the extra photographs of Vernon's hands that he somehow matched up to the proper descriptions. Truly an amazing detective job. And here it is, all laid out for your edification. And this is the response we get by someone who has never seen the book. Pathetic.
We led off this new edition with facsimile reproductions of the entire typed manuscript so everyone can do their own comparison. I'm sure it won't do any good. I can hear the skeptics now, "The pages were doctored, the page numbers were changed."
If I sound disgusted, I'm not. I have published over fifty books on the practice and history of magic and I have never been more proud of a book than Revelation. And no one is going to change that.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Michael Close » June 24th, 2008, 10:41 pm

Mr. Caveman:

Thank you for clearing this up.

Who exactly is this Vernon person you are speaking of?

Does he have any one-trick DVDs?

Best

Close

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Richard Kaufman » June 24th, 2008, 11:06 pm

Thanks, Mike (Caveney, that is)--as I said in my earlier post, the new version will put to rest all rumors because of its comprehensive nature.
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby caveman » June 25th, 2008, 12:27 am

Just when I needed a laugh...
Mike Close to the rescue.
No Mike, Dai Vernon doesn't have any one-trick dvds but I do have a Vernon wax cylinder with a description of a move using a skate key.

In my previous rant, I failed to answer a question from Ian in Scotland. At least for this summer, Revelation will be available only from Magic Words. You are right about the postage rate, it is crazy high. The post office has done away with surface mail over-seas so even the dealers have to pay for air.

For me to sell a book that was this expensive to produce at a price that I believe is very reasonable, I have to sell a bunch of them retail. That is the reason for my holding off. I'm all in favor of guys supporting their local magic shops but you'll have to wait a bit.
PS - I'll have a pile of them in Louisville.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Joe Naud » June 25th, 2008, 10:27 am

I can't wait for this book, I ordered mine a few days ago when my wife had a weak moment. Copies of the last edition selling on Ebay continue to go for well over $100 and the price has held for almost two years. I am so greatful to Mike for putting out what sounds to be a masterpiece for such a reasonable price!!! Mike, Don't let one fool give you an impression of how things go around here, there is always someone that has to bitch and complain about everything, especially here and they are the ones that simply won't go away no matter how many times they are proven wrong. I for one am very excited to see you post here at all and would really like to know more about the whole process of making this come to light. Thanks so much for a wonderful book, I can say that without even seeing the final product, and thanks for preserving our great history.
Peace, Joe

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby magicalt » June 25th, 2008, 11:39 am

Cant wait for the Delux edition to come in, should have bought a regular copy just to get started. I am sure that I will not be disappointed.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby PickaCard » June 25th, 2008, 12:02 pm

caveman wrote:For 24 years I've told this story to every nitwit who ever raised the question and it never did any good.
My experience with the 1984 edition is this: true card experts thought it was fantastic and was well worth the thirty year wait. Card hacks couldn't get past the fact that Vernon's annotations were brief and spent their time staring at the blank parts concocting conspiracy theories. Presumably, that's why they are hacks.


Jamy Ian Swiss wrote:In an opening publishers note, Mr. Caveney explains his own involvement with the books history, offering along the way the surprising factproven in these pagesthat not only had all of Vernons annotations appeared in our 1984 edition, but that furthermore, additional material from Persi [Diaconis]s more recent conversations with the Professor had also been included in the original edition.

[...]the ambitious design of the book itself, which, in a sincere attempt to provide a useful tool for the student, partly served to visually overwhelm Vernons contributions with a great deal of white space (in the margins in which Vernons comments were sprinkled)


Richard Kaufman wrote:For years I had also heard those rumors, and I was convinced they were true because of my sources.


Dustin Stinett wrote:[...] Persi Diaconis; one of the guys everyoneincluding mebelieved was behind the alleged redaction.


This nitwit considers himself honoured to be in such good company.

I also concede to being, as you defined it, a hack. However, I believe your definition also applies to the great majority of the people who purchase your books.

Thank you for clarifying this issue. This could have been clarified 20 years ago, but better now than never.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby El Mystico » June 25th, 2008, 12:55 pm

Maybe this deserves a separate thread, but - while the topic seems to be exonerating Persi - does anyone have any comments on what happened to the Henry Christ manuscript?

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Richard Kaufman » June 25th, 2008, 1:00 pm

There is no Henry Christ "manuscript" per se that I've ever heard about. Christ's notebooks exist.
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Roger M. » June 25th, 2008, 1:38 pm

Mike very clearly say "B.S." to the old rumors of missing text, AND backs it up with hard copy in the new book.

Now it's time to put all the tall tales to sleep.

"Goodnight"

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Mike Rozek » June 25th, 2008, 1:46 pm

Revelation arrived yesterday, and I'm stunned at how beautiful the book is. This book deserves every line of Jamy's wonderful review.

After work yesterday I brewed a pot of coffee and opened the book to the first page, cards in-hand. I still haven't slept.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby DrDanny » June 25th, 2008, 3:47 pm

Mike Rozek wrote:Revelation arrived yesterday, and I'm stunned at how beautiful the book is. This book deserves every line of Jamy's wonderful review....


My copy arrived SFBay area today, and I concur: this book is absolutely gorgeous. That frontispiece photograph should be sold as a poster. Who owns it?
Anyway, kudos to all involved.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby espermachine » June 25th, 2008, 8:13 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:The experience of this bookand the book is an experience, an adventure, a wonderbegins with an eye-catching dustjacket, featuring two never-before published photographic portraits of Dai Vernon taken by Ross BertramVernons friend and colleague, and mentor to David Ben.


Hello, is Jamy Ian Swiss referring to the wonderful "Vernon at study" photograph on the front cover of the Revelation book? If so, it has been previously published, in one of the later Magic Inc. Early Vernon reprints.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to receiving my copy!

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Mallakite » June 25th, 2008, 8:20 pm

I can't see Revelation on Mike Caveney's Magic Words site, how do you order a copy? Thanks.

espermachine
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby espermachine » June 25th, 2008, 8:24 pm


Mallakite
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Mallakite » June 25th, 2008, 8:36 pm

Ah thanks, I was using an old site address, thats why I couldn't see it. Wow the deluxe edition is sold out already, does it contain more material or is it just the format of the book that is different from the normal edition?

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby David Ben » June 25th, 2008, 8:45 pm

Although I only have the original "Early Vernon" at hand, I believe that Jamy is correct in that it is a different photograph that graces the cover of Revelation. I chose this photograph and pulled the image from the original portrait size negative shot by Ross Bertram. The other image, and again, I would have to double check, was shot at the same session but is slightly different. The curtains, for example, in other photo were closed. Further, the focus on the print of the book on the table is much sharper. Perhaps an owner of the later reprint can see whether it is, in fact, the same image.

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby espermachine » June 25th, 2008, 9:11 pm

Hello David,

I'm only comparing the picture from Early Vernon with the thumbnail image on Mike Caveney's web page. The reproduction in Early Vernon is of poor quality, a bit flat and washed out.

The caption beneath says, "Dai Vernon in 1965, in a photo taken by Ross Bertram at the Magic Castle. The photo is not just a posed shot - Vernon does study. He probably knows more about his kind of magic than any man on earth."

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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Donal Chayce » June 25th, 2008, 9:19 pm

caveman wrote:Just when I needed a laugh...
Mike Close to the rescue.
No Mike, Dai Vernon doesn't have any one-trick dvds but I do have a Vernon wax cylinder with a description of a move using a skate key.

In my previous rant, I failed to answer a question from Ian in Scotland. At least for this summer, Revelation will be available only from Magic Words. You are right about the postage rate, it is crazy high. The post office has done away with surface mail over-seas so even the dealers have to pay for air.

For me to sell a book that was this expensive to produce at a price that I believe is very reasonable, I have to sell a bunch of them retail. That is the reason for my holding off. I'm all in favor of guys supporting their local magic shops but you'll have to wait a bit.
PS - I'll have a pile of them in Louisville.


Mike, how many copies of the book will you have for sale at the IBM/SAM convention?

It's my intention to purchase one there, but I don't want to wait until then if there's even the slightest risk of your selling out the very first day.
The MacGician®

MagicMarine
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby MagicMarine » June 25th, 2008, 9:29 pm

David Ben wrote:Although I only have the original "Early Vernon" at hand, I believe that Jamy is correct in that it is a different photograph that graces the cover of Revelation. I chose this photograph and pulled the image from the original portrait size negative shot by Ross Bertram. The other image, and again, I would have to double check, was shot at the same session but is slightly different. The curtains, for example, in other photo were closed. Further, the focus on the print of the book on the table is much sharper. Perhaps an owner of the later reprint can see whether it is, in fact, the same image.


David,
Do you mind if I ask: What is your ETA on Vol II of the Vernon Bio? I can't wait to read it.
Also, is it possible to purchase a copy of the Vernon pic on the cover?
Thanks
Paul

MagicMarine
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby MagicMarine » June 25th, 2008, 9:30 pm

caveman wrote:Now you can see why I have never posted on the Genii Forum before.
I don't know who Pick a card is and I think its better that way.
From the moment Revelations was published in 1984 I heard people say that parts had been excised. They said this information came from "reliable sources." Those sources were usually people who never spoke with me nor ever met Persi Diaconis.
The first time I heard this I asked Persi about it. He said, "Tell them that it actually contains 110% of Revelations." The extra 10% came from Persi's recent discussions with Dai Vernon about the manuscript. I had no reason to disbelieve Persi. For 24 years, every time someone has told me that annotations were cut out, I told them this story. If they chose not to believe me, that is their prerogative. But people, use your heads. Persi had control of the entire manuscript. If he wanted to keep this stuff secret, wouldn't it have made a lot more sense to just say "no" when I suggested that we produce the book.
And let's not forget that Vernon spent a week going over the manuscript with Persi just before we started work. Don't you think Vernon might have said, "Hey, what happened to this part?" Vernon was around for years after the book came out and he never suggested to me that anything was missing. Or was he part of the conspiracy too.
For 24 years I've told this story to every nitwit who ever raised the question and it never did any good.
My experience with the 1984 edition is this: true card experts thought it was fantastic and was well worth the thirty year wait. Card hacks couldn't get past the fact that Vernon's annotations were brief and spent their time staring at the blank parts concocting conspiracy theories. Presumably, that's why they are hacks.
Now we come to 2008. When I got the scans of the original typed pages, the first thing I did was to compare them, line by line, to our published edition. Amazingly, there was material in the book that did not appear in the typed version. This was Persi's extra 10%. In the new edition, Persi's additions have been set off in brackets to more clearly identify them. Finally, here was proof positive that the entire manuscript did appear in the first edition.
And let's not forget all of the other additional material that David Ben has discovered and all of the extra photographs of Vernon's hands that he somehow matched up to the proper descriptions. Truly an amazing detective job. And here it is, all laid out for your edification. And this is the response we get by someone who has never seen the book. Pathetic.
We led off this new edition with facsimile reproductions of the entire typed manuscript so everyone can do their own comparison. I'm sure it won't do any good. I can hear the skeptics now, "The pages were doctored, the page numbers were changed."
If I sound disgusted, I'm not. I have published over fifty books on the practice and history of magic and I have never been more proud of a book than Revelation. And no one is going to change that.


The only conspiracy that I'm worried about is the one keeping my 2 copies from arriving! It is like torture waiting for it when you know others got it!

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Revelation has landed

Postby Richard Kaufman » June 25th, 2008, 11:07 pm

Having just spoken with David Ben about volume 2 of the Vernon Bio, I can assure you that he's working on it constantly and has been.

The Herb Zarrow book is finished and Gabe Fajuri is now laying it out, so David's work on that is done.

But expect to see another, different book out of him before Vernon 2 comes out.
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