The Genii Forum

I've just ordered mine.
http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/7619

Me too!

Ditto.

Looks and sounds incredible.
Very high production quality.
And less than 300 1st edition copies remaining.

It's a name I've heard, but know nothing about.

Can someone enlighten me?

Thanks!

The book is reviewed by Tom Frame in the November GENII.

Here is the ad:

"Reading this book made me feel like I felt when I first read The Books of Wonder. Vanni was a generous friend and a constant inspiration. This book is a fitting tribute to a gifted creator and performer." -Michael Weber

"Almost everything in this book is a magician fooler. I love this and can give it my highest recommendation." -John Lovick

"Full of actual MASTERPIECES. These aren't fantasy effects or theoretical. They're the real thing." -Bill Kalush

"A goldmine of miraculous creations" -Roberto Giobbi

"After just the first 2 effects, I was blown away. Full of routines that are BEGGING to be put into a show. I highly recommend it." -Ryan Schlutz

"I cannot wait to work on Card in Glass. Sleights and approaches I've never seen before.. doing things you'd normally need gaffs for... without gimmicks." -Chad Long

ARETALOGY—n. A narrative about the deeds of a miracle worker.
Who was Vanni Bossi?

He was an underground treasure.

He was the man the stars of magic came to for solutions to their hardest problems.

He was one of close-up magic’s most original minds.

He was a performer top magicians from all over Europe and the U.S. made it a point to see.

The Aretalogy of Vanni Bossi is the first book in any language that presents a substantial collection of this master magician’s secrets with cards, coins and...things. The contents have been gathered from scarce publications with strictly limited circulations, and include closely guarded, never before published tricks and sleights.

Foreword by Roberto Giobbi

56 highly original tricks, routines and sleights

Over 400 beautifully rendered drawings by Tony Dunn

206 pages printed on fine paper and bound in luxurious leather and cloth

You can wait for the professionals to recommend it, or you can get it now and be ahead of the curve.

Steve Mills wrote:It's a name I've heard, but know nothing about.

Can someone enlighten me?

Thanks!

Vanni was one of the most kind and brilliant human beings I have had the pleasure of meeting.

One of the highlights of Escorial each year was seeing his new ideas. He would stun me with a performance of something completely new, then I would be even more impressed with his method. Genius is the right word to describe him.

I miss him so much. I am so happy that his book has been published. More of the magic world needs to know his work.

Steve Mills wrote:It's a name I've heard, but know nothing about.

Can someone enlighten me?

Thanks!

One of the killer effects he is known for is the best pencil through bill, I've ever seen. The pencil cleanly penetrates and the bill just heals up. The bill and pencil are completely examinable and can be given away. The method is as cool as the effect.

Here is a tribute from Jon Racherbaumer: http://conjuringarts.org/2015/09/flibbe ... herbaumer/

PS: Ordered mine. Could have done without the ominous countdown on the Penguin site: "Only 243 left"

Make that 242.

Being the miserable cynic that I am the second I saw the phrase "Almost everything in this book is a magician fooler" a red flag went up. I shall reserve judgement until I actually see the book with my own eyes but a phrase like that turns me off immediately. I am not in the business of fooling magicians and neither should anyone else be.

241

More like 197, if the web counter is accurate.

It was printed in China. Wonder if they'll reprint (which will take several months)?

Richard:

Just curious: Are pretty much all of the magic book producers printing in China now? (The big books I've purchased lately from various publishers have been printed there and have been of excellent quality.)

I received my copy of the book yesterday afternoon. I've only had enough time to browse my way through it, but I'm certainly looking forward to spending some time with it over the holiday. Beautifully produced and illustrated!

The only reason to print in China is for color.
Most magic books are still printed in the US and Canada.

Thanks, Richard!

Ordered on Friday.

Arrived today in the UK - on Monday.

Can't wait to study this one.

Just got man and I'm seriously disappointed in the production. The part of the book opposite the spine (text block?) is so rough I can't even thumb through the book.

Here's what it looks like:

I've written to Penguin, but the one other occasion I had to contact them was met with total silence.

Anyone else here have this problem or is this waht it's supposed to look like?

Steve

That is a deckled edge, and is almost certainly a conscious design choice.

Some folks like them, some don't. I tend to like trimmed edges, but am not dogmatic on the subject.

Yes, a deckled edge is a design choice, you find it on more expensive books, and it costs more to produce.

If you want to flip through the pages, try putting your thumb on the top or bottom edge of the pages toward the right most corner.

Thanks, Bill.

It certainly wouldn't be my 1st choice.

At least I'm a little smarter that I woke uop this morning - assuming I didn't have too many brain cells die....

Steve Mills wrote:Just got man and I'm seriously disappointed in the production. The part of the book opposite the spine (text block?) is so rough I can't even thumb through the book.

Here's what it looks like:

I've written to Penguin, but the one other occasion I had to contact them was met with total silence.

Anyone else here have this problem or is this waht it's supposed to look like?

Steve

I don't mind this book production although I agree that it's a bit difficult to thumb through. What I do mind is that about 25% of the page corners in the book I received are flattened. I contacted Penguin for a replacement.

Mine came in the mail today. Stunning book, both inside and out.

Frankly, I'm a bit stunned at some of the responses regarding the decision to print in deckled edge format. I think it lends itself very well to the overall design and theme of the book, and makes it one totally classy publication. It actually brought a wry smile to my lips when I first opened the package.

What am I missing?

Anybody got a good US source for Coccoina?

Thanks.....

Steve Mills wrote:Anybody got a good US source for Coccoina?

Thanks.....

You can find it on ebay.

Thanks, Tom, but it's either UK or Italy as far as I can find.

Steve,
Check your PMs.

Here.

or here.

or here.

The description says it has an almond scent. Is it noticeable?

92 left on the Frozen Bird...had to get my copy after reading the review in Genii.

How good does the bill look after the restoration?

Just wondering if this is more of a TV only effect?

Great book btw.

Joe Mckay wrote:How good does the bill look after the restoration?

Just wondering if this is more of a TV only effect?

Great book btw.

Can't say Joe but I will report back to you on this effect once the book is in my hands.

Joe Mckay wrote:How good does the bill look after the restoration?

Just wondering if this is more of a TV only effect?

Great book btw.

It can be done close up. The healing looks like a scar.

Here's a video of Vanni Bossi performing the trick, but unfortunately, no close-up shot of the bill.

Looking forward to receiving my copy -- it's a Christmas present from my wife!

Matt Field

Richard Kaufman wrote:Yes, a deckled edge is a design choice, you find it on more expensive books, and it costs more to produce.

If you want to flip through the pages, try putting your thumb on the top or bottom edge of the pages toward the right most corner.

I believe Marlo published a booklet on this technique.

Seriously folks... you can faro and riffle stack, but can't be bothered to turn book pages from the bottom edge?

It's a lovely design choice.

erdnasephile wrote:Here's a video of Vanni Bossi performing the trick, but unfortunately, no close-up shot of the bill.

For those who do not speak Italian, at the moment the pencil was penetrating Lincoln's head, he was saying "Pretend your name is John Wilkes Booth".

Along those lines: Mike Caveney once told our group that Johnson Products used to produce a half dollar with a bullet through it. The item was pulled because of the grim implications and negative reactions.

erdnasephile wrote:Along those lines: Mike Caveney once told our group that Johnson Products used to produce a half dollar with a bullet through it..

True. Magic, Inc. got one of these when we ordered samples of various items on their wholesale list. It sat in stock for years, as no one wanted it.

As of now there are only 37 copies left.