The Genii Forum

I'm please to report that I will be republishing Greater Magic later this year.

Unlike my 1994 reprint, where everything was in one volume, the new reprint will be two volumes. This is because I am going to add several hundred additional pages to More Greater Magic, making it too large to bind in one volume.

I was only able to include a fraction of the unpublished material in Hilliard's notebooks last time. This time there will be a lot more.

Details for follow later in the year.

Wow. What a year for magic books.

Will this include material beyond what was in The Lost Notebooks of John Northern Hilliard?

And given the difficulties with Jones's family that have so far prevented reprinting the book, will you at some point tell us the story of how this new one is coming about?

This is very exciting--may I ask: will the additional material be typeset or facsimile?

The new material will not, at least at this point, duplicate the two Hilliard Notebooks in The Lost Notebooks. I may decide to include a few of the standout items from that book, but typeset and corrected, not in facsimile.

The new material will not be presented in facsimile, but typeset as in More Greater Magic.

I just spent a few hours sitting on the floor sifting through about a thousand pages of Hilliard's notebooks and scraps. There's tons of material that didn't make it into either Greater Magic or More Greater Magic. There are another thousand or two pages of material. Since I last looked at all of this 24 years ago, there are pages out of order (damn inconvenient!) and so there's a lot to do before I even start typing!

There is no real backstory: I just waited until new members of the Jones family were amenable to doing a new version of Greater Magic.

I never got round to owning a copy of Greater Magic before. So I look forward to buying a copy of this edition.

Just wondering - the magician OCD part of me is wondering - will I also need to track down the 1994 reprint as well? Or will this edition include the extra material from that reprint as well?

Great news!
I’m starting weight training later this year.

Both with respect to the earlier edition and this new one, the only person I know who could have pulled this off is Richard Kaufman.

Joe Mckay wrote:I never got round to owning a copy of Greater Magic before. So I look forward to buying a copy of this edition.

Just wondering - the magician OCD part of me is wondering - will I also need to track down the 1994 reprint as well? Or will this edition include the extra material from that reprint as well?

I obviously can't answer that question, but I wanted to say I love my single volume Kaufman version of Greater Magic. There's something about having that big ol' legendary book, and RK did a great job with that edition--it's physically easy to read and stays nicely open, which is impressive with a big book--easy to get the font size and/or binding wrong in a project like this. I sold my other copies of the original because I liked it so much. I'll most likely still keep it when I get the new edition.

In keeping with the current political rhetoric, the new edition should be called “Great, Great Magic” or “Very, Very, Greater Magic”.


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Or even, "World's Greatest Magic" ... oh, that was used already.

Yuuuuuge Greater Magic?

Perhaps in the graphic/font of the book title you could incorporate the year (2019 or 2020)?

Even Greater Magic?

*snark* color the title in POTUS/cheetos orange? */snark*

Greater Magic 2: Electric Boogaloo

While it only happened twice in its history, each time the book was revised, it kept its original—and perfect—title:
Greater Magic

How about: Make Magic Great Again


JMD

Those who've read the chapter "It Could Have Been" in More Greater Magic will know that the title of Greater Magic was very close to being "Hocus Pocus Senior."

Had Hoffmann's cue been followed, the 1994 expanded edition could've been More Greater Magic.

And 2018 would bring us Later Greater Magic...

The second is titled More Greater Magic.

Well, so it is.

Please make sure to spell my name right on the check.

You're a little late. If you had made the suggestion back in 1994, you might get somewhere.

John M. Dale wrote:How about: Make Magic Great Again


JMD

Alas I think this is a lost cause the way things are going.

Incidentally I have always thought that Richard has done an incredible service for the art of magic even when he reprinted the book
the first time. And moreover, I am pretty sure he is not doing it for the money either.

I am huge fan of Richard Kaufman!!!1

I think every serious magic organization in the world should be preparing a space for a statue for when he dies. Sad as that is to contemplate!

I honestly don't think anyone has done more for magic than Richard Kaufman! Magic as we know it has only been around for the past 150 years. And in that time - I don't think anyone has done more for magic than our dear Richard!

Joe, while I appreciate the thought, that's all pretty silly!

You are my hero, Richard!

You have worked so hard for the overall benefit of magic!

I probably wouldn't even be posting on here today if it were not for the stellar efforts you have put into magic!

All the best,

Joe

You wouldn't be posting here if I hadn't sold you a svengali deck when you were a kid!

How about my statue?

Richard,

Is the Charlie Miller Magicana book something you're considering for the future? The Vernon Touch book is unbelievable...

Thanks for all of the classics. I have the Dingle book, Coin Magic, the Ron Wilson book, Jennings 67......

Every time i read Jennings' classic magic, i wish you'd wrote it!!!



Justin

The Magicana Book, which will include all of Magicana up until Charlie stopped the first time, is something that is in process. But it's an enormous job and will probably not come out until 2019. It is also a book published by The Genii Corporation, not one of my books.

I can only do so many things at once.

Richard Kaufman wrote:The Magicana Book, which will include all of Magicana up until Charlie stopped the first time, is something that is in process. But it's an enormous job and will probably not come out until 2019. It is also a book published by The Genii Corporation, not one of my books.

I can only do so many things at once.

Not in any rush Richard, just wanted to know for sure that it was going to be a reality. Thanks again!

Greatest Magic and Magicana; two wonderful bits of news. Thank you.

I'm very glad to read that you are re-publishing 'Greater Magic' (and I'm also looking forward to the Magicana book ) .

Any idea of what the price will be for the two volumes of 'Greater Magic' ? I want to start saving up now. ( I am still kicking myself that at a time when my cash flow was limited I passed on purchasing 'Roy Benson by Starlight' when it first came out and now available copies seem to be in the $400 - $450 range ... )

Not sure of the price. When I first reprinted the book in 1994, I charged $75, which was less than the $10 retail price (adjusting for inflation) when it was originally published. And that was for one volume.'

This time I believe that it will be two volumes, possibly in a slip case, and the second part will be much larger. Printing prices have gone up dramatically since 1994, so my guess is that it will certainly be over $100.

If you can't wait for the new version, P&P has a copy up for auction:
Lot 390

Richard Kaufman wrote:Not sure of the price. When I first reprinted the book in 1994, I charged $75, which was less than the $10 retail price (adjusting for inflation) when it was originally published. And that was for one volume.'

This time I believe that it will be two volumes, possibly in a slip case, and the second part will be much larger. Printing prices have gone up dramatically since 1994, so my guess is that it will certainly be over $100.

I think that is almost certainly going to be a great price for what's being offered here.

Here's a wee update. With DeLand about a week away from going to the printer, Greater Magic has been tugging at my attention.

Have been looking over John Northern Hilliard's notes, mostly skimming, and have found an entire chapter that he wanted to include in Greater Magic that was left out!

Will there only be a single volume available with the new material, or will everybody interested in the volume with the new material have to buy an extra copy of Greater Magic?

The two volume set will only be sold together.
When I first reprinted in 1994, I used the very first printing of Greater Magic. This time I will use a later revised printing that corrected many errors in the original.

You could always donate your old copy to Goodwill.

Great - I was keen on purchasing the following pages:-
22
36
89
90
91
92
151
201
365
I guess that’s out of the question too.

Just my luck.

AJM wrote:Great - I was keen on purchasing the following pages:-
22
36
89
90
91
92
151
201
365
I guess that’s out of the question too.

Just my luck.

AJM: I think you MUST offer for that pages and the ones in the back of the same page