Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

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Richard Kaufman
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Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 18th, 2018, 1:59 pm

Image

My new book on Theodore DeLand, 15 years in the making, is going to ship in November. It's at the printer in China now and I've already approved the proofs.

Book is 608 pages, 9 x 12, full color, slipcase, museum quality paper and binding, weighs 10 pounds. Foreword by Jim Steinmeyer.

The regular edition will come with a deck of 54 gimmicked cards. Regular edition $150 plus $25 postage in the USA.

Buyers will also be able to purchase new recreations of two of DeLand's amazing decks of cards.

The Deluxe Edition will come with three or four decks included (all newly printed) as well as being signed and numbered and having an original vintage DeLand trick tipped in (and assorted other pieces of reproduced ephemera). Deluxe limited to 100. $300 plus $25 postage in the USA. Already 50% sold out.

Postage outside the USA for either edition is: $70 for the UK and Europe; $45 Canada; $90 everywhere else.

Payment is directly to me via PayPal at moobooks@verizon.net. Please include what you are buying, your full mailing address and phone number.

Thanks from me and Mr. DeLand, who would have been quite astonished to see this!
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Matthew Field » August 18th, 2018, 2:33 pm

I did some editing of this material over the past NINE years. Do not miss this extraordinary achievement by Richard Kaufman describing the magic of a troubled genius, Theodore DeLand. It contains great magic and an amazing story. And a deck of gaffed cards!

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Joe Mckay » August 18th, 2018, 3:47 pm

Can't wait for this book. It will be fascinating to learn the full story of DeLand and his wonderful ideas.

Thanks so much for all your efforts!

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 18th, 2018, 4:29 pm

i paid for this yesterday and it’s not here yet!!!!

grrr

;)

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 18th, 2018, 4:46 pm

Hahaha ... should I just refund your money now? :lol: You'll have a stroke by November.
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 22nd, 2018, 11:06 am

Folks, Deluxe Editions are running low. If you're planning on purchasing one, please do so shortly by sending me the correct amount (including postage) by PayPal to moobooks@verizon.net. We are limited to 100 deluxe editions and have only 20% remaining.
Thank you.
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Bill Mullins » August 22nd, 2018, 11:14 am

Matthew Field wrote:I did some editing of this material over the past NINE years. Do not miss this extraordinary achievement by Richard Kaufman describing the magic of a troubled genius, Theodore DeLand. It contains great magic and an amazing story. And a deck of gaffed cards!


Heed Matt's advice. I've seen the manuscript in a couple of different versions, and the proofs at MagicLive. This is an incredible book -- every trick Deland ever produced (did you know that he did Blockhead? Improve your carnie skills!) is described, plus more biographical information than anyone except his mother ever knew.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 22nd, 2018, 1:22 pm

He not only did "Blockhead," he was the first person to publish it. He might have even invented it!
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Joe Naud » August 22nd, 2018, 4:48 pm

Richard, can you please confirm you received my paypal for a deluxe edition?

Thanks, Joe

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 22nd, 2018, 6:33 pm

Got it. Thanks.
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby kevinm » August 22nd, 2018, 9:54 pm

The Deluxe Edition is signed by whom?

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Re: RE: Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Chris Aguilar » August 22nd, 2018, 10:06 pm

kevinm wrote:The Deluxe Edition is signed by whom?
Erdnase.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 23rd, 2018, 12:03 am

kevinm wrote:The Deluxe Edition is signed by whom?


Me, the author, who spent 15 years writing the book.
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby MaxwellPritchard » August 23rd, 2018, 4:58 am

This sounds like a great book.

Richard Kaufman wrote:He not only did "Blockhead," he was the first person to publish it. He might have even invented it!


"Blockhead" seems to predate DeLand by a few hundred years; it's explained in the anonymously written mid-seventeenth-century manuscript La Magie du Pont Neuf.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby richardingram » August 23rd, 2018, 11:38 am

Ordered my deluxe edition and I am looking forward to reading it.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 23rd, 2018, 12:03 pm

MaxwellPritchard wrote:This sounds like a great book.

Richard Kaufman wrote:He not only did "Blockhead," he was the first person to publish it. He might have even invented it!


"Blockhead" seems to predate DeLand by a few hundred years; it's explained in the anonymously written mid-seventeenth-century manuscript La Magie du Pont Neuf.


Thanks for that. I make no claim, nor does DeLand, that he invented it. He wrote that it was taught to him by a sailor or some such nonsense.
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby MaxwellPritchard » August 23rd, 2018, 3:49 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:
MaxwellPritchard wrote:This sounds like a great book.

Richard Kaufman wrote:He not only did "Blockhead," he was the first person to publish it. He might have even invented it!


"Blockhead" seems to predate DeLand by a few hundred years; it's explained in the anonymously written mid-seventeenth-century manuscript La Magie du Pont Neuf.


Thanks for that. I make no claim, nor does DeLand, that he invented it. He wrote that it was taught to him by a sailor or some such nonsense.


Haha! That's an interesting detail, thanks.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Ted M » August 23rd, 2018, 6:03 pm

That's great -- anonymous and a person of no fixed abode, extra hard to track down. I'll make use of that next time I want to steal somebody's act.

What? This floating violin? Taught to me by a sailor!

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 23rd, 2018, 6:40 pm

oddly, one summer we were exploring the block head act and enlisted the help of someone who worked in the infirmary. While he had never performed it, he said that many of the sailors he sailed with in the Navy used to run the chain from their dog tags through their nose and out their mouth. So apparently it’s always been a sailor thing?

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 23rd, 2018, 8:54 pm

Brad, the dog tag chain through the nose is an entirely different thing.

And, oddly, something similar was also described by DeLand a hundred years ago in The Magic World using a string. He explains it in great detail.
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 23rd, 2018, 9:03 pm

how is the chain through nose (and out the mouth) substantially different from block head? they both are cases of objects traveling through the sinus cavities. many blockhead performers also do the balloon/condom through mouth and nose. I would put them both in the same category. That Deland explained both would seem to make that case.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 23rd, 2018, 9:29 pm

They are different effects.
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 24th, 2018, 12:31 am

magician shoves something he shouldn’t in his nose

only differences are the object and whether it came out the way it went in or not.

same effect

I think most people (non magicians) seeing two acts each doing one of those stunts would walk away thinking they did the same thing.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Ted M » August 24th, 2018, 11:22 am

The blockhead effect is not about the nasal passage at all.

The blockhead effect is that the performer pounds a spike into his face.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 24th, 2018, 11:41 am

the audience sees the spike go in their nose, which is exactly what they see when someone shoves a balloon or string or condom in their nose.

it’s the same effect. Having actually trained people to perform and written for this act, having sold this act to the public, i can assure you the audience sees this as the same thing - just as they see sword swallowing as sword swallowing regardless of whether it’s a sword. a coat hanger, or a neon tube.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Ian Kendall » August 24th, 2018, 11:55 am

Blockhead doesn't use the sinuses. /pedant

I would suggest that it is a different effect to the 'through the nose, out of the mouth' bit, but it uses the same method. To real people, they are very different things.

(Not only have I taught this stunt to many people - also on BHMME - I've performed it for many, many years. It's not the same thing.)

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 24th, 2018, 12:07 pm

why are they different?

blockhead: object goes into face

string/balloon: object goes into face and removed out mouth.

changing the object doesn’t change the effect

ball goes into hand and shown to be gone
coin goes into hand and shown to be gone.

same effect.

producing the ball at the end doesn’t change the fact the ball vanished.

plus, as the emotional reaction to both stunts is most often identical (disgust/anxiety) they are perceived as the same emotionally. if they produced different emotional responses the effect could be the same yet perceived as different by the audience. But when it’s the same, when it looks and feels the same, how is it not the same?

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Ian Kendall » August 24th, 2018, 12:28 pm

Because the presentation is very, very different.

In Blockhead, the effect is introduced as 'I will hammer this nail into my head'. Now, although you are using the nasal cavity (and it's amazing how many people don't make that connection), everything is in a straight line. People don't make the connection that there's a hole at the back of the nose that connects to the mouth (no matter how much they snook their noses). The effect is that the nail goes into the head without damaging anything.

In the mental floss effect, that hole is not only apparent, it's the entire method. There's no mystery to it, and the presentation does exactly what it says on the tin.

Now, the fact that the nasal passage is blatant in the latter effect, but clandestine in the former is the reason I never perform both stunts at the same time (I'm not a massive fan of mental floss, to be honest. It's a lot more unpleasant to do than blockhead).

Brad, I know you are not a man to change your mind, but I'm making these observations after almost thirty years of doing the stunts, in all sorts of venues. Trust me when I say they are different effects.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Bill Mullins » August 24th, 2018, 1:43 pm

Variety 12/5/1914 p 16

The biggest trick Han Ping Chien does is not wholly pleasant for an American audience. It is the insertion and withdrawal of several short sticks into and from the nose.

New York Clipper 1/23/1915 p 7

Han Ping Chien, presenting "Pekin Mysteries," with the assistance of three others, was in number three position, and cleaned up with his wonderful tricks. . . . He does a trick of passing a stick through one nostril and bringing it out of the other, that, although clever, should be discarded. It had a tendency to mar his performance at the Monday matinee, because of its offensiveness.

Syracuse NY Journal 2/18/1915

CLEVER THINGS AT KEITHS.
Han Ping Chien, the Chinese wizard, pulling sticks out of his nose.

Syracuse NY Standard 4/27/1915 p 4

Hang Ping Chien with a company of three in a combination of mystic and acrobatic stunts easily takes first honors In this week's offering at the Temple. . . . Meanwhile, he amuses himself by passing little balls and sticks through his mouth and nose with the apparent ability to produce any number from anywhere.

New York Dramatic Mirror 4/1/1916 p17

Han Ping Chien and his Pekin Mysteries continue to be as diverting as ever. We notice one little change in the routine. Mr. Chien no longer offers the little trick in which he produced sticks seemingly from his nose. It wasn't a very savory trick bit of magic and it has been supplanted by something else.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 24th, 2018, 2:57 pm

ian,

i am always willing to change my mind, all i require is a compelling argument.

Your argument relies on acknowledgement of method, not an analysis of the phenomenon.

you also seem to suggest, and i may be misunderstanding you, that the blockhead is a mystery to people. I don’t know anyone who presents it as a ‘magic trick’, but a physical stunt. both are presented as stunts. i don’t know that the issue of the perception of how it’s done is relevant. (having said that, when brian brushwood and i worked together he used the nasal cavity to vanish a coin - which would be using the same method to produce a different effect.).

i do however find it telling that you wouldn’t do both in the same set to me. this suggests a recognition that they are too similar in effect and respones to be perceived as different.

and of course ones presentation can impact how it is perceived, but we are analyzing the phenomenon itself.

‘i will stick the nail in my face’

‘i will stick this thread in my face’

same effect. just different objects and denouement.

the coin disappears

the ball disappears

same effect. different objects

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Ian Kendall » August 24th, 2018, 3:21 pm

You are offering a false equivalency.

My reason for not doing both in the same set is (as I mentioned at the time) that the mental floss routine exposes the depth of the nasal cavity, and therefore makes blockhead a lot less impressive. That's the only reason.

Your comments that putting something in your nose is the same effect is just wrong. In one case, you are inserting a long, hard and inflexible item deep into your head. In the other, you are inserting a soft, malleable and very not hard item into your nose.

Saying that this is the same is like equating swallowing a sword and swallowing a length of string. No one would suggest that they are the same.

Here's the thing; people don't realise that the nasal cavity goes that far back. Almost everyone I've encountered while doing these things believe that the nose goes back as far as they can insert a finger, so when you have a 4", 5" or even a 6" hard nail going in, there is definitely a sense of wonder.

However, when you do mental floss, you are acknowledging that the back of the nose is connected to the back of the mouth. People know how far back the mouth goes (more than a finger), and so blockhead is exposed.

Your mantra of 'different object, same effect' is also less than accurate (as mentioned above); in one you have a rigid object that absolutely should not be able to go that far into a head, and in the other you have, well, string. That balls up into a wee package if need be.

I don't know how many times you have performed these stunts for real people, but I'm guessing that it's not too many. I've seen very different reactions to each; this alone tells me that they are not the same, even before you hang on all the points above.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 24th, 2018, 4:17 pm

DeLand turned Blockhead into a magical routine.
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 24th, 2018, 4:46 pm

ian, i have worked with several side show performers and have included them in performances i have produced. The response is the same, or at least similar enough to be considered the same effect.

and whether or something is hard or soft doesn’t change the EFFECT.

vanishing a ball of string and vanishing a cue ball are both cases of an object disappearing.

that one rolls up is irrelevant or is soft is irrelevant.

Both tricks are examples of super human physical feats. In both cases foreign objects are inserted in the nose without harm to the performer. Just as People don’t assume there is space for a nail they don’t assume there is a simple passage from the nose to the mouth. Seeing a chain go into the nose is exactly the same phenomenon as seeing a nail go into the nose - both are objects that shouldn’t fit yet both do. Sure there may be a bit more danger feeling with a sharp nail, but that’s a flavor and not a new phenomenon or effect.

i’ve seen sword swallowers swallow swords and rubber tubes. Is it a different effect because it’s a rubber tube going down their throat and not a sword? what if it’s a neon light bulb?

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Ian Kendall » August 24th, 2018, 4:57 pm

Brad,

Again, one is a penetration, the other is just sniffing something up your nose. If you cannot see the difference, there's not much else to be said.

I'll assume from your comment that you do not perform the stunts yourself. If it's alright with you, I'm going to give a tad more credence to observed reactions after hundreds of performances over many years. Again, I really do believe that if you had first hand experience of the reactions over that amount of time, then you would understand my point better.

That you seem to find the rigidity of the object irrelevant is strange; again, the nail is a _penetration_ which is very different to anything with a thread (or string. Or chain. Or condom. Or modelling balloon.)

When it comes to sword swallowing (not something I've ever learned, but I'm guessing that's the same for you?), I do believe that there is a difference between using a solid object such as a sword, neon tube or clothes hanger, and a flexible rubber tube. I'll be spending time with at least three sword swallowers at the draw tomorrow morning, and I'll be happy to hear their opinions on the matter.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Jeffers » August 24th, 2018, 6:13 pm

I agree with Ian.
Using the sword analogy, the effect of mental floss is like sword swallowing, whereas the effect of blockhead is a little closer to sword through the neck.
Given the method used in blockhead, what is the purpose of THIS ?

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 24th, 2018, 6:47 pm

ian just because you’ve done things many times, doesn’t mean you are correct. I know people who have done their act many times and still have no idea what they are doing. Some never realize how condescending they sound.

The idea that the blockhead effect is a penetration is nonsense.

Something that goes up the nose is something that goes up the nose. Fast or slow. hard or soft. Yes those choices should color the way the effect is felt by the audience (how the effect AFFECTS them) but conceptually speaking they are the same phenomenon, IE a foreign object is inserted in the nose.

Maybe if you spent as much time as i have thinking about these sorts of things, you would understand my point better

See how that sounds?

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Ian Kendall » August 24th, 2018, 7:30 pm

Brad,

You are missing my point, yet again (probably deliberately at this point).

but conceptually speaking they are the same phenomenon, IE a foreign object is inserted in the nose.


And this is where we differ. Now you are talking about phenomena, and before you were talking about effect.

I described blockhead as a penetration in the sense that the nail penetrates the head, since you failed to understand earlier descriptions.

As for having a better understanding through performance; that was in response to your claim that the reactions were similar for both effects. My experience is that they are not, but since you haven't performed either effect, you wouldn't know that. I could suggest that you go out and perform each effect five hundred times or so, so that you would have a better understanding of how they are perceived, but we both know you wouldn't do that, and would prefer to pontificate from a purely theoretical position. If you think about it a bit more, you'll be able to do it brilliantly... :roll:

Here's why your argument sounds so daft to me; example one - I place a coin in my hand and close the fist. I open the hand, and the coin is gone. Example two - I place a coin in my hand and close the fist. I open the hand, and the coin has changed into a ball. Now, following your logic, because both begin with placing a coin in the hand, they are the same effect. They may use the same method, but are different effects (a vanish versus a change).

But hey, you can call me all the names you want. In the larger scheme of things, this is the most banal discussion of the day. This thread was about the new DeLand book - perhaps it should return there.

I'm off to bed.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Brad Henderson » August 24th, 2018, 8:27 pm

i’m the one calling names? those are your words pointed back at you.

I have seen the effect (and programmed the effect) enough times to know how the responses are the same. I have seen enough performers present both to know how the responses are the same. Sure there are minor differences in the responses. but fundamentally they are the same and i’d wager dollars to donuts that your presentation produces the effect same response as every one else’s does. But even then, response isn’t what determines the effect. And all the performing in the world doesn’t change that. You can do the exact same effect and elicit different responses. The audience won’t be aware they have seen the same effect, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t.

but to your example, a coin changing into a ball is an oranges among the discussion of apples. While it is true that a transformation does often break down into one object appearing at the same as one disappears. But due to how we creative narrative in linear time it is usually perceived as one object changing into another - but framing can change that.

a vanish is a vanish regardless of what object is used. the choice of the object CAN impact the affect the trick has on the audience, but it doesn’t change the effect itself. Three balls that rearrange themselves in a tube is the same effect as three blocks rearranging in a tube.

but what difference does it make if the object going into the nose 1) comes out the direction it went in or 2) comes out the other side?

it doesn’t.

you think it does because you are focusing on the method. the audience only sees ‘object shoved into nose’. going all the way down or coming back out again doesn’t change the phenomenon.

A card changing visibly is the same effect as a card changing beneath the hand which is the same effect as a card changing IN their hands. All produce different reactions - all are the same effect.

but sure, i’m daft, this is a banal conversation and you have better things to do like sleep.

i get it.

but hey, take pride knowing did you make me change my mind about something.

i thought you would act like an adult.

clearly i was wrong.

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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 24th, 2018, 9:15 pm

The particular discussion on the Blockhead is now concluded. Any further posts regarding the trick will be deleted.

I have 7 deluxe editions of the DeLand book left.
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Re: Now Taking Orders for My New Book on Theodore DeLand

Postby Joe Lyons » August 26th, 2018, 11:13 am

Richard, can you please confirm you received my paypal for a deluxe edition?

Thanks, Joe


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