The value of Garcia's sponge ball encyclopedia

[DocDixon]

I've never seen this book. Other than what its cover reveals, I have no idea what's in it. Here's what puzzle me: why does this book consistently sell for over $100 on ebay?

We're talking about sponge balls, not esoteric card work. I've never heard someone referred to as "very underground in the sponge community" so I'm at a loss as to what could be in it to justify such a price.

Bad jokes aside, can someone who has this book shed some light on why it is valued so highly?

Just curious.

DD

[Richard Hatch]

Doc, in my opinion, it is highly priced because it has a great title, is by Frank Garcia, and is hard to find. The content does not live up to the title, in my opinion. It is a decent $30 book based on the content. Current pricing is based on demand from those who don't have a copy, not based on the value of the content. All Garcia's out of print titles have skyrocketed in price in recent years.

[DocDixon]

Richard,

Thanks for the reply. I had thought that was probably the case but was holding out hope the hype was justified.

Another bubble burst ... (insert sound of losing from the Price Is Right)

DD

[Chris Bailey]

I picked this up years ago for cheap but for the life of me can't seem to let it go, even at the prices it seems to fetch. It's a decent book but it's by no means an "encyclopedia." There's a somewhat standard routine using a purseframe in it called "My routine by George" that's a real gem.

[Bill Palmer]

The German translation of this book is still available for a much more reasonable price.

[DocDixon]

Originally posted by Bill Palmer:
The German translation of this book is still available for a much more reasonable price.

This would explain Germany's sponge ball domination at the last ten FISMs ... that and STEROIDS!!!

... must ...get.. sleep ...

DD

[Terry]

This would explain Germany's sponge ball domination at the last ten FISMs ... that and STEROIDS!!!

They must be packing some serious balls to need steroids. . . . .

[Tom Gilbert]

I paid a fairly high price for this when Frank was still alive and he signed it. It does have some decent and varied routines.

[Don Stachowiak]

I think it may be, at least in part, due to the tremendous affection so many of us had for Frank Garcia, and the general scarcity of most of his books. I believe most of his books were self-published, which begs the question, who owns the copyright? I assume it would be his family.
Doesn't it seem like a good time for some bright young publisher, maybe one who illustrated some of Mr.Garcia's books, to find a way to publish a beautiful, combined edition reprint of The Collected Works of Frank Garcia, complete with the recipes (hint, hint, Mr. K...)

[Richard Kaufman]

The reason all of Garcia's books are out of print is because he died without a will, just after recently getting married. His wife, Betty Lou, and his son, Frank Jr., were at legal odds over all of his stuff.

This situation hasn't changed in the time since Frank died, which must be almost 15 years ago.

Frank published all the books himself, George Schindler did a lot of editing and rewriting on the early books (1970s).

[Tom Gilbert]

About a year before he died he talked about putting out his first two books Super Subtle and Super Secret in one volume and was giving the others some thought. It's now the ugly mess Richard describes.

[Don Stachowiak]

That's always a sad situation, I'm sorry to hear about it.
Don

[Mallakite]

What book or DVD is good for a beginner of spongeballs that teachs all the good stuff?

[Jeremy Greystoke]

I'll put a quick vote in for the Spongeball Toolbox DVD and Kit produced by Magic By Gosh and hosted by Steve Dacri. You get spongeballs, a purse frame, other gimmicks, and a DVD with a running time of over two hours showing a host of moves and routines. It's a really reasonable $ 25.00 from your favorite dealer.

Jeremy

[Paul Mellan]

I have to disagree somewhat with some of what has been written in this column about Garcia'a book. Sponge ball magic is one of the most amazing types of magic a close up worker could perform because rarely in magic does the marvelous happen in a spectator's hand! I have Frank's fabulous book and can certainly understand its worth (even over $100.00) to someone who doesn't have it! Basic moves are vividly expalined and the routines are extremely entertaining. To watch Frank Garcia perform sponge ball magic was one of the best experiences I had watching a close up performer! One problem is some magicians think spectators love watching them perform boring card magic. Don't get me wrong. Good card magic is entertaining as well, although it is very hard to find. Also, some magicians think wrongly that sponge ball magic isn't good because it is "beginner magic." Think about the first time you saw a sponge ball trick performed well! My experience has been that this is the magic the laity talk about most after a performance. They'll say, "He made a sponge ball appear in my hand, from nowhere!" Frank Garcia's book is the Bible of sponge ball magic. Heba Haba Al's signature effects was the multiplying rabbits trick!

[flynn]

His false transfers dont even look like false tranfer moves.

[Mallakite]

A DVD form of the book has just been released in the link below, does this mean the rights of the Frank Garcia books have finally been settled?

Encyclopedia of Sponge Ball Magic DVD

[Richard Kaufman]

No, it just means that the folks on that website made a DVD of all the material in the book, hoping that no one would be around to defend the rights.