Magic 1400s-1950s

[AJM]

Folks who missed out on this large Taschen book when it was originally published may be interested to know that a re-print is now available in hardback and can be picked up on Amazon UK at around 29 pounds (approx. 42 dollars) which includes free shipping in the UK with the Super Saver delivery option.

I note there are slightly fewer pages than the original - although I haven't yet figured out what's missing - and the book is (only slightly) smaller than the first edition (approx 1 incher shorter in length and width). Comes in a rather spiffing slipcase too, as opposed to the original's carry case.

Looks very nice indeed.

I think a reprint of Taschen's Circus book is also currently available in a similar format.

Cheers

Andrew

[Joe Naud]

Nearly 130 less pages is a bit more than a few. I wish my Hardcover came in a slipcase. I have been lugging mine to magic events and having it signed to make it not only the largest book on magic but possibly the largest by size autograph book.
Peace, Joe

[AJM]

Look on the upside, Joe, you must now have arms like Popeye.

Good call on the pages, I'd noticed the difference when pre-ordering although didn't recall that there were as many as 130 fewer pages - I should have double-checked before posting.

Still an impressive looking edition and very good value at the current price.

Cheers

Andrew

[Brad Henderson]

the original was a multiple language book. often reprints of this nature are done in a single language. Might that be the difference?

[JohnCox]

the original was a multiple language book. often reprints of this nature are done in a single language. Might that be the difference?

Ah, good point! That may be what's different.

Hope it's French. :p

[AJM]

Pas du tout, malheuresement, John

The new edition is also multi-lingual.

A bientot

Andrew

[Eric Fry]

Take a look at Taschen's own web page. It shows pictures of some pages in the book and refers to the edition as multi-lingual. It looks like the text in all three languages is in the less-expensive edition.

Also, if you have the original edition, you can see that the layouts are the same but the page numbers differ. I'm guessing Taschen deleted a bunch of full-page illustrations.

Another difference, to account for the price difference between the two editions,could be the paper quality, but I'm just speculating. The paper in the original edition is very thick and it doesn't seem to take fingerprints the way glossy stock does.

I emailed Taschen to ask what the differences are but they never responded.

[Eric Fry]

Well, I did hear from Taschen. They said there is no difference in content between the original edition and the new one. They said there are fewer pages in the new one because pages were re-formatted.

[JohnCox]

You can read what's different in my update here:

http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2013/06 ... n-new.html

[Eric Fry]

That's interesting, John. It sounds like Taschen gave me the wrong info, and my original supposition was correct.

[Richard Kaufman]

Why would you expect one part of the company to know what another part is doing, or even tell you the truth, for that matter?

[JohnCox]

Sorry Eric. I didn't mean to undermine your info. I actually didn't see your post. I was on the go so I quickly slapped my down.

Don't know why they'd tell is two different things. I looking forward to hearing from someone who has the actual book in hand.

[Richard Hatch]

I just got my copy of the new edition of the Taschen book yesterday and have just completed going through it side by side with the earlier edition, and here is a report on the differences that I noted:
The original edition has 650 pages that each measure 17.25 inches x 11.25 inches ( = 194.0625 inches squared).
The new edition has 544 pages that each measure 15 inches x 10 inches ( = 150 inches squared).

This is a reduction in page size from the original of about 22.7% (stated another way, the older version has pages 29.375% larger than the new one) and a reduction in page count of 16.3% (conversely, the old edition is 19.49% larger than the new one).
The reduction in page count was not achieved by drastically reformatting the contents after eliminated some of the illustrations. The formatting of the individual pages is largely unchanged (the layout of the images is the same; there are some places where a few lines have shifted due to the smaller page size). The reduction in page count was achieved by simply eliminating the following 106 pages in the original edition: 18-19, 62-63, 80-81, 92-95, 108-109, 112-115, 154-157, 160-161, 164-165, 168-169, 178-179, 194-195, 200-201, 206-207, 228-229, 242-243, 248-249, 284-285, 292-293, 300-303, 306-307, 318-321, 324-325, 332-335, 368-369, 384-387, 392-393, 396-397, 440-443 (this is the Bancroft "centerfold"), 448-451, 456-457, 460-461, 466-467, 470-471, 474-475, 504-505, 558-559, 562-563, 566-567, 592-593, 612-613, 618-619, 638-639, 646-647.

The eliminated pages do not include any of the essay text, though, of course, the captions related to the eliminated photos were also eliminated. Here are the few other changes I noted: The new edition comes in a nice slipcase (the original did not, though it did come delivered in its own cardboard "suitcase" if you ordered a single copy from Amazon. I still have mine...). There is a small image of a French magic set eliminated from p. 643 of the original on the corresponding index page in the new edition, and there is a decorative image eliminated from p. 649 of the original in the new edition (p. 543). The original has a book mark ribbon, which the new edition does not. The image of the face of a man (the publisher, I was told) that was superimposed on the head of one of Kalanag's showgirls in the photo at the bottom of p. 472 in the original is no longer there (no great loss: the showgirl is prettier). I understand that the publisher does this in his books, like Hitchc@ck (sorry, Alfred, your last name got censored when I spelled it properly!) appearing in his films, so perhaps his image will pop up elsewhere in the new edition. Please let me know if anyone spots it!

If we combine the reduction in page size with the reduction in page count, the new edition is 35.3% smaller (or the older edition is 54.6% larger). Since the price has been reduced by 65% (from $200 to $69.99), it is an incredible bargain, especially since none of the essay text has been eliminated, and it now comes with a slipcase. The Amazon price of $43.98 is just unbelievable for this beautiful book and while I don't usually view books a financial instruments, I can't imagine that at this price this book will not appreciate once it goes out of print, as has the original edition.

The only thing that would have made this new edition even better would have been the addition of a some rare images not in the original, and perhaps an additional essay, adding more value to the new edition and making collectors with the original need to buy the new one. As it currently stands, other than the slipcase, there is nothing in the new edition not in the original, in terms of content, as far as I can tell, and based on the publisher's statement.

[Jeff Pierce Magic]

Dick, thank you for that in-depth comparison. I never knew about the authors photo. I'm just now reading through the second edition while the first is being displayed in my magic room.

Once again, thank you.
Jeff Pierce

[Jeff Pierce Magic]

BTW, obviously you can say Dick, just not c@ck, lol.

Jeff

[Eric Fry]

Thank you for the detailed comparsion of the two editions. If only the publisher could be so helpful.

I would say that in an illustrated book the illustrations are part of the content, so to me the content of the two editions is not the same.

[Marco Pusterla]

Thank you, Richard, for the interesting post and the clear comparison: much appreciated! You definitely have more spare time than many!

[Frank Quiroz]

just received mine in the mail. I had no idea this book would be the size of a Volkswagen! awesome considering the illustrations. Cant wait to dive into this one, which will unfortunately be delayed due to the fact that the shipper did an extremely poor job packing the book which resulted in damage to the spine.
I'll be asking one of the kids to move out in order to make room for the book ha!