(The MAGIC Book XXL is sold out. You could purchase it from us a few years ago for €150. Now it's being traded as a collector's item for €500 to €800. If you're interested in such a collector's item, please contact us.)
Here comes the 2013 edition:
Also of considerable size and with enormous scope,
Weighs 5.4 kilograms! Hardcover in slipcase. 25.2 x 38.2 cm, 544 pages.
Illusions, magic and miracles
The greatest magicians of the world from the Middle Ages to the 1950s
For thousands of years, people have been fascinated by magic; for thousands of years, magic has taught them to fear and laugh, to tremble and be amazed.
Sorcerers, once persecuted as heretics and sorcerers, have always embodied the connection to a parallel world in which practically nothing was impossible – whether they conjured spirits, read minds, or turned the laws of nature upside down with sleight of hand.
When science fiction, virtual reality, computer games, and the internet were still in the distant future, there was no more powerful fantasy world than that of magic. And even today, its practitioners—the true inventors of special effects—know how to continually amaze their audiences and make the impossible possible.
This magnificent volume illustrates the dazzling craftsmanship of the greatest magicians of the past five centuries. Featuring more than 1,000 rare vintage posters, photographs, flyers, and engravings, MAGIC traces the history of magic from the 1470s to the 1950s in 540 pages.
The volume's outstanding illustrations and in-depth accompanying texts illuminate the development of magic from the street performers of the Middle Ages to the brilliant stage artists who gave early film its first special effects, and from the golden age of magic in the 19th century to the vaudeville artists of the 20th century and pioneering daredevils like Houdini.
Trilingual, hardcover in slipcase, 25.2 x 38.2 cm, 544 pages.
MAGIC was discussed
in mw 5/2009 (p. 211).
in MAGIE 12/2009 (p. 620)
in MAGIE 7-8/2013
and discussed in great detail in MAGIC issue November 2009 (p. 34ff.)
The authors:
Author, publisher, collector, and professional magician Mike Caveney has published more than 50 books on the history of magic and authored the biographies Carter the Great (1995) and Kellar's Wonders (2003). In addition to performing shows in over 20 countries, Caveney has also appeared on the NBC television series World's Greatest Magic . He has been a passionate collector and stage magician for more than three decades.
Jim Steinmeyer has authored numerous books on the history and performance of magic, including the Los Angeles Times bestseller Hiding the Elephant (2004) and The Glorious Deception (2006). Steinmeyer's own magic acts have been performed by leading stage magicians such as Doug Henning, David Copperfield, and Siegfried and Roy, and his illusions for the Broadway hits Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast , and Into the Woods have received critical acclaim.
The co-author:
Ricky Jay is considered the world's finest sleight of hand and is also known as an actor, historian, and bestselling author. His books Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women and Jay's Journal of Anomalies were named "Notable Books of the Year" by the New York Times. He has already defined the fundamentals of his art in various articles in the Cambridge Guide to American Theatre and the Encyclopedia Britannica .
The editor:
After graduating from Princeton University, Noel Daniel studied in Berlin as a Fulbright scholar. Following her master's degree in London, she initially managed a photography gallery before becoming an editor. Her publications to date include The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (2013), The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (2011), Magic, 1400s–1950s (2009), and The Circus , 1870–1950 (2008).
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