A must read!
A new book published recently has really impressed all our magicians and everyone else here in the office. ‘Magic 1400’s – 1950’s’ features history and posters of great magicians from the middle ages, to the middle of the last century.
Published by Taschen and edited by Noel Daniel, the book celebrates more than 500 years of the dazzling visual culture of the world’s greatest magicians. Featuring more than 1,000 rarely seen vintage posters, photographs, handbills, and engravings as well as paintings by Hieronymus Bosch and Caravaggio among others, this 650-page volume traces the history of magic as a performing art from the 1400s to the 1950s. Combining sensational images with incisive text, Magic explores the evolution of the magician’s craft, from medieval street performers to the brilliant stage magicians who gave rise to cinematic special effects; from the 19th century’s Golden Age of Magic to groundbreaking daredevils like Houdini and the early 20th century’s vaudevillians.
The authors are magicians Mike Caveney and Jim Steinmeyer, two of the biggest names in magic and there are contributions from Ricky Jay, a world class magician and one of our favourite performers. We would like to congratulate them all on such an amazing project.
‘Magic 1400’s – 1950’s’ is visually stunning and equally informative – a must for any magic enthusiast’s collection. To read more about the book and its authors click here and if you want to buy a copy click here.