Pages from gibeci re vol 2 issue 2 by Conjuring Arts Research Center

G ··· i b e c i è r e Journal of The Conjuring Arts Research Center > ?

V T CVM QVE NEW YORK MMVII

The Conjuring Arts Research Center Board of Directors William Kalush Dr. David Singmaster Steve Cuiffo Philip Varricchio David Blaine

Contents Pocket Notes—Stephen Minch 7 Observations on a rarity–William Kalush 9 Giochi di Carte Bellissimi di Regola, e di Memoria— Horatio Galasso 15 Commentary on Galasso’s Giochi di Carte ... e di Memoria— Vanni Bossi 151 Contributors 189

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Summer 2007 \ Gibecière

Pocket Notes

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This issue began, unwittingly, in 1998, when Bill Kalush and Daniel Rhod boarded a train to Rouen and headed for its Bibliothèque Municipale to examine the, then, only known extant copy of a 1593 Italian work on magic. Authored by Horatio Galasso, this brief book proved to be the earliest known compilation of card magic. Kalush and Rhod were possibly the first magicians to examine Galasso’s text in several centuries. They immediately recognized its tremendous importance to the history of conjuring, and Kalush managed to get a microfilm made of the work. This he placed in the library he was building, which a few years later was to become the holdings of the Conjuring Arts Research Center. He then arranged for a translation into English to be made of the book. Meanwhile, in the Italian city of Castellanza, a more than usually accomplished magician and scholar of magic history, Vanni Bossi, was also on the track of this enticingly rare book. While tracking down the Rouen copy of Galasso’s Giochi di carte bellissimi de regola, e di memoria was no small feat, Bossi went further. He discovered a previously unknown second copy, in the hands of a private collector, and gained access to it. The result of Bossi’s expert sleuthing was his publication in 2001 of a facsimile edition of the book, accompanied by a commentary on its origin, author and contents. This volume, published by Bossi in Milan, made Galasso’s Giochi di carte only slightly less rare, with its one-hundred exquisitely printed and hardbound copies. Summer 2007 \ Gibecière

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Gibecière

Shortly after releasing Giochi di carte, Bossi planned an English-language edition that would contain the facsimile pages of his Italian edition, along with a translation of his commentary. In discussion of this project with Max Maven and myself, he was convinced that such a book should include an English translation of Galasso’s text. But the difficulties of such a translation, done from the Renaissance Italian, were significant—significant enough to halt Bossi’s project for several years. When Bill Kalush learned of the problem, he generously offered Vanni the translation he had commissioned. This seemed to solve the main stumbling block, but the translation and desired expansion of Bossi’s commentary proved a further problem; and another year elapsed. While all this was going on, Gibecière was launched, and Bill and I wondered if Mr. Bossi might consider letting us take over the publication of his research on Galasso. Bill’s generosity was immediately returned with interest. Yes, he would! With permission received, Bill asked Lori Pieper to look over the English translation of Galasso. The result was a great disappointment. Pieper found numerous shortcomings to the Englished rendering, that only a full retranslation would remedy. Taking this in stride, Bill asked her to shoulder the labor, along with the translation of the Bossi commentary. The result of all this is the meticulous translation, with added annotations and an expanded commentary, done in collaboration with Vanni Bossi. The importance of Galasso’s Giochi di carte and the care with which it has been brought to English-language readers is a testament to the devotion and generosity of all parties concerned. Stephen Minch editor Gibecière / Vol. 2, No. 2

Observations on a Rarity G

OBSERVATIONS ON A RARITY

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WILLIAM KALUSH We are extremely pleased to be able to offer our readers a translation of Vanni Bossi’s excellent essay and analysis of Horatio Galasso’s seminal Giochi di carte [...] e di memoria. The fourth issue of Gibecière also includes the first published and complete translation of this important early book. As you will learn, this work by Galasso was the first known book offering extensive information on card conjuring, and introduced mathematical card magic only forty-three years after the appearance of what we believe to be the first printed explanation of a card effect (Cardano). Although some casual observers to history often confuse rarity with obscurity, Galasso’s Giochi di carte is a fine example of a truly rare book that clearly had an enormous influence on the art and its literature. Institutionally, the book is unique: There is only one copy extant, that held in the Leber collection in the Bibliothèque Municipale de Rouen. There had been another in the British Library, but that copy perished during the Second World War. The unique status of the Rouen copy has to be qualified, because now the consummate historian and collector Mr. Bossi has managed to locate one more, but it isn’t owned by an institution. It is this copy that he has used for this work. Galasso’s book stands out for a number of reasons, not least of which is its elegant style and the clearly non-ephemeral nature of its production. More important, it is the bridge spanning magic methods from the distant past to the far future. Here Summer 2007 \ Gibecière

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