Great Magicians’ Tricks
BOOKS by
Will Goldston.
Secrets of Magic. Latest Conjuring. Magic For The Forces. Looking Into The Future. Tricks and Illusions. Paper Tricks. The Young Conjurer—Part 1 and 2. The Young Conjurer (Both Parts Revised). Easy Magic—Part 1 and 2. Simple Conjuring Tricks. Easy Road to Magic. Card and Ball Tricks. Effective Modern Tricks. Tricky Tricks for Tricksters. Indoor Pastimes. Modern Card Tricks. Juggling Secrets. Magicians’ Annuals—1907-8-9-10-11-12-13. Annual of Magic. Pantomime and Vaudeville Favourites. Exclusive Magical Secrets. More Exclusive Magical Secrets. Further Exclusive Magical Secrets. Card Index of Exclusive Magical Secrets. Sensational Tales of Mystery Men. Tricks You Should Know. More Tricks and Puzzles. More Tricks and Puzzles (Revised). Magical Scraps. Great Magicians’ Tricks.
Out of Print.
WILL GOLDSTON LIMITED 14, Green Street, Leicester Square, London, W.C. 2.
WILL GOLDSTON. Caricature by Frank Leah, presented to the Author by Will Day, F.R.P.S.
GREAT MAGICIANS’ TRICKS By WILL GOLDSTON Copyrighted throughout the world.
LONDON: WILL GOLDSTON LTD., 14, GREEN STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE, W.C.2.
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NOTE. “Great Magicians' Tricks” is divided into two complete parts, “Magicians of the Past” and “Modern Magicians. ” The secrets of each particular magician follow immediately upon my own character impression of that magician. All the tricks and illusions included under the first section of the book were acquired by me during the lifetimes of the deceased magicians, whilst those of the modern magicians were specially contributed for this volume. A complete index is printed at the end of the volume.
AN INTRODUCTION BY
HORACE GOLDIN. was more than a little astonished when, a month or two back, Will Goldston asked me to write an introduction to his latest work, “ Great Magicians’ Tricks.” In the first place, I had no idea how one should set about writing an introduction, and, secondly, I did not esteem my literary ability sufficiently high to make as good a job of writing as I should wish. I excused myself on several points, real and unreal, from the task. When, however, it came to telling Goldston point blank that his introduction had best be left in other hands, I failed miserably. I reflected that, after all, it is not given to every man to write an introduction, and that the author should have picked on me when there were so many others he might have chosen equally well, was in itself a very pretty compliment. So here I am, with a sheet of paper before me and a pen in my hand, determined to accomplish, somehow or other, what to me is a very considerable task. Frankly, I do not know what to say. The things I would like to say about Goldston’s books, have been said many times before, and I shall not weary my readers with repetition. I have studied the present volume in its
GREAT MAGICIANS’ TRICKS. 8 typescript form, and know that, quite apart from bearing the hall-mark of Goldston’s name, it will be welcomed by magicians in every part of the world. It is a complete and concise volume of valuable magical secrets, and the small character portraits which go with them are not the least part of its importance. That, however, the reader will soon discover for himself. I think I can best fulfill my purpose by adding still another portrait to the collection—the portrait of the author himself. That this book should be published without some such effort would, I feel, be a sad mistake. There must be thousands of people who have read Goldston’s works, who are interested in him as a magical personality, and yet who have never had the opportunity of meeting him, and probably never will. Clearly, Goldston is not in a position to tell us about himself, and I believe I am better fitted than any other person in the world to do it for him. We have been close friends now for nearly thirty years ; we have grown older and wiser together ; and though we are men of vastly differing outlooks, we have never lost sympathy, admiration, or respect for each other. That, I think, is the acid test of friendship. I have not the space to set down all I know of Will Goldston. Let it suffice to say that, through all the years we have been friends, he has never stooped to anything mean or paltry. He has roused the indignation of some magicians through collecting and publishing their cherished magical secrets in his Locked Books. He has been accused of capitalising the brains of his fellow professionals for his own purpose. Yet Goldston himself tells you in this
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volume that he has lost money on all his big works, and I myself know this to be a fact. Throughout his magical career he has been inspired by a genuine altruism, a desire to set down for all time a record of the great ideas in magic. I would describe Goldston as the High Priest of Magic, and his office in Green Street, London is his Magical Temple. Goldston has it in his power to kill magic once and for all had he the mind to do so. He has been the confidant and adviser of the world’s greatest magicians. Houdini, Chung Ling Soo, Carl Hertz and a host of others have taken their troubles to him, and he has helped them, oftimes at the expense of his own pocket. Struggling youngsters have appealed to him for help and advice, and never one has been turned away empty. Be you the world’s greatest magician or the junior assistant of a fourth rate vaudeville conjurer—it makes no difference to Goldston. He will help you, and willingly, irrespective of rank and title. He has never been one to solicit applause. He is an off-stage worker. And that, to me, is a matter of considerable disappointment. The value of Goldston’s work for magic is all too insufficiently recognised, largely, I believe, through his habit of “lyin’ low and sayin’ nuffin’.” If Goldston had the audacity and aggression of Harry Houdini, his income would have multiplied itself many times over. As it is, I know Goldston to be a far greater figure than Houdini ever was, only the world will probably never realise it. Houdini was a great magician, but his work was inspired by selfishness. When Goldston is dead, we shall see him in a truer perspective,
GREAT MAGICIANS’ TRICKS. 10 but whether he will ever be appreciated at his full worth— and I regard him as the finest personality the magical world has ever known—is a matter for considerable doubt. Not long ago, I visited Goldston’s home in Buckinghamshire. In a nest of drawers near his study desk he has an amazing collection of magical fakes. Left to myself for a few minutes, I was idly examining some of them, when quite by chance, I happened to turn my head. Over in the far corner of the room is a cupboard. It is a sort of Bluebeard’s secret cupboard, for although I have visited Goldston’s house more times than I care to count, I had never seen it open. On this occasion, however, the door was standing ajar. From where I was sitting I caught a glimpse of silver and gold. I returned to my examination of the fakes, but my mind kept wandering to those mysterious shining objects at my back. There ensued a short, sharp struggle between a quite inexcusable curiosity and the ethics of hospitality. In the end, curiosity won. I opened the cupboard door, and there, packed on the shelves were dozens and dozens of magical testimonials, illuminated addresses, gift books, medallions and silver cups and trays, all made out to Will Goldston, for his services to magic and charitable causes. Whilst I was examining them, Goldston entered the room. To be quite honest, I felt a trifle piqued because, even though an old friend, I had never been given the opportunity of seeing them before. “ Will,” I said, “ these things weren’t given you to be shut away in a cupboard. Why don’t you let them see daylight ? ”
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“No, Horace,” he answered firmly. “I should hate to have those things on show. The spirit they represent is locked away in my mind, and that’s all that matters to me.” I mention this trifling incident because it illustrates fairly well Goldston’s general attitude towards life. For all his vast knowledge of stage life, he is a poor showman— the poorest I know when it comes to self-advertisement. However, it is not my business here to deprecate. Goldston did not expect me to deprecate or boost him when he asked me to write this introduction. A man with an eye for business would have handed it over to an astute publicity agent. I am not a publicity agent; I am simply an admirer and a friend. And now I feel that my part of this book is done. If the few pages I have written serve to invest the remainder of the volume with a new interest, an interest inspired by some slight acquaintance with the author’s personality, then I shall feel that my time—and the reader’s—has been well spent. Horace Goldin, London, 1931.
The Two Aces.
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URPRISINGLY few conjurers have any real knowledge of the literary side of magic. Amateur conjurers, especially, are prone to accept a magical book as good purely on a reputation rather than on its intrinsic value. And in these days when so many reputations are lauded beyond their true merit, and so many people fancy their hand at authorship, that is a dangerous policy. There are far more bad magical books than good in circulation nowadays. It has been said, and with a good deal of truth, that there can only be one judge of a book. That is oneself. The same book which I consider good, my reader may consider bad, and to him it is quite definitely a bad book, no matter what opinion any other person may express. But it must be remembered that there is a very definite limit to one’s personal ability to judge the merit of a book, especially in the sphere of magic. That limit is dependent on experience. Thus, if speaking as an experienced magician, I pronounce a book bad, and John Smith, an inexperienced amateur, pronounces it good, I contend, with all due modesty, that my opinion is worth more to fellow magicians than John Smith’s. During the past forty years I have read an enormous number of magical books. A few have been excellent,
GREAT MAGICIANS’ TRICKS. 14 some have been good, but the vast majority should never have been written. And here I might say that the test of merit in any magical book is simplicity itself. Let the reader ask himself: Have I been enlightened through reading this book ? Has the writer explained in simple language some new knowledge ? If you can answer both these questions with a decided “Yes!” then rest assured you have read a good book, and that though you may not realise it, you are a better magician for reading it. Most amateurs who read magical works read them wrongly, and consequently dispossess any good book of its true merit. Every book on magic should be written and read from the point of the audience. To study a book from a performer’s point of view is wholly wrong, for the essence of magic is in hoodwinking and entertaining an audience, and not in amusing oneself. Thus, the intelligent magician reads from the viewpoint of a disinterested personality ; he is entirely forgetful of self. That is not altogether an easy thing, and it requires many years of practice to read a magical book as it should be read. A good magical writer, however, has a way of explaining himself which makes the task considerably easier. It is practically impossible to over-exaggerate the value of book knowledge in magic, and for that reason I deplore the lack of literary discrimination which characterises so many modern magicians. Magical books are far more valuable to the magical student than medical books are to the budding doctor. Ninety-nine per cent of magicians acquire their magical grounding through books. For them there are no lecture rooms or demonstration halls, albeit a few of the old-timers were born to the profession, through
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serving an apprenticeship as assistants. Still, without books, magic would be dead. Nothing can be more certain than that. Not long ago, my attention was drawn to the corres pondence columns of two or three magical journals. Apparently, some sort of discussion has been progressing concerning the best books in magic. From the opinions given, I gathered that the letter writers were either very raw amateurs, or else book collectors, more concerned with the magic words first editions, than what those first editions contained. For example, one correspondent, in a lengthy list ommitted to make any mention of Professor Hoffmann’s works. Such ignorance is almost unbelievable. Hoffmann is the father of modern magic, and his works are amongst the finest ever written on the subject. I have, perhaps, already said too much in introduction to the main purpose of this short article—my idea of the best books in magic. But before I give my considered list, I feel I should say something on the author of this present volume. Will Goldston is the greatest living magical writer; and I think the greatest that has ever lived. Dorney, the American, has called him the “ Shakes peare of Magic,” and certainly Goldston has given us some books on magic which must rank as classics. Through his writings he has done more to enlighten magicians the world over than any other magical writer, not even excepting the immortal Hoffman. Goldston’s success has led to his being widely imitated, especially during the past ten years. In this time a great number of books by unknown authors have appeared. Most of the writers appear to be woefully ignorant of their subject, and their
GREAT MAGICIANS’ TRICKS. 16 work is characterised by a strange inability to explain themselves in simple language. I should add that I have been privileged to read through the script and examine the diagrams of this volume, which is to appear under the title of “ Great Magicians’ Tricks.” The fact that I include the book in my list of the twenty best books in magic speaks for itself. Will Goldston has always said that any book which contains at least one good magical secret is worth its price, but he believes also in providing as many good secrets in one volume as it is humanly possible to collect. The present book exemplifies that conviction. Finally, here is my list. I have put the books down just as they occur to me, and with no idea of tabulating them in order of merit: Professor Hoffmann’s “Modern Magic.” Professor Hoffmann’s “More Magic.” Professor Hoffmann’s “Later Magic.” Will Goldston’s “ Magical Annual ” (Five Volumes) Will Goldston’s “Annual of Magic.” Will Goldston’s “ Exclusive Magical Secrets.” Will Goldston’s “More Exclusive Magical Secrets.” Will Goldston’s “ Further Exclusive Magical Secrets.” Will Goldston’s “ Tricks and Illusions.” Will Goldston’s “ Great Magicians’ Secrets.” Will Goldston’s “ Card Index System.” Nelson Downs’ “ The Art of Magic.” Eardease’s “ The Expert at the Card Table.” Lang Neil’s “ The Modern Conjurer.” Maskelyne & Devant’s “ Our Magic.” David Devant’s “ Lessons on Magic.”
GREAT MAGICIANS’ TRICKS.
A FEW NOTES
17
By WILL GOLDSTON. Y work on this, my latest book, is now complete. The artist has completed his diagrams, the explanations and the various character sketches are ready for the press. Frankly, I am not sorry. The collection of my material has occupied me many months, and it is gratifying to see the end of a long, if not arduous, task in sight. Following my usual custom, I have circularised the coming publication of this book, and I am grateful for the manner in which my many subscribers have responded. I trust, and believe, that none of them will be disappointed. I have spared nothing in my efforts to obtain first-class material for this work; I have ransacked Europe and America, and collected from the world’s best magicians and inventors their secrets. It will be obvious to any reader that I have acted merely as a compiler. I have undertaken to collect these secrets and to publish them to interested and responsible persons. Beyond mere collection and compilation, my work ceases. This book, strictly speaking, is not my book. It is a book of the world’s magicians, a co-operative volume. Just as my locked books are co-operative volumes. I want that point to be clearly understood. Without the very generous help of the many magicians whose secrets are herein contained, “ Great Magicians’ Tricks ” could never have been published. It will be observed that I have endeavoured to make the book “ different,” to give it an original interest of its own, by the inclusion of my character sketches of some of the contributors.
GREAT MAGICIANS’ TRICKS. 18 But, it must be observed, such character sketches are merely incidental to the true nature of the book. From a magical standpoint, the real value of this work lies in the secrets, and the secrets alone. Let me, therefore, express my gratitude to every individual magician who has materially helped me by contributing some cherished secret or secrets, for publication. My friend Horace Goldin has been kind enough to write an introduction to the book. As he himself tells you, I left the manner of the introduction entirely to himself; and I was more than a little surprised when he presented me with his pages of shameless eulogy on myself. He proclaims, amongst other things, my poor ability as a showman. Well, just to disprove him, I propose to digress for a moment on the short article entitled “ The Best Books in Magic ” written by Arnold De Biere. De Biere gives a list of what he considers the twenty best magical works ever published, and in it will be found a large number of works under the name of Will Goldston. I say, without qualification, that I am entirely in agreement with De Biere. Especially with regard to my locked books. I think they are splendid books. It would be false modesty on my part to declare otherwise. But here again, I must repeat that the books are mine only in the sense that I have acted as compiler. In truth, they are books, like this, which can never be attributed to a single author. They are valuable because they are the books of the world’s magicians, records of all the finest magical secrets of our time. That, at least, was the aim of the present writer in publishing them. WILL GOLDSTON.