Difference between revisions of "Stars of Magic"

Revision as of 15:05, 7 March 2008

The Stars of Magic series was originally released by Stars of Magic, Inc. in the 1940s and 1950s as separate manuscripts from some of the top close-up magicians at the time. They were later bound in a hardcover edition by Louis Tannen, Inc. The rights were later purchased by D. Robbins & Co. and in September 2003 Meir Yedid Magic acquired the rights to the original and current editions.

The series was written and edited by amateur magician and judge George Starke with photographs by George Karger (a professional photographer who regularly contributed to Life magazine and was good friends with Dai Vernon and John Scarne) and periodically released over a seven year period.

The prices originally ranged from $1 to $8 for individual pieces and up to $12 for a complete series. Series Nos. 10 and 11, the last two, sold for $10 each. They were available directly from Stars of Magic, Inc. in New York and through most magic dealers at the time.

Dai Vernon (in Revelations) mentions that his series, not Scarne's, was to be the first, but that he had to leave for a job on a cruise ship to South America which delayed work on his series. Starke and Karger did not want to wait. When they informed Dai that they wanted to start the series with Scarne, he told told them John was a great friend and that would be just fine.

By the mid or late 1950s, Max Holden's shop in New York was advertising the complete set with a customized pressure binder; bright red with gold print. At the same time, two other items appeared in the Holden catalog using the same "Stars of Magic" design and layout: "New Master Lessons" by Vernon and Slydini: Vernon's "Royal Monte" and Slydini's "The Art of Using the Lap as a Servante."

Exactly when and what the circumstances were behind Lou Tannen's acquisition of Stars of Magic are not known, but in 1961 the hardbound edition of Stars of Magic was published by Louis Tannen. Included were all eleven of the original series (a total of 34 segments) plus the "two extra lessons" which were originally sold under the New Master Lessons banner ("Royal Monte" and "The Art of Using the Lap as a Servante").

In Cliff Green's book, he introduces Henry Christ's four ace routine by saying it was to have been one of the Stars of Magic routines.

Contents

Series 1 - John Scarne

Series 1, No. 1: Scarne's Classic Ball Routine

Series 1, No. 2: Triple Coincidence

Series 1, No. 2:Silver & Copper Trick"

It has been suggested that this is essentially Dai Vernon's.

Series 2 - Dai Vernon

Series 2, No. 1: Dai Vernon's Triumph

This is believe to be the first time Triumph was published.

In actual performance, Vernon did not use the now well-known “Triumph Shuffle” when he did the routine. He used a pull-through shuffle. The “Triumph Shuffle” was included in the description of the trick because of it’s extreme ease of execution, a significant selling point for the trick.

Series 2, No. 2: Dai Vernon's Cutting The Aces

This was simplified from Vernon's original handling because George Starke felt the handling was beyond the skill level of most magicians.

Series 2, No. 3: Dai Vernon's Spellbound

Inspired by a routine of Edward Victor’s which appeared in his book, Further Magic Of The Hands, called "A Further Changing Coin Effect," which itself is a version of an older changing coin routine which appeared in The Sphinx.

Vernon usually ended Spellbound by doing a coin change the was not included here because he did not want to tip it at the time. It appeared in The Gen magazine some years later.

Series 2, No. 4: Dai Vernon's Kangaroo Coins

Series 3 - Bert Allerton

Series 3, No. 1: Bert Allerton's Pump Room Phantasy

Series 3, No. 2: Bert Allerton's Bamboozle

Series 3 - S. Leo Horowitz and Jarrow

Series 3, No. 3: S. Leo Horowitz's Malini-Bey Chink a Chink

Series 3, No. 4: S. Leo Horowitz's The Egyptian Ball Mystery

Series 3, No. 5: Jarrow's Hanky-Panky

Series 4 - Francis Carlyle

Series 4, No. 1: Francis Carlyle's Decapitation

Series 4, No. 2: Francis Carlyle's Homing Card

Series 4, No. 3: Francis Carlyle's Wrist Watch Steal

Series 5 - Dai Vernon

Series 5, No. 1: Dai Vernon's Impromptu Cups And Balls

Series 5, No. 2: Dai Vernon's Ambitious Card

Series 5, No. 3: Dai Vernon's Mental Card Miracle

Series 6 - Dai Vernon

Series 6, No. 1: Dai Vernon's The Ring On The Wand

Series 6, No. 2: Dai Vernon's Slow-Motion Four Aces

Series 6, No. 3: Dai Vernon's The Travelers

Series 7 - Dr. Jacob Daley

Series 7, No. 1: Dr. Jacob Daley's Cards Up The Sleeve

Series 7, No. 2: Dr. Jacob Daley's The Itinerant Pasteboards

Series 7, No. 3: Dr. Jacob Daley's The Cavorting Aces

Series 8 - Slydini

Series 8, No. 1: Slydini's Cigarette Miracle

Series 8, No. 2: Slydini's Flight Of The Paper Balls

Series 8, No. 3: Slydini's Flyaway Coin Routine

Series 9 - Ross Bertram

Series 9, No. 1: Ross Bertram On Coins

Series 10 - Vernon On Leipzig

(edited by Bruce Elliott)

Leipzig's Opener

Leipzig's Acrobats

Leipzig's Tear-Up With A Twist

Series 11 - Vernon On Malini

(edited by Bruce Elliott)

Malini's Card Stabbing

Malini's Own Color Change

Malini's Favorite

Lesson 1--Dai Vernon: Royal Monte

Lesson 1--Tony Slydini: The Art of Using the Lap as a Servante

References

http://geniimagazine.com/forum/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000006 http://mymagic.com/starsofmagic.htm