The Art of Magic
The Art of Magic
Step inside one of the world’s most astonishing private collections of magic posters—now revealed for the first time. The Art of Magic chronicles one of the world’s finest collections of magic posters. The oversized book is, itself, a work of art. It is a collection dedicated entirely to the art and artistry of magic history.
Author Ken Trombly is one of the industry’s most fervent collectors of magic art: lithographs, posters, etchings–if it depicts a magician in history, Ken probably owns a copy in mint condition. His house is a wonderland from the golden age of magic. But few of us will ever get to see his collection in person. So…The Art of Magic brings that collection right to your fingertips.
The size of the book is its most unique feature: the book is an enormous 16” by 12”. It’s too big and too beautiful to slide onto a shelf. The Art of Magic belongs front and center, on your coffee table, where you and your loved ones can visit these arresting images with the flick of a page. The book is filled with a mix of our most celebrated and forgotten heroes.
You’ll learn about the heroes you know–Kellar, Chung Ling Soo, Thurston, Houdini–but you’ll see images here that you won’t find anywhere else. You’ll learn about John Henry Anderson and Robert-Houdin, who preceded the golden age of magic, and what’s particularly fascinating here is that you can see, literally, as the technology and art evolve, from broadsides of almost all types, to some wood etchings, to bursts of color in the stone lithographs we all know and love.
For us, the real joy in The Art of Magic is in the unsung heroes we’ve never heard of. You’ll learn about Professor Hartz and Will Wood, as well as a strange magician who went by “Hellmann,” even though his most beautiful poster misspells his name. You’ll even see a beautiful advertisement for a magician whose claim to fame is…eating rocks!
You’ll learn about Carlincourt, a traveling magician who Abraham Lincoln hired to spy on Confederate Troops during the Civil War.
And it isn’t all people. Ken has an outstanding collection of hilarious animal broadsides, boasting about learned pigs, learned geese, learned dogs, and learned horses.
Ken Trombly provides the commentary for each image. He tells brief histories of each performer, how he acquired the piece, and often why the piece speaks to him as a collector. It’s a deeply personal accounting of one collector’s journey in our craft.
In addition to the profusion of amazing full color stone lithographs–a number of which have never been published before, anywhere–fhe book also includes equally rare ephemera–from sheet music featuring magicians to a one-of-a-kind Houdini documents and photos. On top of that, there is even a chapter dedicated to iconic prints and engravings of cup and ball performers.
The Art of Magic is a lifetime in collecting, but the book itself has been years in the making. World-class National Geographic photographer Richard Nowitz painstakingly photographed the images in Ken’s collection, and Andi Gladwin has given the book an elegant layout befitting of the splendor of the golden-age images it contains.
If you love the visuals of our craft’s rich history (and how could you not!), this book is an essential piece for your collection.
The Art of Magic is available in a regular edition and a deluxe set, featuring a stunning slipcase and a signed bookplate by the author. Only 300 deluxe sets were produced, and once sold out, they will never be reprinted.
Customer reviews for The Art of Magic
SPC
When I received the shipment, it was no surprise to me the box was large; however, when I picked up the package, I was surprised at how heavy it was.
In the ad description for this book, it indicates the book and slip case measure’s 16” X 12”. Well, this is sort of correct. I opened the box to find yet another box. The box inside was a box for the slip-cased book and together they measured 16.5” X 12.5” X 2”. I weighted this and the scale read 11.81 lbs. I thought when I received my Marlo Magazine set from Vanishing Inc. this set was heavy (this set has 5 volumes), but this book is one hefty book!
I buyer buyer beware because when Vanishing Inc. described the book as not one for your book shelf but for your coffee table, they are not kidding. This book is big and heavy as I previously mentioned.
This book is nothing less than stunning.
The box inside the shipping box is very nice and has the cover art on one side. Thank you, Vanishing Inc. for, taking great care in the packaging to preserve this book during shipping.
The book itself is gorgeous! The pages are heavy glossy stock. I thought there might be some degradation of the photos, but not so. All the photos of the poster images are incredible as is the rest of the ephemera inside the massive tome.
As for the difference in price points between the Deluxe and Regular Edition. I leave that up to you. I consider myself a somewhat modest yet serious collector and gravitate toward ‘collectible’ editions. There was however, a discrepancy in the ad write-up (Which I believe has since been corrected). The ad print stated this was a limited edition of 200; however, the signed book plate indicated this a limited edition of 300 deluxe sets.
If you are a serious collector or even if you are not but love collecting magic books just the same, this book is definitely one for your bookshelf…uh, coffee table.
Masterclassmember
The Art of Magic is a treasure, perhaps the first of a new genre of magic books that I would hope Vanishing Inc. would pursue.
To convey some idea of its scope, let me relay the Table of Contents.
After an introduction and personal note, the chapter headings are as follows:
1.The Joys of Magic Posters
2. 18th and 19 Century Wonders
3. John Henry Anderson, Robert-Houdin and Other 19th Century Stars
4. The Hermanns
5. Houdini Posters and Advertising
6. Houdini Posters and Ephemera
7. The Mysterious East and Some Imposters
8. Conjuring the Spirits
9. Kellar, Thurston and the Richness of Strobridge
10. Servais Le Roy and Other Creative Stage Artists
11. Dante, Nicola, Carter and Other World Travelers
12. Jewish Magicians
13. Taking Stock
14. Cups & Balls
15. More Imagery of Illusions
Index, Credits, Bibliography
As rewarding as any purchase I’ve ever made from Vanishing Inc. Profound thanks to all involved.
Unlike earlier books dedicated to "magic posters", this one contains also photographs and documents from the 18th century - broadsides - which are an interesting document on how magical publicity had evolved through the years.
The chapters are categorised by performers (Houdini, Herrmann...), by categories (touring magicians, far-Eastern imagery, cups and balls engravings) or by historical period (18th and 19th century), allowing the book to be perused at one's will, without having to necessarily follow a narrative.
The book is very large and it's definitely a "coffee table" book, which should give hours of pleasure to the reader, or casual observer. The text is minimal, providing some basic information on the magician and, often, notes about how the image was acquired by Ken Trombly.
I'm sure the book will become a classic and it certainly already is an important record of the history of magic.
I recognize this might be difficult to believe, but considering the exceedingly high quality of all of the just about 400 pages this book despite its price is actually a bargain. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Congratulations to Ken and the designers on this exquisite and impressive accomplishment.
