“Encyclopedia of rope tricks”
“Encyclopedia of rope tricks”
Stewart James, Dover Edition
This book is, in fact, a republication of the third printing (1945) of the work originally published by ABBOT’S Magic Novelty co. It is also interesting to know that it is in fact the first of three books, the other two being available exclusively from ABBOT’S.
This book is roughly 400 pages long, and has some really amazing effects, all of which have been contributed from various great names in the magic community, such as Harlan Tarbell, Nevil Maskelyne, Grant, Brema, etc… The illusions are well illustrated and easy to follow. The skill level needed varies from beginner to intermediate. However, most of the routines presented are rarely seen on stage, even though they can be quite appealing to all audiences. If you are interested in performing rope tricks, it is therefore a very nice source of material that is not overused.
The book is divided in nine chapters, each relating to one particular aspect of rope magic. They can be studied individually in the order of your preference, the various sections being independent one from the other, so to speak…
Chapter one deals exclusively with knots, giving no less than 19 different ways to tie knots that vanish, or can be made while holding and not letting go the ends of the ropes.
Chapter two deals with penetrations with two ropes. They include such tricks as ropes through neck, ropes and rings mystery, rope releases, walking through ropes.
Chapter three contains 25 sections for penetrations using one rope. Among the various subjects treated are different versions of the leg tie, rope through neck, handkerchief release, vest turning trick, ring on rope, knotted ring on rope, rope through stick, etc…
Chapter four talks about a subject, which personally, I was a little bit more familiar with: cut and restored cord. There are 24 different variations on this subject in this chapter. These tricks vary from tricks using rope, yarn or strings, all of which can be done without too much preparation. Which brings us to the two following chapters: Chapter five has 17 tricks for “cut and restored rope”(impromptu), and chapter six has 16 routines for cut and restored rope with unprepared ropes.
The illusions in chapter five can be performed anywhere, at any time, as you would assume with the word “impromptu” associated with them. The illusions in chapter 6 can also be done n various types of venues, but may take some preparation.
Chapter seven deals with cut and restored rope yet again, but this time with a prepared rope. It contains 29 variations on this concept, such as Grant’s Super rope trick, Tarbell rope mystery, Doc Nixon’s rope mystery, Eddie Clover’s triple cut routine, etc…
Chapter eight contains miscellaneous rope tricks from such notables as Percy Abbot, Freer, Grant, and Hanson.
Chapter nine is composed of seven variations of the hindoo rope trick
Pease feel free to leave me any comments, whether you liked this review or not… It is always a pleasure to hear from you!
Have a nice day!
Louis Jutras
The Montreal magician / Le magicien de montreal
Stewart James, Dover Edition
This book is, in fact, a republication of the third printing (1945) of the work originally published by ABBOT’S Magic Novelty co. It is also interesting to know that it is in fact the first of three books, the other two being available exclusively from ABBOT’S.
This book is roughly 400 pages long, and has some really amazing effects, all of which have been contributed from various great names in the magic community, such as Harlan Tarbell, Nevil Maskelyne, Grant, Brema, etc… The illusions are well illustrated and easy to follow. The skill level needed varies from beginner to intermediate. However, most of the routines presented are rarely seen on stage, even though they can be quite appealing to all audiences. If you are interested in performing rope tricks, it is therefore a very nice source of material that is not overused.
The book is divided in nine chapters, each relating to one particular aspect of rope magic. They can be studied individually in the order of your preference, the various sections being independent one from the other, so to speak…
Chapter one deals exclusively with knots, giving no less than 19 different ways to tie knots that vanish, or can be made while holding and not letting go the ends of the ropes.
Chapter two deals with penetrations with two ropes. They include such tricks as ropes through neck, ropes and rings mystery, rope releases, walking through ropes.
Chapter three contains 25 sections for penetrations using one rope. Among the various subjects treated are different versions of the leg tie, rope through neck, handkerchief release, vest turning trick, ring on rope, knotted ring on rope, rope through stick, etc…
Chapter four talks about a subject, which personally, I was a little bit more familiar with: cut and restored cord. There are 24 different variations on this subject in this chapter. These tricks vary from tricks using rope, yarn or strings, all of which can be done without too much preparation. Which brings us to the two following chapters: Chapter five has 17 tricks for “cut and restored rope”(impromptu), and chapter six has 16 routines for cut and restored rope with unprepared ropes.
The illusions in chapter five can be performed anywhere, at any time, as you would assume with the word “impromptu” associated with them. The illusions in chapter 6 can also be done n various types of venues, but may take some preparation.
Chapter seven deals with cut and restored rope yet again, but this time with a prepared rope. It contains 29 variations on this concept, such as Grant’s Super rope trick, Tarbell rope mystery, Doc Nixon’s rope mystery, Eddie Clover’s triple cut routine, etc…
Chapter eight contains miscellaneous rope tricks from such notables as Percy Abbot, Freer, Grant, and Hanson.
Chapter nine is composed of seven variations of the hindoo rope trick
Pease feel free to leave me any comments, whether you liked this review or not… It is always a pleasure to hear from you!
Have a nice day!
Louis Jutras
The Montreal magician / Le magicien de montreal
Labels: book
posted by Louis Jutras | 11:20 a.m.
2 Comments:
Louis,
Just wanted to point out that this book is probably better known as "Expert Card Technique", as originally published.
Doug A.
You probably wanted to leave this comment in the "complete guide to card tricks and techniques" section...
At any rate, you are most probably right. The version that I have was a reprint by Coles publishing, and therefore the title may be different from the original manuscript. Thanks for pointing this out!
Louis
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