Class _A_. Book Gop)7ightN". COFWIGHTDEPOSIT. [201 36 ti> OUR MAGIC OUR MAGIC THE ART IN MAGIC THE THEORY OF MAGIC THE PRACTICE OF MAGIC BY NEVIL MASKELYNE AND DAVID DEVANT WITH 86 FIGURES MAINLY PHOTOGRAPHIC REPRODUCTIONS OF PREPARATION AND MANIPULATION NEW YORK EP-BUTTON ^ COMPANY 3XWest Twenty-Third Street Copyright, I911 By E. p. Dutton & Company PREFACE In writing this book we have fulf—illed a purpose that has long been held in view, viz.: the production of a work which may present our art in a truer light than is ordinarily shed upon it by text-books and We treatises. have long been impressed by the fact that, unlike other technical subjects, magic has re- ceived scarcely any attention upon its theoretical side; but has been allowed to drift along the course of progress, as best it may, unaided by the advan- tages that order and system could bestow. In any other calling, technical or artistic, the groundwork of the subject, invariably and as a matter of course, receives due attention on the part of those who follow that calling. Those who teach and those who study alike, are well aware that, unless the fundamental principles, the theory, of their subject be properly understood, there can be no chance of gaining any real knowledge, such as an expert must possess. Then, since magic combines both art and science, the folly that it can be studied apart from its theory, its very constitution, is too obvious to require com- ment. Therefore, in this book, we have attempted the task of setting before the reader a plain and straightforward statement of the facts, principles and reasoning essential to a proper understanding of our subject, so far as our ability will allow. PREFACE vi We do not, for a moment, suggest that what we have written herein represents the last word to be said concerning magic. On the contrary, we are well aware that our book is but the commencement of a new departure which, we hope, may lead to the full elucidation of our subject, in every particular. The ramifications and extensions of knowledge con- nected with magic are so vast in their scope that no single treatise can possibly include all that a skilled magician ought to know. Consequently, we can claim no more than the production of a book which, in our opinion, serves to indicate, rather than to ex- haust, the manifold topics associated with the art, science and practice of magic. One notable feature of this work, which should, we believe, serve to prove the faith that is in us, consists in our unhesitating disclosure of original devices, and the modus operandi of original experi- ments in magic. So far from feeling any reluctance towards letting the general public into the secrets of our procedure, we are most anxious to educate the public in such matters, in order that a proper under- standing of our art may be disseminated among its votaries and patrons. The point is this. Tricks and dodges are of comparatively small importance in the art of magic. At the utmost, they displ—ay in- ventive ability, but nothing more. The effect and — the effect alone produced by the use of such inven- tions, is the consideration of real importance. For proof of this—, we need only point out one well known fact, viz. : that the very best audience a skilled magician can have is one composed entirely PREFACE vii of magicians. The reason for this should be self- evident. An audience of magical experts is bound to see the performer's feats in a proper light. Such an audience will very seldom be perplexed by what is exhibited, and v/ill never attach great importance to ''how it is done." Every member of such an audi- ence will have his mind engrossed, almost exclu- sively, in noting the art with which the performer uses devices, known or unknown, to produce an in- tended effect. If his art be meritorious, the expert spectators will appreciate the performance highly, no matter how old, how new, how ingenious or how simple may be the technical devices employed. It will be difficult, we fear, to bring the general public to that standpoint. The average man is so firmly impressed with the notion that magic consists merely in puzzles ofifered for solution, challenges to the spectator's acuteness, that many years must elapse before that erroneous idea can be dispelled. Some day, however, we hope that even the man in the street will have learned the fact that so-called ^^secrets" are, to the magician, little more than are, to the actor, the wigs, grease-paints and other "make- ups" with which he prepares himself for appearance before the public. The art of the magician, like that of the actor, depends upon matters far higher than mere appliances and processes. Just as the actor, in the exercise of his art, employs certain means for making himself resemble the character he repre- sents, so the magician employs devices essential to the guise in which he appears. As it happens, the magician's aids in this respect are, necessarily, more PREFACE viii recondite than those of the actor. Owing to this fact, there has arisen the mistaken impression that the magician's art begins and ends in the devices he employs. Whereas, in fact, those devices are merely his working tools. His art does not consist in the things he uses, nor in the trade secrets and technical processes he has at command, but in the employment of those facilities with adequate efficiency. It con- sists in what he does with the things he uses, not in those things themselves. In the hands of a skilled magician, a magical experiment becomes something vastly different from what it would be if conducted by a novice. That needs no argument whatever. And it is just in that very difference that the art of magic is comprised. Those who hold the view that the tools of magic are synonymous with the art of magic do great injustice to the magician and to his art, alike. Undoubtedly, we must admit that great progress in the art has been made during recent years. Both in artistry and in social standing the modern ma- gician stands upon a place far higher than that occupied by his predecessors of two or three gen- erations ago. The average magician of to-day has been educated at a public school and is, socially, qualified to rank with members of any other pro- fession. He knows some Latin and, perhaps, a trifle of Greek; and, on occasion, can speak French without giving his audience the cold shivers. So far as they go, these facts are eminently satisfactory, but more is requisite for the equipment of an artist in magic. The young gentlemen who constitute the