Description
Before YouTube tutorials and TikTok sleights, magic was passed around through pocket-sized pamphlets, cereal box inserts, and dime-store booklets like this one — small, affordable, and loaded with crowd-pleasing tricks. These weren’t for the tuxedoed illusionist or the Vegas headliner; they were designed for birthday parties, lodge meetings, and neighborhood talent nights. Part magic, part mischief, and part vaudeville routine, these booklets mixed classic conjuring with pranks, gags, and “party stunts” meant to entertain more than amaze. They were printed cheaply, meant to be folded, scuffed, and practiced on the spot. Today, they stand as charming artifacts of a pre-digital imagination economy, when entertainment came from a pack of cards, a bit of wire, or a bent spoon — not a glowing screen.
Book of Magic and Party Stunts is a mid-century handbook for low-stakes, high-laugh entertainment. Likely published in 1936, this uncredited booklet delivers classic close-up tricks, bar bets, parlor gags, and light illusions — all taught with economy and charm. Expect coin vanishes, card revelations, disappearing knots, and a whole section of “stunts” that flirt with the absurd (and sometimes the mildly dangerous). The illustrations are crude but effective, and the language is pitched at the enthusiastic amateur: someone ready to charm a room, not fool Penn & Teller. A perfect snapshot of how everyday Americans performed magic at home — equal parts showmanship and shenanigans — this is a nostalgic throwback to a simpler kind of spectacle. Scarce in good condition due to its ephemeral format.
A punchy little time capsule of pre-internet party tricks and parlor mischief.
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