The Book of Modern Conjuring

23 August 2010 by Mike | 0 comments

One of my favourite places in the world is Arty Bees Books. They happen to have a respectable assortment of books on magic, including a few kept under lock and key. A few days ago I visited and asked to have the key brought to that lock, so I could have a closer look at some titles. The one that initially caught my eye – and the one I purchased – was Professor R. Kunard’s The Book of Modern Conjuring.

I’ve tried to locate some more detailed information on this one, but the best I can find is that it was published between 1890 and 1900, presumably a companion work to the good Professor’s The Book of Card Tricks.

Two things attracted me to this book, the first being the waiter on the cover, serving what looks to be soup. The second is the use of the term ‘modern’. This is evident in Chapter XII, Tricks with Electricity. The Professor is quick to warn the reader:

“Although very mysterious effects are produced by its means, we cannot conscientiously recommend the use of this agent, from the mere fact that the connections are so liable to get out of order at any moment, which might happen at the very time you required its service the most.”

Not to mention that whole pesky ‘electrocution’ thing.

I haven’t had a chance to read it in detail, but some of the effects look similar to ones from Hofzinser and Robert-Houdin, who had not been long dead when this book appeared. Of course, the similarities may just come from the closeness of the European magic community of the time.

There are a couple of effects worth noting here, just for their names:

To Take a Bundle of Firewood from a Hat
To Make Rice Pass from a Vase to the Crown of a Hat, and an Orange Pass from the Table into the Vase
To Find a Feather in a Handkerchief which was previously placed in a Box, and to Find its Place taken up by Sweets
A Girl having been Put into a Basket and the Lid Shut down, to Pass a Sword through the Basket in Several Places, and to Make the Girl Appear amongst the Audience Quite Uninjured, and the Basket be Found to be Empty

Of course, the late 19th Century being what it was, there are also some offensive names for some of the effects, but for what it’s worth, they’re not very good ones.

One of the most intriguing things about the book comes in the Introduction, where after the Professor takes the in-vogue-at-the-time spiritualism to task, he explains nine rules to conjuring, some of which mirror what’s currently written about the science of magic, namely the best methods of misdirection, and why they work on an audience.

My personal favourite from this section, now filed under ‘words to live by’:

“Sixth – Never act the buffoon, nor pass ungentlemanly personalities; by such you only make yourself ridiculous, and gain the ill-will of some present.”