Vintage Magic No Mystery WH Cremer Edinburgh John Grant Exonian Magical Society For Sale

Vintage Victorian Magic No Mystery Edited by W. H. Cremer - John Grant Edinburgh Edition - Exonian Magical Society Association Copy
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Publisher: John Grant
Publication Year: 1890-1900 (Late Victorian Edition)
Special Attributes: Illustrated, Ex-Library, Exonian Magical Society Provenance, Association Copy
Up for sale is a rare late-Victorian copy of Magic No Mystery: Conjuring Tricks with Cards, Balls, and Dice; Magic Writing, Performing Animals, Etc. Etc., edited by William Henry Cremer. This specific edition was published in Edinburgh by John Grant and includes numerous charming period line illustrations.This volume boasts exceptional British magic history, originating directly from the library collection of the historic Exonian Magical Society (Exeter, Devon).Provenance and Markings:

• Ink Stamp: The front endpaper features a clear institutional property stamp reading: \"This is the property of the EXONIAN MAGICAL SOCIETY\".
• Handwritten Presentation: Features a bold, vintage ink inscription documenting its arrival into the society\'s library: \"Exonian Magical Society, Presented by Mr. David Packham, 27 Oct 1934\".
• Catalog Marking: Has an old library numbering \"5053a\" neatly written in the upper corner.

Content:
A comprehensive historical guide to Victorian platform and parlour magic. As outlined on the contents sheet, the volume contains the following comprehensive parts:

• Part I: Modern Magic by Sleight of Hand and Mechanism (Page 11)
• Part II: Tricks with Cards (Page 69)
• Part III: Deceptions with Dice, Thimblerig, etc. (Page 113)
• Part IV: Miscellaneous Magic (Page 131)
• Part V: Mysterious Magic (Page 185)
• Part VI: The Mystery of Magic Writing (Page 255)
• Part VII: The Mystery of Training Animals (Page 305)

Special highlights include detailed textual walkthroughs and line art diagrams for specialised Victorian stage illusions, tricks, and card apparatus, including the structural mechanics of the theatrical Vampire Trap, the hinged mechanics behind the classic Self-Restoring Card routine, parlor illusions like the comical Sensational Piano Playing double-man substitution trick, close-up gambling routines including The Game of Thimblerig (Shell Game), classic mechanical parlour effects including The Astronomer\'s Anagram, odd historical weather prediction tricks including Weather Wisdom using a leech barometer, performance details for Toby the Learned Pig, illustrations for trained sideshow animals including Performing Bears and Monkeys, and historical notes on famous mid-19th-century performing apes.Detailed Condition Report (Sold Strictly AS-IS):
Please examine all uploaded photographs very closely before placing a offer or submitting an offer. The volume remains internally complete but displays significant structural wear typical for a heavily used antiquarian text:

• Spine and Binding: The original pictorial cloth spine shows heavy age-toning, surface rubbing, and softening at the head and foot. There is a severe, deep vertical split/gouge along the center-right gutter of the spine cloth exposing the underlying structural binding layers. The inner binding hinges are tender, but the main text block remains bound.
• Boards and Corners: The front pictorial orange cloth board displays classic cross-panel illustrations in crisp black ink. The covers show expected perimeter edge wear, surface shelf soiling, and significant corner bumping/softening.
• Rear Cover: The plain rear cloth cover shows typical vintage handling wear, light surface soiling, minor edge rubbing, and a faintly visible circular impression stamped into the center of the cloth panel.
• Interior Pages: The internal text sheets remain exceptionally flat, crisp, complete, and free of heavy foxing, ink scribbles, highlight marks, or missing sheets. Natural light age-toning and sparse, mild foxing points are present uniformly across the paper stock, including the final leaf featuring the publisher\'s decorative cherub vignette. All typography remains perfectly sharp and legible. The lower corner of the initial right-hand flyleaf sheet has a small piece torn away/missing, as shown in the provenance photo.
• Specific Page Flaw: Page 243 shows a small, rough tear along the centre of the outer right-hand paper margin. This tear is entirely confined to the blank border edge and does not impact or cross into the printed text block.

I ship Royal Mail tracked & Global Shipping welcome (from Cornwall, UK)