By
Mark Jensen
This is the first in a series of articles about collecting magic related items. In my magic collection, I have collected books, cups and balls sets, magic sets, posters, art and memorabilia.
Today, we will start the First of a Six Part Series about book collecting. At last count I have over 2500 books, lecture notes and periodicals in my magic library. These are physical books, etc, not the e-books that are now available. For this article, when I refer to books, I’m also including lecture notes, periodicals, catalogs, etc. unless I state otherwise.
There are several things you should consider for your magic library. The main ones are Subjects, Investment, Storage, Organization, and Care. Finally we will cover the thrill of the hunt.
Subjects
Your interests should determine what subjects are covered in your library. While I have books on many subjects in my library, the main ones are Bizarre Magic, Card Magic, Gambling, General Magic, History, Limited Editions, Mentalism, Novels, Occult, Periodicals (Bound and Loose) and Theory/Presentation. I also have a shelf dedicated to trick types of which I only have a couple of books. On this shelf you will find my 2 books on the linking rings, my 2 books on rope magic, etc. Finally I have a miscellaneous shelf where I put books that don’t seem to fit any of my subjects.
Once you’ve settled on your main subjects, you can determine if you have any sub-topics. For example you may have a major interest in Card Magic, but in particular are interested in all card tricks by Paul Curry.
Thus, you may decide to collect books on a specific subject (Card Magic), everything published by a specific author (Max Maven), about a specific magician (Houdini), about magic during a specific time period (1850 – 1900) or about a certain trick (the vanishing bird cage). Did you know that while the vanishing bird cage was considered a signature effect for Harry Blackstone Sr, Baultier De Kolta invented and stunned audiences with it in the late 1800s? If you perform or plan on performing the vanishing bird cage, you might find it interesting to read how De Kolta performed it, as well as Harry Blackstone, Lee Grabel and many of the performers who made this miracle a staple of their shows for many years.
The key here is that once you’ve clearly identified what subjects and sub-topics really interest you it will be much easier for you to organize and gain the most benefit possible from your library. Do you have to use the subject names I use? No, use what has the most meaning for you. Will your tastes and interests change over time? Probably, but it is simple matter to identify new subjects and sub-topics. I am sure that someday I’ll look at my trick types or miscellaneous shelf, see that I have enough books on the linking rings to fill half a shelf and decide it’s time to add a new subject or sub-topic. The half shelf measure is one I find that works for me and is useful when we talking about organization later.
Once you decide on the main subjects you want to focus on, you next need to think about investment. I will discuss investment next month. Until then…Happy Collecting.
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