Parlour Magic

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 272K words
Chapters: 28

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Parlour Magic by Henry PerkinsAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: Q: Science, Release Date: Nov 7, 2015

Editor's review

Parlour Magic is a book of parlour magic by Henry Perkins, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. Judging from the title and classification, it is aimed at home or salon settings and presents magic tricks that can be performed indoors, a practical work of nineteenth-century popular entertainment. Books of this kind usually consist mainly of step-by-step instructions, emphasizing performances with everyday objects, and combine hands-on practice with showmanship. For today's readers its value lies not only in learning a few tricks but in observing how Victorian families entertained themselves and how magical knowledge circulated. Read it as both a historical text and a manual: note the props, sleights, and patter recorded, and try out tricks whose conditions allow. As an English public-domain book, the clarity of the original illustrations and instructions depends on the scan quality of the electronic text, and some steps may require inference from common sense. Overall it suits magic enthusiasts as a reference book and casual readers as an amusing browse.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Amateur enthusiasts of parlour magic and close-up tricks
Cultural-history readers interested in nineteenth-century home entertainment
Learners who need public-domain English material for reading practice
Readers who like trying simple tricks hands-on for party interaction

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a modern professional magic curriculum with video demonstrations
Readers seeking complete instructions for stage props and large-scale illusions
Readers who struggle with English and are unwilling to look up words or use a translation

Reading tips

Skim the table of contents and pick tricks with simple props first, then follow the steps and test them in practice.
Jot down prop lists and key sleights as you read, to prepare for party performances.
Compare the tricks with other period material on home entertainment to understand their historical context.
When a step is unclear, infer from common magic principles; exact replication is not required.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Do the tricks in this book require professional props?

Judging from the title and the nature of popular entertainment books, the tricks are mostly aimed at home settings and usually use everyday objects or simple homemade props. The materials for specific tricks vary by entry, so check the prop notes before deciding whether to try one.

Is the original English hard to read?

This is a nineteenth-century English practical book, mainly instructional prose with generally uncomplicated sentences, though it may contain period vocabulary and magic terms. Readers with basic English can get through it with a dictionary; the point is understanding the steps, not literary style.

Can the tricks in this book still be performed today?

The basic principles of many classic close-up tricks are still in use, but the specific props, performance settings, and audience expectations have changed. Readers can try tricks with clear principles and easily obtained materials, adapting the patter and safety considerations to modern settings.

Comments

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About the author

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Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.