Author Description

<p></p> The art of magic<p>Magic has enchanted humankind for millennia, evoking terror, laughter, shock, and amazement. Once persecuted as heretics and sorcerers, <b>magicians have always been conduits to a parallel universe of limitless possibility</b> - whether invoking spirits, reading minds, or inverting the laws of nature by sleight of hand. Long before science fiction, virtual realities, video games and the internet, <b> </b>the craft of magic was<b> the most powerful fantasy world man had ever known</b>. As<b> the pioneers of special effects</b> throughout history, magicians have never ceased to mystify us by making the impossible possible.<br> This book celebrates<b> more than 500 years of the dazzling visual culture of the world's greatest magicians</b>. Featuring over <b>1,000 rarely seen vintage posters, photographs, handbills, and engravings</b> in one 650-page volume, it traces <b>the history of magic as a performing art</b> from the 1400s to the 1950s. Combining sensational images with lucid and incisive text, <i>Magic </i>explores the evolution of the magician's craft, from medieval street performers to the brilliant stage magicians who gave rise to cinematic special effects; from the 19th century's <i>Golden Age of Magic</i> to groundbreaking daredevils like Houdini and the early 20th century's vaudevillians.<br> </p>