On Monday, September 15^th, John Cox’s gave all his WILD ABOUT HARRY Patreon’s, a heads up, that The Art of Magic by Ken Trombly is available NOW:

I’ll be posting about this on the main blog tomorrow, but I wanted to give you all an early heads that our friend and fellow patron Ken Trombly’s lavish new book The Art of Magic has just been released by Vanishing Inc. You won’t see this in the sample images, but know the book contains two chapters showcasing Ken’s incredible Houdini collection.

The book is available in a Regular and Deluxe Edition. Only 200 Deluxe Editions are being offered so…you know what to do!

Congratulations Ken.

Right after John posted that, I immediately ordered a Deluxe Edition, which arrived on Thursday, September 19^th

I was amazed by the size of it. It is 12 inches by 16 inches and weighs 11 pounds in the slipcase. And I love the title, especially “A Lifetime of Collecting” part of the title. I wish Houdini was somewhere on the cover, but that is just me being selfish, the book really is The Art of Magic, with emphasis on the Art part as it is truly “a work of art” and well designed.

I opened the beautiful book up and discovered there are actually 300 numbered and signed copies of the Deluxe Edition and I got number 279 out of 300.

I wonder who got 278?  Not sure, how the numbers were distributed, but it looks like this will sell out if it hasn’t already. Suffice it to say, glad I didn’t wait.

Author Ken Trombly is one of the industry’s most fervent collectors of magic art: lithographs, posters, etchings–if it depicts a magician in history, Ken probably owns a copy in mint condition. His house is a wonderland from the golden age of magic. But few of us will ever get to see his collection in person. So…The Art of Magic brings that collection right to your fingertips.

I was fortunate enough to see some of this amazing collection in person during a trip to the east coast in 2018.

• Trip to East Coast is Extra Special, Day 4 (Ken Trombly)

And now I was about to relive that extra special day and see Houdini treasures I hadn’t seen in seven years, plus so many new treasures in this beautiful coffee table size book.

In the introduction of Ken’s book, Paul Kieve mentions the following:

Even if you don’t have the privilege of sifting through Ken’s amazing magical basement in person, you can now do so via the contents of this wonderful book. It’s incredibly generous of Ken to share his lifelong collecting passion, this way. Although vintage poster images have become more accessible via the internet, I promise you there are many examples contained within these pages that have never seen either online or in print before.

I echo Paul’s sentiments. The intro is followed by an essay on “The Making of a Collector” where Ken tells how he became a collector (which I love) and that his wish for anyone sifting through the book, “is that you encounter some things in these pages that you never seen before“. His wish came through in spades for me.

The first thing I did after reading the intro and Ken’s essay, was to bookmark the start of the Houdini material with the ribbon bookmark that was sewn into the spine (which was a nice touch.)  And then I started sifting through the two chapters on Houdini, which did not disappoint.

• Houdini Poster and Advertising
• Houdini Photos and Ephemera

Houdini is a focus of Ken’s and he shares some of his favorite pieces, which most have never been seen before.

These include posters like a relic from 1894, a small poster from a 1902 German tour, a letterpress poster from a 1902 performance in the UK, a letterpress poster for a music hall performance calling Houdini “the winner of the great handcuff contest“, a reference to the “mirror cuffs challenge“, a rare 1912 poster featuring the first performances of the Water Torture Cell, a portion of a poster displayed on the upper level of a double-decker bus when Houdini appeared at London’s Hippodrome.

Ken has also collected almost 100 different handbill challenges. Included in the book are challenges from a 1903 jail escape, 1911 escape from being strapped to the mouth of a canon, 1912 escape after being tied to a eight foot plank in sailor’s fashion, 1907 escape from a giant envelope, 1912 wet-sheet challenge, 1910 escape from a hamper, 1910 escape from a seabag, 1913 escape from a jail on The Convict Ship, and others.

And as Ken put it, “the only thing better than a chapter on collecting Houdini is a second chapter” that includes Houdini Photos and Ephemera.

Included is a 1894 program for The Houdini Bothers, 1897 receipt for magic props Houdini purchased from E.J. Dooley, a number of early cabinet photos of Houdini, a program for a talent show of passengers in a 1900 voyage, photos with a young Bess, early photos of Houdini’s parents, holiday cards, and post cards and photos depicting: his bust, Houdini holding the French Letter Cuffs misidentified as the mirror cuffs, various bridge jumps, and straitjacket escapes. Also included is a miss-dated announcement celebrating Australian aviators and Houdini’s first flight, material exposing fraudulent mediums, a 1924 artist’s rendering of Houdini’s shipboard performance for Teddy Roosevelt, and last but not least a cabinet photo of Houdini with the so-called Mirror Cuffs.

For me these two chapters on Houdini alone are worth getting the book, but there is so much more besides Houdini in this book:

So what are you waiting for, order your copy today and enjoy the journey.